2014.03.12 - Drink With Me

-Oblivion Bar-
 
Amanda Sefton is not, in fact, often given to frequenting the Oblivion. As relaxing as the place may be for many of a magical bent, she's often either too busy or too much the homebody to think of it. But, recent events -- events in her life, as opposed to the earth shattering ones that shook the world and sent the hero population of Metropolis and New York into collective mourning, -- have actually necessitated the visit.
She pulls back her hood of her latest costume -- a warded set of combat leathers instead of the skimpy 'I'm a fantasy enchantress' or multi-coloured spandex she's been seen in, in the past -- and runs a hand lightly through her hair to loosen it from the leather as she steps aside and lets her eyes adjust to the dimmer light. There are a couple of faces she recognizes in there, but their acknowledgement doesn't go much beyond a faint nod and brief moment of eye contact.
Ultimate, pulling of her gloves and shoving them down into the satchel on her hip, she moves toward the bar. "Have you seen Nicevan Kel?" she asks the bartender. He looks up, shakes his head, and she slides onto a stool. "Albion white, please." Might as well enjoy something while she waits.
They were going to have a Talk about things.
Zatanna Zatara kinda had a sixth sense about some things. How to work a crowd, when to juice up the act or tone it down - and a general sense of the mood of her stage crew. More often than not, Zatanna could be seen helping this person or that. Sometimes with just an ear, sometimes with ~magic~.
So when one-half of the act seemed a little off, Zee would have asked him if he wanted to cancel the Thursday show.
And then she would begin therapy. Therapy that consisted of dragging his fuzzy butt here, opening the door to Oblivion and tugging him through it. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to struggle overmuch. It wouldn't be a /kidnapping/ kidnapping. She would ask him if he wanted to go out first. Then she would say that she was going out, and really wanted him to come.
Then she would say that she /really really/ wanted him to come. Then she would die if he didn't come.
/Then/ she would resort to kidnapping.
Vorpal would be crazy to argue with Zatanna. Firstly, because she was his boss. Secondly, because she was a friend, and thirdly because she could backwards-speak his ass over the moon if he got too sassy.
"Zee... I'm okay. Really." Mister I Am Okay Really says as he steps in after Zatanna. His costume had changed for a third time--- with a black and silver variant. Very goth. He had intended it to be a show of respect for the loss of his friends, but it does send signals.
Amanda's eyes flit to the door from the wine glass that is set before her, as the portal open. She is, after all, waiting for the arrival of Mr. Kel. Instead, however, it's the well-known magical celebrity, Zatanna Zatara and her purple sidekick that passes in. Amanda owns a theatre. One that should be opening very soon, in fact. And that has a magical nexus of ley lines in the basement that needs to be guarded from incursions from the Outer Dark and other realms both foul and fair... She knows who the major acts in town are... Perhaps... perhaps she should speak with Ms Zatara.
However, it's Vorpal that catches her eye. She hasn't seen the cat in a very long time, simply because of her own missions (guarding the aforementioned Nexus of Realities). And the change in his costume is notable -- mainly because it seems somewhat uncharacteristic.
"Vorpal," she greets, raising her voice slightly to catch his attention. (Not too loudly, though, because he's a cat. She doesn't need to be loud.) "Long time no see, cat."
A glance to Zatanna. A polite smile and acknowledging nod.
No public alts to display.
Yeah, that black and silver costume is what set Zatanna Zatara off, as well.
And yes, Vorpal /would/ be crazy to argue with Zee - yes, she was his boss, but there was always an atmosphere of being able to speak their mind. Even if it didn't quite take with Vee, it would be there regardless. And sassyness tended to make her laugh.
"/Then/, if you are okay," says Zatanna, kinda looping one of her arms through Vorpal's, and giving him the widest showwoman's smile in the world, "You wouldn't mind having a drink or two. You know. Get a little bit of the stress out?" she says then. "Talk about life, love, the show - how everything is going?" she says then.
Zatanna was dressed in her 'working' clothes, as this might be someplace she may wish to make a good first impression in. Giving a cheeky salute to some of those in the bar that noticed her, she turns her eyes to the bar proper - as Vorpal was greeted. "See? Some of your friends are already here," says Zatanna. To the bartender, she says, "Anything this guy wants? On me tonight. For me, though? Whiskey," she says, laying some coin on the bar and giving him a wink.
"Zatanna Zatara," she says, flipping off her hat and bowing forward, straightening up and replacing it atop her head. "~Mistress~ of Magic, and World-Famous Magicienne. Pleasant to make your acquantince," she says, gesturing back towards Vorpal. "And this is my assistant..." she says, glancing back towards Vee, and letting him make his own introductions.
The expectation was that he would make his introduction at /least/ as fabulous and flowery as her own. At minimum.
