Cıтч øf Bяøκeи Søυłš {ᶳᵉᵐᶤ⁻ᵃᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ʳᵒˡᵉᵖˡᵃʸ} discussion

One of the "nicer" establishments in the Middle City Slums, the Nightwind Storm is actually a strip club. It makes the most of its pretty strippers and its cheap alcohol. It has rooms upstairs for any "fraternization", and the mood in the place is brash. Some call it the cheap man's Heart of Ashes.

Roleplay!

Nikolai Terrence Markesan took up his bottle of booze, effectively squandering half of what he'd earned in the day on a drink. His black jacket was ruffled and old, but at least he didn't smell, like he was smart enough to bathe. His hair hung about his sallow face. The dancers were pretty enough, but he'd probably never be able to afford one, and honestly, the idea of loose sex just never really appealed, even if he knew it would irk his dad.

Usually it was people paying the strippers, and not the other way around. But if Kristelle wanted her friends safe, she knew she had to pay up. She backed out of the offices of the owners, holding up her hands in the traditional surrender position, moving away until her back hit the wall of the hallway. Evidently it wasn't quite enough. "Yes, yes, I know I'm short this month. I'll have it double next month." She promised, biting her lower lip are she stared back at the owners with her big dark eyes. The man raised an eyebrow at her pointedly and she nodded almost frantically, "Alright, yes, triple." She agree without hesitation before backing down the hall and whipping around to jog away from them. She stopped at the bar to stop her trembling, smiling shakily at the bartender.

Nikolai glanced over at the girl who'd just burst in. Holy cow, she was smoking, and it looked like she was jittering far much, like she'd just been at knifepoint. For a moment, he considered offering her a glass out of his bottle, but his hand cinched around the neck. Nope. It wasn't the best idea at all to give away what little he did have. Even if he only had that little in the first place because he refused so much more. He sighed, then glanced up at the shaking woman, who was maybe three or four years older. She could take care of herself. She was a dancer, right? They got paid loads. He topped off his glass, sighing as his conscience strangled his common sense. "Want something to drink?"

Krissy was a prostitute, but usually she wasn't so desperate. But seeing as she now owed triple what she usually did, she couldn't exactly afford to go her usual, more subtle route. She looked over at the man sitting at the bar, making herself smile slowly. "Sure, doll. I'd love one." She accepted, the shaking in her voice steadying out and vanishing. She walked over to sit next to him, sliding onto the stool beside him. With the fishnet tights and shorts with a crop top, it was rather obvious what she was, so she assumed he assumed what she was. She slowly crossed her legs, winking at him. "I'm Kristelle, but most people call me Kris." She introduced herself. Somewhat of a lie. She always introduced herself that way, but people always ended up calling her Krissy. Well, people she liked.

He grimaced slightly, as she totally came onto him. Why was she so desperate? He wondered. "Hold up, Kris," he lifted a hand, unable to keep his cheeks from coloring, "First off, I'm exceedingly poor. Secondly," he drew his trump card, which normally made most people back away from him. "I'm under sixteen." Oh yeah, he totally wasn't, and the lie was only just beginning to reveal itself about now, as he grew too tall or strong to be a young teen. But... it had worked almost every time till now. "Just saw you shaking and thought you'd need something to calm you down," he shrugged. Normally, though, he'd probably flirt and tease, maybe snatch a few kisses before breaking the 'minor' or 'poor' bomb on these girls. But heck, he just wasn't in the mood right now.

