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The Black Cat was the sort of club that people went to when they wanted some privacy, of sorts. Or, at least, when they didn't want to be judged for who they are. Men and Men. Women and Women. Obvious Mutants. And black men like Zed.
Zed sits quietly at the bar, drinking what looks like just a glass of whiskey, a single ice cube within. His cigarette burns low as he plays solitaire on the bar top. Sipping whiskey, and focused on the cards. "I know, Tea. A Hero." he mutters to himself. "Didn't think I'd see so many in one city. I mean, shit, I should have known Captain America would be a Hero. Its pretty damn obvious when you look at it."
*
Lorna's college friends, such as they were, had dragged her out from the Frost Institute to the club. The young woman was clearly uncomfortable, espeically as her barely acquitances quickly paired off with each other and left her alone. A mournful sight escaped her lips as she moved to the bar and quietly, awkwardly waited to try to gain the bar tender's attention.
A gusty breath escaped her as she sagged, being passed over for louder and more demanding patrons. The young mutant was dressed in a bright and cheery pink dress. Her brown dyed hair loose and flowing down her back and constantly falling into her features as she leaned against the bar. A green eyed glance flickering over to Zed in curiousity as the man seemed to talk to himself.
*
"You met Captain America?" Ford asked as he came up from behind Zed, sitting at the bar next to him. Normally, Ford wouldn't bother with a place like this. Too high brow and not enough ladies who'd be interested in a guy like him. But he wanted a drink, and this place sold it. Besides, he'd won another street race, and had a bit of money to spare. Might as well celebrate. "Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop, but… well, used to be his biggest fan when I was little. Had all his stuff. The toy shield, the lunchbox, the comic books, you know? Always said if I grew up to be a super hero, I'd wanna be like him." He shrugged. "But, you know how that is. You get older and realize you're meant for other things. Not worth it anyways…"
Shaking his head, he happened to catch Lorna sitting down the bar a ways, blinking and eyeing her for a moment. She was pretty cute! Seemed a bit out of sorts. Or, more accurately, like she didn't feel at ease around here. He pounded the bar and waved the tender over. "Hey, barkeep!" He nodded down towards Lorna. "Tell the young lady in pink if she'll grace me with her company, I'll buy her a drink, would ya?"
*
Zed looks over to the side where Lorna stood. He lifted his drink quietly, "Miss." he says. "Sounds like you'll be getting a drink, soon. And some young buck to hit on you." he offers over with a quiet chuckle. He pauses then, "Yes, Tea. Quite lovely. A little young for me though, don't you think. Your sensibilities about what makes for proper partnerships is a couple of thousand years out of date after all. That, and you'd probably demand some kinky shit." he offers to whatever silent companion he's been chatting to.
Zed, for his part, is dressed simply. Leather jacket. Army fatigue pants. Army boots. He's got the look of someone who's come home from Vietnam rather recently. Maybe he's one of those poor vets who's gone a little wacky from the stress!
*
Lorna turned red as she caught the tail end of Ford's offer to buy her a drink, a few steps around and she was close enough to not have to shout to be over heard. "Thank you, but uhm.. I don't drink. I was just going to ask for a water. That's all." She blinked a few times, pushing her hair back behind an ear as she glanced between Ford and Zed and back again.
White teeth snuck out to worry at her lower lip, and she fidgeted her weight upon her toes. Finally at least, she'd get her water now that the bartender was looking her way.
Another glance was spared for Zed briefly, a brow hooking upwards and then back toward Ford. "So really I'm okay. Thank you though."
*
Ford stared at Zed a bit more. And then Lorna turned down his offer for a drink. Aaaaaaaand all of this is why he didn't go to the high class joints. "You know, my man, you might have more luck if you talk to someone who's… well, actually there. Just a suggestion." He noted the army attire though… seemed ready for combat more than picking up ladies (or guys… who was Ford to judge?)
Turning his attention back to Lorna, he smiled confidently. "Oh come on. At least try something sparkling. You're at a place like this and dolled up like that. Be a /little/ adventurous. Besides, I'm buying. Not that a lady lovely as you has to worry about another fellow buying for you… but at least give me a chance to put my best forward before turning it down. Or you name, at the very least. I'll even meet ya half way." He leaned over to offer a hand to shake. "Name's Ford. Best mechanic in East Village, if not all of New York."
