Sighing and checking the clock on her phone, it looked like her friends had flaked out on her. Again. She had just wanted to relax, let her hair down and sing some cheesy songs. She rarely had evenings off these days and it had been one of only ones they had all been able to meet up and have fun like the old times. Have a few drinks, sing some songs and catch up. It had been way too long as well.

So here she was, slowly drinking her second beer and giving the occasional bar creep the 'not in the mood' look, she was seriously considering going home. Maybe tonight wasn't meant to be after all, but she wasn't about to leave without getting at least a couple of songs out.

After getting some singing in, and another beer or two down, her mood had improved massively, and she was more than up for a good night. Even the clientele was starting to look like more fun.

Downing her last beer and heading back up for her turn, it seemed about time for a duet. Oh they even had Disneysongs two people could sing. That would be so cool! Turning towards the crowd she asked "Anyone out there fancy a duo? Come on, its time to really get this party going." Really? No one? "There must be someone out there brave enough for little old me."

Rianne enjoyed going out and singing karaoke. Work had made that difficult, her favorite places didn't do karaoke on her nights off. Her schedule had finally shifted around to let her go back to one of the bars she’d use to enjoy singing at. It had been a rough day at work so karaoke was just what the doctor ordered.

The evening was a decently warm one. This meant it was time to break out the sleeveless dresses. She picked a nice flouncy one, grabbed a pair of heels, and was on her way to the bar. On the way there her friend called to say she couldn't make it. Already dressed and on her way, Rianne decided to make the most of the night anyway.

As the evening rolled on at the bar it was clear the scene had changed since she had last been there. The energy was lower. Rianne ordered a drink and watched people sing . There were plenty of them who were quite inebriated and couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. There were also a select few that could really sing. Most were somewhere in the tipsy middle.

Rianne took a turn singing. She’d spent her youth training and was met with some applause when she finished. She also started to receive a quite the attention from a few of the male patrons of the bar. Most resigned to just look at her from across the bar. A couple had tried some cheesy pickup lines and we’re sent on their way. You have to try harder than some canned line if you want Rianne attention.

As the evening went on the crowd became more lively. This is when karaoke was best. Rianne turned to order another drink when she heard someone call from the stage. “Anyone out there fancy a duo? Come on, its time to really get this party going.”

That could be fun. Rianne looked to see if anyone was taking the offer. Didn’t look like it.

“There must be someone out there brave enough for little old me.”

Rianne jumped off the barstool and made her way over. Once she was close enough to not yell over the crowd she called, “I’ll sing with you!” and then climbed up next to the red head. “Howdy. I’m Rianne. What are we singing?” Rianne had seen Disney songs pulled up and the excitement was real.

Cait was so glad she'd opted for a nice pair of jeans and a light blouse, even inside and with the AC on it was warm. The studio lights did not help matters either.

She was almost scared no one was going to take her up on her offer, leave her stranded up their on on her own but someone out there was up for a good time. Smiling at her new friend coming onto the raised area, she offered a hand. "I'm Cait, great to meet you." Whoever her singing saviour was, damn she could pull off a dress. Sometimes she really wished she was comfortable wearing those kind of clothes, they just looked so good. "As for the song, how does this look," she said pointing at Hakuna Matata.

The mood called for something really lively and annoyingly, a lot of the really good duets were slower love song. Hopefully some Lion King would really get the mood just right. It had gotten better, but it needed the right push to get everyone really excited. Yeah, she might not be a singer, but she in her element performing, reading a crowd and nudging the tone down the right path.

"If there's anything you'd prefer though, I'm more than game. I'm just here to have fun."

With Rianne closer now, and not behind the bright lights, she recognised her from earlier. The woman had a very good voice, definitely better than her own. This was going to be so much fun!

Cait introduced herself and held out her hand. Rianne took it in a firm handshake contrasting her girly appearance. Then Cait suggested Hakuna Matata. Since virtually every other great Disney duet was a love song it was perfect. While Rianne had no problem singing one of the other duets to another girl, that was normally to one of your girlfriends not someone you were just meeting.

”Hakuna Matata works great! We just met, might be too soon to profess undying love. Need a couple more songs or drinks before then.” Rianne said with a laugh. ”Disney needs more duets for people who're just friends.”

