All 25.4 - Cress' Birthday

Later that evening, Victor and Pierce walked down the street towards the Spotted Goat, the first stop on what would undoubtedly be an interesting night. Virgil had been left in the care of Cheko and Itzli, neither of whom were in the mood for a drunken party. They saw Cress, Lucca and Clover waiting outside, chatting. Cress was no longer in his half-wolf form, and waved when he saw the two men approach. "Hey, you made it!" he said as they joined them. "Where's the doc?"
"No idea. Haven't seen him all day, not that that surprises me," Pierce said.
"I haven't seen him either," Victor replied.
"I tracked him down earlier today, and he said he'd come. Guess he's just late," Cress said. "He'll show up. Ryu had better show though."
The two older men raised their eyebrows. "You think he will?" Pierce said. "He seemed...in a rough mood this morning."
"He promised," Cress shrugged.
"He's usually pretty good on his word, too. Hopefully he shows, it would probably do him some good," Lucca leaned over and chimed in. Turning to Cress, he added, "Now that two thirds of the geezer committee has shown up, most of us are here; wanna get this party started? The other two can catch up when they get here," he flashed a grin.
Pierce frowned and muttered, "That is the worst committee name." He said more loudly towards Lucca, "The committee motions for a new name."
"Oh, this will end well..." Victor mumbled in his mildly sarcastic way, rolling his eyes.
"Screw you, Mr. Webber! It's a perfectly good name! And it's non-negotiable, so nyah!" Lucca stuck out his tongue at the man, "Motion denied!"
"Dude, no," Cress said, grinning as well. "They could be like...'Old Man Brigade'. 'Elder Squad'. ...'Order of the Not Quite Dead'."
"Oooh, I do like that last one. Hmm..." He got an overly dramatic, thoughtful look, "You might have a point, if just on the grounds that the word 'committee' seems to already be goin' to Mr. Webber's head; all thinkin' he gets a say on the important issues like that, tsk. That won't do." Taking on an air of great gravity, he declared, "I hereby grant Cressy the right to bestow a new name upon our collection of stuffy old geezers, if it should so please him."
Pierce frowned as Victor made an I-told-you-so face at him. Cress looked thoughtful, then declared with a gesture, "I decree that I am not anywhere near drunk enough to properly abuse the power that has been given to me." 
"Fair enough!" Lucca laughed, "We shall await your verdict once we get you well and truly plastered! And whatever you decree at that point, their name shall be! No take backs!"
"Right on!" Cress agreed, turning towards the door. Pierce groaned, his face in his hand.
Clover nudged Cress, and gestured with her chin down the street. "There he is." Ryuji was walking down the street, looking a bit lost and uncomfortable. "Over here!" she shouted, catching his attention. He looked up, and lightly jogged over to where they stood.
"Hey..." he said.
"You came! Awesome!" Cress smiled.
"I...I said I would..." he said, looking awkward again. "Did you think I wouldn't?"
"Nah, we knew you'd come. Don't know where the doc is though..." Cress added, looking around.
Ryuji looked as well, then commented quietly, "Cheko isn't here either..."
"She volunteered for Virgil duty tonight, that way both of us could come," Lucca indicated himself and Victor with a toss of his head, adding, "Partyin' like this ain't really her deal to begin with anyway."
"Oh. Right, I guess," Ryuji didn't look particularly convinced, but did his best not to look mopey.
"Come on, cheer up!" Cress said, smiling infectiously.
Pierce interjected, "Out of curiosity, is he part of the committee too?" He pointed his thumb at Ryuji. "He's older than you; he should be mocked as well." Ryuji looked confused.
"Pierce, he's twelve years younger than you. I somehow doubt he qualifies," Victor said calmly.
"He sometimes gets lumped in with you guys when he acts all stuffy, but usually, no." The druid shot Pierce a wickedly teasing grin as he added, "Actual membership is reserved for creaky old farts like you."
Frowning larger, Pierce muttered something. "Just accept it. Unless you want to start buying potions off of the doctor," Victor said, grinning.
"Oh sure. Coming from the man who was born old. You were born old, you'll die older, and, honestly, you'll probably be even older after that," Pierce argued good-naturedly.
"I embrace my old manness," he said with a tinge of superiority.
"Then why ain't your hair white now?" Cress asked with a grin.
"Black looks better with my complexion," he said smugly.
"True facts, that." Lucca nodded in agreement, with an almost satisfied looking smirk.
"Heh, guess I can't say much. Fuckin' white hair. Anyways, let's stop standing around and get this party going!" Cress declared with a fist-pump. With that, he pulled open the door and walked inside, followed by the others.
----
"Dude! Where the fuck were you?" Cress asked of the newly-arrived man. He was enchanted to appear young, but it was still certainly the doctor.
He grinned, "It's a drinking party. You have to be particularly lame to arrive on time to one. Happy birthday, incidentally." He flicked a gold piece at a passing waitress, buying another round. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he retrieved a vial and rolled it over the table to Ryuji. "I'd apologize, but honestly, this way you weren't the drunkest at the party for the first hour and a half." Rolling his eyes, Ryuji took the potion and drank it in a shot. He blinked a few times as it took effect, then grinned lazily, going from complete sobriety to drunkenness in the span of a second.
"Doc's got a point," Lucca said to Cress before declaring with a sweeping gesture declaring, "Y'all are a bunch of fuckin' dorks!"
"I thought that was implied," Victor stated smugly. 