"It's.. not really necessary, Zee, I'm ... " Keith tries to reasure Zee. Truth be told last night he went totally Batman on a group of thugs in Old Gotham. He got so violent that Iceman and Alan Scott were worried.
He hoped Zee hadn't heard about it yet.
"Amanda... it's been so long, it's so good to see you." He says quietly, giving her a smile that's friendly but which is nowhere near his usual self. "This is my boss, Zatanna. Zee, this is an old friend... she took an interest in a total disaster of a rookie and made me less of a disaster."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms Zatara," Amanda says urbanely, a hint of her European accent colouring her tone. "I have certainly heard of you. Amanda Sefton, also known as Daytripper. If you ever decide you want a new venue, let me know. I own the Majestic in Lower Metropolis." Her name isn't nearly as famous as Zatanna's, and she's okay with that. She prefers to fly under the radar. But, the name Daytripper does come up on JLA rosters, so there might be some passing recognition. That, and the Majestic is rumoured to have been the site of a horrible magical massacre one Hallowe'en not so long ago. She took it over sometime after that... and cleaned up the mess.
"It has been a long time, Vorp." Her blue eyes flick to his dark costume. "So... That's a new look. Trying out for a role in the new Star Wars flick as the Dark Lord of the Cat Sith?" Cat Sith. Fae felines with a penchant for bloodshed and wild magic. His subdued demeanour, it seems, isn't lost on her.
The JLA - and Magical Massacres both were pretty high on Zatanna's radar. Vaguely disappointed with Vorpal's delivery, Zatanna makes a mock sigh, waggling her finger at the bartender, crooking him over. "What are you drinking, Vorpal?" asks Zatanna, voice flat with a little bit of firm expectation of him providing a drink name.
"Good that you know each other, then! And it's you who left such an amazing performer for me to snatch up. Maybe I should buy ~you~ a drink then," says Zatanna with a big wink towards Amanda, her smile growing brighter. "And I could swear I heard of Daytripper before. You do magicial consulting with the JLA, right? Were you involved with that whole mess?" she asks, gesturing cloudwards.
A bit of a pause, and the name of Majestic kinda piques her curiousity, Zatanna pursing her lips and chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. "You cleaned the place up, then? Like... you know. Made sure everything is okay down there?" she asks.
"Italian soda, please," Keith says. "Daytripper here is one of the reasons I'm not dead. She did some groovy magic in New Orleans-" the Cheshire suddenly becomes more animated. "I ended up thrown inside the brain of the Loa of the Dead. Man, he stunk to high heaven! You should have been there, Zee. Booster---"
He stops abruptly and a shadow passes over his face. "... how is Kurt?" he says quietly, "I've worried that something may have happened to the two of you. " Subject change, attempted.
Amanda chuckles softly at Zee's assumption. She hasn't performed since she was a girl. And that wasn't magic. That was the circus. "All I did was show Vorpal a few fancy tricks I learned as a child to keep him from getting squished. The last time I was on stage, it was center ring, and I was 18. I'm glad someone reputable as you has taken the scallywag under her wing," she adds, eyeing Vorpal, a sparkle in her blue eyes. "Bike courier was never the right fit."
At the 'shoptalk' question, however, Amanda nods, taking as sip of her wine. "I do," she concedes, "though not closely, of late." She shakes her head when the reference to Darkseid is made, "Unfortunately, I've had a considerable number more arcane crises of my own to deal with." The mention of the Majestic and it's history elicits a nod and a wry smile. "That being chief among them, yes. That said... yes, it's all cleaned up, now. Tight as a drum." Or, rather, as tight as her deal with the (non-evil!) Marquis of Hell could make it.
Her attention flicks back to Vorpal. She watches that darkness descend and a shadow of concern floats behind her own gaze. "Kurt's well. You know how he is; always chasing down trouble." Truthfully? They've kind of been like ships passing in the night, but it's been that way before with him; it will be that way again. She can live with it.
"Bike courier?" Zatanna says with a bit of a laugh. Zee had spied that darkness as well, but the showwoman's smile remains on her lips. When Vee orders what he does, Zatanna gestures to the bartender. "Add vodka and schnapps to that," she says then, turning her eyes back towards Vorpal. Laughter comes to her features when he starts gushing about the Loa thing, only to abruptly cut her laugh off when he mentions Booster.
There was perception in her eyes.
Bringing up her hand, Zee gives Vorpal a bit of a squeeze on his shoulder, nodding her head to him, before her attention drifts back away towards Amanda. "That's good, that's good. No one likes a haunted theater," says Zatanna. Although there was a thoughtfulness dancing in her features then. ...perhaps Zee kinda liked a haunted theater.
Unknowledgeable about the Kurt thing, she remains quiet for that. "I'd like a tour of your theater sometime. Kinda see if I like the fit of it, really," she says, that smile dancing higher.