*
Zed turns towards Lorna a moment. "See. Now she's all uncomfortable. She probably doesn't even know what kind of club this is." he says to whatever silent companion he's speaking to. "You know you make me look crazy, right, Tea?" he asks, lifting his drink. "Yeah, the price for duty well done, I guess." he continues as he pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket and lights up with a battered zippo that looks like its been through hell and back. He offers a cigarette over to Lorna, "Smoke?" he asks- before pausing. "You okay, sweetheart?" he asks of Lorna, a touch of concern in his voice as he looks then towards the friends who have all but abandoned Lorna to their own devices. His eyebrows knit together. He leans over, conspiratorial. "You want me to make a scene, get them over here to defend you? That'll get you right in the middle of their party for the rest of the night."
Zed looks over to Ford a quiet moment. "Oh, you mean Tea. Yeah. I get that a lot." Zed says with a chuckle, "Tea is very much so real, my friend and everyone here is exceedingly lucky that its my soul she ate, and no one else's."
*
Lorna wrinkled her nose slightly, "No thank you, just water. It's uhmm, nice to meet you Ford.." She held out her hand in offer, "I'm Lorna Dane." She smiled weakly, and reached up to play with a strand of brown hair that fell over an ear.
"And I have some idea what kind of a place this is, it's why the girls from my dorm wanted to come." A shrug, as if it didn't matter overly to her. But as Zed lit up the cigarette she shook her head, waving a hand away. "No. I don't smoke."
"Uhm.. er.. thank you for the offer, but they're not really what I'd say friends? I guess I just know them from school. They know I can take care of my self though. So I dunno if they'd come running exactly.."
She trailed off, her brows lurching upwards as Zed mentions something eating his soul.
*
Rocket has arrived.
*
Ford leaves, heading towards Greenwich Village [O].
*
Ford has left.
*
Ford smiled, shaking Lorna's hand and his head as she declined his drink, the cigarette, or the offer to get her involved in anything with her dorm mates. "So, no drinking. No smoking. No friends. Did you come here to do /anything/?" Ford asked, leaning back against the bar and reaching around to get his drink, taking a sip of it. Nothing special, just a simple, name-brand brandy. Couldn't hurt, right? "I mean, you get dolled up, come out, refuse my offers. Not that I mind, by the by. But it leaves me with a great deal more questions than answers."
He turned back to Zed, who mentioned a "Tea" that ate his soul and… lord knows, it sounded like a whole lot of rubbish to me. One of the crazies… you had to watch out for this variety. They actually knew how to make themselves look sane. Ish. "…rrrrrrrright. Well, that does sound like fun, but you'll forgive me if I have a hard time believing that." He paused. "…then again, I saw a guy in blue and red pajamas fighting a rhino while someone in pizza colored armor chased a zepplin… and that was just on my way to work!"
New York is a wierd place.
*
"Now they both think I'm crazy." Zed says with a chuckle, he raises his drink all the same and returns to his cigarette. "Of course, I don't expect you to believe me." he says to Ford, mostly. "But, you don't have to believe me for something to be true. And there are truths out there in this world that are, indeed, strange and impossible to believe. A few decades ago, no one would have believed in mutants- yet here they are. A new dawn and step for humanity." he says first, not sounding particularly anti-mutant in tone. "You have heroes and Heroes running around New York City. Monsters in the sewers. Shit, I met Captain America a few hours ago. He thought I was crazy, too." Zed laughs again, all in good humor.
"Everyone looks at me. There's another crazy vet. Look at what he's wearing. It wasn't the wars that made me talk to myself, not Korea, not Vietnam. Its that I have a shred of something ancient residing where my soul once was- and now, I survive by devouring pieces of soul." he is completely honest about what he is- its the best cover he could ever ask for.
*
"Bait. I'm waiting for an inter-dimensional creature that kidnapped my friend to see if it'll try something while I'm alone again. I thought this place would be as good as any." She offered in a deadpanned way, reaching for the water that the bartender set before her. Clearly, the young woman had more secrets to her than the simple pink dress had to offer.
