More beer for the head and more beer for the pain. Faking, acting, painting, repressing and bribing... Wasting time, doing rubbish...

Basta ya , Basta ya
Enough, Enough

...hoy quiero comenzar... I want to begin today.

The music played in the background or the bar, upbeat as a fingerpainting. Their words lost all meaning against the drone of the football on TV. Behind the counter, the bartender wound a rag against the inside of a dirty mug. Lenna watched the shot glass turn in her fingertips, eyes narrowing darkly as ice sloshed against glass. Day one was over with no leads save one... a useless, pointless, worthless lead. Nothing worthwhile, just a minor blip. Something was out of place. The villagers had told her Slate was offering medical care to some of the people in the villages... so? She knocked back the drink and asked for another. What use was that to her unless she came out and spoke to him or got hurt?

Maybe she'd... she shook her head, clearing the idea away. What use would that have for her cause? If she came out and said it, red flags would rise. Ah, well. At least the beer was good tonight. The sun had set, and a cool breeze was coming in off the coast. A door was propped open for ventilation, letting light off the street into the dimness of the sports bar.

The people around the counter of the bar hunched forwards, backs like sundials. Many had been here all day. You could tell it by the lines of foam left on the sides of their chalices. Like trees in the forest, you could count the age. Lenna popped a cigarette from the pack, and a person on her right leaned in to offer a light.

"Thanks," she replied through clenched teeth and a smile. She took an appreciative puff and drew the cancer in. Health freaks might hate you, She mused to herself as she tapped ash off the tip into a bowl. But in my line of work, life's short. You need any pick-me-up you can get.

Burning through a filter, she leaned back and stretched. "Life's shit, huh?" Lenna laughed to whoever the hell would listen. It didn't matter. Nothing did. Why the hell not vent? "Mas cerveza para la cabeza!"

More beer for my head to forget.

(( www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZworUCpTi8 ))

A stone one that gave the holder the power to understand any language in as far as Bacchus was concerned the known world. The only problem was that the stone had to be swallowed and digested. A stone in his stomach given him the bilingual ability to talk to anyone on the planet, the more he spoke another language he would be completely unfamiliar with the more it made his head hurt. Having problems with headaches due to enhanced senses was bad enough as is but when you combine it with the obsessing of the stone… it only added to the headache causing his current stores of alcohol to de completely diminished, which was rather a bother seeing as Slate was keeping him quiet busy.

Smashing bases, rescuing scouts and captive allies Bacchus was more than thrilled when Slate gave him a few hours to himself, a nap was needed yes, but the contents of his empty flasks needed to be retrieved quickly less the added pressure on his head would build till he felt he was going to have a break down.

The smell of smoke and stale beer tipped him off before he actually had seen the sports bar in the dim street lights his stomach growled out in hunger as he could smell the cooking of what smelled of fried dough and chicken, it was either a quesidea or a fajita, either way he was going to eat it despite it the place was as run down as it looked, it reminded him of the Hole in the Wall Bar back home, the one bar he was allowed to bounce and drink at, not to mention the characters it that visited and worked there. It was his home away from home.

Feeling more homesick for his second home he entered the sports bar without a second thought, the door was opened to vent the bar, which gave off all the more welcoming feeling. Sitting down next to a pretty young lady who was lighting one up Bacchus, asked, “Is the seat taken?” regardless if she said yes or no Bacchus was going to sit, not only was it the seat closest to the taps but the bar seemed rather full for the night.

As the bartender approached him Bacchus pulled a flask from his side, one from his front pocket and one from his back side and placed them on the counter, “Necesito estos rellenado y cuatro cántaros con las bebidas más fuertes que usted tiene.” He paused still in slight disbelief that he could say, ” I need these filled and I need four pitchers with the strongest drinks you’ve got. the bartender slightly surprised nodded and went to work taking the giant’s three flasks and filling them then returning him to the giant with a slightly startled smile.

Hunched over Bacchus put the flasks away on his person still at his normal seven foot self towering over most of the hunched over men who sat at the bar, to the woman next to him he figured he at least had anywhere from a foot to a foot and a half. One of Bacchus’s biggest problems with being so tall in his normal state was he was easy to pick out. Seeing as not a lot of people where his size.

