Devil's Dance Floor (Open)

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I wanna know why you’ve got me going
So lets go..

Aphrodite felt herself blend into the shadows of the bar when she stepped through. Her head was still held high even if no-one could see her. She surveyed her surroundings as she moved slowly through the shadows, dodging various people when necessary. It was packed. Which she guessed was normal for a Friday night. Music was playing loudly enough in the background and Aphrodite mulled over the peoples faces. It was one of those nights where she just wanted to have fun. Minimal work required for her to be able to enjoy herself. Which meant that she’d just be attempting to talk to people while having a drink.

Aphrodite slipped out of the shadows, narrowly avoiding being bumped into. Not that she didn’t give the guy a bit of a scare when she appeared next to him though. She smiled ever so slightly and carried on towards the bar. Her pale silver high heels clicking against the floor as she did so. She had managed to find something decent in her closet at the last minute. A black pencil skirt hugged her legs and ended just above her knees and she had complimented it with a white sleeveless shirt. Pearl studded earrings decorated her ears as well as a single one tear shaped on dangled from her neck. A silver clutch purse shimmered in hand as she passed through the lights. Aphrodite looked down at what she was wearing before smoothing the skirt out. A small smile placed itself on her lips. ‘I look good.’ She thought to herself as she looked up and continued to the bar. Standing in a spot where there were little people and no stools, Aphrodite waved to get the bartenders attention. She had a wait a few seconds before she got served. “Scotch on the rocks with a twist.” Aphrodite said, nodding ever so slightly. The bartender gave her a small smile, though she could tell otherwise. Aphrodite had made a few enemies over the year she had been here already. One of them worked at the bar. Or at least a bar. She had specified which. This must have been it.

When her drink got placed in front of her, Aphrodite nodded to the bartender. “Put it on a tab.” She said, taking out one of her many cards from her silver purse. Once it had been sorted out, she picked her glass up and walked off with it towards an empty booth. She had to push herself through several groups of people to get to this part, but it didn’t really matter. Unfortunately by the time she had done this, people had already placed themselves in the seats. Aphrodite sighed slightly and let herself blend into the shadows again after checking no-one was watching her. Moving around the bar, taking small sips from the glass. Finding a half empty booth, Aphrodite looked over the person sitting there. She took in the aspects of this person, making sure they weren’t going to make any trouble with her. From what she saw, they didn’t seem too much trouble. But then, looks could be deceiving.

Making her way over to the table, keeping herself in the shadows to avoid detection. Aphrodite then got within a metre of the table before coming out and stepping up to the table. “Any chance I could sit down?” She asked, a small smile on her face.

[ilyas aylin]

It’s a wonderful day for booze. Too bad the place was so crowded tonight.

Ilyas wandered into the bar with some difficulty; was it really necessary these young brats stood before the entrance? A ‘gentle’ shove here and there cleared the way from him to pass through. The music was banging; what else was new? And the youngsters busily chatting, laughing, enjoying themselves. Why this town didn’t have a bar for old people like him was an absolute mystery. What he’d give to just sit by himself at a sleazy bar, drinking until he could no longer recall what his own name was..

The man was either lucky, or intimidating enough to chase of another loner from one of the stools by the bar. Still, he didn’t favor sharing the bar with this man people; he had little choice. It was this, or cheap supermarket liquor. The blonde shivered slightly at the thought of the latter. And therefore, he took a seat in the only free stool left, rolling his icy blue eyes slightly as he felt it was still warm. It seemed truly only the loners sat at the bar, because on both of his sides, Ilyas’ wasn’t bothered by ridiculous laughter or loud voices. The young man on his left simply gazed into his empty glass with sad puppy eyes, the one of his right constantly tried to get the barmaid’s attention. Loser.

From behind came a loud cheer, annoyingly enough for the blonde man to turn around with a frown. Damn, coming here tonight was a bad idea. That was when he spotted her; that familiar face and red hair. His eyes widened for a short moment. Was it really her? The young lady sat at a table with a bunch of others, probably her high-class friends, although she still kept her distance from the others a bit. It was her, the fierce redheaded huntress, although she looked a lot different today. Far more classy. She’d tried her best for her night out, he figured.

