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Sybil walked down the street, looking at the shops and the lights they'd turn on extra bright that night, because the weekend begged to stay up after nightfall. She'd just gotten done doing some light shopping, which meant, she'd just gone to the drug store, didn't find the tea her grandmother had asked for, got a different kind that would have to do, and after a series of texts between her and her grandmother, found out she was in no rush to get back home, and decided to walk around town. As Sybil looked around, she decided that maybe having hidden away, skipping that awkward few year between being a teenager and now being a young adult want so bad. Never mind. After a moment, she remembered completed lack of friends, and decided maybe it would have been nice to grow up with other people. But there was no reason in dwelling.
A bar across the street caught her eyes, and the neon light in the window glowed and spoke to her as though it were a sign from the universe to her that she ought to go in. So, she crossed the street, checked her purse to make sure she had her original ID, then walked in.
Sybil looked around for a moment at the dim light, then walked over to the bar and say down, ordering a drink. There was a decent enough crown that night, which she didn't mind. She looked behind the bar for a moment, holding her drink came with a spoon. She eyes then couldn't help but be torn away, looking over her shoulder, and bushed over the people in the bar, looking for anything or anyone she wouldn't mind having.
It wasn't often that Elijah found himself drawn in by the bright lights of the cursed city, however the nearness of the next full moon was making him antsy. If he didn't get out of his suffocatingly small trailer now, he would have worn a hole in the floorboards from all the pacing back and forth he was doing. He indefinably saw the irony in feeling like a trapped animal in his current state. He meandered the city for what seemed like hours, trying to work out some of the nervous energy his body held, the wolf that shared his mind begging to be released and Eli repetitively denying him. He rarely shifted willingly anymore, typically holding out until light from the full moon forced him too. The thrill of having four paws wore off years ago.
Elijah wasn't sure how he found himself standing in front of a bar in the center of town, maybe the bright neon lights had done their job and subconsciously lured him in. To be honest, he really could use a drink...or two. Maybe if he got drunk enough he could drown out the other presence in his mind for the night. A single moment of peace is all he really wanted.
Pulling the door open, Eli ducked his head as he made his way past the threshold, not wanting to draw too much attention to his presence. A quick glance darting from each side of the bar caused Eli to relax more when he didn't recognize anyone inside yet. The overwhelming and overlapping scents of people, perfume and strong alcoholic drinks causing his nose to winkle and him to be unable to decipher weather or not any other wolves were inside, It was a good place hide, Which is exactly what Elijah needed. He made his way up to the bar to order the start was what was probably going to be the first of many drinks for the night. " I'll take an old fashion, bourbon with light ice " He spoke to one of the bartenders behind the counter, sliding over an out of state id.
The bartender working that night was about to approach Sybil and give her the couple of shots she'd ordered, though was in no rush, seeing that she was looking behind he. He stopped when a man who obviously knew what he wanted asked for an old fashioned then flashed his ID. "Got it." He said, then took the two steps it took to be standing right in front of Sybil, "You too, babe." He said, having forgotten to look at her ID, but thanks to Elijah, it wasn't too late now.
Sybil heard the bar tender as she stared at some girl's chrome shoes. "Yeah." It took a second for her to pull her eyes away and torn her head, but she managed, and showed her old ID. Something about having to show it felt so disappointing, as though she went getting away with something anymore.
"No way." The bar tender said automatically, putting the shots down behind the counter.
Sybil looked at the bar tender boredly and rubbed the ID between her fingers a little, "Look. I promise." She said, and for a split second, began to worry that out of all places this is where she would be turned away. It would take her another five years before getting to walk in again and claim she was twenty one.
The bar tender glanced at her, then sighed as he leaned forward and looked harder at the ID. "Alright." He said finally, then put the shots down in front of her, "You need a new ID. I'll get that beer for you." He said, then walked off, deciding to let the girl be.