"And considering your outfit," Cohen said with a smirk, looking at Lucca, "Cress and I are the only cool ones here."
"Excuuuse me?" The druid levelled him with a flatly incredulous look, "Just because you wouldn't know style if it bit ya in the ass ain't no reason to start talkin' smack to those who have it. You shut your mouth and get drinkin', doc."
As the waitress delivered more alcohol to the group, Cohen took one with a smirk. "You're lucky if I shut up on a regular occasion." He lifted the glass in a mock toast, "I'm unlikely to be so quiet again for the rest of the night." Lucca just rolled his eyes in response, finishing the drink he had been working in a single, prodigious gulp before taking another.
----
"So, I'm thinkin' our next stop will be..." Cress trailed off. "Over there. We can do the place that does the dancin' and shit last." The group walked down the street in what was possibly not the straightest line.
As Lucca walked, he felt a subtle poke in his side. He jolted, but there didn't appear to be anything around as he whipped about, searching for the offending party. Shaking it off, he continued towards the door, when suddenly he was poked a second time. By the third time, he noticed Victor trying to contain a smile.
His face reddened slightly as things clicked. Silently mouthing the words, "Piss off!" he shot the man a scolding glare, undermined slightly by a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
Victor leaned over to bring his face down towards Lucca's. He smiled and said simply, "No," tapping him on the nose with his invisible tail as he said it.
The druid swatted at the air in front of his face, making a perfunctory grab for the offending appendage. "Keep it up, asshole and you'll get yours!" He growled, chuckling as he playfully elbowed the other man.
"The only one getting mine will be you," he replied, grinning evilly.
Lucca gaped at him for a second before hissing indignantly, "Holy shit, Victor!" His cheeks flushed brightly as his eyes darted about to see if anyone else had overheard the comment. A small giggle at the older man's audacity escaped him as he added, "Shut up, dude!!"
With a small chuckle, Victor made to pass by. "You don't tell me what to do," he said, and as he walked past, Lucca could feel the end of Victor's tail wrap about and heavily caress his face before it pulled away with a flick.
----
"So, these things..." Cohen addressed the table of now quite inebriated adventurers. "What do they do, when they're at the halfway setting?" He held up the two teardrop earrings they had recieved from Gemini. Both Clover and Ryuji sat upright and patted themselves down, turning back to him with looks of shock and outrage. "Oh, don't give me that. You're both drunk; it was easy," he said, waving them off.
Cress laughed loudly. "How the fuck'd you do that?"
Cohen gave a look of mock offense. "Why am I not allowed to have hobbies?!"
"Since when is picking pockets a hobby?" Pierce asked.
Rolling his eyes, he replied, "I don't pick pockets. Usually. I've never stolen anything. It's...a party trick, I guess. I like prestidigitation."
"Isn't that a spell?" Victor asked, still using his invisible appendage to tease Lucca under the table.
"He's talking about parlour magic. The sleight of hand stuff," Pierce explained.
"Ooooooh," Cress said.
"At any rate, back to my point: what does the halfway setting even do? Have any of you tried it?"
Subtly brushing Victor's tail away yet again, Lucca replied conversationally, "I doubt it. Haven't you an' Ryu  had the damn things pretty much since we got 'em? Like, I don't think I've personally even had a good look at 'em, much less fucked around with 'em...but you've got a good question. How would you even do that, the halfway thing, anyway?"
Cohen flicked one over lightly to the druid, saying, "Look, the stone is split in two, and the halves rotate. They click in three places, so there are three settings: off, halfway, and full swap." As Lucca looked it over, Cohen added, "Put it on; I want to see what it does."
"I dunno..." he said, eyeing the earring suspiciously, "I wanna see someone else do it. Cressy, catch!" He called, tossing it over to his friend when he had finished his inspection.
Catching the jewellry, Cress looked it over. After a second, he shrugged and popped out one of his own earrings, sliding the magical one into place. "You don't have to do that," Cohen mentioned. "It makes its own temporary hole." As he said it, he put the hook to his own ear, and as he promised, it slid in despite Cohen not having any piercings. Twisting the stone into place, both of them blinked slightly.
Cress shook his head. "Dude, that's a weird feeling. Like I'm gonna pass out or some shit." He looked at his hands and arms as Cohen did the same. Everyone else looked at them as well, and it was an assuredly odd sight. The two men now looked eerily similar, as though they were non-identical twins. It was easy to see features of both of them in the other: they shared Cress' lanky yet muscular build, and Cohen's nose. Their hair, though remaining styled in their own fashion, was an intermingling of their colours: Cohen's brown and Cress' current shade of blue, and they both had muted green eyes, a mix of Cohen's hazel and Cress' emerald. 
"Hmm..." Cohen considered this. He pushed against the tabletop and declared, "Well, I'm stronger. I suppose we got that from you." He picked up a spoon, flipped it around in the air a few times, then suddenly whipped it at Cress', who barely managed to swat it out of the air before it collided with his face.
"Hey!"
"And my reflexes," Cohen continued. "Interesting...Am I drunk? I think I'm more drunk."
Cress frowned, "I think I'm less drunk. The fuck's up with that?"
Cohen explained, "Oh, I wasn't drunk at all."
"The fuck does that work?! You've been drinking all night!" Cress exclaimed.
Shrugging, he said, "I've developed exceedingly fast metabolism of most poisons and toxins. It's nearly impossible for me to get drunk."