Rianne grabbed a microphone and looked at Cait. She’d seen her earlier, even when not in cop mode she was good at remembering faces of people who had been in the same room as her. She remembered seeing the girl singing, but hadn’t paid much attention. As such she wasn’t as sure of the girl’s singing ability. This was karaoke though, it didn’t matter. If you could at least do half-way decent and make a show of it you were golden.

”Timon or Pumbaa?”

This would be so much fun.

Grinning at the joke, she felt exactly the same way. It would definetley take a few more drinks until she was ready to fall in love with a person she'd just met. "Oh god yes, they're so fun to sing, I just wish there some more casual ones." Maybe in a bit she could try some of the older ones, maybe get some good old fashioned Mary Poppins, really get good cheer flowing.

Twirling the pic she had dramatically and pretending to think on the matter, she totally knew the answer. Who wouldn't want to be a lonely warthog. "It's got to be Pumba. I just don't have the right amount of snark for Timon." Well, she sometimes could, but it was usually more of an act. That and more than one person knew her for the pure ray of sunshine she felt like she was.

Setting their choice in and getting ready for the music to start, she was kind of glad her friends were so unreliable tonight. As much as she wanted to hang out with them, meeting new potential friends was so much cooler. It just meant more people she could hug. This was looking to be a great night.

The music was beginning and she could barely contain her excitement. Turning back to the crowd, she address Rianne from the corner of her mouth. "So are you ready for a fun time?" 

Cait was Pumbaa, that meant Rianne was Timon. She could do that. While she wasn't all that snarky normally she could be snarky when she needed to. "I think I can bring the snark." She smiled and tried to get into character.

Their selection made the track was queued up. The music started and Rianne had to contain her excitement. She wanted to bounce up and down, but that would be too much. Cait turned to face the audience and Rianne followed suit. "So are you ready for a fun time?"

"You've no idea." Rianne said without looking over.

"Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase." She began the song.

As the song went on Rianne became more and more animated as the song became more lively. She included some touches from the movie, like the pinky in ear clean after Pumbaa's loud note.

When she said, "Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!" She reached out and held her hand in front of Cait's mouth for a moment. And when it came time for the Simba part Rianne went up an octave.

By the end of the song Rianne was spliting between singing to the audience and Cait.

Following Rianne's part, "Hakuna Matata, anit no passin' craze," she even tried to put on the accent and gruffer voice, 

It was one of those songs you just couldn't stand still for and this was her turf. On stage she was somehow more animated and lively than normal, even taking her singing partners cue to do some of the movements from the movie. She especially loved belting out "When I was a young wart, hooooooog!"

Who could be upset when you had such awesome music playing and good vibe going from a crowd. Rianne seemed to really be in the mood. Grinning when she covered her mouth, she gave an apologetic look to the listeners, "Oops, sorry."

This was going to be a great night, she'd found a great new friend, who she responded to enthusiastically whenever they sang at each other.

As the song reached it's end and started to peter off, she gave quite a practiced bow to the audience before turning to Rianne. "That was amazing! You're such a good singer." It would probably be a few minutes before she'd be able to sing again anyways, she might as well get to know the woman. "Fancy a drink, my treat? Can't think of a better way to thank my musical saviour."

Cait was a terrible influence. The worst. The more Cait got into the song the more Rianne got into it. Having been content to be only fairly animated she found herself moving around on the stage getting into the song. Having the best time. Yup, Cait was the worst.

When they were finished Cait exclaimed that it had been amazing and complimented Rianne’s singing. Rianne grinned and replied, ”Yes it was! And you’re not so bad yourself.” Cait then asked if Rianne fancied a drink, and stated she’d pay. ”Who am I to say no to free drinks?” she said as she stepped down off the stage.

Rianne led the way over to the bar where a couple of barstools sat empty just waiting for them. She slid onto one of the barstools. Still grinning from her time on the stage, Rianne ordered a drink from the bartender. She then turned to Cait, ”Friend’s cancel on you too?”

