don't try to love me, don't try to understand
a life upon the road is the life of an outlaw man
HEY, i think i just saw RHETT AMBROSE walking down the strip. stop by to catch up and you’ll learn the THIRTY-FOUR YEAR OLD is working as a MEMBER OF THE CACTUS CATS + RANCH HAND AT MT WILSON RANCH and lives in CACTUS RIDGE TRAILER PARK. given they are RUGGED but HOT-HEADED, it’s likely that they ARE a vampire. on the flipside, rumor has it that HE KILLED HIS RODEO BOSS WITH WHOM HE WAS IN DEBT and it keeps them looking over their shoulder. i bet you can find them tearing up the dance floor to OUTLAW MAN BY THE EAGLES and you’ll know why they’re called THE DESPERADO. ☾ .⭒˚ adam page. cis male + he/him. heterosexual + leo.
Name: Rhett Ambrose
Date of Birth: July 29, 1962 (Leo)
Gender: Cis Male
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Height: 6'0"
Hair: Blond and curly, worn to his shoulders
Eyes: Green (with a red tint)
Build: Muscular
Accent: Noticeable southern American twang
Residency: Cactus Ridge Trailer Park
Occupation: Ranch Hand at Mt. Wilson Ranch
Vampire Specific Info:
has the ability of deception
has a red tint to his irises
can be killed by being shot by irradiated bullets
Bio: tw--murder, arson
Rhett was born in Virginia and grew up working on his family's farm. But the older he got, the less he wanted to be a farmer. Instead, he wanted to become a bronco and bull rider in the rodeo. His father told him no, needing him to stay on the farm and eventually take over running it. Rhett refused and eventually got in his truck and left home.
He headed west and found a rodeo to join. Things went well at first, and Rhett became a famed rodeo rider who could master seemingly any ornery horse or bull. But at the same time, he made some bad choices and ended up losing a lot of the money he earned. When things started to get really bad, he made the even worse choice to borrow money from the boss of the rodeo, but Rhett figured he would be able to pay the older man back in time.
When the time came and he could not pay up, the rodeo boss sent a bunch of his cronies to rough Rhett up. Unfortunately, they roughed him up so much they thought they had killed him, and left him for dead out in the desert. Later that night, a vampire happened to be passing by, and upon finding the dying man, she chose to turn him, intending for him to be her partner in crime.
At first, Rhett was not thrilled with his turning, but once his sire explained that he could use his new powers to get revenge on his rodeo boss, he quickly came around. Not long after that, the rodeo was found burned to the ground, though the fire did not quite cover the fact that the rodeo boss was dead from loss of blood. By that time, however, Rhett and his sire were long gone.
For a time, the two of them traveled together, committing various petty crimes. But at last Rhett grew tired of such a lifestyle and left his sire. He was not sure where to go, wandering for a time before he ended up in Las Vegas. His rodeo skills got him noticed by the Neon Drifters, who welcomed him into the fold as one of their bull riders, and his ranch and farm experience got him a job at Mt. Wilson Ranch.
When the Neon Drifters were dissolved, he was offered a position by the Cactus Cats and is now a member of their gang
It probably wouldn't make a world of difference with a corpse on his floor that he'd already have to get on his hands and knees and scrub the shit and smell of decay out of the bar floor. The pungent scent didn't soak through to his nose, yet, but he had it in mind to untie the handkerchief from his neck and fling it in Stella's direction without second thought, unable to tear his eyes away from the pliant body on the floor and the brick that wasn't feasibly going to come out without dismantling a dead person's jawbone. Fuck. How the fuck was he supposed to explain this to any of his family? Funerals were basically out of the question now that the ex-chaplain had been carted from Point A to Point B.
"Why the bloody hell did you bring her in here?" The kingpin's disgruntlement aside, there was a twist of his mouth the longer he gawked at Heejin. "Well, we can't just drop her off at a bloody mortuary now, so we're gonna 'ave to bury her ourselves... what do you make of it?" Cyrek's question was directed toward Dominique — they were both at the scene of wherever they'd found her, after all. "You guys think we gotta be worried 'bout hunters becomin' the hunted now or someone's tryin' to fake us out with a one-off?" Mismatched eyes dropped back to the body on the floor of the bar, pursing his lips. "Wonder if they followed that other band of vampires here, if it is slayers." / @deatthtouched
dominique knew that bringing her here would ultimately upset them. still, rhett was right. they needed to see this shit for themselves, to truly understand the weight of what they are dealing with. if they had just speeded their way back and frantically explained it, it wouldn't have the same kind of impact. at least… she's pretty sure it wouldn't.
