Folly of Youth [Amadeus/Ceri]

[Ceri Priddy]

Old Strip Joint
Regal Necropolis
March 3rd, 2012

Note:

The demons were sprawled all across the room, tables, stools… hell, the rafters even had some visitors relaxing there with some of the succubus dancers.  There may have been an Incubus in there as well, but who could tell?  Tonight, the place was literally PACKED with people.  And yet, through the entirety of the crowd, there was a particularly large crowd gathered around one section of the stage.  Most of the eyes were drawn to her as her legs wrapped about the pole, spinning towards the ground as her golden eyes pierced into all of them.  Her expression was practiced and perfect, not completely obvious, and yet ENTIRELY tantalizing to the senses.  Her back arched as she slowly straightened up from the pole, silvery blonde hair flowing down her back except for a couple of strands that hung in front of her shoulders rather artfully.  

The music faded to the background tracks as the demons roared and went mad, a sound that she was quite familiar with while they tossed various forms of affection at her.  A heart, a bit of a wing, she believed she saw a couple of bones in there, a blood apple… Things that were completely strange except for anywhere but Inferis.  The only thing she did accept were the flowers that were offered  to her, not that she could exactly tell what they were.  Stepping off of the stage, her boots thudded against the floor as a rather large group of Blood Swords were escorted outside due to rowdiness.  It was hardly surprising that they were itching to fight because they were ALWAYS looking for that.  And even though this was Inferis, no bar really appreciated a shit ton of Blood Swords fighting and potentially destroying it.  

There were some forms that slithered towards her in hopes that she would offer them a night, but those pretty golden eyes just slid over them with disinterest.  A few strands were moved aside from the horns on the back of her head, Ceri walked over to the bar and leaned her back against it, a drink wordlessly getting prepared for her.  One of the flowers she sliced with her sharp nails, placing it nicely behind one ear in her hair.  One delicate hand reached and picked up the glass, sipping at the crimson liquid.  For once she wasn't obviously accompanied by anyone, Lilith absent for the moment.  The one that she COULD sense right now, was Mordred whom was merely near the bar.  He certainly wasn't in here, he wouldn't fit.  Her lips pursed slightly, glancing down towards her left leg that was encased in what appeared to be a fashionable purple leg warmer.  If anyone touched it, they would find that it was, in fact, like armor and had subtle spikes on it.  Thank you Child of Pride for allowing her leg to be splinted.  Otherwise there was no way she could be performing right now.  

A barstool rose up beneath her bum, allowing her to be sitting as she stared out at the crowd that night.  No Ritualists.  Not a single one.  She was almost a little surprised she didn't see Kerry out there, but then again there was no Lilith to draw in her demon was there? What a night it had been…. It was weird coming back to work, and yet she had entirely normalized from her time with Jean.  There were no heavy questions that wormed doubts within her, no big questions that made her squirm or feel short of breath.  No… It was just a normal night attempting to return her life to some sense of normalcy.  Whatever that meant.

[Amadeus Edge]

It wasn't too often that Amadeus managed to slip away from his ever present guardians. Almost every time he tried, the old man always got himself caught. As a matter of fact, this was just the second success out of countless attempts. The entirety of his adult life was dedicated to the Templar order, leaving him very little room to go out and enjoy his youth. Between the training, missions and recovery time from each of those things, it was as if they simply wanted to keep him under a microscope. But no more. Tonight, Amadeus Edge was going to engage in a bit of 'reconnaissance' if one could call it that. What kind of information could he pick up from a place like this, huh?

Details, details. None of that mattered for the moments. Tonight's mission was simply to 'enjoy himself' in the ways he couldn't do in the realm of humans anymore. Dressed in a business casual attire, Amadeus made his way through the growing crowd of demons. Even if there were a few able to recognize him in his current 25 year old form, they were all too caught up in what was happening in this twisted version of a nightclub to pay any mind. Each and every pole was occupied by  a rather attractive female with her own group of rowdy patrons. One in particular had the eye of the majority, though. Hell, even Amadeus had to look twice. Every man, no matter how pious had his vices. And while he didn't exactly have a fetish for demon women, they were his only shot at this point. Why couldn't they have technology that allowed them to utilize an augment on earth similar to the ritualist amalgams? As a matter of fact, that was a good question... He'd have to look into it later.

