Bartender? {Semi-Open, PM to Join - Intermediate}

[ammyloohoo]

The customers' cheers simply made Mallory glow, her performer's streak showing once again. She was balancing two glasses upon each other on her head, making a show of how hard it was for her to keep balanced. Yeah, they were an easy crowd; drunkards, refugees, and children, all of whom were desperate for something to laugh about...but that didn't detract at all from Mallory's mood. She decided to kick the performance up a notch (after all, one can't just stare at a balancing act all day); she stepped onto the bar-stool, careful to not stumble, lest the glasses drop. From the stool, she got up to the bar itself, to the hoots of the young band of merchants sitting at the bar (who had less-than-wholesome comments to yell at Mallory.) She grinned, ignoring them and kicking one of their empty cups with her toe into her hand, and adding the third cup to the stack upon her head. The men hollered, the girls giggled and 'oooh'ed. She grinned, deciding to do a bit of a jig on the bar, just to liven things up a bit...

...it was a shame that Mallory didn't see the puddle of ale next to her heel.

She slipped, falling backwards into the bartender's booth with an amusing "thump." The crowd roared with a raucous laughter...they weren't the most sensitive audience, but then again, Mallory wasn't all too fond of saps anyhow. She pulled her revolver out of its holster, firing a couple of shots up into the air to keep the crowd from getting too rowdy. As they quieted down, she grinned. Pulling herself up, she inspected the damage done; three smashed cups, and a spot on her back that was going to hurt in the morning. Yeah, it wasn't anything to be cheering about, but why worry tonight about an injury that wouldn't bruise until tomorrow?

"Hey children, who says the party's over?" She chuckled at one of the merchants' worried face; he actually seemed concerned for Mallory's fall. She patted the guy's shoulder, grabbing a glass from the hangar above her, filling the vessel with some drink as she handed it to the young man, "Drink up, kiddo."

[sagefirefox]

The stack of two glasses upon the bartender's head was nothing compared to the stack of glasses that sat in front of a girl in the corner of the bar. The bartender and this girl, they were about the same age, but one wore a smile and the other looked miserable. This stranger in the back of the bar was a little under-aged, one might say, but if anyone confronted her about it they were sorry. Being sad was one thing, but being miserable was another. Every time someone would confront the girl with another drink they'd ask politely, "Dear? Aren't you a little young?" Then they'd quickly set the drink down and skitter back to their safe haven once they saw the piercing green eyes glowering at them.

To hell with everything was Sage's new motto. Life didn't matter anymore, as it had screwed her over far too many times. Why should she give a damn about living life happily? She grabbed the shot glass filled halfway with straight vodka and took a sip...or something like that. Some vodka spilled over the rim and onto the table while the girl attempted to drink. Yes, she was just that wasted. The Firefox was never one to really hold her alcohol, but after 6 straight days of drinking Sage was a pro. The shot glass was empty now, and she added it to her pyramid of empty glasses. 4 on the bottom, 2 in the middle, and now she added one more...how many was that. She held up ten fingers to try and count but somehow held up twenty-four.

Oh dear, it looked like the alcohol was finally getting to her. She sat back in the booth, expecting the cushions to somehow take away the effects of hard liquor. Why was she here again? Oh, right, because she didn't care anymore. What little she could still remember (thanks to the vodka) consisted of a very large wolf, a man that made her heart stop just imagining his face, and another Firefox. It was quite a confusing bunch of memories. That wolf made her frown for some reason, with it's green eyes and large body. The wolf's fur had three different colors in it, with the markings on it closely resembling that of a fox. Wait...was that wolf her? She had those same green eyes, right? Sage grabbed the shot glass off the top of the pyramid and looked at the distorted reflection. Yup, she still have green eyes. She gave a sigh of relief and set the glass right back where it was before, though not as carefully this time. The glasses toppled to the floor and happened to shatter at the same time another set of glasses shattered. Sage didn't notice though, she was too busy thinking. The man she had seen must be the one she loves. She was always repeating to herself now-a-days 'if you give your heart away, make sure you don't...you don't.' Well, she couldn't remember the other half of the saying at the moment. Seeing as how she couldn't figure out what happened between her and that guy, she moved on. On to thinking about that other Firefox...who was he? He certainly wasn't the Firefox she had seen at that one place...uh...what place was that again?

