It is What It Is {Darius, open}

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

Ah Gods, would she just stop talking?! With a martyred sigh, Darius just rolled his eyes in Mercy's direction. There was a reason why he didn't get out much these days. Ever since it had become stylish to do that free speech shit, all the fun that came from throwing random insults was just sucked away.

His mouth opened to shoot a barb in the stranger's direction, but he never got the chance. Was it possible for a guy to really choke on his own words? He'd just discovered that the answer was yes.

His eyes shot open in surprise as the goddess' lips came crashing down onto his. His first instinct was to pull away but, strangely enough, he found himself unable to move. He felt her hands on him and slowly, startingly comfortable with her touch, he found himself relaxing, his own hands curling around her hips to pull her snug against him. Man, there was something about this woman that never failed to make his blood heat.

He felt like he 'd known her in another life and felt a sudden unexplainable connection to her. He pulled back when she id, putting some space between them.

Calling all blood, please treturn to the big brick thing on his shoulders. he needed some brain activity before he turned even more stupid. Connection...sheesh. What he was feeling was lust, simple as that. She WAS the daughter of Cupid, for the Gods' sakes. She was probably giving off...pheromones, or something like that.

"Yeah...too bad," He muttered under his breath. He really, desperately wanted to let go of his surely attitude but he just...couldn't. Old habits sure as hell died hard, even in in the face of Zoe's contagiously happy disposition.

With a sideways glance at Mercy, he stole the ambrosia and tipped some back. Get ahold of yourself, Aronus, he chided himself, swirling the clear liquid around a bit. He needed to keep it cool and not go caveman on the temptress over there. Women these days didn't like the domineering types so much, and he had enoug mental scars. He really didn't need Zoe making him fall in love with a dude out of revenge to add to them.

"So, no interruptions this time?" He couldn't help but shoot the quip at Mercy. "I think you're learning the difference between abuse and fun. I'm so proud."

Smirking, he took another gulp of the potent, Godly liquor. Eyeing Zoe as he realized the bottle felt a bit light, he frowned. "How much of this shit did you drink?" He asked, putting a hand on her arm. "You do know that this' Bacchus' favorite drink, right? And that he's a pro, and even he gets nutty on the ambrosia?"

He paused, casting a suspicious look around him. Man, he really did need to get out more. "Where the hell are we, Zoe, that they serve ambrosia? You are aware of the fact that if we're in Mount O, or if there are any Gods in the building, I'm toast."

[Mercedes Rowe]

Mercedes nearly laughed at Zoe’s decree. Alright, she could do this. Maybe if she got to know this man over here he wasn’t half as bad as she thought. Him and Zoe seemed to have a good connection going on. God forbid she has to watch it though. These two couldn’t seem to keep their hands to themselves.

“Nice to meet you, Darius,” she waved a hand, trying to play it nice. She was nice, so this was easy for her. Darius though, the man was dripping with sarcasm. She didn’t know how she was going to survive this, but she’d try.

At the warning she quickly turned her head. She didn’t even need to be looking. She could smell the lust coming off of the two. It was so thick she couldn’t have cut it with a butter knife. When she thought they were done, she glanced back at them and caught Zoe’s “CAN YOU BLAME ME” look. She laughed and shook her head. It wasn’t exactly what she would do, but she still couldn’t blame her.

“Hey, hey…I know the difference between abuse and fun.” She couldn’t help it that he looked like he was about to rape Zoe when she first saw him. Her cheeks flushed as he went on about how proud he was. Oh god, she should just shoot herself now.

He changed the subject though, so that was good. She eyed the bottle that he grabbed from Zoe then stared down at her glass. “What is ambrosia? Can I have some of that?” She really wanted to come out and have some fun tonight, so if something knocked her on her ass good and hard that would be awesome.

She didn’t wait for a yes or no answer. She brought her glass out towards them. “If this stuff will get me drunk I will be hitting you all for a bottle all the time,” she grinned. It was hard with human liquor to get herself drunk. She had to drink A LOT of it to do much, so she would definitely be in love if this ambrosia got her drunk after a few shots.

[Zoe Harris]

If you're ready, I'm willing and able
Help me lay my cards out on the table
You're mine and I'm yours for the taking
Right now the rules we made are meant for breaking
What you get ain't always what you see
But satisfaction's guaranteed
They say what you give is always what you need
So if you want me to lay my hands on you

Zoe was walking on clouds. At least, thats what the heavy, potent liquor made her feel like. The stuff was one of the many reasons she loved coming into Screamers and the only way she could actually get drunk. Something she very seldom ever did because the stuff tended to bring out her more .. uninhibited side.

And an uninhibited daughter of Eros was SOOOOOOOOOOO not something that these poor mortals were ready to deal with.

Tonight, however.. Tonight was shaping up to be a whole nother kettle of fish. With a man as drool worth as the one in front of her? Well, Zoe was willing to bet that she wouldn't be going home disappointed.

IF she could get him to lighten up that was.

Tilting her head sideways and leaning back against the counter with elbows slid back and Darius in front of her, the pretty brunette arched a brow and smirked. Grabbing the bottle back from Mercy she took another drink before replying.

"Just what kind of place is this?? Come on now, Dare... Don't disappointment me. Here I thought you were a brighter crayon than that...Surely you've gotten the vibe in here.... " she teased with an impish grin. "Most of the people in here?? They aren't exactly human and this is one of the only places in town that we all call neutral ground."

Glancing at Mercy, Zoe smirked.