"What?! Naw, no way, that's weird. Lemme see," Cress fiddled with the earring. The pair reverted back to their usual appearances. Cohen, or at least his body, blinked in surprise a few times. "Shit, you're right," Cress, in Cohen's body, said, holding his forehead. "You're like, stone-cold sober."
"Woooa," Cohen said, blinking more. "Whereas you...are quite drunk. That's...it's been a while..."
"Were you pretending to be drunk this whole time?"
"Oh yeaaah," he replied, grinning. "Do it all the time. Why not? All the fun of lowered expectations. No headache."
Cress crossed his arms again, frowning. "The fuck kind of lame...Seriously? You can't get drunk?"
"You could probably drink..." he looked to be counting something in his head, then became sidetracked. After a minute of him staring into space, Cress poked him. "Oh, what? What was I saying?"
"You can just drink and not get drunk or sick or anything?"
"Oh, no. Yes?" He shook his head, "Drink whatever, you'll burn out your wallet before anything would happen."
Frowning, Cress said, "That's the stupidest..." Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "Dude. Dude, can I like, borrow your body for like, an hour?"
He raised an eyebrow, "What for?"
"Dude," he said with grim seriousness. "Drinking contests."
"...Pft!" Cohen laughed, "Sure! I hadn't even considered that, honestly. Go, win big." It was his turn to stop and grin at his own idea. "On a condition."
"What?"
He was still smiling as he said, "When you piss off everyone and they call you a cheater, can I have the bar fight?"
Pierce had finally had enough of this odd exchange, "What?! Why on bloody earth do you want to have a bar fight?"
"You haven't been in one?" Cohen asked brightly. "Oh, they're terribly fun, Webber. You should join in." Cohen suddenly shifted his attentions back to Cress, "There are healing potions in my jacket, don't let them get crushed and we'll be fine." 
"Heh, right on!" Cress said, standing up. "Gonna go find me some takers. Come on, Lu, back me up."
"Fuckin' right, dude!" The druid laughed, getting to his feet as well. "Let's do this!"
"What...is even going on?" Ryuji asked.
Victor took a drink and replied, "This is the beginning of the events that will get us kicked out of the bar in the next hour."
----
Cohen, still in Cress' body, giggled maniacally as the group walked down the street once more. "See? See? It's excellent fun."
Pierce rubbed his face where he had been punched. "You've a weird idea of what's fun...Guh, this is gonna bruise."
Meanwhile, Cress flicked a coin up in the air repeatedly. "Heh, fuckin' easy money." He held a small bag filled with coin that he had won and managed to scoop up before the incriminating shouts had begun. "Alright, we cool to swap back now? If I'm gonna have the hangover, I wanna enjoy the buzz."
"Aww..." Cohen whined. "That's legitimate..." The pair fiddled with their earrings and were soon back in their own bodies. Cohen tossed Cress' money over to him, and got a protracted 'woooo' in response. He frowned, "Well, this is disappointing. Now I have neither the alcohol nor the adrenaline. I wonder what I do have..." Fishing through his pockets, he pulled out an envelope that appeared to be filled with small pills and looked through it.
Pierce had a look of surprise, "Holy shit, Malcolm. How much of that is legal?"
"Hmn. Depends. Some of them are technically prescription." 
"Do you have a prescription?"
He gave an evil grin and replied, "Well, seems silly to write one to myself if I'm the one making it, isn't it?"
"...Who let you get a license??" Pierce asked, his volume being influenced by the amount of alcohol in his system.
"You know," he said, looking thoughtful, "I always wondered why they never took that away. I'm fairly certain it was never officially revoked. I'm a state criminal, but I think I'm also still licensed for medicine and class 4 alchemy."
"There's no way it wasn't revoked. No way," Ryuji said.
Shrugging, Cohen said, "Well, it was never brought up in any of my court hearings, and no one told me anything about it, and I was slotted for the death penalty. Maybe they did, maybe it was just some paperwork that got missed because who cares whether the dead murderer has a license or not?"
"Isn't ten years an awfully long time to wait, even for Asanon? In Yeto, death penalties are usually within days," Ryuji offered.
"Remember, the government didn't want me dead. They wanted me to keep working, just on their projects. I had nothing else, and the guards were terribly fond of reminding me that the only thing staving away my eventual execution was how well I could perform."
"S'messed up," Cress offered.
"Quite." Cohen turned his attention back to his pills, eventually selecting one and popping it in his mouth, as the group headed towards their next destination.
Meanwhile, Victor's attention was being kept by a woman who was leaning rather drunkenly off of his arm as she spoke in the local language. Though the majority of those present couldn't understand what she was saying, her body language and lustful gaze were sending a universal message clear to even the drunkest members of the party. He smiled and looked at her, occasionally adding in a short sentence or two, aided by Pierce's somewhat miraculous casting of Tongues earlier. "Dude, dude...dude," Cress prodded Lucca several times in the arm. His attempts to whisper were sorely undermined by his drunkenness as he asked, "Dude, where does he even get these chicks from? Like fuck, he's like, fuckin' 50, he ain't that hot, and fuck, he's downright fuckin' creepy half the time. Like...the fuck, right?"
"Man, how should I fuckin' know? They just fuckin'...sorta..." Lucca gestured about, looking for a word, "...appear?...yeah. I dunno, dude." He gave a disinterested shrug.
"S'weeeeeird," Cress drew out the word. "Weird." 
Pierce leaned over, "What's weird?"
"Erzebet."
Mr. Webber looked back towards Victor than nodded his head. "Weird."
