Chapter Text
Vaurien Scapegrace, King of Zombies, ran a damp rag across the bar. A few stragglers finished their drinks and shuffled their way to the door. The night was cold in winter weather, and patrons would pull their coats tight as they left.
Roarhaven’s best and brightest were attracted to Vaurien’s domain, and as he cleaned, he thought of his future. The next reasonable step would be to start an open mic night. There was an exposed brick wall at one end of the pub that would perfectly fit the atmosphere.
In his mind, it was a scene of Russian intellectuals, buying shots of vodka and seeding poetry. The pub would become a tourist destination for years to come, with a plaque out from that read: Vaurien’s Spirits, from which the soul of revolution spread through art and… and like, stuff.
His pen raced out the sketch on a bar napkin as Gerald popped up behind the man and asked, “What’s that?”
Vaurien covered the writing with his hand. “Plans. Just thinking of ways to make our business even more great. What are you doing back here? I thought we agreed no drinking on the job."
Gerald gave a broad smile and reached under the bar to grab another roll of receipt tape. “I was out.”
Vaurien gave an grimace and half-apologetic nod as he went back to revising his pub’s epigraph.
“What’s that?”
Vaurien flushed, “Gerald, what do you know of--” He looked up and saw Valkyrie Cain who was trying to catch their attention with a wave. She leaned over the bar with abandon.
“Hi, Scapey.” Valkyrie had grown considerably since their last encounter. She was definitely older than the 13 year old he had dangled off a rooftop.
“Ms. Cain, hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He slid the napkin away.
“Shot of whiskey.”
“Last call was 30 minutes ago.”
Valkyrie gave a frown and reached over the bar to grab the napkin.
Vaurien snapped it back and sighed, “Okay, I’ll make an exception.”
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
“Did your, what's his face, partner tag along.”
“No,” she gave a cold, blunt answer.
“Cool. Well--”
“What’s up with you? It’s not like you to be hiding your ambition from anyone. What’s it say?”
He poured her shot and set it in front of her. “It’s not finished yet. I’m still thinking it through. I don’t like to give people the idea that I have half-baked plans.”
“I can’t think of a single plan of yours that you didn’t see to the end,” she gave a smirk and tilted her head back to let the entire shot go down her throat.
“You realize you are talking to the zombie king. I’ve grown, Detective Cain.”
“Well, your majesty, another please.” She pushed the glass to the side.
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“I’ll get a taxi home. Or I could call Fletcher. Don’t worry about me.”
“Fletcher? You mean the kid with the weird hair who you dated for half a second?”
“How do you know we dated?”
“He’s a big deal in the city. People like to gossip about the love affairs of celebrities.” He put down the shot in front of her. “Besides, being cheated on really humanizes him.”
Valkyrie gave a glare. “There goes your tip.”
Vaurien shrugged. “Worth it for all the times you and the skeleton abused me. Can you handle some verbal sparring? Get ready because the wit of this city coming out for our open mics will shine a light on the corruption of Sanctuary detention.”
“You’re a criminal.”
“Reformed. But not thanks to Sanctuary jails.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t have a good stay.”
“There’s a big difference between punishment and exploitation. Do you want me to jog your memory of what you did to me? Every time I saw you, it was abuse after abuse. I was helpless.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“And I am sorry for that. I’ve never really said that, but I was a young man, and I’ve learned the error of my ways. Hopefully, we can share in our growth.”
She took the next shot. “Another.”
“Hey, Cain, pace yourself.”
“Or what?”
“I’ll cut you off.”
She threw down 50 euros on the table.
He looked at her, his voice becoming more sympathetic, “We haven’t seen you around in a while. We heard you saved the world again.”
“A good team.”
He poured her another shot. “Would you want to save the world again?”
“Like, professionally? I don’t know. I don’t think I can be the one to do that. I’m not strong enough.”
“You look pretty powerful to me.”
She placed a finger on his white aura that occasionally flared but stayed in his body, keeping him animated. “It’s more about psychological strength than anything.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.”
She winced as the next shot overstayed its welcome on her pallet. “It would seem so.”
Gerald walked behind the bar again, and Valkyrie brimmed with joy, saying, “Thrasher, hi. Remember me?”
He turned and touched her hand, and she recoiled a bit at his cold skin. “How could I forget you? You’ve gotten so much taller.”
Vaurien folded his arms. “He’s Gerald.”
Val nodded. “Sorry about that, Gerald.”
Gerald waved off the miscommunication. “Nah, it’s fine. It’s just good to know you’re alright.”
“I am. Thank you. You guys have a nice thing going here.” She looked between the two of them. “It’s shaping up to be something special.”
Gerald threw an arm around Vaurien. “The place is amazing, and it’s only going to get better. Live music. More mood lighting. We’re really excited.”
Val left the 50 and stood. “Well, nice catching up with you two. I’m gonna hit the hay.”
“Come back soon!”
Val left and looked around at the street before her. Her breath hung in clouds around her, but she took a left turn and just started walking. Street lamps lit her way through the quiet city. With the large Cathedral to her right, she followed the streets with ceaseless forward momentum.
A couple walked toward her, holding hands and laughing, and Val stepped to the side to allow them space. She turned her head down and felt warmth course through her as the whiskey took hold of her system.
At the edge of the city, she turned and weaved through a less well-lit part of town. A light began to flicker, and fear made her stop dead in her tracks.
“Don’t be paranoid,” she chided herself and kept walking.
The next turn she made, she was greeted by a group of cloaked figures. Again, she found that she couldn’t move.
Then, one of the cloaked figures moved towards her.