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A moderately sized establishment on the corner of Spruce and S 12th streets, Club Vertigo is one of the many bars in Philadelphia's Gayborhood. There's a reasonably large dance floor, a small stage for live music and/or karaoke night, and several different pride flags on the wall behind the bar proper. Of especial note, at least for the city's Changeling and/or sapphic population, is the Fairest who works there, though she may not be behind the bar this afternoon.
There is, however, a Changeling lounging with his back to the bar, sipping something in a highball glass and eyeing the fairly empty dance floor. He looks like he's been quickly sketched in charcoal, softly drawn lines shifting and smudging as he moves. A million gesture animations, and the artist didni't bother to erase any stray lines. His hair is slicked neatly back from his face, and he's in fairly tight skinny jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of yellow logo on the pocket.
In slid the small dragon into the club. For the average looker, a well build man with a golden bronze tan has been poured into some brown leather pants with what could be considered artful cutouts like claw marks revealing more skin to go with the harness across his chest in a Y-setup. To the fae eye, the man had artfully traced golden scales along his body, and a pair of wings much too small to be useful sticking out the back around the harness lines. Today, he was wearing some bronze cuffs chained to various gemstone rings.
There was a huff from the Lost that gave off a bit of perfumed smoke. There was only so much of a look around before he came up to the other Lost as if shot across the space. Sudden dragon close and squinting over the sketchy one. "What are you drinking?" asks the one perhaps too close too quick as he slid out a ridiculously gold AmEx from those tight pockets.
Jack's gaze is pretty immediately drawn to the dragony Lost as he walks in, and his eyebrows twitch upward, not bothering to hide his interest as he looks the other man over. The sudden movement toward him is a little startling, though, and bits of charcoal scatter away from him, dissolving into nothingness before they get very far. As Drake gets close, the scent of an imminent spring rainstorm drifts toward him, undercut by smallest hint of some metallic scent, and Jack shifts slightly at the sudden closeness.
"...Rum 'n coke." He raises the glass with a small smile and gives the dragon a second, more subtle once-over now that he's closer.
"Mmmmm... No. Not that," decides Drake after a lean in and sniff of maybe the sketch, maybe his drink, maybe his mantle. There's a sudden turn away as he half rises onto the bar with his elbow to wave the card around for attention. "Something very fruity, very large. Fruity, large. Yes." Then the card is slapped onto the bar and stared at as if it were going to be stolen rather than swiped and handed back.
On the plus side, it's not a bad profile to be met with if one's about that life.
Jack huffs in amusement, and takes another drink. And tries not to stare too much, but...it's a pretty nice profile, and as long as the dragon doesn't seem to mind being eyed, he's not gonna stop.
"'M Jack," he says, and holds out his free hand to shake. "You new in town?"
When Jack started to speak, Drake reluctantly looked over to him. There was a nod of his head, but when the card was handed back, it was dragged quickly across the bar and shoved into the pocket.
When Drake took the free hand, it was taken in both hands with carefully manicured talons nails which gave a brief squeeze before the arm was pulled lightly forward so the Dragon could stare close at the tattoo. There was a long enough pause to make it extra awkward before he looked up to Jack proper. "Very new. I'm Drake Pike."
"Ah -" Jack doesn't pull away, but when his arm is returned to him he looks pretty bemused, and shifts away slightly. "You...into tattoos?" His eyebrows inch upward.
"What does it mean?" pries Drake with a tilt of his head. "The interplay of nature with a more rigid geometric seems to mean something, but I can't tell what - did you do it?"
"Oh fuck no." Jack shakes his head with a chuckle. "There's a shop a little ways north of the city that does amazing stuff. Got it done a few years ago. It...I mean 's mostly just 'cause I like the way it looks. Doesn't mean much of anything, really. D'you do tattoos, or...?" He's clearly trying to get some indication as to why Drake is so interested in it.
