Night's Omen

Melisande was in the middle of her shift, and she had to admit, she was a little tired. She'd stayed up later than she'd wanted trying to get her apartment cleaned, and working nights was only as good as the sleep you got during the day. She was seated at the bar on break with her small chin in her hands, blue eyes sweeping towards the door every time it opened (which was frequently), scanning for... She didn't know. She always felt like she was waiting.

Nikolas slid her some Sprite with a cherry in it, and she sipped the drink as she listened to all the conversations around her. Tawny was on stage now - she could never mistake her introductory music. She turned to look over her shoulder, smiling when she saw Aimee making her way through the array of chairs to the bar.

"Hey," she said good-naturedly. "I don't think I've seen that routine you did before. It's either new, or I'm really as tired as I feel."

Aimee had pulled some clothes on after her last routine and gone out to the bar, though not for anything other than some air that wasn't sitting in the back rooms, casual conversation, and a glass of water.  She smiled brightly at Nikki when she asked for the water, then turned her good spirits on Melisande.  She'd come over to this specific stool just to sit by the girl, and she settled in for her break as he turned to take in her friend.

"Hey!  You may still be tired, but yes, that's a new one.  Did you like it?" she asked, and despite the wording, she meant it in an entirely non-sexual way.  She just wanted to know if it had come out the way she'd been planning, or if it had looked lame.  Not that she really thought many of the customers would think that it was lame, of all things, but she liked to impress.  The money was better when she did.

She figured Eden would tell her what he thought later, but she'd rather be prepared.  Eden, though he could sound like a total creep when he wanted, was more than capable of taking a professional look at the dances and dancers themselves.  He just enjoyed his job.  "Eden thought something new would be a good idea.  Fresh."  It wasn't like she was boring and didn't switch things up ever, but that was all new, thus the questioning.

Melisande nodded a little, but didn't think that her tired head-bob displayed the actual enthusiasm she had, so she spoke: "Actually, yeah. Evidently the crowd did, too. You've got a little fanclub over there," she said, gesturing with the Sprite in her hand to a group of men (young men - were they even old enough to be here?) by the stage. "I think they've come in here before, too. They adore you," she said with a giggle.

Unlike most clubs, there was no real envy in this one that Melisande had been subject to. She'd heard Tawny could exercise the right to be a massive bitch when she felt like it, but it wasn't often. Eden had a careful hand in selecting his staff, and he knew who he could keep in check and who he couldn't. It was the reason Melisande stayed when she knew that she could obtain other jobs elsewhere - that and the money, but mostly because even with such a - a carnal sort of environment, there was a tight-knit community of staff that she had come to know as her friends.

She glanced up as a redheaded man came through the doors, another dark blond-haired man behind him. She studied them for a moment, and it was no surprise that they plunked themselves down a few seats from the girls. Melisande wore a simple black skirt, heels, and a sparkling purple tube top - an outfit that was not a uniform (they didn't have them) but something cute and comfortable to her. She knew that they weren't regulars by the way they acted, and she bit her lip to suppress a laugh as she realized they probably thought that she and Aimee were clientèle, not staff.

She turned her attention from them and back to the brunette. "So how's things?" she asked. "Nikki couch surfed last night after he walked me home. For someone who has no real need to sleep, the feline in him sure demands a full eight hours. I woke up to find him passed out under a pastel pink blanket with reruns of Fresh Prince on my TV."

Aimee followed Melisande's gesture to the young men by the stage, men that she remembered being loud and particularly attentive when she was up there, and she giggled right along with the other girl.  "Is it me, or do they look young?  Maybe I should change my stage name to Mrs. Robinson," she remarked.  Fortunately, the young men hadn't noticed her over by the bar, so she was more likely to get some peace until she was prepared to be harassed again.  She might hit those guys up again a little later for a lap dance or something, just to see how much she could get out of them, and if they could behave.  Because of Nero, she was very careful about just how much touching was allowed, meaning, not much.