Slowly, a smile came to Ilyas’ lips. Clearly, she hadn’t yet spotted him, because there were no insults flying at him yet, nor any mean glares from where she was sitting. Perhaps tonight could still be fun.

The man quickly ordered himself a drink, took a few sips of it while his mind wrapped around a little scheme. A moment later, his eye landed on the young man on his left side again. Would it be terribly mean? Likely. Would it be fun? Likely.

He rested one of his elbows on the bar and leaned slightly closer to the guy. “See that girl?” he muttered softly as he gestured over his shoulder in the direction of the redhead. Keeping a straight face was never a challenge for Ilyas. The youngster gazed over his shoulder as well and swiftly spotted who the other man aimed for. With a questioning look on his face, he looked back to Ilyas. “She digs you,” the blonde man added before taking a sip from his drink again. Of course that statement wouldn’t be enough to send the guy to harass the girl; it needed a bit more persuasion.

“She and I, we go way back,” he stated, with his voice still low and soft. He glanced back at the redhead shortly as well, resisting the urge to smirk. “She’s shy. Asked me to tell you.” Apparently, this was more believable, because the young man’s gaze fell on Aphrodite again, this time, a more interested glint in his eyes. “Virgin Margarita; her favorite drink,” Ilyas said while focussing back on his own drink, as if nothing had happened, but not before adding one final thing. “I’d go over there, if I were you.”

Well, the younger guy took this advice to heart, because it only took him a few more seconds to order the drink and get off from his seat, leaving the blonde man to snicker softly. He had to be delicate, but gazed over his shoulder nonetheless; the look on the girl’s face he didn’t want to miss.

“Hey,” the young man started as he’d reached the table where his crush was sitting. Instantly, he placed the drink on the table and put up his best smile. “For you.”

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I wanna know why you’ve got me going
So lets go..

The person Aphrodite asked looked her up and down before nodding, only to get up a second later and sit at the bar. So much for a pleasant conversation. She thought with a roll of her eyes. Clearly conversation was going to be hard to come by this evening. She sipped her scotch, taking a look around. Half, it not more, of the current visitors of the bar tonight were already drunk or nearly there. There was little chance of her not getting on by a drunkard tonight rather than make a polite conversation. Aphrodite internally sighed, a little disappointed that she had no-one decent enough to talk too. It didn’t even have to be a proper conversation, her teasing someone would’ve been fun enough. Sneaking up and scaring people from the shadows was all well and good, but there was only so many times you could pull that one drunks before it stopped being fun. That and flirting back with the drunk men got boring after a while since they continuously stared at her in ways she wasn’t particularly comfortable with. It made her shudder ever so slightly at the thought of it before taking another sip of her scotch.

She let the taste of the alcohol flood her senses. It had been a while since she’d been able to have a decent glass of scotch. Her father kept a decent amount in his cupboard back home, but there was little chance of Aphrodite being able to get a glass of it. She was just glad that her ID was in her purse. It might have been tampered with a little, but it had always worked with her. She hoped that it wouldn’t fail her yet. Aphrodite was just about to get up and start walking around when a young man stepped in front of her table, placing a drink in front of her. She stared at the drink, a small sneer appearing on her lips as she then looked back up at the male. If she wasn’t mistaken, the drink was a Virgin Margarita. Not one of her favourite drinks in the world. The flavours were too overpowering for her taste. Aphrodite looked over to where the male might have come from, her eyes landing on the bar. There was an empty stool right by…No. Aphrodite stared for a few seconds before the image of the guy clicked. The blonde male was staring at her, his piercing blue eyes looking directly at her, a small smirk on his face. The pieces all clicked together. Two could play at that game.