"Art speaks. Those who keep it it speaks to, and it speaks about," informs the dragon before he turns and snatches up his watermelon sparkler. He took a rather large gulp off, leaving just the smallest of drink 'staches across his upper lip before he set it down and turned back towards Jack more fully again. "Do you have more tattoos?"
"Just uh..." He switches hands to show Drake the underside of his left wrist. There's a small smiley face with a braid there, simple and not quite up to the same professional standard as his sleeve. "Been thinking about getting more - they're addicting, you know? Haven't had the chance to since I got back."
"Back?" asks the dragon before taking that hand and pulling it closer. His nose starts to wrinkle, and then he has a little snort-sneeze that twists his head this way and that before he dropped the wrist as well. Poor, poor boundaries.
Bright eyes turned upwards again. "I would expect you to have many. You seem like you would be fun to draw on."
Jack jerks forward a little with a frown as his arm is pulled in again. "Back from...Over There." He gestures with his head to mean Arcadia. "Been told I'm fun to draw on." He gives Drake a grin at that, and finishes off his drink, setting the empty glass on the counter and getting the bartender's attention with ease to order another. "But tattoos're expensive, and I gotta prioritize. You know?" He shrugs.
"... No," states Drake with a slow slide of nictitating membrane over his eyes so his stare continues unbroken, and yet somehow more awkward than otherwise. "I don't know."
"...Eh..." his frown deepens slightly, more in confusion than anything. "I gotta budget for that shit. Congrats if you don't, I guess?" He doesn't seem to quite know what to say to that, and there's a few beats of awkward silence. "You got any tattoos?"
That strange stare continues for a long, long moment as the dragon considers the words. "No." The one word seemed almost as if a throwaway before he spoke again. "If you were to get a tattoo right now, right now, anywhere, of anything, what would it be?"
"I...I mean I wanna continue the sleeve onto my chest, I think..." He leans back a little, looking slightly put off at the interrogation, and nods a thanks at the bartender when they bring over his drink. "An' I'm thinking about a playing card. Jack of hearts. Dunno where, yet." A beat. "...You?"
"I don't want tattoos. Very stabby. If I'm getting stabbed, I want more piercings." There were a pair at least a bit visible in the maybe questionable PG-13ish moment. The dragon leaned forward just a moment, took a looooooooooong drink off of his fruity fruity drink before, "Do it. You want to do the thing, let's do the thing." The lowering of the voice probably was meant to be more of an enticing offer than the admittedly demanding way that Drake seemed to have of putting, well, everything.
Jack's gaze drifts down to the aforementioned possibly visible piercings before sliding back up to Drake's face. "I...I mean even if I want it, 's...I gotta save for it. And they're not the kinda shit to do on a whim, anyway - can't change your mind like with piercings." Another glance across his chest. "And - I'd have to make an appointment, and..."
Jeeze, this Spring courtier's really being a buzzkill, isn't he?
"You can erase them. They have a process now. It's very, very simple. You go in, they do a laser, the tattoo is gone. I will pay for you. I have money. You want this. It will be new and fun and creative. You should finish your drink and do this," tempt-demands the dragon as he attempts to get the buzzkill to indulge.
Jack looks...torn. His mien flickers and shifts as he takes another drink, clearly mulling it over. "...Alright, what d'you get out of it, though?"
Drake (Xochipilli - He/Him)Today at 7:17 PM
"You get to choose my next piercing, and you have to hold my hand through it. Also, you remain shirtless for the rest of the night," barters the dragon quick on that part of the draw at least. While so excited, his hands began gesticulating along with his words.
"...Deal." Jack holds his hand out again, to shake on it.
Drake takes it in both of his to shake vigorously. Then he points at Jack's drink. "Drink that. Quickly. Do you need more alcohol?" He takes his own drink, but doesn't tip it back just yet.
That makes Jack pause. "Gonna pretend you're not implying you wanna get me drunk, here." But he drains his drink and hails the bartender to settle his tab. "No decent tattoo artist's gonna work on me if they think I'm drunk, anyway."