“someone's tryin' to send a message for sure,” dominique says confidently, nodding her head. “i dunno who they came followin' or what but it's pretty clear they want everyone who's a bloodsucker to know they mean business. definitely not a one off, i'd say.” she looks between cyrek and stella, the kingpin and queenpin, while chewing on her lower lip anxiously. “so what do we do, then?”
THERE WAS A LONG LIST OF THINGS Stella wasn't interested in dealing with that day since she had set foot into the bar at the beginning of her shift. The finicky beer spout tap that seemed to only work when held at a certain angle, the lack of ice in the cooler, the one regular who seemed far too interested in updates on her pregnancy enough to give her the creeps. What she hadn't expected was adding a dead body slapped down onto the floor to that list, a grim look upon her face as she gazed down at the dead body, hand raising to catch the handkerchief thrown in her direction to cover her nose before the stench encouraged her to upchuck the Cheetos she'd been satiating the never-ending pregnancy hunger with throughout her shift. Turned out baby wasn't exactly a fan of rot. "Well at least I hadn't mopped yet," was her unimpressed commentary, partially muffled from behind the fabric. The idea that this was a warning with no indication of where it was coming from left a sicker feeling in her stomach than that of the smell or the pint-sized foot kicking into the organ, letting a beat of consideration pass after Dom's posed question. Maybe she should have warned the younger prospect exactly what she was dipping her feet into when inviting her in the gang's direction, or maybe that was just the hormones piping up with an opinion. "Get her the hell out of the bar would be a good startin' point. Junkyard's probably our best bet for digging a hole. Think you three can manage to get her to there without anyone seein'? 'Cause when it comes to transport I'm gonna be some dead weight." Truly an uncalled for commentary. "Where'd you find her? Anything else 'round her to send this...message or just her and the brick?" As if much more was needed. // @stcrlessnight
He had expected Cyrek to have a reaction like that, and while Rhett was sorry for soiling the bar, this was not something they could have just relayed. "Well, what th' hell else were we 'sposed t' do?!" he retorted, spreading his hands, "Did you want us t' jus' leave her out there where anyone coulda seen? I kinda thought this sorta thing should be kept as quiet as possible." Yes, bringing a dead body to the bar was not quite inconspicuous, but no one else had seen them, so he considered that keeping it quiet enough.
As Dominique spoke, he nodded in agreement. "This ain't a one off. I mean, that'd be an awful lotta trouble t' go through if they didn't mean business. 'Sides, I don' see how some cut-rate slayer coulda gotten th' better o' our ex-chaplain that easily."
Rhett had not expected to keep the body at the bar long, just long enough for Cyrek and Stella to see--and unfortunately smell. "Yeah sure. We got her in here wit'out anyone seein'. We can get her out th' same way." He nodded, though made a slight face at Stella's a little too on point joke. "We found her out on th' outskirts o' th' city, jus' lyin' under a tree. There was nothin' else. Nothin' callin' out specifically who did it. Guess they figured the point was driven home 'nuff wit'out needin' t' give an actual callin' card." A part of him almost wished they had. At least then they would know who exactly they needed to worry about.
within seconds of turning around and seeing his face, everything came flooding back. emmeline was shocked at how quickly - the sounds, the blood on her hands as she looked down and saw it all replicated. then the fear would strike in her eyes. "for other things like..." the woman had already backed away slightly in response to rhett's presence. it had always meant to be a harmless poker night but she didn't even like playing poker and on top of that, she had definitely got a 'bad feeling' the moment she'd stepped foot into that place. although emmeline now couldn't stop her own mind from filling in the blanks incorrectly, there would always be an element of truth to the words out of her mouth. "please don't come any closer... you're here to finish the job, aren't you?" although things felt so clear they would forever be murky for emmeline. she could be right but also need professional help - it was never one or the other and her parents should have seen that. "i've asked you to stay away." it was a notion towards the idea that she'd had by putting a 'no vampires aloud' in her shop door frame but it had never been directed at the person in front of her to begin with... or perhaps it had... confusion was starting to take over her and she couldn't stop it.