----
Music blared in the club they had ended up at. Most of the group had taken to dancing, excepting Victor, who had opted to sit by the bar. He had gained a second woman, both hanging off of him drunkenly and grinning coquettishly as he invited their advances. The dancing prowess of the rest of them was somewhat unevenly distributed: Cress would have likely been better if he was slightly more sober, Pierce was at least a decade out of style, and Ryuji obviously was not letting his lack of a clue stop his dancing attempts. Clover was the only one who actually knew the local popular styles, and was none too bad at it, though it was more her purple hair and white skin that was drawing attention to her than her dance moves. Lucca danced with raring enthusiasm, picking up the style as he went; to Lucca's surprise, Cohen was actually a rather good dancer himself, matching the druid for skill and rhythm. It wasnt long before his interest got the better of him.
Lucca made his way across the dancefloor without missing a step, hollering over the music when he reached Cohen, "Since when do you know how to dance, doc? What gives?" Flashing a devilish grin, he added, "Ya ain't half bad! That is, for a creaky old bastard."
"That's high praise, from the urchin who lives in the bush," Cohen retorted, returning Lucca's grin. "Was it the squirrels or the birds that taught you to dance? Oh, or was it bees? I've heard they've got some skill in that."
"Fuck you, I ain`t no bushwhacker," he shot back good naturedly, "An' don't you wish that it was? Five gold say I can outdance your sorry ass, even drunk as a fish!" As they talked, the druid's body was in constant motion, not missing a single beat. "You game?"
Cohen's motion was similarly uninterupted as he spoke, "Oh please, we've spent almost that much on beer tonight. Make it interesting! What's the point of a bet if it's not really worth it when I win?"
"When you win? Oh please!" Lucca threw back his head with a short laugh, "Alright alright, I wont make it easy on ya. Shall we bump it to, oh, 50? 100? More? Or do you wanna make me an offer?"
"Pft, money's no fun!" he laughed. "We're both already rich, and besides! We're super-powerful paragons of humanity; what's the point of money? Aren't you drunk enough yet to think of something interesting?" He continued to dance as he added, "Anything I'll think of will undoubtedly be creepy, by normal person standards."
This earned a shrug from the druid, "Eh, I frankly dunno what the fuck would entice you, dude. Hence not offering anything better. That and I don't really give the remotest shit myself; I'll be more than happy with just braggin' rights. So make a call, if you want. I'm game for practically whatever." With a snort he added, "And anyway, last I checked, there weren't any 'normal people' involved in this bet, so fuck them standards."
"Bragging rights are fun, but do either of us really need permission to brag?" He looked thoughtful, "...I have no idea what you'd want...but if you lose...hmm...I could borrow your body with the earrings, for a few hours. In case you haven't noticed, I enjoy shapeshifting, and I'll admit a jealousy towards your abilites. Ooh! Or a blood sample! I'm terribly interested in how your make-up lets you shift the way you do. Replicating that in ordinary humans; thatwould be months of interesting research."
Lucca eyed him dubiously for a moment before muttering, "Man, you are a creepy motherfucker, you know that?" After a few seconds longer of consideration, he nodded slightly, "Fine, option number two is fair game; I lose, you can play with my blood, you crazy freak." He said with a laugh, shaking his head slightly. "Not that there's any chance I'm gonna lose, mind you. And so when I win, hmm, what would I like from you..." As he gave it some thought, he also cast his attention toward his ever-present fey companion and asked silently, What do you think, dude? Anything particularly good I could get outta him?
The voice that replied was amused, There's always something good you can get out of people. Bets are usually something you want from them, or something to humiliate the loser; I don't think you're really the humiliating type. What do you want? I always like to keep my owings open-ended. Ask for favours to be cashed in later. Other than that...hmm...he'd be good for something magical. He likes to make weird things. He's got a lot of mental resources, you could use him for a research task. He's got no social restraints at all; that's usually a good thing to utilize as an intermediary when you want something from someone else. Really, it's up to you though.
Mmmh yes, I.O.Us. I do like that tactic, I'ma see if he'll roll with that. Thanks! He returned his attention to Cohen, "I'm honestly too drunk to remember what sorta shit I might like outta you...so how's about something simple: a favour owing, and I'll decide what it is when I need it. Within reason, of course. Sound good?"
"A little lacking in originality, but sure." He spun about, "I win, I get your blood. You win, I owe you a favour. Oh, and let's add a little something for good measure." He grinned, "I overheard that they're calling a partners contest in a bit. Split any winnings 50-50; winner leads, loser is the girl."
"Psssh, sure, dude! You're on!" Lucca agreed with a laugh, amping up his game. The pair danced fervently, both putting on a rather impressive show for a pair of amateurs. They took turns displaying their moves in a back-and-forth battle of motion and rhythm, trying to outdo the other with complicated twists and maneuvers. While both did extremely well, drawing the attention of the floor, it was Lucca who slipped first. Cohen finished with a flourish, grinning broadly and breathing heavily.
"Well," he said, catching his breath. "I'll admit that, much like our last contest, we're very close. But I think we can agree that I took this one."
"Gods fucking damnit!!" Lucca grumbled, wiping his forehead. "That's only 'cause you're less drunk, asshole!"
"Less drunk, better dancer, what's the difference, really?"
"There's a hell of a difference!"
"Not at the moment." He made a mocking smile, "Now go put on your skirt. We have a contest to win."
