Match of the Millennium

Description: On a dark night in Southtown, Steve is ragged--looking for help, while meanwhile Velvet is looking for trouble. Is this flamboyant and eccentric darkstalker just what Steve needs to find sanctuary...?

[VELVET BLUE]
In the early morning hours, your blood runs cold. Streets that had seen sunshine and blue skies now stand derelict, indistinct looming black shapes outlined by street lamps. Their windows, dark and vacant, stare out into nothing, like the eyes of mental defectives. It's around this time that the gaudy paint has worn off that familiar old whore, the World, and she has a glass eye and no nose. The horror that can come in the dark is replaced by boredom, though tonight that is partly due to the creature roaming the dark tonight--that of Velvet Blue.

The half-darkstalker and performer perched on the corner of a rooftop, solemnly overlooking the street and alley below, before a sound caused one bat-like ear to prick up--their blue spaded tail lashing behind them as they leaned further and began to climb down the edge of the building. It was too fluid and easy perhaps to be believed in daylight, but in the night your brain can see just enough to piece it together on it's own. He continues down, inverted, clambering down it silently like a lizard.

[STEVE]
On a dimly-lit worn out Street, Steve is wandering and looking for possible places to stay. A new place of safety for him to hide with Bob and Mitsuru. Bob is likely scouting out different places in the city. The girl's wounds were treated to a degree where she'd be able to take care of herself, so they can afford for her to be alone at times.

There is a lot on Steve's mind. Right now, he is legally a criminal and there are undoubtedly people looking for him. They cannot afford stay in one place for long in case someone would see them. Still, this is all worth it. It's still better then Mitsuru being forced to return to her family.

In his absent-mindedness his foot bumbs into a fallen-over steel trashcan, making a loud -Thump- and leaving a nasty sting on his toes.

"Drat." Oh well, it's not like anyone is around to hear him right?

[VELVET BLUE]
"Hey, buddy..."

The sound comes from somewhere up above, and to the right... but how? Anyone looking down the street going both ways would see nothing. Just closed buildings, pavement and sidewalks. But the sound definitely came from here.

"You're looking a little lost," at first, Steve might see the yellow, cat-like eyes in the dark--thanks to the light refracting off them, that's really what it just might be. Until a pair of ivory teeth sporting fangs follow. Just eyes and teeth, floating suspended in the gloom.

The creature grins somehow sunnily in this depressing scenery, continuing to lope down the side of the building and finally flip down--the figure of Velvet coming into view and landing feet first against the sidewalk. The entertainer is wearing their full-body bodyhugging attire, plus a dark coat over that, and a pair of their best lavender heeled boots.

"Been keeping my ears to the ground," he reaches up, patting one of those large ears, "I hear there's been a kidnapping, that ain't true, ain't it?" Velvet uses their long dark purple pointed nails to brush their hair back, almost like a cat grooming themselves.

[STEVE]
Steve is back and writing

"Who's there?!" Steve takes a defensive position as he frantically looks around. Until a set of familiar facial features come into view. "Wait, aren't you....?" Steve thinks for a brief moment. "Velvet Blue, right? I remember you from that bar brawl."

Steve has seen better days. He is wearing a purple hoodie and a simple pair of jeans and sneakers, but they are layered by dirt and dust. Steve itself also looks a little dishevelled, his usually neat and clean hair is rather messy and dirty, simply put, he needs a new set of clothes and a shower.

His voice is calm as usual, but his body language might portray a certain level of tension as he responds to Velvet "This must be about Tokugawa, right?" He sighs deeply. "Depends on how you look at it. We -technically- did kidnap her, but she isn't being kept against her will, nor did we hurt her in any way." he adds "I don't know how much information you have, but it is a rather.... complicated situation"

[VELVET BLUE]
"Yeah, they didn't appreciate my performance, alas," Velvet shrugs a little, unbothered by this. It was there he first ran into this British bulldog of a Boxer, and they'd had it out. Luckily things got cleared up before Velvet walked away with any shards of glass embedded in his skin.

"You look a little rough, rough night out...?" The question dies in the air as Velvet blinks and listens to the man speak, apparently confirming what he'd asked before. "Well, luckily for you, I don't care about /money/, I was just a little shocked to hear the news that someone fitting your decription ran off with some chick, figured there had to be a reason," Velvet walked slowly back and forth, watching Steve as his tail flicked about behind him.

"That Tokugawa girl was on some of the old SNFs, from about a year or two ago--you maybe want to go somewhere to lay low for a while...?"

[STEVE]
Steve's worries ease somewhat as Velvet confirms that he has no interest in the bounty. It is easier for him to believe Velvet since they are somewhat familiar. "That's a relief. You did not strike me as the bounty hunting type." Still, he didn't know the person in front of him all that well. He should be careful about running his mouth.

