Shaken and Stirred - An Encounter at the Bar (Vega Nakai & Scarlaheart)

[Suika]

"Why did I have to get picked for this? Surely there are plenty of others on the roster that would love to stand around in a crowded bar all night and look important. Well, at least they are paying my tab for the night."

Vega shook her head as she remembered getting the call from LAW management that she had been selected as a brand ambassador and that her presence will be required tonight at some bar called Uncle Cowboy's. Show up in her ring costume, have photo ops while holding products that are being sponsored, and maybe even say a few words - nothing difficult for sure, but she had a sinking feeling in her gut that it was going to be stuffy and crowded in there, her personal hell.

She felt rather awkward walking through the streets in her in-ring costume, but no one had bothered her, at least yet. She couldn't imagine being one of the more established wrestlers and doing this, but maybe they like being stopped. The get-up felt perfectly natural while inside in the ring, but while out and about she was becoming much more aware of the little slits in her pants and how exposed her midriff was, curtesy of the slight breeze blowing past.

Spoiler

The faint thumping of the bass grew louder as Vega could see a neon sign reading "Uncle Cowboy's" in pink cursive, with a single nondescript door below it and a fairly large figure in a suit standing by. As she approached the doorway the man in the suit stuck out an arm and a smaller man in a suit appeared with a tablet in hand.

"Are you here for the Ambassador Event? I will need your name and uh...nevermind" the man's words trailed off as he saw Vega's name plastered on her top. He dug into his front pocket and pulled out a pink plastic card and handed it to the Japanese wrestler, who mostly just stood there not sure what to do.

"Just give this to the bartender for your tab before you leave. You can drink whatever you'd like, just don't use it to buy others drinks. Anyways, look sharp in there" he said with a pat to Vega's shoulder as the larger man nodded and motioned for her to go in.

The dance music enveloped the air as Vega stepped into the bar; she scanned the room and saw there was a bar to one side and an open space for dancing on the other, with the whole room being decorated with a haze of pink and blue neon. "Alright, time to get some drinks down to make this place tolerable" she said to herself as she made her way to the bar.

Surprisingly, the bar was not exactly packed yet, and there didn't seem to be any other wrestlers or sponsors there either. Vega raised her hand to flag down a bartender, and soon a slim figure in a vest made his way over, his thin brows arched up and ready for her order.

"I guess I'll start a tab with this" she said with the pink card in hand. "Anyways, one Long Island Ice Tea please."

The bartender nodded with a smile and darted back to the middle of the bar to start her drink. In the meantime, Vega's eyes shifted around the room, looking to see if any fellow wrestlers had made their way here yet.

[Monsy]

Not far behind was the black Reinhardt limousine cruising on jet-black asphalt. The inside was quiet, lit up by red neon and light from Renae’s handheld gaming device. Karla was beside her, watching, Maria on the backbench and Adelaide on the opposite side, writing notes in pitch-black. Something about this fiasco earned Maria’s constant scoff. She was waiting for someone to pick up her displeasure, but even Renae’s humming captured more attention.

She’d like to give her a kick. But..
“This establishment reeks of middle-class. Why are we attending?” Maria asked.
“We are not. You are.” Karla replied.
“I would totally join, buuuuut, I got plans.” Renae added.
“And that is what?” Maria asked.
“Brm, brm..” Renae mocked grabbing a steering wheel with one hand, pressing an imaginary pedal with her foot, “My ride got in not too long ago.”

“And what about you, Karla? You know you owe me last from that outburst with the goat lesser.”
“I am not stepping into a place called Uncle Cowboys. The smell of wet dogs will kill me.”

Maria’s eyes rolled into their sockets, sinking lower into her seat until her hips were over the edge.

“Chin up, that just means you’re representing your family. Think of it like an honour. Karolina trusts you for this.” Adelaide said, pocketing her notes

The limousine came to a slow stop between two black SUVs. Maria propped herself back up, putting her hands into her face as the door opened, taking in a deep breath before tipping up, “Fine.” Then threw a leg over the bench’s lip, pushing off as a black-suited man smiled and held it open. She stood on the sidewalk, rolling her shoulders and donning a straight posture. The scarf around her neck hid much of her changing expressions, from a pout to a huff, twisted anger and eventually an apathy. Such is the weight upon the shoulders.

