Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

[Anouk Ueda]

There was a wild grin as the blade of the switchblade snapped up before the knife was bounced between the man's hands, stopping only for a moment as it was raised and met with his tongue. Countless people who'd seen such a thing were usually struck with fear at the maniac who'd lick his knife while planning to gut you with it. Anouk's eyebrow simply raised, her face momentarily scrunching in disgust. The fuck was WITH these weirdos who licked their knives? She had a switchblade that was a gift from a very big , very scary man who'd killed plenty of people with it, and then she'd killed plenty of people with it, too. Like hell she'd LICK the damn thing! Fucking LUNATICS.

"So what's it gonna be," the man purred in a heavy Creig accent, his knife almost flickering in his hands. Anouk looked at him, entirely unphased by the man in his entirety. Sure, he'd come in during a slow time, demanded she hand over her till, and then pulled a knife on her. Ho-fucking-hum. After spending so many repeating nights wading through the underbelly of Cretan society, playing cat and mouse games with criminals, and hunting through Takatori's minions to try and get closer to him and all the fucked up games they played with her, it'd take a lot more than a knife to even worry Anouk. Some part of her on the back burner teased that this was how she knew she'd really stopped being human, but it was quickly told to shut up and made to retreat. Wacko with knife. Nu sighed inwardly; it really was far too early for this shit.

"The money in your till, or your life?" Choices, choices. Some choices in life were hard, and some were just plain stupid. Anouk's arms folded over her chest as she leaned more on one hip than the other, her thoughts momentarily drifting toward that pot of coffee she had perking. Coffee, cream, some scotch, maybe some honey... Her attention drifted back to the man who seemed to be getting more pissed. Oh, was she ignoring him?

"Sorry, I tend to auto-filter out stupid," Nu answered finally. One hand slipped to her hip as the other ran through her hair. "You seriously want to mug me? It's not even happy hour. Why don't you come back later tonight and try again, when there's actually something to take." Choices, choices. If that was really this guy's choice, then he was dumber than a woodpecker on an aluminum pole. The man's eyes twitched, the knife starting to shake in his hand; apparently that wasn't the reaction he'd been going for, but Anouk seriously didn't feel up to shrieking and pretending to be terrified of some fucking knife-licker who only had sense enough to try to rob a bar in broad daylight after they'd only been open an hour. Anouk started to turn around, reaching for the bubbling pot of coffee and a cup from under her bar as the man standing in front of her grew livid. Anouk was well into pouring the cup of coffee nonchalantly and about to take a sip when she looked up and saw that he was still there. "...I'm sorry, you're still here?"

His shoulders were beginning to shake as he struggled to contain rabid panting and rage. Could do with yoga. "What... do you..MEAN still here?!" His voice was beginning to go shrill, rage hitting its cap. "You're fucking DEAD, woman!" Technically, Anouk was well-within her rights to defend herself, and had been from the moment the man pulled that knife. He was in her bar, demanded her money, pulled a weapon, and now made a clear threat to her life that was on her security camera. Killing him would be easy, but too much paperwork. "By the time I'm done with you, you're gonna be BEGGING for your life!"

Ssssssippp. Anouk shrugged, putting the cup of coffee down as she reached for the pot once more. "Fine by me. I was about to beg you to shut up. Last chance to leave, babe." The handle of her coffee pot was solidly in her hand, though Anouk made no move, watching the man intently, lavender eyes locked on him. There was a pause like the prickling of static before a lightning strike when he suddenly lunged at Anouk, knife slashing out through the air. Anouk's thumb pressed down on the little black latch of the coffee pot's lid, opening it fully as her own arm rushed forward. There was a splash and an ear-piercing scream as the Creig knife-licker discovered that hot coffee in your eyes wasn't a great feeling. The pot was thrust back onto the counter as Anouk hopped over the bar, grabbing him by the collar. He squinted as he rubbed his blurry, red eyes and gripped his knife, slashing wildly. He twisted to get out of her hold, the knife ripping upward.

