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[armedagainstlove]

He has been drinking for some time.

Apparently, in this city of bright lights, gold coins go a very long way. Athos hadn't travelled very far from the door, sitting himself upon a stool and beginning to make his way through as much wine as he possibly could. Two bottles in, he has made a great friend of the bartender, who does not mind that Athos has little to say to him. There are gold coins for the taking and Athos has no care for money. He has plenty of money. He is a Comte living in a hovel. He has more money than he knows what to do with.

The wine of the future tastes empty, though, as though it lacks in strength. He has been given many odd stares for his weaponry, but Athos will not dismiss them, knowing that he is not so dangerous when he is drunk. After all, he can still shoot from five paces away and if Porthos can shoot a melon off Aramis' head when drunk, then Athos can wear his weapons.

When he looks up, after another glass, he now realizes that he is not alone. "How long have you been here?" Athos asks of the beauty beside him, puzzled and rather worried that he is lapsing time.

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[armedagainstlove]

He is drunk.

He does not think that he is so drunk that he is not comprehending her words. So he believes that she has begun to speak of demons and resurrection and Athos can do nothing but gape. "I have had much to drink," he confesses, "but please forgive me if I do not believe you. I do not think I am hallucinating, but you are making a very strong case for my lack of sanity at the moment."

She cannot be truthful. Such things cannot exist. Can they?

[slutbomb]

"No, you're plenty sane. It's the world that's crazy. Sometimes I just kinda forget, you know? Who's down with the vampire talk and who's gonna run off in the other direction screaming." Especially when she's this drunk, apparently.

But Faith doesn't seem too bothered by the whole prospect. Considering that vampires and vampire slayers are known and accepted (generally) commodity, it's actually kind of nice having someone point out that it's also completely ridiculous-sounding.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos has not laughed in years, but when she says 'vampires', he raises his brow. "You realize that the moment you implicated vampires into this, you owed me an explanation. Sitting here in neon gaudish lights of terror, with a woman of the future, and more drink than I normally know what to do with..."

"Come," Athos coaxes, tugging the bottle. "We should walk and you can tell me about your world."

[slutbomb]

It's a good idea; Faith could use some air, herself. Her smirk is knowing, but she waits until they are outside and moving along before offering up more information.

"Werewolves, too," she says. This has never been her purview: introducing newbies to the world of the supernatural. For good reason too, since it's only recently she's taken up the mantle of mentor to her fellow and younger vampire slayers. "Not all are bad, though. Which was the craziest part to me, back in the day."

[armedagainstlove]

He inhales sharply and nearly accuses her of deliberately trying to set him off balance, given that what she says is so wild and odd that he has a hard time believing it, but he has seen much beyond the pale of what he expects to be true. So why not? Why not werewolves? Why not mad things?

"If I had to cope with such evils, I might drink more, a feat I did not think humanly possible," he jests wryly.

[slutbomb]

"I keep telling people it's a miracle I'm not an alcoholic." No she doesn't. It's a miracle she's not still a murderer if anything.

But she never had quite that reaction. If she were prone to telling her story it would include how being called as a slayer had been the best thing to ever happen to her. How learning about the things that go bump in the night had been better than what went on in her own household.

"Not gonna lie, though. I like the gig. Always have."

[armedagainstlove]

"Even though all the trials and the tribulations, even through the unknown and the demons and monsters," Athos echoes, raising his brows in disbelief. He has been known to fight losing battles in his time, but this seems gargantuan in the size of the continuous task. "Perhaps I ought to be asking whether there is an untold damage you have yet to tell me about. Perhaps in your head?"

[slutbomb]

"Well, you know I did time. I was kind of dangerous for awhile." And like an alcoholic, it's something she struggles with on a daily basis. It has seeded deeply into her view on the world and of herself. And while she refers to prison humorously as Murder Rehab, she takes the uprooting of those old habits so very seriously.

"Look, it's like this: You give a little girl more power than the biggest dude on the planet, her whole life changes. She comes from a crap home life, and it changes even more. But drawing the short straw on life doesn't really give anyone the excuse to stomp around and use that power to hurt people." So yeah, super damaged. But new sprigs are starting to grow fresh in the places where Faith was carved out.

[armedagainstlove]

"I knew the most dangerous woman in France," Athos informs her with an edge of implication that she cannot be worse than Milady, she cannot be worse than the woman he'd thought he'd known. "You were given power. She was given nothing and she let that darkness consume her, allowed it to drive her to horrible things, and doing it to the people she claimed to love."

She had murdered Thomas and for that, Athos can never forgive her.

[slutbomb]

"Did she take over her friend's body, spend her credit cards, flirt with a vampire and then sleep with the friend's boyfriend? While in her body. Because I'm still thinking I got your wife beat."

Stupid alcohol. That is a thing Faith has never actually talked about aloud. Ever.

[armedagainstlove]

Though intoxicated, Athos still recognises only a fraction of those words and the confusion shows upon his face. "It seems that for each ounce of guilt I bear, you understand it," he says, feeling a refreshing wave to experience someone who does not judge or pity him. It is wonderful, to a point he cannot express. "Despite the many years that part us."

[slutbomb]

Faith laughs at that, a sound that nearly forces its way out, and surprises her a little. It's safe to say that even with Athos' fancy language, he does have a talent at summing things up nicely.

