THE FALL OF A BUTCHER [EVT]

February 17th, 2012
5:45 AM
The Love Nest, Regal Necropolis

Morning. It was never that busy a time in the Necropolis, and most there were either relaxing or preparing for the day's work. One demon in particular happened to be doing both at once in the place he called home. The Love Nest, private club owned by none other than Billie Rotten. The demon, in his less appealing mortal form, sat at one of the tables positioned just below the main stage, his feet propped up. He swept a stray, green hair from his nose with one of his nails before taking a swig of brandy and exhaling loudly.

Today was the day. Lucrum had spread word of his situation all over, and he made sure to keep most details on the down low. Most that would come in to assist him only knew that there was work to be done, as well as a negotiated payment. At least, that's all he told the most of them. A special few had the privilege of knowing exactly what sort of mess the incubus had gotten himself into, and a few others had their names on the same black list.

"Oi, Barkeep, best get y'bones together." As he spoke and twirled a finger idly in the air, the skeleton behind the counter nodded and began to lay out glasses. What better way was there to make acquaintance and seal a deal than to do it over a drink? None came to Lucrum's mind.

With another swig, the demon slid his way out of his seat and stumbled over to the bar. Most wouldn't think him ready to take on a hit, but that was far from the truth. So the guy enjoyed his spirits? Yeah, so do half the guys working on the police force, nothing new. Drunkenness doesn't exactly equate to inability to kill someone who won't leave your name out of their mouth.

"Get me a shot of scotch t'chase this shit down with while y'at it, yeah?" Lucrum chuckled and spun in his chair. To tell the truth, he couldn't be happier. Sure, he was still pretty much on the run, but at least he'd been able to keep himself living this long. All the scruffs and brawls he'd been in until today would finally be worth something. As the skeletal hand of the barman passed over a glass, Lucrum quickly grabbed it, drunk from his bottle, and slammed the alcohol in the shot glass back too. For a moment he looked like he'd throw up, but after another long breath the demon stuck his tongue out and howled.

"LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!"

Oh, how unusual a sight they beheld, as early bird demons in the somewhat more civilized city of the Regal Necropolis caught sight of her. A young lady of apparent middle eastern descent was approaching the nightclub known as the Love Nest, but that wasn't too unusual. Aside from the fact she was obviously human, and didn't seem to care. No, what was oddest was the method of travel; she was riding on the back of a Kelpie. Which, in a sense, wasn't TOO odd. Some demons rode them, they were like horses, and easily tamed. But the matter was, she was human. Not JUST human, but a Demon Hunter. Which, in her opinion, was a pretty unfair name. She would have preferred simply Hunter.

She pulled up to the building, before the decaying pony halted its journey. She dismounted and gave it a little wave, before it bolted off into the streets of Necropolis, to wait until she called for him again. Piper was such a loyal creature, she smiled to herself as she entered the Love Nest. She glanced around, amber eyes taking in her surroundings. It was a pretty swank place, or at the very least, it was a place, and had a somewhat sleazy air to it. There were a few succubi and whatnot stripping at various poles, and beyond that, there was a bar. Spying a certain incubus at such bar, she stepped over to it, taking a seat nearby. "Vodka." A glass was poured which she took a sip from, before turning to the alleged owner of the establishment.

"Hiya~ Judas Iscariot LXXXI, at your service, but call me Jasna." Always with the self-proclaimed, and rather LONG title. But of course! She was fairly proud of her heritage, in a way, or at the least, the mission to avert the misfortune her family seemed to suffer. While others hid their ancestry, she saw no reason to; especially in Inferis, honestly, since occasionally it was considered to be a GOOD thing. The Great Betrayer would be pretty popular among demons, one could imagine. If only she could find him... Ahwell.

"Heard about the job, anyways. As a self-respecting mercenary of both planes, I figured it'd be a good one to take up! As far as pay goes, cut whatever the standard pay is you had in mind, and spend that half on cookies. Or just spend it all on cookies, and pay me that way, however you want to do it." True, she COULD just buy the cookies herself, but where was the fun in that? She didn't even make her money doing mercenary work, honestly, so it was a good investment. Cookies are always better than money.

WELL! Today was the day- it seemed. She had been notified via one of many possible ways, though Ana really didn't know what way that was- since well- she couldn't remember shit and actually her alarm jarred her awake and told her something exciting was going to happen. Her alarm clock of course consisted with the most obnoxious noise on earth because no other way would Ana wake up.. she slept hard and she knew it.

