Culture Shock

Escherious: *leaning against the bar, he flags down the bartender and orders a straight shot of vodka, then turns his head to stare at Mordolvo for a moment before ordering a glass of whiskey. The bartender rushes off to fulfill said order, and Escherious turns away, leaning back with his elbows resting on the countertop. He looks quite at home in the chaotic club, calm despite the dull roar of the crowd and the pulsing beat of the music. He levels an amused half-smile at Mordolvo* Well? What grand opinion have you formed of the commoners that dwell in this world, my friend?

Mordolvo: *takes the glass and tastes it experimentally, assessing how it compares to the drinks in Novia, his gaze sweeping the club frequently. He seems rather stiff, his gaze lingering on the women every now and then, more out of surprise and shock than real interest* They are.... strange. *examines the drink again, holding up the glass* Though I do appreciate the beverages.

Escherious: *downs his shot of vodka before setting the glass down and pushing it to the side* Mmm, yes...careful, though. I'm not quite sure how much liquor you are used to holding, but the drinks in this realm are quite...potent. They've got a legal limit in place due to the fact that most humans here tend to get drunk rather easily. I imagine the fashion trends here are quite different from what you Novians had going.

Mordolvo: *snorts* I have seen the darkest creatures of Novia drunk, I am no stranger to alcohol. *gaze follows a young woman in a deep blue and black halter top, his eyebrow raising as he faintly notices her furry white ears* Clothing is indeed much more... covering, in Novia. Tell me, what creatures frequent these pubs aside from the humans?

Escherious: *smirks, eyeing the woman as well* The odd faery, a demon or two...nothing the two of us need worry about. *he glances at Mordolvo* I imagine the humans in this establishment think you rather odd...if any of them are stupid enough to question your eye color, tell them you're wearing contacts.

Mordolvo: *eyebrows knit together, half sarcastic* Contacts? How would one wear a connection to another person, and what do they have to do with my eyes?

Escherious: *he laughs. Yes. Yes, he has the audacity to freaking laugh at Mordolvo. He signals the bartender to give him another shot, and shakes his head in mild disbelief* Remind me to give you a dictionary... You've seen the glass lenses that humans sometimes wear, yes? Those contraptions better their sight. Contacts are relatively the same thing, but they are inserted under the eyelid, and cover the eye directly. Some contacts are not for correcting eyesight, however. Their purpose is to alter the color of one's eye. Red is not a natural eye color on this planet. So, if anyone asks, tell them you're wearing colored contacts. They'll accept it, though they might think you a bit odd for wearing "red contacts".

Daniel: *staring wide-eyed at a woman that walks by, his eyebrows at risk of disappearing into his hair* What in God's name... *turns to Emma, in an almost accusing voice* You've taken us to a brothel, haven't you?

Emma: *putting a hand on his shoulder and steering him into the club* No, I have not. It's called a club. And this actually one of the... more conservative ones. It's okay to show arms and legs, Daniel. You may have called this a "pub" back home.

Daniel: *resisting the urge to plug his ears, as the music is rather loud, he mutters* I avoided those pubs like the plague...the women there would always invade my personal space...extend offers that I.. *looks at Emma and decides he'd better not finish his statement* ...they were much too crowded and rowdy for my taste.

Emma: *smirks slightly, guessing what he'd avoided saying, taking off her jacket* Yeah, there may be a few girls like that wandering around here, but they'll back off if they think you're taken.

Daniel: *raises an eyebrow at Emma taking off her jacket, then sighs, seeing as most of the other women in this building are wearing even less than his girlfriend* I certainly hope so...it makes things like this strenuous, when one has to fend off harpies.

Emma: *laughs a little, looping her arm through his* C'mon, why don't we find a spot that's not so loud? The music takes a bit of getting used to.

Daniel: *clutches her a bit tighter than usual, and sighs* I...hope I get used to it sooner rather than later...

Emma: *leans her head on his shoulder a little* You'll be fine, don't worry about it.

Rose: *finally makes it into the club, as she'd been following behind the loving couple, and looks around, her gaze focusing on the dance floor in particular* ...jeez, it's like a freaking war zone down there.

Rose: *darting through the crowd, she makes her way over to Daniel and Emma* Whaddya guys want from the bar? I'll take orders if you need time to adjust.

Emma: Just a beer would be good. *glances at Daniel* How much drinking are you used to?

Daniel: *shrugs* I...honestly I don't really drink.

Rose: *waves the both of them off* I'll get him a glass of wine, it's cool. Red, right?

Daniel: *eyeing his sister uncertainly* Yes...

