Lady Blackbird's Story

It was raining outside. Pelting rain slamming against the windows and the road before the bar doors when the doors opened. Lighting flashed at that same moment revealing the outline of a person, soaking wet the woman entered; in the light of the bar as the door closed a black sword floated behind jer, within reach of her. It was old, like the woman. Yet the young beaty was older than she looked. The blood soaked dress glittered with rainwater as she went to the bar.

Setting a shard of glass upon the counter she spoke "Pulled pork, and your wine list" The woman said as she took a seat on a stool. The sword hovered behind her but as she sat down the sword moved to seemingly lean against the bar yet it was firmly attached to the woman by unknown means as it simply floated in the air.

The wine list was brought forwards. The woman began to read. Looking for least alcohol by product, selecting a wine she felt all sorts of eyes on her; some scared, some curious, some evil, some simply observing.

Morbick watched the woman quietly, somewhat interested in the blood-soaked dress and the floating sword. He didn't really care about what she ate, more so cared about the attention she has just attracted. A group of men sat at a table across from Morbick, and they all stared at her intently. It was quite clear what they wanted, but they did not realize that the woman was covered in blood or that she had a floating sword because they stood up and began stumbling toward her.

Morbick sat up a bit in his booth, slowly sliding his grip on the handle of his sword. He stared now at the men, preparing to intervene if they bothered the woman.His hand started to emit mist as he gripped the handle of the sword tighter.

The woman at first paid no heed to the group of drunken men as they neared her. She could smell the alcohol. But she was not in the mood to face a drunk, so when her food was set before her she simply forwent the fork and knife and dug in. Two of the drunks went to her left as she ate, she once again paid them little if any heed. Two stood a few paces behind her, while the leader of the bunch went right up next to her and knocked on the counter. "What's on the menu that looks good ?" the drunk slurred. giving the tender a wink and a nod towards the woman.

The strong sweetcopper stench of blood rolled off the woman like a wave. In response to the question the woman said simply "That is none of your concern. Leave." She said never looking his way

The drunk looked at her, the others snickered one laughed aloud before gargling his beer as the leader of the sorry bunch turned to face her "Say that again babe"

The woman still never looked at him as she spoke and ate "If I say it again, I will be saying it to a corpse."

At those words one of the other drunks made a wrong move and before the leader could reply to the woman the poor drunk that made the wrong move found himself on the floor with a pounding headache as his head hit the bar counter hard as the woman stood and in a swift motion had her sword's blood encrusted edge at the mans neck as the others drew weapons at her.

Morbick stood up and walked over quietly. He decided to leave his sword at the booth. He grabbed a steel mug off the table and walked up to one of the drunk men. The man drunkenly put his fists up, but immediately was stuck across the head with the mug. He crumpled to the floor heavily. The other ran at him. Morbick front kicked him. The man suddenly flew across the room and across several empty tables, knocking some chairs over. Another two stood off to the side, and when Morbick looked over at them, they bolted out of the bar. Morbick turned back toward the woman.

With his men down the man didnt so much as blink as the woman simply gave him a deadly look. The man smirked, took one swing and her sword hilt smashed him to the floor out cold. the sword seemingly broke apart and reformed in its place at her back, floating once anew as she turned to look at the man, a strong man at that, in armor unknown to her. The dead man at the floor at his feet, and the broken coffee mug. It made her smile.

"Smashed tea cup.... I miss them sometimes. They make good weapons no ?" She had a soft look about her yet she was also t othe point. She inclined her head slightly "Thank you for the assist sir..." She had yet to know his name, as she trailed off. Her wine was brought to the bar counter and she retook her seat as the plate was refilled with fresh pulled pork for her to eat.

"Indeed. It was no problem." Morbick answered. His voice was that of a well-mannered individual, though he very much did not look the part. His accent sounded Scottish in nature. He had a soft smile on his face. Morbick held out his hand toward his booth and his sword flew into it, the scabbard pointed toward the floor. He slung it over his shoulder and fixed it into place between his shoulder blades. "May I join you?" Morbick asked politely.

The womans voice was oriental in sounding, Lunari maybe ? It didnt matter. "You may" She nodded, as she sat back upon the stood she moved the out cold drunk on the floor with her foot, her magic going to work to pretty much send the man in a full on field goal out the front door. By then the man who had aided her could easily smell the sweetcoppery blood wafting off her body. That and even from the rain she was soaking wet still. "It is not often one comes to my aid, most run in fear, or try to kill me. Or try to bed me..." She trailed off again as she started back into her food, once again forgoing any forks using her fingers, as delicate as they looked looks were deciving as she was old, strong and smart.