"Really? I imagine many tattoos are made while drunk. I saw one once that says No Regerts. It took me a minute to realize it was supposed to be regrets," admits Drake before he goes to lift his drink to glug glug down, not seeming to mind a bit spilling out the sides.
"Oh it definitely happens, but any artist who's willing to do that's not the kinda person I want stabbing me a bunch'a times." Jack shrugs and pushes away from the bar, pulling a phone in a beat up looking case from his pocket. "Lemme see what places're around here..."
"We will go to the BEST tattooist!" proclaims Drake before smacking his empty drink down. Thumbs are used to try to clean up his face just a bit. "... Where is the best tattooer around. Tattooist? Tattooer? Tattoo... artist?"
"Last one, I think." He's distracted, light lines sketched across his forehead as he frowns in concentration at his phone. "Best is gonna be relative, gotta make sure they take walk-ins..." It takes him a bit, but eventually he turns his phone to show Drake. "This place's like, two blocks away. Good reviews. Lets go?"
"You will know better than I do," says Drake as he squints at the screen, then back to Jack. "But they will take walk-ins. If you give them enough money, everyone takes walk-ins. You just have to bang very, very firmly on the door and add a hundred dollars every time they tell you no."
"They will take walk-ins," assures the Wizened.
That makes Jack pause yet again, on his way to the door. "What...d'you do? That you've got that much money to throw around at things like...this?"
Drake pulls out his phone, then hits a couple buttons. The very fancy gold thing (he's apparently got an obsession, who could've guessed?) is pressed into Jack's hands as the dragon shifts to walk outside, stretching arms and wings at once.
In Jack's hands is a jewelry website on a very simple, sleek background. The display shows only one piece at a time from different angles, and there are no price tags which is to suggest... probably nothing particularly cheap.
The most recent in the collection seems to be called "The Lux", which is a thick ring has a dark tungsten cobra cycling around a selection of gemstones of first water (clearest quality) as if expecting light to pass through them. Clutched among its coils go from the brownish yellow topaz, the yellow gold of golden beryl, the green of an emerald, the shifting green-purple of alexandrite, the blood red of a ruby, the violet of a pink sapphire, and then the sea blue of an aquamarine. Finally when one views the flared hood of the creature set with diamonds in a fitting, it allows for much light to filter though. On display, inner lighting would be set so that it could cast out a multitude of colors from within, or similarly if on a finger of one who glows with the diamond able to shift and refract any color sent through or pure white as a weak prism.
"...Not so much a starving artist, then?" Jack laughs, weakly. "The Lux is..." he doesn't seem to be able to finish the sentence, and hands the phone back to Drake. "'S gorgeous work, though."
Drake may not have paid attention as they walked outside. He didn't seem to mind the other's words, but only stopped when the phone presented to him, taking it in hand. "Where is this parlor?"
Jack gestures down the street and starts off. "You have a studio here? Or is that all from before you got here?" He does turn his head to speak to Drake - between the pedestrians and the traffic there's probably a lot of noise.
The dragon continues walking on, facing towards Jack as they go - he's leading, after all. "I've made a forge in my home and hollow," says Drake easily with a shrug. "Along with better working spaces for finer work. Most orders come in custom so I don't have a display for everyone offline. Varesh takes care of those details."
"Makes sense. Varesh your business partner, then?" As they continue to walk, Jack's animation gets more and more scattered, shuddering lines straying further and further away from his body.
"No. My servant. Personal assistant," clarifies Drake. "They deal with the peopleing mostly. I am not good at the people." He stares. "Like that. What does it mean when you start spreading out more? Is that relaxing and taking up more space? But that doesn't seem right because how the lines are? Jitters because it is cold?" It's not particularly cold... "Excitement to give into your desires on a whim?"
"Uh..." Jack blinks at the scattering charcoal around his hand. "Just...a little nervous, I guess?" He shrugs, as if he's pretending it doesn't really matter too much. "I don't...do this sort of shit all that often - even if it makes me a shitty Spring." He flashes Drake a weak smile.
