Raise your Drinking Glass, here's to Yesterday [c]

[=TRACKALACKA]

Harvey didn't have a pleasant sleep.

His mind was tossing and turning, trying to make sense of things. His hand still hurt. He couldn't get a face out of his head. He was finding it hard to smile. His stomach started growling again. The place where he settled down wasn't comfortable.

But eventually he slept. And when he awoke, he decided to leave the place which had given him such a rough slumber and get his head clear again. He found his smile and found himself drawn to a rundown building with broken neon signs. Carefully he crept up to the door and tapped on it with his knuckles (on his good hand). There was no noise instead, so he tried the door, which complied and swung open to reveal a dusty abandoned bar. Interested, Harvey entered, forgetting to close the door behind him.

It smelled... rather unpleasant. The was a faint stench of decay, mixed with a strange scent which Harvey guessed to be alcohol. According to the books, alcohol was something humans ingested to "escape" from their reality, as it dulled the senses and created a state of "drunkenness". He knew bars were the places where alcohol was sold, but it was closed. Surely, though, there might be some alcohol! He looked around at the cobwebbed tables and dusty shelves. The only bottles he could find were either empty or smashed. He figured he'd have to find alcohol somewhere else.

Sighing, he went and sat on one of the bar stools and looked at the faucets which would deliver the strange liquid. He had tried them but nothing came through. He places his elbows on the bar and examined his injured hand. Only the thumb and forefinger stared him back, the rest bandaged with Elisa's care. He wondered how well he would do with his hand-to-hand combat, now that he basically had one hand out of the question. Hand combat? Not as nice a ring. He placed his head in his arms and sighed again.

He laughed a little, realizing it was a such a waste of energy coming here.

[LoLi]

Chuck wasn’t very careful with anything these days. He was humming himself a tune, it’s an easy way to get him shot that was. Couldn’t be helped that his cane was always tapping against the rubble and rock anyways. Walking was the only thing that kept his arthritis at bay, or at least make it bearable. Chuck peered into the broken buildings as he passed. This street looked like it had plenty of bars and nightclubs. One place really caught his eye. Inside the wide open door, he could see someone sitting at the empty bar.

He strolled in, not caring for the questionable smell that mingled with the alcohol, nor the musty atmosphere. His cane clunked against the floorboards, and his shoes scraping against the dirt. The young man at the bar looked miserable. Chuck glanced down at a very badly injured hand.

‘Mind if I join ye?’ Chuck sat himself next to the young man, who made no protest. He groaned a bit as his bad knee bent as he sat down. ‘Find any good whisky? I could use a shot or two.’ Chuck chuckled, taking his hat off and putting it on the dust covered surface of the bar. He glanced sideways at the young man, and in a more serious tone, he asked, ‘War’s got ye down?’

[Toxic Mind]

It was too bad that the place wasn't deserted, the mission she had would have been so much easier to go in and out if there wasn't someone else besides herself and the target in the bar. This target was one of those cocky little twerps who had been killing her species for profit. What a disgusting thing to do in order to feed a horrible disease. Greed was so full of itself that it seemed to consume the person itself. With silent grace of that of a cat she crept upon the rooftops, her two most trusted knives were unsheathed and gripped tightly in her hands as she got to where this punk had been hiding. She couldn't see too well what he was really doing, probably counting his money for all she knew. At least his back was turned from her sight which was good. What wasn't good was that the window was closed. Of course, nobody said it was going to be easy.

With a running start she leaped through the window causing a huge crash as the window shot glass all over the place. This alerted the hunter as he got his gun and shot her. She didn't realize it as her mind was set onto killing him. With her quick speeds, she took her jagged knife and slammed it into his gut, causing him to scream in pain. With that opening, she had to just flip her smooth blade that sliced through his neck lick paper and silenced his screaming with his own blood. She dodged the spray and the man fell to his knees gurgling as he tried to close up his opened neck, which obviously failed as he fell to his side and died in a pool of his own blood.

