2020-03-14 - Drinks & Discussions

It has been a while, about a week? Stephanie isn't entirely sure. But while her younger brother's busy, she decides she's going to blow off some steam, and grab a drink or two or five, see how she feels afterwards. She's in a bit of a weird mood, where renewed purpose meets blatant disregard for her own well-being, but she's not about to tell anyone about that, least of all her younger brother or her best friend. She prefers to operate under the guise of reckless abandon. She's sitting at the bar at Two If By Sea, wearing a warm navy blue hoodie, and jeans, under her winter jacket. She's nursing a beer, which is actually her taking it slow. She's not drinking to forget or drinking to numb herself, at least not this time. She's drinking maybe to celebrate? She's definitely drinking to take the edge off.

It's finally off duty time and after short trip home to change into her more normal clothing. Wearing a short black dress, signature thigh high boots, and her worn in leather jacket. She arrives in a place that could easily be a second home with how much time she spends in the bar. Needing to drink away yet another days problems and memories. She heads over to the bar without any delay. Ordering a beer and shot to start. Taking a seat coincidentally next to Stephanie, while her drinks arrive. Finally taking a look around and aside for other regulars a face from work. Perhaps since before outside of work, certainly even those from work now she goes goth when she is isn't there. "Oh hey there." she offers a nod in greeting to the other woman "Stephanie right? I think so but without nametags I have a bit of trouble remembering names. In case you do as well I'm Alisha. Good night for drinking, huh?" taking a look over her.

"Right, the beat cop." Stephanie nods at Alisha, acknowledging the blonde woman she'd met in passing a few times. It'd been a couple of weeks since she'd been at work, so it was a little challenging to place the face at first but she manages. "It's been a while since I've been at the station. I've taken a leave of absence."

Alisha downs the shot before answering, not even a wince as it goes down. "That's me." It also helped her recognize after running into her partner Devlin a time ago. "I heard a little about that. In the hospital for awhile yeah? I haven't been down like that for at least three months." she chuckles "Not since...eh I'm not drunk enough to drag up that memory. Or force you to listen to my crazy talk. Anyway my condolences, being laid up sucks. You doing better now?" turning to face her a little bit more.

"All better, I have five plates keeping my chest together," Stephanie assures Alisha with a smirk, "I'll be all right. Just waiting to be cleared to return to work. Hopefully soon. Right now, I'm just spending quality time with my younger brother, resting up." She finishes off the first beer and asks for another.

"Five plates? Yikes that's really rough." Alisha shakes her head. "Still that's good news when that you are just waiting. It's the waiting that really drives you nuts. Cool though spending time with the fam. You and your brother close?" ready to chase her shot down with her beer. She frowns a bit looking back, normally not speaking but some things. Because this town. "If you were trying to blast me with something, at least buy me a drink first. If you were trying to get into my head. Sorry that's hard for most." frown disappears as she laughs.

"Not trying to blast you, just doing a little recon, I've lived in this town my entire life and it's just been a habit to scope you out. I'm not the type who does any of that mind fuckery. I'm all about all aspects of life and well-being. I'm a paramedic after all. I was mostly just curious about your...abilities." There is a pause as she considers her relationship with her brother. "He decided to leave after high school but we've kept in touch. He's only a couple of years younger so we're super close."

Alisha nods and points out one of the booths "Want to take the talk there. People are used to me saying weird shit and ignoring it because you know spooky and all. Plus drinking, don't know if it matters to you about your rep." taking a long pull from her beer "Still I get it. I usually just let it slide as like you I've been here all my life, people can do things. I am the type to do all sorts of mind fuckery. As well as lightning and shit." she says amused by the phrase and well she usually needs to hold back her language. "Nice about your brother. I'm the same with with my sister. Being very close."

Stephanie simply nods, acknowledging Alisha's explanations and follows the blonde to one of the booths. "I'm a bit closed off so even if you've been in town for years, I likely wouldn't know or remember you. I guess part of it's the drinking. When you drink to forget, it's pretty effective sometimes." She settles into the booth with her fresh bottle of beer.

