A Night Out [Tristan]

[maron]

Maron, or May as she’d started to go by (Because people had issues with her full first name), was a social outcast. Didn’t look it though, which probably surprised the bar occupants when the pretty blonde entered the rundown, and almost empty bar. It wasn’t just rundown, it looked almost like a biker club, where only brave souls, or those who didn’t belong anywhere else hung out. You had a lot of mutants that fit this profile. Thankfully most the residents didn’t care as long as powers stayed under wraps.

So, this girl, while odd, flew under the radar, even with slightly tinted sunglasses on. No one gave her a second glance, and the bar tender didn’t give a damn that she was underage. As long as she paid extra, of course. So, with a mug in hand, May took a seat off to the side of the bar, out of sight from anyone that was entering or leaving. May wasn’t a heavy drinker, but, sometimes, a little didn’t hurt, and she never drank enough to actually get more than a small buzz.

Brushing her hair over her shoulders, her molten gaze watched the small crowd through the tinted glass. The screeching of the front door opening announcing the arrival of another.

((>.< It really sucks, I’m sorry.))

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[Tristan Emilian]

It had been one long day. Normally Tristan would make at least two, maybe three hundred bucks by the end of an afternoon. Some days more, some days less, but that was a day of hard (sometimes he had to run after robbing someone), honest (meaning he took money from honest people), and labor (thievery) for you. Today though was one of those 'off' days, no one had listened to him play music, there hadn't been any real good pickpocketing marks, it was just all around ho-hum day.

One thing that always helped him relax though, even if it was a bad day, was heading back to one of the many bars he had found around this area. This one in particular was not only tolerant of mutants, but most of them inside were mutant, though humans were known to use it too. Even better, everyone that frequented the place he was headed too was riff raff so to speak. Thieves, liars, gamblers, and people just down on their luck. It the kind of bar that an honest, hard working person avoided. In other words, it was Tristan's kind of hang out.

As he walked down the dark alley way to a flickering neon sign that said "Mickey's" a slight smirk spread across his face. Casually he glanced up the alley, then back down it, before open the large metal door and stepping inside.

"Hey, Tristan, we were just about to start without you!" A man in the back corner of the room said as Tristan shut the door with a loud screech.

"In other vords you vere about to start vithout me so I vouldn't take all your money again, right?" He asked with a raised brow as he made his way back to the small table, which was circled by about three men; each holding cards with a pile of chips in front of them. A heavy smoke cloud seemed to hang right over the table as the men played their poker.

"That too." The man said with a laugh as Tristan sat down and set a large roll of money on the table, exchanging it for some chips. He slid off his black leather jacket, and hung it on the back of the chair he was sitting on before reclining comfortably in his seat. Only a few minutes after the game started, someone new to the bar caught his eye as he looked around the room.

A blonde woman at the end of the bar, looking as though she was trying to avoid any contact. What was odd though were the set of sunglasses she was wearing, in the middle of a dark and smokey bar. Tristan tried to ignore it, but curiousity began nagging at him, "It's a little dark for sunglasses, don't you think?" He pushed a few chips into the middle of the table, making a bet, and barely glancing at the woman before turning back to his cards.

[maron]

Most of the regulars were turning a blind eye to May. A gave her a strange look, but that was about it. No one talked to her, no one got close, nothing. They knew she wanted to be left alone, and they respected that.

The newcomer though… She couldn’t help but watch him for a few seconds. He couldn’t be more than a year older than her, which was surprising that he’d be here. He (Legally) wasn’t allowed to be here either. Oh well, if his looks said anything, it was that he didn’t give a damn. And it seemed he was one of the gamblers. Gambling wasn’t against the law, drinking underage was. Oh well. Her gaze moved on. She didn’t care. Gambling didn’t interest her, and she didn’t want to lose what money she did have. (She had issues holding jobs for more than a month because of obvious issues.)

It wasn’t until said newcomer spoke, to HER, that she looked at him once again. Thank god the sunglasses were dark enough to block out the heat her eyes gave off, and he wasn’t close enough to be affected. ”Nah. Not dark enough.” With eyes like hers, May didn’t have much to worry about.

