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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 8, 2008 19:03:20 GMT -5
Sam gazed dizzily down at his glass, admiring the dark, pretty water ring it had left on the linoleum counter. He had never really been one for losing himself to drunken stupors, but if there was ever a time for one, he was sitting smack dab in the middle of it.
Dean was back at the salvage yard, working on the Impala as usual. For the past four days that was all he had done, besides eat and sleep, and he hardly even had the eating part down. When Sam spoke, he responded in grunts or monosyllabic answers.
"Monosyllablic, monosyblabic..." Sam tried wrap his tongue around the word, muttering it several times with a furrowed brow, and then gave up and poked his finger into a water ring, breaking the perfect circle. Six water rings for six different drinks. Had it been that many already? He spent a few seconds trying to calculate his blood alcohol level based on the number of drinks he'd had, before abandoning that task as well. This wasn't a night for responsible drinking. This was a night for "forget that your dad just died" drinking. Or "forget that you just burned your dad's body four days ago" drinking.
No... this was bigger than that. This was "forget all the hundreds of fights you never apologized to your dad for before he died" drinking.
Shoot... now he'd done it. Fresh tears sprang up in his eyes and, sniffing violently, he lifted both hands to scrub them out. God, he was a mess...
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 8, 2008 21:05:37 GMT -5
Katsu could not stand humans. Snivelling little ingrates, going to the bar and washing away their sorrows when the tiniest little unfortunate thing should happen to them. It made him almost want to chew on the entire bar. Almost. The alchohol in their blood might blur his attention enough for something... unfortunate to happen. Besides, he had just fed on someone else.
Instead, Katsu nudged the man on the shoulder to get his attention, black leather sleeve of his skin-tight riding jacket shining in the dim light. The boy wasn't even that old. Some lover's quarrel probably sent him here...
"Hey, you okay?" At the very least he could keep the young man from crying all over the countertop. Watching the man carefully, he took another sip of his fruit juice.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 10, 2008 23:37:45 GMT -5
For a second, as the hand touched his shoulder, Sam thought that maybe Dean had snapped out of his crazed fit of car-repairing and followed him down here for a drink. Maybe even to talk. The voice wasn't Dean's, though, didn't sound like Bobby or anyone else he knew either. He dropped his hands to the counter and squinted toward the stranger beside him. He was of Asian origin, and was dressed like he was made of money and didn't mind showing it.
After a few seconds Sam realized that he was just staring at the stranger. He blinked, shook his head slightly, trying to clear it.
"Ok? Sure, yeah. Why not? 'Cause, it was only completely obvious, but I didn't do anything about it. I just got suspicious, started a fight, instead of asking what was wrong. Then I got him coffee. 'Cause, like, he needed coffee. Right? 'Cause coffee's going to help someone so much after he's dropped dead."
He flashed a look at the stranger, raising his eyebrows dizzily and waiting for him to agree.
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 12, 2008 21:22:56 GMT -5
What the hell was this drunkard blathering about?
"Uh, in my experience coffee doesn't help with that, no..."
Ok, so someone the kid knew had died and he went to wake them up with coffee.... this could be a more interesting conversation than Katsu had originally thought.
"So, you lost someone close to you? I'm sorry for your loss." Over his many years, he had seen many people die. Some people he didn't care for, some he didn't care about, and others that he regretted to see go. And in all this time, he never could think of anything less pathetic to say than 'I'm sorry for your loss.'
Katsu signalled to the bartender and received a look of disbelief at his order, but the bartender went and got him a large mug of an unfrothy golden liquid, then set a new mug in front of the other man.
"Here you go, mate" Katsu said to the young man, shoving the new mug in front of him, "It's on me." Katsu had some business in this bar, but the person he was waiting for was running a little late. Maybe he could get the whole story out of this kid before he got there. Leaning back on the stool, he took a sip of his unalcoholic drink (apple juice) and waited for the other man to respond.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 16, 2008 12:08:30 GMT -5
Sam squinted his eyes at the mug in front of him, and then shot a wary glance back at the stranger. He was drunk, no doubt about it, but being drunk enough to cry in public and spout half-nonsensical confessions at strangers was very different than the "losing all common sense" kind of drunk, and Sam hadn't tossed back quite enough alcohol to be in the latter state of mind.