No, the envy at All Hallows was pretty low.  Each dancer had her (or his) fair share of 'fans' and regulars, so nobody really had to feel jealous.  There was enough for everyone, and Eden took good care of them all, which included keeping the trash out of their staff.  He was a smart man, though Aimee wouldn't honestly say that she trusted him.  Sure, she trusted him to do what was necessary and what was best for his business, but she knew that he wasn't always fond of doing what was 'right'.  She'd also heard about Marius being harassed to get on stage after some strange incident involving him giving a customer a lap dance.  She hadn't been there, but she'd heard plenty about it.  Eden had his mind set on it, and so he was going to keep trying.  That was why she didn't give the man a reason to get anything set in his mind about her.  He didn't need the encouragement.

Aimee glanced up as the redhead and the blond walked in and sat just a few seats away, and smirked at Melisande just in time to realize that they had to be thinking the same thing.  These weren't regulars, and they didn't know that the two women they'd settled near were staff.  That could be fun.

That smirk turned into a fully-fledged grin as Melisande described Nikki's sleeping situation, and she glanced at the bartender before leaning in towards her friend in excitement.  "Did you get any pictures?  Tell me you did, because we have to plaster them all over the staff room."

"She didn't," Nikki casually dropped in as he moved passed them with two Bud Lights for the men who'd just come in and sat down. As soon as he'd given them their tasty beverages, he slid back to the counter and put an arm down just long enough to lean forward and give Melisande the most chaste kiss on her doll-like cheek. "And I love her for it." He winked at Aimee and went back to tending further down the row.

Melisande looked at Aimee and shrugged, a little blush rising to her cheeks. "He speaks the truth. I just couldn't bring myself to embarrass him so badly when he was sweet enough to walk me home. Drake, though - if I could ever catch that wiry little bastard off guard - ah, but it'll never happen. I am Letotse," she said, sitting upright and laying on her most dramatic Spanish accent. "Come on. He's so full of himself, but he's so adorably him that I can't fault him for it." She sighed a little. Did the men in this place have to be so damned attractive? And they were all so unique. Melisande was human, just a human.

The door opened again, and she glanced up, but it, as always, wasn't who she was seeking. She looked back at Aimee and sipped on her soda. "I don't know about Mrs. Robinson, but I bet if you went out there and did a dance to Stacy's Mom, they would all collapse. And give you their credit cards - if they aren't already maxed out from this place."

"Awww, you missed our chance!" Aimee whined, but it was all in good fun.  She still laughed at Nikki's obvious awareness of just how bad it could have been.  Aimee was certain that his ego could have survived, but apparently, he didn't want to try.  "I swear, I'm going to start carrying a camera in my purse, just so that I can catch those things more often.  Drake and Marius BOTH need to be caught doing something stupid.  Drake because his ego could use the adjustment, and Marius just because he makes funny faces when he's embarrassed."

It was true, the men who worked at All Hallows all seemed to be exotic, though Aimee couldn't deny that the women tended to be, as well.  Eden just had an eye for finding them, it seemed.  The fact that Melisande was still human and working there actually concerned Aimee sometimes, considering Eden's usual refusal to hire humans, but she brushed it off.  Melisande being human had made her something of a 'little sister' to everyone in the place, it seemed.  She was more fragile than they were, and Aimee couldn't honestly think of anyone who would just stand by and let her be harmed.  They were a pretty good group.

Ahhh, Stacy's mom!  That was even better than Mrs. Robinson, since the younger crowd was more likely to get the reference.  It made her feel old, even though she wasn't, just thinking about it.  She wondered how old those guys really were, but she knew better than to think that Marius or Drake would let a bunch of kids in underage.  They were probably JUST old enough.  "That would be excellent.  I could use a nice shopping spree," she agreed, smiling just at the image.  Nero would love having the closet taken over by more clothes and shoes.

