Just Another Smokey Bar

His voice saying her name cut through her, causing her eyes to widen a bit from curiosity. Just saying one word to her, he could see he grabbed her full attention. She was ready to hear some pathetic apology about hurting her feelings, some usual cry to save whatever attraction she may have had. Dom, however... was different. Listening to him speak would cause her sharp yellow eyes to intently focus on him. Once he was done speaking she would fold her ears back, keeping her gaze on him. "Shocking... I would've thought a guy like you would have... Seems like you learn new things every day, eh?"

Pulling her ears forward she'd let out a soft sigh, "No... Don't do that... Don't play nice with me... I don't want Mr.NiceGuy I want Mr.Real... Whatever you wanna say, say it. It's easier for me to trust someone who doesn't hesitate. Guess I just need to get thicker skin around you. Must be the alcohol, drops my defenses." She reminded herself that she was supposed to be a tough woman, worrying about the words of some random man shouldn't have bothered her as it did. The feline would give him an apologetic grin, "Anyway... Forget I even said anything."

Patience would attempt to just let it go, not bothering with the awkwardness she felt when it came to him. Deep down her heart throbbed a little bit, her mind would go back to the ball for the moment. Would he have danced with her? It didn't matter right now, maybe someday she would ask, but for now, she would focus on the task at hand. Watching his hand scoot the napkin closer to her, she tilted her head. "Crivin? I'm not entirely sure how to spell it... But, I'll try." Reaching out to his hand her own would gently brush his, taking the pen from him. As soon as hers touched his, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. Snatching the pen from him she would swipe the napkin, her movements showed that touching him made the mightly Patience a little shakey. Slowly, her hand would slowly start to right. Each letter curling and connecting in beautiful cursive, her handwriting hinted that the cover of the book might have been different from the writing within. 'C-R-I-V-I-N' She would spell it the way it sounded to her. Setting the pen down, she turned to look back at Dom.

"There~ Hopefully it's correct! Guess it's a start right?" The Feline would seem to perk up, she was happy to help him. Turning away from him to face the table, she grabbed her drink taking a sip. As she drank she tried her best to avoid eye contact with him again, her cheeks still a rosy flushed pink.

Dom had a sinking feeling upon hearing the word ‘trust’, finding it to be a very challenging prospect. While keeping things private afforded them a lot of leeway to move around, the department’s absence remained a nagging voice in the back of his head. He liked to think their dealings didn’t break any finer laws of police and public relations, and that they were quite cozy navigating a partnership of give-and-take. But overlooking her previous delinquency proved to be a hard line to cross.

Not that it mattered now of course. There was a good chance they had a first-degree felony on their hands. And if not, then at the very least they were dealing with a kid who was trying to piggyback off a quick profit; one that tentatively disturbed an otherwise harmonious standard of living. Either way, he doubted they’d get a peep out of anyone on the campus if they showed up asking questions in full regalia and lights flashing. It was better this way…at least for the meantime.

He calmly sat back and watched as Patience began to write, failing to recognize her embarrassment at first. Once she finished, he retrieved the napkin and lowered his gaze to study it. The spelling was perhaps the first thing they agreed on that evening. Yet it wasn’t this tidbit that held his attention. She didn’t scribble the letters, but had taken slow and steady approach instead, making the end result surprisingly ornate. Knowing a little of her history now, the sight made him wonder if she was self-taught or instructed by someone in her family. He had to guess that whoever it was had quite the eye for penmanship if so. In the end he couldn’t help but adopt a faint smile, obviously amused by the script.

Keeping these thoughts to himself, Dom folded the napkin and stowed it away in his pocket. “I suppose, but don’t get too eager...” Pausing to contemplate for a moment, he began to idly swirl the gin in his cup. “We won’t have nearly the level of security we need for an inside job like this, and since the EPD isn’t involved things need to remain especially delicate. So even if we do get an ID on this person, we won’t be able to apprehend them by using force.” Another soft ‘click’ and a tug resounded from the shifting records of the jukebox. The burning tips of her cat-ears finally caught his attention, the pink hue contrasting with the darker shade of her hair, and he attempted to catch her with a scolding look. But it seemed the young wildkin had taken a renewed interest in her whiskey. “Hey, furball. Are you listening? I’m not just saying these things for my own benefit. It’s important for you to know also.”

Dom's voice was always something she paid attention to. Each word that came from him made her feel warm on the inside, another strange feeling. Even if he wasn't talking about her directly, she liked hearing everything he had to say.