This guy could be any number of things that went bump in the night, and Sam couldn't discount the possibility of him wanting to drug Sam's drink and kidnap him for some obscure ritual, trap, or other evil "thing that went bump in the night" plot. Of course, Sam had only seen the bartender touch the glass, but with his focus as questionable as it was at the moment, that really didn't count for all that much.
Of course, this could always just be a nice guy who decided to strike up a conversation out of compassion or genuine friendliness, but if growing up a Winchester had taught Sam anything, it was that sorry might add up to dead real fast, so it was smarter to play things safe.
Nodding his head, staring contemplatively down at the new, golden mug, Sam slurred, "Thanks, man... but I think I should probably cut myself off, y'know? When your tongue starts running twice as fast as your head it's prolly time to slow down a little, right?" A sudden, stray thought hit Sam hard and, as though to emphasize his point, his head whipped back to take in the stranger again as his careless tongue tripped over: "Your eyes aren't yellow or anything though, right?"
He must have stared at the man for two or three full seconds before his mind caught up with the question, and he flinched. If this guy was a nobody than he would just assume Sam was hopelessly drunk, but if he did have ties to the supernatural, a mention of the Yellow-Eyed demon would probably perk his interest even if nothing else had...
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 17, 2008 13:29:24 GMT -5
Katsu mentally applauded the young man when he said he would stop drinking. 'It's an awful habit, anyway,' he thought to himself.
"Your eyes aren't yellow or anything though, right?"
Katsu was surprised at this question for more than one reason, but he only let confusion show on his face, quirking an eyebrow quizzically. Did the boy suspect him of supernatural involvement? He could clearly see his eyes were not yellow. Only a few paranormal species had yellow eyes, probably the most dangerous of which was the demon Azazel.... it was more likely that this boy was just drunk to the point of nonsense, but then why yellow?
Katsu decided to see if there was any sense behind the boy's seeming nonsense. He laughed good-naturedly, "Why on earth would my eyes be yellow?" He blinked his gray-blue eyes a few times to make his point.
While waiting for an answer, Katsu looked the man up and down... trail-worn boots, his jeans were worn and ragged as though they had been dragged through a forest consisting of nothing but rose thorns... he also took a deep breath, trying to sort out a scent beneath the strong aroma of liquor. He caught the man's scent mixed with sweat and.... a hint -very faint- of blood, perhaps coming from the fibers of his jacket...
In addition, there was a faint shape hidden beneath the man's jacket.... perhaps a wallet? No, it was too large to be a wallet, no matter how rich the man might (and probably not) be. It could be a flashlight, but Katsu decided it would be safe to assume it was a weapon of some sort. He mentally shook his head. 'Homo sapiens and their guns,' he quoted silently to himself.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 19, 2008 20:08:36 GMT -5
Sam forced a laugh, hoping it sounded less nervous in the stranger's ears than it had in his own.
"You know, yellow eyes. Like... like monsters in in all those horror movies. Or... like vampires. You ever watch Buffy? 'Cause when they went all 'grr' face their eyes went... you know... yellow. So, like, if you had yellow eyes I should be worried that you're evil or something. Definitely. Yellow eyes... good indication of evil right there."
Yeah... if the guy hadn't thought he was a babbling idiot before he definitely would now. There was one crisis hopefully averted. The guy would now probably inch away, and Sam could make his way back to Bobby's and collapse for a comfortable twelve hours of drunk, dreamless sleep before having to deal with tomorrow.
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 20, 2008 20:30:31 GMT -5
Katsu raised his eyebrows slightly further and chuckled slightly.
"Buffy? The vampire slayer? heh, I've seen a few of those episodes. Was there a rerun going on recently or something?"