"Damn, don't want me just say so. No need to lie about the age." Kris said defensively, raising an eyebrow as she shifted position. "I'll have you know though, if I was desperate enough the 'poor' didn't stop me, why would you think you being a minor would? Just something to think about." She pointed out. Despite her job, Kris was incredibly smart. She didn't often have a chance to show it though, so it was only the little observations like this that offered any idea that she wasn't just another hooker. "Either you're really observant, my acting skills are degrading, or I'm more upset than I realized. Maybe some combination of all three." The girl mused, studying him for a moment. "You're partially right though. So I'll still take that drink though, if that's alright with you." She finally sighed,

He smiled lightly, with a little shrug as he glanced over at her trying to be semi-respectful and avoid the whole skimpy attire. She was older than him, sure, but she was also sort of hot. He shrugged again. "Well, currently I have about another bottle's worth of money. I'll probably scrounge up the same tomorrow. It's not much, but I can live on it, for the most part." He glanced over at her, "So, it's not just 'poor'. You forgot the 'exceedingly' in front of it." He shrugged again, his very manner the sort that he didn't care if anyone knew he was homeless or not, and he didn't care if people pitied him or not. "Definitely a combination of all three," he shrugged, pouring her a glass and scooting it over to her. "So, what's so horrible going on in your life that you'll take on a minor for the price of a bottle of beer?"

"There are worse things to take on, darling." Krissy laughed softly as she looked over at him, shaking her head. "It's a long story, and I won't bother you with my problems." She shook her head dismissively, though she suddenly looked incredibly sad. She wanted to tell someone, but she didn't dare. She was too selfless to dump it on her friends, it was too risky to tell a stranger, and even her sister didn't know all of it. All she'd told Kat was the beginning, that a couple took her in and pressured her into the business. She didn't mention the threats and extortion part of it. What was the point? Kat would flip out and have the couple killed, and Krissy couldn't stand having a death on her conscience, even if they would deserve it. She looked down at her drink, then sighed and slid it back to him. "I won't take it from you when it's all you have."

"Nah, are you kidding? I'm all about helping the damsel in distress," he scooted the drink back. "Besides, if I drink all this, I'll get mugged as a drunk the moment I step foot outside, so I might as well stay sober," he pointed out, tapping the bottle with his fingertips. "How'd you know I wasn't a minor?" he wondered, "And please, no pity party on my sake. I'm poor because I choose to be, and what I do with my money is my business."

((Krissy and Kyenath need to talk. They could commiserate about so much. XD But we should wait on giving her a new friend for a while since Mickey already))

"When I was younger I trusted the wrong people. Now I'm paying for it, literally." Krissy sighed, running her fingers through her hair and pulling it out of her face. "And I know you aren't a minor because I was as young as you said you were when I started doing this. Younger kids usually tend to want to have a more intimate, less raw sex thing for their first time. As the youngest, it was easier for them to pretend it was a normal boyfriend girlfriend thing with me. I know what 16 year olds look like. And you are not one. Also, I don't give a damn what you do with your money. It's not my life, it's yours." She shrugged, staring at the drink reluctantly.

((Krissy's super nice so she's down for almost anything lol))

"Aw, you're not the kind of girl to make a guy get mugged by drinking himself into oblivion, are you? And even if I do show self restraint, it'd be a pity to let half this bottle go to waste." He shrugged. "It's your life, sure, so are you going to accept the glass or not? I'm sure as Hell not going to drink it." He smiled, like he had the trump card, his face surprisingly young in that instant. "Hmm, and because I don't want the raw sex thing, wouldn't that make me more kiddish? I mean... not to be offensive, but you were pretty forwards there." Nikolai leaned on the bar, wodering if introductions were in order, and if she knew enough to connect his name to the Police Commissioner.

((I know. Kyenath is terribly skittish around all people for the most part though.))

"No, I can tell your age because I've seen a lot of 16 year old boys. Also they're all either really cocky and arrogant or quiet and awkward and guilty. You're neither. I'll admit those are generalizations but. In general. You not fitting into either category plus your physique means older than 16. Not by a whole lot though. You're not in your twenties yet." Kristelle guessed, studying him. Then she smiled. "I'm a prostitute and a stripper, darling. And I owe people money. I have to be forward." She shrugged, chuckling slightly. Almost reluctantly she took the drink. She didn't look happy about it but it went down without a reaction. After all, people bought her drinks all of the time.

((Kris is incredibly smart so she probably would have noticed her money missing, but wouldn't have said anything maybe she hears about why Kye did it from Mickey and Kris goes to offer more money?))

