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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 8, 2016 18:37:47 GMT
After holing herself up in her room for a week or two, Adeline felt like she was starting to get some of her confidence back. Of course, the pep-talk from Pitch had certainly helped. Knowing that he had her back definitely made her feel more safe. Although, she was starting to wonder about these new feelings she was getting for him. For the longest time, he had been a role model of sorts, a mentor that was there to help her when she needed it. But for some reason, new feelings were emerging, and she wasn't sure what to think of them. It reminded her of all those silly schoolgirls she had seen in the hallways back in the day, who blushed whenever a teacher like they liked looked their way, or wrote mushy letters that they never gave. Adeline had never been like that. The idea of crushing on a teacher like that had seemed silly to her at the time. But whenever she thought that maybe the same thing was happening to her with Pitch, she shoved the thought away. She didn't want to start thinking about that. It would do no good to act on those feelings. Besides, she was a teenager, and he was probably ancient. Most demons were. She didn't have a chance.
Adeline shivered, wrapping her jacket a little more tightly around herself. It was finally starting to get chilly, and she hadn't really dressed properly. She happened to pass by the Bourbon Graisse at that point though. Sure, it was a bar, but they were bound to have something hot she could get. However, the sun was already starting to set. It would be dark soon, and the last thing Adeline wanted was to walk the streets at night. It hadn't exactly worked out too well last time. I'll just get one drink, she thought. Then, I'll make my way home. That made her feel better, and so she walked inside. She was happy to see that she wasn't the only teenager there, although there were far more customers there who were actually of legal drinking age. Regardless, she found a spot at the corner of the table-top and reached for a menu.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 8, 2016 18:52:39 GMT
Axel was off shift and he couldn't be happier about it. And rightfully so. The night had already been busy. Some bachelorette party had come into the bar because of the 'eye candy bartender'. They had been already too drunk to realize that he was said bartender. He had convinced them to slow down on their drinks and order non-alcoholic mixes with some food (greasy and filling) before leaving some pitchers of water. They might appreciate him later. Because thanks to the salty greasiness of the food, they had to keep drinking. The water and the non-alcoholic mixes would rehydrate them and the greasy food would eat up the alcohol in their stomachs. Some people had no idea about limits. He was almost happy to see them go, except for the fact they tipped extremely well.
But as he stepped onto the patron's side of the floor, he noticed a tiny mousy girl sit herself at one of the tables. She grabbed a menu and started to look through it. She wasn’t old enough to drink. Axel hoped she knew better than to ask for alcohol. But then the girl had to go and shiver. He sighed to himself, grabbed his jacket from the back and walked over to her table. He stopped when he was just a few feet away from the table, trying not to intimidate her. He probably already did. Dark clad man with flaming red hair and tattoos, that didn't scream scary at all, he thought sarcastically.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 8, 2016 19:02:07 GMT
Adeline didn't know if it was just a thing with her now, or if it was just her paranoia, but she could practically feel that some demon was nearby. It was almost like being part-demon made her better at sniffing them out, like a dog that was able to detect when one of its own kind was nearby. She turned, and found that it was coming from a man that had spoken to her. Her eyes widened. Was he looking for Thrax too? Was he going to hurt her like Vanitas did? She could still remember his cold eyes, his frightening laugh, the way his fingers had dug into her skin. She jumped back like a startled rabbit, nearly tipping over the bar stool she had been sitting on. "Stay back. Don't come any closer," she threatened.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 8, 2016 19:14:07 GMT
"Whoa there kid, calm down," Axel said gently. "It's okay."
Frightened young adult in the bar. There were a number of reasons for that, all of them normally brought out Axel's anger, not directed to the child of course, but at whatever scared them enough that they were startled by any stranger. He took a step back, trying to give her the space she wanted but at the same time, he didn't want to leave her with the idea that he was at threat to her. So he held up his hands and the jacket he had grabbed. He made sure to keep eye contact as he held out the jacket to her.
"Just wanted to give you my jacket." he told her. "You're making me feel cold with all that shivering of yours and that's saying something."
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 8, 2016 19:21:54 GMT
Adeline narrowed her eyes at the man. Was he just playing dumb? Or was he actually being sincere? She felt like it was hard to tell. The only good demon she had ever really met was Pitch. What were the odds that this guy was the same? "Don't try to act all innocent," she snapped. "The last demon I ran into nearly killed me. Are you looking for Thrax? 'Cause I don't know where he is, okay? So you can just forget about trying to use me." That was all that Vanitas had wanted. He had thought Thrax and Adeline were in close contact, and if he could get to her, then he could get to him. He hadn't realized that that was as far from the truth as you could get. What if this guy was looking for him too? Could she convince him that she had no idea where Thrax was?
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 8, 2016 19:30:50 GMT
"That's not very nice," Axel complained. "Let's start over. I'm Axel. Yes, I'm a demon. No, I'm not looking for Thrax. No, I don't want to hurt you. So do you want the jacket or not?"