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[Tristan Emilian]

It had been a little over four, maybe five weeks since Tristan arrived in America and already he was finding that it truly was the "Land of Opportunity". Generally there were only two reasons why Tristan would leave a place to go to a new one. One; he could never stay in one place to long, he literally could not stand it. It was as if his very bones called out for new scenery after a while. Two; usually the law started to catch on to him before he felt like leaving. After all, enough people start reporting how they went into a trance and when they woke up they were robbed, and people get suspicious. America though was different, there were so many gangs and evil-doers here that most seemed to turn a blind eye to what Tristan did.

That was all besides the point though. Right now, he just wanted to relax, drink a little, and maybe smoke a little, who knew? The cards were dealt onto the table, Texas Hold'Em, one of his favorites. Casually he lifted up the two cards dealt to him, a pair of kings, maybe he was finally starting to get some good luck back. He threw six chips into the pot, and signaled for the bar man.

"Well, no offense frauline, but if you vere going for 'inconspicuous', you're failing." Tristan said with the slightest smile, "Mickey, did you card zhis voman? She looks a little to drink don't you think?" Though Tristan just barely glanced at the woman as he spoke, keeping his eyes on the cards mostly, the slightest twinkle of a hidden smile could be seen in his eyes.

The bar tender brought Tristan over a shot of whiskey and set it in front of him, shaking his head at his question, "No I didn't. Speaking of carding, just how old are you again?" The bar man asked with a raised eyebrow, folding his arms.

Tristan slid a cigarette out of his coat pocket from behind him, and a silver lighter, "Old enough to know better." He lit the cigarette and took a puff, "Still too young to care."

"That's what I thought." The man grinned a little, shaking his head and turning back for the bar.

A stream of smoke slowly creeped out of Tristans mouth, making his face darker than before as the smoke rolled over his features and joined with the cloud hanging over the table. "So vhat brings you here, frauline?" No one came in this bar just to get a drink after all, everyone in here had a story. Since she didn't exactly look like the rest of the trash drinking their lives away, you could say he was a little curious about hers.

[maron]

Oh look, the smart ass was calling her out on being 'inconspicuous'. "No one seemed to care I was here until you showed up." Everyone had just left her alone. Who cared if she looked a little weird? Most the guys here looked like they'd killed before.

.... Just her type of crowd.

She shot a glare in his direction when he mentioned her i.d. Jerk. Her gaze was so intent, that when he did glance at her for a second, it would feel like his whole body was freezing up. While her gaze always affected people, when she really focused, even her shielded eyes could have a serious bite to them. It lasted only a second though, before she looked away. "Hypocrite." She muttered the word under her breath, so no one would hear. Thankfully the bartender didn't seem to care at all.

May just shrugged and lifted her mug, taking a drink of the burning liquid. All the while, her gaze remained focused on the jerk. Not hard enough to do any damage though. "If everyone has a story, why don't we have a share around? You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine." She smirked, and, if you didn't know better, you might think there was a wicked look behind her shades. It was probably a figment of your imagination after all. You couldn't see anything behind those dark sunglasses after all..

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[Tristan Emilian]

"Zhat's because everyone "in here is too drunk to really care." It was more true than you'd think. People generally didn't frequent this bar to visit, they came to get drunk and forget about the outside world at least for a few minutes.

"Hey! I'm not drunk!" One of the men on the opposite side of the table spoke up. Though he said that, there were sevral empty beer bottles in front of him.

"Yet." Tristan added, simply.

The man shrugged and nodded. "Fair enough."

As all the bets were placed on the table, the dealer dealt three cards out. A king, a nine, and a five. With three of a kind, Tristan couldn't help but think maybe his luck was turning up just a little, he casually reached for his pile of chips and tossed a handful in, glancing over at the blonde as he did so. Almost immediately his body seemed to freeze for only a moment, but it was just long enough for Tristan to know that for that moment, he had no control. Though it was incredibly strange, it didn't take him long to make a guess that the girl had something to do with it.

Calmly, Tristan grabbed the shot glass in front of him and threw it back, swalling the fiery liqour within; acting as if nothing had happened. After all, if she was what he was guessing, then it would be foolish to draw attention to her; yet anyways. Tristan stuck the cigarette back in his mouth, letting it hang from the corner as he used both hands to carefully check his cards once more, "My story? Vell, I vas born from zhe sun and have sand in my veins. Othervise, my story is boring." Every word made the cigarette dance a little.