Sybil put her ID back, then looked over at the man who'd walked up to the bar not so far from her. She stared, looking him up and down, hoping he had a pocket chain or even something around his neck. Men with jewellery were the best kind. But even if he didn't, when Sybil got to his face, that all made up for any lack in accessories. She then wondered how old he was, and it they'd gone to school together when they were little. Maybe? He didn't look familiar, but how did that matter?
Elijah pulled his id back once it had been checked, replacing it into his pocket as he quietly thanked the bartender. With a wary expression on his face, Eli slid into the closest bar stool as he waited for his drink, not completely liking sitting with his back to the door. A trait he picked up after years on the run. However, his gaze was caught a moment later by the same bartender moving over to a girl that sat near him, apparently giving her a hard time about her id. He waited until the bartender left again before he spoke to her. "Sorry, had I known he was gonna question your id, I would've ordered from a table". Although he did wonder why the bartender had an issue with her id, was it possible she was underage? or was it just expired? Elijah's gaze was then pulled down towards the row of shots the girl had before her, she clearly wasn't new to this. "What's your poison?" he questioned then, dipping his head towards the line of glasses, deciding to make small talk while he was still sober enough to do so.
Eli could feel the girl's eyes staring at him and it caused him to shift uncomfortably in his seat, paranoia that she might suspect he wasn't fully human filling his mind. He tried to subconsciously think over his actions since coming to the bar, yet couldn't pinpoint anything too wolf-like. But, why else would she be staring at him like that, unless he slipped up? Eli took a slow breath to force his wolf to calm down, he was just being paranoid, and the nearness of the full moon wasn't helping. His drink couldn't come soon enough.
Thankfully, as soon as that thought entered his mind, the bartender was sliding over his drink. "Queue up another for me, man" Elijah spoke, picking up the small black straw and stirring his drink a few times, the ice clinking lightly against the glass, before he took a sip.
Sybil's stare was unbroken as the man's attention fell on her, which she couldn't decided if it was what she wanted or not. Luckily for him, Sybil's stare wasn't as creepy as it could be. She could have been staring at him with bulging black eyes and a toothy smile, but instead, her eyes were yellow and heavy looking, as though she were constantly in a state of fatigue, and her mouth was closed appropriately.
"I'm not offended." Sybil assured him, and a very weak curve came to the edge of one corner of her lips. It was a good enough start. She could have smiled a bit more and given her voice a bit more of a flux to really let him know she was inviting him into conversation, but there would be more chances for her to practice.
"On it." The bar tender said as he breezed by, giving Sybil her beer.
"Get him a round too." Sybil said gesturing lazily to the shots and tilted her head towards Elijah as the bar tender put her beer down. The man had asked what she was drinking, so, it was only polite to share.
The bar tender have a small, "Yep." And nodded, then moved on front of Elijah, settling down the shot glasses in front of him then poured them.
Sybil had noticed Elijah must have been about her age, so decided to ask the first question that had come to her, "Did you happen to go to school here?"
The man didn't particularly look like he wanted to be bothered, but he seemed fairly nice, having scolded her first, so what was the hardest in asking?
The familiar burn of the alcohol sent a welcomed warmth across Eli's skin as he took another sip of his drink. He wasn't an alcoholic by any means, his father's past actions made sure he would never fall down that path, but Eli didn't mind drowning his sorrows in the bottom of a glass every once and a while. Especially when it made his wolf quiet, and made his thoughts his own, at least for a little while.
He turned in his chair so he could both face the girl and watch the door at the same time, throwing her a small smile in thanks as the bartender filled another line of drinks. He could grow to like this girl, he wouldn't mind a drinking buddy whenever he tore himself away from his seclusion. "I don't drink with someone unless I know their name. I've made that mistake before." He spoke, reaching out for the first shot in the row, tapping the bottom of the glass on the table in good manners before holding it out towards the girl, hoping to cheers the glasses "I'm Elijah" he finished with cheeky grin.