“I’ll pick you up later, k?!” Renae shouted just before the door closed. One black SUV pulled away with the limousine and a suited bodyguard stood behind her, back-straight, arms in front of him, gripping the opposite wrist. Another was close-by, just sitting in the driver seat of the SUV. But Maria needn’t address either of them, but simply walk towards the bouncer. When she tried to walk by, his arm came out in front and her guard swatted it down.

“Hey, I just need a name.” They said,
Maria pulled down her scarf and gave him a scowl, “Ah, R-Reinhardt. Right.”
The bouncer lifted the pink card, “I’m guessing you won’t need this then. Go on in.”

Spoiler

She pulled up the scarf and strode into the room, gaining a small audience as Maria looked around. Red hair like this was unnatural, paired with a smooth midriff, short-shorts and that wild dragon tattoo winding across her stomach and down a leg. Eyes like garrote wire, vicious and malicious, scanned, the wooden complexion was basic, warm-coloured with seemingly darker-finished bars, tables and chairs, which must’ve been acacia to what she perceived, smoothed so you could stare at your reflection. Ornaments like animal horns, bull skulls hung on the wall, a collection of images on the far-side, almost like a collage. A fireplace that had nothing going, but surrounded by brick and looked more for décor than anything. Then there was a door through the thicket of lessers, lit by the setting blood-orange sun cascading in a faint glow. That looked like her scene.

She turned around, grabbing the bodyguard’s jacket and beginning to undo the top buttons.
“You are going to act natural and not cause a fuss over everything. You are going to sit at that bar and get us two margaritas, then bring it outside to the patio. You will be kind and make small talk if you please. Fit in. However you're supposed to do that here."

The bodyguard nodded, “If that’s what you want, Miss Reinhardt. But is messing up my suit really necessary?”

“You look more like a lesser that way. Now go on.”
She looked the opposite way from him, a casual dismissal as the bodyguard walked, and she pursued another direction towards the door, weeding through the people, having to sidestep a few times and pull up her scarf more to deal with the smell. Not a glance offered to anyone, but a series of sharp head-turns to actively avoid such a thing. Then when she got outside, things were much more tolerable. Wind cooed against her stomach. She could finally breathe in, stretch her arms above her head and walk for the railing, setting her elbows on it and dipping her head to sigh. Just let it be over.

[Suika]

Vega's eyes bounced around the room, but nothing or no one really caught her eye so far. A few clusters of businessfolk wearing collared shirts began to accumulate in a few corners as they chatted amongst themselves; surely some of them are here for their sponsorship speaches and all. Otherwise just typical couples and friend groups keeping to themselves dotted the room, but so far no sign of other wrestlers.

"Here you go ma'am," Vega's eyes returned back to the bar as she saw the bartender return with her drink, and a shotglass full of something clear next to it. "Enjoy!" the bartender winked as he turned to take an order from elsewhere across the bar.

Wasting no time, Vega brushed the straw aside and picked up the sizeable glass to take a big first swig of the Long Island Iced Tea. The drink was sweet, almost too sweet. And yet, no taste of alcohol at all. "Hmm, I can drink these things all night," she said to herself under her breath as she took another swig of her drink.

Out of the corner of her eye Vega noticed a small group enter the room, a redheaded woman with a few men in suits surrounding her. She casually watched from the side as the woman began to firmly talk to the men. No words could be made out from the distance but she seemed quite pushy.

"Hmmph!" Vega looked away and took another swig from her drink, not terribly interested in the new strangers in the room. Her face was beginning to warm up a bit, drawing a small smile. Good, I think I'm already feeling something.

As she paused before drinking again she saw the red-haired woman again, this time walking briskly past the bar alone and off to a different section. Their eyes did not meet and Vega didn't get much of a look at her but she seemed to be wearing some sort of two-piece outfit that normally patrons here would not wear, and did not look to be all the happy to be here. Was she possibly here for the function against her wishes as well?