Green eyes flickered toward Zed and she shrugged, "I don't think you're crazy because you mention something that ate your soul." A pause, "Though I wouldn't put much stock into Captain America for the rating on the weirdness factor. I've seen way more." She offered, and bit her lower lip, glancing down at her glass of water as condensation licked over the edges.
"Comes with the territory of finding out you have nephews made from magic from the future and a best friend that's Queen of another dimension." A shrug, and she hitched a brow upwards. Green eyes settling over Zed in an even stare.
*
Ford looked at Zed and listened. The way he spoke about it made him think the fellow wasn't bulling him. Nobody readily admits they know others won't believe him so easily. He wasn't sure which scenario was worse.
And then /Lorna/ started making a comment about being related to Queens of the dimension and he was starting to wonder if this was really the kind of conversation he should be a part of. "…and here I am just a jackass, smart-mouthed mechanic from East Village." he commented, before taking another sip. "And hey, don't you talk down about the Captain… I may be past the age, but the guy's still cool in my book."
*
"Hrm. That's more Doctor Strange's bailiwick than mine." Zed responds to Lorna. "He's the Sorcerer Supreme- that's all his business how to deal with that shit, as the guardian. Me, I'm a different sort of thing- although, I imagine we'll be working together before too long." Zed offers simply, "Just a feeling, Tea likes him, too." he says with a chuckle.
"Anyways, as for inter-dimensional creatures. That I can help with. If you can show me where its last portal was, Ican open it. Easy. I've got the Skeleton Key, you see." he offers with a knowing grin for Lorna. "You know a name of that particular thing, by the way?" Zed taps his head twice. "Tea knows many things, and so, I know many things." Apparently, Zed takes Lorna at her word. He looks back to her- and she might notice, in that moment, the blackness of his eyes. They're not just dark- they're black. Empty irises like they're all pupil. Alien, of a sort.
"Captain America? Cool guy, yeah, but lord does he think I'm crazy. He caught me beating the bejesus out of some of The Screaming Devils." A somewhat notorious street gang, known for violence against minorities. Murder. Rape. Theft. Anything at all, they thought they were big men. "Worked my way up to get their Enforcers interested. Met them at the park. Put them in the hospital, and ate a little bit of soul." he grins, a wicked thing. "Then Captain America showed up and asked me to go easy on them, so I did."
*
A shrug, and Lorna glanced between the two, "Hey I'm not knocking the Captain, but on a level of weird things to see? Totally not up there. He's basically a government made mutant if we're being honest." She combed a hand through her hair and leaned back against the bar. Zed's mention about Doctor Strange however? That earns a raise of her eyebrows.
"He and my sister are a thing, yeah I know him." Then his eyes were turning black and she pressed back against the bar, green eyes widening.
"And uhm.. wow, okay. Er.. I don't know if the Doctor would appreciate that short cut. Really, I've got the portal thing covered, I think. But uhm.. thanks for the offer. If I don't have it covered.. I'll ask?" She shifted uncomfortably as Zed mentioned eating souls.
That part was most definitely creepy. "Uhmmm.. that.. that sounds like something definitely weird. Yeah.. okay.. Uh.. eating souls is er.. ah, yeah.."
*
"And that is where I pack up and leave. When the glowing evil eyes come out, time to move, because the chances are good, this place will be a hotbed before too long." Ford said, slapping the bar counter and standing up. "Miss Dane, I suspect you've got things well in hand. It was a true pleasure meeting you, but I think I'm out of my league on all of this, what with the black eyes and everything. So if you'll excuse me, I need to head home. Pronto."
On that note, he opted to turn and head for the door. Before the place blew up.
*
Zed grins wide. Its as if he gets a little bit of pleasure from the looks. He probably does- he's accepted what he is. "Don't worry. I don't eat the whole thing. And, only very, very bad people." he offers as he takes a sip from his glass. "Captain America, though? He's a normal guy. A very good, noble, normal guy. He's one of the best things the Government ever did." Zed says quietly. "Me, though. Man.. the shit I can tell you about what the government did in Korea. In Vietnam. Old Uncle Sam's doing some really bad things over there. It'll come out, one day."