"Don't be nervous. Be here, with a very pretty dragon. You haven't even once complimented me on how shiny I am," states Drake. "You must be very nervous because it's very obvious."
He huffs out a laugh. "You sound like one'a my partners - but yeah, you're very shiny. 'S a good look. And eh I...kinda wear my emotions like this whether I wanna or not. More obvious to you than to..." he gestures to the general populace.
"Of course it is. I'm an Artist. You are fascinating because it's not my kind of art, but you are very much someone I can almost people at because you're art and people at the same time," declares Drake with a smile so wide one can catch a glint of back teeth that may have been gold capped.
"Almost people with, mm?" The distraction of conversation doesn't seem to be helping pull Jack's nervous animation back in, though he does flash Drake a grin. "Guess I should take that as a compliment?"
"I'm not good at people-ing," states Drake with a shrug. He points to Jack. "I can't come up to you and say I want to see you naked to see if you blush or grin first, but if I were looking at a piece of art, I could study it and know what the person making it wanted it to convey. Art is easier than people."
"Well, I can, and sometimes I do, but Varesh tells me that people shouldn't."
A scribbly blush that's very at odds with his otherwise flickery outline scrawls across Jack's cheeks. But he grins, too. Though both fade at the talk of making art. "I...I mean I didn't make me like this. And I sure as fuck dunno what...He wanted to 'convey.'"
"I know a few people who wouldn't mind that sorta forwardness, to be honest."
And then his footsteps slow, and finally stop, in front of a shop with a multitude of small neon signs in the windows. Announcing tattoos, and piercings, and that walk-ins are welcome. He takes a slightly shuddery breath.
Drake marches up to the door, pulling it open and grinning widely to Jack. "It doesn't matter what they made you. What matters is what you make yourself now. You are your own canvas so be as you want to be. Make what you want to make. And be shirtless, because shirts are terrible."
"They really are, aren't they?" Jack laughs before taking another shuddering breath, and steps inside to look around the place.
His mien practically explodes when he does, bits of charcoal linework flying every which was to dissolve into nothingness, and even the young, heavily tattooed person at the front desk frowns slightly in concern as they greet the two of them.
Jack turns to Drake. "...Thisisabadidea." The words come out in something of a jumble, though it's clear he's speaking directly to the dragon.
Drake puts both hands palms flat in the air, spreading slowly like smoothing over a bed sheet. "Calm down," he demands. Then both index fingers get pointed up and curl in as the biceps do to point to Drake. "Come closer."
Jack actually takes half a step back at the demands. "I can't. Do this, it was a mistake. Sorry." That last is said to the increasingly concerned-looking receptionist.
The dragon's eyes narrow as Jack seems to fray and Drake's control of the situation spins out more. Thin lips spread over teeth in a thinner line, before he turns on foot and stomps outside rather than tantrum there. For the moment. The look suggests he might reconsider.
Another quick apology to the receptionist, and Jack rushes outside too, flickering and shaking, and leans against the building a good few feet away from Drake. "I'm - sorry." He looks a little scared, at this point.
Drake looks back to Jack, one hand coming up to his chin height, palm down and flat, and it cuts the air to his right. Then he points to Jack, taps his palm on top of a closed fist, before splaying both hands with one coming over the top of the other both at chest height, palms in towards Drake. He gestures between them, then using both hands with single index finger up on each to gesture between them. For the ASL inclined, Liar. You were scared, but we could have talked.
"I don't -" Jack shakes his head, his brow furrowing, and he runs a distracted hand through his hair. "I should go..." He does make sure to speak a little more clearly, though his scattered mien might make lip reading slightly difficult, at this point.
"I can't understand you," says Drake irritably as his fangs move at the same time as his lips. It seems the shift has him defaulting. "Your lips keep moving when they aren't moving and moving differently when they are moving." Probably talking about the scatter effect.
