Description: Upon awakening after their battle ended on the rooftops above Southtown, Father Walter discovers a softer side of Alexis. In order to make up for the misunderstanding, he offers to take her shopping and is once again punished for his mistakes. In the end, the Killasaurus Crew all finally have a nice dinner.
Alexis' head is pounding. Her entire body aches, covered in scrapes and bruises after her climactic battle with a dragon (who is also a priest) ended on top of the roof of a building in a section of Southtown's equivalent of a Red Light District. As she stirs awake, thoughts begin to formulate in her head through the throbbing in her temples.
The first thought: 'I hate priests.'
The second thought: 'I just fought a fucking dragon.'
The third thought: 'What's that touching my bu-'
Jerking her head up abruptly, Alexis finds the bottom of the priest's frock obscuring her vision. The position the two have ended up in after the fight is... definitely undignified. And yep, apparently Walter had the fortune of having his fall broken by Alexis' softer side, and she was on her knees before falling forward, so her posterior had been positioned prominently, providing a pillow.
Her fourth thought: 'Well, at least this isn't the most embarrassing position I've woken up in.'
Her fifth thought: 'If I'm careful, nobody but me has to know about this.'
Her sixth thought: 'Screw that.'
In a loud, somewhat scratchy voice, she addresses Walter: "You know, if you're gonna apologize, I guess kissing my ass /is/ a good way to start."
Walter is atop something warm, and his head, for all of his body pain, is distinctly comfy. There's a little draconic hiss from the rousing priest. "...Ten more minutes Father Samuels..." Mutters the aching and equally bruised wyrmkin. That 'pillow' gets rubbed right back into, as though trying to get back to sleep despite the rising sun.
It turns out the priest is a slow riser in the morning, and he hardly seems to want to move, perhaps much to Alexis' chagrin and embarrassment. But then words are spoken, and he opens his eyes. Blink. It all comes back at him as he stares at the posterior he's been napping on for quite some time. He flushes straight to the neck, and finally, the dragon-man rolls off of the woman!
"I...erm, my deepest apologies! I didn't mean to..." A wave in the direction of the poor woman's backside. "Be so forward and disparaging of your honor! I would not dare defile you so! Erm, that is, not to say that your particular assets are not attractive or kiss..." Suddenly the priest clams up, sits down, and puts his head in his hands.
"God help me. I should just shut up, right? Are you alright?" From the looks of him, the poor priest needs new clothes, and a /long/ cold shower at this point.
When her words set the priest to flight - albeit less literal than the darkstalker is capable of, as she is well aware - Alexis lifts herself up languidly, rocking back to rest her hips on her heels and stretching her arms behind her head, eyes closing and face scrunching as she tries to work out some of the kinks in her limbs and back. Her posture doesn't suggest embarrassment in the slightest at the situation - in fact, her lips eventually curl into a small smirk of satisfaction just for a moment at the priest's apologetic reaction.
"I'm fine. Nothing a drink later won't fix."
Rising up to her feet beside the seated priest and doing her best to look entirely comfortable with the situation (if only with the aim to make Walter less so), she gives one more stretch before folding her arms behind her back. Her expression softens a little. "How about you? I mean, hopefully I didn't break anything you were planning on using."
If anything, that stretching and little smirk has him less comfortable, and /more/ embarrassed than before. The poor thing looks somewhere between exhausted and shamed. But Alexis /does/ chipper him up. His tail waggles a bit happily at that divine word, and suddenly he's up on his feet.
"My dear, I owe you quite a bit after last night. A few drinks are a small price to pay. Mmm...I guess we call this one a draw?" It's Walter's turn to stretch, his ripped frock exposing a bit of his chest; and most importantly, some of the scales beneath. Might explain why he took her blows so well! The wyrmkin definitely has a lot of bruises in the face too after getting socked so many times. Luckily teeth on the wyrmkin seem to grow back quickly. His wounds, already, seem strangely better. If one watches close enough, they can see his body repair itself, albeit slowly.
Wince. The male can't help but instinctually step back from Alexis, an eye at her feet. Just in case she's looking to finish the job.
"I...luckily we dragons are tougher in...many places than normal people. Mmmph. Going to be, err, /swollen/ for a day or two though. Normally I would be indignant, but...well, given what I cast upon you, let us call it a reward for my ignorance. Father Walter Bardsley. Last night aside...friends?" There's a hand being offered, and a smile.
"Despite the circumstances, that was possibly one of the most entertaining fights I have had in a long time. And I think I owe you those clothes and dinner as well." A man of his word, this priest.