Some gunshots forced her mind back into reality and she winced. The hangover she was going to receive in the morning would be deadly thanks to whoever fired the shots. The whole bar got quiet then, and Sage had a nice moment of peace. Even with vodka spilled around her and shards of glass littered on the floor, she just took the time to soak up the silence. And then it was back to wanting another shot. Her eyes looked around for a possible worker to flag down for another drink. She saw the bartender, and realized that she was the one who fired the gunshots. Sage looked up, set her chin on her hands, and smiled. It was thanks to the alcohol that made her wonder something rather obvious: What happened when you fired bullets into the ceiling? The answer was that the bullets had a slight chance of hitting a pipe which had a slight chance of leaking some liquid which had a slight chance of being waste from a sewer. But of course there was only a slight chance of that happening. The drunken Firefox wondered if that would happen as she went back to counting on her fingers how many shots she had downed so far. 4 plus 2 plus 1 added up to be too little. She stared down the bartender in hopes of getting another drink.

((There you go Ammy, I swear if you let this thread die I will never go on LC again! *Shakes fist* ;D))

[ammyloohoo]

((I shall not let this thread die! *Stands with First Aid Kit at the ready*))

As the crowd settled back into their original conversations before the little performance that Mallory gave, she gave a quick scan of the pub; yeah, everything seemed normal. There was Old Al, the big guy who has apparently been coming to the pub for longer Mallory has been alive; there was Miss May, the local Lady of The Night (or so she heard...); and there was...wait a moment. Lonnie wasn't in the bar. How was this possible? The poor drunk always came in earlier than the mob, he would run like clockwork on his way here...In his usual place sat a young girl, probably around Mallory's age, from the looks of it. Her black hair and downturned, miserable expression was pitiable...and the monumental stack of emptied cups in front of her suggested that the girl was, simply put, smashed.

Jeez, Mallory grinned to herself, She looks like a friggin' date-rape advert; lonely, drunk, and sad.

Her grin faded however as she saw three guys eyeing the green-eyed girl from behind her. Ick, the creeps. They certainly didn't seem as though they had the most noble intentions for the girl at the table. She checked the clock behind her...eh, what the heck, she only had about five minutes left in her shift. Her boss wouldn't mind much if she took her break a bit earlier, and it was for a good cause (unless, of course, letting a drunk girl get taken advantage of is a good thing.) She hopped over the bar, shocking the same merchant-boy who looked so concerned for her when she fell. She knew how to handle the situation at hand, she'd seen what happened all too many times before. She smiled warmly, waving to the girl with the cups, another pint in her hand as a gift. She slid into the seat next to her, laughing;

"Hey girl, how's it been? I haven't seen you in so long!" She nudged the new cup towards her, offering the drink, "C'mon, one more...for ol' time's sake."

Her eyes darted across the room to the would-be felons. They were looking confused as to what they should do; take both the girls and risk being heard, or leave them be. This was the situation Mallory needed. She whispered hastily in the other girl's ear;

"I'm not all too positive if you've noticed, honey, but there were three not-so-wholesome guys eyeing you over in the corner behind you...and I'm pretty positive they're not thinking of taking you to dinner and a movie. Let me sit next to you; creeps like them only single out girls that are alone." Her eyes darted around the room again, then came back to the other girl, "Now, when I pull away, laugh as if I told a joke...it'll make us seem a lot less suspicious."

[sagefirefox]

That damn bartender... When Sage finally caught her eye, the bartender looked away. How dare she look away! The drunken Firefox was fuming at the other girl and looked to see what stole Sage's attention. Now what was stealing this bartender's attention? Was it the tattered drapes covering the windows, the soot-caked lamps on the tables, the three guys eying Sage pervertedly, or a bottle of aged scotch sitting on a shelf? It had to be the scotch. The bartender was probably looking for the best alcohol to get her black-haired, green-eyed customer.