Jack opens his mouth, and then closes it again, dropping his head and shaking it. A second later, he pulls out his phone and types something before showing the screen to Drake: I'm sorry. I'm gonna go. this was my fault
Drake looks down to the screen, then back up to Jack. The little Wizened moves around as if predicting Jack was going to walk that direction, then planted himself directly there with his fists on his hips. He's all too close as he looks up. "No. You do not leave while this upset. Bad." The last word said almost the way one might scold a puppy. "We will go somewhere. You will calm down. Then you can go...?" The last demand in his serious of demands at least attempted to be a request even if it seemed to physically pain him.
Jack flinches at the demands, and his mien frays just a little more as he types away on his phone. Again he shows it to Drake, almost shielding his face from Drake's gaze. I can calm down at home
"I will drive you," states Drake then. "Or walk you. You look very upset." Drake pulls out his own phone, pulls out his phone number, and then turns it around. "I'm a very scary, ferocious dragon. I will not eat you - I do bite, but usually mostly gently. Will you be less afraid if we type instead of me roaring very mightily at you?"
it's fine, seriously you dont have to But the smallest of smiles flits across Jack's face when Drake calls himself ferocious. i'm not afraid of you. just dont tell me what to do, please
Drake continues to take up valuable real estate on the sidewalk, trying hard to take up more space as he flexes out his wings at the suggestion that Jack wasn't afraid of him. Clearly a lie meant to save face. "Ok. I will let you lie to say you are not afraid. It may help it be true," reasons Drake. "I am going to. If I make I statements, I am not ordering you. I am going to help you calm down. Do you prefer water in the face, a slap, or a kiss? I have seen all three stun someone out of being scared."
Jack's smile widens just a touch at Drake's antics, and he taps away on his phone. none of the above. kisses maybe from someone who isnt you. sorry. just need some time. maybe a drink or three.
Drake opens his mouth, starts a word, stops, and tries again after a moment. "I will be with you until the kisser is here or you are calm. Dolly said always make sure someone is there to take care of a people-problem. I'm not good at the people problems, but you probably know someone who is." See? I statements.
It's happened incrementally, but Jack's mien is a little less flickery now. Charcoal linework still wavers away from his animation as he walks, but it's not as scattered anymore. He taps out another text, taking a little longer this time, before showing it to Drake again. texted someone. lets go back to vertigo?
Drake continues watching, stretching out his wings further and maybe, nope, definitely flexing. "I will protect you like you are a vermeil statue," he proclaims. "I am giving you my number so you can text me. I am good at texting. You will not have to fear my very scary dragon rumble until someone comes to hurt you. I will follow you back to the club and get you drinks, not because I forgot which way it is, but because I want to look at your rear. Unless that makes you scared again, in which case it is because I will be able to protect you better if I see you. Whichever one makes you better."
He actually lets out a laugh, at all of that, and his animation gets even smoother. Much easier to see him talking, probably, but he doesn't seem to realize it and continues to tap away. i eyed you up enough at vertigo, ur welcome to return the favor
Drake offers out his phone number, starting with 413. Then he smiles. "I saw you looking. If you wanted to see more, you could." He points the wrong way. "I'm going to follow you now."
That scribbly blush scrawls across Jack's cheeks again, and he gestures with his head in the right direction, turning to walk that way before putting Drake's number in his phone. And sends him a text: Jack ✏️
Then: ill keep that in mind. u dont think ill be too scared? once the text is sent, he turns to flash Drake a smirk.
Drake has to consider that for a moment before typing out his message(s) quickly.
It's ok to be scared if you're more excited.
I want to see how deep that blur goes, but I want you to be very enthusiastically into the moment. If you are more scared than aroused, that doesn't work.
I want to see how your lines change when you are aroused and excited instead.
Because if you were excited, then I could curl around you until you realize you are very safe and don't have to be scared.
Duh.