"Well, I'm sure there will be others. They take turns walking me home. Drake hasn't ever stayed, but Marius will stay up with me and watch TV 'til I fall asleep, so will Nikki. It's nice. It's like having these sort of warped big brother figures that would kick the teeth out of anyone who tried anything." She flexed her fingers a little as she spoke, and then laughed at the idea of a startled robber dropping in when she and Marius were playing the Wii. She wondered how well he'd react to a massive wolf sitting on his chest.

From the corner of her blue eyes, she saw the redhead nudge his friend, and then nod over in their direction. They were human - Melisande could tell, but only because she'd always been able to tell, hadn't she? She looked at Aimee and raised a brow, but said nothing on the matter.

"I like shopping," she said, volunteering herself for the project. "I'm sort of surprised I don't go as much as I thought I would. I have a section of my closet dedicated to 'things work-appropriate' which includes anything short and flirtatious, while 'not work-appropriate' is where my normal clothing goes. Kind of backwards," she laughed.

No, Drew and Josh weren't regulars, but that didn't mean they didn't recognize a good place when they stumbled upon it.  Actually, they'd made fun of it, since the theme sounded all gothy and ridiculous, but Drew had personally been surprised upon entering.  It was sexy without the creepy goth kids in white make-up, and the bartender was quick.  Good so far.  The hot women sitting just a few stools down from them only made it better, and he knew Josh had noticed, too.

"Getta load a' them, man.  Is it the lighting, or are they fuckin' hot?" he asked, nudging Josh towards Aimee and Melisande.  He had NO idea that they worked there, but that wouldn't have bothered him.  They were still hot.

"Aww, that's sweet of them!  I didn't know those two waited around for you to fall asleep, too," she remarked, actually impressed.  If it had been guys she didn't trust as much, she'd have been worried, but this was Marius and Nikki.  She knew that they weren't up to something with Melisande when they did nice things like that.  The guys behind her were another story, but she could hear the one with the funny accent mention them, and she giggled a little before completely ignoring it and turning that giggle into laughter about Melisande's closet.  THAT she could relate to completely.

"Oh, I know.  It's kind of crazy, but mine's the same way.  It felt really strange in the beginning to look at an outfit and know that it wasn't outrageous enough for work.  Now, I have clothes that aren't bad enough for work, but are too bad for casual days, so they get even less use," she explained.  Unlike Melisande, she wore even more 'flirtatious' clothing to work, and she didn't feel much like clubbing after working in one, so her 'club clothes' didn't get much use. 

Josh nodded over his beer, giving them a glance. He always approved of brunettes, but he wasn't really going to jump in and interrupt their conversation to tell them so. He didn't put it passed Drew, so he made sure he was ready to move if his ginger friend suddenly decided to try and lay game on them.

"I don't think it's the lighting. I've heard about this place before. The atmosphere takes getting used to, but they've told me that the girls in here are some of the best looking in the city." Without any warning, he reached over and bashed the lip of Drew's beer with the butt of his own, watching it fizz furiously. "Better hurry up and drink!" he exclaimed, swilling his own down before it exploded all over the bar counter.

Melisande watched over Aimee's shoulder as the two men... interacted, and then flicked her blue eyes back to the woman with a small smile. "Cavemen," she said softly to herself, shaking her head. It still was funny. You could tell who was a friend and who was just a colleague sometimes by the smallest things.

"They wait, but mostly because I still have those weird dreams. Sometimes they go and do their thing - " she meant feed, but she didn't like to say it - "and come back to check on me before they dip out for good. It's good, but it's also bad, because they out me to Eden when they know I'm too exhausted to work. I think tonight is the border, I'm glad I've got two consecutive nights off." Melisande was thankful for their relaxed schedules; she knew Aimee's was probably more difficult.

