Niflheim's abode
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FoJ: Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2024-04-13 18:55:59 +0000 UTC“Well…” Alex flexed his bullshitting muscles. “I mostly know about the supernatural from random stray devils that I encounter.” He says. “I naturally had a great ability to sense my surroundings so their corruptive auras really stood out to me, one day I acted on my curiosity and actually got face to face with one, so ever since then I’ll just beat them up whenever they got on my radar.”
“Really…” Thellsa says.
“Yeah, I mean I gotta tell you, those suckers are really fond of monologues, and some of them even had enough sanity to be able to hold a conversation so I picked up some things here and there, mostly about the Three Factions, obviously, so I think I may know quite a bit about them.” He shrugs. “As for the rest? I always noticed people like you who were… different, so to say. But I usually get away of dodge whenever I do so, never really made a decision on how to approach one of you.”
He puts the empty glass and takes another. “So one day when I found myself with no home, no money, and no way to get both, I saw your bar and thought, why not?” He smiles. “And the rest you know.”
Thellsa circles the edge of her cup in though with her left index, while she rested her head on her right. “I guess that would explain some things about you…” She says. “What I don’t understand is how you got so strong…. Did you ever know your parents? Or had any indication as to any non-human ancestry? Strange urges, appetites, things like that?” She asks.
Alex tilts his head. “Not really? I mean I know who my parents are; they got into an accident when I was four, so I don’t think so… Why do you ask?”
“It’s just… Humans have a bit of a pitiful reputation in the supernatural circles. It is very uncommon for one without any special features like you to be even slightly strong; I mean you’re clearly no spiritual inheritor, no hero bloodline, no sacred gear…” She turns to him. “You don’t have a sacred gear, do you? Because I don’t know any sacred gear that could make someone stronger without showing itself.”
Alex chuckles. “Sacred Gears are those tools blessed by god, no?” At her nod, he continues. “If so, then no. I guess I’m just built different…”
She lets out a frustrated exhale. “Alright, there’s no use dwelling on it.” She fixes her posture and claps her hand. “So, exposition time.”
“First, let’s talk about us, The Lucky Lounge has been a part of supernatural New York for decades, at first it began like any normal bar, people aware or part of the magic side of the world would go in and relax, shielded from the mundane by the Faerie’s signature illusion magic. That would be me.” She points at herself. “But from time to time fights would break out inside the bar, which is natural, tensions get inflamed, blood runs hot, and owners would be forced to use force in order break them up. So as time went on the establishment developed a reputation for being “violence free”, so people of all sorts would start to set up truce meetings, whenever two factions wanted to settle something but neither trusted the other not to set up a trap, they met up here, where their safety was guaranteed.”
“And the establishment would get a fee in exchange for arranging this meet, right?” Alex asks.
She clicks her hand in his direction. “Bingo.” She says. “At first it was only concerning factions in Manhattan, but after a while our reputation grew enough that we started to quarter to people from all over NYC and its surroundings, even people from outside would use the Lounge as a meeting spot.”
“However, over the last decade we made significant changes, instead of facilitating and setting up meetings, we started expanding into contracts, we’d set up agreements between people, and we would be the enforcers in case one of the parties broke them.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Naturally, this brought influence, riches, and more danger in equal amounts. Now instead of a simple neutral party, we actually were a participant in the power struggle between the factions in New York.”
She lifts he glass cup, her gaze lowered to the its bottom. “Until a six months ago, where my mother and her subordinates died in an accident, leaving us outmanned, outgunned, and underpowered.” She finishes, sporting an anguished expression.
She turns her head up, staring Alex straight at the eyes. “It was cultists, they attacked factions all over the city, and in order to sow maximum chaos the Lucky Lounge was their first target, we are the ones who keep the peace, after all.” She says. “If they didn’t also cause trouble with the other factions, then we would have been devoured by the sharks in their struggle for control. This is why Alex, never spare a cultist, never.”
He solemnly nods. “Alright.”
“So, what about the rest?” He says after a moment of silence.
“Ah yes.” Thellsa says. “Yeah, so that’s it, now the only people left in the Lounge are Cillian, Aiko, and I. Your arrival, no matter how surprising, was kind of godsent.”
“Thank you. What can you tell me about you, though… I think it’s only fair that I know some of your abilities.”
“Well, I guess that can’t hurt.” She says. “I’m a half’n’half fairy, my mother was Fall Court Fairy while my father was a Spring Court one, I’m fairly skilled at geo and areomancy and am also good at magic. Aiko’s mother was a Miko who came to the US after marrying a mundane over here, she uses Shinto magic, which basically sum up to prayers, rituals, and talismans and stuff, she has a flexible set of abilities. Cillian however, is a swordsman, he is a natural holy sword wielder, as he was chosen by Claiomh Solais as its wielder, don’t mind him much, he’s not going to stay for long.”
