Log; open

[playstheblues.livejournal.com]

When; Saturday, August 12th
Rating; G-NC-17?
Characters; Open!
Summary; The Blue Light turns 1.
Log;

The Blue Light is decorated; it's got it's usual jazz style but tonight there's some more to it; curtains and tables all look a little bit dated, because they are. Where Blue and Promise found the furnishings for this particular party is something that both of them won't tell, but it looks terrific.

There are corners to hide in and corners to party in, and good music and good booze. It's a party!

Comments

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

He caught a flash of auburn hair and turned to look at the face it belonged to. Penny was looking pensive, completely absent from whatever activity was at hand, and now that he could understand her in a bit of a spiritual way...tormented. In some manner. It was just the way she acted, and moved, and generally held herself, and not everyone would notice it.

He slid off his barstool and approached her, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Penny?" He kept his voice low, so as not to scare her.

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

Of course she couldn't hide from Sorrow. He was perceptive--quick to notice when something was off. Part of Penny was glad he had decided to talk to her. Maybe it was selfish, but she did like having someone there who wasn't oblivious to the reality behind forced smiles and facades of normalcy.

She smiled in what she hoped was a moderately convincing fashion. "Hey, Sorrow. Enjoying the party?"

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

"I am. It has been far too long since I had a good drink in a lively place. Most of the time it was five of us hunched around a flask at night." He smiled, lowering his glass from waist to thigh level as he peered at her smile. It was a good act, but he was too used to people hiding their thoughts. Nonetheless, he would play along, and taking in a bit of the atmosphere might do her good. He raised the drink and vaguely waved it, drawing her attention. "Would you like something? Tony knows his way around a bar."

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

"It's lively alright. Blue knows a thing or two about parties." Although anything would beat sitting around in dark trenches and sharing a flask with a handful of other people.

She looked from his drink over to Tony (who she had been mentally referring to as "The Cute Bartender Who Is Probably Either Taken or Gay"), then back to Sorrow. "No thanks. Bad things happen when I drink. Karaoke happens. Never a good thing. ...What do you have?"

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

"I'm sure you sing beautifully. You shouldn't say such things about yourself." He glanced at the brilliant green stuff in the glass. "This? Something incredibly orange that he calls Ectoplasm. I think his sense of humor has a few, ah, screws loose." He chuckled and took a drink.

"How is the Center, or whatever it is that you've been working on?"

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

"Drunk karaoke is far, far worse than singing." Best to leave that topic alone, maybe. Bless Sorrow for feeling a need to defend her singing skills from herself, though. "Ectoplasm? Sounds like a good drink for a ghost.

"Oh, it's... Center-y. It's definitely coming along. The building was kind of bleak, but Doll's been helping me paint the inside, and Angela's going to paint a mural. It'll look really nice."

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

"You give so much of yourself for the people here." He offered her a warm smile and drained the glass, momentarily wondering if he would smell like orange for the next week or not. "Have you taken any time for yourself? You don't look so well, sometimes, and I fear that you're worse off than you show to others. Your friends don't want you to seclude yourself, to keep your troubles away from them. Nor do I."

Just as a solemn look formed over his face, he pulled off his glasses and set them on her nose. Too wide for her, the long, square lenses sank onto her cheeks. "Or one day you'll be old and bitter like me."

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

She smiled back--genuinely, this time--and absently wondered how such a toxic-looking green drink could smell so orange. Not that that thought bore mentioning. "I take time. Really." Once the statement was out of her mouth, however, Penny wasn't so sure. When was the last time she had just relaxed? Come to think of it, she couldn't even think of what she would do to relax. A bit sheepishly, she amended, "I'll work on taking it easy. Don't worry."

Penny pushed the glasses up the bridge of her nose and peered at Sorrow through the lenses. "You're not old and bitter. More like... mature and wise, like the Indian gurus who sit on top of mountains in Tibet. ...Only not Tibetan."

Removing the glasses and offering them back, her mood became more sober. "You've seen a lot. You've seen things I can't even imagine, I bet--things that would give me nightmares. But you're not bitter. You can still smile and enjoy a party after all of that. It's amazing."

oh my god why do I have three threads with penny ^_^

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

"It was a bit of a joke. I'm not bitter. Though I'm not so sure 'wise' is the right descriptor, either. I've never been a guru, or a monk, or sat on a mountain, unless you count haunting an old river in the Russian cliffs as being a guru on a mountain." He took them, shook them out so that one of the legs unfolded, and set them back on his face. "But I won't lie when I say the vodka help me get into the party." A moment's smile, almost a chuckle, and he set the glass on the bar.

His expression softened to something more knowing, and he offered a nod at her final statement. "They do give me nightmares, although twenty years' time helps dull their frequency. I'm no less human than you. But Penny, stop undermining yourself." He took one of her hands and held it between his, his palms wide and heavy over her slender fingers. "What truly sustains me are three things: my spirits, my mission, and my friends." He leaned down to closer meet her gaze; behind his glasses, his silver-white eyes were in reality pale gray, a hint of the lightest blue glinting off them. "You've been a breath of fresh air in a dangerous City, and I would consider you my closest friend here. Magical talents be damned -- you are a stronger, more capable woman than you think you are."

Her hand was warm and tan against his cold stark white, and for a moment he took notice and glanced down. He hadn't really thought of that contrast in a long time, not since ages ago. Penny wasn't anything like Joy, quiet instead of commanding, gentle instead of strict, but they both shared a genuine, deep, benevolent nature that pierced his heart. The woman deserved something for her efforts, for her tireless life crusade against pain and deprivation. He had nothing material to give her, though. Hopefully whatever he could say or do would be enough, but it didn't feel that way.

Because you--I... I have no idea. *hides*

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

"That's close enough!" Not geographically speaking, perhaps, but a Russian river sounded just as lonely and Nirvana-inspiring as Tibetan mountains. "We can't all be party people. At least you came?"

Penny glanced down at their hands. For some reason, Sorrow made her think of her father. There wasn't much in the way of physical similarities, but something about his mannerisms was comfortingly familiar. She met his eyes slowly. The compliments were difficult to take, if only because there was no polite way to accept or deny them. Acceptance, of course, was the only feasible option. "Thank you."

That wasn't enough, but gratitude was a notoriously difficult emotion to put into words. She squeezed his hands gently, hoping that gesture would convey what words refused to. "Thank you. I can't tell you what that means... to hear that, I mean."

Because she's awesome and Sorrow can grandfather at her ^_^

[spiritofsorrow.livejournal.com]

"Indeed. I thought it might be fun to see what this would be like." He paused, watching her look down, then finally up again, and he smiled as he realized he had finally make her take a compliment without trying to wave it away. Perhaps she could learn.

He lowered his arms now, releasing her, and motioned out to the crowd. "Have fun, Penny." Remembering something he had seen earlier, a thought rose to mind. "Go talk to Tony, maybe. He's a good man -- we bailed each other out of some interesting magical problems, and I rather like him. Not to mention I saw you glance his way."

With a cheeky smile that was altogether not designed for his face, he decided, Sorrow ducked his head in a nod and wandered away into the crowd.

Excellent reasons, both!

[horrible-penny.livejournal.com]

Whoops, Penny had been caught looking at the bartender. She smiled at Sorrow's departing back before making her way over to the bar.