"Why not go there now?" Keith suddenly pipes up. He had been trying not to think about Tony and Booster today. Push, push, push away. "I'll catch up with the two of you after I'm done with my drink. And Amanda can show you the theater and all that happened."
In truth he wanted just a little for himself. He felt the rage and other things creeping at bay, and he makes an effort to shut the door.
Amanda's ears rise at Vorpal's suggestion. She knows it for what it is, the woman's been around the block often enough to figure that out. "We could," she concedes, giving Zatanna a smile. "I'd be quite happy to show you around." A soft chuckle. "But, I don't guarantee it's not still haunted. Only that the things I've seen haunting it, lately, have been benign."
She regards Vorpal. "You know, I think I still owe you a new obstacle course or two." She eyes Zee briefly. "If it won't offend your mistress, maybe we can schedule some time later this week." She smiles to the Magicienne. "You're quite welcome to accompany him, of course."
The point of that? This impromptu Intervention ain't over.
"He's just an employee - not my familiar or anything. He can walk out anytime he wants," clarifies Zee, the woman having looked startled at the mention of being his mistress. A long pause, and Zatanna kinda gives Vorpal a bit of a grin. "It's magic that I ~rule~ over," she adds, her voice haughty with a bit of confidence as she takes a drink of her whiskey, closing her eyes as it burns through her.
"I'll ~watch~ him do an obstacle course. I keep in shape, but I leave that super-fitness stuff to people like, you know... Batman," she says, watching Vorpal's expression carefully.
"I'll wait for you to finish your drink, Vee. I'm going to be annoying and stuff, I hope you know that," she says, giving Vorpal a wink and another brightening of her smile. "And I'm okay with haunted," she informs Amanda, "I have a couple ghosts floating around Shadowcrest still - gives the place character, right?" she says.
Vorpal smirks and sips his drink. "Very well, as you wi---" he pauses and looks across the room. A man who may or may not be John Constantine?
Why not? He had helped him find Booster earlier. Maybe he can find out if Booster is really dead or not. "Excuse me ladies, I have to see a man about a horse. I'll be back... if you're off to the theater before I come back, I'll follow. I know where the Majestic is." He takes his drink and heads over to that corner of the room.
Amanda makes a soft 'ah' and nods to Zatana. "I wasn't sure if he was your apprentice, or not." Not, mind, that Vorpal strikes her as the type to sit still long enough to learn magic not innate to his own reincarnated being. Still, you never know. She'd have apprenticed him, if she hadn't had to trip it all over time and space, herself. But, she chuckles at the woman's admission that she's effectively not an action hero. "Fair enough, though. Regardless, the offer stands." Then, a chuckle. "And, so you know, the worst of the ghosts at the Majestic aren't so much ghosts as they are fuzzy blue mutants with a penchant for jelly donuts and German beer." Her foster-brother and his time-lost daughter.
As Vorp makes good his escape, however, her eyes track him. Whomever that man is that he's gone to see, it's not John Constantine. She's met John Constantine. She knows. But, the cat does seem very eager to escape. Enough so that she glances to Zatana with a serious expression. "Perhaps it's none of my business, and perhaps it's not something you can tell -- particularly to a virtual stranger, but... What happened to him?"
"I'd teach him if he would learn. But I don't think he would - it takes a bit of dedication - even if he has innate skills. And he does," says Zatanna, kinda swishing her whiskey around, before she points a gloved finger at Amanda. "Chaos magic just ripples from him, you could probably feel it too. I'd be kinda worried, too, about what might come from teaching him something," says Zee, giving a wry little grin. "But he is my apprentice in show business. You know," Zee flicks a hand to the side, the ace of spades appearing in her palm. "...sleight of hand. How to work a crowd. Fancy stuff," says Zatanna.
Zatanna laughs, though, at the admission of the Majestic's haunts. "I have a couple charity cases in my crew, as well. I'm glad for them," she says, a little bit of a smile touching her lips. "And I have a penchant for beer myself, so that seems like it could be okay," she says then.
"I haven't the faintest idea," says Zatanna, the showwoman's smile dropping in a moment, her voice hushed as she whispers to the other woman. "And you've known him before. I think it has something to do with his time on that alien planet - he went to help rescue Superman," she says.
Amanda chuckles, lifting her wine and smiling, "Oh, it does," she says as to the chaos magic. "It's why I'm reluctant to apprentice him, myself. He and I do share certain similarities in strengths; I'm particularly skilled in illusions, and I have considerable acrobatic training. But his, I think, is not the path of the Winding Way, as mine has been. So, I think you've the right of it. Regardless, I'm glad he's found something to do that helps him realize he's worth more than a street sweeper. When I first met him, he was squatting in an abandoned warehouse. If the Maj hadn't been such a mess, then, I'd have moved him in there, instead." She chuckles dryly, "But even a remarkable cat like him shouldn't have to deal with the types of rats I had to burn out of that basement."
