#larei

"Aaab-so-lutely," Eiel muttered with a tired smile, saluting the bartender with his glass before finishing off the rest of his whiskey. The panther sweat made his tongue feel dry, but that was something he was all-too-used to by this point. "You know your day would be lost without my charming company."

"Oh honey, it ain't your company that's charming." The bartender grinned, patting the man's cheek before moving on to a different customer. Eiel rolled his eyes, moved to grab his second drink, and found that it wasn't there.

"Oh - was that yours? I thought since you just finished your whiskey that you'd be taking a short break before going back for more."

Eiel turned to see who was talking, brown eyes widening when he took in what he legitimately thought for a moment was a ginger goddess.

However, once he let his eyes adjust to the lights glowing just behind her head, he realized it was no goddess; just a woman who could pass as one. Lips stained red, hair curled and styled fashionably against the back of her head with loose curls resting against her cheeks, and wearing some greenish-blue dress that looked silky in the light, she was a sight for sore eyes.

And boy, were Eiel's eyes sore from lack of sleep.

"How ya doin', handsome," she greeted, pinching his cheek and drinking the rest of her stolen whiskey. She passed the glass off to the bartender without a word, shaking her head at a question. Eiel briefly wondered at the question. "I've seen your mug around here before, you some kind of regular?"

"Every joint's got their resident blotto," Eiel said with a shrug, smiling a little shyly. "...I don't believe I've seen you before."

"You're too busy looking at the bottom of your glass to see me." She grinned, sitting next to him and smoothing out her skirt to give her hands something to do. She then turned to him properly, offering her hand. "The name's Larei, handsome."

"...I'm Eiel," Eiel said, taking her hand and shaking it, feeling a little bit strange for doing so. But women were doing things less and less expected of them by the day, so he wasn't all that surprised by her behaviour. He watched as she took out a cigarette, messing with her lighter. She glanced up, then, raising her brows curiously.

"...You want one?"

Eiel shook his head, smiling weakly. "Smoking's never agreed with me."

"Really? That's a shame. I find it relaxing - and you can remember what you do after it, unlike the relaxing properties of the fine refreshments of this respectable establishment."

"...You're a different kind of a gal, ain't ya?"

"'Fraid so - does that intimidate you?"

He shook his head, rubbing his nose awkwardly. "Nah - s'just a change. A nice change. Meeting the same dame over and over again gets tiring."

"You're breaking a bunch of girls' hearts, you know," Larei shook her head, blowing smoke out to the ceiling. "For shame, Eiel - those girls work hard trying to be interesting for fellas. Or dames - I won't judge."

Eiel shook his head, turning to find the bartender - and finding him preoccupied with a customer. He frowned, waving to get his attention; Larei laughed. "...What's so funny?"

"I'm imagining the look on your face when I tell you I've cut ya off for the night."

"...What?"

"Well, sweetheart, you get ossified every evening for one reason or another. Like you want to forget something and pretend nothing's wrong. Tonight I'm not letting you take the easy way out; you're gonna kill yourself, and that'd be a cryin' shame, wouldn't it?"

"You sound like you have a plan."

"That I do. You're gonna dance with me. And then you're gonna dance some more. Maybe you'll even sing with me - I hear you've got a set of pipes on ya. And then, in the morning, when you're not crying about your headache and not turning to the cure of the dog that bit'cha, you're gonna come with me to Goodfellow's Lounge, and you're gonna get some employment. What's to be sad about then?"

"...You make it sound so easy."

Larei smiled, crushing her cigarette in an ashtray and standing up. She grabbed Eiel's wrist, tugging him onto his feet before taking him to the dance floor.

"Well," she said after a moment, turning back to him and looking directly in his eyes, her heels adding height, "that's because it is that easy. Now dance with me, we've got a long night of enjoyment ahead of us."

Staring at the woman as if he couldn't figure her out, Eiel grinned and shook his head.

"Lead the way."