Rose: *nods* Right, then. Be back in a sec. *and she's off, darting through the crowd again. If anything, it looks as if she's...dancing right around them. Ah, but making it through a crowd without hitting anyone, that does take a bit of grace...she's not much for dancing on a dance floor, but darting through a crowd, moving just so to avoid collision, she likes to think of it as a dance*

Rose: *she, by some stroke of misfortune, manages to find an empty spot at the bar to lean against...but that's only because every other sane being in the club had been avoiding the man on the stool next to her. The aura he gave off was foreboding, but Rose was honestly too distracted to pay it much attention. She flags down the bartender with a wave...and maybe a little mental nudge courtesy of her abilities* I'll need a Stella, in a glass mind you, not one of those canned ones...a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and please make sure it was bottled at least two years ago...annnd... *she pauses, looking up at the drink menu on the wall* ...a strawberry margarita. *and so the bartender rushes off to go fulfill the order*

Mordolvo: *stares at the girl next to him* Are all women in this world as brash as Ariana?

Escherious: *raises an eyebrow* Some are worse...most are worse, in fact.

Rose: *without even bothering to look at the idiot next to her* So did you wake up this morning, look in the mirror, and say to yourself, "I think I'll insult every person I come across today!" or is that just your way of tryin' to flirt? Believe me when I say it ain't working.

Mordolvo: *sneers at Rose* For one, if I were to "flirt" I would not have started with you, I do not see much worth trying for. *having at this point realized who she is* Second, flirting with my stepdaughter is unappealing in general. *he casually takes another sip of his whisky*

Rose: *okay so the first thing that hits her is that she just...y'know, pulled her trademark snark on...her stepfather. And the next thing she realizes is that...she's...not dead. And he's not attacking her. And then, finally, the implied insult in his first sentence registers, and she has to bite back the urge to retaliate with the same amount of enthusiasm she would normally use. As it stands, she ain't gonna let that one slide. The bartender returns with the three drinks she'd ordered, and quickly hurries off once he picks up on the tension radiating from the little trio. Rose picks up her strawberry margarita, then looks at the other two drinks. She then glances at the two men seated next to her, sighs, and waves a hand over the glass. Her eyes flash purple and an opaque barrier appears over the liquid, preventing any sort of foreign substance from contaminating her drink. She then sets it down, grabs the beer and glass of wine, and heads over to Daniel and Emma*

Escherious: *raises an eyebrow as he stares at Mordolvo* Interesting.

Daniel: *looks up as his sister hands him the glass of wine and smiles once he takes a sip from it* Sometime in the future, you're going to tell me how you know my preferences as well as you do.

Emma: *takes her beer, and raises it a little* Cheers.

Rose: Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go rescue my drink from the clutches of...the...bar. Yeah. *and she's off into the crowd once again...not really looking forward to reaching her destination*

Mordolvo: *glances at Escherious* If we are to blend in, at least somewhat, then I am limited to insults and degradation. *glances briefly at Rose's drink* Though poison would not be an unwelcome thought.

Escherious: Now, now, if you do that here, the authorities might get involved.

Rose: *eyes narrowed, as she had heard that last comment thank you very much, she approaches the bar again and slides onto the stool, pulling her drink closer and waving a hand over it again. The opaque barrier disappears and her eyes glimmer with another flash of purple light. She sips once before muttering* I think zombies contaminate pretty much every damn thing around them just by breathing.

Mordolvo: *chuckles* Zombie? Oh no, I assure you, I am very much of the living.

Escherious: *simply sips from a glass of vodka that...appears to have come from nowhere, content to watch things develop*

Rose: And more's the pity. *she'd like to go on, but realizes that ignoring him might actually prove beneficial in this situation, and so falls silent, content to pay attention to her drink, and nothing else*

Daniel: *frowns* ...Emma, about how long does it normally take to retrieve a drink from the bar in these sorts of places?

Emma: If she's already ordered it? Not long. *brow knits in mild concern* Actually, if she ordered when she got ours, she just needs to grab it from wherever she left it. *after a long moment of silence, she stands up* I'm going to go look for her, if she left it unattended.... well, let's say that can lead to bad situations. You'll be alright over here for a bit?

Daniel: *nods* I'll be fine...call me if you need any help.

Emma: Alright. *heads off towards the bar to find Rose*

Mordolvo: *cruel smile starting as he studies Rose* And how is my son?

Rose: *when she came to this club, she hadn't expected a test of self-control. Thankfully, she's gotten a bit better at controlling her impulses since the disaster a few months ago. So, rather than responding to her stepfather's obvious baiting tactic, she remains silent and sips from her drink, closing her eyes to listen to the music filling the club*

Escherious: *smirks at the exchange* Mordolvo, I do believe you've gone and switched roles. Normally she is the one attempting to goad the enemy.