That kill was almost successful in her head. almost. She held her arm as the bullet he had shot had went past her arm, but still cut it open pretty wide. Not to mention she had bits of glass that stuck to her body or made small cuts by whizzing past her, which either or hurt like hell. She needed some alcohol, and what are the odds of her having to kill someone in a bar? She tried using her saliva to moisten the arm cut for the time being as she walked down the stairs. While going down there, she saw two people that were down there. One of them was a rigged old man who was obviously a human just by the look of him, he seemed harmless enough. Though the other one... it was another Oculi. Were these two friends? She at least hoped the human was alright for Oculi, he would known that she was in a flash seeing as her visible belly did not bare their symbol of manifestation. With her observations however, her wound began to act up and she held it a little as she winced at the pain. Hopefully the day wouldn't get worse as it progressed.

[=TRACKALACKA]

Harvey looked over as he heard footsteps and whistling. Approaching him was a man, far older than anyone he had ever seen before, hobbling he way to where he was. He asked if he could sit with him, which Harvey made no protest to, and he groaned as he seated himself beside him. Harvey found him to be fascinating--he'd never seen such an old character before, only in pictures in his books. Never in life. He wondered what he was doing here, since he doubted he was able to fight in the war.

He asked if Harvey had found any whiskey, to which he shook his head. The man then asked if the "war got him down". He realized he'd been looking rather down. He straightened up and smiled. "A lot of things, sir, not just the war. Thoughts, injuries, love..." He blinked. "But in the end I think a smile will suffice in bringing me up, because that's really all we need." He took a deep breath and drummed his right-hand's fingers on the bar. "Well, sorry to intrude sir, but I was wondering--"

Before he could finish there was a crash from above, followed by gunshots and a scream. Harvey bristled, but remained seated. What was that? There were more sounds, then finally footsteps on the stairs. He looked over and saw as a tall woman came down the stairs. Her arm appeared to be bleeding, and she winced from the pain. Judging by her height and general beauty, Harvey assumed her to be an Oculi. Instantly he found himself less drawn to her; the last thing he wanted was an arrogant Oculi on his hands, with a defenceless old man behind him.

He got off the chair and face her. "Hello, m'dear," he said in a friendly tone, to mask his true feelings. "What's going on? Are you all right, darling, because you seem to be hurt..."

[LoLi]

‘Mmmm…’ Chuck nodded as he listened to the young man. He could see that the young man was trying to put on a strong face. The young man was clearly nervous as well. The young man was a pretty optimistic fellow despite this, with his simple ‘a smile fixes everything’ philosophy. It could only work for so much.

The young man had started to ask him something when he was interrupted by noise from above. By the sounds of it, someone has been killed. Chuck closed his eyes and prayed for the stranger. A woman, the culprit, presumably, found herself standing at the base of the stairs leading to the upper floor. Both men at the bar turned to look at her. She was tall, good looking, and battle ready. Well, if it weren’t for the fresh wound on her shoulder, she’d look battle ready.

‘My, my, my. We have another guest already.’ Chuck said more to himself.

The young man next to him expressed his concern for the woman. He asked what was going on, but Chuck would rather not know. Chuck stood up, picking up his hat and cane and started toward the back of the bar. ‘I better look for some of that whisky. ‘Prolly in the cellar, if there’s any left. Whisky was the universal painkiller backing the day, before the invention of, well, painkillers.’ He laughed, at the pettiness of his own joke.

Terribly written. Sue me.

[Toxic Mind]

It was strange with the results that she had just recieved from these two. The one from the presumably Oculi seemed to worry about her, he was such a liar. She could just tell by his gesture that he was obviously wanting her out of the way, or just not wanting to deal with her. Probably thought he was too good for anyone else, or just other Oculi seeing as he was with this very aged man. It didn't matter to her, she didn't like being around people anyways. That was how she was raised anyways. "I'm fine, and don't call me darling." With that said, she sat on a table while inspecting the wounds she had recently got. The smaller ones weren't a problem and just picked out the glass that still stayed in her skin. It was the big wound that was a problem to her. That thing was going to end up as a hideous scar, and one she deserved too for her failed actions.

At least it wasn't like losing part of your hand as the other guy did. What a mess that was. Obviously lost it in a gunfight, or was just stupid enough to accidentally pull the trigger and blow his hand of. "Besides, I'm not something worth giving a damn. Your hand is what should matter to you." With that, she took out a needle and thread that were in her pockets and tied them to oner another. A wound like this could get infected all too easy and can kill her.

