The Hexed

"That looks good," She shuffled towards Cass and peered at her pan. The egg was sizzling happily. "Maybe you can cook breakfast for us more often!" There was no sarcasm from Claire, never from her. She truly believed Cassandra's cooking was great.

"Oh, I have some blueberries, apples and strawberries." Claire nodded happily and walked towards the fridge next. Her own cooking was still on the pan.

"Should we do everything?" She asked from over her shoulder, pulling the containers from the shelves. "And yup, I got a gift, I hope she likes it." She places the fruit on the table, and turns off the pan and gets her own plate to dish the sausage.

When Claire brought over the fruit, Cassandra eyed the sausage precariously before the demigoddess seemed to move and plate them herself. An inner sigh of relief. Cassandra did pause to make sure both the stove eyes were turned off before moving to the assorted breads and drinks to the table.

Uh oh. Had she stared for so long and in such a strange manner that she was about to be confronted about it? The last thing she wanted to do was to seem rude, though the people around her back home had told her many times she had a severe case of "resting bitch face." She was already drafting an apology in her head, sitting back in her seat with her gaze now avoiding the same woman she'd been staring at all night, looking a bit like a grade-schooler about to receive a lecture from their teacher. Suffice to say, she was not expecting an offer of a drink to be the first thing she'd heard from the drummer now beside her.

Nodding her head, the demigoddess turned to the bartender, adding the other's order of a gin and tonic to her bill. Once the order was set, the demigoddess sat down on the barstool beside her new companion, easily settling in to face the other as they did her. "Thank you. It took several shitty performances for me to get to that. Was it your first time seeing us perform?" The demigoddess asked. Cassandra could not remember the woman's face. Typically, Cassie didn't forget a pretty girl's face, unless there was enough alcohol in her system to force her to. She doubted that was the case with this one.

Hints of mild surprise flashed across her face as Cassandra invited her for a drink, or as many drinks as she wanted to have, to quote the other’s invitation. Alice was quick to get the friendly smile back on her lips as she replied. “Thank you so much, I’m all good with my drink now, but I would love to spend some time talking to you.” 

Alice noticed the disappointment of the other ladies as Cassandra’s attention seemed to be exclusive to her now. While she felt slightly guilty, there was nothing she could do about that, since it was Cassandra who approached her to offer drinks and companionship. Still, she had yet to read the other demigoddess’ motives, which got Alice to keep her guard partly on while remaining polite and friendly toward Cassandra. 

“It’s been hot in here, isn’t it? Got me to forget that it’s still late winter outside.” She restarted their conversation with the easiest and safest topic anyone could talk about. 

Nodding her head, the demigoddess was distracted. "I am always down for a free date." She spoke nonchalantly. Cassie was pleased that the other did want to spend more time with her. It opened up a window for her to explore. Hell, she was busting to just ask the demigoddess what was going on with whatever that was on her neck. She was a rather blunt creature.

"Just a question, were you already warm, or did you get hotter when I approached?" While it flowed off her lips easily, the question sounded like a flirt, though she was prodding for more information. Could someone who had could sense the dark magic cause an effect on Alice? If so? If she was getting hot, was she going to explode or something? Cassie's thought rambled on before she took a sip of her own drink.

Shinhye, admittedly, was never one for nightlife. Her "friends" back in Oregon had been, sure, and she tagged along to late night bar hops here and here, if not just to drag her drunken ex back home - but it was never something she enjoyed out of her own accord. She'd even thought now (11 PM) was about the time of night she should be getting to bed, considering she was trying to instill better habits into her life, but the jet lag won over her, and her legs carried her around town. If drowsiness wouldn't arrive anytime soon, the least she could do is try to will it by physically tiring out her body a bit. Besides, a stretch of the legs never hurt anybody.

From a thousand feet away, she could hear the chatter and music booming from the inside of a club (?) down the street. The scene was familiar to her, what with the few and far between gigs her ex's band would chance upon, herself being the bassist. Maybe a gin and tonic wouldn't hurt, right? If she were trying to get to sleep anyways, well, what better to help one settle in for the night than a bit of alcohol.

Dr. Feelgood's, she read to herself, looking up at the sign brightly lit against the dark of night. Shinhye had thought the music she had heard was live, but only after looking through the windows of the establishment to see a three-piece band on the mini stage rocking out could she confirm her suspicions. A small but enthusiastic crowd that had gathered by the stage and was blocking her view. Entranced by the music, her feet started walking her into the bar before she realized it.

