[hr][hr] [center][h1][color=Peru]Damien Flores[/color] and [color=Plum]Zoé Flores[/color][/h1] [img]https://static.tumblr.com/5d6de7187696e38329978c4233ce5a2a/a3boqrq/Y9Xnsxtvc/tumblr_static_tumblr_static_8css1c8u9g08ggk4o8cw4wg4c_640.gif[/img] [h3]Featuring: [color=#B22221]Alder James[/color][/h3] [img]https://68.media.tumblr.com/4aa106ba6d5a09541fd019deaca0e011/tumblr_nolyz3A7G71sg4aiio1_500.gif[/img] [sup][b]Location:[/b] Mia and Pias Pizzeria and Brewhouse. [b]Interacting With:[/b] Each Other.[/sup][/center] [hr][hr] This was a joke… it had to be… Remaining silent as he stood himself up from where he was sat, Zoé kept her dark gaze locked on his figure, watching on as he cautiously rounded the side of the bar only to then approach her as though she were some kind of wild animal, ready to lash out at him on a moment’s notice. Well, technically, he wasn’t too far off the truth… She was wild; had been now for quite some time, not that he would know that though. The one time she had needed him the most, he had disappeared… gone from her life, just like her niec-… no; worse than that… just like her pack had done. Her eyes tearing away from his the moment he came to a stop in front of her, she let her gaze wander. Did he really expect her to hug him..? To act like he hadn’t just disappeared for the last year or so..? How many times had she tried to call him; to make sure that he was safe- to make sure that he wasn’t dead… but nothing. Just like Sombra, there had been no contact; though with her niece, there was [i]still[/i] no contact. She had a number; that was it. One she that was instructed to leave voicemails on whenever things got bad or too out of hand. She never once got anything in return, but that was just the way it was with them- how it had been for the last five years or so… but never did she expect the same treatment to come from her own brother. Lifting her gaze back up to meet with his, she continued to stare, reaching out to place the box of food on the bar top she otherwise remained stoic, not giving any signs that she was going to be moving anymore than she already had, even as Alder slipped away from them to instead go and collect a mop from the back. If things hadn’t of been a mess before, they sure were now… and it was clear she wasn’t at all referring to the beer spilled at her feet. Taking the hint, Damien let his arms drop back to his sides, a sad sort of smile coming across his features. She wasn’t happy with him, that much was clear. Though she hadn’t quite reached the anger stage yet, it appeared that it would take her a few moments longer to get over the initial shock. [color=Peru]“I just got into town about thirty minutes ago…”[/color] he said out loud, not sure if he was explaining anything to her or just talking for the sake of interrupting the awkward silence that had been created. [color=Peru]“Myra doesn’t even know I’m in town yet. I… wanted to come and see you first… I would have called but my phone…”[/color] he chuckled, though humor was left out of it. [color=peru]“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you what happened to it.”[/color] [color=Plum]“..why are you here, Damien..?”[/color] The words falling from her mouth before she could stop them, Zoé met with her brother’s eyes, holding them… searching them for answers, though she could see none. Why… why show up now..? Over a year late. Did he really believe that just showing up like this was going to fix things..? [color=Peru]“I just got out of a… strange situation.”[/color] he explained almost immediately at her question. [color=peru]“I wanted to come and see my baby sister… let her know everything is… well… not alright, but… not terrible…”[/color] [color=Plum]“..and you couldn’t have called me..?”[/color] Her breath picking up just slightly as her emotions began to rise, Zoé continued to stare up at her older brother, her dark eyes hardening slightly, and it took everything that she had to not let them change… to not show him the sickly blood red color of her true eyes, [color=Plum]“..a year, Damien… a full year… you didn’t even call…”[/color] Ignoring the sting that flittered across the surface of her iris’, she forced the tears back, refusing to let them fall as she held his full attention, [color=Plum]“..did you forget that I was picking you up that day..? For hours I sat, alone, at the airport waiting for you to come out of security, or to send me a message letting me know what was going on; but I got nothing- I needed you… I needed my big brother more than ever, and you never showed up…”[/color] [color=Peru]“No phone, and I didn’t even have money for a ticket here, Zoé, let alone enough for a payphone. Believe me when I say that I would have contacted you sooner if I could have. Remember my special time in Russia?”