[Finished] Esterberry Curiosity [Bee]

[Kari Muffin]

Petunia constantly struggled to have some sort of real social life. However, bars weren't her thing unless she was looking for a one night stand and neither was partying. She finally had a job and she was actually enjoying it despite having her tongue torn out by accidentally brushing up against some magical disgusting object. The freak accidents she could live without.

So she was going to the library. It was a stereotypical Esterberry sort of thing to do, but she could careless. No one was going to find out what she did in her spare time anyway.

She wasn't particularly sure where she was though. This wasn't where she normally went, but she had heard there was a rather nice library in this part of town. Even though as far as she knew this was the place where there were mostly night clubs. Perhaps she had gotten turned around and was thinking about another part of town?

"Of course I'm lost," she muttered.

[Bee]

This part of town was pretty swinging if Helena didn't look directly at any of the lights. She liked it. Being able to stumble from club to bar to random alley and back again was pure party efficiency. The night was young, of course. The sun had set but half an hour ago, when Helena discovered she could again open her eyes, and Simcha had wanted to stay home but Helena reminded her that tomorrow was bonding night, when Hel would read to her. Tonight was Party Night.

Simcha had snuggled around her neck and accepted her fate. Helena gave her head an affectionate scratch.

Now there was deciding where to start. Maggie's had excellent vodka (Solandrian, and shit Helena liked that stuff; bar-tenders didn't understand how she could put so much of it away); the Rose Red had cuter bouncers; then there was the little tavern that had...an Esterberry?

Helena looked into the distance curiously, glad of her keen night-sight. One did not often see Esterberries out for a party. She broke into a grin, then a gentle run as she made her way over. What was the use of not surrendering to one's flights of fancy?

"Good night for a romp around town, eh?"

[Kari Muffin]

Petunia was more than a little surprised by the sudden appearance of a nicely curved canine woman with a dazzling mane. And to make it so much better she was a Jack of Diamonds. It was like some angel had just fallen out of the sky to take pity on her.

And for a few moment Petunia was at a loss for words. She was finding out more and more that people weren't as self conscious about appearance and smarts outside of her snotty home region. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Oh yes, it's actually a fantastic night. And I hope you don't mind me saying but you've certainly made my night a bit brighter."

Now that Petunia was looking closely there seemed to be something strange about the other woman. Was it just her imagination or were her eyes one shade of black? Maybe it was just the bad lighting?

[Bee]

Well a little flattery would certainly fly you on majestic wings to wherever you wanted to go, and Helena was put in a right good mood by the warm and enthusiastic reception.

She couldn't remember the last time a perfect stranger had been so glad to see her. Perhaps that lonely man from a couple months ago when she'd grabbed his junk under the table. But even that seemed to pale in comparison, really, which was saying something. Table Man had been ecstatic.

"I don't mind at all," she said, happily. She cocked her head to the side. The Hair curled question marks into itself. "I don't see Esterberries out for merrymaking very often." She didn't see Esterberries much at all, actually. Until recent times, anyway, when she went to libraries a bit more often. "Cutting loose after a day of studying?"

[Kari Muffin]

Penny watched with absolute fascination when she saw the woman's hair move on its own accord. She wasn't seeing things, there was no way of mistaking what that mane was doing. Whoever this was she was more fascinating than just a pretty face and possibly a chance at getting laid.

It was a damn good day off.

"I've never been like most Esterberries. I never decided on a "proper" major despite my love of education and my curiosity to learn about everything," She gave a rather toothy grin. "Yes, I'm taking a break from my studies. It was my day off from work and I decided to hunt down a new library. Though I wasn't successful I did stop at several interesting bookstores. And what about you? What are you doing out on this lovely evening?"

Penny's tail twitched in a half wag. It never really did move properly show her excitement over something. And this, this person she was thrilled over. Solid black eyes, moving hair, and a Jack of Diamonds. What else did she have up those magical metaphorical sleeves?

[Bee]

Huh. An Esterberry without a major sounded kind of odd. But then again, an Esterberry who was too interested in everything to narrow their focus sounded perfectly normal. What did she know from normal, anyway? She decided to let it go.

She offered a good-natured shrug and a smile in response to the question. “Oh, always on the hunt for a good party and some bad company, you know me.” She paused, because that wasn’t quite right. “Actually, you don’t know me,” she continued, brightly, “but I’m really not that hard to figure out.”

And she was looking for new libraries, had stumbled across a few bookstores. Helena might have suggested a couple of places—in particular, there was this fascinating little book nook in the Outer Bazaar that featured all sorts of literature on…stranger topics—but she figured she wouldn’t be able to show the girl anything she hadn’t already found.

[Kari Muffin]

She had a major like every other Esterberry in the world. Her major was just never respected, and she always assumed that people (Esterberry or otherwise) would mock her horribly if she said "Liberal Arts" out loud. Considering it covered just about everything possible, she might as well say she didn't have a major.

Bad company? Petunia shifted a bit where she stood. It had been pretty obvious that the woman in front of her was looking for some fun, and she was... well anti-fun. When it came to partying she failed nine times out of ten. She bit the inside of her cheek as the Jossigy continued talking.

There had to be a way to keep the conversation going. She couldn't lose the chance to study someone like this. Even if it was only for a night. "It's sad, because I'm not really bad company. Though, can I offer you a drink? It's rare that I run into someone interesting who isn't trying to insult me upon seeing my face, and you've been kind enough to humor a ranting Esterberry."

[Bee]

Helena quirked her head to the side in curiosity and then laughed. "There's bad bad company and good bad company," she said, playfully. "I pride myself on being able to find the right sort of bad company. Or being able to make someone into the right sort of bad company. Get a little vodka in 'em and a lot of people develop potential." She suddenly remembered that the Esterberry girl had said something else, too. "And I'm always up for a drink!"

Simcha mewled, a little, in the back of her head, but Helena assured her that this wasn't going to be worse than any other drinking she did. She was a lot less likely to get into trouble with an Esterberry than just nearly anyone else, unless this girl was one of those people who turned into real good bad company when sloshed.

[Kari Muffin]

Good bad company, huh? Petunia shrugged. She had no intention of getting sloshed, considering she seemed to have something unfortunate happen to her when she got close. At least over drinks she could learn a few things about this absolutely fascinating young find.

Who had eyes like that anyway? She seemed well spoken and educated so it could easily relate to magic. Her tail struggled to wag properly, as it wasn't built for that sort of thing, it flopped around awkwardly instead. The Esteberry stopped it as soon as she noticed.

"I'm happy you're willing to join me," she said as she padded towards the bar. Now there was the matter of tactfully trying to ask her questions about herself without sounding crazy. She had never really understood proper etiquette for socializing and just said what came to mind. After all she was an Esterberry. She had a strong sense of entitlement despite her looks.

"So your choice drink is vodka or are you a girl of many poisons?"

She'd try this nice thing. It would be a nice change of pace.

[Bee]

She had made sure to set them at a table away from most of the lights. That was usually the trickiest part of indoor spaces. Bright lights gave her a blinding headache.

"Many poisons," she said, eying the interior of the bar, one she had been to often though she didn't see many people she recognized, "but vodka's as good a choice as any."

She was glad there wasn't anyone of particular interest around; she wouldn't get distracted from her present, compelling company by a nice backside or a pretty face, which were usually fatal blows to casual conversation in Helena's experience. She was vaguely curious as to what drinks the Esterberry preferred. She didn't have much of a sense for what they would like, only that, on the rare occasions she saw one drunk, it was the funniest thing ever.

"You should get to it too," she suggested. "It's not nearly as fun to watch people drinking if you're not drinking yourself."