"We are doing our best laying low as is. It's a good thing our bounty isn't yet common knowledge, we'd be in a whole new level of trouble if that were to be the case." He looks at Velvet's yellow eyes, slightly puzzled. "though what exactly do you mean?"

[VELVET BLUE]
"I'm not, Southtown is where a lot of the clubs are that I work at, and I keep the streets clean," Velvet shrugs. "Lots of gangsters around. Sometimes Darkstalker kind, too--nothing to be afraid of in the dark with me around, babe," Velvet smiled, sounding quite confident.

"As for your question, I know a place--a secret bar my kind go to, you can come with me if you want to get a drink and we can talk in peace... if you want," Velvet shrugs. "Up to you, if you wanna take me up on that, it's not far from here, I just hope we don't bring any heat down on the place, last thing I wanna do is put the poor saps there in danger," the darkstalker entertainer sighs a little bit. The offer was still there, though, as he walked to the corner of the next street.

[STEVE]
Steve hesitates for a moment. Does he have time for this? Is it it even a good idea? Although, a -secret- bar did peak Steve's interest. It's unlikely people will be looking for him there, and strolling around alleyways didn't really get him that far. And might be good to have more contacts around Southtown.

"Wait, hold up!" Steve hastily scampers after Velvet as he starts following him to this supposed bar.

[VELVET BLUE]
Velvet keeps on walking, only looking over his shoulder once to make sure that Steve is following along with him. "Eh, you did me a solid before, mostly--I'll make an exception just this once," Velvet stretched his arms out as he walked, folding them behind his head sort of casually--before he took a dark turn on a corner just head.

The street Velvet could be seen strolling down at a leisurely pace was... deserted, but there was something else. A strange sort of prickling of the hairs on the back of one's neck. "Right down here, honey..." Velvet's voice could be heard, seemingly out of nowhere--as one of the entertainer's long dark nailed hands reached out from the gloom to pull Steve forward. Passing the intangible threshold was abrupt, it was like passing through a sheet that had been thrown over one's eyes--what had been a dark and lonely closed doorway instead yielded to empty space, passing through the door as if it hadn't been there and insead going through another door entirely.

And this door lead to... a large 1920s looking jazz speakeasy?

The interior was a large converted warehouse space, dressed up to appear like a glitzy piano bar from an age gone by--complete with lounge tables, a stage, patrons dotting the former, a patina of smoke rising from pipes and clove cigarettes. The patrons as well as the staff were dressed in alike period attire, at least, most of them--smoking jackets, spats, evening wear--a cigarette girl walking past Steve wore a high-cut red cocktail dress, her hair long and white, skin a dark mocha. Her features were slender in a subtly inhuman way, fingers long and tipped with white inch-long nails, very tall, at least 6-feet--and that wasn't including a pair of long lapine ears that extended upwards from the sides of her head, white with splotches of black here and there.
%As queer as it was, the place had a warmth about it, jazz music playing in the background.

[STEVE]
"What in the....." Steve is Flabbergasted. His eyes darting around the people and interior. He expected some sort of shady back-alley bar, not a figurative time warp to the early 20th century. Though, Steve likely sticks out like a sore thumb with his distinct lack of inhuman features and ragged clothing.

Truth be told, Steve feels very overwhelmed. After days of hiding and quiet (save for the Mitsuru incessantly complaining), this was a sudden, but refreshing change. He looks at Velvet, obviously dazed. "Uhm, i'll let you lead the way."

[VELVET BLUE]
"What, you didn't think there weren't any places where us Darkstalkers and non-human creatures go? Stevey, please~" Velvet grins.

Steve has entered... the Gold Lounge.

"Oi, some love for my friend here," Velvet motioned to the bartender along one far wall, clapping his hands together as if to say 'chop chop'. Within minutes, Steve and Velvet would be seated and drinks would be served, a covered silver platter brought out as Velvet grinned.

"Smoke and a pancake?" the bat-eared half-darkstalker asked as the platter was revealed... which was apparently waffles, in fact, though no lit cigarette nearby it, alas.

"Hmm, always been more into waffles myself," he relaxed back, bringing the frosted glass of soda to his lips.

"So, Mr. British Bulldog, tell me what the problem is, exactly?"

[STEVE]
Steve had taken a seat and calmed down a little. "I've always been a big fan of Crepé's myself." He says with a light chuckle. He turns to face Velvet with a jokingly angry expression, "British Bulldog? Interesting choice of nickname." Before turning his attention to the more serious conversation.