Alisha makes sure to place another order of shot and beer to be sent. She settles into the booth taking her jacket off. "No, I get that. I've been the same way for awhile. Sure I know of people just not very well. At least one person I am close to thought it was a bad idea. So I'm trying to change that." she smirks at the comment about drinking. Offering her bottle in a toast "Here, here to that. It's damn effective a lot of the time. Up until the point it brings up crap. A fine line I guess...so do you just do the healing people thing or do you hunt as well?"

Stephanie raises an eyebrow at this, having an idea of what Alisha might be asking but wants to be sure. "You mean taking the fight to the weird stuff? Not officially. It's all stuff I stumbled onto accidentally, really."

Alisha finishes up her bottle as more drinks arrive for her. Waiting until after the delivery she does nod "Yep to all the monsters and oddities that seem drawn to this town. That feed off the people or otherwise harm people. My job helps me find them after all." she thinks over the answer "So just defending yourself?"

"That's how I ended up in the hospital and got five plates put into my chest," Stephanie says quietly, "Did you ever mention this to my partner, Devlin?"

Alisha nods to the answer "They are rough. I've been in and out of the hospital for well my whole career. But you survived so kudos to you. All of them are very dangerous...eh I it goes without saying." Alisha and Stephanie are sitting in a booth some distance from the bar. Just seem to be talking and having some drinks. "Hunting. No it didn't come up in my talk with Devlin. Just a vague acknowledgement of shit being weird. Didn't get to talk to him too much before he had to leave."

"Devlin has the background for hunting, not sure he would be interested, but he has the mind for it. Don't tell him I said that though. He's got some great mundane fighting skills though his abilities aren't nearly as developed as mine. We carry a similar skill set, in case you were wondering. But like I said, you didn't hear it from me." Stephanie continues to drink her beer casually, and it doesn't seem that out of the ordinary.

Another is set to join the bar crew, and honestly Ainslie expected to go straight home and decompress there. But for whatever reason she finds herself wanting to be around people; to just lose herself to the presence of a crowd. It's been a trying day, way out of her comfort zone. But damnit she did it... whatever 'it' is. Ainslie enters Two If By Sea and gives the bar a onceover, golden-brown eyes a tad tired and uncharacteristically nervous. She has left her bags -- SHOPPING bags full of the source of her unease -- hidden and locked up in her truck. Now she's here, willowy and mildly dazed in her tight black denims and tunic-style blouse, hair pulled back into a don't-feckin'-care bun. You bet your bippy Ainslie is charging for the bar and once there, she gives the women in her immediate vicinity (Stephanie, Alisha) a harried albeit kind look, nodding her head in greeting. "H'lo, ladies." She has a sort of mutt-Scottish accent. "What's good?"

Alisha thinks it over "I was more curious. I don't like to involve others as it has a chance of them getting hurt. I'll see if I can't steer the conversation that way, maybe it's time I got some help. Might mean less trips to the ER for me." she chuckles a bit more "Right though, not a word that I heard it from you." now feeling properly buzzed she slows down her own drinking. Sipping at her beer as she goes to pull out her burner phone. "In case you run into more of the wierdness. You want my number, I can give both but this one is the one I keep for those special 911's. I do have fighting skills and as I mentioned I've been doing this for awhile." finishing up that topic, unless Stephanie has more to say. "So what do you do for fun? Aside from drinking."
Looking up as Ainslie approaches giving her a nod in greeting as she looks over the woman "Hi there. As to what is good you can't really go wrong with the beer." the accent is a bit weird to her, but hey what isn't in town. "How are you doing tonight. Looks like a rough day and maybe you could use a drink or two." raising her beer.

"I was just about to tell Alisha about learning how to play the ukulele and karaoke nights. Being a paramedic leaves me with strange hours and a serious lack of free time." Stephanie waves the new arrival over to have her join the booth. "Come on over, the more the merrier."