She settled down in the seat, smiling--or at least trying too--as she waited for the glass of premium liquor to be set down in front of her. Sage couldn't really remember anymore what caused her to come to the bar and drown her misery out with vodka. Not that she really cared about it anymore, what done was done. All she had to worry about now was the tab that would be arriving at the end of the night. For the past few nights, Sage had been able to leave in her Firefox form before anyone asked her to cough up the change. Things would be different tonight, due to the fact that Sage was too drunk right now to even spell out her name ("It's... uh...Ssssssaghe" "Okay, and how do you spell that?" "...S-O-C-K"). If she tried to shift right now and leave, her little paws would probably give out right away from the booze. Perhaps she could get someone to pay for her food. Someone like those three guys over there. They looked nice enough, surely they'd pay for her round of drinks. She was just about to get up and walk over to them when a glass of aged scotch was set in front of her.

She leaned down and peer at the glass carefully. No, this wasn't scotch, this was the same thing she had been drinking ever since she got here. Sage looked up to see what idiot brought her this, after all, she was obviously eying the scotch. It was the bartender, go figures. That girl probably had no brain in her. Sage heard the bartender speaking and watched as a cup was nudged toward her. She ignored the offer to drink and squinted at the intruder. The look Sage had given the other girl was because she wanted a drink, not to sit and chat with her. The Firefox scooted back in the booth to put space between her and the bartender and her elbow tapped the glass of vodka. Some of it sloshed over the side and Sage looked to why her arm was wet. "You got vodkuh all ovur my arm..." Sage whispered with disappointment. Great, now she was going to have to find a place to wash up at, after getting some sucker to pay for her drinks of course. Trying to avoid the vodka spilling again, she picked up the drink and took a gulp. She tried to shoot a look to the bartender that said 'no, I am not playing along with your game', but wasn't sure if it would go across. Why? Because Sage was drunk and any look she gave to anybody probably came across as an odd grin, that and the fact that the bartender didn't pick up on looks very well.

I'm not all too positive if you've noticed, honey, but there were three not-so-wholesome guys eying you over in the corner behind you...and I'm pretty positive they're not thinking of taking you to dinner and a movie. Let me sit next to you; creeps like them only single out girls that are alone."

Sage's face held a quizzical expression on it now. Her ears had picked up on part of what the girl was saying, but it was enough. Why should the bartender care what happened to the Firefox? Besides, Sage could take them. To prove her point, she picked up her glass again and drank. She set it back down and smiled proudly at the fact that she didn't spill once. She was perfectly capable of taking on three men...with their muscled arms...and towering height. Awww shit, who was Sage trying to kid? They would take her down in a second. The bartender told her to laugh now as though she had said something funny. Sage just gave her an odd look. "I can take care of mysself." she stated confidently. She folded her arms over her chest and held her head high. Yes, she was in charge now and she wasn't going to let anyone change that.

[ammyloohoo]

<sup>"I can take care of mysself."

There wasn't really all that much for Mallory to do at this point but stare. Just stare at this poor, drunken, shell of a girl in front of her. She blinked her eyes, silently trying to will the new girl to see the danger she was in...not that blinking was really going to do any help, but a girl could try to do the right thing...right? But then, the absurdity of the whole situation began to sink in, and Mallory began to see everything for what it was; two underaged girls in a bar, one high on life, the other completely friggin' smashed, forming something...not a relationship, it can't really be called that. No, no...it seems more obligatory....maybe an attachment, if you will. Yes, yes that sounds right...

"...yes, yes, I'm sure. And your inability to control your alcohol intake certainly is reflective of that."

Yes, she didn't sound like her average self...however, she always got this way around people who were piss-drunk...yes, it as condescending...but that's just how Mal could be at times (although she's never been known to limit her own alcohol intake...) She rubbed her hand on the Sage's back soothingly, trying to calm her down a bit...

...not that she was very successful in that endeavor.</sup>

[sagefirefox]

When Sage was sober she didn't like being touched. Now that she was drunk, she really didn't like being touched. She looked over to Mallory and shot her a hate-filled look. Didn't she understand that Sage was drinking her heart out for a reason? And that reason was....unknown at the time. Perhaps if she were actually able to think straight she would be able to remember why she was unhappy in the first place. Her hand went for the vodka once again. This time, she couldn't seem to find it with her fingertips. She flexed them and stretched but her hand would only wiggle in it's place. It felt heavy to her, just like her eyelids.

