Is This Halloween? [syd, mal & cricket]

[Deleted]

She wasn't usually one to make public appearances-- always drawing heads was nice, but sometimes the gawking got tiring. Not widely accepted among many, Sydonia did nothing to indicate she cared either way. She preferred to solitude to masses of people anyhow. But, now she found herself in some swanky looking bar that had apparently just opened up. She was hardly dressed for the occasion, then again the place seemed pretty empty and figured it didn't matter. Alcohol didn't agree with her.. additions much and tended to avoid it at all costs but Syd just couldn't pass up the opportunity for a nice place to sit quietly for a while.

The telltale sound of whirring and clicking followed her, tail flicking out behind her and knocking against things as she swaggered over to a solitary corner of the room and helped herself to a seat. Albeit, sitting a little awkwardly because of the tail and dorsal fin. Blue finger-nailed hands smoothed out her fitted jeans, her grey-tinted skin looking darker than usual due to the odd lighting from inside the building. Hands then reached up to idly twirl her waist length black hair, absent shark-toothed grin on her face.

Although, shark-toothed was a literal term. Two rows of teeth identical to that of a shark glared out from between her otherwise normal lips, green eyes sparkling with a hungry look. Maybe something had caught her attention or she was just daydreaming again. Someone had started towards her, probably to see if she had an order, but turned around anxiously upon seeing her in the full. As it should be, sharks were not something that should be disturbed.

Sydonia chuckled under her breath, leaning back some to toss her booted feet onto the small table in front of her. Her tailed continued to click and twitch a little awkwardly, grin never wavering once as her sharp eyes continued to survey the room.

Of course, she was entirely approachable-- she had only maimed someone maybe one or two times, after all.

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[¢яι¢кєt]

Cricket rarely ventured to bars.

Places where alcohol was served were avoided both because of her inability to resist more than a simple sip of wine and also because they were usually inhabited by her misanthrope father. Tonight was no different, but his lack of presence slumped over a counter somewhere made her certain that he inhabited elsewhere, eyeballing the locals and such. It was his business, not hers.

Regardless of what else stalked the alleys at night, she'd decided to pay the visit to day in search of one unsightly individual or another that might be deserving of death at her fangs. Primarily, she fed upon those who would victimize others, repaying them for their transgressions in life by rewarding them with death. It was kind of like what Batman did, except with a less-gravelly voice, brighter attire, and her parent was still alive. That said, presently, she'd spotted no-one... yet, at least.

The shark lady, however, caught her eye and her agenda shifted entirely. Mutants, cyborgs, and mythics always deserved to be paid a visit and the goggled lady made her way over, purple trench coat swishing softly as she seated herself across the table. No doubt others would've been put off by her fearsome appearance and the demeanor in which she languished, but Cricket felt little fear for the other. Scary shark people were still people.

She said nothing initially and simply eyed the stranger before she arched one of her brows, "Great white?" For the species, of course.

An attendant was waved away by Cricket's mechanical pincer. No drinks tonight. Or for a while. She'd other matters to attend to that required no alcoholic consumption of any type. A casual expression remained upon her face and in her tone, though, as she offered her identity to the other, "I'm Cricket. You?"

[Mal]

The soft purring of an engine rose as a sleek black car pulled up to the the curb. It cut off abruptly as the car was turned off and a suited figure stepped out. The door was shut with a soft clap of metal and the newcomer made their way up onto the sidewalk, sauntering towards the door.

Mally had overheard about a new bar that had opened up in town and skipped her usual haunts in the favor of checking this one out. She didn't know if it would have jazz music, like the few she'd visited; but, if there wasn't, she at least hoped their drinks were good. Otherwise the place would never gain a customer like herself.

The suited panther-woman entered and eyed the place with interest. It didn't seem to be too busy, as was expected of new places, but did seem to be a pretty cool place. Nice decorations, nice dimly-lit atmosphere at least.

Mally removed herself from the doorway and strutted up to the bar, a tap of a claw catching the bartender's attention. Her drink was ordered and she turned her back on the bar to lean casually against it. This way made it easy for her to observe the other patrons present while she drank, picking out whatever caught her interest about them or simply to people-watch. During this time, her mind wandered back to music in which she'd noticed there was none; or at least it was too low and blocked out by the dim sound of talk and clinking glasses.

It didn't really matter, her drink was good enough.

Those glowing white eyes studied each person curiously, moving on to the next person when there was little to nothing interesting about them. Something did catch her eye soon enough; a very familiar purple coat and red-haired head. The hair was a little longer than she remembered, but it was nice to see Cricket again and it brought up questions, yet again, why the vampire hadn't contacted her at all since they'd last talked.