[/color] He hated talking about Russia - his time as a hostage in some silly little war that his squad had no sense being in, in the first place. For an entire year he was imprisoned, beaten, raped, tortured, starved and so many other things that he didn’t even tell Zoé about. [color=Peru]“Something like that.”[/color] She was getting worked up, and frankly he couldn’t blame her. She was trying to hide something from him, though. He could literally feel it. Exhaling a soft sigh, Damien let his eyes close. For a moment, it seemed as though his eyelids were giving off a soft hue of light, and when he opened them again, that light remained, covering over his iris’ but was gone just as quickly as it had come. [color=Peru]“If you change now, your bartender is going to come around that corner and really start to question things. He’s already worked up about seeing you heft that keg on your shoulder. And somehow I don’t think an explanation of a change to your workout routine is going to settle with him.”[/color] His once brotherly voice was gone, replaced by one that held years of military service. Her hands shooting out before he had time to even begin his sentence, Zoé gripped the front of his top, her eyes flashing over a dangerous red as she forced him back, pressing him rather violently against the wall, a quite wild and threatening growl growing from somewhere deep within her chest as she continued to hold his attention. She was done playing games- how dare he come in here and believe to know what had been going on in her life… how dare he come in here and start barking orders at her as though she were one of his soldiers… It wasn’t going to happen. [color=Plum]“You have no idea about what’s going on here..!”[/color] Doing all she could to hold herself back, she snarled softly… menacingly before she brought her emotions back, her eyes once more returning back to their normal dark color, a slight sadness flickering across the surface of them as she visibly relaxed only the tiniest of bits, [color=Plum]“..you have no idea about what’s going on with [i]me[/i]...”[/color] A small breath of air left his lungs as he was forced back into the wall, one of many various decorations that had been hung up swinging violently above him until it dislodged from the wooden panel and came crashing down. It was like he had a third eye. Although his two, brown eyes were peering down at his sister, his mind’s eye recognized the falling object to be a framed picture of the three of them - Myra, Zoé, Damien - all three of them younger, in Spain, not a care in the world written across their features. Although trapped by his chest, his arms were still free. One shot out, palm facing upwards and the picture that was sure to be destroyed became suspended in mid-air, hovering just at eye level and a good two feet from the palm of his hand. Waiting a moment or two longer, to simply let the action set in with his angry sister, he then raised his second hand. He turned his head, letting his eyes focus on the broken beer keg and the copious amounts of liquid on the floor. His free hand contorted into a claw, twisting and pulling at the wrist until the spilt beer began to shake on the ground, as though there were an earthquake. Then, “pulling” with his hand, the ruined beer rose from the polished floors and with a jerk of his hand, the amber liquid went from a floating puddle to a spiraling rope and moved in the direction towards the kegs - more specifically, the empty Dopplebock keg that was supposed to be replaced. As the beer moved, there seemed to be an invisible sort of filter at a specific point. Tiny particles were left behind, be it dirt, grime, or anything else that may have made the beer impure and undrinkable. And as soon as the very last of the beer had been stored inside of the empty keg, each little filtered particle fell back to the floor. [color=peru]”And you have no idea what’s going on with [i]me[/i].”[/color] There was a scuffle around the corner where Alder was struggling with getting the mop bucket to move in the correct direction. Dropping one hand back to his side, Damien flicked his opposite wrist and the picture frame bounced back up, fastening back to the wall above them. [color=#B22221]”Uh…”[/color] Alder surveyed the scene before him, not quite sure what to do with the situation of his boss pinning some stranger up against the wall. He had almost forgotten about the spill but when he looked to see where she should start mopping, nothing but a broken wooden keg and some dirt was left behind. [color=#B22221]“Uh…”[/color] He stared down the spot, and then looked back to Zoé, and then back to where he could have sworn a massive mess was. [color=#B22221]“What… the hell?”[/color]. Was he really just that tired? [color=#B22221]”I could've swore… Boss… you okay?”