What a miracle! She pulled on clothes if only to look decent in the eyes of the others. Some people did't like to see Ana naked (foreshame on them). Nevertheless, she would tug on her shorts(?) -if the y could be considered as such- and her top(?) -the bikini top barely counted- and tugged er jacket on (Which was the most concealing piece of clothing she wore). No shoes were on her feet because- Ana rarely wore shoes. She didn't NEED to.

A quick brushing fixed her red and blond locks into her ponytail and she was ready to go. Today she was trotting about in her demon form, so the scar down her midriff showed rather plainly. She fixed her jacket once more and checked herself out of where she had slept (which really wasn't much more than a shack she'd commandeered for the night). Luckily no one really lived there apparently.

Anyways TO THE LOVE NEST she ventured. Man she had gotten lost twice within the first hour. Pure dumb luck got her there with what seemed like time left over. Impressive. She was indeed happy with herself, but as soon as she walked in- the jacket was off. There he was- Billie Rotten aka Lucrum. Ana was happy as hell to see him- because she was always happy to see everyone (Or so she had assumed herself). She couldn't resist.

"LUUUUCCRRRUUMMM!" She probably shouted way too loud before running and nearly tackling the poor demon. Her arms wrapped around him in the most affectionate way possible and her body was probably way too close for anyone's personal space. Of course all of this was done with the largest smile she could muster. Her fanged teeth flashed a bit beneath her lips, but not with bad intent.

When she had her fill of a hug, she pulled back and giggled, then looked around. "Is Gaius not here, yet?" She looked for the man- but found only a young human girl. She tilted her head and smiled warmly. "Hello there. I don't know you." Yep. Best greeting ever.

Walking. Walking. And yet more walking. That was what Gaius's life had become. Everyday he marched, everyday his sandal clad feet kicked up more dust. And with every passing day Gaius was reminded of his time in the Legions. Though of course his existence now was more hellish then even the worst tour of duty. Which of course was par for the course, given that he was in fact in hell. Still, he was getting a tad tired of walking. He was tired of traveling in general, which he would never have thought could have happened. Even after taming his coal black steed he hated the march, the constant motion and the lack of any where to call home. That was a given though, most demons didn't have a place to hang up their cloak and call their own, and if they did well... It wasn't a home they wanted nor one they where realistically proud of outside the fact that they had managed to hang onto it through some combination of luck, skill and force of arms. Still it was a dream of his, to not only have a place to call home but to be part of something greater them him self. To know the comradeship he had grown used to while alive. In fact it was that search for companionship that drove him to search out others of his kind even though he KNEW that they would want nothing at all to do with him.

In the end, this search had caused him to grow, had caused him to become something of a walking legend among the demons of the Undercroft. In all honesty though, Gaius didn't understand why he had become such a legend, such a symbol to the common everyday demon that made up the vast majority of Inferis's populace. It was true that he had lived, nay flourished in an environment that had been the death of so many others but that was not an accomplishment worthy of worship.

With trepidation he made his slow way forward, favoring this slow monotonous walk over the speed that his newly acquired steed. Why? Well it was simple. He needed time to think about the future... And the past. But whats more Gaius needed to sort out his thoughts. Thoughts that where so chaotic that he had no idea whether he was coming, going or staying still. Thing was, he still had no idea.

So as he walked, he thought about his future. He thought about his needs. But whats more, he thought of what the others like him might need. It was true that these where not average thoughts for a demon. But Gaius was no average demon in any way, and while he had a darker and some might say evil tendencies he was not a being consumed by hi darker passions as so many others where. It was odd really, that he a warrior of warriors and killer of killers wanted to bring those like him together... Then again, there was safety in numbers, so maybe his actual reasons where not so noble.

With out a sound but the sound of his sandals smacking against the cobble stone street, Gaius approached the Love Nest. Slowly he pushed the door open, the creaking of the hinges are the only sounds to announce his coming. Taking a single step inside, and dusting his hands on his warriors skirt Gaius looks about. Eyes locking first on his host and almost friend Lucrum. He was the owner of this oasis and as such was wealthy by common demonic standards. giving the incubus a nod his eyes moved yet again, sliding past the dancers and onto another demon he knew by sight. Ana or Analee who was by far one of the most chipper demons that he had ever met. AS for species? Well... Gaius was not sure. Some sort of Succubus he felt sure... But he honestly couldn't tell given that she had to as of yet try to jump his bones. He offered her a slight smile and then continued on, his dark eyes falling on the last bar patron. A human he knew, and one he didn't know. Not that he expected to, as a rule most demons did not associate with mortals.