Yep, she recognized him, and yep, it was not good. The look on her face and her backing away made that pretty damn clear. Rhett was sorry for everything that had happened that night, even if he himself had not really done anything, and certainly not to her. But it sounded like Emmeline was not keen to let bygones be bygones, and it also sounded like she thought he had been the vampire trying to attack that night. Which he had not, but he would not be so confident as to say he had been completely in control of his urges. It had been rather touch and go for most of the time. Still, he had not given in in the end, and he hated that she was acting like he would. "I don' know what you're talkin' 'bout," he said, though his voice was a little strained, "I don' know what was really goin' on that night, but I didn't have nothin' t' do wit' it. I wouldn't ever hurt you." No, he could not guarantee that, but he sure as hell would do his best not to. He could not remember her asking him to stay away either, but he absolutely would have tried to honor that, considering he had been trying to avoid this exact kind of encounter.
crazier things happened in sin city, but he hadn't thought twice about checking out the radio call that went over the scanner — something about a loose horse wandering on it's own. he'd tapped in, and not a single beat officer dared to argue. after all, that would've required them to put a pause on the breakfast he knew they were most certainly in the middle of.
by the time he'd shifted the cruiser into park and slid from the driver's seat, someone had managed to wrangle the horse. jameson wanted to believe that it was the owner, or maybe someone in charge of the horses, but in a city where anything happened, there was no room for assumption. "not looking for show," he assured, brows lifting as he took in the sight of the horse. it wasn't the first time he'd seen one up close, but their size and beauty would never evade him.
"got a call about a loose horse. you the owner?" he tore his gaze away the reined animal and toward the person holding onto the lead. "how far out are you from home? any chance i can help make this trip any easier?" maybe he could follow slowly, ensuring that none of the tourist traffic or impatient locals got too close for comfort.
He had made the comment without having noticed just where the guy had come from, but once he saw the police cruiser, Rhett found himself regretting his tone a little bit. He hoped the cop would not be too upset at Max's appearance, since he could not imagine the police would want a horse sauntering around town. "Ah sorry officer. I didn't mean t' assume. I jus' figured there'd be a lotta th' gawkers 'round here. Apologies if we're disturbin' th' peace too much."
Obviously at least someone had called into the cops about the horse, which only made Rhett eye Max more accusingly. Great, the troublemaker was sure getting him into it. "No, I'm not th' owner, but I work at th' ranch where he came from. I noticed he was gone, an' so I followed him all th' way here. Guess he wanted to see th' bright lights o' Vegas jus' as much as anyone else."
He was not extremely keen on having a police escort of anything of the sort to take Max back to the ranch, but at the same time, how was he supposed to say no to a cop? "Well, we're a ways from th' ranch. But I'm not sure what you can do t' help. It'd be great t' hitch a ride, but sadly I don' think he'll fit." He jerked his thumb towards Max, who huffed as though he was insulted.
A horse in the midst of the city was typically seen for occasions like Mardi Gras or Christmas-themed sleigh rides alone, the latter of which was romantic in theorem and sorely lacking excuse for Atticus to partake as a chronically single thirty-something until relatively recent. It wasn't yet evening, and he had been roused by an alarm set to encourage him to take a walk, something about his heart and directions seldom heeded by his own terms unless Annaki was insisting that he should join them when walking their dog. ( The longevity of the heart transplant remained to be seen. )
The desolate space had filled with gawking onlookers when he had sat down at one of the benches — the area wasn't explicitly marked off as a park, it must have been a dereliction of a bus stop that was lost to the sands of time. When he'd set out, it was a resting place before trekking back to the townhouses — once the horse had showed up, he had a mind to retrieve his sketchbook from his messenger bag and make light work of the handsome creature. Then, along came Rhett, and he should have suspected that a large steed of docile temperament was hardly a wild mustang roaming the canyons of Nevada.
"You're lucky one of the local children didn't make off with him," the humor was dry, and barely there, but there was a ghost of a smile to emphasize it, "I doubt they've ever seen a horse outside of the movies. There's hardly any wild ones left once the city expanded, I think." He wouldn't know, as his brother spent more time within Las Vegas's city limits than he had. "...Do you need assistance?" Atticus couldn't call himself an animal whisperer by any means — Annaki was a closer stride to that, but he wouldn't mind an excuse to commit the horse to memory to appease the artwork he had started later. Besides, with the unrest in the city, the stroll sounded copacetic.
