Voltus_Ventus

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

I've got some wicked bad writer's block going on, not sure where to slot Max in. Maybe I'll have him go back in to get his jacket.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Sorry for the meh post, I've been busy. >.<

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

The Swan's Song

His attention was captured momentarily by the lady who waved, and he in turn smiled and nodded his head in her direction before casting his glance in another direction. The hot spotlight blazed on Max's skin, and his forehead glistened with effortful perspiration. At whatever moment during the song, he had taken his jacket off, slinging it over his shoulder as he let the instrumentals take over in the lead up to the end. At the back of the venue he noticed, only barely, the presence of large men filtering in, looking to be of an unsavory stock. His smile faltered, his eyes unable to detract from them as a pair moved through the crowd towards the stage. Max continued to sing admirably, but his face slowly moved from simply watching to sidelong confusion.

As the song reached its final crescendo, the burly pair moved up the steps of the stage without warning, causing applause to wane and the crowd to hiss and jeer. One of the bald men rolled his eyes and nodded his head backwards, gesturing for Max to get off the stage, they were only about a yard apart. Max looked the thug hard in the eyes, not moving, glaring like the headlights of an oncoming car. He gripped the microphone harder.

"Come on, Elvis. Off the stage now." The tone of the man dripped condescension. With a subtle motion, Max switched the microphone off, the speakers making a pop and then falling silent. The tromboneist sensed the tension from behind Max and began to speak, trying to get Max to disengage.

"Max, come on, let's g-" Max raised a hand to silence his band mate, but kept his eyes locked on the thug.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" The man at that point seemed to have little patience left and gave Max a firm shove, causing him to stumble back a little and drop his jacket.

"Just get off, shit for brains." Max glowered at the man and stepped forwards, dodging the grasp of the Tromboneist. He shoved his hand into the Thug's gut, fingers balled up around the microphone.

"Don't forget this." He hissed, letting go of it and causing the man to fumble for it. Max had half the state of mind to hit the unwelcomed thug, but instead he went down the steps, followed by the band. The whole interaction only lasted a few seconds. However those few seconds were enough to get him riled. He descended the steps, followed by the band, leaving his jacket behind on the stage unknowingly.

Max marched through the crowd, straight to the bar, almost man handling himself into a stool and gesturing the bartender over. "double scotch, rocks." He stuffed his fist into his pocket and roughly placed a collection of crumpled notes on the counter, "However much this gets." In the background the 'perfect posse's' head man droned on, Max guessed that he was the one that demanded him off the stage before he could finish his set.

As Sasha spoke Max considered throwing his glass at him, but momma didn't raise no fool. He stayed put as he exchanged his glass for fresh ice and a top up. Max tried to ignore the voice of the crazy Russian but instead it only put him off more. Standing up suddenly, well before Sasha had jumped on Ren, he took his leave and stepped out into the cold evening air.

The pilot reached into his pocket, only to find that it wasn't there, he realized rather abruptly that his jacket, and in consequences his cigars were lying on the stage. Not in the mood to return to the establishment until everyone had left, Max went for his car parked across the road and unlocked it with the key from his trouser pockets. Sitting on the Driver's seat, facing out to the Swan's Song with his feet planted on the road, Max put a half used cigar into his mouth and lit it up, grumbling under his voice.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Don, t worry. We have a no murder rule ;)

And sure. Il make sure to notice him..
One of my charecters was offering free drinks.

Enjoy. Il reference you later today.

@PrinceAlexus

That's a shame, guess Max will just have to spill his drink on Sasha instead. XD

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

The Swan's Song

The Bar had all of a sudden become very crowded, and from his confident, laid-back state, Max retreated to a more upright and elegant stance; back straight and legs crossed, glass held in both hands with the ice swishing around inside. When he realized he was surrounded by women his cheeks flushed a little, his mother's words lilting in his ears. He raised his arm a little, allowing his sleeve to slip down a fraction so that he could see his watch. It was a simple affair, leather strip and silver body, though Max had always had a suspicion it was steel but hadn't had the courage to take a piece of sandpaper to it.

It was almost time.