The other mad had said that he would try to look for some whiskey, who she was still surprised that he didn't see the obvious sin that she was an Oculi, and just shook her head. "I don't need some form of vile liquid that could drench my mind and body into an utter cloud of hate and desire." She knew that she was being rude with that statement, and she couldn't be making any enemies in a place like this. Even though she was dealing with a handicap and an aged handicap, they could always be helpful in the future somehow. A sigh escaped her lips as she got out a small jar of water. "I'm sorry... I'm just not used to people..." She made her apology meant for the both of them so she could make her words quick, she wanted to bite her lip when she began to pour the water on her wound.

As it poured into the cut area, her lip made a quick, snarl-like motion which tore her lip into mild bleeding. With that done, she began to use the needle and threat to penetrate the exposed inside of her skin and seal the wound up so it could heal properly. In her mid-stitching, her eyes constantly flashed to the two men to make sure she was up to date with what they were doing in her surroundings. Because the only death she would have wanted at this time was of some infection she got from her wound. Though like she could be killed by some handicaps.

[=TRACKALACKA]

Harvey was taken slightly aback by the stranger's harsh tone, which reminded him of another character which he decided not to think about. She mentioned his hand, and how he should be more concerned for himself than her. He glanced at his hand for a moment but didn't see anything to be concerned about at the moment. It was a day old--it still hurt, but this woman's wounds were fresh. But anyway, why did he really care? He blinked.

The man said he was going to look for some liquor, which dragged Harvey's attention away from the stranger. Ah. He'd like that, too. After all, it was why he came here. The woman muttered something bitterly about the stuff, which returned Harvey's attention. She at least caught her lack of manners and apologized this time. She seemed wary of both him and the man as she stitched up her wound. Yes, Harvey thought, We're going to attack you, darling. Me; a one handed guy with no weapons, and an old man. He grinned, holding in a laugh.

"I forgive you, darling," Harvey said to her. "After all; we're in a war, and socializing skills aren't exactly in practice." He watched as the man went for the cellar. He wanted to help him. Unlike this girl, he wanted to try alcohol. It sounded absolutely amazing. He looked back at the girl. "So... if you don't mind me asking, m'dear, what exactly happened up there? We heard some banging... though, I suppose if privacy is your thing, you're welcome to not tell me. Should make for a grand story, though! Anyway, excuse me darling," he went over to the man to help him with the cellar.

[LoLi]

Chuck paid no mind to the woman’s overly rude rejection. ‘It’s all right, you don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.’ He shuffled along the creaky floorboards. His cane made a distinct clunk every time it hit the hollow wood.

Chuck opened a door that might have had a sign saying “employees only”. The smell of alcohol temporarily overpowered the decaying atmosphere of the room. Chuck squinted trying to pierce the darkness. He could just make out the shelves at the bottom. ‘And the good Lord said, let there be light.’ Chuck recited as he flipped the switch. The cellar stayed dark, as expected. The top step creaked as Chuck leaned his weight on his cane. His knee wouldn’t let him descend he steps anyway.

Harvey followed behind him, peering over his shoulder into the cellar. ‘Tell ya what son, why don’t you help a tired old man out ‘n’ fetch a bottle of whisky from the cellar, while I’ll go get us some shot glasses.’ Chuck left Harvey to his task, and then made his way behind the bar. He picked his way though the shards of glass and smashed wood. Soon, he found three glasses that he wiped clean with his handkerchief and set them on the bar.

These posts are as slow paced as Chuck is with everything. Ugg...

[Toxic Mind]

Trisha had almost broken all her teeth for trying to prevent herself from yelling at this other person. Had she not before asked him not to call her darling!? She believed so, and yet he went ahead and called her that two more times! This guy must have been partially deaf or something. She did have to keep her cool however, she needed more friends than enemies. At least he forgave her for barking out like she did before, that was a bit of relief. Heck, he was even saying that whatever had happened in her little fight would have made a good story. She took that as a sort of compliment. Never had she been truly gratified or asking for a description of a mission by anymore before. It made her smile inside.

