“Dat sounds like a lot of fun...My san-ily was dull, dey ne’er had shindigs like dat.”

"That's unfortunate. Sounds like something you need to fix."

While he spun her, his thoughts drifted to his family. It was unlikely he'd be able to travel outside the country as he was. He wouldn't be able to go back to Peru, he was stuck with ground travel. So the family left there...well he wouldn't be able to join any of the celebrations there. He forced the thoughts down, concentrating on the here and now.

Victor laughed along with her, the contagiousness of joy was something he loved in dancing. You couldn't be mad and dancing. It was freedom and expression, a sensation that he missed dearly. To have a partner with him was a confidence booster too, even if she was inexperienced. It was nice to share with someone. It made him feel warm, not burning like fire, no. A happy warmth, just below the skin.

“Whoa, you twirl nee like it was not’ing. Dat was cool.”

He grinned, practically purring with joy. "I could do it again if you want."he chuckled. His own toothy grin must have seemed strange or threatening. Or maybe not, Jack seemed pretty comfortable with him, for that he was grateful. "You're not too heavy for me. Hell, I might be able to lift you." Though the likelihood of dropping her probably increased with him being pretty drunk. It'd be a dumb but fun move to attempt.

Despite the two being very drunk whilst dancing, they were attracting the attention of a few spectators. It probably wasn't often that they saw mutants like them dancing or having a good time. Such visible mutations often kept people like them off the dance floor. But for Victor he didn't really care. This wasn't just a matter of having fun. This was part of his tradition, it was part of him. "I have to thank you for dancing with me. It feels wonderful to be moving like this again." Sappy perhaps, but it was the truth.

>> "That's unfortunate. Sounds like something you need to fix."

Drunken-Jack!Brain didn’t know what to make of that statement. She wasn’t in-touch with her family, but that wasn’t really a lighthearted conversation to have while dancing. Unless Victor meant that Jack, personally, needed more excitement in her life. Which was both true, and not true. She’d hold onto this evening for what it was, sincerely doubting that she’d have many other nights like this.

>> "I could do it again if you want. You're not too heavy for me. Hell, I might be able to lift you."

The two of them were grinning like idiots, but Jack couldn’t find it in herself to stop smiling. When Victor threatened “lifting” the prawn, Jack quickly shook her head, chanting a stream of, “Oh, no no no no. No, no no.”

Her protests were interspersed with chuckling, though. There was nothing stopping him. The prawn wriggled in his arms, as if contemplating making her escape from the impending “lift”, but did so half-heartedly. Teasingly.

“Dis shrin’ not nnn-ade sore listing, no sir,” she protested. Jack had forgotten herself, in a way. She and Victor weren’t two mutants on the dancefloor, but two newfound friends, sharing a dance. Sharing a memory. The nearby spectators went unnoticed, for she was too absorbed in the moment to give them the time of day, “Like to kee’ nigh seat on duh ground!”

>> "I have to thank you for dancing with me. It feels wonderful to be moving like this again.”

“I see why you nissed it,” Jack confessed, “My ‘leasure.”

The song was slowing, and so did they.

“Again?” Jack pleaded, eagerness fringing her tone. Why the hell wouldn’t they keep going? The alcohol in her veins bequeathed Jack with an abnormal daringness. Venturing where no prawn had ever gone before—the dancefloor. Cutting the rug with an unusual yet interesting man, to the sound of a live jazz band. What a night.

Her chant of, “Oh, no no no no. No, no no.”, interspersed with chuckles and giggles made him think her hesitance was more fear of an unknown than fear of being harmed. This was her first time dancing after all, he didn't blame her. But, what better time to get the full experience than now. At least that's what Victor's drunken brain encouraged.

“Dis shrin’ not nnn-ade sore listing, no sir. Like to kee’ nigh seat on duh ground!”

Her protests were noted and promptly ignored. Still, when Victor did lift her, it was little more than a hop. She was lighter than him, but that thick chitin carried a bit more weight than he had thought. To do a full lift, well, they'd probably have to be a little less drunk first of all.