Lenna swung her head over her shoulder and eyed the behemoth blithely. A little over six foot seven, he stood like a monument, tall and bronze. Or was it brazen? Braised? She weighed the tattoos on his arms without being obvious, caught them out of the corner of her eye and judged. The chalice of drunken void came to her lips and she nursed a sip, nodding at him discretely through razor-thin lips. "Be my guest."

Whatever it was, he had confidence. The people in the bar behind her watched him carefully as he ordered up a round or four, slammed his hip-kegs down on the counter, and hunkered down. A man with an angular scar across the side of his face screwed up his kisser like the beer was bitter. A foreigner in from over seas? The man next to him tensed imperceptibly, grip on his grog growing. He smiled gauntly. Under his breath, the man with the gaunt-grin commented grimly "Should we take our conversation elsewhere? Foreign ears."

"The same devils." The man replied calmly, lowering his eyes dismissively and lifting his beer.

Lenna brushed a stray strand of hair from her vision and turned to face the giant, smile cocked on her face like a revolver. "So, got a taste for the strong stuff, huh? Don't see men like you around in seedy little towns like this these days. Head and shoulders above the rest?"

Her cigarette ground down in an ash tray like a heel, leaving behind a hint of cinder and sulfur that mixed with sea in the air of the bar. The bartender fanned himself lightly as he set down the first of many orders for Mr. Flask.

"One pitcher of Dragon's Breath. It is the strongest I have."

Watching the bartender fill his flasks and pitchers Bacchus’s ears and nose traveled the room gathering all the scents and sounds. He picked out the woman smelling of mango next to him smoking a butt as another man across the bar slammed a pitcher on the table, who smelled like manure and sweat. Hundred of other smells were given off as he lost focus and was unable to determine what was what and who it was coming from. However sounds on the other hand were far easier to decipher than smells.

Grinning slightly as he continued to watch the bartender the voices of two men reverberated in his ear. Ohhh something worth not talking about in front of a foreigner now I have to listen…. thought Bacchus as he continued to watch and listen. Unfortunately for him his attention was cut off from the men as the voice of the mango-smelling girl next to him spoke. Nodding his head Bacchus returned the smile only far less nefarious than he thought she was giving him, “I’m a big boy takes a lot to get me going.”

As she put out the butt in the ashtray Bacchus unconsciously loosened up. His shoulders relaxed and his hand was out stretched to the pitcher that was now full of a liquid, “Thanks mate” Bacchus said in the bartenders native tongue, it still felt weird to be able to speak and understand everything considering he had never taken a Spanish class or a whatever part of Columbia class he was in. picking up the pitcher and putting his lips to the large beverage he smiled and pulled it away fro a second and commented to the bartender, “I’ll need a few more…”

Lifting his hands and the pitcher to his lips once again Bacchus started to chug the contents without a problem. His throat burned as the fiery liquid hit his stomach. “Amazing!” Bacchus commented as he slammed the pitcher on the counter with a loud gasp for air. As the bartender stared at him open mouthed Bacchus turned his attention to the woman next to him, “and what is it exactly that you seem to fancy little Sheila?” he paused and looked to the bartender waving the empty pitcher his way then smiled back to the woman, “Bacchus by the way…” he said as he was glad he wasn’t the only foreigner in the bar. It meant he had someone to talk to.

Despite his friendly disposition Bacchus was still watching and listening to the two men from across the bar, watching and waiting for something to go down.

"Lena," she replied with a laugh. Her voice slapped into English for the follow-up. "And who said I fancied anything, bub? It's just that not too many Goliaths come in here, and those that do usually meet their Davids before the night is through. Can't blame a girl for being interested in some tall, dark, and handsome stranger when they step in the door, can you?"

Not that he was particularly dark, but he had the handsome part down okay. A teasing smirk burned on her lips. It always was fun finding new toys. She turned the amber glass in her hand, watching the light reflect off the blocky surface. "So tell me, what's a wine god like you doing in a place like this?" Other than drinking, of course. She matched him by drumming up the order for another pitcher of the same. Behind them, the two men shifted uncertainly.

