Through a Wine Soaked Glass

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy wondered then how long it would be before another challenge fell into place. At least this time she had an entire arsenal of skills at her disposal. She could be far more impressive, so maybe that was a plus.

Then she laughed to herself, unaware at the time as to how she might have put herself out there. There was definitely a defined interest in the person who sat next to her, but caution was clear enough too. She wasn't about to get invested in someone who might dissipate at the first sign of trouble.

"It's not that hard when you're keen on someone, I guess. You just... Know who they are." Lucy tried to explain. She'd already dug herself in a little; might as well go all the way.

[Talia Bracken]

Again she laughed. It seemed to ease the air between them from their previous topic. Talia felt they were shifting back into the normal banter again. She missed it. It was always oddly refreshing.

It wasn't that hard when one was keen on another, she guessed. You just knew who they were. It made a little sense. Talia was more pleased by the fact she hadn't tried getting out of the topic. Instead she'd gone forward with it. "Mhmm." She hummed with an amused and more than slightly smug look. Just because she could understand the reasoning didn't mean she'd give up the tease.

"Does that mean you can smell everyone else in here?" Her eyes did a brief look around before settling on her once again. "If that's the case then you definitely have my pity." The words came with a definitely playful tone. "Or are you only focusing on me?"

[Lucy Serrano]

She looked like she found that amusing. Lucy had pretty good at keeping cards close to her chest. She might throw an outward suggestion out every now and again, but a kiss undercover had been all she'd really given by way of a legitimate expression.

In her mind, the opportunities escaped her. Now, she doubted she'd ever get close enough again. "Maybe is was easy to pick you out of the crowd because it's otherwise pretty gnarly in here." She agreed, because up until now she'd been doing her best to ignore that. Focus was key.

"But yeah, I'm focused on you. That's not bad." But it was about to get a lot more intense. She couldn't help the way her senses merged so harshly.

[Talia Bracken]

Maybe it was easy to pick her out of the crowd because otherwise it was pretty gnarly in there. So yes, she was focused on her. That wasn't so bad. Talia didn't mind. Something of a compliment was in there. She smiled for it and finished off her drink. "Glad to be of service, then." it came with a bit of a chuckle.

Then she paused again. there was little she knew of the beginning processes of newly turned vampires. Most of her targets were a bit higher up on that list. Still, she couldn't imagine the overload of senses she'd be dealing with. Especially in a place like this. "You sure you don't want to at least get out of here?" She offered one last time. It only seemed fair.

[Lucy Serrano]

With something of an admission hidden in that set of words, Lucy wondered what would happen next. She felt no need to say more, but there was the overwhelming urge to act. She hadn't expected anyone to worry about her. She hadn't thought a soul would care. But there she sat, and she seemed intent to leave the crowd.

"That's entirely up to you, love." Lucy replied then. Somehow, amongst all the anguish of the last few days, she at least managed to find a shred of her old sense of self. Last time, it was her choice what happened. It only seemed fair to pass the power over.

[Talia Bracken]

It was entirely up to her. This time it was her choice to pick. Not that she really needed much time to think on it. She took out what she needed to pay for the drink. Placing it on the table and standing, she gently took her by the wrist to tug her out of the bar.

After that, she simply searched for a quiet place. Somewhere less humans or vampires would be. Eventually she settled for the park. It was relatively empty at this time in the evening. Only then did she stop and take a seat on one of the benches.

"Better?" She finally asked, blue eyes turning back to her companion. There was risk here still, certainly. But she dealt with a life of risk. It was a familiar feeling at this point. Besides, she wasn't nearly as worried with her. Whether that was smart or not.

[Lucy Serrano]

A hand to her wrist, and all Lucy could feel was the sense for the pulse at the base of hers. She followed the assassin in her quiet footsteps, doing her best to ignore every individual who might have brushed by her in their path. Soon enough it was gone, and she had every ability to breathe a sigh of relief.

"A lot, yeah." She replied honestly. As much as she worked to keep up appearances, there was only so much she could stand in her newest state.

She pressed her hands to her own waist as she stood, intent to keep distance as she assumed it was an easy thing for the lone human to want; "So c'mon, tell me why you worried."

[Talia Bracken]

A lot, yeah. Again it came with a sense of honesty. Both of them seemed to be doing that a lot that day. Although there wasn't much reason for either to lie. Not even for Talia. She could do that another time. If she had to.

She maintained her distance. Talia raised an eyebrow at this. Yet she understood. She thought distance would be good. Hands pressed to her own waist, she asked a question. Why did she worry? Talia pursed her lips slightly. But there was a faint bit of mirth in her eyes.