All the anger of the previous night seems to be entirely gone from Alexis' attitude at this point. Lifting a gloved hand, she flicks away some gravel that's become stuck in her hair after the previous night's sleep, then offers the same hand to Walter, her bare fingers slipping around the priest's and shaking casually. "Alexis Lovell," she replies amicably. Sure, the thought persists in her mind that this guy is a /freaking dragon,/ but she's at the right juxtaposition of exhausted and amused to not allow that thought to completely colour her actions. Speaking of amused...
"A day or two, huh? I guess I'll take that as a compliment. I mean, I would've figured an hour or two at most would be the average, but if 'not getting any' is part of your job description..." She glances downward before looking back up into the priest's eyes, forcing herself to keep a mostly straight face.
"Anyway... friends?" With a dragon? /Hell yeah./ "Sounds good. Are you saying we're going shopping?"
It's a firm, enthusiastic shake from the priest, and for a moment his face grows less bashful, and more warm and open. "It is a pleasure, Miss Lovell. Forgive me if I spare you the usual round of blessings, but I think you have had quite enough of those." Sometimes even Walter can be self aware.
A musician, yes? Do you have a band? Or are you more fighter than musician?"
Returned much to his usual demeanor, the priestly one is swaying his tail amicably and giving those wings of his a long stretch. Those scales are scraped and battered. /Ow/.
By now he's taken his weaponry for a lost cause, instead trying to settles his battered body and clothes into something approaching dignity. There's a frown for a moment. They both look terrible. Reaching into his frock, he pulls out a hip flask. After downing some, he'll pour a bit on the worst of his cuts and bruises with words that are /distinctly/ unpriestly. It's then offered to Alexis.
He goes utterly ramrod still. That tail goes straight into the air. And Walter /frowns/.
"Miss Alexis Lovell, I shall have you know that..." Pause. His demeanor fades from indignation to shame.
"Oh just shut up I am a busy bloody dragon alright? More important things than..." There's a hiss and a little sigh.
"/Charmed/ for certain." All of that tention is let out with a slightly delirious laugh. Then, he makes the sign of the cross.
"I think I need a friend such as you after the week I have had. Come then! The Lord works in mysterious ways, perhaps /you/ as well were sent here to teach this foolish, idiotic priest a few lessons. Bloody right we are! Come, to the hotel! Showers, I have few medical kits so we can get patched up, and I /think/ there is a hoodie and jeans that might fit you amongst the clothes I had ready for the needy of the area." A nod, and a thumbs-and-tail up.
Then he rubs his head. "Though I fear I am not quite familiar with the shops in the area. I shall trust in your expertise. It /is/ my debt to repay after all." No, the dragon-priest has no idea what he's getting into.
There's definitely a certain mischief in Alexis' eyes as Father Walter speaks. Having taken the flask, she takes a swig, breaking into a grin when the dragon makes the sign of the cross. It's something she's used to eliciting - the stage outfit may be ironic, but it's not wholly non-indicative of her background. She hands the drink back. 'This priest might not be so bad after all,' she thinks as he rambles self-effacingly. And then he offers to let /her/ choose where to buy the new outfit.
"Alright, so, showers, then shopping," she says with a cheery finality. That mischievous glint is back. This should be fun. She can't wait to tell her band-
"Oh shit."
==*== LATER ==*==
"Lexi? Where the heck are you?!"
The answer is that she's wet and naked in a cheap hotel room currently rented by a priest. Or more specifically, in the bathroom, having finished her shower while her phone charged. She does have a towel on, at least.
"I'm fine, Matty. I'm in a hotel room with some priest," she tells her drummer on the other end of the line. At least she left the wet and naked part out.
"Holy poop, Lexi. When I said we needed money, I didn't mean we needed it /that/ badly! Although, I guess as far as publicity goes -"
"Oh, shove it, Matty! It's not like that! Mistakes were made, we got in a fight and he had some first aid shit in his room. Oh, and he's also a fucking dragon."
"Wait - what?"
"I'll explain later! Anyways, we're going shopping, then he's gonna buy us all dinner, so get ready to meet us at..."
It's entirely probably that Walter did not, in fact, offer to buy the entire band dinner, but Alexis isn't going to let her crew go hungry while she gets a free meal if she can swing it.
With a grin and his drink back, away they go! Alexis will get another, likely far more pleasant flying experience this time, ducking through back alleyways until they reach the hotel.