Slowly he set his cards down, and pulled the cigarette out, letting a long stream of smoke follow it, "How about you, frauline? Are you just here for a drink, or perhaps a break from zhe real world like so many of us here?" A slight smirk teased his lips, as he turned to meet her gaze once more. Though he didn't outright say anything, it was obvious that he was touching on the fact that he thought she might be a mutant. What was more, was that he was suggesting he might be one as well.

[maron]

"Exactly." She smirked behind those dark shades of hers.No one cared if some older teen wore sunglasses in a place like this as long as she didn't start anything.

And all attention was on the game again, which was fine by her. She just leaned back in her chair, deep in thought while periodically taking a drink. Before she knew it the mug was three quarters of the way gone, and she could feel that small buzz. She definitely wouldn't be going for seconds. Couldn't have foggy thoughts.

May hadn't been forgotten for long though, because once again that guy was speaking to her. "That's not much of a story." She smiled a little, shrugging as she spoke. The guy was pretty smooth, she had to admit, to come up with something like that on the spot. But other than that? He was just some guy. Who she'd completely forget about after this night.

His next question though made her raise an eyebrow. Thankfully her expression, even with the sunglasses, didn't give away anything more then honest surprise. He wanted to play that game? Fine. She wasn't going to give him anything though. "A little of both, to be honest."

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[Tristan Emilian]

A sudden slur of swear words erupted from the table Tristan was sitting at as the game came to an apparent end, as everyone turned over their cards. A particularly mischevious smirk crossed his face as he leaned forward and raked all the chips he had one over to his pile. A few people stood up from the table, the rest seemed to suddenly prefer drinking over the card game, and the dealer began handing Tristan his money; which looked like several rolls of twenties. Looks like lady luck was finally at his side once more, the last few days had been horrible since he had met that teenage girl in the park.

Stuffing a couple of the rolls in his pocket, he signaled for the bar tender to come back over to him, "I'm not much of a storyteller." Tristan said as the bar tender filled him another shot, and left the bottle of whiskey on the table. Sliding one of the three rolls of twenties from his pocket, he handed it to the bar tender with a wink. Grabbing his newly filled shot glass he raised it slightly to the bar tender, "To charity." He said, giving a slight toast and downing the shot.

"You're welcome here anytime Tristan." The man said with a nod, stuffing the roll of twenties into his pocket. It seemed as though Tristan was a bit of a Robin Hood in a sense, taking from the rich and giving to the needy. At least, paying off the right people with 'charity'. If he gave the bartender a cut of his gambling earnings, the bartender would be more willing to protect Tristan should the law ever come snooping around. It was good to have friends sometimes.

Leaning back comfortably in his chair, he turned his gaze back to the woman, taking a puff from his cigarette, "Vell, seems ve have a bit in common zhen." The Romanian accent flowed as smoothly as the smoke from his lips. The woman had dodged every question he had thrown with grace, she was playing his game very well. Not many people in this country had played his game of wits so elegantly,

"I vould ask you to join me for a few drinks-" Tristan said, motioning to the now empty table he was sitting at, "But I'm afraid you vould show as much interest in moving to my table as you have shown in answering my questions." It was a very roundabout way of asking "Would you please join me", but Tristan was rarely direct in anything he did. In fact, the way he worded it would probably make it a little confusing if you weren't paying attention. That was Tristan though, he tested you verbally, and if you couldn't keep up then you weren't worth his time.

[maron]

The game was over faster then she thought, the winner, obviously, being the handsome man who was trying to hold a conversation with her. It must happen often, judging from how they handled it though. It made her smile a little. Especially when he gave the bar tender a small cut. No wonder the older man seemed to like this gambling young man.

Now though… It seemed his full attention was on her. And, as uncomfortable as it made her, she remained indifferent. Over the years, May had gotten very good at hiding her unease, to the point where most people would be surprised if they were told she hated people. ”Really, now?” It was almost a taunt, silently asking what he thought they had in common.

When he asked her to join him though, an eyebrow raised. May was good with words, better than most people gave her credit for, so, it wasn’t much surprise that she caught onto his little hint instantly. Suddenly though, she smiled. ”Wouldn’t it be more gentlemanly of you to come to my table?” She paused for only a moment. ”And I might show interest in these questions of yours if you were willing to give actual answers to them.”

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[Tristan Emilian]

"Yes, to have a drink or two like you, as vell as escape from judgmental eyes." It was still very hidden, what he was alluding to that is, unless she really was as different as he was. In that case, it would probably sound like he was subtely calling her out on any mutation she might have, and once more saying that he might be one as well. If she wasn't as different as he was, well, that would be a real shame.