“I see why you nissed it, my ‘leasure.”

Her words were a little hard to decipher at this point. The alcohol bubbling inside of him slurring the words together, or maybe she was slurring, or maybe both. But he didn't mind too much. It was just so good to be up and dancing with someone again. Even as the music slowed and their movements slowed to match, it was a wonderful sensation.

“Again?”

She hardly needed to ask, there was no reason for them to stop. He spun her again, gentle and slow this time. He would dance like this as long as she wanted. It felt like this motion was something that they both desperately wanted, no, needed right now. But as with all things, even with all the time they had spent matching movement to music, the night was coming to a close. Alcohol worked from his system, leaving behind only a slight buzz he grinned at her, "Would you like me to walk you home?"

((Hope that's good, sorry for the super late reply! Sorry, also, for the lack of dialogue. Let me know if you want me to edit.))

The dizziness in Jack's skull made it difficult to string thoughts together. Her brain seemed absorbed in a state of "weeeee, this is fun~" and there was very little else going on. Sure, the buzz wound-down with time, but the whole event felt so surreal. The dancing... the spinning... the being in someone's arms. Jack, the actual and completely sober Jack, would never dance with someone else-- this the prawn assured herself of, for the third or maybe fourth or fifth time that evening.

>> "Would you like me to walk you home?"

Jack chirred, in coy confusion. Why? As if one buzzed giant wasn't enough, now they were going to have two buzzed behemoths staggering their way home.

"Would hate to trou'le you," Jack danced around the answer, "'ut I'd like it..."

The dance had been full of missteps-- and Jack, so caught up in coyness, forgot to move her feet. She felt the pitch of gravity-at-play, and compensated by taking a step back. Sure, Victor probably would've caught her, but the step was reflexive. Said reflexive step was planted atop another patrons foot.

Pop!

There was a scream of alarm and surprise, and Jack recoiled, startled. The music sputtered to a halt. That was the problem with being such a massive creature on such small feet. What typically took a purposeful stomp atop the arch of a foot, only took a small misstep at Jack's size. She turned just in-time to see the man crumple, his hands fluttering to the crunched in-step.

The scream snagged the attention of the other patrons present present. No one stopped to ask what had happened. Their eyes drew towards the two massive figures, accusatory, while others fixated on the bandana-wearing fellow who rolled on the floor.

"That insect freak attacked Mikey!"

Other bandana-wearing fellows were surging through the crowd. Sh-t, a gang. Jack tucked her hands around one of Victor's massive forearms, her heart sinking to her stomach. Fight or flight. They had to get out of here.

"Accident!" Jack insisted, "Accident, sorry!"

They weren't listening. And, in the low lights of the club, Jack noticed the metallic glint of a knife in one of their hands.

"Now go, yes?" Jack whispered to Victor, still tugging at his arm.


((Feel free to escalate the fight as you'd like. :3c ))

It was nice to finally have a friend, especially one his own size. One he didn't have to worry that his looks were evoking more pity than love, one that he didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting, one that was just...fun to be around. Hopefully he'd remember this the following morning. Hell, he hoped he'd remember to get her phone number before going home himself.

"Would hate to trou'le you, 'ut I'd like it..."

He grinned at that, forgetting that a full faced grin from him might be misconstrued as threatening. But she didn't seem to mind, she seemed rather happy with him. A pleasing idea, one he hoped remained when the alcohol finally wore off.

It was then, as the song wound down and they were doing one final turn when Jack seemed to forget how gravity worked, misstepping and falling, only to step on someone's foot when she moved to compensate. He had been a second too slow to catch her and he heard the crushing pop of the man's foot that had been in the way.

The scream jolted everything to a halt and the rest of the room was filled with murmuring when the music cut out. Jack was quick to rightly claim it was an accident. After all, people had been watching them all night, they hadn't been getting into trouble with anyone up until this point. But apologies didn't seem good enough for the men they had apparently insulted.

"That insect freak attacked Mikey!"

