#mccree 01

Even with the plethora of different outfits that everyone dressed in here, that damn cowboy hat still stuck out plain as day. She’d gone out to look for a cafe, hoping to sit and relax with a cup of tea and perhaps a dessert. Thankfully the other had just the same idea as her. It also seemed like this city had more familiar faces than expected for her to run into one almost every time she left the apartment.

Approaching his seat from behind, she did well to keep him from noticing she was there. Plucking the hat off his head, she placed it on her own before forcefully ruffling his hair.

“How much you’ve grown, Jesse,” she commented, retracting her hand to move and sit down across from him, simply picking up the menu on the table and scanning it over.

When Red arrived at her favourite bar that evening, she already had a plan for what she wanted; a quiet seat for herself and her partner, and a simple glass of red wine. She was never one to drink too much, but her emotions had been getting the best of her recently; heartbroken by her friend’s departure from this place, and already tired of the reminders that a particular holiday was coming up much quicker than she would’ve liked. She was hoping to not see an abundance of red and pink decorations here, but was sorely disappointed as she walked through the entrance.

[ Oh, great. ] the Transistor spoke up quickly, while the woman accompanied his words with a quiet sigh. [ Here, too? They’re really trying to shove this Heart’s Wake stuff down our throats, aren’t they. ]

The place was much busier than it usually was, too; patrons were laughing, leaning against each other, and just seemed so.. happy, for some reason. There was a peculiar smell in the air-- incense, maybe?-- and at the bar sat a sign that read ‘free samples of DevoLine drinks available!’. Red wasn’t entirely sure what that was supposed to be, but everyone seemed to be carrying cute, pink cocktails around; maybe it was some sort of sponsored drink for the evening?

Though not usually her style, Red decided to try the drink anyway; her blue eyes studying the liquid before taking a small sip of it. It wasn’t too sweet, but was unlike anything else she had ever tried before; almost as if it was perfectly suited to match her favourite tastes. All of a sudden, the woman appeared to be much happier than when she first walked through the doors; although unable to speak, the expression on her face spoke volumes to anyone who might have caught her eye.

[ Uh.. Red? You doin’.. okay? ]  as the Transistor spoke, his usually calm voice seemed come out almost warbled; the crimson glow of the gem on the blade growing somewhat brighter than usual. But as Red hummed in response, she hardly noticed the change; instead focused on a man who walked up to the bar right beside her. She knew almost every face here, but his was unfamiliar-- was he new to Spirale? She felt it was absolutely necessary to reach out to him, for some reason; and quite literally did as she put a hand on his arm, greeting him with a warm smile.

“Sorry I’m late,” is the apology Gladio offers as he stands next to the other hired man, making no eye contact or making any move to shake hands. Being muscle for hire hasn’t exactly given him the opportunity to work with the most savory people, so he’s weary when starting new jobs, unsure of who it is that he’s working with. He’s especially careful when the meeting spot is in a dive bar in the midst of relatively abandoned section of the city. But still, there’s a job to done, a target to be dealt with, and money to be received.

People like this guy really stood out. I mean, it wasn’t every day that you saw someone in full cowboy garb just...looking at magazines in a bookstore. Lucio couldn’t help but stare out of the corner of his eye, gaze averting away from the magazine in his hands. Where...had he seen this guy before?