Maybe he was pushing it a bit. Maybe he should shy away from the drunk man like any normal person would probably do, but then he wouldn't be able to find out what the man's connection was with the supernatural, if he had any at all. Maybe he was just a strange drunkard....
"Do you believe in that sort of thing? Vampires and demons and things?" Straight to the point, but Katsu made sure to keep a kindly smile on his face to blunt the blow of such a, well, blunt question.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 23, 2008 18:35:58 GMT -5
This was definitely not going the way Sam had hoped. He'd thought that crazy supernatural babbling would drive the guy away, not making him more interested. Dean would kill him if he ever found out that Sam had gotten drunk and started talking about demons to a civilian. ...If he ever started talking again, anyway.
The only way to fix this now was to push things way over the top. He smirked and lifted the glass before him, swirling it about a bit, momentarily losing his focus to the swirling, golden liquid. Blinking it back again, he forced an incredulous laugh and announced,
"Yeah, sure. Demons, vampires, witches, wizards. In fact, I just teamed up with Harry Potter and the Easter Bunny the other day to keep Godzilla from wiping out LA. It was all over the news, didn't you hear about it?"
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 23, 2008 20:54:06 GMT -5
Katsuro didn't bother from keeping himself from blinking a few times in disbelief. Now the boy was just being ridiculous.... a bit too ridiculous a bit too quickly. He had seemed before to be at least slightly coherent, but lobbing Harry Potter and the Easter Bunny against Godzilla? That was a little too far. Godzilla would win, anyways, no matter if this boy had helped them. Though maybe if he thought he could help HP and the bunny to actually win against Godzilla, perhaps he was more than he appeared to be.....
Katsu shook his head. Was he getting drunk from simply being next to this wacko? 'Wait,' he thought to himself, 'it's probably the alcohol from the half dead drunkard I ate out back....'
"Well, you see I haven't been watching the news for a few days, so I must have missed the big news." Over the young man's shoulder, Katsu saw his informant enter the bar, look at him pointedly and take a seat in a booth towards the back. "Well, big hero, I must leave you now. My friend just got off from his work and I believe he needs some company. Difficult times for a honey farmer right now, right? Colony collapse disorder and such...."
Rising from the barstool, Katsu clapped the boy on the back, making sure he had his scent for later.
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 26, 2008 13:41:34 GMT -5
Sam was surprised at the mixture of relief and disappointment he felt as the man stood to depart from the counter. The relief he got. After all, he'd been treading pretty close to dangerous territory throughout the conversation. On the other hand, the conversation, strange as it had been, had been a brief distraction from Sam's own problems.
He raised his hand in a wave that refused to go straight back and forth, instead wavering about the side of the bar so wildly that it was a miracle it didn't hit the other in the face.
"Bees..." He echoed the word without completely realizing he did so, and frowned at the mug in front of him. The liquid was all goldy, and he had a sudden suspicion that it was filled with honey rather than alcohol.
"Just what I need... sugar rush on top of being drunk." He shoved the mug away from him, slopping some of the strangely unsticky honey over his hands, and then unsteadily slid off the stood and to his feet. He turned to leave, took a step, then swiveled back and pulled out his wallet, narrowing his eyes and working to make out the numbers on the faded green bills.
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jun 26, 2008 19:59:14 GMT -5
Taking a glance back at the young man as he began to move away, he saw him having trouble handling his money. And then he saw the greedy smile of the bartender, his eyes lighting up slightly at the possibility of swindling more money out of the customer than was needed. Sighing slightly, Katsu stepped back to the young man's side and laid out a cluster of bills in front of him.
"The night's on me, alright? Get back home..."
He turned to leave again, then spun back to the young man, stating "Remember there are better ways to mourn your losses than drowning yourself in oblivion. Believe me, I've been around enough death to know it's not worth losing out on your.... life to sitting in a bar and drinking." Perhaps he stressed the word 'life' too much, but for some reason the boy sparked some of the feelings he had felt when he found out his family had died after he left home.
