Shades of Dusk [Jazz]

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

A visit to the bar was in order after everything else. The swashbuckler attire was still his clothing of choice, though he no longer had his hair tied back in a ponytail. It gave him a peculiar sort of look. Decidedly, it was less androgynous than his usual outfits. Shaehern appreciated the buckles on his boots and belt and it was a rare opportunity to wear gold and have it match the outfit just fine. Of course, maybe it was tacky to wear gold rings when your buckles were brass, but Shae did not care much about tacky or gaudy so long as he looked good.

His usual drinks in the bar consisted or red wine and brandy if he was feeling like he needed something strong. Acquiring a glass of wine he sought out a darkened corner to sit in and wait for company. Occasionally, he'd actually be approached by someone who wanted to talk or wanted to do business. Sometimes the business was the sale of information, other times the business was a small wager or two. Regardless, it made enough money to support Shaehern's comfortable lifestyle as long as he kept doing it.

Somewhat more odd was that instead of sitting in his usual corner when he just wanted to pause and brood to himself, he spotted someone who was more than acquaintance. Really, a best friend sort if one could consider it. Perhaps the friendship only started because she suspected he only swung one way and not both, but it hadn't worked out too badly for the pair, right?

He sauntered on over and took a seat without really asking. "What seems to be the occasion?" he dared ask as he took his first sip of the glass. The atmosphere wasn't quite right for frivolity yet.

[Jasmine Krisp]

Jasmine was not a heavy drinker. Not that she couldn't be. Surprisingly for somebody of such a small figure she was able to hold her drinks very, very well. In fact, the last time she'd gotten buzzed was after she'd knocked out a weekender of tequila. And, again, that had been a buzz. But tonight was different. It had been just yesterday when she'd visited Iugo in her pretty dress and had her semi-confession...

...and then she'd seen Loki. And good God in heaven, things had gone to hell awfully fast.

Don't get me wrong, the plum was thrilled to be getting her memories back. It was her wildest wish. But she hadn't expected it to hurt as it did. And even now the feeling of the arm-length needle in her brain was going strong. That was the main reason she'd ended up in the pub in the first place. Alcohol and pain went hand in fuckin' hand.

However, downing a months worth of weekender's probably wasn't the best idea. As Shaehern approached the little Boogie she turned her eyes on him...big, glazed, and obviously not-all-there eyes.

"Ah...ahoy?" Jazz giggled a little too high-pitched and twirled the empty shot glass on her finger, "My my my, Shhhhhhhae...you seem to be taking the term 'ass-pirate' to heart...ain't cha?" She hiccuped and almost dropped the glass, her other hand cupping her childish face. "Who needs an occasion-ion to drink, mate? I just wanted a ssssssssssip or..." Jasmine stopped and looked at the four bottles in front of her, "...thirty. I tink it was thirty."

Yeah. Little wasted Boogies with the ability to manipulate anyone.

Not good.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Shaehern was the ass-pirate, huh? "Fifteen years in the navy," he said with a bit of a sly grin, but it still didn't feel quite in place. Shae wasn't feeling quite like himself lately. Not quite like someone else either, but certainly not quite like himself.

The smell of alcohol was thick in the air, and a lot of that smell seemed to be coming from the little Jasmine Krisp. Shaehern was trying to calculate out exactly how much volume that tiny body of hers could hold. In any feasible sense... thirty 'sips' might translate into thirty 'drinks' and Shae couldn't help but fear that she had managed to replace her blood with hard liquor.

"My dear, far be it from me to make an assumption, but perhaps we might consider purifying your blood with some water for a little while. I can't let this little chickadee fly around drunk, can I?" He wanted to poke her and prod her about details, though he already knew the general gist of what happened between her and Iugo. The information had warranted a squeal and he was so disappointed that he wasn't there to witness it himself.

Of course, why would she be here trying to drive a lemon wedge through her brain with a gold brick if everything was good? There had to be an occasion. Casual drinking was fine and dandy, but like many sports it was improved with the addition of more players. He might need something harder than wine if he was going to keep up. Rum, perhaps? Spiced rum not thinned down by anything would certainly fit with his current attire, and he had only but a sip of wine so far.

Then again, maybe it would be best that he not consider encouraging her to drink more. "I presumed that this was either celebratory or medicinal. One does not need an excuse, but I find it helps. Also, I'm your friend. I make it my business to inquire into the nitty gritty details of your personal life whenever you find it inconvenient."