"Greetings." With that one word he walked to the bar and tapped the counter, know that the bartender would remember his order.

The first to enter was a human, surprisingly enough. She didn't look too familiar to the incubus, but there was something about her he liked. Possibly the way she ordered a drink, single worded, sitting down like she'd been here before. That took guts, and guts was just what Lucrum needed in his team.

"Hiya~ Judas Iscariot LXXXI, at your service, but call me Jasna." The familial line of the great deceiver? Now that was definitely interesting. "Heard about the job, anyways. As a self-respecting mercenary of both planes, I figured it'd be a good one to take up!"

"Y'guessed right, love, that y'did." Lucrum snickered and wagged a finger at Barkeep to keep his shots coming. He took another swig from his bottle, and, just as he was about to ask about it, the girl followed up about her pay. She wanted... cookies? That could definitely be arranged, though it was a strange form of payment nonetheless. He would have said so, if another familiar voice hadn't caught his ears.

"LUUUUCCRRRUUMMM!" Standing up as soon as the voice registered in his brain, Lucrum was greeted with quite the hug. Ana's breasts pressed to his face, his arms fell limp by his side and he only managed a chuckle until she let go. "Is Gaius not here, yet?"

"N-Nah, 'e's... prob'ly takin' his time, as always." He took another shot of scotch from the bar and downed it, looking around. Where was that fucker anyway? Lucrum was sure he'd be here, after all, Vic was after him too. If not now, he would be anyway. "Ana, this is Jasna. Jasna... This is Ana."

He stuck his tongue out after the other demon's name passed his lips, and he turned around. As he walked over to a table, pacing, he scratched at the back of his head. The door opened, and there, finally, was the big man of this ragtag group of misfits. The skeleton behind the bar passed him his usual dark ale, and Lucrum laughed, jumping atop the table and spinning around.

"A'right, a'right, cut the music!" As soon as he spoke it, the deed was done, just how he liked things to be. "Oi, Red, you get over 'ere too, we got business t'discuss." He pointed to the ceiling and in a flash of purple light and green smoke, he was in his true form. A seductive smirk passed his face, and the incubus scanned across the bar with his gaze.

"Boys and girls, ladies and gents, we got ourselves a butcher t'kill." He pointed to the doors and his muscle barred them shut. The two, zombie-like demons in nice suits may have been strong, but they definitely weren't the sort he'd take on this trip. He needed smarts here. "Vic, big bloke, if y'know 'im y'prob'ly know how he runs things. Demon meats and the like, sells and trades 'em."

He floated down from the table and licked his lips. His arms crossed just before the toe of his boot tipped the ground, and then he tapped his chin. There was definitely some planning to be done before they could just leave and get to it.

"Specialties? I'd like t'know 'ow each of ya... play."

Jasna smiled at the prospect of the cookies to come. What kind would a demon have laying around to pay her with, she wondered. Chocolate chip? Oatmeal raisin? Macadamia nut? Maybe even pineapp- NOPE. NOPE. NO, NO, NO, JASNA. BAD JASNA. REMEMBER LAST TIME YOU ATE PINEAPPLE COOKIES? Warm, sweet, delicious pineapple cookies... ThattastedlikeTahitiwouldtasteifTahitiwasedible. And the emergency room visit, but that was irrelevant. Pineapple cookies were da bomb. And her swollen everything probably just put on display how EXPLOSIVELY AMAZING da bomb was, whenever she ate them. A figure moving toards her and Lucrum pulled her mind away from such fresh-baked thoughts, however.

A demon, most likely, but she looked distinctly more human than many Jasna had seen. She sipped at her vodka with a tiny giggle as the girl slammed her rack into the unwitting (or perhaps very witting) incubus' face. She was like a human (or demon, whatever) airbag! But probably less painful, and more like pillows. SHE WAS PILLOWS. YES. And a moment later, said pillows turned to Jasna and smiled, introducing herself rather cheerily- kinda. Jasna smiled back, with a wave. "I don't think I know you either!~ Yet, that is." And indeed, the good Mr. Rotten introduced the two of them to each other. Ana, hm? Was a nice name. Not very demonic at all, though, so Jasna started to kinda doubt her demoniness, at least for the time being.