With his three primary augments active, Amadeus was powerful enough to push his way through the crowd easily, he decided that the best place to observe was from the back of the room, far away from the booming crowd. This was the best decision considering how quickly the rowdier ones were escorted out. Blood Swords weren't the kind of creatures you wanted to step in front of when things got heated. Judging by the way the girl moved about, their blood must had been on the brink of a boil. The 'young' man sank back into his chair, one leg crossed over the other with a glass of god-knows-what sitting on the table next to him. Food in this place was twisted, tainted, disgusting. Just thinking about what creature they squeezed to create such a liquid was enough to turn his stomach.

Amadeus ran a hand across his clean shaven face and up into the brown hair he had missed so much. The joy of being young again without the need to fight was welcome. Once the woman on the stage finished her routine, the odd demon or two made an attempt to appease her with gifts or something to win her affections. And just as they came, each and every one of them was turned away. But with the faces they had, it wasn't exactly hard to see why they were given the boot, "It looks like the people here have no chance..." He said, standing from his seat as a slim smile began to form on his face, "May as well give it a shot, huh?"

Making his way through the crowd was easy considering his immense strength. Even in this weaker form, Amadeus still had enough power to lift 10 metric tons. Upon closer inspection, this woman seemed more human than demon. While the twisted side was obvious, it wasn't enough to make him recoil in horror, "That was an interesting perfomance." He began, an Italian accent slipping into his English, "The way you move is... Captivating, to say the least."  Amadeus offered right hand to her, the palm facing upward, "Il mio nome è Taddeo Capello. The man bowed slightly as he spoke, "Pleased to meet you."

[Ceri Priddy]

Her fingers twirled around the glass of blood apple cider, having to hand it to Mammon for having devised something so very delicious. She had to wonder if the archdemon had found Original Sin when on earth and decided to perform some experimentations. Or perhaps it was the other way around? Or maybe it was Beelzebub. In the end, it didn't really matter-- Why do you care? Her finger twitched as she rolled the black rose between her fingers, idly bringing it towards her nose before letting it drop onto the counter beside her. Her face had wrinkled in a sense of disgust, choosing not to answer her most recent companion whom only chuckled to himself within her mind. If she had thought Lilith was bad, this Mordred was ten times more obnoxious at times! It wasn't that he was more talkative than Lilith, because he wasn't. It wasn't that he made more requests, because he hadn't. It was that when he DID talk, it was always so fucking ponyent and just… obnoxious!

She was so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed the rather distinctive approach of a well hung man whom came over to speak with her. "That was an interesting perfomance." Blinking, she turned her head, golden eyes focusing upon the…. well then, where had this piece of handsome been hiding amidst the crowd? She smiled at the compliment and bowed her head gratefully to him as she turned to face him upon her stool, one hand carefully moving her left leg as well since it would have restricted her otherwise. She noted the Italian in there and… who didn't love an Italian once in a while? "The way you move is... Captivating, to say the least." Ceri giggled and shrugged her shoulders lightly, "Thanks sugar." This man wasn't a Ritualist. She didn't see any demons next to him at all, or even nearby.

Her hand reached out and rested in his palm, tilting her head slightly at the Italian that rolled off of his tongue. "Il mio nome è Taddeo Capello." Taddeo…. Thaddeus? Tad--Damn. She really wish she knew Ital-- He said, my name is Thaddeus Capello. ….. Thank you Mordred. [i]"Pleased to meet you." She bowed her head respectfully to him, golden locks flowing about her shoulders as she replied, "Charmed. I'm Maya Hammond." Her eyes flicked over his body as she leaned an elbow onto the bar, "You aren't from here, are you sugar? I woulda recognized a handsome man like yourself. You from Earth?" She asked, getting right to the point. Few demons were permitted a human form in this realm, which left only a few other options. Templar, Ritualist, or Demon Hunter. Considering she didn't immediately see a demon attached, she was going to go with one of the other two. And if neither one of those were the case.... then it meant someone far more powerful than what she wanted to be involved with. Archdemons were not fun to piss off. "You come here alone?" Harmless enough question. If he were looking for a "fun time" it was safe enough to ask if she should be worrying about some wife or girlfriend he might have (she really hoped it might just be girlfriend). Or.... maybe he was all for the taking, hm?

[Amadeus Edge]

When the woman before him placed her palm in his, Amadeus raised it up to his face and gently brushed his lips against her knuckles. It was a simple gesture he used quite frequently in his youth, completely innocent. Then again the meaning could have changed quite a bit.  With a smile he released her hand and stood straight once again, running a hand through his hair to fix the locks that were displaced by the bow, "Charmed. I'm Maya Hammond."