He was right, without the EPD involved dealing with this problem might prove to be difficult. For once she wished Dom was a part of the family, at least dealing with the trash would have been easier that way. If this was strictly mafia business, all she needed to do was make this guy disappear. However, with Dom being a 'good guy' she couldn't handle this situation in her normal manner. She found herself zoning out a bit sipping her drink, and thinking about his words. Then a new word caught her interest.

'Furball.' It snapped her out of her thoughts, and cause him to quickly snap her head to the side to look at him. Her eyes were bright with curiosity. Setting her drink down on the table she would swivel her body once again to face him. She was closer to him this way, leaning forward slightly her nose would be inches from his shoulder. Her ears were completely perked up, facing him and her tail would slowly curl and uncurl behind her. Her big yellow eyes playfully scanned his face, daring him to repeat himself.

"Every word, Cop boy." Was he bothered that her focus wasn't on him for the moment? What a curious thought. Raising an eyebrow her usual playful devilish feline smile would spread over her face."I'm sorry~ I didn't mean to get distracted. I was just thinking~" Closing one of her eyes for a second to wink at him, she would laugh and continue. "You being a cop makes this difficult. I guess I just got caught up trying to figure out how to get rid of this guy in a legal way. Or maybe~... Maybe I was just thinking about that nifty little masquerade ball we attended... Who knows? I'm back from space and though, my attention is all yours again. I'll try to keep my mind focused on you… that's pretty easy anyway."

Patience let out a soft laugh, leaning in she bumped her nose softly against his shoulder. 'Boop.' She thought to herself, giggling. The alcohol was kicking in, she felt silly. Moving back away from him a little bit, she continued to smile looking up at him. "Don't worry Dom… I told you… We'll do it your way, however you want. I don't mind being ordered around by you." A seemingly sinister glint would run through her face for a moment, she liked saying that for more reasons than he would want to know. Softening her stare once more, she would give him a gentle smile. "I'm not a fan of the EPD… but I'm not the type to just risk everything and do something stupid. That day you caught me was the first time in 96 years that I had been found. If you wouldn't have let me go, I would have done everything in my power to keep myself out of a bad situation. With that being said, I didn't have to revert to a messy situation. I owe you a little more than I think you understand."

The young woman would laugh softly,"Honestly, the last thing I want is for you to lose your job. You've got potential… Why should I ruin it?" Pulling herself a little closer to him once more, her eyes would soften further, her smile would fade and she would dawn serious straight lips. "You could always just leave, you know? I wouldn't blame you at this point… Running around with a girl like me could get you hurt… I'm sure you're starting to catch on by now. Petty theft isn't my only talent. I see stuff that puts people in danger. I know people that hurt other people. Maybe with you, I can help do something about it, but I'm not going to promise you insight won't involve risky business." Patience would reach into her pocket, pulling out the black sleek smartphone she had gotten from him. Gently she set it on the table in front of him. If he was really so worried, this was his chance to cut himself free and escape.

“If you’re going to reminisce, then reminisce about something useful. Like a plan.” At the time of the costume party, the department’s one leading role had been security; basically serving as a shield for their hosts’ monetary assets rather than coveting guest welfare. Admittedly, the idea of dancing with her had crossed his mind more than once back then, but only in the spirit of disrupting the monotony of the evening. The thought of it now though…he was long out of touch with the sentiment.

-Speaking of which. Dom resisted the urge to pinch one of her ears as the wildkin affectionately nudged his shoulder. Her feline traits seemed to dominate more and more as the evening wore on. He eyed the drink at her side, no longer considering the tall glass as necessary company, and knew it was only a matter of time before he found a new place for it. Preferably behind the bar with old-boy Carl.

Ninety-six?

The number cut through the conversation like the prick of a thorn. He didn’t address it out loud, but the possibility of her permanence remained with him even as she continued to speak. This shouldn’t have been such a jarring notion; beasts were very complex creatures, and everyone knew they tended to vary in lifespan. But in her case, he found it oddly difficult to wrap his head around. She was just too…lively? Frisky? Words didn’t seem fitting enough to describe the commotion that her personality stirred. He didn’t even notice her reveal the cell phone until it left her hand and hit the table. A heartbeat passed wherein confusion kept him from responding. However, Dom quickly realized what she was proposing.

In the next second, he didn’t hesitate to reach across the table and take Patience’s hand in his. Picking up the phone in the other, he swiftly replaced it to her palm and gingerly folded her fingers over the top. His movements were punctuated with a benign sort of firmness, and would appear as a passive gesture to any onlookers. Yet the vehement look that followed this action, shared solely between them, told another story. “This belongs to you. Period,” he said, tone dangerously terse. “Bring it up again and I’ll arrest you for disorderly conduct.”