Third and not quite finally, Jasna saw a rather large man enter the room. He looked just a tad intimidating, if not a little bit cuddly and amusing to draw on with markers. Not that she would do such a thing, that would be silly... She had face paint for that, markers are for the furniture! Apparently the one called Gaius whom Ana and Lucrum had mentioned in brief a moment before. Jasna gave a friendly wave as she once more sipped at her drink. Hm... Running a bit loooow. Laaaaame. "Hiya there big guy~" It was so nice to be acquainted with everyone.

The music came to a grinding halt as Spitsy called business to order, as well as calling for the fifth and final member of their little party to join them. So he'd been lurking in the shadows this whole time? So mysterious. Once more, Miss Iscariot gave a cheery wave and greeting. "Didn't even see you back there. So that makes five of us, eh? Lucky number." Five-man bands always had a tendency to be awesome. Perhaps they would also? Perhaps.

At what, though? Well, Lucrum began explaining the precise details of the job at hand here. A butcher, they were after, one called Vic, for that matter. She'd heard of him, whispers over the hedgerows and tales from the grapevine. Not much of substance however, only that he had a particular fondness of offing those he didn't really care for. Unpleasant guy, from the sounds of him. And the five of them were needed to even take him on? Sounded challenging. Should be worth at LEAST 3,000 cookies! Probably!

She took a final sip of her vodka as Lucrum ended his short spiel by asking them what they specialized in. Speaking first, Jasna grinned with a bit of pride; she was rather proud of her skills! "Specialties, eh?~ Well, I'm a bounty hunter of sorts, you could say, so tracking's definitely one of my best qualities. Point me in a direction and tell me what I'm looking for and I can find it. As far as fighting goes, I'm kinda like a walking gallows." In demonstration of her RATHER ODD STATEMENT, she swung out her arm towards the bar as a rope emerged from her palm, growing rapidly in length as it reached its target. The noose formed last, and caught onto a bottle of vodka; pulling sharply, the rope snatched it up and brought it to her hand, from which she poured herself another glass. "Bit like that, but with a lot more broken necks involved, usually."

Lucrum didn't push her away today. That was new. (Though he did kind of squirm a bit, but not as much as usual.)  Either way she was obviously happy to see him.  Her eyes turned to the woman introduced as JAsna.  A demon hunter?  That was strange to her, but then again, as she was learning, not all demon hunters were bad.  Besides, this time Ana KNEW she hadn't done anything to piss her off.  At least not that day.  

Before she could think on that, Gaius walked in and Ana was thrilled.  She greeted him in a similar manner; glomping him from across the room with her huge smile.  Her body hugged him tight, because it'd been forever since she'd seen him!  

Then there was one other. She looked over towards the back and recognized another face.  The red-haired man she'd ran around with for a day.  It had been a long time, but Ana would of course nearly tackle him with a hug too, before inspecting him for wounds.  "It's been too long!"   She giggled, but her brow was still sort of furrowed.  "Are you all better?  No more injuries, right?"  Yes, because even if he was, her band-aids would be a complete heal-all.  Either way, she was happy to meet them all and was blissfully ignorant of the fact she's probably shoved her chest into everyone somehow.  

Her last hug went to Jasna- even though it was a less spontaneous one, because Ana didn't really know Jasna yet. "It's nice to meet you, Jasna!" Afterwards, she found a spot and sat down; watching Lucrum speak.

The man was a toughie or so Lucrum was saying.  A man that dealt meat- which was strange, weren't most butchers nice people?  Hell if Ana actually knew.  Most of her food was scrounged by some way or another.  Again, her mind had sidetracked and returned.  The incubus continued to float around before landing and asking about everyone's specialties.  

Jasna started and Ana watched the demonstration with intrigue.  This woman was strong.  That was really cool to her.  Her feet pulled up into criss-cross style upon the stool she sat and she stared on eagerly with her smile flashing.  It made her think though, what WAS her specialty.  "I can make bubbles."  Ana admitted which sounded pretty lame.  "They can be used to transport or help shield attack and I can summon my sword and swing it around."  She needed practice with the sword thing.  "Or I can cheer if I get in the way." She wasn't going to TRY to get in the way, but it happened sometimes.  Absent-mindedly, she was pulling off her jacket, again.  "OH!  I also have band-aids."  ...It was the thought that counts?  Nonetheless her smile never faded.