((Kyenath has been doing it for years now -- long before she knew Mickey. But the more money thing is stopped by Mickey?))

((That could be a way to incorporate Krissy into RP with Mickey and Kye? (It's cool if you just want to rp the two of them. I get it).
But maybe while Kye and Mickey are talking Krissy finds out from someone else that Mickey's going to confront her? But she's smart enough to know that Kye wouldn't take it without good reason so she goes to stop Mickey? Obviously she's too late but you know))

((I want to rp with them later. I think we should wait a while, and I want Kyenath and Mickey to have time that it’s just then right in the beginning. And I think it wouldbe better if Kyenath were more confident, which she is not right now.))

((Alright, no problem :) I have plans with Zwink to RP Krissy and Mickey when he's free too :3))

((Kay))

He frowned, "I guess I'm growing older then. That sucks... You can get away with a lot more if you look younger," he sighed, slouching. He glanced over at her, then shook his head. "Well... You don't have to be, honestly. Blow them off. Rent a gun. Appeal in courts. I'm pretty sure that you could find some way to get out of this place, if that's what you want. But hey, if you like it, don't let me judge." He looked away from her, staring at his reflection in the amber liquid.

"I just know because I've seen a lot of guys of different ages come in here. If they're on either end of the age spectrum, a lot younger or a lot older than the average, those are the real gambles. They're either going to be simple and sweet, or they're completely fucked in the head so I'm fucked. In both the literal and figurative way." Kris mused as she looked over at him. "If I blow them off my friends will be hurt. But I could never hurt anyone. I've seen too many people get hurt to stomach that. And courts? I'm just a hooker to them. I've slept with easily over half the judges and everything. They know I'm a hooker. They don't give a damn whether I want to be or not."

He sighed. "How much do you owe?" he asked quietly, leaning his head back. Maybe... he could get the money from his dad, if he made it sound like he was in debt, deep in debt. But his dad would probably demand that he act a model citizen from then on. "Maybe... I could help. No promises."

"They never give a straight up answer. Basically I have to pay until I die or I'm not pretty enough to do my job anymore. Whichever comes first." Kris shrugged, then looked at them sharply. "No. No no no no." She said flatly, fear edging into her voice as she stared at him. "You can't pay it. And before you say anything in protest let me stop you. If you pay them then they'll know I told someone and they'll hurt one of my friends and maybe you. Everyone would know you got with a hooker and my friends..." She shook her head, trailing off.

He shook his head. "It... wouldn't have to be me paying them. I could give you the money. You could pay them back, claim you've been saving enough, and you've calculated the amount of money you owe them by the average rent taken by the quality of your lifestyle to your living area, board, and however many years you stayed there... Just... Play them smart."

"You are exceedingly poor. I'm not taking your money." Krissy said flatly. "And I've been short on payments before. They're not stupid. And they won't take my numbers. I've been paying them for a while now, and I've tried. Had a little set aside, a year's worth at least, turned it all in at once to try and get it to be enough and just be able to move on. Didn't happen, obviously. They only accepted it as a month payment, no matter how much is there. Don't trust them. Ever. I'm a smart person, but they are flat out cruel."

"By choice," he shrugged, "I don't have to be." He shook his head, looking at her quietly. His eyes flashed, then, to hear of her flagrant abuses. "Please. Give me their address." There was some absolute hatred in his eyes, like he would murder them. "They forced you into this and constantly take advantage of you. No matter what you don't want to do, they deserve to die."

"No! No way. It's not great but... God, it could be so much worse. This is better than what almost happened." Krissy shook her head impatiently. "I am not having their deaths on my conscience! Even if I just tell you where they are they would have died because of me. Even if you find out yourself, you would have killed them because I told you about them. It will be my fault. Don't you dare do that to me." She almost pleaded, gripping his wrist tightly to keep his attention on her. "Don't make me live with that."