As Zatana's voice lowers, however, Amanda places her wine down on the bartop and listens. "Superman." she says with a faint nod of her head. "I haven't heard much of what happened, other than what's been in the news. But, I do remember that incident with the Loa and other times I've seen him fight. He's exceptionally resourceful. But, he's also inclined to considerable self-doubt and second-guessing. At least, he was." Her lips purse as she considers that. "A kid doesn't grow up feeling that way without having been given reason to feel that way." She raises her eyes to meet the magicienne's. "Whatever's going on in his head, now... I'll bet you a full bottle of that whiskey you're drinking there's a connection."
"The Winding Way - that sounds appropriately mystical," says Zatanna Zatara, a little smile dancing up onto her lips. "Have you had a chance to see his illusion ability? It's really rather good," says she, a little smile dancing up the corners of her lips. "Actually - when I found him, he was working as a... uh... um," Zatanna pauses, her brow furrowing. "... clerk or something for a modeling agency. It was an enormous waste of talent," she says.
"Have you seen any of my shows with him in them? They are ~fantastic~ for his presence. When he moves on, it will be such an incredible loss," she says, sounding a bit wistful as she turns her eyes towards him, swishing her whiskey around. "I guess what I meant to say was - I wouldn't take you on that bet. You're absolutely right that the events are connected. I just wish I knew how..." she murmurs, a little frown touching her lips before she turns her eyes back towards Amanda.
"I went along too, but I didn't do anything of note except rescue and heal a few minor wounds," she says. "The real bad stuff happened up in the thick of it. People were..." Zatanna pauses a bit, pursing her lips. "...well, they were dying," she says, her voice drawing low a moment, as if she had discovered on her own, the source of the trouble.
Amanda's brow arches at that last. "Dying," she echoes. She's not surprised people were dying. But... she looks speculatively over at Keith. "You think...?" The questions trails off, but the query in her voice doubtlessly conveys the rest. Amanda, herself, is blessed with remarkably psychological stability. Not everyone is, however. While she's not sanguine about unexpected death, she is highly resilient. Keith, on the other hand... she has no idea how he might react. She knows nothing about his history, really. Or, very little, anyway. "There might be something to that."
Mindful of cat hearing, Zee draws her voice very very low. "That is what I am trying to find out here. Get him a little drunk, and see where his head is at," says Zatanna, "Because he is doing that stoic thing right now? And you know - that one ~never~ ends well," she says, her voice a bit concerned, really. If Vorpal should look her way, though, the smile springs right back unto her lips, and she lifts her glass in a toast to him. "Well... I'd still like to look at your theater. Where did you say it was again?" she asks.
"Lower Metropolis," Amanda says, nodding simply to Zatana's drunk plan. She wouldn't necessarily have tried that plan, actually. It's not a bad one, really. She'll concede that. Her own method, though, is more along the lines of push him to exhaustion and then cuff him upside the back of the head. Zee's method might be more effective.
"Technically, we're still under renovations, and have been for the past year, but that has more to do with the fact I had to spend so much time scraping sentient mould off the basement walls than the time for reconstruction." She chuckles now. "I promise, the slime's gone. So are the other things that go bump in the night." Fuzzy blue elves notwithstanding. "I'd be happy to give you a tour, anytime. The fact is, all I really need to do, now, is book a top-tier act, and I'll have an opening gala I can plan." She eyes the woman, a smile on her face, but relents enough not to be pushy. "I'm sure I'll find one soon."
Zatanna just sorta went with her experience. Which may have been a good thing - and may have been a bad thing. As it was, though - they may never quite find the chance to. A ringing at her hip - a steady beep beep beep of a tone rings in her senses, and she kinda pushes off of the bar, fishing the phone out of her pocket and holding it to her features.
"Well, if you need help with any cleanup... you just let me know, alright? If we're going to be business partners - I would like to help where I can," says Zatanna, giving her a wink. "You can sign me up unofficially for the gala, though - and we can meet up and do all the legal mumbo-jumbo later," she says, "Unless you wanna catch a promise while the whiskey is talking," says Zatanna with a laugh, lifting her drink.
Amanda arches a brow. "Business partners?" So, the woman *is* interested in considering the theatre. She flashes a smile at that, blue eyes satisfied. She reaches into her satchel and pulls a small crystal that thrums with quiet magic. "Call me, when you've a free moment in your schedule. Then, come by my office. I'll show you where I keep the best of my top-shelf stash." (And how hugely warded it is, to keep the Bamfs from stealing it.) "And we'll talk."
She raises her wine glass in salute, then, and lets the self-proclaimed Mistress of Magic take her leave... While she continues to wait for Nicevan Kel and tries not to curse his name in the process.
 
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