"Where do I even start? There are likely a dozen bounty hunters after our necks, I'm constantly worrying about Mitsuru's safety, and if any of this were to become public knowledge, well, my life would be pretty much over." He tightly grabs his long glass of carbonated water, and his breathing seems to become less steady. Signs of anger. He can keep a cool facade, but he was obviously venting some of his pent-up frustrations. Steve breathes out heavily as he looks down at the table. "Still, I believe all the troubles are worth it. For Mitsuru's sake."

After a pause, Steve comes to his senses a little as he realizes his speech probably sounds like some incoherent rant. "My apologies, I got a little emotional there. We don't even really know eachother." he says with a sad smirk.

[VELVET BLUE]
"Sure we do, dear--I'm Velvet Blue, and you're Steve, and now we know eachother," he grinned, dismissing Steve's worries. "So you've got people after you--someone put a bounty on your head. Sounds like you've been... rather naughty," Velvet smiled a little bit in response, tilting his head to one side. "I assume it's got to do with this girl you ran off with, that you keep talking about--Meatsuru, you said her nam ewas?" Velvet sounded as if he wasn't sure what the girl's name was.

"I don't own this place, but I am something of a celebrity here, for my various fighting antics and participation with Saturday Night Fights, among keeping Kiyomi's werewolves out of the city, and busting up various other rough types," Velvet slid a long dark tapering nail along his frosted glass.

"I don't want to impose on them /too/ much, but I guess we could figure out a way to hide you two, if you really need it," the half-darkstalker lifted his jacket off and draped it cross the chair he was sitting on.

"As long as we're not too /weird/ for you, to put it straight--err, perhaps a poor choice of words here," Velvet gestured toward a frumpy old looking man in a burgundy smoking jacket and ram horns sitting nearby, who scoffed, and then motioned toward himself, grinning and laughing.

[STEVE]
Steve's eyes light up as Velvet gives him this proposal. He is a little off-put by the strange way that Velvet talks and acts, but it seems his intenions are good and genuine. He takes a sip of his water. "I do need to point out, there's another person involved, Bob, he's in the same situation as me. I couldn't have done this without him." The boxer grabs a waffle and takes a bite. "Asking them to hide three people is unreasonable, but it would be truly amazing." After he finishes hungrily scarfing down his waffle he adds. "And if all three of us won't work. I'd still be extremely relieved to find a good place for her."

[VELVET BLUE]
"Bob, huh? I don't think the name rings a bell, but if they're friends with you and this girl of yours, well hey," Velvet sips at his soda. "All depends, some of the staff here could probably use days off, if you guys are willing to help out a little around here, and no, I don't mean on stage," Velvet rolled his eyes, before sitting back, and perhaps getting an idea there.

"I mean, unless you're into putting on a little cabaret or burlesque number," he grins. "Might have to find a big enough suit for you... and can you sing or just lip-synch?" this is about where if this was an anime Velvet would have the little winking star appear over one eye, which considering the grin he's got right now would be appropriate.

[STEVE]
"Oh, trust me. You don't wanna hear me sing. I've tried. Maybe Bob would be up for it though." Steve says with a stupid snicker and a wink. "But of course, i would help as much as i possibly could. It'd be the least i could do for putting all of these people at risk." The brit feels much more at ease, getting used to the strange environment and finally getting some positive news after a few rough days. "I'll have to discuss this with them, but i'm rather certain they will agree." He smiles and looks at Velvet.

"That you would do something like this for us is truly selfless, thank you."

[VELVET BLUE]
"Great, okay--there's just one problem, you need me or one of my associates to find the door here, it is veiled to normal human eyes, so," Velvet draws himself up, taking a deep breath. "Are you prepared for this...?" Velvet asks Steve, as if he's about to inact some kind of arcane or dark ritual on the British Bruiser.

"First I must... find a pen," Velvet blinks and unzips the front of his suit, one hand sliding in to retrieve what looks like a black shiny rubber gripped Bic, like the sorts you buy at Rite-aid. He scribbles his number along a cocktail napkin, sliding it over to Steve.

"Here, you can call my number if you guys decide to come over, I'll let the owners know I need a favor," he grins, winking at the larger man. "Normally guys have to do more than this to get my number, but y'know, for you guys, I'll make an exception."

[STEVE]
Steve looks a little bit nervous. How do darkstalkers work? Will he have to go through some sort of rite to be able to see? A dark, twisted ritua- Steve is snapped from his train of thought as he sees the Bat-ish darkstalker pulling out a pen from the inside of his clothes. I guess that's the most practical solution. He picks up the napkin and folds it neatly before safely putting it in his jeans "I'll make sure to treasure it then." The boxer jokingly responds.

Steve stands up from his comfortable chair. "I'm going to get going now. If you ever need anything, let me know and i'll come running to help." He starts walking away, and towards the exit.

Log created on 12:02:35 01/28/2020 by Velvet Blue, and last modified on 17:45:18 01/30/2020.