"Pfft, you actually expect me to get all dressed up too? Sheesh!" Lucca groused in his usual fashion. "Gimme a few, I guess. Ugh." He sighed, heading off the floor as Cohen continued to dance. As he walked off, he noticed Victor was no longer at the bar. He nudged Cress as he passed, "Where'd the old man go?"
Cress shrugged, "Fuck if I know. Dude picked up a third chick. I think he left with 'em. You takin' a break?"
"Aaah yes, somehow I'm not suprised." Lucca gave a snort. He shook his head as he continued past, "And nah, not really. Just gotta go get myself all prettied up to win a dancin' contest, you know."
"Huh?" Cress looked confused.
"You'll see, dude, you'll see" He replied with a lopsided smile.
----
When Lucca returned, dolled up as he was, he saw that Pierce had made his way to the bar, Cress and Clover had retired to a table and were laughing together, while Ryuji had apparently sat in with the band and was proving himself to be a not-indecent singer; Pierce had seemed to have mastered the art of casting Tongues while drunk. Cohen was still dancing, seeming to be not lacking for any energy.
The druid sauntered over to join him. "How's this? Good enough for ya?" He asked sweeping his arms wide and gesturing to himself. He had shape-shifted slightly into a female version of himself, and had donned a rather fetching teal dress. An artful application of eye makeup and the addition of a complex braid along one side of his mohawk completed the look, lending him the overall appearance of a decidedly androgynous punk girl.
"I thought we agreed that I don't know what attractive people look like," he replied, cheerful yet not at all surprised by the druid's appearance. "But I should think that will do nicely, yes." He held out his hand, "They should call for the start soon, so we'd best practice while we can."
"I didn't ask ya if I was hot, dummy. Who gives a shit?" Lucca chided with a bemused snort. "Just if I was girl enough." He regarded the doctor's hand for a long moment, "Practice is a good call, yeah..." He pursed his lips momentarily and adjusted his gloves before taking it. "Alrighty, lets do this shit!"
Cohen spun him around deftly. "I'm glad I only rate 'hesitation' levels of repulsion! Might have affected our chances!" His mood was leaning on the manic side; it wasn't a stretch to assume that whatever pill he had swallowed before heading in had taken effect. "We stand a decent chance, if we can keep it up! I haven't seen any actual pros here tonight."
"Fuckin' right we do! I ain't losin' twice in one night, no fuckin' way!" As he danced, the sinuous fluidity of his movements hinted that this probably wasn't the first time he'd done so as a woman, and that he wasn't shy to play the part. After a few beats of serious thought, he asked, "You ain't too bad of a klutz, right doc?"
"Hardly! You should know that by now!"
"Yeah, but I gotta double check; I fuckin' hate gettin' dropped." He swung out to arms length, then spun back in towards Cohen, "But aerials, man, that's how you win this shit, always. Judges fuckin' love 'em, audience fuckin' loves 'em. If you can do 'em good, wins every time. You good for 'em? 'Cause I am goddamn fantastic at that shit!"
"Well, nothing ventured! Show me what you've got!" He said, twirling into position. Lucca danced out a ways and after waiting a few beats for the music, leapt forward grinning broadly. Catching the doctor's shoulders, he used them as a springboard to launch into a graceful backflip. He expertly snagged Cohen's hand on the way down, picking up the dance flawlessly as his feet touched the floor once more.
Laughter began bubbling out of the druid as they danced, now incorporating increasingly acrobatic maneuvers, neither of them missing a beat. "We've got this shit in the bag, doc! Easy!" Cohen returned Lucca's grin, and the two twirled about as the band called the beginning of the contest.
----
"The two of you are weird," Cress said, smiling broadly.
"But we are excellent dancers!" Cohen retorted. They all sat around a table now, completely drunk in most cases; Lucca held a small brass trophy triumphantly, still wearing his dress but shifted back to his customary gender, and Cohen fidgeted energetically, despite having been dancing for the last two hours. He had retrieved his pen, and was twirling it about madly and skillfully in his hand as an outlet.
Pierce watched him do this for a few minutes before asking, "What on earth did you take?"
"Hmm?" Cohen looked at him, and took a second to understand what he had asked. "Oh! Right. You drink coffee?"
"Sometimes? It's expensive, unless you're south."
"I basically took an extremely concentrated dose of that."
He tried to think about that for a moment, then shook his head, "...You're gonna hurt tomorrow."
"That's why I make painkillers!" he said brightly. "And I won't have half the headache you're in for."
Pierce made a mocking derisive face, and was met with laughter. As this happened, Victor appeared behind them, having returned from wherever he had gone to. His female entourage, however, were nowhere to be seen.
"There you are!" Lucca exclaimed, his face lighting up as he caught sight of him. Jumping to his feet, he tossed Cress his trophy, who fumbled it awkwardly, and caught both of Victor's hands. "C'mon, ya gotta come dance with me!"  He began walking backwards towards the dance floor, pulling the older man along with him. "At least one song!" he insisted, giggling at himself as he tripped over his words slightly.
Victor's eyes moved from the table to the trophy to Lucca. He smiled in the knowing way that he did as he was pulled along, saying, "I appear to have missed something. Why are you wearing a dress?" 
"Hadta for the contest, an' 'cause I losta bet with the doc," he explained with a lopsided grin.
With a small tilt of his head, he accepted that answer. As they approached the floor, Victor added, "You know I'm no dancer."
With a derisive snort Lucca continued, "Pfffffft, whatever. Ya ain't that bad either, you know. An' anyway, ya got lucky: this song ain't so fast, you'll do fine." Chuckling once more as they stepped onto the floor, he pulled Victor closer and added, "An' I'll go easy on ya, old man."