It was precious really. Her concern almost seemed genuine, so he wouldn’t get too indignant about her suggestion…as senseless as it was. “Worrying is part of my job description, so don’t get all dramatic and think I’m picking on you.” Dom slowly pushed the phone back towards her. “Promising to follow orders is one thing, but executing them is another. When we meet up at Ivybrook I’ll let you bump around as much as you need to find our dealer. But if I don’t warn you about keeping your claws sheathed now, you'd probably go in with your old tricks."

"Arrest me, huh?" Patience would stare up into his eyes for the moment, his tone should have shaken her. Instead, it did the exact opposite. She felt electricity shoot through her, her hair stood up on the back of her neck. She considered toying with this new thought in her own mind, him slapping a pair of police standard cuffs around her wrists. Enchanted so the metal itself would bend and flex with a shape shifter's body. Oh, she wanted him to cuff her alright, but not in the way he threatened.

The Cat's coy smile was still spread over her lips, "I plan fully to go in with my 'old tricks' that's the only way I know how to do things... But.. believe it or not, I can keep myself out of trouble with them. There won't be any bloodshed or tears. I can promise that... That isn't really my way anyhow." Patience eyed her drink thinking about indulging further, she was already feeling pretty tipsy. Stopping herself from doing so she moved her gaze back up to Dom. "Well... When you give me a date and a time I can meet you at the college. We'll do as you said and use the tour group to blend in... I'm sure at some point we can slip away and go do some exploring... Or... I can... If we get caught it wouldn't be hard to use the 'I got lost' cover. If you want to map out the area that might take some skill on your side. I'm not very good with technology... It's honestly a miracle that that phone you gave me hasn't been broken yet."

Patience shyly stuck the phone back in her pocket, with a nod. It was strange to care about someone other than the people in the R&R. Clearing her throat she would do her best to ease her sweet stare off of her face to replace it with seriousness.

“Five days from tomorrow-“ Dom held up this number of fingers using his left hand, unintentionally making the ‘high-five’ gesture. “-That’s the time you have to prepare. Don’t fret about registration or identification or anything like that. I’ll take care of the rough paperwork.” In some odd way he felt as if he were trying to tame her. Unlike teaching new recruits in the EPD, her wild streak had risen from a lifetime -well, several lifetimes- of dodging any and all altercations with the law; good or bad it seemed. This made the wildkin a lot harder to condition, as she was undoubtedly wiser to the intricacies of working around the system than most. This being said, he never considered what it felt to look from the outside-in, and this experience probably wouldn’t change that. -Or at least, not in any way he could anticipate.

“As for a meeting place, come to the square in the front of the main building. There’s a fountain portraying some Greek god as a centerpiece, and it attracts a big crowd every morning.” Being technical to a fault, he couldn’t recall exactly which deity they gave tribute to, but from a pragmatic sense he guessed it had to do with wisdom. In any case, he reckoned they could make a discreet entrance if they arrived early enough. Although not too early, as they didn’t want to be the very first ones to join the tour either. “Be there at 7:30 on the dot. Don’t show up unless you can make it exactly, and only bring what you can carry in your pockets…”

Seeing the way Patience slipped the cell phone back into her pocket, Dom paused impulsively, giving her the briefest of once-overs before continuing: “…or a purse, I guess. No weapons of course.” The sound of a mellow cello and lamenting violin echoed from the jukebox, enticing a blues-like ambience in the room. Scooting forward a bit, he scooped up his own glass and finished off the gin, deciding not to waste the tab after all. The warmth barely registered, although the bare taste gave a vindictive kick as usual.

"Reconnaissance starts as soon as we get there, so you'll want to research blueprints of the area also. Equal effort in yields an equal effort out, as the chief would say."

Seeing Dom raise his hand up would be caused her inner cat brain to purr a bit, she wanted to lean her head into his hand and feel the warmth from his skin touch her ears. She'd work for his hand from one side of her head to the other, closing an eye with each side. The idea was crazy, so out of character for the usually cold-shouldered Patience. She thought about it, the idea almost caused her to purr out loud. However, she stopped herself. Maybe she had too much to drink, and it was really affecting her? The cat knew she would have to try and pull herself back a bit, at least until he was gone.