Elijah took this time to study his current companion in more detail, his eyes lazily drifting across her face, interest peaked at the unusual coloring of her eyes, she looked tired, something which Eli completely sympathized with. He brushed a long piece of hair back from his face, his wolfy genes not allowing him to keep it at any reasonable length, as the girl started questioning him. "Nah, Warwack's just a stop along the way" he answered before tossing the question back to her "You?".
Sybil's smile was encouraged just a little more as the man, who she could now call Elijah, faced her and proposed a cheers. "Sybil. Nice to meet you, Elijah." She picked up a shot, tapping it against the one he held up, then threw it back.
Sybil was disappointed to find out this man wasn't one of her past school peers, though the feeling just as quickly lost as it had came. Who cared if they went to school together when they were young? It's not like she ever reminisced over this place. "I ask because I moved back here recently." She said causally, facing Elijah in her seat a bit more now. She looked down at her drinks and decided if she was going to get drunk, what was the point in waiting? So, she took the second shot, pretending it was water, then picked up her beer and looked back at Elijah, "Where are you from?" She asked, because asking where someone came from came before asking where they were going.
For a moment, Sybil couldn't decide if this was any better than getting drunk at home, but after taking another good look at Elijah and the way he seemed to lift after their conversation began, she decided this was much better. Also, he was a bit of a looker. Or maybe it was just that cheeky smile that had changed her. She thought he'd done that bit perfectly.
"Likewise" Elijah spoke as they gently touched the glasses together, finishing the effervescent statement by tossing the drink back, making a slight face at the taste of the strong liquor. The harsh scent burning his heighten senses. Being a few drinks in, Eli could feel the beginnings of a light buzz as his body began to further dip into relaxation, his guard lowering. He stopped glancing at door and turned his focus more clearly on the woman who he now knew as Sybil. She was young, around his age maybe, pretty, and could clearly handle her liquor. He was impressed by the way she could easily switch between the beer and the harder liquor in the shots, had Eli tried to do the same, he would've been face down on the floor with a killer hangover before the night was over.
Eli shrugged his shoulders in reply to Sybil's question, unsure how to explain his home without giving too much of his heritage away. Normal humans weren't born in the middle of an unnamed forest to a pair of werewolf parents. He decided on giving the barest amount of information possible without coming off as rude. "I'm from a small town in Washington" he answered, trying to stay nonchalant, as his hand went subconsciously to fiddle with a pair of small white rocks that hung on a cord around his neck. Hoping she wouldn't remember much of their meeting in the morning anyways. He knew he wouldn't if he kept drinking like this.
Not liking to speak about himself much, Elijah tried to steer the conversation back towards Sybil's life and what he thought would be a safer topic. "What made you come back to Warwick?" he asked, curious to her answer as it seemed much of the talk around the town was about how to get out of Warwick. Typical small town syndrome Eli assumed, unaware of the curse trapping the populous.
A small laugh escaped Sybil when Elijah told her where he was from. Obviously, he must be crazy. And while she tried to turn the tables on her, she went ahead and glugged down a quarter off her beer. Classy, right? Whatever. Sybil didn't drink too often, but she also wasn't a light weight, or a wimp who couldn't keep a straight face. "You're already in a small town in Washington." She stated with a grin, not hiding the fact that she'd found his answer funny and a bit stupid. "Looks like you haven't gotten very far towards wherever you're headed. I was brought back, more than anything, really. It just want right more me to be anywhere else." She said, and her smile had become more subtle, having realized neither of them wanted to be too open yet.
"Why are you alone?" Sybil then went ahead and added how she would have answered the question she'd just asked, so that he knew she wasn't just trying to figure out if he was single. "My grandmother ask me to go to the drug store and get her some tea. While I was checking out, she said she didn't need it anymore, then I kind of wondered into here. I've never been in a bar like this before." She smiled and sipped her beer, wondering what it would be like if she became a drunk and came to this bar every day. If she did that, she would definitely perfect this whole forcing conversation onto strangers thing, but she wondered if it ever felt more satisfying than this. She wanted to imagine actually getting to know Elijah, but couldn't. Or, could she?