He sighed, calming himself down. "I... I could get them arrested." he offered. "Really, I promise I could, and they wouldn't die, and you'd be free..." He cleared his throat. "You're right, I shouldn't do anything like that, or let that happen to you, that sort of guilt." He sighed, "I guess I'm still just a hormonal teen, then, huh?" he smirked. "But... honestly. I could help..."

"I don't have any proof, and they know enough people that they'll get off without anything. And they know enough people outside that my friends will still be hurt. And I don't know who these other friends are." Krissy protested, shaking her head. "There's no proof." She repeated. "I can throw around all the accusations I want. That's all I have on them. There's no proof I was even hired as a stripper or hooker for them."

"Well..." he smiled, a little grimly, "If you sneak me, next time you meet with them, I can get a witness's account. And... well... My dad's the Police commissioner. If you get them to say the stuff, I can film it with one of his secret button cameras, and that's not illegal." He sipped his drink, not fond of how light the bottle felt when he lifted it.

Staring at him, Krissy suddenly looked uneasy. What she did was illegal. Stripping technically wasn't and neither was sex, so the other dancers in the club were fine. But her? There was no doubt she was a prostitute. She'd admitted it. And that was illegal. She eyed him warily, biting her lip. "I'd get arrested then. Even if I was threatened into it, there's proof that I did it of my own volition." She protested, shifting in her seat and away from him slightly. What if he tattled to his dad? What if that was why he was here in the first place?

"We can leave that bit out," he shrugged, looking rather earnest. Despite how he participated in street fighting -illegal, right there- and lived as a leech of society, he didn't like to see people suffering, and he loathed people like that, people like his dad, absolute on one side, never peering over at the other side of the coin. "I mean, even if they claim it, they can't really prove it, can they? And then, coersion, it's the same as a sex slave. By threat of force. I'm pretty sure there's laws against that, even if they try to indite you. And please, don't comment on the whole law abiding citizen crud. Sorry. I'm really not, promise."

"What, go over and say 'oh by the way, they threatened and forced me into becoming a hooker. But I promise I'm not a hooker, oh no.' I'm just a streetwalker to the police. These people have their own business. They do have proof. They have enough contacts that I will go to jail too, and their other friends will hurt my friends." Krissy insisted, her eyes wide and wary as she glanced from side to side, checking that no one was listening.

He sighed heavily. "You're right... I suppose... couldn't you get your friends out of the way and run?" There was pity in his eyes, which he hoped she didn't mind, but... What use was his dad, was this government, if they couldn't even see a problem as simple as this and fix it? "Police are crud, you're right... I'm sorry." He rubbed at his forehead. "At least, I can give you an address you can hang out at, if you're ever in trouble," he offered, writing down the apartment of his sister's. She'd be ticked if this girl did show up, but she'd be polite and help her out, angry at her brother, not at Kris.

"No!" Krissy rushed to stop him, shaking her head. "They don't know. I didn't tell them. They can't know." She protested, staring at him with her huge dark eyes. "They have their own problems. It isn't my place to add more burdens to the issues they already have." She insisted, but she did take the piece of paper.

He sighed, then nodded. "If... If you're sure. But would you keep them ignorant to the blade at their throats? Is that such a mercy?" he wondered, looking into her face. "I get it, but... heck, If you need help, don't hesitate to call, okay? I put my number at the bottom. Try to take care of yourself..." He sighed, "Can I top you off?"

"I won't let it get that far." Krissy quietly, fierce determination in her voice. "I'll keep them safe. I have so far." She nodded as if to herself before blinking and looking at him again. "I'll call if I need." She agreed, though she knew she wouldn't. Not for money or help at least. "I'll be alright. And no thanks, you paid for it, you can keep it." She smiled slightly, still looking sad.

He nodded. "Well, it wouldn't be fair if I took up so much of your time futilely. Please believe me when I say I don't need it, that I'll likely make three times as much tomorrow, today was just bad. I've probably wasted enough of your time as it is, right?" He pulled out a few bills, coming about to ten base units of the currency.