"The order was 20 kilos.” The man with the scar stated with a sip of his drink. The other man dug out a cigarette with a sigh.

“But do they realize how awkward it will be to get all the children over the border with that stuff in their bowels? They’ll be crying and begging for bathroom breaks…”

Scar-face’s voice dropped as a dark smirk slit his cheeks. “Well then, we’ll just have to beat some sense into them before the trip.”

The bar tender eyed the clock as he set the pitchers down in front of the foreign pair. The secondhand seemed to move slower every day. Across the bar, the softest click was heard. A figure in a cowboy hat and a large coat drank his beer. Little wheels turned into motion. A tape recorder was on.

A smile touched his lips as she returned the name, “Well Lena,” he took a sip of one of the pitchers in front of him, it might have been a sip to him but almost anyone in the right state of mind would consider one of his sips a few if not more sips of anyone else. As the liquid rushed down his throat he let out a small sigh and inhaled to savor the feeling of the alcohol burning his throat and filling his somewhat empty stomach, ”Haven’t met a David yet that can compete with me…” letting out a small chuckle Bacchus ran his fingers through his hair, despite them being somewhat dirty he didn’t really care, it was to much of a fuss to worry about being clean as he was doing the work that Slate had given him, plus hot showers were super hard to come by given there current geographical location. ”Tall maybe, Handsome maybe, but the dark is just a small memento for drinking to much in the hot sun, though I have to say the heat is far different from the kind back home…”

Bacchus noted the woman’s figures and committed them to memory as his hearing went out of control again, voices, flies and pitchers being filled distracted him for a second as they went off like hammers in his head. Shaking his head slightly and downing the rest of the pitcher in a gulp and then grabbing the next one Bacchus turned his attention now completely focused on the woman next to him, ”I feel like I should be asking something similar to you Sheila,” he grinned slightly and grabbed the next pitcher as the bartender took the empty pitchers and refilled them with a small gesture from the giant, ”But to be fair you did ask me first, I’m a mineralogists of sorts, boss sent me here to check out the lay of the land mainly to see if there are any other valuable resources that we could turn profit.” he took a sip of his drink to clear his throat, as he was glad he was such a decent liar, maybe someone could pick up on the lie but no one had any reason to not believe him.

Ears twitching slightly as he picked up on the word Kilo he turned his attention to the two men. He wondered what reason they would deem necessary for forcing children to cross the border with anything that didn’t belong there into his stomach, part of him didn’t care and part of him was outraged, he wanted to move but was told to keep a somewhat low profile. His hand tightened around the pitcher he was holding till it started to crack. Unknowingly the contents spilled out onto the floor while the man was talking about beating sense into them. A small twitch of his fingers caused the pitcher to shatter into his hand. Despite the glass in his hand being shattered no blood fell from his hand as a small click could be heard in the distance.

Turning his head slightly Bacchus got up from his chair and glared at the two men who were discussing beating kids, despite his usual violent disposition he tried his best to prevent women and children from being injured, however if he heard talk about some kids being beaten the situation usually ended with the person that said it being beaten, his girls back home were victims of abuse by males most of which was by there father, which was why he was reacting the way he was. Getting up from his stool Bacchus walked over to the pair and in his Australian and no Spanish accent he scowled and said, ” “What did you say about beating some kids?” his voice carrying across the bar due to the lack of concentration on it for the moment, he didn’t care what slate said, Bacchus easily towered over then men and could snap them with his pinky there was no way in hell he would let children beaters going unpunished.

Curiosity. It was a bad trait, really. He said the heat was different, and already she had drummed up questions about just where this ‘different heat’ was. Beer trickled from the mouth of the pitcher into her glass as she reloaded. Judging from the accent, the various ‘Sheila’s flyin’ around, and the ‘mate’… she gravitated more and more to somewhere down under. She hardly had time to ask though. His answer swept in to flood her with more questions.

A mineralogist? She smirked. “I could almost say the same about myself. I’m doing a bit of … reconnaissance… for my boss as well.” Recon. Right. Judging by the way he choked down his drink after finishing the statement, something told her neither of them was being 100% truthful. Not that it mattered. Tonight wasn’t about ‘Getting to Know You’ so much as ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, and she didn’t care about a little lie like that. There’d be plenty more before the night was through.