As strange as it may have seemed, Tristan was not curious about this girl because of her attractive looks and yes, she was attractive. Nor had he even made the smallest attempt to hit on her, like so many of the men who were looking at her with lustful eyes wanted to do. No, he simply found her a little strange; like him! Better yet she was no ditz, and Tristan always enjoyed a little verbal sparring so to speak, whether they were male or female.

Tristan began to pour himself another shot as she spoke. This one he didn't just throw back, no, he was beginning to feel a slight buzz. Not much, just enough to take the edge off of reality a little. Now he just wanted to sip the fiery liqour for comfort, so to speak, "You are right, it vould." Tristan to a slight sip from his drink, agreeing with her about it being the the 'gentlemanly thing to to do'.

"Unfortunately, I have been called many things in my life. A theif, a liar, a scoundrel-" He paused for a moment, setting his drink down and turning his dark eyes back to hers, "But never have I been accused of being a gentleman." Though there was the slightest hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips again, his tone suggested that he wasn't joking to any degree. Then again, could you blame him? He really was a theif, a liar, and a scoundrel; gentleman were just boring.

Suddenly Tristan leaned forward in his chair, not abruptly, but as if something had just occurred to him, "I'll to you vhat, frauline, I vill make a deal vith you." As he spoke, he grabbed the deck of cards that had been left haphazardly in the middle of the now empty table, "Ve play a simple game. If you vin, I answer any question you vant to ask me. If I vin, you simply tell me your name, so how about it?" Tristan asked, proposing the deal to her as he shuffled the cards from one hand to the other smoothly.

He was banking on the fact that perhaps the tiniest bit of curousity would bring her over. Not only that, but she knew the stakes of the game, and if she won she would get a lot, and if she lost all she would lose was she would have to give up her name. A big reward, a small loss, and curousity; three things he was hoping would bring her over. Though it had to make yu question why exactly Tristan would agree, and even come up with, such high stakes for him. After all, he apparently hated answering questions. To understand that, you would have to understand that sometimes, it's not what you might lose, but what you are guaranteed to gain.

[maron]

Judgmental eyes.... Oh how she wanted to say something to that. She had judgmental eyes. And between them? He'd probably prefer to be in the public's eye then hers. "If that's the only things we have in common, I don't see this conversation going very far." She smiled softly, shrugging. Again, she was neither admitting, or denying, anything.

As he continued though, that smile turned into a small grin. Oh, so he wasn't a gentleman. How rude, making a girl have to move tables. She was here first after all! Oh well... "Never to late to start." He had other plans in mind though, offering a offering a deal of sorts. She couldn't help but smirk.

"Something tells me I wouldn't stand much of a chance against you." He'd absolutely creamed those other guys. A few moments passed before she shrugged once again. "Oh well." Getting up from her own table, she moved to his, carrying her nearly empty mug with her. Sitting across from him, she smirked. "Name the game then." She propped her elbows on the table, chin resting on her clasped fingers. Yup. She was definitely going to lose....

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[Tristan Emilian]

"It's not about vether or not the conversation goes far, but zhe fact zhat it has been started. Shows ve have more in common zhan you'd think, no?" The slightest wink was given as Tristan finished speaking. It had been said before that while Tristan didn't talk very much, when he did speak it was fairly intelligent, despite never having a formal education. Either way, he wouldn't suggest that she was a mutant anymore. Well, at least for the time being anyways.

At least he was getting her to smile now, a fairly obvious smile as well, that was definitely a good thing. A slight smirk touched his lips again, a little more evident than before, "Vell you know vhat zhey say; Chivalry is dead. And I'm a gambler, not a necromancer." It was true, as smooth as he was sometimes, he would never be considered a gentleman; largely because he would probably never do anything gentlemanly. After all, could you really picture him walking some lady across the street? Didn't think so.

"Sometimes, frauline, vether you win or lose makes absolutely no difference-" Tristan said, shuffling the cards between his hands again, calmly waiting as the woman sat down. When she did, he slapped the deck of cards onto the table between them, "-zhe only thing zhat matters is vether or not you play the game; or let yourself get played." The last part was said with a full on smirk, and intent stare at the woman. Cryptic? Absolutely, but she probably wouldn't get what he meant until it was all done, if she even got it then.