It was hard to snap herself out of the daydream this time, she felt his words but hey only melted further into her mind. Giving a soft sigh out loud, Patience would slowly move her eyes up to Dom's hand, then to his face. "Mmm? Five days. Got it. And you'll take care of all the rough stuff, no problem." The words 'rough stuff' purred from her lips with an almost sultry demeanor, a gentle chuckle left her throat.

"Athena." Patience would blurt out to him, then blushed a bit giving a coy slightly embarrassed smile. She knew the statue, it was the reason she had been at the college in the first place. The view of it was empowering, and even a creature like herself couldn't help but marvel at the work. Athena, to Patience, was a symbol of Female Empowerment. She was strong and wise. A protector. Nodding shyly she continued to explain herself, a new passionate sparkle in her eyes. "The goddess is Athena... She's the Goddess of War and Wisdom." The names of the deities and what they ruled over were ingrained into her mind growing up. After all... They were part of her family. Even if she had never met a majority of them, they were still very real to her just as her adopted father Hades was.

"No weapons... No problem. 7:30 am ~ No earlier, no later. And... I don't carry a purse, they get in the way... If I need the extra room I just slip things into my bra. Pockets are overrated." The cat would laugh a bit, nodding. "I'll do my best to get a good feel for the area, I need to know the best routes to run if this somehow goes south, right?" She gave him a joking smile, then shook her head reminding him she was playing.

“Sure…” he replied, voice lowering in blissfully ignorant agreement. Athena. Most gods didn’t take permanent residence in Eyls’ayn, choosing to continue their watch from above in many cases, but the ones that did were those of a rare and scattered ambition. Some read the paper in the morning, bought milk in the afternoon, and went sightseeing at night. Others…others raised literal hell.

For some citizens he supposed it was like finding out their favorite book characters were real, and maybe some of their least favorite as well. Yet for someone who was neither poetic nor particularly romantic, he couldn’t imagine fancying one of these larger-than-life figures. He liked to think the issue wasn't a human versus mother-nature 'thing' either, and that he simply tolerated their complacency a lot less favorably than others. Patience, on the other hand, seemed very eager when setting him straight. Maybe she was enamored by the gods herself.

“You’re tipsy, aren’t you?” Dom toyed with the idea of leaving things here. She seemed done with strategizing altogether, if the whimsical look in her eyes and small, mischievous comments were any indication to go by. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to drink alone at a pub?" he asked with a light tisk, sounding unbearably snooty in that moment.

While awaiting her answer, he swept both their glasses from the table and then rose to stretch, feeling a sharp pain in his lower back from having sat for so long. The resident locals had petered out of the room as the evening wore on, leaving only the die-hard regulars to smolder at the bar by sunset.

"Yeah you could say I'm tipsy, but I'll be fine." Patience watched him as he got up. She felt a little bit of sadness grip her, they had their little meeting and now it was time for him to go. Of course, this was what she expected. She hated the idea though. Maybe it was the foul-smelling liquid she had consumed that was causing her to feel so uneasy?

His second comment would cause her to raise a brow. "The people I call my friends, aren't people I'd really like to drink with... Places like this ease my mind and the loneliness gives me a clear place to think." The cat would give him a playful yet serious smile, "Anyway... Five Days?" Patience would stand too, looking up at him. She didn't care about the glasses, she was done. Offering him a slow blink she would wait for him to go. This time she would let him be the one to leave, rather than herself disappearing without a word.

Dom rolled the bridge of his left shoulder and listened to Patience with a muted expression, sensing the sincerity behind her words almost immediately. They gave his memory another crude bump, again replaying a fragment of their interaction at the masquerade. Places with lots of people-

He remembered now: She didn’t like big crowds, nor did she find their collective attention all that agreeable. Her reasoning? Well, he didn’t know. While the intrigue from that night spilled over from the party in some ways, prying into her life could only strain their partnership. So he deigned not to ask, instead doing now as he did then. -Brushing aside. Doubting.

Dom nodded wordlessly to her question, then brought the empty and half-empty glasses to the front of the bar. Once there, he slipped the tender a small bill as a courtesy for letting them loiter through the evening. His thoughts lingered at the table, back to her and what she had said about easing her mind. A feline that needed ‘me’ time? That’s about all he could stand to hear.

“Are you ready then?” He rejoined her as she stood, sifting through his trouser pockets to reveal a lone key. It was connected to a small red tag, the signs of belonging to a newly unmarked car. “-And before you go off on a tangent, this isn’t an attempt to get you indecent. But I would be a rubbish officer not to see you home safely.”