When Rhett realized that he recognized the voice, he looked up and saw Atticus, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good, I was worried you were some gawker who was gonna 'spect a show from me an' my trusty steed here. Seems like that's always what people 'spect in Vegas." Which was not an unfounded notion, since most things in Las Vegas were meant to be a show or attraction, and a horse in the street would certainly prompt that line of thought.
Even though he knew Atticus was joking, he gave a scoff at the thought of anyone being able to make off with Max. "I woulda loved t' see 'em try. This fella don' go anywhere he don' want t' go." He gave the horse an accusatory look, which Max seemed to ignore. "No, there definitely ain't no more wild ones 'round here. Which is a shame. I for one would love t' see more horses than people in town."
While he could certainly get Max back to the ranch himself, Rhett would not say no to some company either. "Sure, you can lend a hand. If you don't mind walkin' all th' way back t' th' ranch, o' course. It is a bit o' a hike. But I definitely wouldn't mind th' company." Glancing at Max again, he added, "This troublemaker prob'ly would love continuin' to have an audience while we head back too."
“yeah, yeah, i guess you're right…” dom says, still taken aback by what she's looking at. she swallows thickly and begins to fidget with her fingers, as well as chew on her lower lip. there is certainly no way to ignore this. she wonders if it's meant to be a warning to all vampires, or is it to the cats specifically? not that it mattered much either way, but she can't help but to wonder.
“okay, yeah, i figured,” she says with a nod. besides, it'd be.. cruel, to just leave her out here, wouldn't it? so when rhett begins to pick her up and asks for help, she simply nods and goes to do as she's told. she grabs hold of her legs, now stiff, and does her best to pick her up. she's not super strong, so it's a struggle, but between the two of them, it's manageable.
with the body in the trunk, dominique goes to quietly sit back down in the passenger seat. she stares out into the endless desert, lost in thought until rhett takes his seat in the driver's once more. “what do you think they'll say?”
He hated to have to ask Dominique to help carry the body, but it would be worse for all of them if they just left her. Besides, it was not fair to their former chaplain either. She deserved a decent burial. "Thanks. I'll hafta make it up t' you somehow later on."
Rhett kept making a face as they carried the lifeless body to the car. This was not a great idea, but it was the only option. The rest of the Cats needed to know, and to see it for themselves. Once they had the body in the trunk, Dominique went and got back in the car. He paused for a moment, knowing that he had not been thinking this through too well. What if they could not get her to the Cats as clandestinely as they hoped? What if they got caught with a dead body? Well, it was really too late now, and the longer they stayed there, the more chance they would have to get caught.
So finally Rhett went and got back into the car himself. As he started it up again, he shook his head at Dominique's question. "I really got no idea. I gotta think they'll be jus' as concerned as we are. Don' think they'll be too pleased t' have us bringin' th' body t' them either. But I jus' can't see what else we could do. We couldn't leave her, an' th' rest o' 'em really need t' see this. They need t' know that…that we might all be in danger."
He did not like having to say that, but it was true. This was meant to be a warning. Any and all vampires in Vegas could be the next target, and Rhett did not want to see Dominique or any of the others end up like their poor ex-chaplain.
With: @nxnbinarydracvla @deatthtouched @cfstvlla
Where: Mean-Eyed Cat bar
When: March 31st, 1997, later in the evening
As unpleasant as it had been riding around with a dead body in the car, Rhett knew that he and Dominique had to bring this issue--quite literally--to the rest of the Cactus Cats. If someone out there was targeting vampires, they all needed to know about it, because they could all be in very grave danger.
Thankfully, they managed to make it inside the bar without being spotted carrying the body, because that just would have made things worse. As it was, Rhett knew that Cyrek and Stella would not exactly appreciate them bringing a dead body into the bar, but what else could they do? This was something they needed to see with their own eyes.