"Don't touch meh... I'll hurrt you."

She tried to muster up a growl but got vomit instead. Leaning over the edge of the booth, she got rid of whatever nasty bile was in her mouth. Sage tried to sit back up after she cleared the contents of her stomach, but found that her body was just too heavy. It felt like she was being held down under a pile of those... blocks made out of that brick material... what where they called again? Br... br... oh, forget it. She noticed black spots forming in her vision now. "I thinkuh I'm juss going to take a nap..." she said drunkly. She started to say something else but blacked out.

[ammyloohoo]

.:. .:.
{* I don't care for your fairytales*}
You're so worried 'bout the maiden, you should know she's only waitin' on the next best thing.
WHEN THE HEARTLESS HEARS A HEARTBEAT HE'S JEALOUS, SO JEALOUS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mallory really couldn't help herself...she gagged as she saw the young girl get sick, nearly following in the girl's wasted footsteps. Yes, she'd seen her fair share of customers losing their lunch, dinner, or whatever the hell they had been eating before they decided to murder their livers in one sitting. Steeling herself, Mallory tensed a bit as she expected Sage to release more of the vile fluids. However, she couldn't say that she was completely surprised as the girl slurred one sentence or another before passing out completely. Mallory sighed in exasperation; this was great. The drunk probably didn't even have money for boarding at the inn, so Mal would have to clean her up and put her to sleep in her own room. Blech. The idea of cleaning this new girl---that she barely even knew!---of the puke smattered on her face made Mallory's stomach simply want to lurch. On the other hand, it wouldn't be as bad as being partially responsible for letting a young girl fall victim to rape. So, with that thought in mind, Mallory heaved another sigh of exasperation and lugged the stranger over her shoulder, carrying her through the crowd and nudging at the other bartender to cover for her while she was gone.

Trudging up the stairs to the staff rooms, Mallory set down the girl gently, propping her back up against the door as she fished the key out of her pocket, jamming it into the lock and twisting it desperately, trying to get this over with as soon as possible. Banging the door open as she tugged the key out of it's hole, Mallory picked Sage up bridal-style in her arms, rolling her onto the carpeting next to her bed. Kneeling down next to the girl, she inspected the damage; some splatters on the cheek, a little dribble down the chin and neck...all she'd need is a quick lap with a hand-towel, and she'd be clean enough. The bartender got up and meandered to the bathroom, picking up a towel and running it under some warm water in the sink, careful to not let the water get too hot. She pulled the towel out of the running water after a minute, wringing it out so it wasn't dripping so much as it was damp and steamy, and made her way back to the sleeping girl. Mallory knelt down once more, and began to wipe tenderly at the grime and filth on the girl's face, careful to not disturb her.

"Jeez," she muttered under her breath, "The things I do for strangers."

[/i][/font][/color] 1234
tag: Sagey-baby!
outfit: You see the picture at the top? Here's the non-cropped version.
graphics: Umm, Photobucket? :3
template: thanks SPECIAL K !
notes: Sorry for the month long wait...hopefully you don't mind the graphics, as they be a peace offering? :3[/ul]
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[sagefirefox]

Sage's eyes momentarily fluttered open as she rolled over in the bed to empty her stomach one more time onto the floor. This time, she didn't pass out again, seeing as she was no longer filled with a queasy feeling. She sat there in bed, opening and closing her eyes and holding her head with a hand. Her eyes focused on Mallory, not really holding any sign of what the Firefox was thinking. Her usually bright green eyes were now a dull green, the color of a forest at night. They had been that way ever since she lost Vincent, thus losing her light.

She pointed down at the vomit on the floor, "Jus' leave it. I can gee-" Whether cut off by another wave of vomit or a hiccup, she stopped. Seconds later, she continued on, showing that she had only paused to hiccup. "-it." Her arm went slack as her body relaxed some more, almost as if she were sleeping. But her eyes remained open a bit, still focused on Mallory. This time they held a thankful look in them, but that was only if the bartender looked really hard, past the drunken stupor and the extreme sickness.