“Why is that?” Alex asks.
Thellsa sighs. “He was chosen by Claiomh Solais, but the sword was my mother’s property. One day when he visited the lounge the sword just flew up to him and chose him, at the time mother had no use for the sword, but it was still a very powerful weapon so she made a contract with him, he serves in the Lounge for five years as an enforcer and server, and he gets the sword for sure.” She shrugs. “Cillian thought it better to accept than fight, so now he still stays here even after her death, with but six months left in his contract.”
“He doesn’t particularly enjoy it here, he’s much more of a wanderer, and so I’d expect that the moment his contract is fulfilled he’s gonna leave.”
She goes for the cup, only to notice that it’s empty.
“You want a refill?” Alex asks.
Thellsa shakes her head and pushes the glass cup forward. “No thank you, I think I’ve had enough today.” She checks the watch on her wrist. “It’s close to opening time, so I guess we only have time for a little more exposition. So I’ll tell you about the guys we’re meeting today.”
“Today?” Alex asks.
“Yeah, today we’ve set up a meeting with a client; they want to discuss a breach of contract.” She says. “Today we’re meeting the Romulus clan, or famillia whichever floats your boats, they’re a pack of werewolves supposedly descended from Romulus of the twins Romulus and Remus who built the city of Rome, they run several businesses here –some legal, some not so much- catering to both the mundane and supernatural population of NYC.”
“Their territory is centered at little Italy in lower Manhattan, and their leader, Don Renato, is very infamous. Using Biblical rankings, he’d be equivalent to a weak Ultimate-class devil in strength.” She says. “I can’t directly fight him, and he also has several subordinates that are close to his strength and they have great numbers, not only werewolves, since they also have the tendency to pick up humans and add them to the “pack” so to say. But they’ve been allies of the Lounge for a long time, and are very fond of stability in the region.”
“Soo…” Alex begins. “They’re the mafia, just werewolves.”
“That… That’s actually a fair assessment.” She says. “Never had anyone describe it like that, but now that I hear it it’s totally accurate.”
“Then that’s what I’ll expect.”
They spent the rest of the wait just speaking about meaningless things, Aiko came from upstairs, turns out she lives in the upper floors, while Cillian came right on time for his shift.
Before the designated time, Thellsa gathered them up for a meeting.
“Listen up, you stay silent, you stay polite, and you only speak with someone if they engage. Someone tries to pick a fight?” She says, expecting some sort of answer.
“”We kick their ass.”” Aiko and Cillian echo, although Aiko seems frustrated for some reason, Cillian is just indifferent as ever.
If this was an anime or a novel, then the guests would arrive directly after the little prep session, but thankfully they only arrived after everyone was properly situated.
The bar was naturally closed in preparation, and since Alex was available to tend the bar, Aiko was going to take the role of a hostess and server; while Cillian is going to help her while undertaking any miscellaneous tasks may come up.
The door opened, letting in the people responsible.
“Ah, good ol’ Lucky Lounge.” Echoed a deep voice with a very, very heavy New York City accent. “It’s been what, a couple of months since I’ve been here?”
The person who entered was obviously not human, since he had grey fur growing all over his body. He had a muscular and athletic body hidden behind his expensive looking suit and his overcoat. His head was wolf-like, with a broad snout, sharp teeth, and menacing yellow eyes.
“Yes boss, we came here when that whole cultist incident was going on.” A lot more wolf men stepped forward -8 ,maybe?- at their head, just behind the first one, was another menacing wolf with a serious scar on his left eye, also with a heavy accent.
Every one of them was dressed like stereotypical New York gangsters, suits, overcoats, and hats. They made for an intimidating entourage.
Aiko was undeterred, however. “Good to see you again mister Renato, May I hold your coat?” She said.
The boss, Don Renato, smiles at the woman while handing her the coat. “Aiko! Nice to see you toots!” He looks around at the bar. “But if yer here, who’s manning the bar? The drinks ain’t gonna taste the same without your womanly touch.”
“We’ve got a new guy.” She answers while taking the other guest’s coats. “He’s good, trust me.”
“Well, he better be!” Ronato says. “Now, where’s the beautiful Thellsa!”
“I’m here, you old fuck!” Exclaims the mentioned woman from one of the tables.
“Ah, there’s the old chum!” He exclaims. “You’ve been drinking the Hooch behind my back, eh?” He says, noting the cup of alcohol that she held.
His second in command sniffs the air. “And it looks like it’s the good stuff too, Bowmore 1966.” He clicks his fingers at Cillian. “You’ve got the Grappa? Bring us some.”
Alexander hears them and pours the already anticipated beverage, giving it to Cillian to bring.
Thellsa turns to the second in command. “That’s some expensive shit, Leonardo, it’s gonna come out of your bosses’ tab.”