The drink came to her lips again as she mulled over the silence that suddenly eclipsed the sound of flowing ale. An ailing conversation?[ Her eyes drew up to map the look on Bacchus’s face. Had something bothered him? His eye twitched. Lenna felt a tightening in the back of her neck. Imperceptible hairs stood on end. Bacchus’s death grip on the pitcher tightened to a crack. Liquor spilled over the counter like the moment after the end to the parting of the Red Sea. Lenna’s seat scooted back as she jumped to avoid the ale.

“What’re you--!?” Her head snapped towards the two men, following his glare. The bartender ducked behind the counter for a rag, or his shotgun, depending on the situation. Lenna’s own hand found its way to the firearm at her side. The tail of her coat swung out as she got to her feet, bar seat spinning the round between action and inaction. Bacchus loomed. The two gentlemen eyed him with looks of contempt. Lenna was feeling lucid.

Did they say temulency retarded the decision-making process? Because right now, it only seemed to aid it.

“What did you say about beating some kids?” Bacchus boomed. The man without the scar shot his accomplice an ‘I told you so’ look. Lenna had a feeling the line between no-scar and scar would draw ever closer to unreadable depending on his coming response.

“No…” The man without a scar shook his head with a smug half-moon smile. “You obviously misheard.”

“And why would you be listening anyways? Don’t you know eavesdropping is rude?”

Lenna stared at the second man, arms crossed behind Bacchus’s back. “So you did get that scar for a reason.” She laughed. The gun rested casually in the crook of her arm like an after-thought. “You don’t usually admit to something after your partner denies it.”

“Er…” Scarface faltered. The man in the coat and cowboy hat shifted uncertainly in the background, kicking up one leg over the other. His fingers edged stealthily for his boot.

”So care to try answering that question again, bucko? With a bit less bullshit this time? And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart.”

The man eyed the barrel of the pistol as Lenna raised it up to face him at chest-level. The hammer clicked back in warning. A single laugh cut through the frenetic air of the bar. He shook his head. “That is my *least* vulnerable spot.” He kicked the table without warning. It flew at Bane and Lenna as the pair burst from the safety of their seats, drawing guns as they rushed across the floor. Shots pinged down at Bacchus’s feet. Lenna rolled for cover behind a nearby booth. She held her gun up in front of her face, sneaking a glance at the two men as they faced off against the giant.

The bartender slumped down against the back of the counter with a sigh. Not again, dang it. It always seemed that when Lenna was around, something went to shit. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine…” He muttered, tightening his grip on the shotgun. Another pair of shots rang out behind him. A bottle shattered overhead.

Others in the bar ran for cover. Some drew their guns. The cowboy rose, pointing his revolver at scarface’s back. The Colt reared back on its haunches and whinnied. The man with the scar fell over, winged. He held his arm and glared. His partner snapped another shot at Bacchus’s chest.

Lenna swiveled up to raise her pistol at the idiot's face. What she saw next, though, surprised her. Rather than dodge, Bacchus took the bullet straight to the chest. He didn’t even reel from it. It seemed like it was more an annoyance than a pain.

“Just what are you…?” Lenna muttered in a breath.

As a kid his father used to beat him and he hated it as soon as he was old enough he did what he could to fight off his father till the day his mutation first chimed in, that was the day his father no longer tried to hit him for that was the day he wound up in the hospital with several broken bones and the day Bacchus ran away from home. After that he had countless encounters with mutants and children who had similar childhoods like himself and he loved every one of them, to think someone could hurt people so great as Gunner, Brooke or the twins. He loved them and couldn't imagine anyone hitting them or abandoning them but it happened.

So it might have been because of them Bacchus felt so strongly about preventing adults from hitting or beating kids like the way these two men talked about so casually. It just made his stomach churn. Even if he was under strict order not to harm kill anyone Slate didn’t have to know how could he anyways it wasn’t like the young teen had eyes everywhere besides Bacchus would have willingly took the consequences for killing these two men.