*
Another step edging away from Zed, though Lorna doesn't entirely bolt per say, not as openly as Ford does at least. She gapes though, glancing between the two rapidly as Ford backpedaled to escape.
"Uuhh.. okay.." Her brows remained held high, skeptical in all ways as she glanced around the club and back.
"But if the Doctor has met you.. I-I guess…" She trailed off, remembering the feral Asgardian wolf god that had tried to eat her and then been invited into the Sanctum. Maybe that wasn't a glowing review of his personage, exactly.
"Right… uh, er.."
*
Ford isn't catching the conversation still going on. He knows when to leave. Like, he's gone.
*
"Don't worry, Kid." Zed offers simply as he turns back to his drink and his cigarette. "You're not my type. At least, not until you do something terrible to other human beings." How he says it- its like he doesn't consider himself human. "Then, maybe, you and I will have words. But, yeah. You're too sweet and innocent for me. Too nice." he says simply. "But yeah, Strange knows about me. Can't say he likes me, though. I have that effect on a lot of people." he shrugs quietly, "You can go- I mean, what's his face ran off like a raped-ape. I'm used to it. Won't even hold it against you." He smiles still- a surprisingly kind smile from a living Monster.
*
Lorna squirmed, but a quick glance around the club and back had her wide green eyes flickering over Zed as he mentioned how she wasn't quote 'his type.' There was a quick flicker of fear in her expression. One that centered around how she'd brought down buildings and killed "bad" people herself. She swallowed a gulp of her water, coughing as it went the wrong way and made her eyes water.
"Terrible.. ah r-right.." She grimaced and glanced back to the soul eating creature that also appeared as a man. How strange, to be in such an normal appearance. How unfair to mutants that looked otherwise when they were utterly innocent.
She coughed, and rubbed at her throat, "That's.. er.. I'm.. I'm not scared."
*
This isn't the type of place that Skali's appearance would cause a commotion, even with the canine that trotted through the door at her side. The black and tan brute kept his dark eyes trained upon the woman he walked with, ignoring the throb of music save for a twitch of large ears to flatten back against his skull when the brass keyed up in the crescendos. There was a grace to her motion as she prowled through the crowd, something inhuman in the fact every twitch of her musculature pulled the hound in time with her stride as if on unseen puppet strings.
The petite nose above her playful smile flared, huffing over the stale interior air before she slid casually behind a certain green-haired girl, sliding her arms over the hunched shoulders of the lass as she growled in a voice that Lorna knew could whisper such terrible things,
"She only startles when something has big teeth."
*
"Good." Zed says, head cocking to the side as if hearing someone again. "However, Tea would like me to remind you that its healthy to feel fear when in the presence of a monster. Its perfectly natural, and appropriate. Personally, I'd rather not be feared by those who don't deserve it." He nods to the barstool near him. "You've been standing a while. If you're going to stay, why not sit?" he suggests with a quiet smile. "You know, once, Monsters of legend roamed the earth- each with a lesson to teach. At least, that's how Tea puts it. She birthed the Dragons of Mesopotamia. Creatures of poison and pestilence. Each had a lesson to teach. Stay together. Be afraid of the dark…" Zed pauses.
His ebon gaze looks towards Skali. He looks to the dog- his presence likely freaks the creature out a bit. In him it can sense the lack of a soul. A soul replaced by the Mother of Monsters herself. "The name's Zed, by the way."
*
Lorna would've taken the seat, really she would have, had Skali not come up behind the magically brown haired girl. Wanda's magic that, how nice to have a sister that can do spells?
As the Asgardian wolf came up behhind her, wrapping arms around the girl in a pastle pink dress, with tiny lace daisies along the hemline, she jumped. Teeth rattling in her jawline as she tensed up and her hands tightened on the glass. It would see Lorna feared the wolf just as much, if not more so than the soul eating creature before her.
A soft squeak of surprise escaped her as the magnokinetic tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart and breath. Trying oh so hard to not rattle all the metal bits around her with her powers. Even if that didn't entirely work and the various clasps, jewelery, and zippers in the area around her that had even a modicum of iron in them vibrated with her nerves.