The fashion zombie behind the bar passed Gaius his ale and with out a second thought he brought the strong drought to his lips and took a few seconds in order to enjoy one of life(Unlifes?) simple but oh so rare pleasures. Beer. It was something not often found in the waste land that was Inferis, being as it was a thing of the human world. And while Inferis beers and alcohols did in fact exist they where generally of worse quality and taste then the horse piss those people called "red necks" drank in the real world. In fact, if a human was to drink the demons brew it would result in their rather painful and ignoble death. Which in turn creates yet another demonic brew master... And so the cycle would continue.  The Centurion let the bitter liquid roll around in him mouth and he let him self get lost in a rare moment of true pleasure. The smile that formed on his face though was somewhat short lived, as soon after he was literally tackled, hugged and in a way... Molested as the rather busty almost succubus clung to him in a way that only leeches and ticks could manage. Now, before he had met her he would have struggled and tried to pry her from his body... But he now knew that to even attempt that would only cause her to cling harder.

The human spoke then, but for the most part Gaius payed her and the others who exchanged pleasantries little mind. So taking another drink he let the others speak. "Hiya there big guy~" The large man blinked once then twice and sat there perfectly still before setting the glass calmly down and swallowing before turning too Ana and with a lowered voice whispered to the demoness. "Is that woman flirting with me?" The humans musical tone, as well as her blatant alcholism made him think so. But for the life of him Gaius couldn't be sure. He hadn't played that sort of game in more then two-thousand years. And well... He was out of practice and often had a hard time picking up on any social cues that didn't involve stabbing someone with the pointy end of a sword. Not for want of trying of course, but the vast majority of his interactions with other individuals(That term is used loosely of course) involved violence of one sort or another, and few if any ever ended in a polite conversation.

With out waiting for an answer from the not-quite-a-succubus he turned to Jasna and with an almost forced smile, and a faint pinkish blush he spoke. "Hello.... Ah... Little woman." With that he turned his attention back to his ale, and tried to forget the entire exchange. An easy thing to do when one had access to copious amounts of alcohol, but he somehow doubted he would have time to kill of such recent memories all this considered. Of course, that would not and could not stop him from trying. So quickly finishing off what little was left of his ale, he tapped the counter for another, downed that in less then five seconds and called for still more.

Still, Gaius payed attention to what was going out about him. Listening to each in turn, and in turn learning some of the capabilities of those who would be his companions. It was always a good thing to understand what those who fought beside you where capable of. When his turn came around he set his forth and final empty tankard on the bar before him and turned to those who would soon fight with him. "What are my skills? To put it simply my skills are those of any warrior, any simple killer with a sword. I just happen to be better at the art of murder then most." Gone was the slightly confused tone, and the faint blush. These things were replaced with a calm certainty for a man that knew exactly what he was talking about. "Of course we all have our little tricks that we have learned to help turn the tides of battle in our favor. I am no different in that respect, but its better to see what I can manage in that regard then to have me explain it."

ADMINISTRATION NOTICE:

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Lucrum smiled and nodded to each of them as they informed him as to their skills and abilities. The Demon Hunter girl would prove most useful, which he made note of. There was something about her though, something... familiar. The incubus couldn't quite place what that something was, but decided to ditch the thought entirely. Still, he'd have to look into that bit about Judas Iscariot she mentioned. He already knew Gaius' battle prowess for the most part, as well as Ana's, so he needn't make any notes on them. With exception to the bubbles.

Bubbles.

The thought itself was ridiculous, but he wouldn't make a show of it. However, he would make a show of his own abilities. As he jumped back to the stage, as he floated through the air gracefully, bright-red tattoos began to creep their way up his arms and eventually faded to a dull orange. As he landed, his pupils began to slit as his arms bulged and his tail busted forth into a mass of muscle and flesh. As his metamorphosis continued, green scales began to grow over his arms and tail, covering the soft flesh and providing an impressive defense.

"If y'don't know, I've got some tricks of m'own." He rose to full height, his horns becoming leaf-like momentarily before the entire process reversed itself and green smoke blew about him. Once it cleared, he was back in his mortal form, a pinkie digging into his ear. He looked at the finger, wiped it on his shirt, and stepped down from the stage. A regular crowd pleaser.

"Anyone else got any questions?" He looked to the three of them as if he were surprised they were still there. Not that he was, who wouldn't want to stay after his fantastic performance? "If not we got ourselves a job t'do, eh?"