"Yeah, well. At the very least we have the same crap taste in partners." She's got sum-up skills too, but they're largely lame. And while she still thinks he's not nearly as bad as he says he is, Faith's not going to argue with him.

[armedagainstlove]

"And here we are together," Athos says, as charming as he can be, a subtle smile upon his face that's as wide as his happiness ever gets. "Well," he remarks, with a bow of his head and a look towards the exterior. "I am afraid this is a strange land and I am a stranger in it. Would you happen to know somewhere safe to retire for the evening?"

[slutbomb]

As rare as his smile is, it's certainly worth the wait. He's not unpleasant to be around -- in fact, Faith might say she doesn't totally hate hanging out with the guy. The least she can do is give him somewhere to bunk.

"Well, it depends. Bellagio's pretty swanky. You don't have anyone looking for you, do you?" Cause if so, she figures it'll be more important to hide out somewhere unexpected.

[armedagainstlove]

"If Porthos and Aramis come looking for me, I fear for Porthos' wallet," Athos says, a severe look of worry. "However, being the small hours as they are, they are likely still in Paris and passed out in whatever quarters suits them." He digs in his pocket for the money that had replaced his gold when he'd arrived, a rather large sum of it. "I'm not short of money," he assures. "If that's what you're implying with 'swanky.'"

[slutbomb]

"Woah, I can get it. Not sure they're gonna take a bag of coins." She reaches forward to try to keep him from just whipping that thing out. Between the two of them, getting mugged probably isn't going to be a problem, but it's a pretty big red flag. "You can do the tipping, if you got to."

The fact that watching a bus boy get a gold coin as a tip will be super fun has nothing to do with the suggestion, really.

"I just-- gotta remember which way it is..."

[armedagainstlove]

"Don't look at me," is Athos' protest. "I arrived within the odd structure and found myself under the weight of two bottles of wine before I thought to wander," he says, and had only found a maze of odd machines and carpets, which had only driven him to drink even further. "I would feel remiss if you did not allow me to pay for at least some," he insists, traipsing along with a heavy lilt of clumsiness in each step.

[slutbomb]

"Yeah, I get that. I'll take coin." She's answering a little off-handedly, as she looks around them to try to gain her bearings.

"Oh, OK. Yeah. It's this way." This way being whichever way she starts to drift. But Faith manages to sound pretty confident -- considering she's very certain she's not just tipsy and is definitely leading Athos the right way. "C'mon, it's right around the corner."

It's really not. It's probably blocks away.

[armedagainstlove]

In certain lights, it is almost like he is with his Anne again, down to the way Faith moves her body and drunk as he is, Athos leans towards her, as if leaning for the familiarity of such a body. "You've been here before, I take it?" he surmises, given her ease with the city.

[slutbomb]

"Nope," she replies with a smirk. Not only does inebriated mean she's less likely to lie or mislead the truth, but it also means she doesn't so much mind having her personal space invaded. His closeness is met with a nudge to his shoulder.

"But I'm future-chick, remember? I got this." She points to the corner, which looks like a pretty big intersection. "We make a left up here, we're home free."

[armedagainstlove]

"I prefer to call you Faith," Athos informs her, with a nod of his head as he feels his control begin to slip precariously away from him at the sight of so much bustle before them. It's a frightening thing, to stare at that and not know what to do with it. "I come from Paris, which is all noise and idiots, at times. Why on earth do people come here?"

[slutbomb]

"Gambling. Wicked addictive. Also the outside noise tends to drown out the inside noise."

The Southie in her still comes out every once in awhile, slang and rough edges borne of a childhood unlived and buried under years of learning how to function in a world of slayers and vampires. She reaches out to tug at Athos' arm once they get to the corner, making sure he's following along as she makes the left.

Among the blinking lights is an assortment of establishments, none of which begin with a B. Faith is starting to wonder who misplaced the Bellagio on her. "C'mon. That place looks OK."

If OK is defined by a pretty rundown facade and the promise of themed weddings.

[armedagainstlove]

He blinks at her terms, thinking that his grasp on English cannot be so steady if he is to be confounded so often by what Faith has to say. Or perhaps he's simply that drunk that he cannot comprehend it. He follows after a pause, staring at the building before him and thinking that it is suitable for him.

"It reminds me of my own home with its dilapidated charm, but I doubt it has half as many liquors," he says, almost fondly and missing such things. The liquors, that is, and not the home.

[slutbomb]

"Not often I ask to go home with a guy, but you're really selling it, now." Her smile is easy and comfortable. Normally, Faith's flirtations are concocted with care and exacted with an indifference that belies how purposeful they truly were.

But she's got enough alcohol in her to kill a small horse and Athos is actually really easy to be around. Things that don't happen all that often for $500, Alex.

"Come on, look -- says they have a deal." One night for $40 bucks with marriage license obtained on premises. Does Athos read fine print?

[armedagainstlove]

"I assure you, it is with all unintention," is Athos' wry reply, given that he has not disavowed the company of beautiful women, but has learned to be wary of it after Anne. He squints at the sign, the words blurry and English and he is far too drunk for both reading small print and English and though Faith is yet a stranger to him, he feels himself capable of defending himself should a perilous situation arise.

He nods, gesturing forward. "Ladies, first."