Leaning forwards, Aphrodite let a flirtatious smile appear on her face. “Honey, I’m very grateful for the gesture, but I’m not interested. I just don’t swing that way, you get me?” It was a cruel way to get out of it really, but it would save her the trouble of having to come up with a decent excuse. She watched as the young males face dropped, sadness filling his eyes as he was shot down, nodding ever so slightly. “I’m not really a big fan of this either. But maybe the woman over there will enjoy it more.” She said, pointing at the drink and then at the woman in the booth next to her. Aphrodite had noted that the woman seemed lonely, sitting there all by herself. “Take care sweetie.” She waved the guy off, a small smile on her face. As soon as the guy had his back turned, her smile went almost as quickly has it appeared. Aphrodite then signalled to the waitress that was walking around. Despite how busy it was, she managed to get service pretty quickly. “Know the blonde male with the blue eyes at the bar? I’m having a little fun with him and was wondering if you could help me out.” She asked. The waitress nodded quickly. Clearly the male was well known in here so that the staff could recognise him without having to look around. Aphrodite let a small smile appear on her face.

“Can you tell him that there’s someone waiting outside for him, a sister or something. It’s urgent and he should go out there as soon as possible. But make sure that you don’t go straight over there from this table; otherwise he’ll be suspicious of what’s going on.” Aphrodite explained, carefully slipping some money over the table. The waitress now had a small smile on her face as she took the money and nodded. “Oh, and get me another drink please. This time make it a Bourbon with ice please.” She nodded at the waitress and leaned back in her seat as she watched the female walk off. She looked towards the male, nodding ever so slightly in recognition. It would take a while, but Aphrodite hoped that the waitress was a good enough actress to pull this off properly. She decided to move while she had the chance and move closer, but keeping out of sight. Moving around the bar a bit first, she then found a spot that particularly comfortable. Moving into the shadows, she allowed herself to relax and then blend in with it. She was near the bar, but not too close that the male would know she was there.

Several minutes passed and Aphrodite finally spotted the female waitress walk up to the male at the bar. She sighed, looking around but keeping a slight eye on the pair at the bar. She could barely hear what was being said, but she could make out a couple of words that were strung together. “Excuse me sir, but there’s a female outside claiming that she’s your..sister of some sorts. She says it’s urgent and can’t wait. She seemed…What’s the word? Nervous of some sorts, I think she needs help.” From what Aphrodite heard, the waitress was pretty good. Now all that needed to happen was for the male to buy it. Aphrodite stood there, keeping part of her concentration in keeping herself in the shadows as her blue eyes stayed trained on the male, sipping the drink in her hand.

[ilyas aylin]

The poor guy. Ilyas couldn’t help but wince slightly when the young man got turned down and let his head hang in sheer disappointment. Not that the blonde man had expected the redhead to give in that easily, but it was at least worth a shot; just seeing her reaction would be fun, except that the guy gave up rather easily. She’d probably used a decent excuse, like ‘Sorry, I’m gay. Back off’. That worked nearly always, Ilyas knew from experience. Apparently, he had to try harder to make the redhead feel awkward. Then again, with a mouth like hers, she wasn’t likely ever embarrassed. Good for her.

No longer interested in the whole scene that now played at the next booth, Ilyas turned back around and focussed on his drink. Damn, was his glass empty quickly or what? That bargirl probably hadn’t filled it up decently. He hinted towards the woman to give him a refill. She should know him by now; after all, he now was practically a regular customer here.

The man rubbed his temples gently; there was something about his place that gave him a headache every single time. It could be due to how crowded it was here, or perhaps the liquor wasn’t of such a fantastic quality as they lead people to believe. And damn it, it was hot in here. He took off his brown leather jacket and folded it, placing it on his lap. Not that anyone would want to steal it; it was old and valueless. But with all the drunk people around here, one couldn’t be too careful. They’d probably spill their drinks everywhere, maybe even puke on it. That thought made the man cringe. God, he needed to get out of this place. Even toying with the redhead girl wasn’t motivation enough to stay. Alright, one more drink. Maybe two.

