Drink in the Nightlife

He smiled and watched as Nova came around the corner. "I can't keep doing this Val. It is too much work." She said as she smiled politely at Reese and placed the plates down gently in front of her, and threw Valerian's salad on the bar. "Here." she said. "I thought you might want your salad, and here is the Asian dressing that Hideyori made, himself." She said as she set the dressing cup on the bar. She turned back to Reese, and with a genuine smile she said. "Please enjoy. If you need anything, let me know."

Valerian looked at his watch. "Thank you Nova. Because you are so valuable to me, go and take an extra smoke break. Take a breather." He said as he pulled a key off of his key ring and tossed it to her. "Take it on the roof so nobody will bother you." He said as he pulled a fork out of the clean silverware drawer and pulled a stool over to where he was standing and sat down. "Bon apetit. The Sushi and Veal Kebabs look especially good. Hideyori makes the sushi himself, all by hand, and it is fresh." He said as he poured his dressing on his salad. He could very easily soon call her a friend. One of his few friends. He had another friend near his age, but they hadn't talked in a while.

Reese smiled as she nodded her head to the blue-haired waitress. In her opinion, the blue hair really stuck out in a crowd of blondes, red-heads, and brunettes. As Nova walked away, Reese looked at her food and was tempted to just inhale the whole thing.

She took a bite of the sushi and groaned in delight. It had been a while since Reese had homemade sushi taste SO GOOD and she was glad that she ordered it.

"Man, this is really awesome..." Reese breathed out as she had another sushi roll ready to be eaten. "How's the salad?"

He took a bite of the salad. "It is so delicious. The cranberries and almonds are very good together. It looks like you are enjoying the Sushi." He said before he took another bite of the salad. "Hideyori does a splendid job. I make him make me vegetarian Sushi sometimes under protest. It's pretty good too." He said before he plunged more of the greens in his mouth. "I'm glad you liked the drink. Now we have to name it." He said as he thought of names. Most of them, completely lame. "Santa Slammer?"....Nothing good.

He ate more salad as he though. He needed something catchy. A good drink was good, but a great drink with a great name was even better. "This is the worst part! Coming up with the name."

Reese took another sip of the drink as she thought. A Christmas-y name for this one...one name she had in mind was "Winter Mint", but she mentally shook that idea out of her mind. Rolling her eyes to the left, she really thought hard on the name of this new drink.

"Mistletoe Wreath," Reese said, coming up with the first thing that came to her mind.

"Mistletoe Wreath it is." He said as he made her another before he shoved more greens in his mouth. The Asian Dressing was too delicious. "So, how often do you come to Seattle? Or do you live here?" He asked curiously after he finished masticating the lettuce in his mouth. "I've tried on many occasions to steal the recipe for this dressing, but he won't give it to me. He used to keep it locked in the kitchen office, but when he found out I jimmied the door open, he won't keep it up here anymore." He said with a sigh.

He looked at the fruits on the counter. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Should he do the Pumpkin Pie Martini this year? It was a big hit the year before, and he would not have to worry about making something original. He tapped his fingers as he spaced out staring at the fruit.

Reese nodded her thanks at the second helping of the Christmas drink.

"I was born and raised in Bellingham, about an hour and a half northeast from here. It's very beautiful during the fall and winter seasons. I visit Seattle every week or so, depending if I have business down here. What about you? Are you a native Seattle resident?"

He listened intently to her. She didn't have a lot to say sometimes, which was why he related so well to her. Sometimes she had a ton of things to say, and sometimes she could say a sentence and convey a whole paragraph. He nodded. "Well, my family is from Pennsylvania, although I don't remember it. I was two when our family moved to Seattle, so Seattle is all I know." He said as he began slicing fruit at the bar counter.