It was a damn good thing the bar was empty and hadn't attracted its lunch-crowd yet, otherwise someone would have called the cops, either to stop the man with the knife, or stop the bartender from beating his ass. Flesh met flesh until finer bones cracked, skin wet with blood, curses and screams in Aerugese clashing against Creig. It was almost funny how in any language, the raw intent and feeling was what translated everything. Finally one last, pissed-off howl rang through the sounds of early afternoon as a male body sailed through the air and out the door. He'd been hoisted up and neatly thrown and landed hard on his upper back, and rolled several times before he came to a full and complete stop. His face was bruised, blistered, and blood streamed down from his nose and mouth. Anouk stood in the door of her bar, not noticing the blood dripping from her left arm as she glared at him, holding his own switchblade. "And I don't wanna see you or anyone from you're little fucking creeper gang near my bar again, capische?!" She watched as he finally scrambled to his feet and ran off, ranting something about a next time that she didn't particularly care about. His knife was still in Anouk's hand, and she was more than tempted to return it to him as he ran, 99% sure she could throw it and have it land squarely in the meat of his flat ass. She thought better of it however as she turned and went back into the bar and let out a shaking sigh, finally noticing he'd cut her arm.

"Fucker actually managed to land one on me..." Anouk grumbled, walking back behind the bar. She grabbed a few napkins as she reached for the bottom-shelf vodka; no sense wasting a shot of the good stuff to clean a wound. With a long hiss, the liquid stung like shit and made her whole body tingle for a few minutes as Nu moved to wrap her arm in napkins. It wasn't deep and she doubted it'd need stitches, but dammit she knew she was probably in for one hell of a glare from her brother when he saw it later. It was still far too early for this, but a burger was definitely sounding good. As was a cigarette. DEFINITELY a fucking cig. Arm bandaged in napkins and scotch tape, Anouk shook out a slim white cigarette and hardly gave it a chance before she took her first drag and held it in. Ohhh sweet drugs. Was just gonna be one of those days, wasn't it?

[Alisa Donnikova]

What a fucking joke. Alisa had taken a job later in the day that she met up with... Spade.... and here she was in Creta, trying to find the guy who ordered the hit. She had gone to the meeting place, but had found no one. Literally, no one. No traps, no henchmen trying to keep their bosses money, nothing. Just an empty fucking warehouse. Least the guy hadn't needed proof like the dead guys head or something, otherwise her pockets were going to smell and that was the last thing that she wanted at the moment. She was sporting blue jeans that hugged tight to her lovely long legs, a shorter shirt that revealed her mid-drift that was black in color, and a leather jacket that hid her tattoos. Her fingerless gloves fit comfortable on her hand, having to adjust them as she wandered down the streets of London with no fucks given in the world. Her hair was tied back in its usual ponytail, combat boots untied towards her calves which made many wonder if she was going to trip over the laces. She never did. Her Cutlasses were hidden beneath her coat, but still easily within grasping range, a cigarette burning between her lips.

Her hands were stuffed into the pockets of said coat as she sighed heavily, "Well what the fuck am I supposed to do-" "And I don't wanna see you or anyone from you're little fucking creeper gang near my baragain, capische?!" She raised an eyebrow at that as she slowed to a stop at the corner, brown eyes observing the man who practically fell over himself to run down the rather empty street. It was barely time for bars to be open, and some asshole was already getting himself kicked out? What a dumb fuck. She couldn't help but watch for another couple of moments as the dude ran right by her, almost right into her in fact, before she chuckled to herself and puffed on that death stick. Exhaling slowly, she decided that whomever that woman was, she wanted to speak with her. And.. the fact she owned a bar was.... well.... awesome. Alisa could always use another drink in her gullet. "Fucker actually managed to land one on me..." Aerugese? Da fuck? "You need some help with that?" She called as closed the door behind herself, not even bothering to ask about her cigarette since she could already smell that distinctive smell of nicotine from inside.

Sure enough, the woman was already smoking one herself. "Or... someone to rant at?" She asked with a smirk, walking up to the bar counter as she plucked the cig from between her lips to tap it out in an ashtray that was there. "Plenty of fucking dumbasses at this time of day."

[Anouk Ueda]

The problem with adrenaline and injuries was that after your heart rate started to slow down again, pain actually registered and made your heart race again for entirely different reasons. Anouk had hardly heard the tiny bell above the door ding for a second time after she'd come in, eagerly awaiting the nicotine to soften the edge of pain. Yeah, she'd probably pop a few ibuprofen soon, but the cigarettes a habit in managing pain she'd picked up over the months. And this didn't hurt too bad at least, even though it was already starting to seep through and soak into the napkins taped around her arm. "You need some help with that?" Mm? Aerugese? Anouk blinked, confused for a moment at the feminine tone that echoed in Aerugese behind her. "Or... someone to rant at?"

