The Thrilling Adventures of Vertigo 9 and Violin

[jyncka]

"Something strong," Violin tried to keep the quaver out of his voice as he looked over his shoulder, watching the entrance to the port bar just a hair longer than normal before looking back at the bartender. "And cheap. Please." He added, mentally going over the paltry balance in his account. The four-armed amphibian behind the bar croaked at him indifferently and moved to start mixing something. Resisting the urge to look over his shoulder again, Violin tried to act natural. That was the key here, just act like he was getting off a shift and grabbing a drink before going home. Act like nothing else was going on. Like he wasn't hiding from a very powerful, very scary loan shark.

Another croak/belch from the bartender and he was handed a large, looping glass full of something cloudy and green. It was smoking slightly, too. With an uncertain smile, Violin pressed his thumb to the payment plate on the bar and muttered something like "thanks". He raised the glass carefully to his mouth and took a sip. It tasted, weirdly, like cinnamon and was slightly bubbly. Giving in to his paranoia, he turned in his seat to have a clearer view of the rest of the shabby bar and doorway, wincing when he felt the slimy aftertaste of the drink in the back of his throat.

He was a lean man, his face and clothes were battered from a less than respectable lifestyle and his jacket hung loosely on him as if it had been made for someone bigger. He scratched his temple, not bothering to try and fix his scruffy brown hair sitting in a tangled nest on his crown. Dark eyes scanned the room with something of a nervous, practiced quality and the back of the hand he used to wipe his mouth had an ugly scar running over its back.

Just keep drinking. That was the best thing to do. Keep acting natural and relaxed. Loose, even. Just keep drinking the weird green drink that was actually not as slimy as it had first tasted. If the guy looking for him did come into the bar, he'd figure it out then. For now, he just had to act like nothing was wrong.

 

[Solunae]

Long silky starlit blue hair and a flash of bright pink magenta eyes adorned the slender and frail form that seemed to prance swiftly through the door of the port bar. Baggy black cargo capries and a jumper suit top covered her form while strange winged shoes and long black sleeves completed her attire; a visor of pale pink projected over her eyes only seeming to amplify her bring pink eyes. She was an odd site for the sore eyes of the port people; but an even more curious form seeming so young in a place clearly for adults. But then again in this dump site of the far side galaxies you could honestly run across just about anything. Her long hair was pulled into twin tails that trailed behind her like a set of ribbon streamers and her personality seemed to scream bubbly and cute at first glances. She paused and looked about just past the entrance seeming to look for something specific - one might guess she had come here for something other than a stiff drink and a good time. Bright pink eyes shone brighter still when the projected visor de-pixeled from before her eyes and she seemed a little disheartened. Her contact wasn't here yet it seemed - no echo signal was to be found her. She hoped that they would arrive soon however - she was here without a real disguise, and even still without a ship to get off this rock if the need did arise. Sure she could always hijack one though. The thought played happily in her mind while she continued to look about. This was when she spotted violin at the bar - taking swigs of something she'd had the misfortune of tasting before. A playful smirk pulled across her face and she made her way to the bar beside him successfully blocking his view of the door as she sat only a stool away from him. Something about her eyes seemed more intelligent then they should have been for her apparent age. And she seemed to lift her nose to sniff towards his drink as though she could smell like an animal of some sort. "You're seriously going to regret that later I hope you realize." She let a soft peel of laughter out "I had a run in with that shit some time ago actually - left my ears ringing for days with the headache it gave me" She smirked a hand sliding over she tapped the counter top to call the barkeep. "I'll have a Simffer heavy on the silver ice please" She smirked her eyes coming back to Violin wondering just how he would react to her sudden appearance, and by his nervous checking of his surroundings she wagered her last cred that he was running from something too.

 

[jyncka]

He pulled back slightly at the girl's abrupt appearance, eyeing her warily. Definitely not one of Goblin's minions, she was way too young and flashy. He paused, she was really young, when he thought about it. What the hell was she even doing here, ordering a drink like it was perfectly natural? Maybe she was one of Goblin's...that would be the last thing he'd expect, it'd make a certain amount of sense if he thought about it. Then again, it also made very little sense. He grimaced, his drink was starting to hit him and scramble his brain. Relax, he told himself, the plan was to act natural, not have a break down at a bar.

