Perfectly painted rose gold nails toyed with a silver necklace on a dainty chain. Light pink skin brushed against its own kind as legs crossed, and golden eyes with black sclera stared boredly out of the window into the night. Ash-Lee was one of eclectic tastes; indeed they could be found in the diviest of dives, the highest class hotel dining rooms, the most devious of backrooms, and the sleeziest of stripclubs. Today, they'd awoken in the afternoon at the house of the last man they'd spent the night with, left while he was at work, and found themselves in the mood for something... luxurious. 

So, they found a bar where socialites tended to sip high class brandy, talk about their hunting trips in the safari, and get just drunk enough to make deals they really shouldn't. Unfortunately, them being of such eclectic tastes meant they often lost interest in something that sounded like a good idea at the beginning of the night. Bobbing their long, luscious leg atop the other lightly, they frowned, and took another sip of their aged whiskey. 

They should have gone to a biker bar. At least then the people staring at her from across the room might have interesting stories to tell. The crowd here so far seemed slim pickings. They all liked the same things, hated the same things. Vanilla. Boring. Well, they didn't have any money to pay for this drink right now, so they may as well start working on someone to ditch with the bill.

Maybe an investment banker who thought spanking was daring and bold. There were probably ten or so of them around. Goodness, it was only eight, too. The night was much too young to start off so cripplingly boring. Ope, bathroom. Standing, they walked their, fairly tall at the moment, feminine form toward the bathroom, heels clopping against the ground lightly. 

A moment later, they stared in the mirror, adjusting a few things here or there to enter @#$%boy pickup mode. Chest a little bigger. Eyes a little rounder, innocent, innocent, how could I ever do you wrong? Horns smaller. Hair... hrmm... Lighter pink, nearly blonde. Pouty little lips. There we go. A doll. There was that slight moment of looking in the mirror, transformation complete, in which Ash just... stared.

Was this a little sad? Eh, #$^& it, things could be sad and fun at the same time. They walked out of the bathroom, and stood for a moment in order to scan the place for the perfect mark.

Spencer panic ran straight down the alleyway and when it ended in a fence, effectively hemming her in to a dead end, her anxiety peaked. This was not the most glamorous part of her life, she had to admit, as she tested locked doors in a trash-strewn alleyway. But victory was hers when a posh looking bus boy opened a door to remove a trash bag. There wasn't time to ask permission, she pushed her way in with a bumbling lie of an excuse about having a bathroom emergency that neither of them believed. But that wasn't the important part. The important part was that she took steps to get inside and he let her.

She checked over her shoulder as she disappeared inside.

Maybe it worked. Maybe it would work.

"Thanks." She gave the busboy a squeeze on the hand and took a second to inspect the hallway between the back door and the bathroom. Already she knew she didn't belong. Wallpaper as fancy as a luxe hotel topped wood paneling and decorations, even in this back hallway. Decorations.

Spencer fluffed her hair and re-tied the knot that had come out from her tank top. That was fashion. To do anything less was just sloppy. She also pulled her oversized cardigan up over both shoulders, instead of just one. Black flats and black jeans? She considered those neutral enough, even here. People wouldn't be looking at her shoes, she decided. Deep breath. Shoulders back. Spencer led with her hips as she walked, not to the bathroom, but straight to the bar. Hopefully she'd managed to go from 'disheveled mess' to 'artfully unkempt'.

"Lemon drop martini, please."

Let's see... That one liked numbers with lots of zeroes. Potential. That one liked talking to his secretary. Could always look sort of like his secretary. This one over here liked clubbing baby seals. Why was he thinking about that right now? Ew, no. There were two gentlemen across the bar that were talking to each other. Nice suits. Oh, from the likes swimming about they were into business philosophy. Not vapid. Promising. Let's see, what else was th-

Hello. Golden eyes blinked a few times as someone walked in from the back.

~One of these things is not like the others~

She looked out of place. Very much so. She didn't like that she looked out of place, but also seemed to like that she'd pulled it off well enough. She liked that she'd... perhaps, escaped something? Interesting. Ash's curiosity was piqued.

Yep. Change of plans. Screw all of that other stuff, she was going to go talk to the curvy girl in the cardigan who seemed to be leaking dramatic potential.

Clopping quietly on over, the devil slid confidently up to the seat next to the woman, looking to the bartender first. "Another scotch, my dear."