Victor gave a snort of laughter, "Well, I would never want that." The pair began to dance. Though Victor could not match Lucca's enthusiasm, his own drunkenness was obviously aiding his motions and lack of inhibition. Though he had no real concept of dance moves, his sword style actually lent itself well to dance and he was regardlessly extremely acrobatic, considering his appearance and age. Though he perhaps wasn't the partner that the doctor had been, he danced reasonably well, and took obvious enjoyment in picking up Lucca and spinning him about. The druid, for his part, had abandoned the technical precision of his previous dancing, instead making up his moves as he went along, following Victor's lead and laughing with delight all the while. What their dancing lacked in accuracy was more than made up for by the obvious chemistry between them.
As the song ended, Lucca gave a twirl, stopping flawlessly on the final beat and falling back against Victor. He looked up at him with a grin, breathing hard, "Another?"
Returning his infectious smile, Victor conceded, "Well, only since you seem to be enjoying yourself so much." With a delighted laugh, Lucca caught his hand once more as the music started up again and the pair danced off across the floor once more. 
After a few more songs, Victor pulled Lucca off of the floor, smiling and shaking his head, saying he was done. When they returned to the table, they found that Cohen had left for the floor once more to spend his drug-induced energy, and Pierce had apparently gone to the washroom. The others greeted them as they sat down. Giggling and tipsy, Lucca flopped down into the couch beside Cress, while Victor sat in the only unoccupied chair. "Dude, yer still in a dress," Cress said, his speech starting to slur together. 
"I know...gotta take a breather firs', then I'ma get changed" The druid replied, brushing his sweaty bangs back from his face.
Lucca flagged over a waitress to get a drink; when he had, Victor did the same. After sitting for a few minutes, Lucca jumped up again, announcing that he'd be back in a minute after getting changed. By the time he returned, Pierce had also reappeared, now sitting lazily on the couch where Lucca had once been. He walked into the circle formed by the furniture, standing between Victor and Pierce as he groaned, "Aawww maaaaaan, Mr. Webber!! Ya stole my spot, asshole!" He made a shooing motion at him as he added, "Get up, give it back! Moooove!"
"Mmmrg, no," Pierce whined, laying as he was with his head tilted back, draped over the couch. He added muttering, "Find yer own."
"I diiiiid!" He whined right back, "An' yer lazy old ass is in it! Mooooooove!!"
He suddenly felt something move up his skin; Victor's tail had gone right up the back of his shirt. The alcohol crippled both his reaction time and his balance, so before he could respond, he was yanked over by the shirt and sent sprawling onto Victor, who quickly trapped him with his tail and arm. Lucca gave a squawk of surprise before melting into a torrent of giggles.
"I think I'll have you sit here," Victor said with his dominant grin, eyes locked on Lucca's. 
With a cheeky grin on his face, the druid taunted, "You fuckin' wish, geezer." He squirmed, giving a half-hearted struggle to escape.
"I do," he said quietly yet firmly into Lucca's ear, "so that's what will be." He put his hand up smoothly into Lucca's hair and pulled his head back, firmly but not cruelly, "Unless you really think you can tell me otherwise."
"Whatcha gonna do if I try, eh?" He shot back teasingly, a broad, mischevious grin on his face. Leaning in as much as Victor's grip would allow, he pressed his forehead to the other man's, their gazes still locked. Grinning wider, he asked in a lower voice, "Ya gonna make me? Eh, old man?"
"Oh, aren't you being bold? Who gave you permission for that?" he continued smiling, nonplussed. He twisted Lucca about deftly, pinning his arms behind him and binding him tighter, crushing the druid into his body. Lucca could feel the tip of Victor's tail lightly caressing his ear and neck. Victor spoke calmly yet commandingly, voice low enough that the others, drunk as they were and as loud as the music was, couldn't hear as he said, "You are welcome to try. It matters little. You are mine, and you will do what I want."
This elicited another torrent of giggles from Lucca, and he squirmed slightly, trying to arrange himself better in spite of the other man's hold. Resting his head against Victor's shoulder, he leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Of course I will...but only if ya make me." He chuckled lightly once again. "But not right now, I'll be good. I like it here," he added, settling himself more comfortably and nuzzling briefly against Victor's neck.
"You'd best enjoy it now then, because I am not tired, and the women earlier were barely more than an appetizer," he said. His invisible tail drew back and forth along Lucca's skin earning shivers from the younger man. "I dislike going to sleep still hungry."
At his words, the druid's cheeks flushed and he darted a brief glance around at the others to make sure they hadn't been overheard. "Well, I guess we'll have to do our best to make sure that don't happen, eh?" He murmered with a crooked smile, quirking one eyebrow and looking up at him almost coyly. In spite of his words however, there was a faint uncertain undertone to his expression.
He smiled more evilly, "Oh, I'm not sure you could handle my best," he taunted. He drew the fingers of his free hand lightly over Lucca's cheek and neck, and he could feel the tips of Victor's claws gently move over his skin. "But I'm certain you can be enough. At least, I doubt you're drunk enough to pass out in the first fifteen minutes."
"Hey! Fuck you!" Lucca shot back with semi-serious indignation, laughing as he gave him a playful shove. "I ain't anywhere near drunk enough to pass out atall tonight and ya know it, jackass!"
"Then you're already doing better than your competition from earlier."