Following Rianne towards the bar and hoping onto the free barstool, she quickly ordered her own drink and put down the money for the both of theirs. A nice cold beer was just what was needed right now after that performance. "Yeah, we were meant to have a big meet up, spend some time together but they all flaked."

It was really annoying, especially with how hectic all of their schedules were but hey, she'd met someone else really cool to hang out with. It was their loss. "But that's their problem, we can have plenty of fun without them." She already had anyways, but Cait had the feeling Rianne would be great fun to hang out with.

Taking a quick swig of her beer to help cool down, she might as well learn a little about her new friend while they waited. "So what is it you do for a living then, if you don't mind me asking?" It was always so cool finding out what people did, what made them tick and why. She was also really curious considering how well built Rianne was, maybe her job was something physical?

She was pretty glad she had someone to sit with for another reason as well. With the two of them chatting it kept most guys away and as fun as they could be, she wasn't really in a flirty mood at the moment.

Cait’s friends had flaked on her. That was never fun. Hopefully they’d extended the courtesy of a phone call or text saying they couldn’t make it. ”The friend I was supposed to meet called to say she couldn’t make it while I was headed over. I was already dressed and out the door. Can’t not go at that point.” Rianne’s drink arrived and she held it up in a toast to Cait. ”To all the fun our friends will be sad they missed.” And she noticed that Cait had ordered a beer while Rianne had opted for a fancier, frozen drink. While beer was nice, margaritas had tequila.

Rianne took a drink and Cait asked what she did for a living. Setting her drink down, Rianne said, ”Not at all. I’m an NYPD officer. Part of the Emergency Support Unit.”

Some people had negative reactions when they found out Rianne was a police officer. Some people were just flat confused, a blond girl in a flouncy dress wasn’t the mental image many people had of one of New York’s finest. And then there were people that wanted to buy drinks or meals to thank her for doing what she did. And everything in between.

”How about you?” Rianne asked before drinking more.

She could agree with that sentiment. Why shouldn't you enjoy yourself after getting dolled up and were already out the door? Friends or no friends, at that point you just have to have to fun. Raising her own drink in response she just had to drop the Gaelic cheer in. "Slangevar!"

Rianne being a police officer certainly explained her general good fitness. It was also really cool. Yes, she may or may not be flaunting the law as a member of the X-Men, but she really respected the work they did. People as selfless as to put themselves in danger for others always had her admiration. "That's so cool, what made you want to become an officer? Oh and what is it the Emergency Support Unit actually does? I don't think I've ever had it explained to me"

Knowing she was an officer did mean Cait was going have to be even more on her toes about her other job. It wasn't exactly legal.

Smiling at the question and taking a swig before answering, "I'm a professional musician actually. I play in a band with a few others and we do bars and clubs, that kind of thing." This was the part she liked, peoples reactions were always so interesting. Her favourite was when a suave gentlemen suddenly started fan-girling about her band.

What made her want to become an officer? It wasn't exactly an easy question. There was of course a sense of duty, a desire to do good, but there was more to it. "I wanted to help people who have no one they can turn to. I wanted to be able to make a difference in people's lives. I felt the best way I could was to stand on that thin blue line between order and chaos."

Rianne drank some of her margarita before answering the second question. It was the easy one. "The ESU is a part of the Special Operations Division. Every officer is cross-trained in multiple disciplines to handle police and rescue work. SWAT is part of the ESU. We handle counter-narcotic, counter-terrorism operations, and HAZMAT among other things. I am a sniper on a Special Response Team. Basically I roll around in a squad car and when a call comes in I can get to the scene faster than a SWAT team can."

Cait was a professional musician. That was cool! Not that she was a musician, anyone with a 6-string could claim they were a musician. You had to be paid to be a professional. While playing bars and clubs wasn't the same as Madison Square Garden, all bands had to start somewhere. "That is so cool! What kind of music do yall play? When is your next show I'd love to check it out!" In excitement she just managed to not knock over her margarita.

Rianne loved going out to clubs playing music. Dancing was one of her passions in life.

It was really interesting to hear why people were self sacrificing, why they put themselves on the line. Especially considering how dangerous New York was, with more than regular thugs and dangers they also had rampaging mutants from time to time. She was also fascinated by Riannes' explanation of her job, it sounded amazing. "So, you went for the easy option when you joined," she joked, pretty impressed by the description she'd been given. "Seriously though that's really impressive Rianne. You must have some pretty serious training to be at that point."