Crossing their legs, they looked Spencer's way, and smiled a bit. "Have you ever walked into a room, and immediately noticed that there was one person in it that was much, much more interesting than anyone else there?"

They glanced about the establishment, scanning the room full of men in suits and their stream of boring interests. Then they looked back to the attractive woman who looked just enough of a mess to wonder if she'd done it on purpose. Ash-Lee wanted to know more.

The bartender started to ask for Spencer's ID, she was sure that was the question since it was the question he should be asking. Knowing that she'd left her purse, including wallet with ID, in her office Spencer changed her face to be expectant and maybe even eager. She never truly understood why that worked, but people trusted Spencer. When she made an effort to look like an open book, they often gave her way too much free reign. As if how good she looked determined how good she'd be.

Their mistake.

The bartender shook his head and went about making the drink.

Or maybe Spencer was just reading too far into things and she looked every day as old as she was.

Someone joined her, that seemed unavoidable, but Spencer made an effort to relax regardless. She'd done it. There was no way a certain someone was going to think she was hiding out here.

> "Another scotch, my dear."

A woman? That got Spencer's attention, and once she looked... it was real hard to stop looking. All her breath left her in a whuff that sounded something like "Cotton candy wet dream." Because Spencer was looking at exactly that. Mutant, for sure, right? Trouble, she reminded herself. Mutants always meant trouble. And fun...

"You must be talking about that guy right there-" Even knowing it was rude to point, Spencer pointed at the most bland looking man in the room: tight fade haircut, suit, boring ass tie. He smacked of tennis elbow and was sitting alone. "It's the quiet ones you gotta look out for."

He noticed Spencer pointing and had the self-awareness to look behind him to be sure she hadn't been pointing at someone else which made a rolling laugh bubble out from Spencer. She let her eyes linger to let him know that he wasn't off the menu if he didn't want to be.

The bartender came back with an amber liquid for the cotton candy girl. It looked like a hard drink and made Spencer envious that she'd gone the safe route with the sour-sweet cocktail. This establishment likely had the kind of liquor that went down smooth and could get a tight wad like Mr. Bad Tie to relax in half a minute. Spencer proffered her drink for a little alcoholic klink. "I'm Spencer."

Did she... like to get away with things? Oh my, what did we have here? A fellow minx flitting about? That was okay. Ask liked to get away with things, too. She didn't like someone joining her, but she hadn't looked yet. She... Didn't like the thought of that person finding her?

Odd.

The questioning look on their face was interupted by the familiar thrill of someone turning to see Ash for the first time, and liking what they saw. Chills, every time.

Being labeled a cotton candy wet dream drew a giggle, and they silently chastized themselves for breaking character. They were suave, they were smooth. Untouchable. That was hilarious. The cascade of dislikes and likes about mutants were certainly... Curiosity piquing. She didn't like trouble, she did like fun... Or... Did she like fun trouble? They were painted a pink shade of intrigued.

"Oh, yes. Look at him. A treasure in the flesh. God's gift to monotony." They watched the man as well. He liked being noticed, but... Did he also dislike being noticed? One of those types that went to bars to tell themselves they were there to pick people up, but in reality they really just wanted to tell themselves they tried?

It was those types that Ash often went for. People who went into the night with little expectation, not expecting the single best night of their life. Just this second, however, they'd caught sight of something shinier. Their drink arrived, and they gave the bartender a wink as they accepted it, and held it up to lightly clink the offered beverage.

This was one of those points that tended to be critical in defining how a night went. She was asking for a name. Eyes scanned the woman for a long moment, before they made the call. "Ash-Lee." They were going to be themselves tonight.

"Tell me, Spencer, what brings an underdressed, but beautiful and charismatic woman like you to a place like this? If you tell me, I'll tell you."

God's gift to monotony? Spencer surreptitiously assessed the woman again. ”With those looks? You could be his god for a night.” Longer, if she was into grooming. Spencer found that sort of thing distasteful, but it was likely more to do with her attention span. Mr. Bad Tie looked average, sure, but average was perfectly moldable. A blank slate in bed was as good as any toy…

> “Ash-Lee”

There was a slight pause in the middle, like two names slapped together instead of one Ashley. Or maybe she was a corn fed, southern bred Aishleighu or something. Those so oft over endowed with the gifts of the Lord were from the South, in Spencer’s not so humble experience. She was still chewing over potential spellings when Ash-Lee posed a question to her.