"I think I'm already regretting it," he glanced at his glass. He looked back at her, "Aren't you under aged? I'm sure there's homework you should be doing instead of hanging out here and drinking whatever it is you just ordered."

His thoughts were becoming fuzzier and it was difficult to concentrate on his surroundings. This was worse than the time he'd tried texi-methlon on Sigma 5. He decided to just focus on the blue-haired girl sitting next to him, looking at one person was a lot easier than trying to watch a crowd. "What's your name?" He asked, deciding to embrace his poor decisions and take another gulp.

 

[Solunae]

She watched the initial struggled within Violin's eyes - should he trust her? Should he tell her to scram? Was she the one's persuing him? Then it seemed to dawn behind his eyes that was wasn't the right age for this place. She let out a sad little sigh as her drink was then slid to her from the bar - she could almost see what questions he would ask before he even opened them to speak. Though the bit about her needing to homework wasn't an original thought it did surprise her.

She lifted her drink and took a deep swallow of the bright blue liquid with alloy looking ice clinking about the class. Setting her glass back down she brushed some bangs back from her bright pink eyes and finally responded to his first line of questions. "Well let me see this day marks the hundred and sixth day of my life if I am counting thing correctly - which I normally am" she gave a cocky smirk at this "And honestly I believe school to be long past over due to me but sadly I had most of this 'Homework' you call it jammed into my cerebral cortex when I was only ages 2 to 5" She gave him another more toothy smile this time that displayed sharp canines on both top and bottom jaw before throwing back the rest of the drink. "Ah and what I'm drinking is bloody well delicious! Specially compared to that slag" She gave a little point at his drink. A gentle purr pulled from her throat as she glanced back at him.

Violi seemed to be having a problem focusing, she let her head tilt if only a little as she watched his pupils. "You all right there? Told you that stuff would be a regret" She giggled when he asked her name "You can just call me Verti" She shrugged and ordered another drink while keeping Violin in her periphery vision. "And yours? . .. Your name I mean" She said as her next drink came sliding over to her. She decided to sip this one slowly this time.

 

[jyncka]

His eyes felt like they were crossing slightly and it became an effort to keep them focused straight ahead on Verti...the robot? That's what she had to be, given her age. Or maybe she was an alien with an extremely short lifespan or a very rapid developmental process. It would be rude to ask. He was pretty sure it would be rude, at least. He could feel time slipping by as he argued with himself over bar etiquette and knew he needed to give her an answer or turn away and pretend that he was finished with the conversation.

"Violin," he said, tongue feeling fuzzy in his mouth, "you can call me Violin." He scratched his dark mess of hair and stared ahead without focusing on anything in particular. He lifted his glass and stared at it, "What the hell is in this? I feel like I'm trying to step out of my body right now, what could possibly be this strong and still be a drink?" Violin was no stranger to mind-altering substances, but this was giving him a run for his money. "I'm waiting until my ride is ready to leave," he found himself telling her, "should be another hour or so."

He finally remembered who he was looking out for and glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Goblin's underlings enter. They were fairly nondescript thugs but he recognized them by their bug-eyed cyberoptics and the skull tattoos of a stylized "G" on each one. "Fuck," he swore quietly, maybe if he just sat still they wouldn't see him. Their eye implants were good but they weren't all that smart. As minions, they didn't have to be, of course. He wondered how quickly he could get out of the bar without them seeing him leave. There was a main entrance, but there had to be a backway out or something. The bartender would want to be paid too, and could probably tear him apart just as easily as Goblin's men. Somehow he always found himself in a scrape.

An idea came to him suddenly and he looked at Verti. "Can you hide me? Or possibly take out two strong men?" He asked, leaning forward slightly as fear and adrenaline began to combat the alcohol. "If you're some kind of robot, you probably have that power, right?" Etiquette was a concern of the past now, his life was on the line.