The Scattered

[The Cedar Witch]

Open for anyone--demons preferred.  Feel free to jump in at any time!


Glistening in glorious sweat, Fler emerged from the magical sphere leaving behind a bloody, panting opponent.  It had been a while since they had the chance to just kick the shit out of someone.  The young wolf had put up a good fight but at the end of the night, Fler was just faster.  It was nice to blow off some steam and make a chunk of cash at the same time.  After getting paid and shaking their opponent's hand, Fler headed over to their duffel bag for a towel to wipe down.  The cheer of spectators that had died down at the demon’s exit picked up again as another pair stepped into the circle for a fresh match.

Ever since the vampires swept through the West and taken down their leader, Inferno’s group dynamic hadn’t been the same.  They used to do face-offs against one another in a ring.  No powers or anything--just fists.  There was really nothing quite like punching your family in the face.  No one ever really got hurt or angry--it was nice.  But there was no more of that now.  Most of the others just didn’t feel up for it.  It was like the fire was just gone.  Fler wasn't thinking about any of that during the fight.  The physicality of it placed them firmly in their body and out of their head.  That would be wearing off soon, though.

After toweling down the back of their neck, Fler uncurled their long scarlet braid and let it fall to the small of their back.  Retrieving their wallet from the bag, they shoved the prize money--save a $50--inside and stuffed it into the pocket of their loose black shorts.  Sweat and the occasional splatter of blood had soaked through their red tanktop but they didn’t appear phased by this.  With duffel bags zippered up, Fler slung it over their shoulder and made their way to the bar in the main club. 

It was time for a well-deserved drink.

The fire demon plopped down on one of the barstools closest to the guarded entrance to the back room and made eye contact with one of the bartenders.  Fler stretched their arms over their head and tilted their head from side to side, neck cracking with a series of satisfying pops.  It was pretty busy tonight and the bartender nodded, still in the middle of making a few other drinks. 

[Maxpphire]

She looked over at the fire demon that now sat next to her, then looked back at her drink again, taking a puff of her red colored cigarette, which seemed to match her shirt of the night. She wasn't there much for the fights as she was for the drinks, but she watched. She watched to see who was strong and who was weak, and used this as a way to gather information about others around the city. She hated the new way this city was ran, she hated the vampires, and if any of them ever fought here, she would silently root against them.

She wondered who the next fighting couple group would be as she took a sip of her drink. She wasn't much of a fighter herself but it was a way to pass the time and to get out of the house from time to time was to watch the fights.

[The Cedar Witch]

The Bartender finally free, Fler ordered an Old Fashioned and had it in their hand in no time.  After a couple of sips, they turned to the smoke demon.

"Hey, can I bum a cigarette?"  they flashed a charming smile and took a sip of their drink.  "I'll buy your next drink." 

[Maxpphire]

She pulled a nice metal cigarette holder out of her pocket, with a mermaid sculpted design to it and opened it up, showing an assortment of colors of cigarettes with a gold wrapped filter. She held it up to Fler letting them choose their color.

"They aren't flavored different, so choose whatever color tickles your fancy" She said with a small smile, watching, mostly to see what color they did choose. Sometimes a color could tell a lot about a person, sometimes not. She would never say no to a free drink however, particularly if all she had to trade for it was a simple cigarette. She had plenty in a few cases in her pockets, she always had some on her to spare.

"Good fight you had, enjoy it?" She asked figuring to get to know her bar neighbor who was going to be buying her next drink wouldn't hurt.

[The Cedar Witch]

"Thanks, sister,"  Fler picked the same color red as the smoke demon, taking it with a smile and fishing a match out of their pocket.

"Yeah, you were watching?  Helped blow off some steam." They smiled, placed the match strike-side into their mouth and struck it alight against their teeth.  Fler touched the flame to the pretty red cigarette , placed it in their mouth for a quick puff, and shook the still-lit match out in their other hand.

"Made a bit of money too," Fler grinned "but I did it mostly for the fight." Needed it, they thought to themself, sipping at their drink.

[Maxpphire]

She nodded as once the cigarette was chosen, she closed the case and placed it back in her pocket. She took a puff of her own while she listened, someone who enjoyed fighting more than just earning the money, that interested her.

"Yeah, I don't fight much myself, but I enjoy watching them," She mentioned taking a sip from her current drink, "Allows me to see just what kind of groups have since infested the city after the vamps took over, it was exciting to have watched you win" she casually was paying attention to Fler's reaction as she made mention of the past, she even wondered if Fler was around the city for that event when it took place.