"It must be nice not to have to worry about stupid things like 'exhaustion'," she said with a small laugh. Melisande was pretty sure that she was the only human in the establishment at that point, which both surprised and worried her. It meant that she was rare, but among this clientele, she wasn't the object of affection. It also meant, however, that she was delicate. She stayed close to the other staffers, but she was thankful silently for Eden's 'no bullshit' policy when fighting and arguments were concerned. Getting caught in the middle would be... bad.

There was no way that Drew would hear Melisande call them 'cave men', and really, could he argue?  'Oh, we're sophisticated!  Shit, my beer!'  Yeah, that'd go over well.

"Shit!" he shot off, dipping his head to suck up the fizz and take a good, long swig to avoid losing the drink all over the bar (or himself).  Once he was satisfied that the beer was no longer explosive, he gave Josh's shoulder a rough shove that he didn't really mean, and glanced back at the women.  "Jackass.  You're right, though.  Ain't the lighting."

That was the truth.

Aimee was NOT oblivious of the fact that Melisande was watching the men over her shoulder, and she smirked at the 'cavemen' comment.  This might have to be addressed in the next few minutes, but important stuff first.

"I still don't get what's going on with those dreams of yours.  It just doesn't make sense to me," she sighed, and not for the first time.  The whole situation had baffled her from the start, and mostly because she couldn't decide if she thought the dreams were a psychological thing, or if they really meant something.  Apparently, the boys weren't taking any chances, and were keeping an eye on her.  Good. 

"Maybe you just need to take your mind off of everything.  We have a little while left of breaktime before Eden's going to notice us gone.  Wanna have some fun?" she asked, gesturing in a way that the men behind her wouldn't see to let Melisande know she was talking about them.  Naturally, Aimee wouldn't be doing much that wasn't part of the job, but that was because of Nero.  She didn't need any other guys.  Besides, this one was about Melisande.

Joshua smiled to himself, and sat back in his chair a little bit. He was glad he'd gone out with Drew, after all. After Frank had left that Hole in the Wall place, which really was a hole in the wall, he'd been just intoxicated enough not to drive, so Drew had been appropriately drunk-dialed, and here they were. He knew that he'd base the rest of his drinking on Drew's ability to consume. If Drew had more, he'd have less. Either way, there was always a taxi if they both got too shitfaced, which, a few more beers, and Joshua would be.

"What do you think they're talking about?" he asked. "What do women talk about? Oh, hehe, so like, today I like went shopping...," he said, using a very high-pitched and extremely gay-sounding voice, tossing back imaginary hair. "Ah.. yeah. There's a reason I'm not married yet, which, by the way - yeah," he said, pointing at him with the neck of his beer. "Don't do it. I got bailed on tonight again because someone's wife-zilla wouldn't let him out of the house."

"I don't get it either. I wish I did," she said sullenly, feeling a little pouty over the entire ordeal. "I've had them since I was little; nothing's new. I think the way I feel about them has just changed - that and the overall tone of them is different." She paused as the door opened and glanced up - humans, three of them.

She looked back at Aimee, a brow lofted. "How do you suggest that?" she asked, following the direction of Aimee's hand to the men she'd been watching. "Oh, yeah." She smiled a little. "I guess the job isn't too stressful, after all," she said with a little purr, tilting her head to smile at the red-headed man a little. Honestly, Melisande had the cutest chipmunk cheeks, something that went with her features rather than against. She was adorable - and Aimee, well, Aimee was just hot.

"Hey dude," Josh said, nudging Drew's chair with his foot not-so-subtly. "Hey. She's looking at you," he hissed. "Go talk to her."

Drew was glad that Josh had called him, too.  He'd been sitting at home with his PS2 and a beer, trying to tell himself that it was NOT pathetic to be sitting in front of a video game instead of out with people.  Then, Josh had called and that whole theory went out the window, and he was going to see which one of them, if either, was capable of driving out of there that night.  He was going to try to hold off, but sometimes they got started and just forgot to quit.

