Another Round [Ice & Hoss]

by **Lina** Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:46 am

A breath of fresh air meant nothing to her. Air did nothing but fill her lungs to help her body run like it always did. Nothing special about air in the least bit. But a breath of pure death in the form of a smoke? Now that was something different. Something that helped propel her through her shift. It was early of course, only the dinner time crowd which wasn't a crowd, but Lina needed a little bit of help to get through the day anyways. The red head rolled her shoulders, bright eyes closing for a single moment before she finished off her smoke and dropped the butt on the ground to stamp it out with the heel of one boot. She had a decently long night ahead of her and only time to burn.

A bit of a sigh escaped her, those bright eyes opened, and she headed back inside the Slippery Fox. The tall woman was dressed like normal, black from head to toe like it was some sort of uniform. Black boots that were tightly laced to her knees, tight black pants, black leather motorcycle jacket unzipped to show a black, tight tank top that covered her from throat to belt line and to her wrists. Typically she wore gloves as well, but they had a way of getting in way when she was pouring drinks. No matter how she practiced, there was always something wrong with her drinks when she worked with gloves on.

Lina stepped behind the bar and pulled a rag out from its spot, quickly wiping down the bar in front of her with an easy, practiced motion. She paused to turn the music up, a bit of old school rock that would settle her mood well, and heard the door open while she was facing away from it. She turned with a bit of a smirk on her full lips, flipping her hair out of her eyes as she addressed the new comer. "What can I get for you?" Business as normal, right? It was just another day in the neighborhood for Lina Kalkuskov, so she was just going about life like normal.

by **Hoss** Sun Oct 07, 2012 5:58 am

"A new life."

Hoss grinned, before raising his eyes up to the vibrant blue and white eyes of the girl in front of him. He laughed slightly bearing a grin and eyes that were slightly swollen. He wasn't exactly going to break into tears or anything but it had been a long night the night before. Today was very much a new day for him to explore his options and figure out the estate and all that. There really wasn't much to it though considering his sister called long enough to say 'good riddens' and his mother didn't even bother to pick up the phone except once to claim wrong number even after telling her what happened. Hoss knew it had been her, and could hear that she was nervous on the other line, but he wasn't going to press it.

He was the only one around now that cared. A few work buddies managed to say it sucked and agreed to come to his funeral but even now Hoss wondered if he would have one. There were only five or six people. It seemed kind of useless. Come to think of it he had never really cared about what his dad did with his personal life.

"But, for the time being, that smirk to stay on that lovely face you got there and a rum and coke would be great. Light on the coke and no rocks."

It was a habit for him to frequent the different places in South District, even with his messenger bag filled with trash. It was his way of figuring out good meeting places and safe houses as well as what locations had the best prices or best food. Bars in particular seemed to be an interest to him and he had to admit that the ones that were venues for bands always seemed like the best places to have fun since there was endless stuff to talk about. Music was just something everybody could talk about for quite awhile.

Speaking of, "You know this old time rock stuff ain't half bad. Not exactly my thing but it's setting a pretty good mood. This the kind of stuff you into?"

by **Lina** Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:48 pm

Bar tending offered a certain crowd of people. You had those who were out for a night with friends just looking for a good time and a wild story to tell, those who were slowly killing their livers as a life choice, and those who were drowning their sorrows. Sometimes things were different of course. Sometimes there was a game on or people came in looking for trouble. Those of the latter learned their lesson very carefully. This blonde haired man sitting in front of her? Well from the look in his eyes to the lines of his body, Lina had him pegged as someone who was here to drown his sorrows. Simple as that. Even though he spoke about a new life, it was sarcastically stated and just got a small shake of the head in return. Bar tenders were almost therapists in some ways, hearing life stories with the ups and downs, only to be asked for advice in the end. At least in most cases.

She moved as soon as he ordered, picking up the glass and making the drink as he had instructed. Rum and coke, light on the coke with no ice. Simple enough drink. The red head gave it a touch of a stir and slid it in front of him before leaning on the bar. That smirk? Never left her lips. Lina was always smirking just a bit, like it was her natural default from birth. One eyebrow slightly raised above the other though and those bright blue eyes slid over to another person a few spots down ordering a beer.

"For the moment its what I'm into." Lina gave straight answers. Did she always listen to old school rock? No, her tasted was just as varied as most people. A little bit of this, a little bit of that without settling on one thing too much. The pale woman grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped off the lid with ease on the edge of the bar top and slid it over to the other customer before settling her eyes back on the blonde with a world of troubles. "And what is your sort of thing anyways?" A touch more of a smirk, half lidded eyes hidden behind lashes as she looked at him. "Music that is. Of course." Flirting was something that Lina used a lot at work. After all, it got her more tips on an average night, and sometimes life wasn't more than earning that bottom line. At least in her case.

by **Hoss** Sun Oct 07, 2012 8:52 pm

Okay, so maybe some part of him had one other reason for frequenting different bars. He wasn't about to admit it to anyone else, not even himself quite yet. It was painful to go and not be recognized though because it meant he had failed yet again.