As Lena and the two men exchanged words Bacchus continued to glare at the men with such ferocity they were likely to catch fire if his gaze were to continue, it didn’t matter what the two men said they had sealed their fates the moment they mentioned hitting some kids what they tried saying to Lena was just icing on the cake to him as Bacchus licked his lips slightly as he thought about the best way to kill them. That was until Lena pulled a gun of her own the barrel pointing at the man with the scar over his eye.

A table pushed there was movement behind him meaning Lena ducked for cover as shots rang out and hot metal was imprinting it’s former shape on Bacchus shirt. A sound behind him resounded as a bullet shot past his side and into the scared mans arm. ‘Three gunmen and a Lena’ though Bacchus as a bullet hit him square in the chest making a large thud as the center of his shirt was burnt through slightly. Looking down to his now ruined shirt he sight slightly as he reached up with one hand and ripped the shirt into tatters as it fell down around him.

”Just what are you…?”

From the sound in her voice Bacchus could tell that Lena was surprised which made sense seeing as he just took a few rounds to his body like they were nothing. Sighing again his mutation starting to become visible Bacchus’s body shot up and out by at least a foot as he continued to glare at the two men. “Larger than Life!” Bacchus said as he took a step forward the ground shaking slightly under his now enhanced weight.

Another step and he had closed the distance between him and the shooters. The men in a panic unloaded the rest of their bullets on him then tried a last ditch effort by throwing their guns at them. Letting out a small laugh Bacchus’s large meaty hand shot out and snatched one of the gunman and grinned at him as his hand begun to grow to the point were it started to encircle the mans torso “Think of this as Karma, you keep beating kids till one grows up and has the power to beat you back, for that…” Bacchus set down the man who seemed somewhat relived for his face didn’t scream out in fear and he let out a sigh hoping he could go free.

A grin touched Bacchus’s face as he lifted a large stubby finger to the mans brow and with a simple poke the man froze the back of his skull giving way to the force of the poke as blood rushed from the eyes, the ears, the mouth, and the nose as brain matter ejected itself from the back of the head the man stood for a second then collapsed backwards as the scared man who was already injured let out a girlish shriek as Bacchus approached him with a childish grin on his face “What to do with you?” Bacchus hummed to himself as his hand shot out and grabbed the scared mans arm snapping it in the process with a loud crunch.

"One down..." Lenna stepped forward towards Bacchus's captive. Her footsteps crunched over broken glass and blood. When Bacchus had first told her he was larger than life, she'd smirked. Couldn't help it. Chemical reaction. She'd thought he was making a cute joke, but now... well. The splattered remnants of brain and fractured skull smeared across the floor of the bar told her a very different tale.

"... I was tailing those two men and recording everything they said." The cowboy noted tactfully, amber eyes raking up the giant's facade. He was unshaven, with blond stubble that worked its way down his neck. He bowed his head, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tapping one out. He held it to his lips, and lit it, then snapped the lighter shut and returned his focus to Bacchus with a puff. "Kind of hard to do with one of them splattered across the floor of the bar, now isn't it?” He smirked. “That's fine, really. What’s done is done. Still, I have to ask... it is my job to take them in, and one's better than none. Can you spare this bastard? I'll see to it he's put away for a very long time..."

The bartender shifted uncertainly behind the counter clutching his gun. Slowly, ever so cautiously, he popped his head up from behind his covering shield. His peek caught distorted cowboys and giants playing Cowboys and Indians in a half-full glass. Two inches left, his vision was clearer.

A flash of red, the scarred man's head shot back. The barrel of Lenna's gun hung steaming in place, inches from where once there'd been live skull. The cowboy pulled down the brim of his hat in disappointment. A crying shame. Lenna turned to smirk at Bacchus, lowering her gun. "Sorry. A bit impatient. I solved your dilemma for you, though. Now'd be a good time to drink to our success... Unfortunately, and I note, finger in the air... this place is kinda wrecked. A bit of a dive, really. So I was wondering. In honor of this thrilling killing occasion. Care to find another bar and cap off the night?"

She laughed like this was completely normal. An everyday occasion. Bacchus had been humming as he broke this man's arm, and now Lenna's smile was the wattage equivalent of a sun. If there'd been room for it'd she'd a-been skippin'. She was having a wonderful time. She hoped Bacchus could say the same.