~~ Hotel ~~
Walter, as it turns out, is quite the gentleman. No peeking, no comments, and even fresh towels. He really should have been a butler in another life. Though sharp ears /do/ catch the conversation as he's busy trying to patch himself up and generally make himself look presentable again. Thankfully he has many a frock. By the time she's dressed and out? Walter is once more in fresh priestly vestments, only a little bit of sore limping indicating they ever even fought. Being a /bloody dragon/ has its benefits. Fresh cloak donned, there's an arm offered.
"Shall we, Lady Lovell?" Grinning, he'll play up the knightly escort, ready to see just what adventures in clothes-shopping awaits them. He /could/ use a few casual things, he supposes.
~~Even More Later~~ Walter Bardsley does not regret potentially feeding an entire band. He /might/ regret the clothes bit though. He turns to his companion, as he's led along to their destination. There's slight worry in his features. Just /where/ does she shop anyway?
Dressed in baggy jeans and a hoodie and wearing her guitar case across her back, Alexis looks much more modest, if not still a little out of place walking arm-in-arm with a man of the cloth. Covered up as she now is, only a small bandage covering a cut on her nose offers a visible sign of the previous night's scuffle, though there's certainly still much bruising and more band-aids applied under the heavy clothing. She's happy to let the dragon play the gentleman, and is even almost lady-like on their way to their destination - especially since it should make his reaction when he finds out where she intends to shop all the better. She's been talking about one of her favourite topics - her band.
"...and then there's Steve. He basically does all of our sound stuff for free 'cause he has a huge hard-er, crush on Kim. We feed him, though! Most days. Oh hey, here we are!"
About this time they end up in front of a storefront. Judging by the mannequins in the window, it's about a step above an adult accessories shop. Corsets, buckles, short skirts, lingerie and high heels seem to be the theme. Is that a whip in one of the mannequins' hands? It's probably just there for flavour.
Walter /knew/ there was a Lady in the punkish rocker he'd fought! Arm in arm, smiling, the priest can't help but enjoy listen to the enthusiastic musician talk about her band. He didn't even roll his eyes at Kim's nickname. There are some things one must simply endure with gentility and pride.
"How...generous! Hopefully the good Miss Kim shall realize his affections. Love, a blessing, et cetera. Mmm, come to think of it, have you ever considered a charity concert? Now, I realize it is a bit of an expenditure. But, no matter your genre an honest-to-God bit of good works is nothing but /good/ publicity. You can be...'punk'...and still be a good human being. We can even keep the one hosting it a sec..." In the midst of attempting to set up a charity concert, they arrive at the shop. Walter pauses. His entire face once more goes scarlet.
Today is the day of the red dragon, oh red indeed. Gulp.
"Th...this is where you shop!? Is this an...'adult' store!?" Yes, the priest is scandalized. Then, he straightens. He huffs up proudly, particularly peering at that whip. More blushing, and his collar is loosened.
"A...promise is a promise. You are a real bloody minx, do you know that, Miss Lovell?" Cue a light bonk on the top of the woman's head! By God, if he must endure this trial, he shall! Striding forward almost proudly, he points forward.
"Into this den of debauchery in the name of the Lord!"
"Relax! This'll be fun!"
The next hour or two is spent by Alexis in a seeming effort to make the young priest's life a personal hell, or at least some sort of perditious trial. The young punk rocker is insistent that the dragon give an opinion on each outfit she tries on as they become progressively more risque. Tight leather pants, mini-skirts, short shorts, stockings - by the end, she's dressed in little more than sleepwear, although still more modestly than /some/ fighters, and trying to get the priest to tell her which of two pieces of equally racy pairs of underwear bottoms he prefers. Although she's at least just tasteful enough to not model /those./
"So, which do you prefer? The red string ones, or these black ones with the see-through part in the back?" she asks with a straight face, dangling them at the dragon.
God help him indeed. It's a pair of hours that have the priest questioning both the wisdom of coming along as well as his own personal tastes. At first it's not so bad, even if pants bring a blush. His opinions at first are about as gentlemanly as one can be in the situation, trying to turn the whole thing positive. But about the time they get to the stockings, the poor priest is stammering and blushing constantly. Increasingly honest opinions are given as time erodes away his ability and pure /sense/ from the no doubt innerly cackling Alexis!
A hell indeed, with one bashful priest, until she serves him the knockout blow. A /choice/. He tries to keep his eyes on the article of clothing now, and not his compatriot. Tugging his cloak a bit around his front, he gulps.
He points at the red one with far, far too little material. "My dear...after this day, I think red is only fitting." Trying to /not/ imagine Alexis in them, the poor priest looks about to faint from today's little shopping trip and his own racing mind. He makes the sign of the cross.