She was about to tell her story to him, but instead began to help the old man out finding some whiskey. She heard of that defiled substance before. Heck, she had even seen it as well the effects of it as well. it did all these horrible things to you, and they usually went back to it. Most were so unlucky to break their bodies' desire for it, how sad it was to see this happen. She was lucky to never taste the stuff.

When the old man came over to clean off the shot glasses, she couldn't help but wonder what the heck he was doing around here. it wasn't safe from what she experienced around this place, and for an old man she was surprised he lasted this long in the war. Since she was almost done with her stitching job, she felt it wasn't too bad but to focus on him for a little bit. "So... Umm... How did you survive the war? I mean..." She was silent for a bit and knotted the end of the string in her stitching, cutting off the rest with her skinning knife since her other knives were crusted with blood. "Not to be in any offense... You seem a little too old to survive in a world like this..." her eyes flickered around as she twiddled her thumbs. For the first time she actually felt like a child just for asking that. though she didn't want to be rude with the man, she just wanted to know how an old human like him could survive was all.

[=TRACKALACKA]

Harvey happily obliged when the old man asked him to fetch some whiskey. The cellar was dark, so his vision became yellow-tinted as he looked around. The overpowering smell of alcohol almost made Harvey's eyes water, but he focused on finding this whiskey. The glint of glass caught his eye and he grabbed a bottle. It felt heavy in his hands, and he looked at it for a moment. After reading the brand name and other information on the label, he emerged from the cellar with it proudly in hand, like some sort of trophy.

He returned with his prize to the others, who appeared to be chatting. The man had cleaned three shot glasses and set them on the bar. Harvey reseated himself and placed the bottle of whiskey on the bar, then claimed one of the glasses as he pulled it toward himself. He glanced back at the whiskey, which he noticed was a beautiful honey golden colour. He wondered if that was what it tasted like--some sort of sweet, rich honey. Eager with that thought, he gently uncapped the bottle and poured a generous amount in each glass.

He grabbed his glass and was about to drink when he remembered the thing his books often explained when men drank. So instead he held his glass up. "Well, uh, here's to the war, and more importantly, its soon and ideal utter end!" He held the glass so that the others could share in his toast.

[LoLi]

'Ain't to old for nothin', I ain't too old.' Chuck muttered, hardly audible. Three glasses of whisky were poured. Harvey made a toast to which Chuck raised his glass downed the shot. It had a lot of bite to it, making if feel like the liquid was tearing his throat out as it went down. When Chuck was done, he slammed the glass down and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. ‘Strong stuff.’ He commented.

Harvey looked like he had trouble keeping the hard liquor down. Chuck let out a hearty laugh. ‘You should ‘prolly stick with beer if you’re having trouble.’ Chuck poured himself another shot. ‘Alcohol’s an acquired taste. It ain’t the best idea to jump right to the hard stuff.’ Chuck laughed again, like a regular drunk. 'Even the Lord's drink isn't this strong.'

Chuck wondered if it really has been that long since he last drank. The last time was when he was with Betty. He drank the wine they serve during communion at church. His face turned solemn at the thought of Betty. It took a lot to mane Chuck tipsy. It didn’t take much to remind him why he would want to drink in the first place. He was reminded of his first wife’s problem. He downed another shot.

[Toxic Mind]

Trisha felt a little left out when she was sort of avoided by this older human when he didn't answer back to her. What was the big deal? Was his hearing bad or something? No, it couldn't be, he talked to her and the other Oculi just fine. Maybe that was it, maybe it was because he knew she was an Oculi. Then how could he not see the glowing eyes of this other Oculi? She didn't understand... Probably never will, since she wasn't human.

Her attention turned to the other Oculi as he was brining that whiskey substance out of the cellar. He seemed really happy to find the stuff so he could shove it down his throat. She hoped he would drown in the stuff. She couldn't trust any of this alcohol-based substances for her own life, and yet this Oculi here seemed like he would die for the substance. Even another Oculi couldn't understand why he would want it so badly, maybe to drug himself so badly to forget about losing part of his hand. Ya, that made a lot more sense compared to just wanting it.