Why had she worried? She could have fibbed. Or come off as bland and generic. Based her answer on the favor she owed. "Maybe I don't like losing track of people." She posed. "Maybe I don't want my favor to go to waste. Or." She toyed with the word. "Maybe I didn't want my favorite thief vanishing on me."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy briefly wondered if her decision to remain further apart was something to scorn her later. Though she'd receieved a kind of clarity from the person she found herself with now, it took more than honeyed words to change the mind of those changed for the worse.

She was worse; there was no doubt about that. And she kept those worse for wear eyes solely on the person she gave her entire focus to. There might have been a second world swimming in her head, but she maintained that connection all the same.

"Oh come on," She replied, exhaling the rest of the air she held in a short laugh before she searched for more, "Can't you just give me one little pointed thought?" Games were a hard forte of the assassin, and she knew that. She had no problem with that. "For someone who likes to do the chasing, you're doing a lot of running away, here."

[Talia Bracken]

Oh come on. The exhale that came with it ended in a short laugh. Couldn't she give her just one pointed little thought? For someone who liked to do the chasing, she was doing an awful lot of running away in that moment. For others, that kind of statement might make a person made. For Talia, she laughed with genuine amusement. She was playing games. It was too much fun to do with her. Certainly a staple of their conversations.

But she could be generous. She had been through a lot. A lifetime's worth in one ever changing moment. Not everyone could stay the same after that. The gangrels were good evidence. So she studied her again. Then rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh alright." She said with a hint of a teasing tone. "It's because I like you." Came the honest reply, complete with a shrug. "Genuinely. Something that rarely actually happens for me. So you could say you're special."

[Lucy Serrano]

Lucy completely expected to get no answer in return. She waited in her own mentality to be thrown another joke, or another half-hidden comment that would easily make her laugh. It was nice, if nothing else, to feel just a little bit normal again. More to the point, she got more than she bargained for when Talia opted to give her a decent, honest answer.

Even she couldn't hide the surprise she wore before she realised it was something to keep hidden.

"You're too kind," Lucy replied then, shrugging her shoulders. It felt like a kind of personal victory; one she soaked the confidence from entirely; "I'll try to remember that if I ever feel the urge to ruin you."

And then, she swung back into the seat at her side. Certain things might have been difficult to control, and that was certainly an easy threat, but she doubted harm could come from sitting beside her.

[Talia Bracken]

The response got a reaction. She was surprised. Something that made Talia smile further. Even if the emotion was quickly put away. Still it was too late. She'd seen. She was also too kind. A kind of comment that might've sounded sarcastic. Whether or not it was, she couldn't tell. But she could see a sense of triumph from in her eyes.

She would try to remember that if she ever got the urge to ruin her. Wording which once again arched a brow on Talia's face as she watched her finally take a seat beside her. It made Talia more pleased than anything to see the brunette was acting a bit more like she had. "Ruin me? How sweet. Though I guess it depends on what you mean by that."

[Lucy Serrano]

Questioned again, and this time Lucy wanted to put her best foot forward. Her arm draped across the back of the seat as she opted to stare out instead. It was always safer at night.

"Well, I'll definitely try super hard not to kill you." She explained, but she still managed an air of humour about it. It wasn't as if Talia was to be taken lightly; vampiric or not, she was still talking about the idea of going toe to toe with an experienced, likely extraordinary assassin.

"But I dunno," She shrugged. There was more than one way to ruin someone, "How into fucking around with a bunch of coy statements are you?"

[Talia Bracken]

She would definitely try hard not to kill her. There was an air of humor about it, and Talia found herself chuckling. There was a reason she was the Black Widows' leader. it was why she had no trouble sitting there talking to the newly turned vamp. That, and a few other things she'd already mentioned.

But she didn't know. How into messing around with coy statements was she? Her vagueness pointed out, Talia smirked. Leaned back into the bench and looked up into the sky. "Oh, a little bit." She admitted easily. It was somewhat honest. Enough so. "I like seeing how people interpret them. Words can mean a lot of different things, after all."

[Lucy Serrano]

Interest greatly lined the conversation between them. Though Lucy has always been used to physicality over mentality, she was learning how different it became when the latter held greater weight. There was something attractive about the assassin's mind, let alone her physical form.

And she was talking like it, too. Like she cared more about what was said than the shape of the mouth that said it.

"Is that like an assassin mind trick thing?" Lucy asked her, opting to actually look back at her again, "Like I say I'm focused on you and you sit there and wonder how deep that goes?"