"Ah! Uhm.. ah.. I-I.."
*
Skali rolled her shoulders back as she peeled away from the girl with a grin that revealed her true nature, all hungry teeth in perfect white rows. The golden eyes flashed briefly as the dog focused on the man seated, his own teeth showing but in a far more pointed snarl as hackles lit down his spine and he let out an ominous rumble. Skali's fingers trailed over his head, curving behind one of the thick ears as she gently murmured a calming word or two before settling into the seat that had been offered to Lorna.
"Easy, everyone. I was fed well and recently, dearest Lorna."
She drew out the name, savoring the 'looooorn' almost intimately as she did with all her food. Whoops. Friends. Casually her attentions turned to the stranger, unabashedly inhaling his scent on the air between them as she gestured for a glass of whiskey. The pupils dilated and she shivered, the hairs on her arms rising as she huffed out with an incredulous air,
"What'd you find tucked away in this little gutter, m'dear?"
*
"Let me guess, Fenrir's kid?" Zed asks, looking to Skali. "Yeah, Asgardian for sure, Tea. You got the scent of it." he mentions, as he turns back to his whiskey and takes a long drink. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by the large wolfy woman near by. His scent? To those magically attuned? Salt and Sea Water. Blood. Shriven souls and nightmares. The Mother of Monsters is near. The Mother of Monsters is *here*. In a black man Army Vet in Greenwich Village. "Never been to Asgard. How is it this time of year?"
Still, Zed gives Lorna a quiet look- almost protective in how it shows. He's got a very large soft spot for humans.
*
Lorna closed her eyes and a slight tremble crawled up her spine as Skali finally backed away and settled on the stool that had been indicated toward herself before. She swallowed that hard lump of fear that had stolen her voice, taking another gulp of water and finishing off the water in her glass to set it on the bar top with only a slight quake in her hand.
Green eyes flickering toward Skali as the woman dragged out her name. "Um."
Green eyes lighted upon Zed again. "I .. I never caught your name." She mumbled, heat coming to life on her cheeks, eyebrows pinched high upon her brow. She was back to worrying away at her lower lip once more.
*
The recognition seemed to delight her, and underneath human mask, the wolf ears twitched forward with keen interest.
"Oh I like you."
The judgement was completed without much aplomb, her own glass taken as she casually tossed back the amber liquid and motioned for another. Pulling her hair loose from the tie that held it back, the thick curls spilled over her shoulders and she dismissed his question with a shrug,
"I wouldn't know. I'm not particularly welcome there, as of a few thousand years now. And with the mess my grandfather made of the bifrost, I don't think I will be making a trip anytime soon."
The notion trailed off as Lorna interjected weakly, and her attentions twisted back to the man with a pronounced attention to his name.
*
"Plenty of backdoors." Zed mentions, "Its Zed." he then says over to Lorna, repeating his name as he finishes another cigarette. By now the dog had smelled the poison. The poison in every cell of Zed's being- his blood is poison. His breath is poison. He's not even human anymore. "Anyways, its nice to be liked. So. Fenrir's kids. That makes you either.. Skoll, or Hati." he notes, as he pulls out his pack of cigarettes. Again, politely, he offers to both Lorna and Skali. "Hroovitnerson… or daughter, as the case may be." he says, with a little chuckle. "My other half, though, you might recognize. Tea. Tiamat. Different pantheon, sure, and perhaps more forgotten…" The Mother of Monsters indeed.
*
The chat of Gods and ancestory went over Lorna's head. She wasn't one to study mythology, ancient or otherwise. A child of science and learning in the classroom, there wasn't much room for a classic education when she had her nose in a book over various theories of magnetism. Still, even she had heard the names mentioned before enough to at least have an inkling of what they were talking about.
After all her father had mentioned his girl had choosen him over Thor himself.
Still, the offered cigarette had her shaking her head, crossing her arms over her middle and biting her lower lip as she pressed back against the bar. She kept quiet though, glancing between Skali and Zed with a sharp gaze that noted information as best she could with her limited understanding.
*
Skali gestures away the offered cigarette, pulling out her own pack and setting a stick between her lip-sticked lips before offering to light his own.