However, because she didn't want to be on anyone's bad-side, she picked up a shot so she could have a drink with them. After-all, it was one tiny shot of whiskey as they called it, how bad could it be on her body or brain? She was quiet as the other Oculi was making their toast, and decided to make up her own. "Well, here's to yesterday, for allowing us live today." She sounded like an idiot, and she knew that. She began to feel bad for herself for even speaking out, so she drank the shot to shut herself up.

The stuff was just horrible, it burned her entire throat and she began to cough as an aftermath. "Nope, nope! Too strong!" To ease the pain she took a small vial of water out of her pocket which only made of tiny splash in her mouth, at least it eased some of the pain in her mouth. "Well... That's the rest of my water supply." She sighed and dropped the vial to her side and put her hand on her head, fingers tapping on her skull while light-blue rays from her eyes had softly landed her skin. It really didn't matter to her that her eyes were showing her true species, there was nothing she could do about it. She looked over at the other Oculi to see how he would react to the vile amber liquid.

[=TRACKALACKA]

Harvey was happy to receive the toast from the old man, then quickly took a swig of the stuff. The strength of the flavour had him almost choking, and it burned all the way down his throat. A huge contrast to the sweet-honey taste he had expected. He coughed as the last drops trickled down his throat, and he heard the man laughing at him. He couldn't help but laugh along, since he figured him must seem rather foolish.

The man suggested he try something not as strong and went for another shot. Harvey stared at the glass and awaited the symptoms that came along with alcohol to appear. After he felt perfectly fine, he figured more was needed, but he wasn't too keen to take another drink. The woman made her own toast and took a drink, in which she quickly washed down with water, claiming it to be too strong. Harvey smiled. At least he wasn't alone.

As he reached for the bottle to attempt another shot, he decided to start a conversation so that the awkward tension would lift. "So, what does anyone here know about souls?" he asked, pouring whiskey in the glass. "I was told the other day that I lack one. It's made me wonder what they could mean." He laughed and quickly downed the shot. He still made a face with the taste, but he figured he could manage a few more. Drunkenness was what he needed right now.

[LoLi]

In the middle of serving the second round, Harvey asked a strange question about souls. Harvey said he was told he didn’t have one. Chuck would rather not ask about what brought this about. Instead he grumbled in thought for a moment.

‘They say that Judas, one of the twelve apostles, went to Hell for betraying Jesus. He sold out his best friend to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. Yet, he was so wrought with regret that he threw the thirty pieces of silver back into the Roman temple and hung himself. Do you think he had a soul? What do you think?’ Chuck paused and looked at both of them for an answer.

‘I think that if you are able to regret something that involves hurting someone, in any way, then you got a soul.’ Another round was served and Chuck downed another shot. 'Who gave you the idea that you got no soul anyway?' Despite his better judgement and manners - which were clouded by liquor at the moment - he asked the one question he knew he shouldn't.

[Toxic Mind]

It amazed Trisha how this old man was able to take the horrible liquid like it was water to him. How was that possible!? She and even the other Oculi couldn't stand the gross stuff. That was shortly turned to just her when the Oculi had taken another drink of that liquid bitter earwax crap which made even her spine tingle. She just couldn't wrap her head around the thought. How disappointing, but she wouldn't be anything like this fools that she sat around with. She knew the aftermath that the two would experience and she might sadly have to endure it for who knows how long. She wasn't just gonna leave them there like some jerks would. No, even if she was built to kill, she was still kind to keep others alive.

The older man kept getting her attention more and more as time slowly went. He seemed to talk about some things involved with someone called God, which she knew was an idol or a person that was meant to fill the void of question for humans since the beginning of true sentient intelligence for the species. It was almost sad really, believing in something that wasn't even true. Even so, she had to ask the old man some things about it.

"Wow... You're really into tall of this religion stuff, aren't you?" She began as she laid her hands on her lap, making sure that she didn't stress the cut anymore than it was already. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, I just have no religion of my own and I have to ask what the big deal is with it all." This was actually the first time she really used big sentences in talking in her life, besides with her work of course. it was actually nice now that she was able to, and fun even. She was enjoying her time, even if she was with two alcohol-chuggers.