Snippet #2619081

Warren listened to her explanation to not going to the party, and it made sense naturally. He couldn’t even imagine being able to hear everyone’s thoughts and doubted he would like that power at all. He wasn’t exactly mister popularity in the arena, more of a mixed bag with a hint of underdog and a lot of people had a lot of things to say about that. After all, without spare electricity to pump towards the more extravagant things, most entertainment had gone out the window. Arena fights were practically movies, and everyone had an opinion on every movie they had ever seen. Returning his thoughts to the matter at hand, he was happy to see that at least one of the Delegates that he had met wasn’t either a innuendo spewing doctor or amphibious bigot, so that set Warren’s mind at ease slightly. He might have been a little happier if she was going to the party, someone to ‘hang on to’ for lack of a better term so that he could feel the people out around him before going into it full tilt.

She moved past him, grabbing the same hunk of metal that Warren had been working on...with her bare hand no less. Did I miss something? Are you immune to fire and heat too? Warren thought to himself as she made a far more subtle jab at his smithing abilities than the others probably would have. He wasn’t offended, he knew it was shit. He only knew how to melt things, not make them look or feel like anything resembling a weapon or armor. “I...highly doubt that.” Warren stated in response to Chris coming around. He hadn’t known the guy long, but already he seemed like the guy who held grudges and didn’t forget slights against his character. By Warren’s judgement, his very species was a slight to Chris. “But hey, if you have time I wouldn’t mind a few lessons...should probably learn how to do this anyways should the worse come to pass.” The ‘worse’ in Warren’s mind being that of a crippling injury.

Her tip about the armor was appreciated if not needed, Warren had already decided he would be wearing it. Sure, she may think it’s harder than one thinks to get infected with the myriad of immortal diseases, but she was wrong. She didn’t have to worry about it, Warren did. True, he hadn’t seen many people infected with the disease, but the few that he did had made him overly cautious. Vampirism wasn’t too bad, or at least that’s what he assumed. The transformation appeared to be subtle, but he had seen someone transform into a Lycan once before...and it was not an easy thing to watch.

Next she brought out some needle thing. Apparently a chemical cocktail meant to ensure that he would be ready to go at a moment’s notice if he was somehow incapacitated either through drugs or alcohol. Granted, the drugs wouldn’t be a problem. He had done his best to remain clean of that stuff all his life, with only the passing second hand smoke sometimes getting him a bit more light headed than he would like to admit. Alcohol was another matter though, and while his tolerance was fairly high he was glad to have something like the needle to get him back to the land of the sober. He picked up the little tube and gave it a once over, with the comment of ‘feeling like he was going to die’ hanging in his mind with more than enough of an unwarranted sigh. That particular sensation was something he had gotten enough of today. “Thanks.” He stated, pocketing the needle as she moved away from him to gather her bags. He partially wanted to laugh condescendingly at Katherine’s comment about Chris singing, but then remembered his species and considered that a very real threat. He made a mental note to get the fuck out of dodge should that happen.

With a note to get in touch with her should he need anything, she made to leave only to literally stumble into someone just outside the door, grabbing the man’s arm and twisting it hard around his back. For most of the exchange, Warren simply stared at the two as if they had grown a third arm apiece. It was one of the most awkward conversations he had seen, and he had been in a few himself. Mr. Thompson gave a half wave to Warren, who returned it with his own hesitant wave that said ‘O...K…?’. With a note that maybe he was the one making people act weird tonight, Kathy left the building. “Not fuckin likely.” Warren whispered to himself as he peered around the armory once more. Part of him contemplated not going to the party, either staying here and working on something else or heading home instead. He wasn’t much of a party animal, leaning more towards small groups of friends hanging around and causing trouble. In the end though, he decided that he had to at least make an effort. It seemed like the other Delegates would be there, and he had to try to make some kind of impression on them.

Within a few minutes, he had donned the underlayer of his armor underneath his shirt and looked in the mirror. He appeared a bit bulkier than he normally was, but it wasn’t overly noticeable unless someone was explicitly staring at him for several moments. It would simply look like he had more body mass, with only Chris and maybe Annita being able to pick apart the subtle difference. If they found him and saw, he could already imagine the ridicule those two would give him. He would deal with it, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to downplay him to a crowd and it wouldn’t be the last. With a little bit of touching up and rubbing of his head slightly, a habit that had formed when he got a little nervous, he was out the door.