Drink in one hand, Mally wandered over to the table she was sitting at, which was being shared by someone else; also a very interesting looking person. Some sort of mechanical-shark girl. Well, there'd be some entertainment tonight.

Regardless of whatever conversation was being had, Mally would interject with a greeting and a grin. "Evening, ladies."

[Deleted]

A head of bright red hair had apparently found it's way over to her corner. Perhaps one of the only people who was willing to approach her without any sort of apprehension. Sydonia could see why-- the stranger herself equipped with similar 'parts' that were in no way normal or biological. She tipped her head silently as the other helped herself to a seat, not bothering to lift her feet from the trouble as most would. The telltale whirling continued in a low hum as a short moment of silence stretched between them.

At the question, Syd chuckled lightly under her breath before nodding and gesturing to her tail with a wave of a hand. "What else?" Her teeth gnashed together as she struggled to hide the grin on her face, green eyes drifting over the woman who introduced herself as Cricket. "Nice to meet you, Cricket." She found herself wondering how the woman managed to see anything with such dark goggles on, but dismissed the question when another approached.

The smartly dressed cat-like woman earned a sly glance from Sydonia, her clothes creating more questions than they answered. Then again, she didn't get out much and maybe this was normal. The shark waved a hand towards an empty seat, gesturing for the newcomer to sit, seeing as she was interested in joining them. Three strange individuals all together in a fairly normal bar-- this would certainly be interesting.

"Sydonia." She finally answered the question hanging in the air, introducing herself to both. Her hand absently strayed back to her long hair, running her fingers through it and twisting it around. "So, what brings you both here?"

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[¢яι¢кєt]

(the moment you realize your character has dark goggles on in a bar /facedesk
I'M GONNA ROLL WITH IT)

It was unfortunate that Cricket did not recognize the panther lady when she approached and such would likely become the subject of regret later on when the chatter was done, but her gaze met the other and she slid to the other chair in order to make more immediate room for the panther. "Eve," She commented.

As of yet, there wasn't really any reason to deny the other seating, really, considering she, herself, had come and plopped down without the shark's permission. Response was given to the shark first, "Came looking for a deadbeat to put out of its misery, but instead I got you two. I don't mind the shift of agenda, though, I'm rather fond of conversation." The other's species and calling were noted and such was broached to the newcomer, "'M Cricket if you didn't overhear. You?"

That she still wore goggles belatedly registered and she removed them, revealing the shift in the coloration of her left eye to Mally, who'd seen and met her prior, and also displaying both to Syd.

The left was still that leafy green tone with the horizontal pupil, but the sclera had turned a nasty black hue and shifting tendrils of amethyst-colored energies. The edges of the sclera were darker, though, suggesting that the areas closer to the iris were lightening in tone. The right, though, remained the dull amber and still responded sluggishly, if at all.

[Mal]

Mally was rather pleased that neither did not try to look down upon her or meet her with insults, but rather invited her to their table. It probably was expected anyway, considering they were the only three oddities in the bar as far as she saw, and because she knew one of them.

The panther-woman took the chair Cricket previously inhabited and leaned back with a wink towards the red haired woman as she spoke. "I know your name, as you should know mine. Have you forgotten me so quickly?" She asked, giving her a faux wounded expression. This changed quickly as her attention was turned from the vampire for a moment to focus on the shark-girl, curiosity glinting in her eyes. "Sydonia, huh? A pleasure to meet you. M'name's Mally."

Her free hand would be offered to shake, but if it was ignored then it would be promptly dropped as the panther woman took a drink of her beverage. Her gaze would shift back to Cricket as the other removed her goggles and became a little wary, but such barely registered on her face; she was remembering the time they'd met, when Cricket had tried to thrall her. Perhaps this time was not the case, as her eyes were not glowing and Mally couldn't help but notice the sclera of the left eye was oddly colored.

Questions arose but were not immediately asked; instead she silently compiled them to ask later, when the chance came along, as she eyed the two ladies before her. "So, you're an interesting pair to meet in a bar like this." Mally started and gestured with her bottle towards the other average-looking patrons. "I overheard Cricker here's reason, but what brings you here from the great blue sea?"

[Deleted]

Sydonia arched a brow at the exchange between the other two, who apparently had met before. It really was none of her business but she couldn't quite help being a little curious as to the nature of their previous meeting. Her attention shifted once the panther-woman introduced herself, nodding respectfully in her direction as a way of greeting. She leaned forward enough to grasp Mally's hand, giving it a firm shake before dropped it and leaning back in her seat.