She took a seat at the bar, looking a little out of place considering she wasn't at all dressed for the occasion, literally sitting on the edge of her barstool as if she were about to be kicked out any second now for appearing lost. Her hands rested in her lap and she turned her knees towards the stage, immersing herself in the rock blasting through the speakers and echoing off the walls, the raw instruments and vocals vibrating through her body. Shinhye watched in silence - not because she disliked the band, but because she was so enchanted by them it was as if she were struck immobile. She'd experienced firsthand the thrill of performing in front of people, sure, but it was never like this. The three women worked amazingly well as a group, but a silent observer like Shinhye would also be able to pick out each of them had their own flair and appeal. Something about the redheaded drummer in the back specifically - her eyes were fixed on her. It wasn't necessarily attraction, this feeling; it was awe.

Soaking up that energy, Cassandra's stage persona tended to become a more refined version of who she was. Charismatic, fiery, most fans either loved or feared the demigoddess, and that healthy combination prevented some of the more unruly fans from jumping on stage. Cassie did not stray from her norm, and the demigoddess enjoyed the evening, noticing the many fans who seemed to as well. Especially a pretty demigoddess out by the bar.

"What if she likes crispy? What if she likes soft?" Claire tossed back. "I was just making sure." She looks over to Cass' pan. "Ouuu the cheese looks good. Are we cooking our own breakfast too?" Her fingers drift towards the hot pan.

Stopping herself from hitting her sister's fingers, because the pan would ultimately punish her behavior if she pushed her luck, Cassandra shook her head. "I think you are overthinking it. Give it another minute and the put it on the plate." She states, and she takes the spatula and pushed around the eggs until they seemed a little bit crispy... That's how you did it right?

Outside, the winds were chilly, but inside the bar, it was getting warmer and warmer thanks to the band’s and their crowd’s energy. Alice, despite not being a self-proclaimed fan of rock music, found herself swaying and head banging along the beats on a high swivel barstool. Dressing in black jeans and a leather jacket over a cashmere sweater, she blended well into the audience, even though she may be among the loudest to sing along. 

Close to the end of the band’s performance, as the heat was rising, Alice took off the jacket. She also decided to tie her long blonde hair up into an aesthetically messy high bun, a style she rarely, if ever, did outside the confinement of her bathroom. When the HEXED ladies finished and started mingling, Alice took her time to order a non-alcoholic drink, feeling the need to rehydrate before heading home. 

As she was waiting for the drink from the bartender, Alice felt a light tap on her left shoulder. Naturally, she turned around to see who was the person, only to be greeted by one of the singers she had just seen on the stage a few minutes ago. Cassandra, Alice recalled her name, since she had read about the HEXED and listened to their latest album before coming to the show tonight. 

“Oh, hello!” She greeted the other demigoddess with a welcoming smile, but that soon withered and was replaced by mild confusion due to the other’s seemingly irrelevant question. 

A weak smile pulled on her lips. At the other's question about the drink, she nodded her head. That would be the best way to keep her with them, not that she thought Alice was going to run away either. However, before the she could respond, the other questions came out of her mouth

Shaking her head, she tried to brush off their concern. "I am good. Don't worry about me." Obviously, it was her that they had to worry about. "Thank you for the compliment." She continues on a new subject, an invitation so she could figure out more. "Please be my guest tonight, as long as you aren't tired. I'll give you all the drinks you want. Name your flavor."

"How come we didn't buy food from the Flower Mill instead?" She waits for the pan to heat up, without really understanding how to do it. "Miss Angela has tasty croissants, I know Charlotte gets some sometimes."

Cassandra found that comment amusing. "Yeah. We only seem to be good an the non-useful parts of our powers. What use was there for gift hunting those years ago. Guess, there is for her now." She joked around, shaking her head. "Imagine if all of our powers were in one woman. We'd be overpowered. I don't care about how strong our powers. At least we got each other. With two of you, I don't have to deal with that witch." She stated with a slight huff at the end.

"Sausage...Sausage..." She murmurs as she looks for the links. She spotted them, reaching to hold a link only to drop it back on its plate. "Ooof cold." She peered at it as if it was an interesting experiment. "Do I just fry these?"

"Yeah. Of course they are cold, weirdo. I just took them out of the fridge." Looking at those same sausages, she tried to wrack her brains on how Charlotte always did it. "Yeah. I think she put a pan on the middle dial, and she just rolled them around in the pan from time to time."