"God save me from pretty punk rocker women!" He says to the ceiling, beseeching the Almighty as he gets equally amused and confused looks from the staff. Thank /god/ it's just her trying things on.
[1;34mWalter drops Walter-bot.
There is almost certainly some internal laughter going on as Alexis wears down the priest's cool. She doesn't betray it, though, save that slight gleam in her eyes. For a girl with a temper like the one she has, Alexis is surprisingly good at keeping a poker face, at least when it comes to tormenting priests.
"Cool!" she says merrily when Walter makes his decision, before dropping the lingerie into a shopping bag - the first time she's actually seemed to select something for purchase. "I'll take both." If it wasn't obviously already that she was doing this just to mess with Walter, /that/ should have made it perfectly clear. She then grabs a dress off the rack without further consideration - she had already picked it out well before she started any of this - and heads off to the dressing room one more time.
"Be right back!"
When she reemerges, she's in the dress, a short black brocade affair with a tulle skirt and thin black straps on the shoulders. While not exactly the most conservative affair, it is arguably more modest than her usual stage outfit. Conveniently, it also works with the boots that she's already wearing.
"I think I'll take this one. It's on sale! What do you think?" she asks Walter as she gives a small, traditional twirl. Even spending someone else's money, she's at least considerate enough to try and get a good deal.
The poor priest is clearly hitting critical embarrassment mass as she decides on both, the man lowering his head in pure shame. Hands run through his hair, and the dragon-kin's tail wraps about his ankles. There's a dress grabbed, but Walter manages to miss it as she ducks into the dressing room.
"I cannot /imagine/ what you put your bandmates and suitors through my dear!" Calls out Walter, voice finally firing back with a bit of tease of his own. There might have been an oh-so-mature tongue stuck out at the retreating rock-girl as well! Finally the wyrmkin just laughs. More weird stares.
"Oh, what? Let a pair of friends have a good time." Quips the priest. Even /if/ it's at his expense. If he's honest with himself, this is probably the most fun he's had in quite some time for all the hastle. Vengeance, clearly, is Alexis'.
And then she comes out, twirls, and Walter finds himself definitely a little stunned. He'd expected something to shock him, but /this/ gets his eye. Looking her up and down, his smile grows as his arms fold.
"That is quite possibly the classiest number in this entire bloody establishment. You look dashing, my dear! Mmm, compliments the boots as well! Good to see you shall be suitably attired for dinner! I shall feel positively underdressed!" Comes the priest with compliments and a thumbs-up.
A look to the store employees. "Get her one in red, and a cute hat to go with it!" Two can play at this game, Alexis. A wink to the rocker, a cheeky grin on the priest's face.
The corner of Alexis' lips turns up in a quirky grin as she manages once again to catch the man of the cloth off-guard. Her own expression becomes one of surprise, though, when Walter orders a second dress and a hat to go with it. "Oh, you don't have to! I mean, I don't really - actually, come to think of it..." Walking up to a rack in a corner, she plucks a black bowler with a ribbon tied into a bow on one side. She holds it up for the dragon to see. "I do love this one!"
==*== LATER, AT THE RESTAURANT ==*==
"That's a stupid hat."
"Shut up, Benny," Alexis growls, narrowing her eyes across the table at the other guitarist from beneath the brim of her black bowler.
It's a nice restaurant - nice enough that the members of Killasaurus Orphanage, sitting around one of the tables with their meals, look slightly out of place, with the exception, for once, of Alexis herself.
Benny 'Benny Lava' Lavoie, sporting a spikey pompadour, sideburns and goatee with a black leather jacket, sits next to Matty 'Math You Bad' Barker, sporting a neon pink mohawk and ovaloid sunglasses. Kim 'KimPenetrable' Steele, whose long hair is worn green today under a souvenir Pikachu hat, sits across from Steve the Sound Guy, who would appear the most conservative of the bunch if not for the piercings studding his lip, ears and eyebrow and his Killasaurus Orphanage T-shirt, which features a picture of one artist's interpretation of a Killasaurus. It's basically a T-Rex with laser eyes and rocket launchers on its shoulders. It appears to be defending an orphanage from a giant robot trying to stomp on it.
"I think we can afford it, Alexis," Matty says. "From a marketing perspective, the publicity would probably be worth more than the ticket sales, anyway."
The subject of doing a charity gig has been broached. As the frontwoman for the group, Alexis has been a bit reticent about the idea for some reason. She frowns at Matt. "I dunno..."