Eli arched his eyebrows and faked a hurt expression that quickly morphed into a larger grin as Sybil laughed at him, he knew his answer was lame but it was still the truth. Watching her quickly down a good portion of her drink forced Elijah to keep up, not wanting to be outdone. He finished his first bourbon before the ice even had a chance to melt, then followed up with another of the shots. The alcohol went straight to his head. "Fine fine, I'm from a small town up north, about three hundred meters from the Canadian border, on the waterside of the state. It's called Northshore, you won't find it on any maps though. Calling it a town is generous" He explained, the alcohol opening him up more, his voice taking on a bit more subdued tone. "It's not home anymore though." He finished, setting an empty shot glass inside another empty one, creating a small stack, a little test of his own sobriety. If he couldn't stack the last glass he drank without knocking the tower over, he would cut himself off, if a bartender didn't first. Not wanting to make a fool of himself in front of Sybil.
He shrugged his shoulders at the girl's question again, wondering if saying he liked being alone would come off as rude when he was the one to start this conversation with her, but truly, if he was being completely honest, he hated being alone. So why was he? was it for his own safety? Or was he just running from his own problems? He took a darting glance out the bar's large front window, his eyes focusing on the moonlight lighting up the sky, which was ever so tainted by the neon sign outside. He again settled on honesty but lacking any too personal detail "Couldn't sleep" he answered simply, raising another shot glass into the air "This works better then warm milk these days" he continued, knocking back the shot.
Elijah turn back in his chair to focus once more on Sybil and her own story, nodding his head along as he listened. He had clearly lucked out on his choice of acquaintance for the night, all too often people didn't care to be bothered when they were deep into their drink, but Sybil seemed nice enough and indulged his social interaction need. "Don't mean to be rude but, your Nan seems a bit senile?..." Eli joked, a sheepish grin on his face, hoping she wouldn't take offence to his statement. "But hey, if you actually want good tea, hit me up" he offered, being a herbalist seemingly having its perks.
Sybil never heard of Northshore, and neither had anyone else, apparently, if the town couldn't even be bothered to be put on a map. So, Sybil didn't think much of it.
Sybil knocked on the counter, letting the bar tender know she needed some more shots. She didn't want to hang out in the bar after Elijah was gone, so if their conversation ended soon, she would at least be wasted when she walked out. She cracked up laughing, harder than she would if she were sober, when Elijah called her grandmother senile. "You take that back!" She said jokingly as her laughter simmered down, "Someday that'll be us, you know." She said happily as she picked up her beer. "When you're young, you drink warm milk. When you're grown, you drink booze. And when you're old, you send your grandkids out on errands in the middle of the night." She said, then sipped her beer before adding, "I don't know what you mean." She said with a smile that seemed to be stuck now, watching as the bar tender poured her a couple of more shots, and wondered if she'd just met a new tea dealer.
Elijah added another pair of shots to his tower, watching Sybil order herself another round in wary amazement of the younger woman's tolerance. However she seemed to be handling it well. He was finally hitting that place of a perfect buzz where his mind was solely his own and the past melted away. His smile was easy to muster the longer he drank with Sybil, uncertain how much time had passed since he first entered the bar. Minutes? Hours? It had been a while since Elijah allowed himself to indulge to this level while in public. He laughed with her, holding his hands up in mock surrender while she playfully threatened him "I can't take it back, it's already been said" he defended with a sly shrug and grin. He felt like a teenager again, carefree, invincible,... happy?
Eli listened to her speech how a bottle of milk turned into a bottle of liquor as someone aged, blue eyes open wide in wonderment, like she was saying something especially profound or philosophical, himself clearly not one hundred percent sober. "Amen to that!" he agreed, raising a glass, quickly receiving some heated glances from the other patrons in the bar when he spoke a little too enthusiastically. "To be honest, I can't wait to be old. I'd love to sit on my porch, wearing a sweater, and shake my fist at some poor kids to get off my lawn" he admitted with a far away look in his eyes as he imaged it. Him, a granddad, long hair grey with age and face marred by laugh lines. It seemed like an easier life then the one he was living now.
