Blackout. Maybe not the seediest bar south of the RhyDin River, but it was easily the rowdiest. The same honky-tonk blared on three jukeboxes at once (offset from each other by fractions of a second) when Alain DeMuer pushed into the basement pub and had to duck before the door even began to swing shut - a bottle flew by and hit the wall behind him, followed by a few threatening obscenities in a strange language. The Aurkindar, Jack, that followed Alain in immediately pointed at the man and rushed in to rough him up, but they were only two of many; an all-out brawl had broken out at Blackout over a gang groping a serving girl, and this was the place that Alain had been told he could find Trixie hanging out tonight.

The young House leader took a deep breath and plunged in, ducking the big hits and elbowing away as many little cuffs as he could.

The gang was still clustered, but the girl now in the center didn't look like any demure, serving girl. One twirl sent the blonde hair flying around her shoulders as she cracked the man behind her square in the jaw. Her split attention allowed another, more agile offender to jump in and smash a bottle over her head. Alain would be able to hear the growl over the music--everyone would. Just like everybody would be able to hear the sound of two bodies connecting and plowing through a table-top.

Alain got close, close enough for one of the attackers to go for him instead - he caught him in the jaw with his elbow and knocked him back into a pack of the regular patrons that had taken Trixie's side. "Yo, Trixie!" he called out as Jack flattened another guy from the gang and did a little dance on his face.

"Huh?" In the chaos surrounding them, Trixie hadn't been able to sniff Alain out. The blood pouring out of her own nose and the pools gathering on the floor could cover a lot of things. Emerald eyes glittered on him for a moment--and if he was looking really hard, maybe that crooked smile and the jagged canines would seem somehow warm instead of demented. Of course, the momentary distraction again provided a window of attack, and the man she had by the collar sent the blonde head back with an elbow to the eye socket. "F***er!" The one good eye swiveled back to her prey and the two good hands, stained in blue, drove his head into the bar. One. Two. Three times. Ah-ah-ah.

Alain, given his extraordinary (and often extraordinarily bad) luck, ended up somehow in a fight with a guy three times his size. A few slugs nearly took the detective out, but his fist found the other guy's groin; then his knee found his jaw, and the Goliath dropped with a resounding thud. It was enough to dishearten the rest of the gang. Those that could pry themselves away from their attackers shouted threats as they fled out the door. Jack was in the process of shaking some little guy who'd pulled a knife, but Alain motioned a hand across his throat, and the Aurk growled and tossed him out the door instead.

She had another stringy fellow by the throat when the rest started running and the strain to let him go was visible. She pried her fingers away with grit teeth and made sure to give him a toss for good measure. Trixie, the harlequin painted in blood, headed towards Alain and his pal--continuing through them to a table that could fit the trio.

Jack wiped blood from his left tusk with a respectful growling nod of acknowledgment to Trixie, and followed his boss to lean at the table; no intact chairs in sight. The bartender was weeping audibly, not from any injury to himself but to his bar. "Hell of a good time you found yourself," Alain offered to the Sister, and offered her a cigarette, too. "Need first aid?"

"Heh." She grinned that time, though the elongated fangs still made it seem more demonic than pleasant. She shook her head to the cigarette and looked between them. "You're aight, though?" She had to speak soft but that wasn't such a problem, now. Her nose wriggled as she sent a look over to the bartender.

Jack grunted; Alain dipped his head to light his cigarette, blew a little smoke, and said, "Yeah, I'm okay... Just took one to the cheek and a couple to the ribs." He gave his jaw a little itch and added, "You know, I'm kinda surprised to still find an active Sister here in RhyDin."

"I don't shut off easy, A-Town." That one sounded a little more bitter as she avoided mentioning the Sisterhood. Trix snatched her pack and dug around until she found a little box; she flicked it open and took out a needle and a vial. "Come here often?" She glanced up from her work for a split-second.

"Only when I'm looking for somebody," he half-muttered, smokily. Jack kept his eyes on the door, playing the part of bodyguard and all-around lackey. "House DeMuer's growing. We do good work... but sometimes we run into bad people, and we have to bust a few heads."

"Aww." She snickered, pushing the tip of the needle into her vein. "Sorry ya had to come out here for lil' ol' me." She sent another look over as she pushed the liquid into her bloodstream, closing them for a moment when it hit. "I mean, that is it, isn't it? Tryin' to lure me over?"