"Hey, if it's a charity show, that means people can't ask for their money back if Benny pukes, right?" Kim pipes up helpfully.
"Do you really have to keep bringing that up?" Benny asks tersely.
Walter, for once, isn't wearing his clerical vestments. No, he's dusted off a mostly-fitting suit complete with a tie. It's a horrifically yellow-and-red tie, as if trying to be just slightly /off/ about the whole outfit in favor of his newfound friend's own style. Over it is his usual cross, and of course his cloak. Can't have a tail peeking out or wings showing! It's probably freak out the rest of the band. Or maybe Alexis now that the adrenaline's worn off.
The good Father is sipping wine casually, legs crossed, and sporting his usual spikey-toothed 10,000 megawatt smile. Each band member has had their round of blesings and introductions. They're all about as much as had been described, even with Kim's rotating hair color.
Matty's words have the priest grinning. "See? It would be a good thing. How often do you get a chance to raise awareness for the plight of the lost and forgotten in South Town /and/ get yourself televised?" Walter, despite being a terrible abomination, has saved many an important priest's bacon by stabbing niggling evil creatures. He can pull quite a few strings when he puts his mind and silver tongue to it.
He takes a deep bite of his chicken, devouring it with relish. Including the bones. It might be a little terrible to watch. At least Walter didn't bite Alexis during their fight.
Swallow. Siiip. The man has taken a risk, letting his draconian eyes be seen. They stare at Alexis. Sighing, Benny gets a look. A raised brow, and a /priest/ stare before returning to Alexis. No mercy, this priest.
"Given my....line of work...people owe me favors, my dear. I can even ease a bit of the cost. I am admittedly no expert on the subject, but is not exposure your ticket from playing dingey little bars and unknown venues, to being featured on international shows. Like that one...Fight'n'Rock Am Ring?"
Cue more crunching of meat and bones. Nomf nomf nomf. He somehow manages to do it /gracefully/.
"Besides, I think you will enjoy it. What about you all? Am I off my rocker?" There's pleading dragon-eyes at everybody. Seems this is important to the wyrmkin.
All of the members of Killasaurus Orphanage pause in their respective acts chewing, sipping, and tapping as Walter turns his question to them. There's a few moments of silence. Then, finally, a collective groan rises from every band member but Kim. The latter looks at the others questioningly. "What's wrong, guys? I think it sounds like fun."
"The pun," Steve complains.
"It hurts," Benny commiserates.
Kim stares blankly for a moment, then suddenly beams. "Oh, I get it! That's funny!"
Behind his sunglasses, Matthew observes the dragon-priest with a contemplative expression, one hand around his virgin strawberry daiquiri, the fingers of the other drumming lightly on the table as he idly works out new rhythms.
Meanwhile, Alexis leans back in her chair, taking a sip from her beer. There are reasons why she's hesitant to agree to doing a free show. On the other hand, Walter is making some good points, if also some bad puns. "Well, if you can manage to get us a venue - and especially if you can get us on TV - I guess there's nothing wrong with it, as far as I can see. Just... well... so you know... if it's an all ages show, we're either gonna have to do a lot of covers or we're gonna lose about an hour's worth of set material."
"I did offer you those rewrites for your lyrics on a couple of songs, Lexi," Matty mentions.
"Nobody wants to hear a song called 'Fudge Off and Cry,'" Alexis grumbles in reply.
"I think 'Who Gives A Poop About School Anyway?' could be a hit," Matty responds evenly.
Walter can't help but grin once more as he offers pain and penance to the group in the face of Walter's devestating pun. Siiip. Even his tail swishes a bit.
"Heh heh heh! See? At least /someone/ appreciates my humor!" Reeeach! Kim will get a ruffle of the pikachu hat. Beeeeam!
Then he grows more serious, offering Matthew a smaller smile, then focusing on Alexis.
"My dear, you underestimate me. Eighteen and up, I have found an opera house that Bishop Windsor's family owns that can be suitably set up for your needs, and this media studio owes me for purging their little wererat infestation about two years back." Griiiiin. Seems the wyrm came into this prepared. There's a small file folder taken out, and offered to the group. It has all the information: venue, times, and a bunch of other information useful to putting out a, if not /massive/, but sizable show. A clap to Alexis' back.
"What is it they say in showbusiness? Break a leg? Because unless I am mistaken, you lot have an opportunity in front of you. God go with you, my Children." Pause.
"Waitress! Wine for these soon-to-be breakout stars and starlettes!"
Log created on 11:26:15 02/16/2015 by Alexis, and last modified on 21:34:40 02/16/2015.