After a moment Eli was pulled back to the present, realizing his offer was a little cryptic and it would be just his luck to make it out to seem like he was some kind of dealer. "I'm actually surprised we didn't get to the job portion of typical small talk sooner then this" he spoke in explanation. "I'm a Herbalist, I deal with and grow a lot of my own plants" he continued, a bit shy about his unusual occupation "Store-bough tea can be so bland,...so I grow my own, and throw in some medical herbs should someone need it".
Sybil caught someone glancing their way when Elijah raised his glass to whatever that stupid thing she said was. Sybil didn't take offense though when attention was called to them, thinking it was funny more than anything. What?! He was so cute! She'd never met a cute drunk before, and never even thought one could exist, but here was Elijah. There was just something about him that was pure. Or maybe, she was just drunk too. Wow. Now she couldn't decide what she wanted from him. To talk all night with someone at a bar who wasn't trying to get into her pants? To rob him blind? To give him a bit of a snog? To devour his every morsel?
Sybil took the shots once they were poured, then nodded thoughtful as Elijah explained his profession. "Wow." She said, "I may want a business card. Then my grandmother could fetch you to get her tea." She said jokingly and only half jokingly about getting his business card.
Sybil slid off her barstool, deciding it was time to try and get this party movingly. "Hey." She said as she walked over to Elijah. Her hands went to his shoulder gracefully, and as she asked, her index finger rolled over and slid slowly up his neck, passing the neck of his shirt and to his bare skin for a little ways, "I'm going to smoke. Wanna come with?" She offered, expecting it to be a long shot.
Elijah hadn't felt this carefree for a long while, and wasn't exactly sure what the cause was. The alcohol warming his blood certainly played its part, stripping away his inhibitions, but was Sybil herself the other? Or was it just the simple human interaction part he craved after being alone and on the run for so long? Five years was a long time to go without anything more then simple surface level interactions common in day to day life. Eli decided he was going to capitalize on this light and carefree feeling for as long as he could, lest he never feels it again.
"Well, I am pretty good at fetch" Eli replied with a small and cryptic smile on his face as he stood slightly in his seat to reach around the bar, grabbing the pen and note pad that was typically used to write down longer drink orders or messages. He quickly jolted down his name followed by a string of numbers before replacing the borrowed pen and paper before anyone noticed them missing. " If your Nan ever needs some tea" he offered, sliding the paper over "...or if she needs someone to yell at some pesky kids, I could use the practice" he joked, wondering for a moment if he would ever hear from her again after this night.
Eli watched as Sybil stood up from her chair, disappointment slowly rolling over his body when the idea of his drinking partner leaving him filled his mind, but he was quickly corrected when the girl stalked towards him rather then away. "Hello..." he softly greeted, keen eyes tracing her every movement as she stepped closer. Elijah himself slowly lifting a hand once she was in arm's reach, lightly brushing his fingertips across the back off her elbow as she reached for his shoulder. Encouraging. "...Alright" he answered, his head subconsciously tilting to expose more of his neck to the girl, a shiver running down his spine when she reached his bare skin.
Sybil's smile turned more into a smirk when Elijah seemed to invite her for more. If she were a vampire, or a man, her interest wouldn't have come off as subtle as it did now by any means. Luckily, Sybil didn't have an uncontrolling desire to drink blood or a little man to give away her cool in the middle of this bar.
Sybil took her hand away from the man to reach back and grab the number he had written down for her and stuffed it in her purse. Her grandmother would be be very grateful. "Alright. Let's go." She then took Elijah's wrist, pulling him toward the side exit. After a moment she let him go, in case he didn't like the gesture, then led them through the bar and into the dimmly lit alleyway.
"Do don't come across to me like the smoker type, but, you want one?" Sybil offered as she faced Elijah again, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her please and smiled at him.