He lazily looked out at the people dancing and drinking. They were laughing and having a good time. He often wished he felt comfortable to knock a few back, get really hammered, and just let loose. It wasn't that he felt like a chicken, but more that he was terrified that he would look like an idiot. Valerian was also aware of how socially awkward he was, and how different he was from the others in his peer group, and there was also no doubt in his mind of how much more different he would be if he were drunk.

He saw a man at the second bar across the room. His hair was blonde and his eyes were a royal blue. Valerian stared for a moment before he broke eye contact and blushed. The man was dressed in a white suit, and he had seen him a few times before. He always ordered the same type of wine. Always. Valerian turned his attention back to Reese. "Any idea of how long you'll be staying in Seattle?" He asked curiously.

"Ahhhh, the State of Brotherly Love. Been there a few times while in college," Reese admitted as she took a generous helping of her second drink. "Lovely state, though. I really miss the east coast. As for my stay in Seattle...I got a place not far from here, actually. So, I'm going to be visiting here quite often," she added as she scrunched up her nose in a cute way.

"I never got to see the East Coast." He said as he sliced the fruit quickly. It didn't bother him to slice fruit like the others at the bar. They were bad at it, and hated doing it. Valerian like it because it provided him with an excuse to keep his head down and keep his words and thoughts to himself. He picked up a coconut and an icepick. It wasn't long before he had bored a hole in the coconut, and drained it of the milk. It drained neatly into a glass bottle, and he immediately put it in the little fridge.

"I'd like to go see Pennsylvania one day. Well there are lots of things I'd love to do, but that is one of the important ones to me." He said as he pulled out the tiny plastic umbrellas and bar swords, and began to spear Maraschino Cherries onto them. "Well it will be nice to have someone to talk to in here, other than the regulars that I can't stand." He said, still a little distracted by the man in the white suit.

Reese followed Valerian's line of vision to look out into the crowd. She couldn't tell what was distracting Valerian, but it seemed to bother the young man.

"Someone out there that's stalking ya?" Reese asked as she took a gulp of the drink, draining the last of it.

"Oh no. Nobody is stalking me, I hope." He said with a nervous grin. "Its just that one guy always comes in, orders the same bottle of wine and leaves after he drinks it, but I never can see where he goes off to." He said as he looked back to Reese. "He always stares at me for a minute or so, when he enters or leaves. It is awkward." He said before he wiped some juice off the counter.

"I mean I get it. I look incredibly available in these clothes, and stuff, but I don't know him. It's just weird to me, I suppose." Valerian began to restock the syrups and ice cream bases carefully. "I hate doing this part. I have to restock the syrup bottles and ice cream base containers. If I get any on me, it feels like I'll be sticky forever." He added as he continued to carefully refill the bottles. "Chocolate, Strawberry, Orange, Vanilla Bean, Cherry, Butterscotch, Caramel, and Coffee." He said as he filled each one. The syrups were used to garnish drinks. He rarely filled the coffee one. It seemed like it was never really used.

Reese nods her head as she finishes up her appetizers. She was good about keeping the questions at a minimal when it came to other people's lives such as Valerian's.

After a minute, she blew another strand of her hair that got into her eyes to the side.

"Hey Valerian...you wouldn't know a 'Ethan Cassidy', would you?" the Arcane Protector asked randomly.

Valerian watched her finish her food. Sometimes he did want to eat the food because it did look so appetizing, but he was a vegetarian, and he planned to be a vegetarian for a while. He sighed as he leaned on the bar with his elbows. The next question caught him a little off guard.

His left eye twitched a little bit. Well he knew of him. " He is my cousin." Valerian said a little sharply, but not sharp enough to be overtly rude. Sharp enough to let her know this wasn't a subject of conversation that would be talked about or tolerated for long. " I don't really know anything about him either, nor at this point do I care to." He said as he pulled his hair down a little. He was particular about his hair, anything to take the attention off the subject at hand. To be honest, she was probably the only person who could pull the things out of him that he didn't want to talk about. She was quickly becoming his best friend. "Its not that I don't want to, its more that I don't know him and currently the only thing we share is our last name." He said with a sigh. What more did he need to say?