A flash a blink of an eye and red scarlet running down the last man’s face, Bacchus turned and shrugged to the cowboy as he looked to Lenna with a smile and a small chuckle, “Oh be still my heart….” Bacchus followed up with a small wink and then looked back to the cowboy, “Sorry mate can’t stop a girl from getting what she wants, am I right?” he didn’t stop to listen to the cowboy as it was obvious he was fretting over the deaths of the two men and he didn’t want to be around much longer to get an ear full from the bartender about cleaning a mess and even if they were in the middle of bar row there would be la polica soon and Slate would kill him if he got into a skirmish with the law when he should be keeping it low key.

Looking to the flasks on the counter Bacchus walked over gathered them up placed them in their respected locations and downed the last pitcher of his dark beverage before extending an arm towards Lenna’s direction, “It would be an honor love, let’s just try and keep this low key when stop at the next joint, my boss may overlook this blokes death but I’m sure he will piece it together if another bloke or two end up the same way….”

Walking over to Lenna he extended his arm and smiled, “Shall we miss?” he looked to the cowboy with the hat and then to the bartender and added, “If you speak of seeing anyone my size coming in here…” he let the threat hang as he turned his attention to the door and forced it open for him and his new friend.

His boss? His boss cared about the killing habits of employees? Right on the money, she was. This guy was definitely not in the line of work he'd initially insisted. Lenna laughed. "Will do. Let's not make needless killing a habit tonight. Those two were the exception; they deserved it. And barkeep?" She ran a finger across the nape of her neck and made a 'snikt' sound. "You know the drill. Speak, it won't be their blood that splatters on on your bar's floor next."

The man slumped down against the back of the bar, shotgun slipping from his grip. Blood and broken glass surrounded him on every side. A force of nature had whipped through his establishment that night. Who would he pay to clean?

Lenna stowed her gun back into the holster obscured by her leather coat, and laced an arm around Bacchus's elbow. She let him lead the way. As they went through the doorway, her foot slipped. She played the part of the drunk girl stumbling forward. Her hand slid across his chest for support.

“Er, sorry! Must be drunker than I thought. So, where do you wanna head next?” She smiled as she pressed in closer. "Maybe some place quiet?"

Did she just threaten the bar keep like that? Yes she just made the sound and yes he could tell she meant it, ”Oh be still my heart!” Bacchus said as he grinned to the barkeep and then waved to him as he looked down to Lenna and then caught her as she slipped on the way out of the bar. Her hand on his chest Bacchus grinned at her, ”Could be but I doubt it, you seem like the kind of girl that could hold her own when it came to a drinking game or two, then again...” no one could hold his own to him during a drinking game he knew this but still he was good at dishing out compliments or at least he thought so after all Isabel had blushed a few times with a simple compliment, though he doubted he would have the same effect on her.

The hand and the body of the Lenna closed the small amount of space between them as she got closer and asked those magic words, "Maybe some place quiet?" Bacchus grinned and nodded his head dumbly, ”Don’t want to be taking advantage of you or nothing.” Bacchus said with a sly grin as he looked for some place ‘quiet’. ”Any idea’s on such a place. Love?” Bacchus asked nonchalantly trying to sound like he didn’t care much, one of his roundabout ways of showing a girl he was interested.

>>"Could be but I doubt it, you seem like the kind of girl that could hold her own when it came to a drinking game or two, then again...”

Lenna batted her eyes innocently. There was no way he'd find that out. Though maybe the outlasting him when it came to drinking that night? Eh. She'd drink enough to forget about Slate or Cortez or whoever else was making her life a living hell at the moment. More beer for the head and more beer for the pain. She hadn't the foggiest clue how that'd turn out, but it'd be better than being consumed.

And oh~ He felt strong. The feeling of her hand on his chest was reward enough for the feigned intoxication. Fingers walked up his stomach to his chest, and tapped once to accentuate the point. "Don't forget now. I fell into you." She could have tripped anywhere else in the world. He'd better remember. She was the one who was supposed to be forgetting and regretting tonight, not him.