Jack was tugging on his arm, begging to go but as intoxicated as he was...well, he couldn't let that just slide. Especially when it was likely that they'd jump them outside the bar. If these wannabe thugs even let them get that far. So instead he snarled, rising to his full height and letting some heat steam out the back of his throat.

"Oye cabrón, back off! She didn't do anything wrong!" He didn't see the knife, nor did he very much care. They had ruined his good time and scared his friend, either they backed off or got burned for their trouble.

Jack shook her head animatedly, an anxious whirr in her throat. Victor was squaring-up, shifting to the offensive. It made the prawn feel small. Logically, she'd done nothing wrong. They could just call the paramedics, get the man taken care of, she could go home... unless they sued...

>> "Oye cabrón, back off! She didn't do anything wrong!"

Steam rolled through Victor's exposed teeth.

"Victor, no..." Jack pleaded, sensing his agitation. It didn't matter that it was an accident. Not to them. They were already rearing for a fight, she could see it in the way they carried themselves. Fidgetty hands, one of which was clasped around a knife-- sneers-- where the f*** were the security personnel in this club? Jack's hold on Victor's arm slackened, her gaze swimming around the room.

Prompted by the prawn's forward motion, the knife-wielding man lunged forward-- instinct took hold. Jack saw the knife and moved to disarm him, but the alcohol in her system made her clumsy. Her massive hand knocked his arm without dislodging the knife. Eyes locked. F***. Momentum in his favor, he swung the blade at her. Cool metal sliced the leathery flesh of her hand.

An entirely knew instinct took hold. Her uninjured primary hand curled into a fist and connected with the man's stomach.

He dropped like a sack of flour, coughing.

The floor had descended into chaos. She'd never been in a brawl like this before. From Jack's perspective (and perhaps Victor's) she had disarmed a man, but from others, it likely seemed as though Jack had just attacked a human man. Whatever the case, it was a frenzy of motion. People getting out of the way of the commotion, people trying to get into the brawl.

The anxious whirr that had been resting at the back of Jack's throat, had now climbed to a terrified pitch. She sounded like a cornered cat, yowling and hissing. She kept the injured hand close to her chest, and stepped behind Victor. Not to hide, but to cover him. No one could attack from behind if you were back-to-back.

Was this what zombie apocalypses were like? Mindlessly grabbing arms, trying to do harm, trying to separate, trying to... something?? Regardless if it were a hand outstretched in an attempt to help or trying to snare Jack, the prawn deflected it wih her uninjured palm open. The first punch had been reflexive. She didn't want to break any more arms tonight.

Besides, her arms were long enough that, a simple openhanded slap could be dealt before their assailants could reach her.

"Victor, no..."

Jack's voice trailed off, he could hear it in her tone. She could see how this was going to go. They weren't about to let two mutants step out without a fight. Well, if they wanted a fight they would get one and regret it. He would have helped defend Jack if two others didn't try to tackle him. He was able to grapple one with two hands but with the second coming at him from the side, he only had hand to stop him.

Unfortunately with the alcohol burning in his system, his movements were slowed. The knife cut into his arm instead. Victor roared in pain and in a panic took the man he was currently grappling, tossing him at the knife wielder. He huffed, snarling and ready to go after them, only to be distracted by a bottle being tossed at his head. The glass shattered on impact.

Steam streamed from his mouth as he turned slowly towards the other attacker. Jack was at his back, he didn't have to defend from there. He roared, showing his teeth before he let fire fill his throat and shoot forward. He wasn't about to hold back if these guys weren't going to back off. He wanted them to know they picked the wrong mutants to pick a fight with.

The burst of flames tipped the uproar into an absolutely chaotic flurry of motion. Revelers stumbling out of the line of fire, screaming. Some people hurriedly patting singed clothes. Everyone running to get out of the way, even before the sprinklers kicked-on. The brawlers lost their steam, joining the fray. Jack whirled just as the sprinklers kicked-on, her eyes wide.