She almost told her, but with not knowing her at all, Spencer heaved a sigh. ”You’ll tell me why I’m here?” She deliberately misunderstood. ”This ought to be good. Okay. I’ll bite. Why’s an under dressed, but beautiful and charismatic woman here of all places?”

An eyebrow raised just a bit as a devilish smile graced Ash-Lee's features. "Oh, I could, but why stop at one? Why not all of them? Why not you? Why not all of you at once?" A poignant pause, and then shrug, to dimiss the thought. They could tell she was into the idea of the blank slate man. She liked something she could turn into something else?

It was ineresting, their power. They couldn't read minds, after all, so exploring someone's thoughts was more like a game of charades played out by actors who could only tell them likes and dislikes.

They tilted a head at the 'misunderstanding'. They didn't like to give things away? Ah, well, why not make a it a beautiful misunderstanding? Ash leaned back, giving the woman an appraising look before lifting their drink to lip level and swirling it a little.

"Well... I've stated the obvious... Beautiful, underdressed... You came from the back room, though I don't think you work here." They took a sip, and then set the drink down again, placing a thoughtful finger to their luscious lips, before looking to her intently, and speaking confidently. "You look like a girl who is running from something... Someone?"

They didn't have a lot to go on, just that odd dislike from earlier.

Golden eyes watched carefully to gage a reaction. Did she like that? It could go either way, really. Still, they were having fun. A quick scan of the room Ash what they already know. "We are the center of attention, I hope you know... Two beautiful beings surrounded by hungry men."

Why not more was such a mutant sentiment. Why not the whole room? Well, maybe Ash-Lee could handle a whole room, but Spencer couldn't handle too much at once. Too many people and she tended to go a bit wild. It was better to stay small. Stick with one. She could handle one. Ash-Lee shrugged the entire room off. Spencer just needed one, one to pay and one to have a care for the evening. If Ash-Lee was it, then so be it. Spencer was neither picky nor terribly discerning, not that Ash-Lee was a compromise in any department that vas visible to the naked eye.

She let Ash-Lee assess her while she gave a secret smile to a guy across the room. She didn't go as far as licking her lip and beckoning him over with the crook of her finger, but she let him see a promise in her eye that may or may not be there. It was better to have a back up.

"Who here isn't running from something?" Or someone. She indulged a chill that ran up her spine when Ash-Lee mentioned that those around them were hungry.

"And what do you aim to do with your attention?" Spencer let e questio hang. It was, however, short-lived when she heard the door of the establishment opened. She told herself wouldn't look, she wouldn't look. She wasn't gonna...

Spencer looked.

And immediately went into damage control mode. There was a half wall between him and her. She was likely safe unless he made it more than half way into the room. She pulled her drink closer to herself so that he wouldn't even have a chance of spotting her fingers. He could ID her just from her fingers, she'd learned...

what they wished to do-

And then quite the barrage of dislikes emanated from their new friend. She didn't like the thought of being identified, she didn't like him. He was here. Ah. This was who she was running from. Ash stared at her for a beat. They seemed tense. Afraid. This wasn't safe. They didn't know this woman... Why not raise a hand and say, 'over here!' and maybe the man after her would be just as fun.

No... A frustrated lip bite told them they were going to do the right thing. Annoying. "You owe me, darling." Poof~

A sudden outflowing of pink smoke, sweet to the smell and easy to breathe would flow out from them as they stood, stepping away from the bar, and leaving the other woman obscured for a moment. Their heart was beating rapidly as they dinged a fork against their glass to get the attention of the room.

"Hello boys~ I find myself in a bit of a jam that I hope someone can help with! You see, I am entirely too bored, and my drink is getting empty! So... What do you say we get a party started? The first person to jump up here and buy the first round for everyone gets a special prize~" Men did often love to prove their worth through their wallets. Why not make it a bit of a competition.

Well dressed men started stepping up toward the bar, and the front of the room was suddenly filled with standing men trying to get in on the action. The smoke would drift about the room, clearing enough for Ash to duck down among the crowd of standing men, and look to Spencer.

"Who am I hiding you from exactly, dear? I'd rather not get myself in too deep if I can help it." They stood again and spoke loudly. "Boys, boys! Everyone can buy a round! There's enough of me to go around!" They tried to sneak a peek at the man she was hiding from. Was it some obsessive stalker? Maybe one of these impending knights in shining armor could take care of him?