So a demon hurt her. Explained a lot. Naturally a human like her would be terrified out of her wits over demons after an experience like that. Demons harnessed power on a whole other level. Even if the girl was one of the gifted humans that managed to sneak under the radar. She obviously hadn't if she knew two demons. There was little more he could do to reassure her he meant no harm. It did annoy him though that his kind decided to take advantage of her like that. She was just a brat after all. A kid compared to some of them age wise.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 8, 2016 19:38:07 GMT
This guy, apparently named Axel, did seem pretty adamant that he wasn't here to hurt her or something. Maybe it was okay to give him the benefit of the doubt, for now. Adeline could always keep an eye on him and bolt if he did anything fishy. Sure, her paranoia was probably working into overdrive right now, but she had just gotten out of the mental rut that Vanitas had put her in. She didn't want to go back there again. "Okay." She took the jacket from Axel and slipped it on. While it was pretty big on her, at least it was warmer than the one she had on. "I'm Adeline," she said, figuring she might as well introduce herself since Axel did the same.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 8, 2016 19:45:17 GMT
"There," he said gently, "Since we're on a first name basis now, how about you get something? A drink? I can make a mean hot toddy. Minus the alcohol."
Totally not of legal drinking age. She looked like she was drowning in his leather jacket. Like a little kid trying to play dress up or something in someone else's clothes but she looked a little warmer than she had. You could certainly tell winter was around the corner when you went outside and could see your breath. Least he could do was go into the back and make her a hot drink. Get her thawed out before he sent her back out in the chilly winter weather. Still, this was a delicate case and had to play his cards right so she felt safe. He would play things by her call. She did have beef with demons and there was no sense in making things even worse.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 9, 2016 4:12:41 GMT
Adeline blinked. She had no idea what a hot toddy even was. But, if it was a warm drink, then she figured she might as well try it. Besides, it looked like Axel wasn't going to hold a grudge, despite her freaking out like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Sure. That sounds fine," she replied. She sat back down on the stool, making sure the coat didn't slide off. "So, I'm assuming you work here?" she asked. She figured he was, given that he offered to make her a drink.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 9, 2016 14:05:36 GMT
"Relax kid, it's just tea, some herbs and honey." he said. "Of course I work here. I'm the bartender."
He went back into the back, gathering all the things to mix her drink. Instead of mixing it in the back like he usually did, he brought it to the bar top and started brewing her tea right there. Most of it was just a show of trust for her, that he wasn't poisoning her drink or anything. And maybe he wanted to show off a little bit. Her drink was made with peppermint tea, to help her relax. She still looked like she was about to flee from the bar at the first chance she got. Once he was done, he cleaned up his station and brought the steaming drink over to her. Setting it down in the center of the table so he didn't invade her space.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 9, 2016 23:25:15 GMT
A demon bartender, huh? That was something Adeline hadn't heard of before. She was quiet as Axel made her drink. She wondered how he ended up working here. It seemed like most demons ended up falling into more illegal occupations. Maybe he was reformed or something, like Pitch. She had heard rumors that her mentor had once been a criminal himself, but she wasn't sure if those were true or not. And she wasn't about to ask. Pitch may have told her a good chunk of how he ended up promising to join the police, but she doubted he was ready to spill everything yet. She took a cautious sip of the tea once Axel set it down in front of her, and she perked up in surprise. "This is good," she complimented.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 10, 2016 2:27:47 GMT
"Of course it's good. I made it." Axel boasted.
The drink seemed to do the trick so he pulled up a chair and sat across from her. Kid was probably still jumpy as hell but she didn't look like she was going to bust into tears upon the sight of him. Good sign. Besides, he felt like he needed to figure out which demons were giving her a hard time and set them straight about messing with young girls. Just because they had the power to frighten humans into doing whatever they wanted, it did not mean they should use it. Things were so much easier when Others lived peacefully alongside humans.
"So, kid, wanna tell me why you acted like I was going to eat you up?" he asked.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 10, 2016 4:39:49 GMT
Adeline couldn't resist a little chuckle at that. Axel sure seemed confident of himself. However, as she took another sip of tea, he asked her why the heck she was acting so jumpy earlier. She gave a sigh. She figured it wouldn't be long before he asked that. Heck, she'd be surprised if he didn't. She had acted completely weird, and a little rude. But, she felt like she had a good reason for acting so cautious. "I've met three demons so far in my life," she replied. "Two of them have not been...very pleasant." That was the truth at least, although she knew she was being pretty vague. Axel would probably want more information than that.
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Post by skyeknight on Dec 10, 2016 19:54:53 GMT
"For the record, just because someone's a demon, it doesn't mean we're all assholes, but you know, probably safer than sorry." he said.
He honestly didn't blame her for being afraid. If she was two for three in her 'bad' demon encounter rate, then naturally she should be wary of any demon that crossed her path. Axel himself hadn't been a saint but he had never hurt anyone who hadn't had it coming to them. He took out bullies, people who hurt others, those who used their powers against the weak. She was a shy girl, but he certainly wouldn't have wanted her to go in fear of absolutely everyone that ever crossed her path. There was fear and then there was paranoia.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Dec 10, 2016 22:25:25 GMT
Axel seemed somewhat understanding of her actions, even though he did remind her that not all demons were total jerks. Adeline knew he was right. She just felt like she wasn't ready to be so relaxed around them right now. Thrax had literally put a piece of himself inside her, and it had totally changed who she was. Now, she wasn't really a witch, and not really a demon. She was some hybrid freak. And Vanitas had just been this unshakable force that she couldn't stand up against. No matter what she had done, she hadn't hurt him one bit. He had seemed practically untouchable. Those factos kind of made it hard to think the best of them. If it wasn't for Pitch, she'd probably never trust demons again. "Yeah, well, you tend to get a bit paranoid once you tangle with them too many times," she said as she took another sip of her tea.
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