Where she was from was clearly different then where he was from, but that didnt matter to her, he aided her and therefore could be considered a friend. In its floating position, her Blacksword looked brand new, a katana, or what he'd recognise as a Blades Sword in design, yet when held in hand, it was encrusted with black blood, rust, and her magic kept it together nicely.

It looked like something a Draugr would use

Morbick would nod politely and sit down beside her. "It is in my nature to help another being, especially one that was outnumbered."He said quietly. The woman would begin to notice herself drying, as Morbick would be sapping the water off of her clothing into his body. He quietly orders a beer and takes it graciously. "And I am not attractive enough to just attempt to 'bed' every woman I come across. I would much rather drink than waste someone's time."Morbick joked, sipping off of the beer. His veins would glow a bright blue for a moment, but would quickly change back to normal.

"Do not be hard on yourself, some I once knew took to more..... swarthy gentlemen" The woman said simply as she ate, she gave a brief look at Morbick as she did not yet know his name, seeing a good rather nice looking mug on his face made him handsome in a rugged type of way. Kinda brooding too hence the swarthy note. Yet she also called him a gentleman. So that was a point in his favor too.

She felt herself dry off a bit, and briefly while eating she stopped, briefly confused as to how she was drying off, the shiny wet blood soon dried entirely, staining her dress and robes a deeper red. She gave it no further heed, her sword floated against the counter not touching the floor.

Morbick smiled kind-heartedly. He blushed a bit at the gentleman part, having never been called one before. "'Aye. I do see the appeal that most men have, however in a much different way. So what are you eating?" He asked, looking at her dish. He tried to keep cordial, while simultaneously watching for the two men who were inevitably going to come back for them.

"Pulled pork" came the reply between mouthfuls of the stuff. Her hands were amazingly clean the way she was eating, "Would you like some ?" Her ears twitched at sounds from outside, Barely in the city five minutes and she was to get into another fight, she just knew it was to happen sooner than later. She then motioned to the barkeeper to bring ano0ther plate for Morbick, whom she still hadnt gotten the name of the man.

"Sure." Morbick replied. "What is your name?I would love to know." He asked politely, nodding as the barkeeper brought him the pork. He smiled graciously and ate the food slowly with a fork, not getting anything on his armor or beard. He was intrigued by the woman.

She nodded to the barkeeper as more pulled pork was added to her plate as well as Morbicks. Still forgoing a fork the woman ate like an animal, being stuck on a frozen island for twenty years tended to make one forget certain things, like proper eating habits. So when Morbic used a fork it looked strange for a moment before she went back to eating.

Finally he asked her for her name; Her true name long forgotten she had gotten to calling herself Blackbird for as long as she could remember. So after another moment of silent eating she said after a sip of wine "Blackbird."

"Interesting name," Morbick said between bites. He was trying to be courteous to the woman by eating politely. He actually thought the way she ate to be quite cute, not unlike himself when he is in the wilds. He quickly and quietly finished his plate. "Thank you for the food, Blackbird. What brings you here?"He asked.

"Right now, my feet to this stool to eat, also my hunger to eat." She was tired, yet the food seemed to give her more energy with which to remain on her feet far longer than a normal Bloodmage. She looked young now that Morbick could see her so close up. Her eyes a bright brown, and upon closer inspection there was bits of dried blood in her hair that made it even a darker shade of black. She paid no heed to the words he spoke of her her name was interesting to be sure. In a way he was right. Her name was interesting. But it wasnt something to bother her in the long run.

A few moments passed, more footsteps were heard outside, as if retreating, Finally she whiped her mouth, took a sip of wine, then asked simply "You know my name, yet I do not know yours, Who might you be ?"

The drow made quick business of her dealings on the rooftop of the Gambit building. Recently it had become popular for less reputable folk to meet there, including some of the vampires who had trouble following the rules of their local Prince. Lavinia had but to flex a little before they were cowering and promising to be expedited to the Council for trial. She didn't bother ensuring they'd keep their word, as that was not part of her job description, and the young night-walker made her way to the ground floor to find Gambit's Bar.

The walk didn't take too much time, but Akshasha remembered thinking it should've been ample time to order their drinks. To the drow's mild shock, the barbarian was seated next to another young lady who absolutely wreaked of fetid blood. A slight twinge of annoyance crossed the Vampires mind, but starting fights in Gambit was poor business and frowned upon by the local Prince, so there was really nothing for it. At least for now... Besides, it looks like a bit of violence was already had here... And she's not a terribly unattractive little morsel, herself.