[Jasmine Krisp]

The littlest ones always seemed to be cutest when drunk, and Jazz was no exception. She blinked a few times and leaned forward a bit, almost sliding right off the hand that held her head up. "You were in the navy?" Apparently when she was drunk she couldn't detect a joke. Tonight was going to be horribly confusing for her. And of course he was worried about her alcohol consumption to this point...sober-her would probably be twice as worried. But right now she didn't care.

She had a headache, and she had only just made a dent in it.

Maybe some more will get rid of it half-way...?

"I don't need any agua...I have ple-a-nty of it right here!" she rather loud, loud enough for a few heads to turn in her direction, lifting her head and waving her arm to display the bottles. Jasmine either didn't notice or didn't care about the people staring. Probably the former. "Water of life! It's not tasty, but it feels soooooooooo goooooooooood~!!"

Big words were not working right now for the drunken little Boogie. "Medi-iki-al? Is that French?" Jazz slurred a little, popping the little glass onto the table and putting both hands on her knees. Her face was blank, utterly innocent, and yet obviously without any rhyme or reason behind it. "I like when you're in my business. You're my biffle. It's how we rororororor..." gold glazed eye narrowed a little, "Roro...it's how we are."

"I just a headache is all, Shae-hen. But if you wanna, we can drink to somethin' together! How about to birdies?"

Like she needed an excuse to drink any more.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

For a brief second there was the dastardly idea of slipping something into his best friend's next drink. That would end all of the shenanigans right then and there. She would be mad. Oh, she'd be all sorts of hell-breaking-loose mad when she woke up... if the hangover didn't have her completely incapacitated. However, Shaehern expected that she would forgive him if he chose that course of action.

Of course, there was the matter of trying to be a good friend and not resorting to methods traditionally reserved for rape cases. All of the warning signs were there for Shae to see, plain as day. She really should not have any more right now. And yet Shae could not resist taking another sip of his glass of wine. She was a highly entertaining drunk, but if the empty bottles were any estimation for how much it took to get her there? She was putting herself in quite a bit of danger.

Shae stared at her with eyes full of genuine concern. Since when had he actually started caring about people around him? He'd have to sort through his memories another time and try to figure out when he became such a softy. "If my poor chickadee had a headache, she should have come to see me. I have the magic hands, you see. A few minutes with them would set you free." A bit of a rhyme as Shaehern flipped a silver coin around his fingers a little bit. The manipulation was child's play. The human word was prestidigitation, and Shaehern was indebted to them for such a delightfully simple form of 'magic'.

"Seriously though, maybe we should set the drinks down and I can give you a massage, do your hair, talk about our crushes... that sort of stuff." This time he took a very long sip while waiting for Jasmine's response.

[Jasmine Krisp]

"Chickadee? Chick chick!" Jasmine chimed at what seemed to be her new nickname. The look in her friend's eyes did throw her a little, but with such a hazy mind, she couldn't stay focused on one thing for too long. His words and movements with the coin were enough to distract her...mostly the coin. She followed it with awe, though normally she wouldn't be impressed by such simple slight of hand, she was to drunk to realize it was just a little trick. "That's so cool..."

Glazed eyes blinked. "Magic hands?" the plum Boogie paused, then burst out laughing. Again she was attracting attention, "You're such a silly peeeeeeeeeeervert! That sounded so wrooooong~!"

A Boogie at the bar threw a irritated glance at the little woman.

She didn't notice, of course.

With a gentle sigh, Jazz lifted her arms so her elbows were on the table and her rosy cheeks in her little pale hands. "Y'know...maybe a massage would be neece. I thought drinkin' would help, but...no matter what, it don't go away. I'm desperato." She closed her eyes and sighed again, almost like a meow. The pain had dulled, but maybe Shaehern had a point. She'd had a lot to drink, and barely put a dent in things. Maybe she did need a massage.

And she could trust Shae-hen not to try anything.

Opening her eyes and looking back up at his pretty face, she decided she wouldn't mind even if he did try something.

.......okaaaaaaaaay, now I know I drank to much.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Shae was playing Mother Hen to his chickadee and found her behavior absolutely adorable. Repeated stares from around the room did not do much to deter Shaehern or push him to try and stop the behaviors. Rather, most days it would have just pushed him to try even harder to get those people to stare. Maybe if Shae had been on this journey with Jasmine it would not have seemed as horrific. Then again, after what Jasmine had drank Shae would have been as good as chained to the floor.

He was grateful that pleasant moods and tones could still be kept. He gave his littlest best friend a warm hug and a smile. Yes, Shae was a pervert and he could make most anything sound like a horrible innuendo. Now that he considered it, 'magic hands' was incredibly perverse. However, he was almost certain that it would be an accurate assessment.