"Even our friend over here isn't completely human if you haven't guessed..... I'm guessing a were since I don't sense any true animal spirit coming from you or the arcane magic that shifters inherit....."

Then, as if she hadn't just shocked the hell out of either of them, the young goddess turned back to the bar and shouted to the bartender.

"ANOTHER ROUND OF AMBROSIA, JARED!!"

Once the bottle in question was in hand, Zoe poured them all shots and raised her glass to them. Her eyes glinted with mischief as she nodded towards the VIP section.

"See the big guys in the back? Thats the Fenrisulfr clan. Theres Wulf, head of the otherworld council and baddest shifter of Celtic history. His brother is the dark haired bouncer and hes a council enforcer. They have a sister and the other blond with the intense blue eyes is her mate. Cueball by the bar is Tyreese and he's pretty much their adopted brother along with the wild looking long haired scot leading the band. That one would be Erik."

Looking back at Darius, she arched a brow questioningly.

"That answer your questions, cowboy? Or do I need to draw you a map?" she drawling with a teasing note to her voice. "Cause .. I don't know about you but I'm about ready to blow this joint and find some real fun.....IF you can keep up that is."

Glancing at the other woman, Cupids daughter grinned and then continued.

"And you... You definitely need to stop in and see me at the store... We can share another of these fine bottles of liquor and have a girl chat!"

[Darius 'Aronus' Tiberian]

Gods, how did he always manage to get himself into these messes? From the annoyingly astute doctor, to the Goddess who was getting drunk quicker than a kid on pixie sticks, he was really beginning to regret not getting his ass tortured for refusing to go after that old guy in Zoe’s store. All of this…friendly banter, flirting and shit; it was so damn unwelcome that it really wasn’t funny. Sure, the little Cupid didn’t look at him and spit, as most of the Olympians did, and she felt really fucking good pressed up against him…but hell, in the end, the only thing she was going to do is find some way to screw his ass, and not in a nice way.

It was what he kind did, after all. Her female, Goddess, ‘got Zeus on my family tree’ kind…and after a few centuries of being the butt of everyone’s jokes, he was really tired of being Mr. Trusting Tom.

But did any of that make him do the freaking smart thing and leave? NO, OF COURSE NOT. Hades balls, he was a freaking masochist of the highest order! Martyr complex of the century, here he came…

With a barked ‘NO!’ at Mercy when she requested some of Zoe’s ambrosia, Darius snatched her bottle away and took a few tugs, if only to stop her from getting whacked out in the next ten minutes.

“Humans can’t drink ambrosia, unless you want your brains to melt inside your head,” He snarled, sliding the bottle back to Zoe once he was done with it. When the bartender put down the shot in front of him, he shoved the thing right back at him. The last time he’d gotten drunk on the shit, some annoying ass ‘wanna make Daddy Zeus proud of me’ demi-God shoved a sword through his chest. And, because his life was oh-so-fucking cool, Hades had seen the entire thing and cooked up a brand new method of torture, just for him.

All those magic tricks about being sawed in half? Really wasn’t cool in practice.

When she spoke again, a smidgeon of his current hostility disappeared. Curiously, he took in the Council members, memorizing their faces. For a particularly nice moment, he actually wondered if they could help him find a loophole in his current contract with Hades; maybe throw some Otherworld weight around and see if there was some way to get him free again. As if sensing the train of thought, however, the invisible bands around his neck and wrists began to warm. Instinctively afraid of burning her, he took a step away from Zoe and made sure his arms were nowhere near her or Mercy.

“You mean, and leave all the loud music, wanna-be ‘sexy dancing’ and annoying clientele?” He pointedly eyed Mercy after the last comment. “What else could be more exciting than this? Swimming around in the local sewers? Getting your head closed in a door? Oh, I know; watching Buffy re-runs while eating fruit cake. Now THERE’S something to make your night.”

[Mercedes Rowe]

((Sorry...was so late on getting this post together.))

Mercedes lifted one perfectly arched brow at Zoe’s statement. How the hell did she know she was a were? It wasn’t like she shared this bit of information with just anyway. Hell, she had even been afraid to share it with Lucien. “So…how the hell did you know what I was?”

The ambrosia came and was all over that like white on rice. God, she needed a drink hanging around in this joint. As she slammed her drink back she listened to Zoe describing the people in the VIP section. Her eyes shifted towards the area. She had run into one or two of them once or twice, but that was not a bit of information she intended to share. “They look like a bunch of badasses. I wouldn’t mess with them.”

She set her glass back down on the counter and she whistled. “Wow! What is this stuff? You’ve got to tell me the name, so I can ask for it again. This stuff is potent.” And she intended to get some more of it. Preferably some that she could bring home to stuff in the cupboard for a rainy day.

She lifted her lips slightly. “You can bet I’ll be coming by to see ya sometime. I do love to have some girl chat.”

Her hazel eyes shifted quickly towards Darius as he made his comment. “Oh, come now, Darius. Do you really find me all that annoying?” She smirked and waited for a refill of the ambrosia. That really was some good stuff. She couldn’t remember the last time any alcoholic beverage ever affected her like this.

“Don’t worry,” she grinned. “If I come by to see Zoe I’ll make sure you aren’t there. I wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

After another shot, she set her glass down. “And on that happy note I’m going to shake this joint. Thanks for the drinks, Zoe. You two have a wonderful evening.” She waved and headed towards the exit. She did not want to overstay her welcome, which was the vibe she was starting to get from Darius.