Max downed his glass, 'To a good evening indeed' he muttered to himself, the liquor trickling down his throat like molten gold. He always needed a bit of the stuff to calm his nerves. Placing the glass on the counter behind him, Max brushed his hair with a free hand and stuffed it into the pocket with his bow tie. He regarded the women with a smile, "See you guys in a bit, yeah?" He spoke as if he knew them, or as if they had been aquatinted, and he supposed he listened in on enough of their conversations to be more or less acquaintances. In a one sided sort of way. As the band chugged music merrily out of their instruments, Max walked along side the stage, disappearing through a door half obscured by the curtains.

The Swan's Song: Back Stage

The band was dwindling at the end of its song, and at the stage left exit Max paced nervously. He knew his anxiety would melt away the moment he stepped foot in the spotlight, but it seemed his body wanted to make him earn the limelight. He uncapped a hip flask and took a quick swig, stuffing it back in his pocket promptly, as if he was being scolded by his mother. The song ended rapturously, a tangle of brass and the affirming cheers of the audience. The MC moved passes Max as if on a breeze, and he took the mic with a passion for celebrating the band, a passion reciprocated by random hoots and hollers from the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, causing Max to straighten up and adjust his tie, "It is my honor to welcome back our most inconsistent performance, who preformed for us a very heart warming song last Christmas, one of Sol's many knock-off Sinatras: Max Summerson." The crowd cheered and clapped, but Max presumed that was because they were a crowd and that was just a thing they did, he didn't expect any of them to remember him.

He stepped out on to the stage, dapper in black, and quick to give his best smile; which was somewhere between wet dog and drunk grin. But the closer he sauntered to the mic the more his smile grew, until he was grinning.

"You'll do great, Max." The MC said in a low voice, underneath what the microphone could pick up. Lucas could read anyone like an open book. He descended off the stage via the stairs, melting into the crowd and almost out of sight. Max was left alone on stage, band behind him, and nothing but crowd ahead.

"I maybe one of many Sinatras, Lucas, but I'm not one you have to pay for." The chuckle rolled through the audience, middling in size, appearing dense as the venue was particularity packed that night. Max could spot the spare folding chairs from his place at he bar, and there were plenty of them. "Let's cut to the chase." He looked over his shoulder when he spoke, and the band lurched into life.

"Every time it rains it rains.. Pennies from heaven~" as the music tumbled out of the instruments behind him, Max found himself swaying to the melody, holding on to the mic and stand with both hands but scanning the crowd with a smile smile as he sang. "Don't you know each cloud contains.. Pennies, from heaven?~"

Max pulled the mic off the stand and began to pace in time with the music, moving closer to the edge of the stage, where the roll of cool air from the vents above could reach him. All the while he smiled, and played it off as stagemanship - Free hand twirling and snapping to the rhythm.

@Monacho@PrinceAlexus@Furiosa@King Tai (I think that's everyone who tagged me, it's too late to keep track. Stayed up a bit late to put this together. XD)

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Alright, I'm sat by/in between Xia and Alexandria, and one of them just offered free drinks. Too bad Max already payed.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Summerson & Suhl Airstrip

Music burned out of Max's earbuds, but was mostly drowned out by the jarring of his body and the rush of blood in his ears. It was a chilly afternoon, he had returned from Old Starboard well before sunset and still the sun had yet to set. He was jogging, wearing shorts and an oil stained T-Shirt that smelled of too many days without a wash. Curls of white breath escaped his lips as he panted to the beat of the music. It had become a more of a ritual than a means of exercise, and he prided himself for going at it almost everyday, almost religiously. The Runway was a under a mile long, in the ball park of four thousand feet, Max ran up and down its length four times on a normal day, and on either end awaited him a tractor tire.

As Max approached the end of his final leg he began to speed up, holding the pace for a considerable distance before slowing to a stop at the tire. He shoved his hands beneath it and flipped it, and continued to do so until it was firmly off of the airstrip, four lights from where it started. Panting, Max hunched over, hands on knees as he gave his aching body a moment or respite. But only a moment.

He moved towards his car, his body feeling light as it normally did after a workout, and climbed in. Max reached into the foot space in front of the passenger seat and produced a large, plastic bottle of water, uncapping it. He downed about half of what was left, leaving the remaining water to slosh around in the passenger seat. The sweaty man lightly tossed the bottle away from him, and turned the key in the ignition, making the car start with a rapturous roar.