"Man, don't ever do that again.  That was fuckin' scary," he shot back, also gesturing with his beer bottle, then taking another swill of it.  Josh's 'gay voice' was just weird, and highly disturbing.  It also didn't help that it was followed rather closely by the whole 'don't get married' thing.  It wasn't like Drew had any serious options currently, so he wasn't worried about it, but the irony was there.  "So I guess proposin' now ain't a good idea?"

Aimee knew the basics about the dreams, but she couldn't help her scientific studies.  It made her want to exhaust all of the normal possibilities before touching on anything paranormal, despite her own shifter blood.  She didn't deny that the magic was out there, but she knew that most things had logical explanations.  This one was strange, though.  If there was one she might believe was really paranormal, it'd probably be this one.  She'd have to get more details out of Melisande later, when they had more time.  Now, she just wanted the girl to relax and loosen up a little.  Stressing herself out at work wouldn't do her any good.

Thus, she was more than pleased when Melisande took her suggestion to heart and smiled at one of the men.  A short glance, and she could tell which one by the way the other nudged at his chair, and by the surprised look the redhead wore.  "Oh, he's cute.  Just don't break him, and I'll keep his friend busy for you," she offered, assuming that they could approach together, and then split the two men up for private time.  Aimee's would be decidedly less interesting (she hoped Melisande would have some fun) unless the guy was willing to pay for a dance, but she just wanted to give the girl a chance alone with the other one.

"Go on, I'm here."

Drew glanced up from his beer and his conversation just in time for Josh to do the same, and while his friend was kicking at his chair and telling him to go talk to the woman who was making doe eyes at him, he basically froze.  First off, he had no idea what suddenly got her attention or made her notice him, and second, she was very cute and he was very unprepared.  At least he didn't choke on his beer and the lighting in the area made it hard to tell if he got at all pink in the face.  Not going to talk to her would get him harassed forever, so he took a last swig of his beer and hopped off the stool, giving Josh an eye roll as he did so.

If this blows up in my face...

Melisande had that same sort of innocent smile on her face, though it froze for a moment when she realized that the redhead was actually going to come talk to her. She wasn't used to being so stunned by men trying to strike up conversations with her, especially in this environment. So why was this different? She didn't know, but she felt a little butterfly flutter around in her stomach.

"Go on, I'm here," Aimee said gently in her ear.

With that little bit of encouragement, she cleared her throat, and swiveled around in her stool, feet propelling her in a half-circle to meet Drew face to face when he approached her. "Hi," she said brightly. "I saw you and your friend come in - I don't think I've ever seen you in here before," she said.

D'oh! Now it makes me sound like I come here a lot. Wait, I do come here a lot. I work here! Oh, crap crap crap!

She managed to keep her composure for the most part, a small giggle escaping her mouth. God, she was so childish sometimes.

Joshua, in the meantime, stayed where he was long enough for Drew to get over to his target. He did think her companion was quite pretty - gorgeous, in fact, but he didn't want to try and interfere unless Drew called him in for backup. He simply scooted over a chair to keep a better ear on things, nodding a little to Aimee.

"Hey, I'm Josh. That's Drew - how are you ladies doing this evening?" he asked. He knew he slurred a little, but damnit, he was well drunk. He was entitled. At least he wasn't falling all over the place.

Well, Drew felt like a damn fool, and tried not to falter in his steps when she looked almost surprised over him walking towards her.  She recovered so quickly that he wasn't even sure he saw it, and he shot another glance over his shoulder towards Josh.  This girl wasn't like his usual, that much he'd been able to tell from where he was sitting.  She didn't strike him as the fast fun that they usually aimed for.  It was something in her smile, and he didn't know if he knew how to deal with it.

It was true, her statement suggested she was in the club often, and he glanced at the stage.  Either she was into women, or he and Josh had been lucky in seeing the few women that danced on Lady's night.  Maybe she just liked the music? 