Maybe three.

Quite surprising how none of the personnel here so far had questioned him about his drinking. He’d sort of expected it by now, but the more he drank, the more money he’d owe them. No wonder they didn’t complain. After all, in this world, all that was truly important was money. A few weeks ago, Ilyas had managed to charm one of the waitresses into remitting his bill. It was quite funny, actually, how she believed he was a poor homeless man who came here simply to forget all of his sorrows. Technically, it wasn’t even a lie; it was just well played, a bit exaggerated, perhaps, but somehow, still the truth. The lovely girl felt so sorry for him, she decided to pay the whole thing. How decent of her. Too bad Ilyas hadn’t seen her since; surely, he’d try to play that game once again. How did he get this good at lying anyway? The man internally shrugged. As if anybody cared.

He allowed the liquid to roll around in his glass, playing with the ice cube; it was somehow fun to sculpt them into all kind of beautiful things. Little art it was, how the cubes turned from simple melting squares to butterflies and elephants, without anyone actually noticing. There weren’t many that knew of his ability, except.. The man glanced over his shoulder again, but the booth where Ruby was previously sitting was now empty. Apparently, she didn’t appreciate the joke. Oh well.

His new drink was half empty as the barwoman stepped up to him from across the counter. As Ilyas looked up, he noticed she had a serious expression on her face and her eyes were aimed solely on him. It made the man raise an eyebrow, until the lady start to speak. Slowly, the man’s blue eyes started to blink as he took in what the woman said. His sister?

“Is that so?” the man mumbled, leaning his elbows on the bar again and resting his head on top of his hands. “My sister?” His eyebrows furrowed slightly, his lips turning into a thin line; it almost made him seem worried. His blue eyes slowly travelled to the door of the packed bar, trying to get a glimpse of the outside, but with this many people, it was impossible. The windows were covered with curtains as well, and the glass was tinted anyways, which made it difficult to see into the darkness outside. If Yaira was indeed here and she was troubled, he would instantly come to her aid, no questions asked. But Ilyas was naturally suspicious of everyone, and waiting outside a bar wasn’t exactly something his sister would do; if she’d need help, she’d come to find him personally. Then again, what if it was true? Thoughts quickly started to spin inside his mind.

In one gulp, the man emptied his glass, safe for the ice cubes. “If that’s the case, I suppose I should go,” he stated simply, shortly. He stood up from the seat, put his jacket back on and made his way towards the exit, but already after taking two steps, he paused. “Oh, just one more thing.” He spun back around, towards the barwoman, and looked her in the eye. “What does she look like?”

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I wanna know why you’ve got me going
So lets go..

Her insides froze at the mans question. Aphrodite didn’t anticipate that question. She could see the bartender freeze up slightly as well. Neither of then anticipated the question. And everything was going so well. She thought, her insides feeling like they’d shattered into a million pieces. He had bought it so far, but it was up until that question that it felt like it was over. She had no idea what the guys sister looked liked, but there was a tiny part of her that refused to give up hope. They seemed to had struck a nerve with the whole sibling thing which indicated to Aphrodite that they were on the right track to a certain extent. If he really did have a sibling, then they must look somewhat like the man in front of her. That piece also seemed to be in the waitress as well and she seemed to have an idea. “She’s got blonde hair, like the shade your hair is in as well as blue eyes that can pierce other peoples as good as your own. She’s about this high.” The waitress gestured to how tall she thought the girl was. Aphrodite had no idea if it was close to the appearance of the guys sister or sibling or whatever it was, but she noticed what the woman was doing. Judging from the mans appearance, she couldn’t have been far off. “She’s definitely a few years younger than you are. I can’t quite put my finger on how old, but she’s definitely got your good looks.” With that compliment, the waitress winked at the male and walked off to serve some customers.