"We always used to fight the same people - memory serves, that's how we met." He put his cigarette down on the edge of an ashtray that miraculously survived. "We've got a lot of the same freaks still running around - that Howe guy who tried to team up with your Killers, he's up to no good all over again. Went and murdered my fiancee, and he's got more in the works." That caused a visible twinge of pain in the detective's face, but he let it pass, and pressed on. "And there's other people like him, too... You're still fighting... and my House is still fighting. And I want you with us."

With the aiding drug in her system, the fangs had shrunk down and her body was no longer slightly hunched and heaving. She listened closely and when he mentioned the lost fiancee, she sobered up all the more. "God. Alain.." She let the 'I'm so sorry' drop off and leaned back against the wall. She spoke when the moment passed. "Well. Lemme say this, then. If the girls come back, I belong to them, first." She twisted her mouth to the side. "But...a purpose would do me good. I ain't calling you Mister, Sir, or boss, though. Ya know that, right? And I reserve the right to tell you you're an ***hole when yer bein' an ***hole."

"Fair enough. I hate suck-ups." He collected his cigarette for another drag, then tapped it. "This isn't a two-bit job I'm tapping you for, either... I want you to lead our... 'enforcement.' The likes of Jack here, and other House workers that double as our foot-soldiers when the *** hits the fan." Jack glanced for a moment, peripherally, at Alain when his name was mentioned, but kept any opinion he might've had on the matter to himself.

"A-Town." She grinned and put her hands over her heart. "Ya like me. You really like me." She sent a look to Jack's head. "Think yer boys will take to me as fast?" She arched a brow and set her hands on her hips.

"I like you fine," Jack said roughly, though he kept right on watching that door for trouble. "You fight dirty, and that works for me."

Alain shrugged, as if to say, See? "I'm sure it'll go fine... I get it, no boss, no sir, no whatever... but there'll be meetings sometimes. House business to discuss. You wanna do this?"

The smile went away when the moment of truth was put before her. She exhaled through her nose and ran her hand up the back of her head. She still forgot sometimes that her hair was a little to be long to be ruffled this way. "Let's have a trial period. See if I fit....and in the meantime, I'll give ya the same warning the Scaths had when I joined them." She flexed and stretched, trying to seem casual about it. "If for any reason I get carried away, send somethin' silver through my brain or heart. I'd like it quick."

"As quick as possible," he smiled grimly, and then offered the scarred-and-tattooed right hand to her for shake. "Then, for the time being... welcome aboard."

She clunked her hand against his; hers was devoid of scars and just as inked. At the end of the formal shake she included the always informal fist-bump. "Thanks for havin' me, Ace."

Five o'clock on March 18th, the Marketplace, outside Zoe's.

Etta was a rather shy, modest, but attractive girl, and still learning to navigate the mixed blessing of her unnatural good looks. She was getting into her late teens, and she had begun to learn why so many men came by each afternoon to buy flowers and drop them in the trash-bin around the corner, and never left until she smiled. Her mother had been a fae -- her father would get around to telling her on one of her birthdays, but many like the one he waited for had already come and gone...

Avrast hurried away with a bumbling bow and a smile, and a genuine laugh bubbled past her lips as she waved to him, then gathered the last of her things, rolling up the little rug and tucking it under her arms. Her smile faded and she shielded her eyes from the setting sun to look at the corner from which Teo and his cronies had made their catcalls yesterday. They were nowhere in sight... Maybe the threat from Watchman O'Brien had been enough to scare them.

Father would be getting back from the Zeppa plant soon, she reminded herself, so she picked up her pace away from the market, down the narrow little way towards her home... and a chill went from her neck all the way down her spine when she heard someone falling into step behind her. It was just one... and she would be home soon. She looked over her shoulder and he smiled - one of Teo's friends, the older one missing part of his left ear, an ex-Mako who went by the name Shark. She hurried forward several steps and was rushed suddenly from the side.

Teo, self-styled leader of what he called the Black Spades, emerged from one alleyway and grabbed her mouth as he rushed her across the street. She struggled and hit and bit, but the high deadened the pain, and he cackled as he pushed her away into the arms of someone behind her - his other friend, Boris. "Go on," Boris said, his gold tooth gleaming as he smiled. "Scream."