The slightly uneven sidewalk is definitely the thing that trips Jack up, making him stumble just slightly. Nothing to do with the texts, nope. His hair and the back of his head get a little scribbly, like the way his cheeks have done the few times when Drake has said overtly sexual things to him, and his overall animation gets more gestural for a few seconds, the broad strokes looking like they've been scrawled more quickly. It's pretty distinct from his flickery, shuddery nervousness, and he dips his head.
thats
i might be into that
at some point
As the two come up to the Club, they can easily spot Lux streaking down the street, coming from the opposite direction. Lux is a bit out of breath from having running, but slows to a trot as they spot Jack. They look the doodley man over, then glance past him towards Drake.
And that's about the time a Lyft drops Mearcstapa at the front door of the Club as well, and he falls in behind Lux in approaching Drake and Jack. One notable change to his attire that both Drake and Jack might note (for different reasons) is that the paracord bracelet on his wrist is pink.
M
Drake stares as the doodle stumbles, putting his hands up with phone in one of them. He stares at Lux first, then past them to Mearc. "... I didn't trip him," declares Drake as if Jack wasn't fully capable of tripping himself. "But if one of you is the emergency on call makeout artist, he does need that and maybe his booboo kissed now."
Something's got Jack a little worked up, given the scribble that's scrawled across his cheeks, and as he sees Mearc and Lux he visibly relaxes, letting out what might be a sigh of relief. Or happiness. At the very least, he looks pretty damn pleased to see them.
And then he lets out a cackle, as much to release his built up adrenaline as anything. "Would you believe it's both of them?"
Lux blinks, looking between the two a moment before stepping up to Jack to grip his arm. Though the releasing laugh makes Lux blink, brows raising. "Okay...?" Their lips quirk, then they lean in to kiss Jack on the lips softly. "Better? Feeling alright?"
Mearc, meanwhile, reaches into his messenger bag for a bottle of water, offering it to Jack helpfully. "Here, this'll help as well, probably calm you down more than kissing will, actually."
The dragon looks between each member in turn. Then he looks down to his phone and types out a quick message to Jack: Both? NOW I know why you're Spring.
Drake smiles before staring at Mearc. "No, no. He says that throwing water in his face isn't helpful. Kissing works much better."
Jack melts into Lux just a little, holding the kiss for a second or two before taking Mearc's offered water. "I'm good. 'S a long story - water's prob'ly helpful, yeah." Jack glances at his phone and grins, shrugging at Drake. "An' like I said, I'm...pretty okay now."
Lux smiles at Jack, then looks past him to Drake. "Hey, Drake." Their hand lifts to their temple and extends it out in... an attempt at 'hello'.
He turns toward Drake. "The water isn't for throwing, it's for drinking. That sort of thing works really well, when someone's worked up." His freckles are primarily red now, just a few still glimmering green.
The deaf man stays back, eyes flitting between the group, but they fix on Lux. The palm goes lateral to the side of his face and then outward in Hello for the ASL folks with a wider smile. "Then I did it right. I broke him, and I don't know how to fix people so you do it?" he 'asks' of the colorful ones.
A blink, and Jack's face moves through a few emotions - confusion, a flash up upset that's quickly replaced by a more generally understanding look - in quick succession, clearly putting something together when Lux greets Drake that way. "Thanks sweetheart," he says to Mearc, and chugs about a third of the water in the bottle. "It was - my fault." Jack waves the implication that Drake 'broke' him away.
Mearcstapa's shoulders roll, and he gives Drake the dirtiest little look. "You don't get to break people around here for your own amusement."
Lux looks a little less judgemental, just concerned, as they look between Jack and Drake. "What happened?"
"He didn't - 's not his fault. I almost made a stupid decision, 's all. And I freaked out about it." Jack shakes his head.
"Not for amusement. He wanted a tattoo so I told him to get one. Then he got very scribbly and started talking and then not-talking. Some people are just very nervous around intimidating creatures, but I made sure he was safe until people-people could help," states Drake. "Ones that aren't Varesh, because he doesn't know this sort of thing."