"Poor deary. Headaches really are no good." Shae couldn't help but find it slightly ironic that Iugo was a doctor and probably could have treated Jasmine for a headache. Then again, Iugo wasn't really a doctor in the sense that he took patients to make them better. "Any idea what caused it?" A bump on the head or something seemed likely, though that hardly seemed a bad enough reason to go drinking.

Migraine? What from, though? Might just be the season. Jazz so totally owed Shae if he got sick after this--soup in a maid's outfit! Well, he might be able to convince her to get him soup, at least.

He positioned himself behind the little plum woman and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. He'd work his way up to her head, but he'd have to be gentle about it. Muscular fingers and thumbs worked together to move the skin in a firm yet caring manner. His thumbs snaked their way up to the girl's neck. "Just close your eyes for a bit, deary."

[Jasmine Krisp]

The little plum giggled when she was hugged by the pretty-boy cross-dresser. He was so nice! Her best friend, and a hot girl to boot. Shae was really more feminine than anything, though today he did look more like a guy. A pirate! "A huggable pirate!" she squealed and nuzzled into the hug with a bright grin. Though the smile faltered a little when he asked about the cause of her headache.

Even when she was plastered, she knew very well why she felt like this.

Jasmine mewled again. "...it was the other nightie night...when I was with Iu-goat..." he was moving out of the hug by now, and she almost wanted to pull him back again, since she felt like she needed a hug right now. But a massage did sound good, "I saw a familiar while I was down there...a big, scawy kitty...but...it wasn't Iuigi's familiar...it was..." her voice caught in a hiccup, "...my baby brother's...Darion. He...died."

"...and I didn't know..."

Around that point Shaehern had started to rub her neck. It was a funny feeling, tickling and squeezing and it kinda hurt, but it felt really good! "Mmmmmn..." Jazz actually let out a little moan, closing her eyes as was his advice, "...you're good at this, Shae-hen..."

Oh, but she'd been talking about something important, hadn't she?

...it could wait. Shaehern really did have magic hands~

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Shaehern was a very huggable pirate. Perhaps even one of the singing and dancing Pirates of Penzance! Now there was a consideration for musical inspiration, and it even had a moral that would jab at the Ezels a little bit. The consideration tickled him almost as much as hearing the doctor referred to as Iu-goat.

He would certainly munch on anything, wouldn't he? Tin cans, bones... ears. Or was that Mike Tyson? Shae felt a sting of anger over what Iugo did to him and his beautiful form, but he dispelled it from his mind. He would not wish to be angry while putting his hands all over his dear friend Jasmine.

Heh. Iu-goat and Shae-hen. "Lil MacJasmine had a farm, ee-aye-ee-aye-oh." What glorious fun she could be. Poor gal felt very tense and worked up, which was not conducive to drinking at all. Shae considered it amazing that she could magnify her mood with drink and still be so pleasant.

The details she was mentioning were known somewhat to him. The cat, blasted creature it was, belonged to an older Boogie by the name of Darion who had died a while back in the incident involving Tristan Blackthorne. As Shaehern recalled, there had been much less mourning in regards to Darion than Tristan, though he wasn't exactly certain who was legally in the right. Leave that to Boogies like Naelona to work out and just glean the information from them if it ever became relevant again.

Darion Krisp. Jasmine Krisp. Shaehern suddenly realized that he had known that Jasmine's brother had died before she did. Hell, a lot of people would have known. Why wouldn't she have known, though? Shaehern was standing up, but if he was sitting he would certainly be at the edge of his seat waiting for Jasmine to continue.

Except that she didn't. Curse those magic hands of his.

He leaned down and planted a small peck on the top of her head, just like the Shae-hen he was playing at the moment. People still were staring, but not quite so much as before. Shae's fingers suddenly moved from their position on Jasmine's shoulders up to her head. Slowly they worked their way down through the girl's large collection of hair to the skin beneath and began to massage the areas near the top of her head and by her temples with his fingers. His thumbs gently worked up towards the area behind her ears.

"Glad you like, deary. Feel free to continue whenever you're comfortable." Shaehern would be willing to take a bet right now that Jasmine's next response would come out more garbled than not.

[Jasmine Krisp]

Little Jasmine leaned her head forward slightly to give Shaehern more reach of her shoulders and scalp. Her headache was feeling slightly better, which was interesting since it had taken four bottles of tequila to put a dent in it before. Maybe it was like a house of cards. Removing that one card with the booze meant it would be easier to knock the rest out...and it was much nicer than the burn of the alcohol. A little pinching was nothing compared to that sting.