Aphrodite couldn’t help but smile at the woman’s confidence. There is a woman who knows what she’s doing. She took another sip of her drink, allowing the liquid to swirl around her mouth before swallowing. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched the male for a few more seconds before emptying the rest of the glass. She had a drink she needed to get. Whether the male bought the story at this point, she would have to wait and see, but Aphrodite moved out of the shadows, disabling her powers for now as she did so. Walking to the bar, she placed the empty glass on the polished wood. “I ordered a Bourbon about fifteen minutes ago.” She stated, slipping onto an empty barstool. It sat near to where the male previously sat. The bartender nodded at her request, lifting the glass of amber liquid in front of her. Aphrodite smiled slightly at the male, taking the cool glass in her hand and lifted it to her mouth. She found the taste pleasant and rather..refreashing to say the least.

She turned around on the barstool, looking around the bar, her legs crossing over one another. Aphrodite focused on the door and wondered whether or not the male and taken the bait and gone outside in search of his ‘sister’. In truth, there was no-one out there and was a rather mean trick to play. But whoever thought that Aphrodite Georgiou would play nice was certainly mistaken. While she had yet to find out information about the guy since they’d first met, she was certainly learning more about him tonight. If what had just been said was true, then she would know a little more about him. Which was a start and would really help her with her search. Ever since their encounter in the woods, Aphrodite hadn’t had the chance to do any proper searching since her father had practically made her house bound apart from the occasional hunting trip. And that was only if he supervised her doing it. He claimed he didn’t want any ‘strange men’ approaching her again. Aphrodite had nearly retorted with a smart assed reply to that since her father hardly cared about what she did as long as it didn’t effect him directly. She had managed to hold herself back though and had managed to get free of her fathers grip yesterday evening.

Aphrodite heard the door slam as someone entered the bar. She ignored this sound, thinking it just another person coming in to the establishment to enjoy a drink. Which by any means it was. She continued to sip of her drink, a small coy smile on her face as she caught the eye of a few guys around the bar.

[ilyas aylin]

Well, that was an easy guess. Basically, the waitress had simply described Ilyas with boobs. True enough, most siblings looked alike and Ilyas’ sister looked a lot like him, but there surely were some differences. For instance, his eyes were an icy blue, while Yaira’s were rather a royal blue, far richer and more colorful than his. Her hair was also a much different shade. Either way, it was a rather good first guess coming from the barmaid. The flirt in his direction was answered with a sarcastic smile, but as soon as the waitress had left to continue her business, the blonde man nearly gagged. The people here were more annoying than any he’d met before. Why this waitress girl had decided to bother him tonight left him in the dark, but whatever her reasons were, she must’ve thought he was a total moron. Reason enough to not stay here for another moment.

His hand hovered over the empty glass he’d left standing on the bar a moment ago, the ice cubes quickly melting and drawn to his hand. Just in case. No, he didn’t expect his sister to stand outside waiting for him, but one couldn’t be too careful. And if it turned out she wasn’t, he’d have a nice tool to take out some of his frustration of tonight. Just as he turned around, a familiar voice reached his ears. He recognized it instantly, it was quite distinguishing; the big mouthed redhead. Throwing a glance over his shoulder told him she’d now taken a seat at the bar. So, she hadn’t exactly left, just changed her position. And she ordered a sophisticated drink; how classy. Perhaps she had something to celebrate. That smug smile gave away that much. Funny, how well she’d recovered from the awkward attempt to get hit on by an even more awkward guy. The way she turned him down wasn’t exactly a reason to be smug. There had to be a different reason for why she..

Oh.

It dawned on him then. Now it all made sense; the waitress coming on to him, the bullshit story about his sister outside. She tried to counter his tease from earlier and judging from her face and posture, she was rather proud of her own creativity. But what the redhead didn’t know was that she made a giant mistake; under no circumstances would Ilyas allow his sister to be used for some cheap joke. And if she’d known a little more about the blonde man, she wouldn’t have attempted to mess with him. If she’d known what he was truly capable of. She wouldn't get away with this.