"Pffft! Some Competion," He snickered, "Thats fuckin' weak, man. Weak."
Meanwhile, Cress was looking at them with a cocked eyebrow. "...Dude," he said, catching Lucca's attention. "Dude. Dude, dude, dude...dude. Dude. Dude. ...Gay."
Lucca regarded him flatly for a long moment before giving a dismissive snort. "Shut uuuup Cressy," he retorted with a giggle, leaning back against Victor. "So what, bro?"
You could see the gears turning in Cress' alcohol soaked mind, until he replied with a shrug, "Just is, man. Just is."
"I think you've had enough, Cress," Victor said, turning his attention towards him for a moment.
"Screw you, I'know when've had enough," he waved him off. "He's had enough," he added pointing at Pierce.
Ryuji looked at him carefully, and added, "I think he's asleep."
"Mothers, yer sucha lightweight Webber," Cress said.
"I said he's asleep."
"N'I said he's a lightweight."
"He can't hear you, he's asleep."
"...Shut up, Ryu."
Victor smirked, "It is past his bedtime. He's always been more of a morning person than a night one. Who wants to make sure he gets back to the inn?"
Ryuji raised his hand slightly, "I can. This'll wear off in a bit, 'n I've got nothing better to do."
"Good. Maybe make sure the doctor doesn't have a heart attack or something." With that, he stood up, twisting Lucca so that he was held hanging over his shoulder. He smiled, ignoring the squawks of protest from the man he held as he said, "I think I've had enough for tonight, so I am going to retire. Happy birthday Cress." He bowed slightly towards him. "Good night, everyone. Tell the doctor I said goodnight as well." 
"Put me down, asshole!!" Lucca snarled amidst yet another fit of laughter, kicking his feet. "For fuck's sake, at least carry me properly if you're gonna, I ain't a fuckin' sack of potatoes!" Twisting around, he punctuated his words with a nip to Victor's pointed ear.
Victor made a 'tch' sound at the bite. "Well, not if you're going to behave like that." He slapped Lucca's cheek with his tail, and with that, he turned and began to walk towards the door.
"Aww come on!" He protested, making a playful grab for Victor's invisible tail, "Pleeeaase?"
Without stopping, Victor smirked, "No, I don't believe you've earned that right yet." The others gave them odd looks as they watched them leave.
"Aww maaaan," Lucca sighed good naturedly, giving up his struggles and loudly calling out goodbyes to their companions as they headed out the door.
"Well, that was...weird," Ryuji ventured.
"S'like...weird? But...not weird...I unno," Cress replied. "Not surprisin'." Ryuji thought about that for a moment, then agreed.
----
Victor walked out into the street and set off in a direction that took Lucca a moment to realize wasn't the direction of the inn.
The druid had settled himself fairly comfortably in his odd perch, with his chin propped in his hands. After a moment he turned to Victor, frowning slightly, "Hey, this ain't the way back...where're we goin'?"
"I haven't decided yet, honestly," Victor called back. "But a hotel room is boring, and I'm too drunk to tolerate boring." He meandered down the mostly empty late-night streets, lit by lamps, the odd window and the moon. The wind had a slight chill to it: autumn was fast approaching. Peeking down sidestreets and alleys, he eventually saw something that caught his eye. He walked down the secluded path and pulled Lucca off of his shoulder; as the druid's feet touched the ground, Victor pushed him bodily back to the wall and pressed his lips to his. With a soft noise the younger man returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Victor's neck and tangling his fingers in his hair. The pair stayed like this for a while, kissing passionately in the dark alley.
Eventually, Victor pulled back and gestured over his shoulder to a ladder that led up. "Normally, I would refuse heights on principle. But I am drunk, and would like to see the stars, and don't honestly feel like walking all the way out of town." He flourished his hands, "After you."
"Up...?" Lucca stared first at the ladder, then up at him incredulously for a moment before breaking into a broad grin. "Fuck yes!" With a gleeful laugh he clambered up the ladder. He turned to look first up at the stars, then out over the town, his face a picture of delight. When Victor joined him, the druid immediately reached up and pulled him into another kiss.
Smiling, Victor returned the affection. "I'm glad you approve," he said between embraces.
Lucca just laughed softly, "I very much do."
----
"Would you like to be released now?" Victor asked imperiously, almost mockingly. The pair were still on the roof in the dead of night. Their activities had progressed from their first kisses under the stars to more, and Lucca had recieved no small amount of stimulation and tease.
"Oh fuck yes! Please!" The druid practically whimpered in response, his voice breathless.
"Then, ask me properly."
"Wha-What?" Lucca blinked up at him, asking when he reiterated his command, "Proper how?" Victor replied by twisting harder, sending another shock of pleasure down Lucca's body.
"Oh fuck...! Spirits...!" He gasped, "Victor, please!"
"Hmm," he seemed thoughtful, taking his time, enjoying himself. "That's...not quite right." His fingers moved lightly, almost threateningly, across Lucca's skin. He drolled, "We both know that's not really my name. Who am I really, Lucca?"
The druid made a small noise, squirming at his touch. "The fuck are you talkin' about, old man?" He asked, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. Victor pressed harder, causing Lucca to gasp out again. He moved his hands methodically about, knowing exactly where to touch and how to cause Lucca to writhe.
"Fuckin' hell!" He cried, his voice verging on a moan, " I dunno! I dunno! Help me out! Please!"
"I think I'd rather you figure it out on your own." He leaned in and breathed into his ear, "You know full well the answer. You've said it before, and if you want release, then you'll say it again. And you will mean it."