Sh--. Sh--, sh--, sh--. This was bad. An unfortunate table didn't get out of the way quickly enough, and now sat smouldering in the chaos.

"Gotta go," Jack announced, touching Victor's arm, "Now."

Before the crowd clears, at least. Once the crowd dissipated, they'd probably get subdued by any/all of the security staff. Jack would bet money that they had an Adapted on the staff, too, and she didn't want to give them the time to show up.

The prawn surged into the crowd, towards the smouldering table. She closed her uninjured hand around an undamaged corner and punched the center of the table, splintering the wood and dislodging a sizeable chunk. It would've been damaged anyways. She'd made note of a back door during an earlier visit to the bathroom, and there were likely to be less people to obstruct their flight from there. Jack ran back towards Victor, tucking the wood under one arm, and grabbing one his arms with her uninjured hand.

"We go," she said decisively, trying to pull him towards the back exit. Should he allow her to, she'd lead him to the door that led them outside, through the rapidly-clearing crowd of clubgoers.

Victor snarled as the sprinklers kicked on, the water was freezing and almost instantly leeched the heat from his skin. He was tempted to attack the sprinklers as he had in the past. But Jack's hands on his arms halted any attempt at fire blasting the offensive water spouts. He tensed under her touch for a moment, readying to defend himself.

"Gotta go, now."

She wasn't wrong, the people around them were stampeding out of the bar. Perhaps the fired had been a really bad idea. But then again, the gang members had fled as well and they had gotten away with only few scraps. Well they might be a little deeper than scraps. Man his uncle was going to be so mad when he got home. He hadn't meant for things to get out of hand.

"We go,"

Numbly he nodded and followed her lead out of the bar. Once outside in the chill of the air, he took her hand and led her down the street. "L-let's go to my place, we should be safe there." He didn't know if he could expect her to follow him home but he didn't want to get lost going to her place and splitting up didn't seem like a good idea right now. His home was further out of the city, middle-class, they'd be safer. Though if she decided she didn't want to, he wouldn't make her.

The cold air hit, a harsh wave of realization against the prawn's carapace. Jack shivered, from her feet to the tips of her antennaes. Sh-t. What did you get yourself into, Jacky? Jack unfurled her hand, which made a sticky sound as her fingers loosened from the steadily bleeding gash. Needed to take care of that, too. No hospitals. People would be looking for them, they needed to hide. Maybe the park? Parks were big and poorly lit in certain sections, easy to hide-out in.

>> "L-let's go to my place, we should be safe there."

Chirrrrrr. Jack nodded. "Yeah. Hide dere. Oss streets. Good sinking."

A light breeze chased them down the alley as the two departed. It stung the prawn's hand, so she closed her fingers over the wound, wincing. Stupid, stupid, stupid. A closed fist adjusted he singed shard of table beneath her arm.

Another shiver danced up Jack's spine, before the grim realization that she'd forgotten her coat crashed over her. Well, no going back now.

Victor pulled Jacky in close, spending some of his heat to keep her warm against the bracing cold. Just a little longer now and they'd reach the subway. It was faster than walking at this point and he didn't want to stay above ground too long. Not with the possibility that cops would be looking for them. He didn't want to risk getting arrested for a fight they didn't start.

Okay, he had definitely finished it but that was only because they wouldn't back off. Both he and Jack were bigger and stronger than those morons and they still picked a fight. Whatever, he'd just be glad to get home and sleep this night off. Hopefully Jack wouldn't mind the kids too much.

He led her down to the subway and onto the next train. His uncle's house was in a more suburban area, further from the problem areas of New York. Thankfully that meant they were less likely to get into another confrontation. And when they got to the neighborhood, he was easily recognized. Even at this time of night people were out and about.

"Um, there's a couch you can sleep on or we could set something up in my room. It'd be a little cozy though, not a lot of space. Or I could take the couch and you can take my bed."he suggested, hesitating at the door, no longer as hazy with the alcohol now burning out of his system. He wondered if Jack was feeling more clear headed or if the alcohol had yet to leave her system.