"J'sus mercy I sure can use a drink." Ainslie groans, affixing her dark eyes to Alisha upon the blonde's statement to her, "It's been a real day. A real day." What does 'real day' mean? Judging by the inflection to her words, the long and short of it is that Ainslie has had a stressful day. She squints at Alisha's glass as it is lifted, "What are you drinkin'?" Scratch that, she cranes her neck in the direction of the tender: "I'll have what she's having." Is mouthed, gestured to Alisha's choice. With that Ainslie plants her scrawny ass onto a seat adjacent to the paramedic and the cop as if she damn well belongs there.

Steph's response makes Ainslie feel even more at ease. "Thanks.. my name is Ainslie," No beating around the bush. "Starting a new job in a week, prepping for it.. scared shitless. What're your names?" Asked with easy friendliness, still with that accent.

"Ukulele huh? A interesting choice in instruments. But hey it's cool do you play it often." Alisha comments "Karaoke though that is something really fun. I hit up a few myself and I mostly didn't get things thrown at my head." she smirks at Stephanie. "Hear you about lack of free time. You work with what you got though." sliding over if needed to let Ainslie sit.
"I'm having whiskey...and." she starts before she just orders the same thing. Whiskey and Sam Adams "A girl after my own heart. Sometimes it's just best to go with it." as to what is causing the bad day, she takes it to be the new job. "New job huh? Nice and scary time. Where are you are you going to be working? Also congrats. I'm Alisha." she says offering her hand to Ainslie.

"Stephanie," the brunette at the table adds her own introduction, then continues on, "Karaoke at the Pourhouse is always fun. I love my ukulele. I practice for half an hour every day, it's a nice way to destress. I'm not particularly gifted as a singer but it's something I enjoy doing for fun, whether it's at karaoke or with my ukulele."

Again, without shyness, the brunette slides a warm hand into Alisha's: "Nice to meet you, Alisha... workin' at a local computer place here in town. I stumbled in with my computer dead as fuck.. in lieu of a payment plan the owner hired me on to keep his storefront neat as a pin." Ainslie starts, blushes. "Shit, sorry... I forget myself a lot. Not so proper.... forget the... forget the cussin' bit..." Too late. Ainslie blushes, pulls her drink closer once it arrives, drinks deeply. Ugh. "I'm grateful but still a bit blindsided. It's a leg-up from my current work though..." Beat. Pause.

She eases in, sideward, affixes Stephanie with her wide-eyed gaze. "Ukulele..? You play ukulele?!" She puffs up, clearly pleased. "That is... yes!" Ainslie looks thrilled.

Alisha nods taking another drink from her beer. "Yep it is. I need to get do there and think about dragging Mee along. She owes me a duet. Hey why don't we do a duet at Karoake night sometime? Could be fun." she comments "Good to have a way to distress. And if Ukulele works more power to you. Me I like other ways of destressing...takes as about as long as oh so satisfying." adding a another wink to the end. "So that it, no problem if it is. Just wondering."
Giving a firm shake "Good to meet ya as well Ainsile. Computer place you wouldn't happen to mean the Hub would you?" before she laughs about the blush and the cursing "Fucking hell. Don't be sorry about it. I'm a cop, I've heard soo much worse. Plus I can curse up a storm as well. It's usually me who has to stop myself. So feel free to cuss up a storm if you want to. What was your last line of work, if you don't mind me asking."

"We could totally do a duet next Karaoke night. I'll see if my brother's free, we can make a group thing of it," Stephanie says, then she just busies herself with drinking as Alisha interacts with Ainslie, talking about a place called The Hub. And for the first time, Steph feels a bit relaxed.

"Ya speak of the Hub as if ya know it." Ainslie smiles widely, revealing animal-white teeth. She sure as hell does not LOOK the sort to be a shrinking violet in a bar... Ainslie speaks easily and without issue. Either way that slender hand pumps up and down in earnest greeting... she will release Alisha's hand where appropriate. "But yeah. that's the place. I walked in with my dead-as-fuck computer, and I ain't shy in saying I'm not rolling in the money.... then, wouldn't ya know, the fellow running the show offers me work. I can't pay for a new system.. fuck I'm eating Kraft Dinner with hot dogs most nights.... and then... so yeah. Most I gotta do is look snazzy, trade the jeans for slacks.." She smiles at Alisha, "An' the rest is history."