Lucca spluttered and squirmed, wracking his brain for the answer that would grant him the release he so desperately desired. He started blurting out whatever he could think of, his tone becoming increasingly more frantic with each wrong answer and Victor's ever-escalating torment. Eventually, at the end of his wits, he cried, "Hell-Lord?! I don't know!"
"Oh, well, that's a bit overstated. I don't rule Hell," he said. "But you are creeping ever closer."
"Just "Lord", then?" Lucca gasped. Without waiting for a response, he pleaded, "Please, Lord Erzebet...!" He trailed off with an almost shy groan, "Please!"
"Oh, you're so close now, aren't you?" he asked, and Lucca could feel his grin on his ear. "But still...not quite right. That's still a borrowed name; it's only half right."
He let out a growl of frustration, pleading once again, "Come oooooon! Fuck!" He fell to muttering to himself as he tried to riddle out what exactly it was that the other man wanted, a task made very difficult by the amount of distraction he was facing.
"Whose lord am I, Lucca?"
A look of confusion briefly flitted across his face once more, understanding following hot on its heels. After a beat he asserted, "Mine. You're fuckin' well mine." Breaking into a grin, he closed his eyes and said firmly, breathlessly, "My lord."
Victor chuckled lightly, smiling domineeringly, "That's right."
"Mmmh, fuck yes...! Finally!" He murmered. After a momentary pause he took a deep breath and requested, "Please, my lord, may I be released?"
"Well," Lucca could still feel him smiling into his neck, "Let it not be said that I'm a cruel master."
----
"Do you think they'll get back alright?" Ryuji asked of Clover and Cress, who they had just left in the bar.
"Oh, likely. Or they wake up in a gutter somewhere, one or the other," Cohen replied. The pair of them walked down the street, supporting Pierce between them. The third man was out like a light, and was being mostly carried down the dark streets towards the hotel. Ryuji's drunkenness spell had worn off, as had Cohen's youthful appearance; little besides the late hour and their alertness marked anything at all off about them. "Honestly though, I don't think either of them were quite drunk enough to collapse anywhere. And if they wanted to go back themselves, that's their prerogative."
"I suppose." The pair walked in silence for a few moments, before Ryuji offered. "I...didn't know you liked to dance."
"Yes, it's surprising, that something as horrid as me can have human hobbies."
Ryuji frowned, "I...I didn't mean it like that, I just..."
Cohen snorted and cut him off, "I'm only bothering you. You have no grasp of sarcasm at all."
"I do! I'm...just not good at it myself."
"No, you're a very literal person. You're defensive, and submissive, and easy to bother." Ryuji frowned again, but didn't respond. Cohen made a sidelong grin, "You see?" Ryuji muttered something and turned away, tilting his head to keep the doctor out of his line of sight. They walked silently for a few minutes, when Cohen added, "I am snide, and abrasive, and interact poorly with people."
"Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you like that?"
Cohen looked thoughtful, and replied, "Hm. I don't know. It's easy to rationalize, I suppose. It's how I am. How do you rationalize your faults?"
"I try to fix them, for one."
The doctor gave a short laugh, "That's all well and good. Tell me, how long does it take to fix yourself? It must take a while. How long have you gone assuming everyone is against you? How long have you easily caved to the whims of others?" Ryuji frowned again, muttering something before falling quiet. After another moment, Cohen added, “Ugh. People take what I say so seriously, and you take everything too seriously besides.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t sarcastic about everything, you’d have an easier time talking to people.”
“You’d be surprised how much it doesn’t.”
“Doesn’t what?”
“Doesn’t help.”
“Ugh,” Ryuji groaned. “Talking with you is pointless.”
“Please, no need to spare my feelings,” Cohen said with rolled eyes, voice dripping sarcasm. “You’re much too gentle with your words.”
“It is pointless!" Ryuji continued, "You’re...patronizing, and obtuse, and if you aren’t being arrogant, you’re being sullen!”
“Well, then I’m not far off from you, am I?” Cohen retorted, starting to become upset. “You equally-patronizing, self-absorbed twit! I complain that I don’t get along well with people, but at least I know why! You walk around, judging others and pitying yourself, then act like you don’t understand why people who know you keep you at arms’ length. It’s what you’ve done with everyone, ever since we were put on the boat! Everyone except your awful wife, who you just bow to like you’re her servant, like I’ve seen you do every time she’s in earshot. Then, when you have no friends, you blame it on your curse, because you can’t fathom a world where people are less racist than you. Maybe it’s not that you’re a zombie, it’s that you’re a judgmental, short-sighted, obnoxious twit.” He huffed, “It’s annoying. You’re annoying.”
Ryuji stopped and glared at the doctor, who returned his gaze unashamedly. He made to make a retort once, twice, then gave up, starting to walk again. Cohen gave a derisive snort and walked in kind, the two still supporting the unconscious Pierce. After a few minutes of silence, Ryuji muttered, “...You’re wrong.”
“About what?” Cohen asked dryly.
“...I’m far-sighted.”
Cohen looked at him, blankly for a second, before a grin slowly crept onto his face. “Heh. Well, I suppose that was my own short-sightedness. I should wear glasses, but I hate the damn things.”
“I don’t mind them,” Ryuji said. “I just don’t need them unless I’m reading.”
“Ugh, I need them for everything but reading, but I don’t bother.” The two continued down the street in the dead of the night.
Category:Advent of the All