Katsu didn't like remembering those days. He turned away from the boy, doubting that he had made much of an impression. Over the years there were times he had met someone he felt he could help by offering the wisdom of his many years, but mostly his advice was simply shunned and ignored. Maybe it was because he didn't look old and wise... He had given up trying to help people a long time ago, so what was it about this boy that made him want to protect people again?
Maybe it was just the alcohol getting to him again...
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Post by Sam Winchester on Jun 27, 2008 13:40:50 GMT -5
$1... no... that's a $5. $5 is the one with the 5 on it. Yeah... Wait, how much was the bill again?
The man's voice startled him, as did several bills being laid down on the counter.
"The night's on me, alright? Get back home..."
Sam turned - whether to tell the man he couldn't take his money or just thank him, he wasn't sure - but before he could get so much as a "hey..." out of his mouth the man had turned back with dizzying speed to face him again.
"Remember there are better ways to mourn your losses than drowning yourself in oblivion. Believe me, I've been around enough death to know it's not worth losing out on your.... life to sitting in a bar and drinking."
The man's words caused Sam's own to catch in his throat, leaving it as tight and choked as it had been before the alcohol had helped loosen it up. This guy spoke as though he knew loss, and knew it well. He didn't look any older than Sam, in fact, if anything he looked younger, but there was a tiredness to his words, to his eyes, that usually only came with the experience of many years. Dad had gotten that expression whenever he'd spoken of anyone he'd lost. Whenever he'd spoken of their mother. And Sam had carried that look for weeks after Jessica.
There was nothing he could think to say to that, so he stayed silent, fighting the fresh stinging of his eyes, as the man turned away once more. He watched him retreat to a far booth, blinking back his blurring vision, and then reached into his pocket to fish out his cell phone. Bobby might not appreciate being called this late to pick him up, but facing the older man's wrath was better than trying to stumble home alone in this state.
The stranger, whoever he was, had been right about one thing. This bar was about the worst place he could be right now. He had only survived after Jess had... after Jess, by staying close to Dean and letting them support each other, not to mention watch each others' backs for demons. Hiding out alone in a bar, and letting Dean bury himself in work at the junk yard, would only get them both killed.
That yellow eyed psycho was still out there, not to mention a thousand other things that went bump in the night. Dad wouldn't have wanted them to sit around moping about his death. He would have wanted them to go out and kill them. And that was exactly what Sam planned on doing.
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Post by Katsuro Saigo on Jul 3, 2008 12:27:13 GMT -5
Katsu walked away from the young man and entered the booth his "friend" was occupying. "So how's the honey-farming business going?" "What the heck are you talking about?" asked his informant. Katsu chuckled to himself and waved away the comment. "Back to business. What's the word?" "Well, I've heard nothing truly substantial, but if anyone could get you what you're looking for, then it'd probably be a demon."Katsu let out a short hiss, "You know I don't want to get into some sort of debt with a demon. I've avoided them for most of my life, and I don't want to have to go crawling to one for help now." "Yeah, well looks to me like you don't have much of a choice. Demons are probably the only ones with access to that sort of.... rare object...""Someone else has to have some! I know you better than to call me here if you didn't have anything more than that." "Yeah, yeah, hold yer horses! I didn't want to say anything, really, but I've been hearing little whispers lately of a cult.... demon-worshippers, actually... they've been gaining influence lately, and I heard that they make a point to reward their followers highly..."Katsu thought for a monent, then shook his head. "It doesn't help that no one has seen the bloodvine for centuries. I'm not even sure it's real... Fine, tell me the name of this little cult and I'll look into it." The informant's eyes widened, "Woah, careful now! These guys aren't your run of the mill demon fanatics. These guys are serious. I don't know much about them-nobody does- but they seem to use some real high-level powers. Don't just barge into this. I'm not even sure if these guys would let you get close, much less ask them for help.""Thanks for the concern." "I just don't want to lose such a valuable.... client." He grinned mischeviously at Katsu, who grinned back. "Money-grubber." "Blood-sucker."(Katsu's story continues when he returns home to go over his options in Where To Go From Here? )
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