Only slightly faster than an Elf should've been capable of, the Dark Elf took a seat by the woman who appeared to be Lunari, placing her in the middle of the drow and Morbick. Akshasha leaned forward a bit to look past the Lunari as she sat, "Morbick! Sorry it took so long, did you happen to get those drinks yet?" Without really waiting for an answer she waved over the bartender and ordered a Moscow Mule, "Oh, and make it a double!" If she was going to spend Vitae maintaining human processes and blush, she was going to enjoy a little fire water while she had the chance

As much as it irritated her, she ignored the fighting, knowing that Gambit's had always been a little rough. She leaned against the bar and placed her head down against it, still sitting on the edge, out of the way of the bartender. Sighing, she ran her fingers through her brunette hair, her eyes closing just a little. The bartender moved back over to her and handed her another Mountain Dew before getting what the others patrons had asked for, including the double Moscow Mule. Gabby just nodded her thanks and sat up enough to drink.

"Wonder if I should start looking for Renee again..." She whispered to herself, her sister once again having disappeared. Was Liam still with her? She didn't know and that bugged her a little. Then again, there was a lot that was bugging her lately. Maybe she should just get into a fight and take her anger out on something instead of being scared and hiding, something she had been doing since being kidnapped, tortured, and drugged.

"My name is Morbick. Morbick the Quiet." He says to Blackbird, taking a sip of his drink. He nodded to Akshasha, letting her know it was fine.

Morbick, an interesting, and quiet too ? Didnt seem that way as he was talking, but she didnt bother speaking of such thing, it wasnt wise to first thank someone for the help, trade names then criticse names when one might have just made a friend. And then the other showed up. First thing that Blackbird noticed was it was female, and trhe female was with pointed ears, naturally a fey critter of some form that Blackbird wasnt exactly in tune with.

But that didnt matter, no that didnt matter at all

What mattered was, over the may dozens of decades that Blackbird lived, she herself forgot how old she was and permamently looked early twenties maybe nearer to thirty. Being a bloodmage gave one extra perks when usiung the enemies blood to fuel their life span. But over the decades Blackbird had managede to reduce the constant beating hearts she heart to background noise, as ceaseless as it was she could pinpoint a person based strictly on their heartbeat if she had to.

And when this other sat down next ot her, with her between Morbick and this newcomer. The first thing Blackbird noticed, thatm ade her ear visibly twitch slightly at the sound, was a heartbeat

A heartbeat that wasnt like a normal heart beat, tired from walking, no, this heartbeat didnt even have rthe feeling of being windwed from battle or speaking and drawing breath. This heartbeat was too normal, too..... perfect, too in tune and beating abnormally steady beats. This was not a normal heartbeat.

But rather then say anything, Blackbird went for her wine and took a sip before going back at the pulled pork before her. Speaking a moment later to Morbick, "A name will fitting for one so honest" She mused aloud

Akshasha smiled warmly at the blood-stained lady, waiting for her drink before trying to address her or Morbick. The bartender placed a bronze mug of vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer before the Night Elf, and with inhuman grace she had snatched it up and poured its contents down her throat. It burned slightly, the Quintessence of her Vitae simulating life in her throat, and she found herself feeling much better after having done so.

"That hits the proverbial spot, certainly. Barkeep let's have uh..." She glanced over to the Lunari next to her, "A glass of what she is having, and a Pina Colada, Akshasha's tab." Like in the diner, Akshasha frequented Gambit's enough to have established a tab that was currently negative in balance. The bartender took her empty mug away and set about preparing her next round.

With the matter of drink out of the way, and having already eaten at the Diner not too far from here, Akshasha rested her elbows on the bar, interlacing her fingers and resting her chin on them. She then set about to bring her long plan to fruition, "So, my little white rose painted red, pray tell what is your name?" The Drow gave the girl in red a side-long look, flashing her most charming smile; her best attempt to seem cordial. The way the peculiar creature was bathed in blood would've sent the Vampire's heart racing, were it capable of doing so.

It was then that she smelt her. A LeBeau? The heady scent of mutant blood pierced the air, and Akshasha began to have a pretend sneezing fit, something she had been practicing for the past few centuries. Using her sneezing as an excuse, the Drow would turn her head slightly to feign sneezing into the crook of one arm, then the next; all the while stealing quick glances around the room until she saw her. There's my little freak of nature ~

With her index finger, the Drow idly traced a few sentences into the bar, infusing the motion which magic as she did. The magic would cause the words to scrawl themselves temporarily into the bar; though not where she had traced them, but rather right where Gabrielle was sitting. The Vampire would introduce herself to the mutant in a moment, for now a game. Lightly etched into the bar read the words:

'Days come and go
Feelings turn to fact
Sad even though
All hidden by tact
Feeling half complete
You seem quite beat
Knowing I can help; what are you looking for then?'