A small smile played on Ilyas lips as he approached the redhead. Surely, she’d like to see him again, wouldn’t she? The distance between them decreased quickly, but not a word was spoken. With just a feet between them, Ilyas came to a halt, the smile still on his mouth, but that would change soon. Before the redhead could as much as open her mouth, he’d reached out towards her glass and folded his fingers around it. The liquid around froze instantly, crystals of ice appearing on the outside of the glass as well. The smile had now been replaced by a stern, serious look, a glint of rage in his eyes, even. “If you ever use my sister to get to me again, I will pull all the red hairs from your head, until the very last one,” the man hissed under his breath, but definitely loud enough for the young lady to hear. And that surely wasn’t an empty threat. In the blink of an eye, he smacked the glass from her hand. As it landed on the wooden floor, it broke into two solid pieces. And yet again, people were far too busy with themselves to even notice something as obvious as this.

With a dark frown this time, the man spun. “She’s paying my bill,” he stated simply while he gestured towards the girl. He figured the waitress would understand that much and that rich bitch had enough money for the both of them. He didn’t wait for anyone’s approval; it wasn’t needed. Pacing quickly, he made for the door; everyone in his way was shoved aside without warning and after passing through the exit, the door was slammed close with force.

Just a moment after the blonde had left the bar, the liquid that had previously been frozen on the ground swiftly turned from solid to fluid again and dripped over the bar’s floor.

[cynthia aphrodite georgiou]

I wanna know why you’ve got me going
So lets go..

Aphrodite would’ve jumped if she had the chance. Internally she did, but on the outside she just about managed to keep a straight face as the liquid in her glass froze. She then heard a familiar voice appear near her, just loud enough for her to hear. Well this was interesting. So he did have a sister, that would certainly prove useful. A smug smile appeared on her lips as she looked forwards, not bothering to look at the male. It was quite a short statement anyway. Not that she would take heed of it, the man was quite unaware of just who her father was. Both of them could cause quite a bit of trouble for certain if they wanted too. “Be careful who you mess with then. Next time I won’t be so kind.” She mumbled. He probably couldn’t hear what she said, what with the crowds of people all around them. Her hand was starting to go numb with the cold of the glass, but kept her fingers around it all the same. The next second, the glass was on the floor and broken in nearly two clean pieces. So much her drink. Aphrodite turned to face the male, her jaw clenched. The small amount of temper that she did have had risen to a point now.

It was too late anyway, the man had spun around to the bar stating that she was paying his bill and stormed off. Aphrodite tried to calm herself down as she watched the male walk off in a huff. He had a good point. If she had any siblings, she would’ve reacted in much the same way. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be seeing each other again. Oh no, too much had happened for them to stop seeing each other. She looked down at the floor. Seeing the liquid seeping around the broken glass, Aphrodite sighed and looked at the bartender. “Sorry about him. He has issues. Can I get another one of those as well as a dustpan and cloth?” She asked. She got the dustpan in a matter of seconds and bent down to clean the mess the guy had made up. It wasn’t the first time she’d cleaned up someone else’s mess, but it would’ve been dangerous just sitting there for someone to walk on. She carefully scooped up the broken pieces of glass with the dustpan and placed it back on the bar for the bartender to take away. It wasn’t going to be repaired and Aphrodite was quite alright with paying for it that. It was the mans last words that she had a problem with.

She stooped down again, this time to clean the rest of the mess up. Aphrodite wouldn’t pay it. There was no way in hell that she was paying whatever sum of money the male had worked up over the course of night. Instead, another idea popped into her mind. She finished cleaning up the mess on the floor and hopped back up onto her bar stool. Pulling out some notes, Aphrodite paid for the tab she’d made earlier, getting out enough for just what she’d ordered. “Put this drink and any others I order tonight on the bill for the man who just walked out. He’s of no immediate relation to me. He’s a close friend of mine, I’m sure he won’t mind.” If they were going to play it this way, then Aphrodite wasn’t going to be nice about it. The male water sprite was going to have quite the shock the next time he came in here.