"Nnnn...I'll conti...nuuu..." she mumbled, opening her eyes half-way. It was either the drinks or the massage, but she was finding it hard to keep a coherent state of mind right now. Feels so goooooood, she mewed again in pleasure. It sounded even worse then her shouting around a while ago, and it got the pair even more attention from the guys at the bar...in a different way.

It still wasn't in a good way. It was still not noticed by the plum.

Wait! I was talking about my brother!

The Boogie woman stretched her legs a little and rolled her neck. "...what I was sayin'...I didn't know Darry had died. But not 'cause I'm a bad sissy. Which innit true. I'm an awesome sissy...but...up until last night...I didn't remember that I was a sissy," Jazz lifted her hand to touch her forehead, holding it, as if it was going to pop open and spill her brains onto her plain black dress.

Now, plastered and morose and scared, she was going to tell her best friend something she'd never told anyone.

Which was even scarier than the thought itself, in a way.

"...all my memories...were suppressed. I dun't know how...or when...but around-about four thousand years ago...I just...woke up with nothing to remember. I was a blank. I'd been left there with big ol' cuts and slices...with no memories..."

No one to call on, no past to look for, and no future to reach.

"...left to die."

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Shaehern noticed a couple of the guys at the bar giving his little chickadee their looks of implied lust. He batted his eyelashes ever so gingerly in their direction and flashed them the sweetest smile he could manage. If the moans and groans of someone who looked like a little girl attracted their attention, well...

They were just sick.

Then again, youthful appearances certainly had features that left all the reason in the world to be jealous. Jasmine was considerably older than Shae, but still had the youthful attitude and appearance of a child. Shae had fleshed out into an effeminate adult, but he still was an adult with a few vaguely masculine features that required a bit more work to disguise if he should want to look more like a woman.

Today he didn't look at all like a woman, except for the hair. And he loved his hair far too much to cut it for the sake of looking like a man for a few weeks. Maybe a few months. It all depended on how long the feelings persisted. Feeling were ephemeral by nature. They bloomed and blossomed, but all flowers withered away eventually. Some insisted on blossoming in a cycle while others died after their first bloom. The true ephemeral flowers bloomed for but one day in the entire year. Beautiful... and a little sad.

Watching Jasmine turn into a sort of putty in his hands was cute. He'd give her a hug if his hands weren't already occupied with disabling her mind with a head massage. And she was talking about some deep seated issue within her subconscious. That was good. Maybe that would help more than the alcohol.

If she was really lucky, it might help more than the massage.

"So you didn't know, I see." Shaehern guessed that it made some sense. Some memories were too painful and you'd rather suppress them than live with them. It was a survival mechanism, of sorts. "I believe that you would be a wonderful sister, deary." There might be use of that thought yet. His fingers started crossing paths as he rubbed the little plum woman's head. Continuing too long might leave the skin on her head sore so he'd have to move on, or give her the warning and keep going, soon.

"Was your brother involved in that?" Shaehern took a stab in the dark. He knew about Darion's recent activities, at least the ones that led up to his death, but his origins were something of a mystery. A lot of Boogies had really bloody pasts and they preferred to keep those hidden.

Shaehern liked his past being a secret. There weren't many people who would know or guess what kind of family the Azhrarns were. It was the sort of question that had no price if you wanted to buy it from Shaehern.

[Jasmine Krisp]

If only Jasmine had been a little more sober, she might have noticed the 'touch her and I rape you' face that Shaehern was giving the men at the bars. She might have made a crack at it, and laughed, but right now she was oblivious and putty and starting to feel more foggy than before. But there was another feeling, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Telling her own truth felt nice, especially to Shae. What were best friends better for than telling secrets and just being there?

Massages, for one. And biffles were great drinking mates.

Jazz smiled, a little less drunkenly and a little more herself. "I hope so...still...I don't remembers too much of being a sissy. Just bittles and pieces," she lowered the hand from her forehead and cradled it in her other, "...and what I does remember isn't that nice."

The next question brought an urge for another shot.

"I don't remember," her voice was getting colder, "I don't remember what he was like, or what he looked like, or who he was as a person. All I know is he was my little brother. I can sees shapes...and blurry colors...but the only things really in-focus are voices and that cat. Everything else is still...mush. The voices I got from him..." Jasmine's hands clenched, her eyes narrowed, slivers of gold in the dark pub.

"...one of them...was him...telling his familiar to kill me."