Renato huffs in amusement as he sits in front of the Fairy. “Looking at how you’ve been screwing shit up, we’ll almost be even.” His subordinates shortly follow.
“So we’re getting straight to the point, huh… What’s the issue now? The IRS coming for your ass?”
“Hell no!” Renato exclaims. “I ain’t getting supernatural CIA on my ass! Plus, why the fuck would I even come to you for that?! I’m talkin’ ‘bout those cocksockin’ bloodsuckers!”
Thellsa groans in frustration. “What did those assholes do this time?”
“They’ve been breakin’ the rules!” Interjects Leonardo. “They’re muscling on our turf!”
The other people at the table nod in collective assents.
“Leo’s got it right.” Renato says. "The Karnsteins ain't happy with their blood banks anymore; they've been snatching up funeral homes, crematories, and whatnot to get into our flesh business. And as you know, YOU were supposed to make sure they stick to the contract, that they ain't allowed to do that under any circumstances."
“And now they are, so we’re here to make sure you make them pay.” Leonardo continues. “Or we’ll have to take matters in our hands.”
Thellsa downs the rest of her drink.
“Gentlemen, I’m sure it’s just some sort of misunderstanding.” She says. “After we finish up here I’m gonna go meet the Karnsteins, make sure to keep the peace. Is that fine with you?”
Don Renato just stays silent for a while, one of his subordinates hands him a large cigar which he lights up, takes a long drawn out drag out of it, and slowly puffs out its smoke directly in Thellsa’s direction.
She however, just uses her powers to shift it away from her gaze.
“Nah.” Don Renato says. “They can’t just do this and go away with a slap of the wrist, ya gotta make ‘em pay.” He says. "You see, they ain't just muscling in on our business, but they're giving it the wrong kinda attention. They've been offing regular folks in broad daylight and covering it up with hypnosis magic to stay ahead. It's only a matter of time before one of 'em turns out to be a much bigger fish than they can handle, or they start getting heat from other folks, like Exorcists, or worse, Devils."
“That sort of attention can not only be tracked back to us, but also to the whole moonlit side of NYC.” Leonardo says. “It ain’t good for business.”
Thellsa leans back on a chair, crossing her fingers with each other and letting out a sigh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Renato takes another drag of his cigar. “Again, that ain’t enough. When your mother-“
The air goes still and a thunderous expression paints the fairy’s face. “Do not mention my mother to me.”
But the Don stays unfazed, as he smokes another puff. “When your MOTHER was in charge, she’s call the Karsteins back here every single month, remember that?”
Thellsa just barely nods.
“She’d scare the shit out of them, making them remember who’s boss.” He says. "Because she knew those bloodsuckers are always on the lookout for any little opening to exploit, 'cause those bastards just don't know how to quit."
"And you ain't doing your job, so they've been messing around again, waving their dirty fingers around, searching for a prize." Leonardo continues.
Thellsa stares them both in the eye for a long while, debating her options, before finally nodding.
“Fuck it, I’m gonna fuck up the Karnsteins.” She says.
Renato lifts his cup high. “I can drink to that!” His subordinates and Thellsa following him.
"Now, how ya been doin'?" He asks.
The fairy shrugs. “Fairly well, before you came and fucked my day up.”
He laughs, she laughs, and they continue talking for the rest of the hour about meaningless shit.
Her expression was definitely not pleasant however, as she stared at their leaving backs.
Alex could feel their shapes shift into human forms through his Observation Haki, blending seamlessly in the crowd.
Although he could sense a distinctly different quality to their auras, it had a more… wild feel to it.
“What was that whole flesh meat thing about?” He asked.
Thellsa ignores him, but Aiko answers him for once.
“Every supernatural faction is filthy rich, that’s what wealth built through generations does.” She says. “Mundane currency like dollars isn’t worth jack to them, so they all try to fight over things that can give them influence and power in the moonlit world through other methods.”
“For the Remulus Clan, it’s human flesh, there’s a ton of supernatural races that depend on it for them to live, and a lot more just find it naturally… delicious.” She explains. “Synthetic flesh has been invented a long, long time ago, but it could never match the real stuff in quality. So the Romulus clan procures real, fresh human meat for them to consume in exchange of favors and resources.”
“They have countless funeral homes across this side of the hemisphere, where they switch cadavers with synthetic clones, it’s very harmless and the most ethical one could go about it, so even factions like the church leave them be. The Karnsteins-“
“Are asshole vampires that like screwing our shit up.” His boss finally says. “What the Remulus clan does with flesh, they do with blood. And since they have a common client base, the two families have been in a longstanding feud. Until the Lucky Lounge put an end to that.”
“They’ve always been upitty bitches.” She says. “So they had to be put in their place from time to time, I thought I’d be quite past that, but I guess not.”
She turns toward her employees. “So, we’re going there tonight.” She orders. “Get ready.”