Elijah's smirk echoed behind Sybil's easily as he slid off his own bar stool, invading the girl's personal space for a moment before she was pulling him towards the door. A wave of contentment washing over him when he noticed her take the number. Reinforcing his hope for meeting her again, or at least gaining a new client for his business. He was suddenly glad he wasn't a teenager anymore as her hand pulled away from his neck to grab at his wrist instead.
Eli followed behind Sybil, content to allow her to pull him along by the wrist, the action permitting him to peruse a certain other asset. As they were walking away, he caught the bartender's gaze and made a small gesture to reassure the man that they weren't walking out on their bill "Just a smoke break, pal" he called out, pushing over a plastic credit card. "Hold our tab".
Finally reaching the side door, Eli glanced around the darken alleyway wearily as the pair stepped out, slightly paranoid at the types of things that wandered around at this time of night. Himself included. However, he enjoyed the cool night air against the flush of his skin, his eyes catching the looming presence of the crescent moon on instinct.
"Nah, I'm good" he answered, finding a clean enough looking portion of the alley wall to lean against, knowing with the state of his lungs already, purposely choosing to smoke probably wasn't in his best interest, and would only serve to exacerbate them.
Most women didn't dare to go anywhere alone with men they met in a bar, and even less, stand with them in a dark, empty alleyway. But Sybil knew she was the scariest thing she and Elijah would encounter that night. Sometimes, Sybil couldn't imagine there was anything more terrifying than the monster that lived inside her, and most of the time, that thought shook her to get core, but now, it gave her courage.
Sybil took a moment to follow Elijah's eyes, and looked behind her at the moon. "What are you looking at?" She asked, trying to make conversation again as she stood slightly in front of the man. She popped a cigarette between her lips then shook her hair so that none of it was in her face. A black feature had made an appearance, silky and draped with the rest of hair. Sybil was always molting, and it didn't seem to matter what time during the day or night, she was always sprouting features. She lit her cigarette, "An herbalist, huh?" She added, making sure Elijah had something to talk about.
Elijah was not completely ignorant of the strange rumors that surrounded Warwick; the hushed whispers of various other supernaturals is what initially drew him into the small town. He was hoping to blend in with others like him and cover his tracks, not bothering to heed the warnings of a supposed curse. Every now and again, he has caught the barest whiffs of other shifters around but, to this point, he's done well to isolate himself from them. Frequently turning and walking the other way. Tonight however, he broke all of his supposed rules, tossed them right out the window. Don't go to town, don't talk to anyone, don't tell them your name. He hoped that by morning his foolish lapse in judgment wouldn't backfire on him. For now, he was just too buzzed to care.
His eyes drifted back to Sybil when she started the conversation again, berating himself for getting caught staring. He blamed the alcohol for causing him to open up too much to this women he barely even knew. He had to be more careful if he wanted to stay hidden. "The moon" he answered her simply, raising his arm up slightly to point out the bright celestial body that hung low in the darken sky. "It's pretty tonight, looks like it's gonna be full soon" Eli continued a moment later. The moonlight, like sun rays, warming his skin and calming the wolf that paced in the back recesses of his mind.
Despite knowing where the scent of smoke came from, Eli still found himself put on edge, his body tensing up in response. He was moving his weight from one foot to the other, his shoulders pulling back slightly like he was ready to flee at any moment. His gaze rarely left the lit end of the cigarette, only darting away to watch the ash periodically fall to the ground. When suddenly his gaze was pulled over to the strange feather in the girls hair, having not noticed it before, he reached out to glide his fingers over the silken texture "Is this the current fashion?" Eli questioned, never one to keep up with the ever changing treads and fads.
He was glad when Sybil distracted him by asking him another question as he pulled back his hand "Yeah. My mother was one before me" he answered halfheartedly "I guess I picked it up from her" he finished, his hand returning to fiddle with the cord of his necklace, a habit whenever the questions got too personal.
(( sorry it's been a minute!!!! ))
(( are you still cool with continuing? I'm worried you lost interest after I haven't replied in a while lol ))