"Sounds like fun. I could have used a little company." Syd replied to Cricket, eyebrows raising as she removed her goggles. The unnatural colouring of one particular eye caught the shark's attention, staring at it longer than was probably polite, although she figured it would not be met with hostility due to her own strange appearance. She didn't have much knowledge of illnesses or diseases, but she knew that certainly wasn't natural-- to the average human anyway. The three of them certainly weren't by any means natural.

The shark shrugged lightly at Mally's comment, making a noncommittal sound of indifference. "Probably interesting to meet anywhere, I would think." She grinned, allowing her feet to drop from the table so that she could lean forward-- elbow propped up against the arm of the chair and chin resting in her open palm. Her expression faded a little as she was addressed, thinking the question over before answering. "I'm usually more of a loner by choice, although I travel around here and there. Thought I could use some.. stimulation from others this evening. I hope you can provide that." The last statement was said in a good-natured tone so that it did not come off as threatening.

"And what about you? You seem a little more upper-class than the rest of us." Sydonia gestured a hand towards Mally, a simply flick of the wrist. She was genuinely interested in the two of them, interesting individuals each for their own reasons.

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[¢яι¢кєt]

That Mally had known Cricket prior didn't exactly come as a surprise to her since such had been happening quite frequently as of late. "I literally had a run-in with a dragon-witch who stole a good portion of my memories away," Cricket answered, "So, I don't, sorry." The vampire kept her tone even and thereafter took note of Mally's name for future reference.

A silence followed as she observed the others and she remained quiet as Syd and Mal exchanged winning banter, timing her re-entrance to the conversation accordingly, "And, what happened when I met you last? My boyfriend is either unfamiliar or chose not to speak of you to me when he related my past."

Certainly she'd other questions, but that would suit for now. Cricket was also incredibly curious as to Mally's origins and, too, her classy attire. Was she rich? If Cricks went home and talked about meeting a rich friend, Madman would be all about swiping her cash like the rude bastard he was.

Even still, the panther lady had that sort of smooth aura about her that elicited some level of calm. If she'd malicious intent, she certainly could've been considered altogether too friendly to be suspect.

[Mal]

Her attention lingered a moment longer on the shark woman, listening with respect to the answers she gave. They would be met with a grin and a nod. "Of course." The suited feline agreed and set her bottle down upon the table, now that Sydonia's feet had been taken off. She leaned back at the mention of riches and somewhat-dramatically smoothed down her striped coat.

"Mmm, I suppose I am." She answered slyly, holding back a little from giving them any details for the moment. She took that chance to then give Cricket her attention as the red-haired lady spoke up. "Ahh, well that certainly explains a lot. I'd almost thought you didn't like me anymore." The tone in which she'd said such was mockingly sad, but if it wasn't obvious, her expression said otherwise: she had given the vampire a broad, flashy grin and a playful wink.

Upon being asked of previous events, and told about a boyfriend, Mally grinned delightedly and began. "Well, from what I remember, I found your tower and ran into your butler, who transformed into a weird fishman. I knocked him over and ran up to find you, but you ran off because you were scared of cats or someth'n. Then you later came back and invited me for tea and tried to hypnotize me, but the white cat that showed up stopped that. And then we agreed to a truce of sorts and I was gonna help you out with raids and such. Only I never heard from you after that." Mally explained, as short and sweet as she could manage; although some details would have been left out in the long version anyway, if she had bothered to tell such. It was not because Sydonia was there, either; she didn't mind having the shark-girl overhear it all.

"So you've got a boyfriend now, huh? When we had first, and last, met, I'd heard no such a mention about a significant other." Mally smoothly moved on to the next thing, now that the brief explanation was out of the way. "I never met anyone in that tower of yours aside from you, your fish-man butler, some robotic snake beast and that white cat."

[Deleted]

Sydonia was happy enough to sit back and listen to the two of them talk. She found it interesting to hear about the lives of others without having to question and relay information about herself back, as would be polite. She threw Mally a questioning glance, her lips pursing into a small pout at the purposely ambiguous answer. Suppose she wasn't the only one intending on keeping parts of herself a secret.

Although the mention of a dragon certainly got her curious. The abnormal might have been normal for her but a dragon was just outright ridiculous. Then again, Cricket looked like she would have met some interesting individuals throughout her time and perhaps a dragon was considered quite a regular thing in her neck of the woods.

"Sounds like one of hell of trip, to me." Syd interjected with a snarky smirk on her face, thinking her comment was quite witty in regards to the story. Which is certainly what it sounded like, a story and not something that could have actually happened. Maybe she just had to get out more if this was what the world was like.