Suddenly Jazz straightened her neck and stretched her arm up, pointing her little hand right in Shaehern's face. Then she leaned her head back to she could look right up at him with a pout, eyes back to their normal size, though the booze had dulled their glow a little. "Hey, why am's I doing all the chatter chitter? It's late night, we're in a bar, we should do something fun!! Like...a game or sumthin'!!"

Lord knows what her plastered little brain was concocting.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

Shae felt something odd stir within him as he listened to Jasmine reveal the dirty little details of her past. In some ways, he imagined that she was hearing them for the first time as well. Yet Shae was uncertain that he was reacting in quite the same way to her little personal exposition. She had been wronged by her own brother in some way and the chance for that revenge had been stolen from him before he even knew there was an opportunity for it. Darion Krisp was dead, but his familiar was still alive.

Gears were turning in the plotter's mind. Killing the beast by hand would certainly be outside of his skill set, but dooming the creature to the fate it deserved was certainly not out of the question. Simply put, it would just be a different sort of manipulation that led to the familiar's doom.

Shaehern's hands slipped down from Jasmine's wee little head and back down to her shoulders before they stopped entirely. His arms wrapped around her and he gave his friend a warm hug. After everything she had told him, Shae imagined that was probably the best he could offer her.

"I'm perfectly okay with games," so long as it didn't involve too much more drinking on her side of things. He had managed to pause the intake of alcohol, though he imagined her body would still be processing it for a while before she got any better. "We making a few bets?" Those were some of the only games Shaehern was aware of that could be played in a bar. The stakes were either drinks, money, or occasionally things like a pinch or kiss. It depended on the nature of the people involved.

[Jasmine Krisp]

Already the rest of that headache was beginning to fade into the drunken haze that was now Jasmine's brain. What had she been so sad about? Oh well, she'd remember it in the morning. For somebody who drank so much the young (not) woman always remembered her 'behaviors' of the night before. It was a gift, but it was also a curse. Most people were lucky enough to forget whatever completely stupid thing they did while drinking.

Not Jasmine. She remembered all of it.

Ironic, since the rest of of her memories were still mushy.

With the hug she let another meow-sigh escape her and buried into the blue man's arms. He was warm. "Thanks for the massuge, Shae-hen..." the plum mumbled happily before he pulled back from her. And the subject of games. Games, games, games...

"There's one game I used to play with my girlie-friends, before they moved on from the palace..." dulling golden eyes had a glimmer of something in them. Something deviant, "It's a bettin' game of sorts....but the stakes are much more humiliatin'. We called it 'Resist'. Usually it's played with other people with a talent like mine...but...this can work!" She held her hand up again with three, long, slender fingers extended. The grin on her face was dangerously bright.

"Rules are simply. I use my talent on you, starting at low concentration to high," a finger retracted, "For every minute you resist...see, there's the name there...I pay you a mijn. Every ten minutes, I pay you a qjiln. Easy, right?" The other finger lowered. "But the things I make you do...hehehe, there going to get worse and worse. So...wanna play?~"

This wasn't going to end well.

[Shaehern Azhrarn]

She was a sweet little woman and Shaehern liked the way their friendship turned out. Granted, he wished that he didn't have to lose his ear when poking around Iugo's little secrets for her, but he couldn't really place blame on her for that fiasco. After all, Jasmine hadn't asked for Shaehern's help figuring it out at all. Shae just couldn't stand letting a secret be and he had to know. Confidence that his initial guesses were right and confirmation just made him feel much better about his ability to read people.

So why wasn't he getting a bad feeling about this game that Jasmine was suggesting? It might have stemmed from overconfidence in his own abilities and underestimating what Jasmine was capable of doing to him. He had felt the compelling case of her talent before and it had seemed nigh impossible to resist. If she played a game like this in her youth, then he imagined it made some sense that she would be very good at getting people to do what she wanted.

His mind worked quickly to analyze the stakes of what Jasmine Krisp was suggesting. The price he would pay was in potential embarrassment, but she was paying him hard cash. One mijn a minute was phenomenal payoff, and the only thing he stood a chance of losing was his pride. Shaehern was confident that there was nothing Jasmine would possibly suggest that could put a dent in his Teflon-coated personality. Everything would just bounce off and he'd stand to make a bit of money.

And who was to say that he wouldn't like doing the things she'd try and force him to do, too? It all depended on what she was going to ask him to do. He smiled devilishly as he became solidly convinced that he might make a little bit of cash. Plus, the idea of even having a chance at a single qjiln for a game was pretty tempting.

"You must have had rich friends as a child. Either way, I'll take your stakes." Famous last words, there.