Ringlets of smoke around her face, she looked at Alisa as she took a seat at the bar. It was still early for the lunch crowd, and Alisa definitely wasn't one of Nu's regulars, or Aerugese; neither of which a bad thing. Young, strong-looking, bi-lingual.... not white collar business-type from her clothes, and definitely not in this part of town. The Steel Rose was the kind of watering hole that drew in beered-up locals who didn't come looking for dates or feel the need to shave often and just wanted a pint served by a pretty face in a place they all knew used to be the local bar when they were younger. Anouk smiled tiredly as Alisa put out the stub of her cigarette, Nu taking a therapeutic drag on her own; she'd been good lately, trying to quit again. She was down to three-quarters of a pack of slims a day. She had a feeling today she'd go through a whole pack at least, though; Ela would just have to be annoyed, but dammit, this curbed pain, and dear fucking Christ that was starting to sting.

"Plenty of fucking dumbasses at this time of day." Anouk couldn't help but chuckle at that, nodding in total agreement as she put her hand over the seeping wound to bear a bit of pressure on it. She could feel it seeping through the napkins, and wasn't sure right now if it felt runny because of the vodka or not. Stupid anatomy, putting blood vessels so close to the damn surface like that.

"I hear that," Nu answered with a small, wry grin. Her accent was showing through, adding a faint Vegas twang to her words without dragging them down entirely. "Around here they're more regular than the damn subways." She winced slightly and let it out as a small sigh. Nicotine was helping, but now that the adrenaline was settling it was leaving that aggravating drained feeling, which needed other things to fix it. An early and terribly unhealthy lunch, and something at least 10% alcohol. Nu knew better than to drink on the job, but something to just help calm her nerves if this morning was any hint to the rest of her day; last thing she needed was a whole little gang of punks coming by to razz her. "It'll be fine; I used to eat little shits like him for breakfast." Anouk turned to wash her hands in the bar's little sink before starting to refill the coffee pot to replace the pot she'd thrown in that guy's face. "Ah well... What can I get for you? I was just about to start things for the lunch crowd." Onion rings. Coffee and onion rings might fix the morning for sure.

[Alisa Donnikova]

She really was beginning to bleed a lot more from that wound, and Alisa's eyes kept resting on it with a slight grimace. If she didn't close it up soon, there could be some dire consequences and not just staining of her clothes. Blood was always the hardest fucking thing to get out. How many outfits had she gone through till she had arrived at her usual one that she wasn't sporting right now? Ah she had no fucking idea anymore... "I hear that," She raised an eyebrow at that hint of an accent, knowing full well how her Drachman accent was always so goddamn obvious. Except for when her fucking Xingese shown through. Fucking parents... "Around here they're more regular than the damn subways." Alisa had to chuckle at that as she shook her head, not waiting anymore for any kind of acceptance of her offer, pushing herself up off of her stool as her friend continued smoking.

"It'll be fine; I used to eat little shits like him for breakfast." Or bears in Alisa's case. Ugh.... oh what had happened over the years.... Fuck. She was talking like an old woman. She was only 26 or 27 for fucks sake! "Ah well... What can I get for you? I was just about to start things for the lunch crowd." Straightening up more, she walked around the counter as Anouk spoke and put a hand on her shoulder, a bandage getting produced from the bag that hung from her shoulder. "At least wrap it with something proper." And with that, she turned back around and flopped back into her chair, lighting up a fresh cigarette which she drew on with a deep breath. Mmm... nicotine.... Hell would have frozen over the day she ever quit smoking. There was just no way that would ever happen. "As for something to "get me," just a glass of rum for me. I don't have much of an appetite at the moment unless its for some fucking booze." Food was overrated anyways.

"So where's a Cretan learn Aerugese? Thats unusual in itself." She couldn't help but ask because it was also a fucking annoying language. Damn how she had gotten frustrated learning it. It was a miracle she didn't mix it up with Xingese at points.