[/color] The poor, confused boy looked back to Zoé, clearly needing some closure to a few things before his mind would even let him remotely function again. M-Magic..? Her brother had magic..? The anger seeming to disappear, even the tiniest bit from her features, Zoé’s grip loosened slightly over the front of his top, her dark eyes flicking back and forth between his own as she searched for some kind of answer as to what the hell she had missed over the last year or so. It was clear enough that something big had happened in both of their lives… something that the neither knew about, and now it seemed that it the time had come for all secrets between them to surface; to be spoken about openly and freely… a conversation, it seemed, that was well long overdue... The sound of a familiar voice grabbing her attention, she shook her head lightly from side to side, pulled back from her thoughts so that she could instead shoot a quick glance over her shoulder at the bartender who was watching the both of them, and the current situation rather intently. Geez… when had he become so nosey..? Or maybe it was out of concern… the thought that it was the latter had a slight guilt weighing on her already heavy heart, [color=Plum]“..I-... yeah, I’m fine… I, uh… I actually think we’re going to open a little later today… my brother and I have a lot we need to talk about…”[/color] Brother? Alder shifted nervously against the mop handle that was placed inside the practically broken bucket with wheels. His eyes, heavy with sleep, looked once more between his boss and the… mess? He knew that Zoé had family… a brother and a sister… but she never talked about her brother. At least… in the last year she hadn’t- Oh… Damien gave Alder a sort of strangled smile, the tips of his fingers on his raised hand twitching a bit in an effort to wave hello. [color=peru]”Might be for the best. Your bartender looks like he could use another hour to wake up. Grabbed the mop instead of the broom.”[/color]. Alder shook his head. Maybe he [i]was[/i] really that tired. Then… he [i]had[/i] seen Zoé carrying the keg on her shoulder… it was just empty. And the explosive mess… He heaved out a heavy sigh and without another word, turned himself around and forced the bucket with the broken wheel back into the storeroom to fetch the broom he apparently was supposed to grab in the first place. It was clear that Alder was more confused than ever before; honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She was just as confused. Damien had been gone for the last year… now he was back, and with magic..? If the attack the night previous hadn’t complicated things enough, this had just made everything so much harder… Her grip loosening over the front of her brother’s top, Zoé paused for a brief moment before she shook her head, her soft lips parting ever so slightly as she called back out to the bartender. [color=Plum]“Alder… just leave it, I’ll clean it up… go home and get some more sleep… you deserve it- oh, and before you come in later, I still need you to stop by the brewery and grab those kegs I messaged you about this morning…”[/color] [color=#B22221]”Uh huh…”[/color] The bartender barely acknowledged Zoé’s words as he continued to head towards the back. All he heard was that she was cleaning it up, and go home, and sleep. Sleep. Sleep was good. And he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, either. Waiting until Alder was out of sight, Damien looked back to his sister, his “welcoming” smile reserved for Alder gone, and his face returning to it’s seemingly permanent stoic expression. [color=peru]”We got a better place to talk?”[/color] So warm one moment; so cold the next. This wasn’t the Damien she remembered… Lifting her attention back up so that she was able to meet with her brother’s gaze, Zoé stayed silent a moment, a slightly saddened frown flickering over her otherwise gentle features as she thought on his question. There were plenty of places they could talk openly with each other… the (now) only human employee she had already headed off home so that he could pass out, most likely on the couch while the pup he cared for climbed all over him… The bar was a safe place now that they had it to themselves; but she had a feeling that this shadow of a brother standing before her wouldn’t take that as a suitable answer… [color=Plum]“..you got a choice of my office in the back, or we can head back to my place; take your pick…”[/color] Dropping her hands from where they were resting against his chest, she stepped back, her gaze holding his for a few moments longer before eventually, she tore her attention away from him, instead allowing it to return to the food and the shake that her son had brought in, her hand reaching out to pick up the cup so that she could take a sip through the straw. [color=peru]”Home, then. This might take longer than a few hours…”[/color]