Maya, hmm? In the Hindu mythology it meant, "Illusion". A fitting name if she wasn't a demon. But there wasn't anything to convince him that she didn't belong here. While her features didn't exactly scream 'demon' there was just enough to make her a little bit beastly. Why did that seem more appealing? Well he didn't have an answer, "You aren't from here, are you sugar? I woulda recognized a handsome man like yourself. You from Earth?" So maybe she was a demon. Humans tended to stick out here and Amadeus was no exception, "What gave me away?" He said with a chuckle, "Then again, I don't exactly blend with this particular crowd.

Amadeus pointed a thumb at the other demons in the club, glaring with obvious envy. It seemed they weren't too happy that it was a human that caught their fair lady's attention. In a brief moment of bravado, he looked the little pack and shot them a smug grin as if to say, 'she isn't going home with you'. As expected, they didn't take too kindly to a human doing such a thing. But with all that anger, all that jealousy, what could those creatures really do to him here? He was sure they wouldn't make a move to harm him, what with the bouncers keeping a watchful eye on the situation. There was no doubt in his mind that he could handle himself if a fight were to break out, but where was the fun in fighting all the time? At his age, he had done enough fighting to last several lifetimes. Plus, he didn't want to be banned from the one place he could come to for a little relaxation "You come here alone?"

The young man's brow arched a bit at the question. Usually it was the man who asked, so he was a little thrown off, "As far as I know, yes." He said. It wasn't exactly a lie since his guardians were probably driving themselves mad in an attempt to find him. Hopefully this would be the last placed they looked "As a matter of fact..." Amadeus traced her figure with his eyes, "I could ask you the same thing." Judging by her appearance, there were only two things this woman could be; a Ritualist, or a Demon. If she happened to be the former, attacking her here wouldn't go over very well as every single thing in this place would try to tear him apart. No, he'd have to keep a low profile. The woman's own demons would be close by, too. In order for the bond to be strong, they needed to remain in close proximity, "Because it'd be unfortunate if someone were to interrupt our conversation."

[Ceri Priddy]

The sensation of his lips brushing against her hand was one she had not felt for a while and a blush rose to her cheeks for it. It was also perfect for the demeanor that she was wearing at the moment, her smile growing as her hand came back to her from him. Mmmm…. Definitely not another Ritualist. Lilith or Mordred would be making comments at this point. Which left two options that she was really hoping not the case. While one would simply be hilarious if this progressed as things often did with her, neither were exactly what she was looking for right now. And heaven forbid that they decide to completely destroy the entire joint. A) That would be shitty for business and B) There was no way she would end well in that fight. "What gave me away?" Ceri only smiled mischievously with a foxy little wink. "Your looks. It was the honest answer. "You're far too handsome amongst these folks." Which…. was the reason. When there was a handsome person, you took notice. And considering not many demons were particularly attractive at first glance? Doubly so. "Then again, I don't exactly blend with this particular crowd."

She shook her head with a little giggle, "You really don't." There was nothing malevolent about the statement because it was simply a fact. He didn't fit in at all here, and he was lucky most of the demons were so inebriated or focusing on the tits to question who or what he could be. Due to recent events she was far more aware of the potential risks that could come to her person. "As far as I know, yes." Good. Definitely not another Ritualist and no backup if they were one of the other two options. "As a matter of fact…" Ceri blinked a couple of times as she sat up more, noting the look up and down her form. What was he…."I could ask you the same thing." Hm. She let out a laugh, but she could sense how both of her demons immediately turned to pay more attention. Mordred was particularly watching now, and she could tell he was at the very least outside the building. Or was he upstairs? You'd think it'd be easier to keep track of him considering his bulk. "Considering I'm working? For the moment I've only got you for company sugar." She nodded her head back towards the stage, one of the bartenders looking over at them warily. Let her look. For it wasn't a complete lie that she told him. Lilith was on her way back from her errand, and Mordred wasn't downstairs with them so she was alone for the moment.

"Because it'd be unfortunate if someone were to interrupt our conversation." She hummed quietly in her throat, "No one'll bother us. They know better than to do so." She spoke quietly as she brushed her silvery locks aside, gold eyes boring into him. "So I've got a question sugar and I do apologize if its too personal, but what brings you here? There are only a few folks that might look like you that would come to Inferis and they usually got very particular reasons for doing so. Is it a pleasure trip? Or business?" Maybe she could ferret out what he was! Hopefully he wouldn't take that as a cue to attack though… That would be rather sad.

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