"Uh, hey Cyrek, Stella?" he called as he and Dominique carted the body in through the back door, "So we got some good news…an' some bad news. Th' good news is we found our missin' ex-chaplain. Th' bad news is…um, well…" He nodded to Dominique, then they deposited the body on the floor. Rhett sighed, then looked back up at Cyrek and Stella. "As you can see, she's not 'zactly in a fit state t' explain anythin'."
with: @stcrlessnight
where: a storage locker north of the city
when: march 20th, 1997
Gravels sang a chorus line as his boots slid on the uneven pavement outside the unit, hands bracing underneath the heavy metal door and grunting with the effort of a stick figure shy of herniating, and a sigh of relief escaped before he could hold it in when the muscle of the group took some of the weight off his hands. Bit by bit, he could wedge his feet underneath the gap and offer additional leverage to heaving the door up. If there was enough room for him to tuck and roll underneath, he could get a good look at what was inside without making themselves known, just yet — "How the fuck do you do it?" Cyrek wasn't as scrawny as he appeared, but he was neither a gym rat; he had about enough in him to pack around a box of cat litter or hold his own in a fight, and anything with genuine strain was liable to land him in hospital again. Then Stella would really kill him, moreso than she thought about when he told her she had to sit this one out, on account of how heavily pregnant she was, by now. "The chain's in the way," he hushed out, pointing to the padlock and chainlink wrapped around the top of the door and the handle, "If you can open it 'nough for me to get under, I'll see if there's anythin' good before I get my bolt cutters." The happy distraction of a wedding and a televised speech gave an opportunity for the pair to sniff out a shipping company that the Weiss family had their hands in. If the family wanted it, there must be something valuable they could steal out of it. "Okay, just... don't decapitate me when I duck under, mate? I don't think I get a second life on this one if I catch a sore throat again."
Rhett had no problem lending Cyrek a hand with heavy lifting when he needed it. He would have no idea whether the stuff inside the unit was worth anything anyway, so it was much better if he did the grunt work while the other vampire assessed the goods within. As he hefted up the bottom of the door, he chuckled at the question. "Liftin' a lotta hay bales does a lot for buildin' up your strength," he replied, which really was not a joke. He had been hauling hay bales all of his life. It definitely had helped him build up his strength.
He looked up as Cyrek pointed out the padlock and chain. It was going to be a little tricky to move that while also still holding the door, but his companion had a point. If the stuff inside was not worth anything, it would make more sense to check before they went through all the trouble of breaking in. "Yeah, alrigh'. Lemme jus' get my hand up there." Rhett grunted a bit, but managed to reach up enough to move the chain. He chuckled again--a little more labored this time--at Cyrek's comment and said, "Ah nah, I definitely won' do that. Not cause I'm worried 'bout hurtin' you, but 'cause I know Stella would have my hide if I ended up squashin' you," he teased, "An' I sure don' want that."
dominique swallows thickly – she did not know the ex-chaplin especially well or anything, but it never gets easier seeing stuff like this. not to mention, the whole brick in the mouth thing… it's clearly a blatant threat of some sort. whatever vampire slayers are in town, they certainly aren't playing around. and she knows one in particular… should they run into one another again ( and she imagines they will ), she will certainly have to question him.
she looks over at rhett with a solemn expression, silently nodding her head. “no doubt,” she says after a beat of silence. “and it ain't a very nice one.” dom crosses her arms over her chest, then hesitantly bends down to further examine the body in front of them.
“surprised they didn't just tape some kind of note to ‘er too..” the curly-haired vixen chews on her lower lip with contemplation. “do… do we take her with us then? i don’t even know..”
There had been enough weirdness and unpleasantness that Rhett had seen since coming to Las Vegas that a lot of it was not fazing him anymore. But this…this unsettled him. A lot. If someone was targeting vampires, he could not just shrug that off. He did not think any vampires should be shrugging this off. He also knew this was something extremely important that they would need to bring to the rest of the Cactus Cats.
"That woulda been a li'l overkill," he said, wincing a bit at his choice of words, "This gets th' point across pretty damn well. They didn't need t' add 'you're next.'" That surely was the unspoken part. If they knew that weakness, that meant they could know any of the rest of their weaknesses. Which meant every vampire could be in danger.
Dominique's question made Rhett pull a face, not keen on picking up the body and hauling it back in the car. But she had a point. This was something the rest of the Cats should see for themselves, and it was probably not a good idea to leave the body out where anyone else could find it either. So finally he heaved a sigh and said, "Yeah, I guess we should. Prob'ly not a good idea t' jus' leave her here."