She wanted to, so badly, but with Boris binding her arms and Teo and Shark stalking her way, she couldn't find the voice...

"Ah." The dull syllable came from somewhere else?above--seemingly from the partially unsecured fire escape two stories higher. There was nothing to see when they looked, though. Move along. The next noise was a clicking against steel?shoes against the pipe-line? There was only a dash of movement left to catch when they turned their heads. Finally, they heard a dismount stuck on pavement. Behind them.

The first noise was enough to distract only Boris. "Hey," he said.

Teo snapped, "Shut up," and Shark snickered. By the second noise, though, all of them were looking, and Teo shoved Etta off to the side and barked, "stay put, Etta." They all had butterfly knives, and all chose this moment to show it.

When Trixie landed behind them, Boris and Teo jumped and stepped back, and Shark, unwisely, chose to step right up and wave a knife in her face. "You don't scare us with your tricks, now clear off, harlot!"

"Harle. Ended it wrong." She drew the last word out to make it sing-songy. Trixie's eyes followed the blade swooshing back and forth. When she had the timing down, she grabbed his wrist and squeezed. "Want to try that again?"

"Ahh... giteroffgiteroffgiteroff!" Shark cried, not used to that kind of pain, really. Sure, he was missing part of his ear, but that was the only wound to his credit, and he'd bawled all night.

Boris and Teo, though, were responsive. "Whoever you are, you're catfood now!" Teo growled in his toughest tone and went for her side with a wild slash, while Boris got close and waited for an opening. Etta edged away but lingered to watch, covering her mouth with both hands, wide-eyed.

She mouthed the word 'catfood' with a giggle, lifting up the male by the hold on his carpals. She spun him to shield against the incoming attack, but she made sure not to put anything vital in the way?just the skin of the torso's side. "Nice aim." She grinned over Shark's shoulder to Teo.

Teo was clobbered by Shark at the same time that he put a nasty little cut in his side, and the two toppled back into the wall. "Bitch!" Boris barked as he took a quick slash at Trixie's face.

He was quick enough, the clever bastard. A line of split skin appeared from her temple to her nose, prompting bubbles of blood and a growl from her throat. "Trixie-food." She muttered, flashing the fangs as she leapt at him.

Etta let out a sharp cry as Boris was knocked to the floor and put his arms up, gasping desperate breaths as he attempted a cry of his own. The other two, as they picked themselves up, gawked openly.

She was bluffing. Trixie, by her own code, refused to feed from humans--but he didn't have to know that. She leaned in and violently tugged his arms apart so she could reach his neck. She almost lost herself beneath the sound of his pulse. "One way out. You leave that girl alone. All of you." She breathed the words onto his neck. "You keep out of trouble, and you never see me again. Step out of line, though..." She closed the distance and ran the points of her teeth down his neck, leaving twin scratches. "...and you won't have the legs left to do it again."

A horrified little noise crawled out of his throat and he tried to squirm out of reach of her fangs, eyes shut tight. Etta began to calm down, but still stared on, biting at her fingertips...

"Let him go, lady, y-you won't see us again!" Shark said, nursing his wrist. "We'll leave her alone, see? Right, Teo!" Teo stammered unintelligibly, and had to settle for just a shaky nod.

She curved her spine to cut a look back over to the pair, using her hands to keep the boy pinned beneath her. She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth for good measure. Finally, she rolled off of Boris with a miraculously healed face. "Ya'd taste like shit, anyway. Shoo." She rested on her haunches.

Boris picked himself up, taking two steps back... and then took off at a run after the others, not bothering to go after his butterfly knife resting near Trixie's feet.

Etta was still collecting herself and catching her breath, and now moved carefully to collect the belongings she had dropped. She paused when she saw Trixie... and then bowed her head humbly. "I... I don't know who you are, ma'am... but I owe you my life..."

She growled when the girl approached, but the Etta?s gentler movements and words cooled her blood. The fangs began to shrink back as she stood and rubbed her head. "Nah, sugar. You don't owe me nothin'. I juss' like to help." She smiled as she stood. "I don't think you'll be needin' me again. Stay safe, k?"

Etta nodded, backing away slowly, and waved a hand to wave. "...Take care." She hesitated... then turned to hurry out of the alleyway and go home.