[Anouk Ueda]

A Drachman accent met a slight southern twang, and yet they both spoke Aerugese. The world was a funny fucking place, and it'd be funnier if the gash in Anouk's forearm didn't hurt. Deep breaths. Deeeeeeep breaths. Back when she was pregnant with Kitaro she and Ryosuke did all those first-time parent things and went to every Lamaze class where the lady who looked like a hippie yoga instructor very calmly said that when the contraction pains hit to breathe deeply, in and out, like for meditation. And Anouk practiced that in class, and was great at it. And wouldn't you know it that when labour hit Anouk rather expertly took in a breath deep enough to suck a planet into a black hole and unleashed a roar that caused her poor Ryosuke to nearly faint just from the sound of it. Whoever came up with that idea of taking a deep, relaxing breath when you were in pain was fucking stoned. Not that this hurt anything like labour, but the technique still didn't work for shit.

Blood was beginning to seep through the napkins taped around her arm pretty heavily as Anouk tried to distract herself with each drag of her cigarette. Some days there just needed to be something stronger, or cigarettes with pain killers in them, but that would get out of hand really fast. This was just bleeding and annoying, and screamed the need for onion rings and a glass of something to take the edge off, even if it was something weak and mixed in with iced tea. Alisa slipped behind the bar, quickly digging through her shoulder bag and produced a proper bandage for Anouk. "At least wrap it with something proper." It didn't take long for Anouk to take the bandage despite her surprise. It was nice to know that someone out there was at least prepared for life; today just wasn't one of those days for Nu. As Alisa moved to sit back down, Nu moved back to the sink, pulling the tape and soggy napkins off with a hiss. "Thanks." Despite the wince, the gratitude was genuine.

Nu winced again as the water from the tap ran over her arm once more, Anouk determined to get the wound to stop bleeding for at least long enough to bandage it shut. "As for something to "get me," just a glass of rum for me. I don't have much of an appetite at the moment unless its for some fucking booze." Anouk laughed faintly as she pulled her own flesh shut tightly. She could hear her liver talking, and it was agreeing with Alisa entirely. Booze, while stomach pleaded for lunch, and the back of her head growled something about beating that little shit to death if ever so much as breathed on her bar's window and mounting his head on pike and.... Yeah. It was definitely lunch time. She nodded as she washed her hands again before reaching for a small glass and decent bottle of rum from the shelf behind her.

"Hear-fucking-hear," Nu said as she put the decimated remains of her cigarette down into the ashtray. The shot of rum poured, the sweet aroma wafting up for just a moment before Anouk passed it over to Alisa. "I can't dive into it since I'm on the clock, but I think a little something's excusable." She pulled out a bottle of blackberry iced tea from under the bar and poured it into a Collins glass; they were mostly for her since customers usually wanted beer and not too many mixed drinks, and especially not iced tea. But sweet tea with blackberry and a half a shot of Four Roses bourbon would be just enough to settle her nerves but be nowhere near enough to touch her. Nu gave hers a quick stir before enjoying the first small sip. Sugar. Artificial fruitiness. Tea. Vanilla. And something 90 proof on the bottom to carry it all. Breakfast of champions.

With a small, satisfied sigh, Anouk seemed to relax, letting her nerves defuse before she turned, walking to the wider end behind her bar and opened the mini freezer to pull out a baggie of the frozen onion rings. She switched one of her fryers on as Nu heard Alisa speak again, switching languages without a hitch. "So where's a Cretan learn Aerugese? That's unusual in itself." Anouk looked over at Alisa, amused. Not at the question really, but that Aerugese was still something that was an optional language in most schools in Creta, despite their country sharing a border. Close as they were, you'd think there'd be more of a linguistic middle-ground, and that cultures would have bled over more. But no, there they were, stark opposites, like twin siblings who rivaled each other and strived to be inversions while unable to fight their reflections.

Nu took another tiny sip of her tea while she waited for the red light to signal that she could drop the basket in. "I grew up in Edo. Lived there since I was fourteen until after I got my business degree. Then dragged my husband back out to where I'm from, Vegas." There was a hissing of bubbles that was just heavenly as the basket was lowered and the battered onion rings were subjected to hot oil. Nu and hot oil. That was a basket of memories right there, and those still dotted up her right arm all the way up to her shoulder. Nu walked away from the fryer to let her snack cook, back to her only guest who may have wanted a second taste of rum. "We live here with my brother, but I don't want my sons to forget Aerugese, so we keep up with it. Name's Anouk. Welcome to the Steel Rose." For a moment Nu's fingers twitched, trying on their own to climb into her pack and pull out another, but she thought better of it, determined to pace herself out just a bit. "So what brings you to this end of town? Not much out this way but little places like this until you hit the more colourful end of the business district."

[Csilla Angelis]

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