Mearc glances at Jack, and then moves to place himself between him and the dragon, freckles growing even brighter and remaining red. "Scribbly or smudgy? With Jack, there's a difference between the two."
Lux stays a bit to the side, beside Jack, eyeing Mearc a second before looking to Drake.
"...Not scribbly, like...no. Took me almost too long to realize it was a bad idea, it's...it's fine now. Really." His mien starts to get a little flickery again, a little scattered.
Drake stints past Mearc towards Jack as if getting an idea. Then back towards the red-dotted one. "Like that, but more. And it went very much boom like when a cartoon character gets handed a bomb."
Mearc shakes his head. "Right. When that happens, you stop pushing. Okay? I don't care what you want, but that's a sign that a Line has Been Crossed." The capital letters are audible--for those hearing the words, at least. "That's when you back down, do a check-in, de-escalate whatever's going on."
Lux puts an arm around Jack's waist, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek as he starts to get scattered. Then they look to Mearcstapa, nodding in agreement, then to Drake. "Yeah. Remember what I said about making demands? You got to be gentler with people sometimes."
"He - no, it's..." Jack frowns. "I just...I could'a said I didn't wanna to begin with, and I didn't. He didn't fucking know, he...he didn't push, after that."
The phone gets pushed inside a very tight pocket. Then the man's hands come up to work alongside his words, but that means the words come down slower, more deliberate. "He wanted tattoos, but he didn't have money. I took away the problem by saying I would pay. We made a deal even, which he broke, but letting people go for what they desire is a good thing."
Green freckles begin appearing on his arms and face, but the red ones remain intense. "Just because someone wants something doesn't mean your purpose is to immediately remove the barriers to that something."
As the conversation continues, Jack increasingly looks like he wants to go crawl in a hole. "Can we...it's...it's not a big deal. He...we - I thought it's what I wanted, and...changed my mind, that's got nothing to do with him."
Lux frowns as they listen, nodding a bit as Jack and Drake speak. Their free hand reaches out to rest against Mearc's back. "Sometimes people want things but they're not ready for them," Lux says to Drake. "It was nice of you to offer, and I'm sure you had good intentions. But when Jack gets like that again, when people get nervous or anxious--it means you need to take a moment to make sure they want something right now."
They turn to Jack and frown. "We can drop it if you want?"
"You do not get to define my purpose," says and signs the dragon with a little huff. "I like letting people do what they desire. It feels good for both of us."
Mearc glances over his shoulder at Jack, and grows greener as he does so, some of the red dimming back. Then he turns back toward Drake. "What feels good in the moment can lead to regrets later."
Jack dips his head at that and scuffs his boot lightly against the ground. "It's...yeah." He gestures at what Mearc's said. "'S really not your fault Drake, I...just wasn't really thinking."
"Why don't we just... all chill. No one was trying to hurt anyone. Jack, do you want to go home?"
"Part of growth," says Drake. "When he decided to not, even when he lied, I made sure he was safe. Now if he wants to go home, he has people to take him." The dragon takes a step to the side so he can see more of the people Mearc had interposed themselves between.
"He's safe now. We've got him. Your services are no longer required." There's something in him reminiscent of a cat with all its fur on end right now, trying to puff himself up. It's not very effective.
He flinches, when Drake calls him a liar, and his mien shudders and smudges a little. "Can we go home? Please?" Jack manages to lift his head to look at Mearc, too, including him in the question.
Left palm up, right palm sliding over and out from it. The dragon then looks to Jack and Lux, turning right palm to his chin, then towards them for a little goodbye wave.
"Yeah, let's go home. See you, Drake." Lux waves, then pulls Jack along down the street, away from the Club. Assuming that Mearc will follow.
Mearc waits a moment, to be sure they're not being followed, then falls in behind his partners.
Drake in fact walks in the other direction for a very nice sportscar.
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