"Welcome to the club," Vega dryly muttered to herself before downing the rest of her drink. She glanced at the shotglass left next to it, and remembered the wink of the bartender. Hey, what the hell I guess. She picked up the shot and downed it quickly, but it wasn't quite as smooth going down as the mixed drink was. Vega's eyes widened as she felt the liquid burn a trail down her throat. No taste, just dryness and burn. So dry, that she could not even gag even though she very much wanted to.

"What the hell was that?" Vega shaked her head and began to stand up to push her barstool in. She glanced at a neon light advertising beer behind the bar and immediatly her head began spinning. The raven-haired woman realized she maybe got a bit too eager here in starting her night off and locked eyes with the bartender, who nodded with a smile before returning with a glass of water. "Take it easy now."

Vega returned the nod and took a sip of the cold water, which felt like manna from the heavens on her lips. She knew she needed to get some fresh air now, and turned around to begin walking towards the back where it seemed there was a patio. Vega wasn't having any issues with walking but she could tell from the sloshing of the water in the cup she held that she was swaying just a bit when walking. Her eyes began to adjust as she could see the light adjust from the dim haze indoor to a more mellow pink haze from the sun setting outdoors. The air getting less stuffy as she entered the patio, Vega took a sharp turn to her left but caught one of her feet on the other, able to keep herself from tripping but not preventing her arm from lurching wildly forward and sending much of the water from her cup projectiling forward.

[Monsy]

One thing Reinhardts fancied was the stars. A shared fascination and symbolism, as they saw themselves as stars on Earth, human embodiments of these great things, trillions, quintillions times bigger than anything else on this planet. At least, a couple of them thought that way. Maria found them easier to look at than the crowded place within. So stacked, shoulder to shoulder with so-called common folk as her mother called them. It was like swimming in rusty old cars when she herself was the Ferrari. Still, drinks were something to make those values blend just a bit easier. This was a function. Neither were they rookies to the reality of wearing a media persona. Just, what was taking so damn long?


Maria, from her perch at the balcony, now moved towards the door at equal time to Vega. It was dark beyond the lanterns and few candles remained on a few tables and chairs, but empty shadows for just about anything else, bar the inside who’s rabble, glass clinking, shouting and music spilled through the walls. She came to the door at just about the most inopportune time, welcomed by a splash of cold water soaking her chest and making the fabric stick.

“SHIESSE!!” Maria stumbled back, from the cold and the jump scare. Her heart ripped and punched against her ribs for a moment, feeling sweat on her stomach and having struck pale. When everything slowed back down, she looked at herself then ahead, smelling that particular something in their breath that turned her concern into a patent Reinhardt anger. “You… Little… Drunk…” Maria then stepped forward and gave a full-force shove to their shoulders. Not the best solve to an accident, but when you want to taint solid gold, someone out to give them a spanking.

[Suika]

What happened in a few seconds felt much longer, as if time had slowed in anticipation for the two figures to meet. Or maybe this was just the alcohol playing with Vega's mind. Regardless, she could only helplessly watch as the water from her cup sloshed up and spilled onto a woman who had appeared in front of her just as she turned the corner. The Japanese woman's eyes lit up with surprise when she realized it was the same redhead that she noticed walk by earlier. Her!

Before Vega could react or say anything, time had caught back up to speed again in her head and she saw the shock on the other woman's face quickly turn to anger. Her mouth just laid dumbly in slack, not quite comprehending the situation quickly enough to offer apologies or say anything else for that matter.

That opportunity was soon gone, with Maria slamming that door shut with a sharp shove to Vega's shoulders, sending the raven-haired woman tumbling backwards. Her legs a jumbling mess from trying to steady herself - but the momentum too much for her - Vega soon found herself tumbling into an aluminum table, the air pierced with the sound of metal scratching against the concrete ground further punctuated with a louder crash as the table and one of the stools collapsed to the floor along with the falling woman.

A sharp pang shot up Vega's body as she landed on her rear, the hard concrete ground providing no cushion for her as a stool fell atop one of her legs and rolled off. The pain appeared to sober her up just a bit, or at least just enough to irritate her into pushing away the fog in her brain and replacing it with her own anger. Her eyes locked onto Maria, she picked up the closest thing to her - a ceramic ashtray that must have fallen off of the table - and chucked it right towards her chest, a bullseye for her suddenly found rage.