>>"Any idea’s on such a place. Love?”

Lenna tilted her head away, and placed a finger to her lips, considering. "Think, think, think." More leaning. Ah yes. The leaning. He was good at this (being a wall). "Maybe... a restaurant? Maybe over there?" The brunette gestured feebly towards some distant, vague direction. Her hand moved as if pushing out the sea's waves. It didn't matter, really. She dropped her fist into her palm, and glanced back up at him... but she was kinda hunched now, and he was really tall. She hadn't realized that earlier. Hey! The dragon's breath was working! "Anywhere's fine with me, s'long as they have good food..."

Letting out a small chuckle as his chest lifted up and down when she mentioned that she fell into him. Regardless of what it was he still would have felt a t least a little bad the morning after, after all with a simple size change he could be completely sober if he so choose.

As soon as she said restraint Bacchus’s grin and laughing subsided, as he must have misinterpreted the meaning of ‘someplace quite’ usually whenever he heard that the first thing he would do was literally pick up the woman and carry her off to the quietest place nearby. However when she mentioned a restaurant Bacchus simply said, ”Oh… I guess I could feed that hunger as well…” Bacchus said sighing slightly as he guided Lena to the restaurant that she pointed at.

Once inside and the smell of cooked tortilla chips and chili powder Bacchus walked Lena to the back corner of the restaurant and sat down after helping the drunken Lena in her booth. ”two steak fajitas for me and what every the lil misses wants!” Once the waiter left with their order Bacchus pulled out his flask and took a swig of dragons breath as he let out a small grin and a sigh, ”I think I’ll be going back for the recipe, tis a good drink!” Bacchus motioned an offering of the flask to Lena as he set it on the table in-between them.

He didn’t share his flask or the contents with everyone, it was a privilege only the special few get to partake in. it was after all his lifeline to keep his sanity. Call it out of generosity or because of what just went down but Bacchus was actually starting to take a liking to Lena and her spunky attitude.

>>"Oh… I guess I could feed that hunger as well…”

A teasing swat against his chest. "You hush! ... Plenty of time for that later." She slipped the last part in slyly, under her breath. "So, anyways. Meat!"

Liquor has a funny way of masking moments. Where one second, she was staring the very stars in the face, hand on chest, the next, someone had pulled the mask away. Now she was sitting in a restaurant booth. Her concentration shorted as she eyed the menu in her hands. Beef, beef, beef, beef... Fervent checking of the restaurant's pulse. Where had they hidden the lifeblood? The beef.

>>"Two steak fajitas for me and what every the lil misses wants!” Bacchus announced boldly.

"What he ordered," Lenna cut in. "I'll have as well." A smile pursed her lips as she folded the menu and set it aside. He had good taste. If it had been fish fajita, or any fajita other than steak, a more knowledgeable chef may have taken offense. And from one meat-eater to the next, the steak fajita was a fine animal. Spicy and tough, yet tender. The kind of main course you could chew over with friends. It was even better right now. Lenna had a hankering for something good.

>>"I think I’ll be going back for the recipe, tis a good drink!” The giant proffered a flask to her with a smile.

But not that.

Lenna tilted her head at the flask, then looked up at him with a friendly hint of paranoia masked behind a smile and a laugh. “No thanks.” It wasn’t that she didn’t like free beer; it was just that she’d developed a habit of not taking it from strangers. “Though if you wanted to buy me a drink, I wouldn’t hold it against you.” Did she just bat her eyes? Why yes, she thought. She did.

At the bar, a crowd of men cheered on the game. On-screen, a late night rerun of the most recent world cup football games was playing. Men in yellow jerseys ran against a rival team in red. A quick quick snapped off, the black and white sphere spiraled up and over the rabble, off some player's skull and into the net. Lenna took a sip of her glass of water as she focused across the room. It was a good game. "Football," the brunette tilted her glass towards the screen. "Not my favorite, but good. If I were feeling a bit more reckless right now, I'd tell em to change the channel to something a bit more 'baseball'. But you know how it is." She shrugged. The men at the bar erupted again as the red team scored another goal. "They just love their game of sweaty men kicking balls."

A light smirk touched on her face. "What about you?"