Once he got the drink he put down a 20 credit bill that he would most likely be adding too a few drinks later anyway. Taking the drink and sipping it, nursing it slightly. The smell let small shivers cross his body but when he tasted it all it managed to do was tickle his throat a bit. The stuff was good but in all fairness he wasn't looking for taste. He was just looking to get a decent buzz going so he could be numb for awhile. Maybe it was weird to drink considering the condition his father had, but he had nothing if not control over himself with drinking. Smoking? That was a whole different story. Cigarettes had him by the small hairs.

"For the moment its what I'm into. And what is your sort of thing anyways? Music that is. Of course." Hoss chuckled, thinking of his sort of thing. He loved anything with a bit of sex to it. Hot singers, attractive musicians, sexy lyrics, maybe even something with just a bit of a nice groove to it. It could literally be any style of music, it didn't really matter.

"As long as it has a little spice to it, I suppose style doesn't matter. I'm not too wrapped up in labels or limitations with my tastes anyway. Sexy lyrics, a hot guitarist, maybe some ripped drummer or a singer with a great sit of hips and low cut shirt. I guess genre just isn't what I classify my tastes with," He finished the rest of the drink, letting it slide down steadily before taking in a slow breath pushing the glass forward. "Rum though, that's one I tend to stick to. So, what's your name, girly?"

A name he gave any girl, some people said hun, Hoss said girly.

by **Lina** Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:38 am

She slipped that twenty credit bill into the till with a bit of a smile. Of course he was going to be here for awhile, that would hardly be the last drink he'd be having, so he was just working ahead of things. Four years of bar tending under her belt she knew some things like this. It wouldn't be long before he finished off his first drink. Grabbing the rag again she wiped off another piece of bar top that someone vacated, keeping things in a perfectly orderly condition. If she did that well, there was less work for the red head to do at the end of the night. Seemed logical to her at least to a certain point because she was typically tired at the end of a shift.

Those bright blue eyes slid back to the blonde when he spoke about his bands and things. A slight twist of her full lips suggested some humor was found in what he said. Sex, sex, sex, most guys couldn't think beyond that. Not that she blamed any of them, hell sometimes she thought that way too. Most of the time she couldn't help to stare at a guy and think of all the things she'd like to do to them. There were some actors that she would love to "love" the right way in a closet. But sadly that was the stuff of dreams. There were no actors to "love" in such ways.

The man did get a reaction when he called her girlie. A slight narrowing of those bright eyes and a twitch of those full lips. Lina didn't like being called girlie, but once again you got called a lot of things being a bar tender. Some of them were even worse. So she relaxed, letting that slight smirk appear on her lips again and shrugged her shoulders before filling up his glass again. "Ice. I'm called Ice. And yourself?" Always polite to know your customer of course. She put the glass away with the others and looked up when some more people filed in. Her bright blue eyes slid over them after a few moments, returning to the blonde. Lina would keep his glass full as long as he kept paying, of course.

by **Hoss** Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:00 am

"Ice. I'm called Ice. And yourself?" He could tell that she didn't like the pet name he had used, girls often didn't it was just something instilled in him from growing up. Part of his culture you could say, or at least part of his father and how he had spoken. You try to kid yourself that you are nothing like your parents but a lot of them slips through you from time to time. Hell, even a few quirks his mother showed happened to stick around even after she had left. Off the top of his head he could think of a few, including the smoking.

"Hoss. I'm called Hoss," He mimicked the method of which she said it. She didn't say my name is, she said I am called. Not that for a second he would have believed anyone would name their child Ice. He tried to tie the name to some quality, maybe she was cold like ice at times? She did seem to get a tinge cold after being called girlie. "And I meant no offense by calling you girlie before, it was that or doll. Those are the two names that come to mind for me I guess."

Hoss took a sip of his drink before looking up at her. "So, Ice the bartender." He held the drink to his lip coyly, eyes watching her as he tried to piece together an invisible identity for her. "Okay, here's my best guess. You were raised in a low income home, like myself. You felt a need to express yourself, some sort of artistic outlet by which you do that. I'm guessing though that it kinda fell through like all teen hopes and dreams. You make a good living here though, probably way better than I do off the job postings on the online bulletin… and you are into painting?"