[The Cedar Witch]

Fler nodded and smiled, taking a long drag and skillfully blowing a couple smoke rings. 

"You lose someone too?" They looked thoughtfully at the glowing tip of the cigarette before turning to face her.

[Maxpphire]

"Yeah, my parents," She took a drag of her cigarette, "I took over after them. Decided it was best to become quiet and not do anything to not lose any more of my extended family. Some disagreed and got themselves killed. can't say I didn't warn them." She mentioned, finishing her current drink now.

"You?" She asked, not quite ready for her free drink yet

[The Cedar Witch]

"Shit," Fler shook their head and exhaled a puff.  "Seems like everywhere you look someone's lost someone." They tossed back their drink and motioned at the bartender for another round for the pair.

"Our leader was killed.  He was hot-headed and everything went so damn fast.  No efforts at deescalating the situation or nothin' just poof."  They made a gesture with both hands to punctuate the last word.  "A fuckin' shame.

"Name's Flereous, by the way."  They stuck out their hand to shake,  "You can call me Fler if you want."  A cute smile, another drag on the cigarette. 

[Maxpphire]

"I'm Noelle" She said and shook their hand, smiling back, "I don't have a cute nickname, sorry about that." She joked in response to Fler's nickname.

"Yeah, they didn't bother to bargain with my parents either, didn't warn them to stop or anything. You can't quite expect to randomly appease someone if they don't make their wants and the consequences known. It certainly became known after that however." She spoke candidly about the event. It was long enough ago that she was numb the the pain it brought.

[The Cedar Witch]

The Bartender returned with the drinks as there was a pause in the conversation.  Fler muttered a quick thanks and took to swirling the orange garnish slowly around in the glass as they smoked.

"It's a whole lot of bullshit," they said finally, "I'm sorry it happened to you, too."  They gingerly picked up the glass and touched a bit of the alcohol to their tongue before setting the glass back down.

"We've been having a hard time bouncing back.  Coming here to fight is pretty much the only way I'm dealing with it at the moment."  They smiled sadly.

[Maxpphire]

"Honestly, I wish there was something more we could do." She mentioned taking a sip of her new drink as well. "But I'd rather not see too much more tragedy in the lives of those I care about." She looked down into her cup, swirled it around a bit, she seemed dissatisfied with her life at the moment, but also didn't want to put others at risk unless, unless they could get an army. But she doubt that could happen, after all, most demons had gone into hiding over what had happened, those who didn't get killed that is.

[The Cedar Witch]

(OOC: Sorry I forgot about this thread!)

Flereous glanced around inconspicuously before replying.

"I have heard rumors," they began, lowering their voice and leaning closer to Noelle, "that he is back."  They took another look around to make sure they weren't going to be overheard and leaned in to whisper.  "Our Oligarch." 

It was just whispers, words on the streets.  Most times Fler didn't put much stock into rumors.  Some folks were saying that he never left.  Others said he was in hell, gathering an army to take over the city.  One asshole insisted he was being held a prisoner in McCloud's basement--yeah fuckin' right.  One chick was even looking for him--everyone thought that she was crazy.

Fler hadn't had the guts to go check out the Block themself yet.  Wild stories about that place gave them the creeps.  They might've been a fire demon but there were some types of creepy that you just didn't fuck with.  Not without backup, anyway.

[Maxpphire]

Her look of concern for her fellow kin, turned into a most excited smirk. She looked over toward them as if it where Christmas and she was expecting a life dream for a gift.

"Oh? Any idea on his whereabouts?" She asked ready to make herself known to him again and offer help in anyway that she could. When her chosen family would next get together, she will have some great news for them at the very least. She wasn't sure if she would go right away, at the very least not alone. She would run someone out to gain info if she were to go alone, after all that has happened, she wasn't going to needlessly risk her life, even if she could escape easy. Escaping naked was not something she enjoyed either.

[The Cedar Witch]

Fler gave Noelle a quick glance, noting the excited look on her face.  The excitement would've been contagious if Fler wasn't so jaded about the whole ordeal.  Part of them was very bitter about the fact that he wasn't around during the takeover, but if he was back then they had a chance to take back the district. 

"Dunno,"  They shrugged and took a small sip of their drink.  "Too many conflicting stories on the street."  Their voice was still quiet, not wanting to be overheard by the wrong person.  It was hard to know these days who you could trust outside of demonkind. 

"His place up on the hill has been quiet forever,"  They shuddered.  "Place gives me the creeps."