He felt like an idiot.  Why was he here again?  Because a girl smiled at him and Josh had kicked him?  Yeah, that made a lot of sense.  "Hey," he returned, smiling back at her.  Her giggle was cute.  It made her sound a little young, but it was still cute.  He had to wonder how old she really was.  "Yeah, we're not---"

That was when Josh spoke up, apparently talking to the other woman, but it didn't really matter.  They were close enough.  "Uh, yeah, I'm Drew," he told the girl in front of him, smiling a little sheepishly.  He was going to beat Josh's ass later.  "This is the first time we stopped in here.  S' a pretty nice place so far.  Never been big into strippers, but the girls here are amaz--I mean, they're nice, but so are you....and I have a really bad case of foot-in-mouth disease, so I think I'mma shut up now."

God, if Josh didn't laugh at him for the rest of his life, he was going to count himself lucky.

Actually, Josh laughing at him was the least of Drew's worries, since Aimee started giggling almost as soon as the guy started talking.  First, his friend completely knocked him off-balance where the conversation was concerned, and then he knocked himself off again a moment later.  He was funny, in a way, and she was totally leaving Melisande to talk to him.  Maybe he'd calm down if he didn't have an audience.

"Josh," she purred, fully intending to take his attention and get him away from Melisande and his friend.  The guy was already slurring, so he'd be a good distraction until she had to go back on stage, as long as he didn't get touchy or anything.  "I'm Delilah, and this is Melisande.  I think we're doing rather well tonight, don't you?" she asked, looking to Melisande for confirmation after giving their names.  If Melisande had a stage name, she'd have given that instead of her real one, just in case, but that wasn't really an option.  She didn't think the girl would mind too much, really.  What girl wouldn't be pleased with having a guy tripping over himself like that?  As long as he wasn't a complete loser, and this one didn't seem to be. 

"This a guy's night out?"

Melisande opened her mouth, inhaling before she moved to speak, but instantly closed it as Drew sort of stumbled over his statements about the women there. She just sat back a little and smiled at him, shaking her head lightly.

"No, it's fine. They are amazing," she agreed. "Friends with most of them, actually, though I'm not into the dancing much myself." She didn't really want to tell him she worked here, but he'd find out sooner or later, wouldn't he? "I'm actually just a waitress. Sometimes I help at the bar, but I'm not usually as fast as Nikolas is."

A very loud, "No kidding," sounded off behind her as Nikki whizzed by, laughing.

"Yeah," she said sullenly. "That." She looked down for a moment, and then brightened back up, scooting a little closer to Drew, bringing her to the edge of her chair. She kept her legs crossed, though - short black skirts with a little swish to them were nice and all, but she was no Britney Spears. She brushed a strand of her golden-brown hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear, and then held out her hand.

"I'm Melisande," she said. She was dimly aware that Aimee had already said her name, and she blushed a little. "But I guess you knew that already, Drew," she said, using his name. She'd learned that names got people's attention in conversation, drew them in. It was something she'd picked up from working here that she'd found effective in real-life conversation. It was also the fastest way to piss someone off, alternately. She'd done it four hours prior at Target when someone there had recognized her and hassled her. It was gratifying.

"I hope you're having a good time, at least," she sang. "This club isn't like any other club I've been to, not that I go a lot. When you work at one, it sort of sucks all the fun out of going out and partying. Every night's a party, yay," she said, clapping her hands a little, although it was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or genuine. It was probably a mix of both.

"Nice to meet you, Delilah, and yes, it is most definitely a boys' night out. I had fully intended to shoot pool with buddies, but all of them decided to bail at the last minute on account of... whatever it is they do, and I called that goober," he said, pointing at Drew with his bottle again before taking a sip, "... and here we are." He smiled that charming smile at her - but he wasn't trying to charm her. More like, he needed to distract her from her pretty friend so Drew might have a snowball's chance in Hell. Women traveled in packs, just like men did.

"We don't get to go out terribly often, since our jobs are more than a little demanding, but we try to do it at least once or twice a month to remind us we're still human," he chuckled. Ooh, job drop. Josh was really digging Drew a hole.