"I am treachery - but you can call me Skali."
With the whiskey in one hand and the cigarette in the other, it was fortunate the creature could heal at such an accelerated rate because she would be quite adept at putting herself in an early grave. A glance noted the hound had still not settled, refusing to sit as it paced behind her, glaring at Skali's newly acquired drinking partner and chuffing from time to time in uncommitted threat.
"Oh shoo then."
She dismissed the Alsatian, who happily slunk towards the door and ducked outside when it next opened to admit someone inside,
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you. What brings you to the area?"
*
"Tea got bored." As one might expect of a Goddess of the Primordial Chaos. "Decided to eat my soul, and take its place." Zed says next, "So, here I am. Hungry. Eating Souls. Scaring pretty girls. Sorry about that, Lorna." he offers with a little smile. He does notice the little shivers of metal. Looking to Lorna again quietly. To her hair. Magic there. He looks back to his whiskey, and accepts the light for his cigarette. "Thanks."
"Dogs don't tend to like me." Zed notes, "I smell wrong to'em." he grins, "Its the Monster in me."
*
A glance flickered to the dog as it left with a chuff toward the door, and if it was possible, Lorna's eyebrows remained ever higher. Still she held her tongue for most of their conversation, only venturing to speak when Zed turned his focus back toward her and apologized for scaring her.
"I'm not scared." She mumbled, heat rising in her cheeks. It was a lie, balant and obvious but there. Over head the lights flickered ever so slightly, but the club was so dim that it was all but impossible to tell for most.
The magical signature that wrapped around her hair and made it brown was that of Wanda's, the Sorcerer Supreme's lady, and Lorna's half sister. The chaos magic had clearly been there for some time, but also, clearly, did not originate from the mutant herself.
"Much.." She mumbled, biting her lower lip.
*
Skali glances sidelong to the woman who was her prey only a few months ago, laughing with a cruel note in the almost lyrical sound,
"You'd be a fool to not be afraid. Fear keeps you alive."
Relaxing into the seat, the woman knocked ash into the little basin already partially filled by Zed's previous carcinogenic musings and shook her head while still chortling softly,
"Ever eaten a god's soul? Should I be concerned myself?"
*
"Tea has." Zed replies. "I haven't. If one were to forget the lessons of Justice, perhaps I would." he says simply as he takes another long pull on his cigarette. "Fear is a lesson, like all the other lessons. There are monsters in the dark, Lorna. She's right." he offers as he nods towards Skali. Zed turns again to watch Skali- to look at her quietly. He can see the predator in her.
But then again, he is a predator himself. A hunter of men- albeit bad men, by choice. His movements are languid, lazy. Like a shark, or sea predator that floats through schools of fish without a care- only to strike at a moment's notice. "So, I guess the real question is- should you be concerned? Have you done something worthy of my particular brand of Justice?" his eyes shiver. The black of his irises spreads across the white of his eyes like tentacles, or spreading ink. His eyes are wholly black for a moment. And then, back to normal. "Doesn't seem like you have just yet. Keep your nose clean."
*
A squeak, and Lorna backed up, bumping into another club patron and upsetting their drink. A splash of some sort of mixed drink splattered over her shoulder and down that powder pink dress. The reek of gin and sugary sweet juice lifted around her, or would at least to Skali's sensitive nose. And she quickly turned to apologize, her hands up as she pleaded forgiveness to the stranger who was clearly so far into their cups that they didn't particularly care, much less know who had upset what to cause the drink to spill over.
A breath of relief followed as the human stumbled off without cussing her out, but a grimace was spared for her dress' unfortunate state. She had at least, managed to miss Zed's black eyed gaze this time.
Her cheeks turned red and she turned to find some napkins to pat herself dry with.
*
As his words wind, as the magic uncurls in his breath and his appearance twists, something in the she-wolf answered. The smile set a bit more tightly, the bridge of her nose wrinkled, and with the humanity stripped away, he could see the tension ripple through the lupine form in a shuddering exhale that made the mane rise to bristling fullness. The pupils receded and she unflinchingly met those dark depths with a sun's gold glory.