Grimacing, he reached down and grabbed the ex-chaplain's lifeless form under her arms, then looked back at Dominique. "Sorry t' ask, but you mind givin' me a hand an' grabbing her legs?"
this feels like the first thing of real substance that she's been asked to do. not only that, but she's sent on said mission with an actual member, not just another prospect like herself. it feels like maybe, just maybe, they're really starting to trust her. which is certainly a relief, because dominique finds herself attaching to them all more and more. the cats were almost like a second family to her, though one that truly seem to understand her.
so she makes her way out into the desert with rhett at her side. the two ride out to the outskirts of town, where they'd gotten a tip on the former chaplin's last location, or something like that at least. as they exit their vehicle and begin their search, dom walks around with her arms crossed over her chest.
eyes squinted, she spots something at the base of a long-dead tree. tapping rhett on the shoulder, she beckons him to follow her. the two approach the scene and well.. it ain't pretty. dom gasps, hand flying up over her mouth. “oh shit!” she exclaims.
Heading out to the outskirts of the city with Dominique, Rhett could not help but feel a little deju vu. Why did it seem like he was always heading out into the hinterlands to find someone? He sure hoped this search turned out better than last time, but the way things were going around the city lately he did not have very high hopes.
Once they reached the place where the ex-chaplain had supposedly been last, Rhett stopped the car and they got out. When they initially saw nothing, he huffed, figuring they had been sent out on a wild goose chase. At least they had not hit anyone with the car this time, so maybe that was a good sign.
But then Dominique tapped him on the shoulder, and he followed her over to a dead-looking tree. "What'cha seein'?" he inquired, but she did not need to answer. He saw the body the same moment she did. "Ah shit," Rhett grumbled, nearly in unison with Dominique. He had been prepared to find a dead body, but seeing the ex-chaplain not only dead but with a brick crammed into her mouth gave him a really, really bad feeling.
He did not really want to get closer, but he leaned down and looked at the body a little more intently. Damn, this really did not bode well for them or any other vampires. Glancing back up at Dominique, he asked, "Think they might be tryin' t' send us a message?"
dominique giggles when rhett tells the bartender to get her drink first instead because she's a lady. “never, of course not,” she says. and just then, the bartender taps on her to hand her the drink – it isn't much, so of course it isn't hard for him to make. she takes it then turns back to rhett, smirking at him as she leans against the bar.
“how kind,” she giggles again. “how've you been?” she ask curiously. “this whole affair has been… well, kinda boring, hasn't it?”she holds back a snicker. dom guides them to move aside a little, just so they aren't blocking the other bar-goers.
"Oh good. Glad we agree 'bout that." He could not imagine that they would need to compete for that kind of drink at something like this. The place was full of people, so fighting over one of them was surely not necessary. Rhett waited until she had her drink, then he asked the bartender to get him a bourbon.
Once he had his own drink, he turned back to Dominique. "I've been ok. Not much goin' on at th' ranch. How 'bout you?" As he moved off to the side with her, he gave a snort at the lack of action at the reception. "Yeah, it has been. I was really hopin' for a fight t' break out. I thought people always fought at weddings." Verbally maybe, but he was probably hoping for too much to see a physical fight. "I woulda thought havin' half th' city here woulda made for some more excitement."
dominique leans against a wall, people watching from a distance. she is quite the social butterfly herself, but she is waiting to find the perfect prey. sipping on her champagne, cat-like eyes dart across the room to analyze each of the guests. it's like all of vegas is in attendance and considering the kind of pull that the weiss family has, well, she wouldn't be surprised…
throwing back the rest of her drink, she places the glass on a nearby table. contemplating her next move, dom bites on her lower lip as she makes her way over to the open bar to order something with a little more of a kick. she steps up and orders something strong but simple – vodka soda, only for someone to end up tapping on her shoulder.
“oh shit! did i cut you?” she flashes the other a smile. “my bad… here ya go,” she nods towards the bartender, “here, take ‘em first.. i didn’t realize.”
The reception so far had ended up not being as bad as Rhett had thought it might be. Unfortunately, no fights had broken out either, but at least there was an open bar. Alright, technically the whole crowd was an open bar for him, but until an opportunity presented itself for him to get a drink, he was going to settle for a regular drink.