---

The music was heard long before he even spotted the building in question. A sizable place to be certain, with more than a couple people hanging around the open front door. All Immortals without a doubt, with eyes, fangs, and excessive body hair making it clearly obvious who was what. Warren could feel the tinges of social anxiety clawing at the edge of his mind as he strode forward. Normally he wouldn’t have a problem being around people, but it was the fact that they were all immortals and the people that he did know here were both people who he barely knew and were crazy in their own separate ways. He walked past the people hanging around the door, pausing only in their drug fueled sex crazed little actions to stare and sniff at the human as he passed by. They didn’t say anything, thank God, but he knew what they were thinking. What was a human doing here?

Making his way inside, he could see this was anything but what he would have considered a party. This was about eleven levels more than anything he could have thrown together, with a practical light show, strippers, open bar, and more than enough drugs to keep everyone’s minds several league above the clouds. It was awesome and somewhat terrifying at the same time. He paused just inside the place long enough to scour through the people there much like he would survey a potential ambush site, and spotted the two people he actually knew here. Chris was in the pool messing around with a bunch of topless chicks, and Annita was on the couch being somehow less subtle than before with a guy that Warren didn’t recognize.

I’m...going to need to get shitfaced for this one. Warren thought to himself as he practically beelined for the bar. He waited there for a moment, wondering if there was someone actually serving drinks or if it was first come first serve deal. After a couple seconds, Warren decided to simply screw it and worked his way around the counter. He opened the mini fridge underneath, giving a low whistle at the sheer amount of variety in the stores as opening up several cabinets revealed more of the same. “Jackpot.” Warren stated as he grabbed several different bottles and brought them up onto the counter. He snapped his fingers as he turned around, looking for glasses and quickly finding them. When he returned to his glasses, he saw that several people were now standing at the bar.

“I was wondering why there was a human here…” The man in the middle stated, a werewolf to be sure judging by his size and body hair, also the weird eyes although those were more in common with vampires. A burly looking dude to be sure, long brown hair and a thick beard. He looked a lot older than what he probably was, which didn’t stop the almost condescending smile he had on his face. “You must be the bartender!”

“I...what?” Warren asked, still holding the glasses in his hand.

“Well why else would a human be at an immortal party, one of Chris’s on top of that. You must be one hell of a drink maker for him to pull your ass up here! Well don’t just stand there humie, make me a drink!” The two girls flanking the man, topless as one would imagine, sat there staring at Warren expecting him to move. His eyes were naturally drawn to several places, but most notably the teeth as they licked at them. An obvious vampiristic intimidation that might have worked if their nipples weren’t rubbing against the counter. It was against Warren’s very nature to be surrounded by this many potential threats, but he suppressed it as best he could.

“I’m not…” Warren started, before giving a sly smile. “Of course, preference or house call?” The werewolf gave a shrug.

“Just pick the best you got.” Warren smiled, grabbing one of the bottles he had already picked out and pouring a shot for the werewolf in question. He slid it over to him, making sure to hide the name of the alcohol in question. The werewolf simply stared at him. “I thought bartenders were supposed to be flashy, make cocktails and the like.”

“I prefer substance over flash.” Warren simply stated, placing an elbow on the counter and resting his head on his hand. “But hey, if you can handle that then maybe I’ll make something else for you.” The werewolf stared at him for a second, a snarl almost coming out of him as the alpha male mentality started to rear its ugly head. Without a thought, he downed the shot in one go. He placed the glass back on the table, and wasn’t even able to get out two words before his eyes started to tear up and beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. The girls around him took a step back, wondering what exactly Warren had done to him, but before he could even say anything to him, Warren had place a large glass of milk in front of him. The man gulped it down like no one’s business before practically smashing the glass back on the counter.

“What...the fuck...was that?!” The wolf asked, looking at Warren who casually flipped the bottle around so the label could be read.

“Naga Chilli vodka my friend, or at least the closest we’ll ever get to it. Supposedly the hottest drink on the planet before the entire world went flip side up.” Warren stated as he started pouring himself a double shot of the drink himself. He gave a cheers with the glass to the wolf before downing the glass himself and smacking his lips slightly. He would never tell these guys, but a perk of his abilities also included the ‘heat’ from spicy foods...meaning he could never have something like what the wolf went through happen to him. “Care for another?” The wolf shook his head as he looked at Warren like he had just swallowed a ton of knives.

“How about...just making us different drink?” Warren was in the process of pouring himself another drink when he gave a small chuckle.

“Oh right, about that...I’m not a bartender.” Warren stated, sliding some whiskey down to him. “But help yourself.” Warren grabbed a couple beers out of the fridge before making his way to one of the couches in front of the stripper poles, or exotic dancers, or the hoo ha parade. He sat himself down, finishing another shot of the vodka and feeling his body get all fuzzy with the feeling of alcohol finally starting to kick in. He opened one of the beers as he watched the girl in front of him use the pole like some kind of sexy fire escape.

If he was going to be here, he might as well enjoy the view.