Reese nodded her head at Valerian's answer. She didn't know whether to inquire further, but didn't know how he'd feel about it. So, she left it alone.

"Fair enough. So, got any questions you like to ask me since I'm here in person once again?" Reese asked as she leaned her head on the palm of her hand.

"When are you doing another book?" He asked bluntly. He liked her writing style. She wasn't a Hawthorne or Mallory, but she was certainly better than that idiot Hemingway. He couldn't stand Hemingway. "I really enjoyed the few that I have read. I'm hoping you will do another one soon." He replied hopefully. He yawned leisurely as he checked the time, and almost choked. He walked over to the light switch and flicked it on and off a few times to indicate that it was in fact, last call for the evening. The bar would close early that night, by orders of his boss. Not that he really minded really. He was tired anyway. He walked slowly back to where she was sitting and stretched. She really was getting close to him, and deep down, maybe he didn't mind so much.

"Mmmmmm, been having writer's block for a while now...besides, between moving back home from college and getting used to being back on the West Coast--it's a lot to take in as far as my experiences go," Reese replied as she shrugged her shoulders. "Glad to hear that you liked my books. Which one was your favorite?"

Reese wasn't able to get her answer before Valerian flashed the lights, signalling last call for drinks before the bar would close for the night. With that, Reese stretched out her arms above her head, shaking her curls slightly as she went to crack her neck.

Once Valerian returned, she simply smiled at him.

"Early night?" she asked, referring to the flashing lights and by how early it seemed to be for that evening.

He frowned when she said writers block. That meant no new books for a while. It wasn't like the others weren't worth rereading, but still. Sometimes something new is what you need to rekindle an old flame. "The third one. It was my favorite." He admitted as he started getting ready to start shutting things down.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure why. My boss just said I needed to shut down early. Probably some big shot is coming in tomorrow, and the cleaning crew will be here soon. I don't know, and I guess I don't really care." He admitted. "I'm just glad I get to go home early, and I'm sure my Cocktail Team is ready to go as well."

He watched as the people started to interrupt their mingling and one by one and group by group they headed down from the top floor of the club/bar/restaurant. "You can stay until I am ready, if you want." He said reassuringly. "Although I cant guarantee you will have fun." He said as the waitresses walked up to the bar and began sorting through receipts, cash, and slips of paper. They weren't required to tip him, as he was a manager, but most of them did, out of appreciation.

"Those of you who still need to clean, take your time. Thirty minutes should be plenty of time. Those of you who are done, cash out with Nova." He said as they said goodnight to him. Blowing of kisses, a few winks, and a few waves. He nodded as they went their own ways. Some to clean, some to leave.

"Nothing new, really. And, I don't mind at all. I live not far from here. Plus, I used to work at a gentleman's club back in New Orleans while in College, so it's understandable when big shots come into the club."

Reese watched as the crew interacted with one another and with Valerian. She smiled at the faint memory of when she used to work at the gentleman's club: the atmosphere with the workers was just about the same as here...only difference was that the gentleman's club was a little bit more... risqué than anything she had liked.

"A gentleman's club. That sounds interesting." He admitted as he lounged, waiting for his employees to finish cleaning. It had been a relatively easy night. He talked to a friend, did some light mingling, and light bartending. All in all, it was a good night.

Valerian didn't mind risque. He would have been a stripper, if he thought he could have hidden it from his folks. The idea of making people want him, was tantalizing to him. Although, he probably couldn't have done it because of his shyness.

"Where are you working now?" He asked curiously while he started counting down the money in his register.

"I'm a freelance writer...but lately, I haven't gotten any stories to write due to some personal issues, so it's been a little tough..." Reese said.

Well, it was better than saying that she was a Full-Time Arcane Protector, writing when it hit her like a warm breezeinthe summer. And that, she had been called home in order to prepare her primary duty to protecting the magic wielders of what made up the Arcanist families.