As he headed over to the bar, someone quickly moved in front of him. He huffed, but then he recognized her and was decidedly less annoyed. Still, Dominique had cut in front of him, and even if he was willing to be magnanimous to his fellow vampire and prospective Cactus Cat, he was still going to have a word with her just the same, so he tapped her on the shoulder.
Thankfully, she realized her cutting as soon as she saw him, but when she deferred to him, Rhett found himself waving off the offer. "Nah, that's ok. You go ahead an' get th' lady her drink," he told the bartender, then turned back to Dominique, "Never let it be said that I ain't a gentleman. Now, if we were competin' for a different kind o' drink, then maybe I wouldn't be so magnanimous." Hopefully that would not end up being the case as the reception progressed.
open starter; dakota hartley, location: outside of the warehouse. date: thursday march 20, 1:00 pm. @boneyardstarters.
Dakota stands outside the warehouse, lit cigarette in his hand. He takes a drag of it before flicking the ashes to the ground. His observant eyes scan the areas around him, making sure no one has a chance to sneak up on the young fighter.
It’s not his turn to fight yet. Usually he seems to always be fighting with multiple people coming in all day long, but today seemed different. The usuals were there. The usuals that were only locals looking for a cheap beat. Even still there seemed to be less of them around. It was probably cause of the Weiss family wedding he heard was happening. He couldn’t care less about a wedding. Whether it be cause the couple loved each other or it was for business. Love or relationships wasn’t something he wanted. Even before he came here, Dakota never had a partner. There was no need while he had racing and Axel.
But he didn’t have those. He only had his team, his life, and fighting. He was good with that.
Dakota lets out a sigh, his eyes less scanning and finally closing to let him take in a heavy breath.
“Dakota! Fucking Christ been calling you six times!” He finally hears a gruff voice calling out to him, realizing that maybe he should learn his new name now. He turns his head to look at the other; eyes rolling at him. “You got a fight, kid. Get ready.”
He doesn’t say anything. He simply takes another drag of the cigarette before flickering it onto the ground. His eyes downcast as he kills the smoke with his shoe. Like normal, he forgets to look up before turning around to walk. Almost immediately he slams his body into another, pushing his own backyards to give space. “Jesus…watch out man.” He mutters, not really caring who’s there. “You got eyes. Use them. Everyone else does.” He doesn’t move to leave. He just stands there, waiting to see what the other says. “What’s the rush? Got a wedding to go to or something?”
While Rhett may have been good at fighting, he did not have the urge to participate in the organized fights all that often. He was much better at riding, but since he was not needed to do bull riding as he had been doing for the Drifters, there was not as much opportunity for that anymore. So more often than not, he ended up just watching the fights instead.
Weddings were not his thing either, but this one sounded like it was going to be such a big to-do that he figured he would try to check it out. That was for later though. Watching a fight or two first would put him in a better mood for the wedding reception, since he was sadly not expecting any fights to break out there. He could always hope, of course.
He had not expected a fight to break out before he actually got to the fight either, but when he suddenly collided with someone outside the building, he wondered if that might end up being the case. The attitude put Rhett pretty damn close to throwing fists, but when realized it was Dakota, he stayed his hands.
"Damn, why don' you save that rage for th' fight, huh?" he snapped, adjusting his jacket, "I was lookin' forward t' jus' watchin' today, but now I feel kinda sorry I ain't fightin', 'cause I sure wouldn't mind beatin' your ass. Lucky for you, I'm nice 'nuff not t' start nothin' out here an' end up takin' away any action from th' show inside."
billie was on her way to her job after taking a few days off. she was taking her time because the last voicemail that she played told her that everything was going downhill. they told her after she left things struggled and well billie believed it. her job allowed her to be the balance that kept everyone sane. and well billie missed them too. despite what she does for a living, she always considers herself and takes breaks when needed.
billie had excepted to see craziness once she got home to her job. she didn't think she run into anything out of the ordinary on her way. but when she saw the horse, well she shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head to the side. it could've been worst. she had thought the horse was alone until she saw the blonde haired guy coming up to hte animal. taking in his look, she could tell the other must work with the animal regularly.