Summerson Estate

Max's legs always felt a bit weak after a run, making standing in the shower an uncomfortable task. So the steel chair he had put in there came in handy. He sat on it, reversed, arms folded on the top of the back rest and chin propped up on his hands. The door to the bathroom was open, and beyond foggy, streaky glass, on a chair by his dresser, a tuxedo hung in a plastic dry cleaner's bag. He stared it it for a few moments longer, until what was left of the suds on his body curled up at his feet, then pushed himself out of the chair.

Standing in the mirror, Max tugged at his sleeves and smiled at himself, "Hello there, Handsome." A mumble escaped his throat, before he swept up his cuff links and car keys, and descended to the driveway. On his way out he passed dusty, canvas covered rooms and dusty paintings of landscapes and family.

The door closest to the front door was the only room not habited solely by rats and old furniture, inside a fire crackled and the tiny sound from an old TV set bubbled and twanged. Max creaked the door open, the light of the fire leaking around the mass of couch between him and it. Through the television he spoke.

"Momma?" His voice was almost timid, almost like he was asking the room and not a person. A soft voice cooed from the other side of the couch, the source completely obscured behind the tall back rest.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to the Swan Song, do you need me to bring anything on my way back?" She took a moment to think, and Max stood there, waiting patiently. When she took too long to respond, Max cleared his throat and coughed into his hand, drawing a response.

"Just bring yourself home safe and sound, Max." Max nodded and swept a hand through his hair, "And bring a lady over Max, I'm starting to have a suspicion you don't like them." He burned red, a sarcastic laugh snorting out of him, to which she chuckled. "Go. Enjoy yourself, Maxi."

"Alright, Momma. Remember to put the fire out before you sleep." With that Max left, stepping out into the evening chill and to the black car glossy in the moonlight.

The Swan's Song

Max adjusted his cuffs from the warm confines of his car, making sure the small, round, black cuff links were on straight. Giving his hair one final look over in the rear view mirror, Max was satisfied that he was as prepared as he ever would be. Despite being a frequent visitor for the musical events, Max could never shake the buzz the place gave him when he parked his car across the road from it. He stepped out, leather shoes as waxy as the moon, hat tucked under his arm and bow tie dangling from the front pocket of his Tux.

Stepping through the door, greeted by a tinkling bell and a twinkling belle, Max gave his best smile which was little more than a tired grin, and a showy bow, holding his hat to his chest. The hostess giggled and to the bar she lead him, trailing the scent of his crisp cologne. He pushed himself into a stool and gestured with his hand to be served, giving the same smile he gave previously.

"Scotch. On the rocks." He ordered, swiping his card and taking a sip before turning the stool around to face into the establishment.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

My plan is to get Max on stage and singing a Sinatra song, whether that happens is a different matter entirely.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@Voltus_Ventus

Don,t worry I know you take your time but produce great writing. :)

And they can always bump into each other In the jazz night if thongs wanna keep on moving on.
It's a regular Monday night event in Sol City.

@PrinceAlexus

I feel bad now that you've said that, because it's so short.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

~The Old Starboard~

Max understood instantly, swiveling his chair to face the woman, and then adjusting his body so that his right art faced her. Sewed finely into the leather jacket was a pair of wings, and embroidered below that was the name of the flight school that Max had attended, Loraedo. In the background the bartender brewed a cup of coffee, the whirring and burbling of steam and hot water filling the air for a few moments before coming to an abrupt end. When the mug sat on the counter Max rose and took it, unseeingly, in one hand. The bartender spoke in objection, Max cut him off unconsciously.

"I'll pay when I'm done." He said, glancing over his shoulder at the man and giving an apologetic look, "You know I'm good for it."

Turning his attention back to the table, he found one of the men previously sat there retreating in what seemed like a hurry, freeing up a seat. Max strolled over and placed his mug on the table, offering his hand to the other gentleman sat beside him but keeping his eyes on the woman.

"Max Summerson, Pleased to meet you." Letting his eyes linger for a moment longer on the female pilot, Max turned his attention fully to the gentleman. Not regarding someone when speaking to them was impolite, and Max was many things but that. Pleasantries aside, Max turned his attention to the awaiting lady, and extended his arm towards her, "Summerson and Suhl Cargo limited," he offered his best smile, "And you?"