Mordolvo: *sneers a little, disappointed that she's not responding, and says to Escherious* So it would seem. However, if I'm not mistaken, this silence may indicate that something... happened. *smirks cruelly at Rose*

Rose: *rolls her eyes and turns her head slightly, looking rather...bored. Oh, but it's taking all of her self-control not to slap that smirk right off of his face* Suddenly poison is starting to look like a very tempting idea... He's got a point, y'know. Why the sudden interest in mimicking my mannerisms? *a faint smirk blooms, though it disappears rather quickly* You won't get any information out of me, if that's what you're fishing for. Quit while you're ahead— it might help you live longer. *she stands up, taking her drink with her, as she can sense Emma approaching, and moves to intercept her before the Hellsguard can see who it was Rose had been talking to*

Emma: *spotting Rose, waves and heads over* There you are! You okay? Nothing wrong with your drink?

Rose: *her expression instantly shifts into one that's more relaxed and she shakes her head* Nah, I just left it unattended and had to order another one. Better safe than sorry, you know how it is. *rolls her eyes and drapes an arm over Emma's shoulders, moving with her back to the third member of their group* Can't trust anyone in these sorts of places...all kinds of pervs and poxes on the human race lurking about.

Emma: *relaxes a little* Yeah, no kidding. Still, this is a pretty good club, no active hauntings that I've found around here.

Escherious: *a quiet laugh escapes him and he turns back to his drink*

Daniel: *pushes away from the wall he'd been leaning against, and walks forward to meet his girlfriend and sister* What took you so long? I was worried.

Emma: We're fine, she just had to order a new drink, that's all.

Rose: *steps away from Emma, moving to take Daniel's spot on the wall. She's half-hidden by the shadows, watching the bar with a wary eye*

Daniel: *visibly relaxes, a faint smile working its way into his expression* Ah, I see. *his gaze darts back and forth between the two girls, and he clears his throat* Erm...normally I'd avoid joining the crowd in a place like this, but the point of my coming here was to learn how to assimilate, so... *offers Emma a smile and his hand* Would you care to dance?

Emma: *grins and takes his hand* Sure, but you're dancing my way. *pulls him onto the dance floor, just as the music hits a "slow song"*

Daniel: *a very smug smirk makes its way onto his face and he moves his hands into the proper position. Well, proper for modern times. Both of his hands come to rest on Emma's waist, and he leans down to press his forehead  against hers* Personally, I prefer this method of dancing to the others more common in this day and age. They're much more personal, more meaningful, in a way.

Rose: *her gaze is just volleying back and forth between the happy couple on the dance floor and the two men seated at the bar. She's using her own energy to mask the presence of Mordolvo and Escherious, wanting to give Daniel and Emma some time alone to do their own thing, without having to worry about any danger*

Emma: *smiles at him, her arms looped around his neck* Yeah, it is, and it means I can do this. *she gives him a kiss, nothing like some of the other couples glued together so tightly that you can't tell one person from another, but a gentle, loving kiss*

*Abruptly, the music cuts off, then starts up again with an even louder scream from some metal band, that launches into a very chaotic song. The DJ can be seen chasing the faery Mordolvo had noticed earlier away from the system, who's laughing at his futile attempts to catch her, her eyes alight with mischief, she pauses to wiggle her fingers at him before turning into a cat and disappearing in the crowd*

*The DJ mumbles curses, heading back to his now glamoured an slightly dysfunctional stereo system. The trained eye would notice that he has pointed ears and sharper features than the average human tenants of the club*

Rose: *rolls her eyes* Damn fey and their pranks...

Emma: *wincing and holding her ears* That was loud...

Daniel: *stiffens, as the sudden screaming and crashing instruments remind him of battles he's fought before, of one incident in particular, actually. He relaxes somewhat at the sound of Emma's voice, however* Maybe...we should call it a night?

Emma: Sure, if you want. The DJ's probably going to have a hard time fixing it for a while, this isn't the first time that something like this happened here.

Rose: *is sick and tired of the music already, and is moving through the crowd to Daniel and Emma. She grabs the both of them and pulls them towards the exit, nudging them out ahead of her. She then turns back to the bar and, glaring at the duo still seated there, offers a rather rude gesture with one hand before darting out after her companions*

---

So, this is a very long post, as you can see. This is the entirety of what I believe is the shortest RP my friend Jessica and I have ever done. This here is the explanation for the formatting, and me being a good student and citing my sources.

First off, the formatting. What's up with those funny little stars? Well, my dear readers, those are called "asterisks", and this here RP is formatted in what is known as "script" style. Basically, it's styled much like a play's script would be. Italics, however, are used for emphasis in the dialogue, so naturally, the actions (character-based movement) couldn't be indicated by italics. That's what the asterisks are for. ...I have no explanation as to why the names of characters are not in all-caps. It just looks prettier, I guess.

And now, for the citing of my sources! Or, if you'd prefer, who owns what character.

Daniel Cypress, Rose Islingr, and Escherious belong to me, your lovely narrator.

Mordolvo and Emma Lancy (Hellsguard) belong to my friend, Jessica.