"i wasn't going to." she shakes her head, eyes squinting slightly while trying to take in the full image in front of her. she's seen strange things in vegas, but she never thought she actually see a horse this close to the city. "it looks like he wants to complete tricks of his own. he must of been a gambler in another life." half of her did want to see tricks now that she was less confused and the other mentioned them. "are you sure you can't do tricks? you actually have me intrigued now."
she carefully walks up to the man and the horse. “does he bite? is he nice? can i touch him?”
He was glad to hear she was not going to ask him to do any tricks. That was one less thing for him to worry about, but he still needed to get Max back to the ranch. Though her assessment of the horse's previous life made Rhett chuckle. He could definitely have seen Max as a gambler in a past life. "He might well've been. That could 'splain why he decided t' truck on down here. Though I think it's more likely he jus' wants t' cause trouble."
The horse gave a nicker, which sounded an awful lot like a laugh to Rhett. "Yeah, sure, you jus' laugh it up," he said to him, "You're enjoyin' all this, aren't you?" Shaking his head, Rhett turned back to her, but his face fell a bit when she asked if he could do tricks. "I didn't say I couldn't. I jus' said don' ask for 'em. But you went an' asked anyway." He heaved a sigh. "Well, I 'spose I could do somethin'. But most o' th' tricks I know require a li'l more space t' do. An' I don' wanna accidentally run over any innocent passerby."
As she came up to them, Max tugged on the bridle, acting like he wanted to have her pet him. Rolling his eyes, Rhett said, "Considerin' he's practically beggin' t' get some attention, I'd say you're welcome t' touch him. An' no, he definitely won' bite. Nice is a li'l more debatable, but he's gentle as a kitten when he wants t' be, an' at th' moment, I can tell he wants t' be. Jus' don' be surprised if he doesn't want you t' stop givin' him attention."
with: @stcrlessnight
where: 107.5 killer frequency
when: early march
On the list of repairs after the second floor of the tower was, you know, mobbed by a severed head ( maybe the pun was a little on the nose, after his predicament falling in with the Vitellis, ) he had to replace glass panes and situate posters back on the rafters between the display. Daylight had filtered into dusk, by now, as he rarely got anything done in the bright and early hours of the morning with his academia, and it serendipitously worked out in his favor with his friend's schedule. He'd spared the gory details of the original mess incurred during Maxim's scheduled visit; the glass had been replaced by professionals, and he was left to mount things back on the rafters, which required a little more dexterity than he had an average day, by now. Naturally, he requested to recruit his old friend — Rhett was as sturdy as a workhorse, and had about a half a foot on Dustin's height. "I'll be honest... I was raised pitching circus tents, and I don't have a lick of a clue on how to use this wrench the tighten the nuts and bolts onto this rafter." Looking at the place now, one wouldn't guess it had blood slicking the window a few weeks prior; a little white lie about the bad weather that the spring showers had brought, and covering the draft with a tarp from the garden of one of Khadroma's neighbors when he'd stopped in to pick up Crash. "Have you had any... weird activity 'round the ranch these days? People always talk about the aliens, but I was just there for that meteor shower a couple months ago, and I didn't see anything come out of the mountains."
While Rhett was not the greatest at fixing things, he had done enough manual labor around his family's farm and around the ranch to have a decent handle on at least doing a decent job patching things up. And he certainly would not want to leave Dustin in the lurch when he needed help. Rhett just hoped the radio station's owner would not be upset if he did not put the place perfectly back to rights.
"I was raised on a farm, an' I still don' really have th' hang o' a wrench either," he said, garbling his words a bit around the bolt he was currently holding between his teeth. Which he knew was not advisable, but his hands were occupied trying to make sure the rafter was in place first. "But if I don' swallow this bolt, hopefully I can make somethin' happen."
Once he got the rafter in place, he finally pulled the bolt out of his mouth and started the process of getting it and the nut where they were supposed to go. As Rhett attempted to tighten them, he raised an eyebrow at Dustin's question. "Please, that alien stuff is pure bunk, 'cause I been workin' there for a year an' I'm still waitin' t' see one. So unless you count th' salesman who came 'round tryin' t' sell us on gettin' actual shoes for the horses, no, there ain't been nothin' weird that I've seen. You heard 'bout somethin' I haven't?"