Three of the scariest words a mutant might utter together.

You owe me.

Any denial died on Spencer's lips because Ash-Lee turned away on her mission to save the unsalvageable and then she... she poofed. There was no other term to describe what happened. She was like a Narutard with his first smoke bomb. It was everywhere. But was it everywhere enough for Spencer to slip away? She craned her neck toward the door and the growing throng of potential piggy banks.

The wall between her and him was a floor to ceiling cabinet: glass doors showed off crystal bottles and multicolored liquids, the stuff Spencer could afford with a half year's salary. His face wobbled through what she thought might be port and she realized that if she could see him, the reverse must also be true. Shit. Spencer turned back toward the bar tender, assessing if there was space enough for her to hide next to the ice maker and the odds were that he'd let her crouch there like a scared child. Spencer was not at all paying attention to the cotton candy smoke machine wet dream was saying. She was drawing all the attention in the room, but it wasn't like Spencer could sneak by. The hamster wheels in Spencer's head were churning in overtime and still going nowhere.

Think. She had to think.

Spencer jumped when Ash-Lee addressed her again and a bitter laugh was about as good as she could manage. They were trapped now for sure. She knocked back the last of her drink, which was a tasty one meant to be sipped rather than chugged, but she needed the chug.

"It's already too late." With the throng of men, the attention? He ate that kind of shit up. Literally, so far as Spencer could tell.

"Is that Spencer I see?"

Her eyebrows went up one level and the last bit of good humor drained from Spencer's face while the smile somehow stayed in place.

Behind Ash-Lee stood a rather average sized demigod of a man. He could cut diamonds with his cheekbones and Spencer had the pleasure of bouncing a quarter off his ass, back when things had been pleasurable. He wasn't too tall or too old. His watch, the shoes, and the cut of his slacks screamed pure money even if he was wearing a band tee shirt. He was too polite to push, and yet somehow the crowd made way for him with his gods damn handsome terrifying face. He smiled widely as the pink smoke swirled around him.

"Decaniel," Spencer demurred with a flutter of her eyelashes. She stepped up close to Ash-Lee, sliding her arm into lock with the sensual strumpet. Next to Ash-Lee, Spencer was substantially less interesting.

"Have you, per chance, met my good friend Spice?" SPICE!? WTF, BRAIN!? Spencer continued to die on the inside as she leaned her head across Ash-Lee's shoulder. Surely he'd take the bait, right? Ash-Lee was was PINK and had HORNS ffs.

As Ash pulled together what in their mind was a masterpiece of diversion and deflection, they found themselves suddenly sensing a growing dislike showing telltale signs of dread. Oh, dread, how dreadful!

Ask gave an alarmed look toward Spencer as she tried to seek a place to hide, gave up, chugged her sipper, and braced for impact. Their pretty features shifted into a look of confusion. What was so terrible that it warranted this?

They caught sight of a face moving toward the newly formed crowd. Oh. This man knew exactly what he liked. What he wanted. He knew it was here. Ash immediately knew why Spencer was running. They knew the how much someone liked something. How much they wanted it. Sometimes the yearning was too much for reason to stand in the way. Sometimes... the only fix was a good old fashioned heartbreak.

By the time Spencer moved to introduce them, Ash-Lee was a six foot six tall masculine form with a strong but not overly muscular frame. Their features would be... flawless. Lips that could melt ice queens, eyes the pierced the soul before guiding it to the ground and brushing its hair softly as it passed into sweet nothingness, and cheeks that made this toolbag's go cartoon types of limp in comparison. a light lavender skin met dark, dark hair and a soft, perfectly trimmed goatee.

They spoke with a Latin edge to their voice. "Yes, a pet name... Because I am... how you say? Muy caliente." Their shirt was on the floor. It wouldn't fit, and no one would notice anyway, looking at those abs. "Of course, we haven't been lovers long, but I tend to leave an impression, no?"

Why were they going out on a limb like this? Making an ex lover jealous? There were so many ways something like this could go terribly wrong! They just felt so... Daring, right about now... Maybe one too many drinks?

One second Spencer was clinging to Ash-Lee the girl. Somehow- Somewhere- In that short span of time while she introduced Ash-Lee, she became a he. A funny giggle escaped Spencer before she could stop it.

Muy caliente indeed.