Grinning at the enthusiasm she got, it was always fun to explain her job to other people. "We generally play rock and pop music that's either popular at the time, or fits the general feeling we are going for that night. It's mainly us getting hired when a place wants some live music for an event or to bring some money in. Rather than spend all our effort trying to get signed by a label, we've tried to build a good, solid reputation in the industry and it's been good to us."

"As for our next show, pick a night and we're probably playing," pulling out a small diary she showed Rianne the various dates and times they were booked. As a rule they usually worked at least five nights a week, if not more. "If you are wanting to see us play," she started, pulling out a card with her number on it, "give me a ring. I'd love to see you at one." It would be so awesome to have Rianne go to a show. She loved friends being able to see her play.

"Sometimes we even play more traditional folk music, if that's more your speed. Some of the Irish bars like getting the old world feel in."

Rianne smiled at Cait's joke about her taking the easy option. And she couldn't help but laugh a little. "You're too kind. And yeah, I do have a lot of serious training under my belt. I spend almost half my work week training." Rianne held her arms in front of her and flexed her triceps. "This is more from training in my free time."

While Cait's band wasn't a band in the sense Rianne normally thought of them, recording records and doing shows every four or five days, it was no less exciting. They were a band with a sound plan on making money now instead of hoping they had a unique sound and could get lucky. Or in the case of Nickelback, just get lucky and sell the same tune a hundred times. Cait also pulled out a card with her number on it. Rianne took it and produced a cracked phone. Smart phones just could never handle the strain she put them under. "I'm more of a country girl, but I like to think I have an eclectic taste. And I'd love to hear yall play! Maybe I can catch a couple different ones. Especially one where you play folk music."

She transferred the number from the card to her phone as she spoke and then sent a text so Cait would have her number as well.

Howdy, it's Rianne!

While all this was going on karaoke had continued on behind them. A new song kicked off and as Rianne opened her mouth to speak she winced. Someone was singing Don't Stop Believing by Journey and they were horrid. It took them all of one measure to hit a note so bad it almost physically hurt Rianne to listen to.

One eye closed, a look like she'd tasted something sour on her face she said, "I'm not drunk enough for that guy's singing." She reached for her drink and slid her phone away.

Rianne leaned in conspiratorially toward Cait, her drink held close to her face. "We may have to go show everyone how it's done again. They seem to have forgotten." Then without leaning back she stuck the straw in her mouth and drank.

Damn the girl had muscles. It was really impressive, and cool. And awesome. Maybe she could get some training tips from her, Cait was always looking for better ways to keep fit. "Whatever you're doing, it's working. You look amazing! Can't help but make a girl feel inferior, especially with how good your dress looks on you. Never been able to pull them off myself." There were some disadvantages to knowing Becca, the woman was a walking excuse for the young Scots last little teenage inferiorities.

Oh it was so happening, Rianne didn't just want to see them play, she was actually interested in their folk stuff. Too many friends didn't even try to listen to it, meeting people that did always made her day. Her phone going off her smile went to full on grin mode again. Yeah, today was shaping up really great from her perspective. Quickly saving the number, making sure to spell the name right, she sent her own reply back.

Awesome! So not going to abuse this. At all.

One thing with karaoke, was as awesome as it was to get people singing in front of a crowd, some people can not sing. Not that she'd stop anyone trying but sometimes her musical training kicked in and would not stop cringing at flat notes and missed time cues. Then again, get a few more drinks in her and she would be happily screeching along with them.

"Is it even possible to be drunk enough?" Probably if she was being honest. Her last adventure with vodka had been an, interesting night. "Maybe I need something stronger than beer at least," she added, taking a long swig from her bottle.

Cait was not about to say no to more singing with Rianne, it had been so much fun before, she could only imagine how ridiculous it could get. "Oh you are so on. You're picking the song this time though, can't let me have all the fun on that front." Seeing peoples musical choices always perked her up, got her really interested. It was like looking directly at a part of someones personality.