"I was not made for such Dogma. Careful you do not impose it on something that resides outside of such broad strokes of black and white."
And the nose in question wrinkled just a bit, as the words were more snarled than spoken and something in her spine clicked, her neck twitching, the magic that held her in one piece beginning to writhe as if the fur just underneath that human skin were insectile horde thrumming into life.
Don't look a wolf in the eyes unless you're looking to get bit. The intensity of her focus on the veiled challenge couldn't be disuaded, even by the soft little yelp from Lorna at her back.
*
Zed doesn't back down. What looks back at Skali is the eyes of the Dragon. The poison. The pestilence. The abject fearlessness of a man who has conquered his nightmares. "Black. White. Those things don't matter. Justice is the food which sustains me- bringing justice. Reminding people that sometimes, there is no justice." he smiles then, a wicked and dark thing. There is the slightest wiff of poison on his breath. Foulness that even the Gods would fear- and have. He doesn't raise hackles. He doesn't make aggressive movements. He just stands his ground, staring at Skali with jetblack eyes. "Anyways. As long as you keep to your *duty* you aren't in need of Justice.. are you?"
*
With a damp paper napkin falling apart in her grip and ultimately doing little to dry her dress, Lorna turned back to the two gods. She startled at the sight before her, black eyes with souless depths unlike anything she'd seen, and then she was dropping the napkin and freezing up. Much like a deeer caught in the head lights of an oncoming car.
The sliverware on the bartop rattled and jangled in the glass, and this time, even the speakers that played the music in the club fizzled out into static. The over head lights flickered and went out for a second, two and then were back.
A few party goers screamed, or complained and then the lights were turned on fully as a few people tried to get the music back on in vain.
Lorna herself was standing there, struggling to calm that intrinsic fear. The fear of monsters in the dark and things that went bump in the night.
*
The tension that ran through her frame redoubled when he did not back down, something in her human guise beginning to twist, the jawline lengthening, the teeth sharpening, pores shivering as fur began to wriggle loose as her eyes were lost to nigh incandescent bronze and she hissed,
"I have no duty and no need of your Justice."
And then the lights went out and the wolf took a shuddering breath, gathering her self-control as the eye contact was broken for long enough that hackles could smooth and humanity could return.
When the sultry glow returned to the room, the woman was poised on her stool smiling sweetly with a plausibly human dentition, raising the glass of whiskey in a toast before she downed it and stubbed out the cigarette.
"I find your rigidity dull and unamusing. Lorna, you coming with me?"
Dismounting from her perch, she paused and glanced over at the poor little doe, shaking herself off much like a dog trying to dry itself while she awaited the response.
*
"You have a duty." Zed states simply. "You're to eat the Sun." he offers to Skali before he turns back to the bar with the situation shifting. He returns to his drinks. TO his cigarettes. His eyes even return to normal- and he simply smiles to Lorna. "Sorry, Kid. Seem to have scared you a bit again." he offers as he scratches the tip of his nose. "It'll be okay." he offers again, as he finishes his whiskey, finally. "Just a little posturing between predators. Happens all the time."
*
A shiver and Lorna seemed to struggle with her breathing, before slowly, the magnetic field that had been going haywire along with her emotions faded. She exhaled a shuddering breath, sweat slick down her neck as she loosened her hands that had closed into fists. The music came back on and then the lights were once more turned back to the dim lighting of the club.
Once more the cheery beats of the Beatles took up the stereo system.
Red painted over Lorna's cheeks as Skali and Zed looked her way and she blinked back excess moisture that had pooled in the corners of her eyes. "I-I'm going to go home.."
*
Skali nods and moves to go outside, regardless of if Lorna followed her or not. Unlike most of the monsters the Sorcerer Supreme trifled with, Skali's enjoyment of tormenting Lorna ceased when the poor thing had been nigh terrified to tears. And thus she would balance her full departure until the offer had been made to at least walk the girl home, and if that was declined, then at least send the large black and tan shepherd with the mutant. After all, it was late. Wouldn't want the magnokinetic stumbling across something too untoward in these dark alleys.
*
Zed just chuckles quietly as both leave, and he looks to the bartender. "Another double please."
*