Spencer liked. Spencer liked Ash-Lee before. Spencer liked Ash-Lee now. And Spencer liked the idea that one day, she might get to pick and choose which Ash-Lee she wanted to leave an impression on her. Ahhhh had Ash-Lee asked a question? Spencer’s brain was off in a different room doing different things at the moment.

Decaniel seemed to take a moment where he stopped and took a big, deep breath. He reopened his eyes and they roved between the two. Spencer was as draped over Ash-Lee as she could get.

“I don’t suppose I can buy you both a drink?” The corners of his mouth lifted, but it was too complicated an expression to be called a smile.

Ahhh, Decaniel, Decaniel, Decaniel. You like the view, but you don't like that it's there. How could one be so happy to see someone, and yet so unhappy to see them in this exact context? Right, because this human tower of sexy was tied to the woman who you like to be around a whole lot.

Interesting... Yes, there was a like for Spencer, but there was another like there. A like for what she gave? Interesting indeed. Ash shifted to the side a bit, looking down to Spencer and gathering her likes as well. A devilish smile made its way onto masculine lips. Okay. This had potential.

They gave a dimissive sidelong glance Decaniels way. "I do not know... This place is so... Busy already. Oh, I know... Why don't you ask the lady here if there is room for one more?" They leaned back against the bar accepting their drink from the first man who had ordered a round for the bar. The smoke was doing its thing, and all of the men crowded up there were busy trying to one up each other for the 'cotton candy wet dream' that must have gone to powder 'her' nose.

They put the ball in Spencer's court. Few things were more satisfying than being given power over someone who thought you belonged to them.

Decaniel got jostled by the crowd and had to step in closer. The bar tender was hopping now that a round for the house had been claimed and he pointed at the man, giving him his opportunity to order. He declined with a small wave. It was a totally normal bar interaction that distracted Spencer from focusing super well on the conversation at hand. That and where her mind had wandered. It had wandered wee-wee-wee all the way home to bed where she could imagine puffs of pink smoke and-

Ash-Lee was turning expectantly to Spencer and she raised her eyebrows as she tried to replay the last few auditory moments she'd technically heard, but not truly listened to. Was Ash-Lee... offering a threeso- no. No, that was ridiculous. Somehow Ash-Lee was four times funnier and Declan, Decaniel she mentally corrected herself, Decaniel was maybe 4 times less controlling. So far. Ash-Lee was setting the terms by passing the baton of power to her.

To Spencer. Spencer had the talking stick now. Jeyzusf*ck Ash-Lee was muscle-suave now and she'd been subconsciously petting them for a few minutes now.

"You're touching him." Decaniel helpfully supplied, he offered Spencer a hand like she might need to step away and he was the perfect person to know how to do that.

"I can touch." Spencer pulled on Ash-Lee's arm, as if she could move the current incarnation of Ash-Lee and would keep them out of Decaniel's reach. A second order of her first drink arrived at the bar not too long after Ash-Lee's showed up.

"You shouldn't be drinking." Decaniel said.

"I can drink." She insisted, though she'd only had one it definitely felt like more. What was in that pink smoke? "Look, I know you have theories or whatever, but I'm not your pet. You can't just... keep people." She drank to that because, as fun as that week had been, she had a job and a life... sort-of. She couldn't and shouldn't live like that.

Ash-lee was definitely not offering a threesome. No, the focus here had been to take away a sense of power from someone who clearly liked to have it. They were at the door to a party, after all, with all of these men crowding the place. Ash had effectively made Spencer the doorkeeper, able to turn away this hunk of a man with control issues.

Men like that hated when other people had power over them... Well, that, or they secretly liked it, and were afraid to admit it to themselves.

Ash liked pets. Spencer was giving them pets. This power trip was nice. Things were starting to get a little fuzzy, with a quick look around the room. Wow, the bartender was really pouring heavy!

"Them." Ash interjected without really thinking about it much. Ash was pulled on. "She can touch." He spoke up again, another remark about thinks he didn't like her doing. "She can drink."

Ash stared at the man as they read his reactions, and the little mixture of inner reactions that went along with them. The likes. The dislikes. Ash had their own as well. More than most other things, they disliked possessive people.

"I think... what the pretty lady is saying, darling, is that this bar is at capacity. Maybe it's time you found another party to attend!" Ash wrapped their beefy arm around Spencer's shoulder, and give him a lazy look that oozed confidence and swagger.