It was a horrible stab at the dark but it was one way to get a conversation started about personal lives. Besides, in southern district the low income thing was a really common thing.

by **Lina** Thu Oct 11, 2012 12:16 am

Hoss? What kind of name was that? No better than Ice though, so Lina simply kept on doing her job. Calmly looking at Hoss with a slight smirk about her lips. He apologized for the little pet name which was slightly unexpected, but a slow low chuckle escaped the red head as she leaned back on the counter behind her. "Don't worry about it. I've been called much worse. Its just not something I prefer being called." Lina wasn't exactly a "girlie" after all. Five foot ten women were typically not called girlie in any way, shape, or form. "Neither suit me, in my opinion. So stick with Ice." She winked at him in a playful manner with her voice perfectly calm and level.

One eyebrow raised as he commented on her name and her job. Most people assumed certain things, what with her eyes and all. They assumed wrong of course. The second eyebrow raised to join the first when Hoss suddenly decided to guess her life story. A grin appeared, one that was in perfectly good humor and perhaps a little playful considering he was attempting to play a sort of game. She listened carefully, not missing a single thing he said even as she poured another drink or two for others. "Casting a bit of a wide net aren't you?"

South side had a lot of like stories. Low income homes, bad things happening, people attempting to express themselves in their methods of art. Lina's method of art was violence, or rather had been violence, but random fights didn't happen too often around the red head anymore. Not since she had been jumped out of the gang and landed herself here at the Slippery Fox. "Low income is kind of a given, considering its sort of the norm around here. I found a way to express myself, but no, it isn't painting. You should consider becoming a bartender though, if you're having trouble finding work. Everyone loves the people who give them booze." She wriggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner and leaned on the counter in front of him before speaking up again. "So now, my turn. The reason you're here is because of one of three things. Work, romance, or family. Considering what you just said about job postings, I'm going to go ahead and already guess its not work, otherwise you would have said it more sourly. Leaving romance or family. You don't look like someone who's a regular, as those stick to one bar closest to home so they can just stumble back at the end of night. Wide net still, but here for romance or family, Hoss?" Needless to say, she had been around the block with a few faces like his. They all had the same sort of look about them and despite his playful manner, the way he had knocked back his first drink told her a lot about possible situations.

by **Hoss** Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:23 am

"Neither suit me, in my opinion. So stick with Ice."

"Ice it is then," He continued to nurse the drink as he got some feedback on his original guess. It figured he was going to be a bit off with his guess as he listened to how she was only an artist through the bartender thing. She was right, people did like talking to bartenders. Hoss didn't, the current situation really wasn't too different. He was speaking to her not because he wanted to but because he really had no other reason to be here except in some hope that anyone in here might recognize him as his father's son and he could have a drink with them in memory. At least then he could figure out what his father's favorite poison was. To this day he didn't know his dad's drink. Just that it involved Vodka.

It had to have for there to be vodka at the suicide.

"So now, my turn. The reason you're here is because of one of three things. Work, romance, or family. Considering what you just said about job postings, I'm going to go ahead and already guess its not work, otherwise you would have said it more sourly." He tilted his head for a split second, gesturing sort of a 'yeah that makes sense'. He had to give her that much. "Leaving romance or family. You don't look like someone who's a regular, as those stick to one bar closest to home so they can just stumble back at the end of the night. Wide net still, but here for romance or family, Hoss?"

"Neither!" He said and raised his glass. "Good guess though, family was close except that I'm not really here for family. If it was family I was concerned about I would be far far away from a bar. I'm here for me and me alone. Just a little bit of a drink while I figure out my life. I find myself at a crossroads."

He emptied the class and leaned in a bit to look at her closely. "I'm not much for the taste of alcohol, never had. Just enough to get me buzzed allows my body and mind to relax. I found out back in school I actually did better on math tests if I went in slightly buzzed. Not the same with english, but math it definitely helped. I don't need to speak clearly here or avoid rambling though. I just need cold hard calculations."

He rested back in his seat with his arms crossed, resting against the edge of the bar before pulling out a cigarette and placing it between his lips. He spoke through it without lighting it up. "Also find it ridiculous that they don't want us smoking in bars. I'll just let it rest unlit if it's alright." It was habit, something small to help clear his mind. Did he jump in to the Solstice thing? After everything he had found out? Part of him wanted to run and the other just wanted to dive in headfirst to try and find some sense of purpose or drive. His father had been in gangs in the past. It was something he found out in going through some of the stuff.

None of the current ones but still. Weird that I ended up in a similar path.

"So if you found out the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Would it freak you out?" Was he still hoping for someone to recognize him? Of course. But for now he couldn't help that childish hope.

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