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[¢яι¢кєt]

That Mally had taken to the revelation in stride only served to encourage Cricket further- this was someone she could get along with! The shark girl was pretty rad, too-- both could be made use of later if she got into some kind of pinch.

At Mally's revelation, several questions were posed and Cricket's expression shifted to a more thoughtful one, "Hmmh. I'm sorry for not contacting you, then." The vampire idly wondered just what sort of intentions she'd actually had for the cat woman, considering her previous abuse of others. It didn't really matter now, though- she'd nothing malicious to use her for.

"I do, though," She responded after a moment, "He's... a robot. It's hard to explain."

Syd's reintroduction to the conversation was met with a polite smile, if not some level of concealed disdain. The tone made it apparent that the lady across the table had no immediate intentions of believing such a tale, though Cricket wondered if it would even be worth the time to try and convince her otherwise.

An arch of the brow precluded the she-devil's response, "I am curious, though, what sort of tales you have to tell?" She smiled and made no effort to hide her fangs. Such oft encouraged others to be a little more careful around her, even if her intentions were benign. Such wasn't a threat, though, there was too much laughter in her eyes for it to be anything more than a playful test of boundaries.

[Mal]

The panther lady would merely wave her hand in response to Cricket's apology. She'd never really had any sour feelings about it to start with, aside from being a little put off that she never got to cause a little havoc and steal stuff with someone else. Which she knew could always happen another time, if she got to join Cricket's little group.

Her curiosity would plainly show itself on her face when the red-haired vampire next mentioned her boyfriend, telling her about how he was actually a robot. Well, it was odd to hear, at first, but she was sure in this day and age that it was possible to create sentient robots that were just like real people. Maybe some time she'd get to meet this robotic boyfriend of Cricker's.

Mally's attention would shift from the trench coat-wearin' gal, as she had nothing more to say for the moment, to the shark as she added in a little quip. An amused grin would meet it, but she said nothing more as Cricket responded with a flash of fangs. This time Mally was the one to sit back and watch the other two as words were exchanged.

[Deleted]

Sydonia took note of the fangs, but not showing any outward acknowledgment of them. Since she, herself, had her own teeth replaced with those identical to a shark. However, she frowned very slightly, the edges of her mouth turning down into a grimace as Cricket asked of herself. How much was she to disclose? Especially to two complete strangers she had only met moments before.

"Nothing exciting, really. I led a pretty average, boring life." Up until a little while ago, she purposely avoided mentioning. Her tail clicked and whirred for a moment before flicking and twitching. "I suppose you're interested in the shark thing though, right?" Syd looked at them both evenly, a small sigh escaping her lips as she rolled her eyes some.

Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, Sydonia shifted a little before beginning. "Had a run-in with some psycho, asked if I want some 'enhancements'. Decided to make me look like my personality suggested, or something." She shrugged, tapping her fingers on the arm of her chair as she waited for a reaction.

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[¢яι¢кєt]

"You certainly fit the part," Cricket quipped, "My own physical alterations were against my willing when I was very young, though they eventually had to be... ehh... replaced after a run-in with a pair of werewolves." She didn't bother stating the obvious, that she was a vampire would've been apparent from the show of fangs (or that she was at least into body modification). If anyone needed clarification, she could always stroll up to the bar and start snacking away on someone- not that she would.

The would-be scorpion inclined her head, however, "Did he upgrade you with any weapons, or did he leave you with just your teeth?" Honest curiosity this time, instead of anything pointed. Provided the aforementioned attempt at mild humor didn't set the other off, she intended to at least pick at a few bits of information before scavenging Mally again. If neither realized her motives, she'd make them into fast friends, then use them to aid her during times of need.

Sure, Mally was on board, but Cricket rather liked the idea of having a walking set of teeth aiding her, also. If needed, she could always bring up that she'd turned her man's shark into a walking, barking, shark dog... but such would have to be handled with care- Sydonia might become upset if she found out that she'd been modifying a fellow selachimorpha.

[Mal]

The drink that had been set on the table earlier, and nearly forgotten, was lifted as Mally listened to the two talk; it was interesting to hear about how they got their strange, mechanical alterations. She shook the bottle and heard a minute slosh of alcohol inside, and figured she ought to order another drink while the other two were busy talking.

She drained what was left and gestured to a waitress with her empty bottle, silently demanding another. When it was brought, Mally was happy to sit back with another cold drink, focusing on the question Cricket had asked Syd. While she waited curiously for what the shark-woman would say, Mally averted her gaze to the bar for a quick, idle glance around. There was still little going on, causing the panther woman to wrinkle her nose a little. It was a pity that the place wasn't a little livelier; but at least she had her two new companions to chat with.