The smirk spread into a mischevious grin, making his dark eyes look a bit evil as he watched her settle into her chair; only seeing his own reflection in those dark glasses, "Zhe game is very simple, ve both pick a single card, highest card wins and as an added perk..." Tristan smoothly spread the cards out in a semi-circle on the table, and then flipped the last card, causing a chain reaction that flipped every card from back to front; revealing the suit and number of every card on the table in their perfect semi-circle.

"I vill even let you see the cards, and choose first." as he spoke, he never even looked down at the cards. Just before she could pick a card though, he grabbed the card at the end and flicked his wrist, causing them all to flip back onto their fronts; showing only the back of the cards once more. Amazingly, they all stayed in the perfect semi-circle he had put them in, it was very obvious that Tristan had worked with cards before, and that there was more to this game than met the eye.

[maron]

May just smiled at what he had to say. It sounded like he was quoting something from a philosopher. ”We’ll see.” She didn’t respond to his next comment though, just shrugged. Chivalry was dead. She didn’t care though. She didn’t associate with people enough to actually care how they acted as long as they didn’t do anything stupid. If they wanted to total jerks the hour or two she was around them? Go ahead. Didn’t make any difference to her. She’d likely never see them again, and she was fine with that.

She had been sitting there for only a moment when he went on. ”I see.” Why did it sound like she was about to be cheated? She shrugged again. Like before… She honestly didn’t care. People forgot about her as soon as she left. And, honestly? She’d like to see just what he did to cheat.

Settled in the chair, she listened to his explanation silently. It sounded simple enough. She didn’t like that he’d basically told her she could see the cards though. Definitely, she was going to be cheated. ”Didn’t you say chivalry was dead?” While his act hadn’t been meant to be ‘gentlemanly’, it definitely came off as it. Giving the girl a so called ‘advantage’. None the less, she glanced down at the cards, trying to remember where the Ace’s were in a lineup. Finally, she decided she wouldn’t look when she chose, where was the fun if she cheated?

Thankfully he flipped the cards over before she had to choose. With only the backs visible now, she picked a card at random.

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[Tristan Emilian]

Tristan simply smiled at the girl as she stared at the cards, in fact, he never took his eyes off her the entire time he sat there. As soon as she picked her card, he ran his hand along the table and smoothly stacked all the cards back neatly into a deck in one solid motion. Calmly he grabbed the top card, still watching her, "Who ever said I vas being chivalrous?" He asked as he flipped the card over between them, keeping his eyes on her glasses the whole time, and not even looked down as he revealed what he had chosen.

When the card flipped over, it revealed an Ace of Hearts and still Tristan did not look down. It was as if he knew he'd be drawing that card the entire time. Though, even to a well trained eye, no movement or motion could have been detected to suggest that he cheated; it really was as if he just knew the top card was an ace. Now, Tristan wasn't a cheater (ok, he was, but not in this instance), sometimes though, what appeared to be a benefit for you was actually an advantage for the other person.

The same mischevious smirk spread across his face once more as he watched her calmly, "I'll tell you vhat, give me your name before you flip over the card, and regardless of vhat card you have, vhen you flip it over I'll answer any question." The way he spoke, it was almost as if he already knew what card she had chosen as well, and he did. When she flipped over her card, she'd find that she was holding an ace as well; it was a simple trick but it shocked most people. Still, Tristan kept his soft stare on her. Strangely, his stare wasn't uncomfortable, it was almost comforting.

[maron]

”If it’s not chivalry, then you must be up to something.” May already knew that, actually. He had to be up to something to let her see the cards beforehand. What that was though…. She hadn’t quite figured it out yet. So, while she waited, she took a drink from her mug, her gaze never leaving him (even though he couldn’t see her gaze.).

And he just kept meeting her gaze, never even giving his change a glance. A little odd. Her own gaze flickered downward for a split second, before returning to him. No wonder he seemed so confident. You couldn’t get higher than an Ace. At best, she would have the exact same score as him. She seriously doubted that would happen. So, when he offered a new deal, she was silent.

Honestly? What did she have to lose, giving a name? Nothing. And honestly, he didn’t have anything to lose by answering a question either. ”I don’t need a question. I’ll accept a name.” She paused for a moment, shrugging. ”It’s May.” Then, just because she was curious, she flipped her card over. Huh… An ace.

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