Gathering: Summer Party

[concierge]

Outside of the Nexus Hotel, waiters and hotel staff had begun to set up the umbrellas and the tables in the middle of the day. Soon, it became clear that something was happening in the shadow of the Nexus. White tablecloths were draped on the tables and drinks and food were brought out with the help of several waiters and servers, staffing tables with hot and cold foods beside bartending stations. Summery drinks in bright, neon colors are laid out one by one and soon, the afternoon light casts a radiant look on the scene.

Music plays faintly in the background and a note at the front desk invites all the Nexus guests to head outside and join in on the summer party, which promises to continue going as long as there are people to stay and continue keeping the warm atmosphere rolling.

On the lawn, social games had been set out -- lawn bowling, croquet, and tables were set up with chairs for anyone who didn't quite have the will or the spirit to get into such games. Soon, a small number of people had begun to mill around, but as with all parties, there's always room for more.

Comments

[votecrowley]

"That just means she gifted you with a particularly sensitive palate," Crowley replied, dryly. "Now, how is my favourite half demon doing today? Favourite because you're the only one I've ever talked to."

[malachai]

Nick laughed as he gave the question some serious consideration before answering. "Honestly? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. My girlfriend from the island I was stuck on before here turned up. Good things just don't happen to me, so the shit's going to hit the fan somewhere. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it's coming."

[votecrowley]

"Well, that's a healthy outlook, more or less," Crowley mused. "I do believe life ends up being one load of excrement after another lobbed at the fan, anyway. If your girlfriend a relatively normal creature, or does she have an interesting bloodline like you?"

[malachai]

Nick tried to imagine Mel's response to being called relatively normal and the grin spread in spite of himself. "Relatively normal and completely human."

Granted that hadn't been true for the last year before she arrived on the island, but that was Mel's story to tell, not his. And sure as hell not to the demon in front of him.

"How about you? Hell surviving without you?"

[votecrowley]

"Relatively," Crowley repeated, but did not say much more than that. Normal girlfriends were boring, after all. So he assumed. Most of his lovers usually tried to kill him at some point, which certainly counted as 'not boring' in most circles.

"Oh, Hell is chugging along on its merry way." Despite how hard he'd worked to win it back, well... it had lost its spark. For the most part he was content to let the demons run amok for the time being. "Fire, sulphur, the whole nine yards."

[malachai]

"Don't forget the screaming and pleading for mercy," Nick commented with a wry twist to his lips, "just doesn't seem like a hell realm without it."

How had he ever come to this point, calmly discussing hell realms with another demon like they were talking about visiting the Bahamas? He didn't know, but it was yet another reason he was happy to still be in this freaked out hotel.

[votecrowley]

"Oh, true, but there's plenty of that everywhere else," Crowley said mildly. "I don't believe existence has ever had any shortage of it."

It did get tiring after awhile. At least the hotel was quiet.

[malachai]

"Never quite got that, myself. Some just aren't happy unless they have something to bitch about." Nick shook his head at the memory of a few he'd known back in New Orleans, mostly growing up, who never seemed fully satisfied.

"So. Besides the lack of wailing and garment rending, how've you bee filling your time here?"

[votecrowley]

"Oh, sweet nothing, really," Crowley replied. Which - well, he was doing that both in the hotel and out, to be perfectly honest. Now that he wasn't worried about someone trying to actively kill him (moreso than was usually the case when you ruled Hell) motivation was just so difficult to come by. "But I'm a pretty boring creature, you know, when you take away the fire and brimstone."

[malachai]

"Tell me about it. If I ran into someone from home, they'd never recognize me," Nick snorted a laugh, "even with the height and the hard to miss goddess bitchslap on my cheek. Something about losing years worth of seething rage. Takes a toll, you know?"

[votecrowley]

"Oh, I don't know. The lack of seething rage is doing lovely things to your complexion," Crowley replied, dryly.

[malachai]

"Not to mention my golf game's improved," Nick lied wildly. "Concentrating on a putt is so much easier when you're not thinking it would be a good idea to wrap the putter around your opponent's neck."

[votecrowley]

"But the rage must really come in handy when you need a good swing out of the sand trap," Crowley pointed out, with a grin. Ah, golf. Such a bane of human existence.

[malachai]

Nick paused, then laughed a little. "Sorry, but sometimes the weird just gets to me. Two demons, standing around, joking about hell realms, rage and golf. I mean, what sort of twisted universe conjures that shit up?"

[votecrowley]

"Really?" he asked, unfazed. "I don't know what world you're from, mate, but that's pretty much the song-and-dance where I come from. There used to be days when no one knew what a demon did, much less how to get rid of them. Now everyone seems to have a demon-away kit in their backseat. There's a lot for demons to complain to each other about, now."

[malachai]

"We definitely come from very different worlds," Nick snorted. "The supernatural is still pretty veiled from the humans - most have no idea it exists and don't want to; and on the demon front, there are so many power plays going on, if another demon says something to you, believe it at your peril. Next thing you know, you're in a hell realm with a collar dampening your powers for the next thousand years."