Talk of duets and overall.... mingling with ukulele sorts...appears to intrigue Ainslie, even with things being kept lowkey. "I play the fiddle... but I don't reckon there to be much of a venue for such a thing..."

Alisha nods "Sure that would be great. The more the merrier when singing in front of strangers. If he can make it, if not just leaves more fun for us." looking at her as she seems to relax "If you want another one. I'll cover the next round for you." referring to the beer. She does the shot and chases it with another swallow of beer. "Alright things are feeling better." she shakes her head some.
"Yep I know the owner. Stefhan is pretty good friend of mine and a nice guy. Helluva a fuck too if you can get him worked up and things don't work out with the girl he's after." She grins over to Ainslie, she seems to be the type who appreciates frankness, Alisha sure is. Before she listens to the story nodding every now and again. "Sounds like him. He hooked me up with a good system for my sister. Probably a deep discount too, I can't tell. I don't know jack about them. Damn though down to Mac and dogs. I know he has money and probably will give you a fair wage. But congrats." another sip of her beer raising her hand to call for another round "Actually. There is St Patty event thing happening soon and that could be a great chance to break out the fiddle. Hell I'd love to hear a fiddle and thinking about it maybe the ukulele and the fiddle played at the same time."

Oh snap, now THAT is frankness! Ainslie is indeed the sort to appreciate and bless her, she isn't flustered in the least to hear more about her new, ah... boss. "Aw hell, all power to him in his pursuits.... I ain't his type. He seems fancy, and likely favors the fancy sort. I'm anything but." Ainslie grins, "Seems fair though.. somethin' that I said appealed to him. I am pretty fastidious and that fellow seemed apt to roll in flames then to allow even a speck of dust on his person or his stuff." Said to Alisha not in a gossiping way but... the manner of one who sees it as 'it is.'. The 'helluva fuck' but warrants a slight blush, but nothing too overt. Ainslie isn't innocent. "Ain't one to meddle when a fellow is chasing some tail that he's keen on... good luck to him, I'm just there for a paycheque. Lord knows what he saw in me." More of that accent, washing over words like so much thick seafoam. A shot of bawdy laughter, "Mac and dogs... bless yer fuckin' heart, miss." The snifter of ale is lifted, drained in Ainslie's throat. She slides off of the stool, lifts her drink. "If yer ever wanting t'hear the fiddle and uke doing th' dance together, look me up.. lord knows I'm game. S'cuse me ladies, I'm having t'break the seal before I even get started. Thanks for the warm welcome!" Ainslie grins wide, and makes her way for the washroom. Poor Stefhan.. wish him luck. c.c

(OOC: Sorry to jump order, I have to flee. Thanks again! Night!)

Glancing at her watch, Stephanie sighs, finishing off the next beer. "I should probably head home before my brother freaks out or something. He's been a little on edge lately, and I don't blame him." She goes over to settle her tab before she says to Alisha, "We'll catch up soon. I'll give you a call at some point."

Did Ainslie by some extension call her fancy. That has the goth girl roaring with laughter and slapping the table. Having to raise her hand to wipe away tears "I wouldn't say he likes the fancy type." she manages to say in-between her bout. She does calm herself down "Not getting in the way just in case he doesn't get his girl. Time will tell on that one." she nods to him liking things in order and cleanliness "He just might burst into flames. He's a good man and I'm sure you might remind him of someone else. Just a thought though." not too sure what Ainslie found so funny about her Mac and Dogs comment. To each there own though. "Alright I probably. Well." giving her nod as she heads off.

She turns to Stephanie "Probably a good thing. Maybe I should as well before my sister sends me some angry texts. Likely he's worried about you." after Stephanie settles up Ali nods to her as well "Sure thing. You have my numbers feel free to use them." finishing up her drinks as well. Getting up to pay and head out herself.