"I thought you only made about the price of a bottle of beer every day?" Kris reminded him, raising an eyebrow in question. "Besides, it was nice just getting to talk." She admitted. "I hear everyone's problems all the time, but I can't tell anyone mine. So thank you." She smiled slowly, kissing his cheek before sliding off the seat.

"Well... That's if I actually keep out of trouble," he smirked, smiling miscievously. He could actually get a good day if he street fought, and if his dad didn't find out, or raid the little arena. Despite himself, he blushed at her little kiss. "Well, um... Thanks yourself, it was nice talking with you."

"So then keep out of trouble." She teased, reaching out and cheerfully ruffling up his hair. "I'll call you sometime. Or maybe I'll just see you around. You never know." She gave a little half smile, starting to back off toward the door, finally spinning around and heading out of it.

End

Nikolai guided in a lot of punk rich kids, their pockets bulging, odd and weird jewelry punched through their skin... He smiled and guided them slowly into the area. "The cards said they'll play here tonight, and trust me, they've got something neat," he laughed.

Haven was making one last check of their equipment to make sure everything was in place before the curtains opened and they had to play. He always got nervous before going on but always felt so alive when they were playing. He knew that getting a big turn out was rare, it was mainly just people who regularly showed up but he didn't care much about that. He enjoyed playing with his siblings too much. Knowing that everything is how it should be and working he ventured back stage to where Dakota stood twirling his drum sticks while fiddling with his right snake bite. Dakota heard Haven and turned to favce him, smirking, "how much you bet Esha is going to be late again?" he asked with an amused smirk but his hair covered his eyes so it was impossible to tell if it reached them.
Haven trapped his lip piercing between his teeth and thought about it. He then nodded in agreement and held his hand up with a little space between his forefinger and thumb to inticate she'd be a little late. Dakota snickered but nodded and then looked at the door that led into the club, "is it me or does it sound unusually more loud tonight?"

About a group of three dozen loud, obnoxious, -for the most part, self entitled- teens and young adults were swarming around, eager to buy their food, establish the tables and get the show going. It could be rather dangerous if any of them decided to take offence at anything that happened, and he'd warned them in advance not to cause trouble, so... It shouldn't be too much of a problem. At least the people here served food much faster than any high class restaurant, and these kids were surprised to find that their meals, despite simple, were tasty, for the most part. The only thing happening now was their impatience for the performers to get on. An annoying girl kept checking her watch and announcing how unprofessional it would be to be late.

Val was late. Not exactly unusual occurrence, but for once it wasn't exactly her own fault. Well, it was, but it wasn't. Her boss had held her after work to talk to her about her attitude toward the customers. But it had not been Val who had arranged the time. So obviously it was not even remotely her fault. She flung the doors open and walked in dramatically. Of course, she heard the girl complaining about the time as she opted to swagger to the stage through the crowds. She took the time to the girl and gave her the one-finger salute.

"Well, fuck you, too. I heard that impatience is a pretty shit attitude, too, bitch." Yep, nice. That was Val. That was always Val. She continued up toward the stage and propelled herself up. She was already dressed and ready for it. Her hair was pulled back into a bun using a spike in the place of a hair-stick, and a couple long strands hung loose in the front. Her make-up was heavy, basically all black. She wore a black muscle-tee with silver lettering saying "Fuck you" on the front. She wore black handless gloves, and her nails were painted black. She wore a spiked black choker around her neck. On her legs, she wore worn black jeans and over them, tall black-leather boots with spiked straps to match the choker.

She got up onto the stage and stalked off to the side, the backstage area after sending the crowd a wink. She waved to her two brothers, the fellow members of her band.

"Well, at least I know she spent the money well," he breathed to himself, while the girl squeaked up loudly. The guys around her started busting up, cheering already. "Nice sex appeal!" he called, waving at her with his sick little inside joke. "And crowd appeal, too," he winked. The audience seemed pretty excited at her really dramatic appearance. It was really amazing! How adorable she could be... When she was telling everyone to die. The dudes were pretty excited, and the girls seemed incredibly intrigued at this confident leader!