...and salt the earth behind you.
Florescent lights buzzed like locusts and Perceval used the drone to center himself. Like the prayers of monks or the song of cicadas on a particularly humid day. He stared in abject dejection as a line of cocaine he had balanced on the edge of a coaster he’d taken from under the bar. Somewhere outside the dirty bathroom in which he stood, he heard the bell above the door ring out it’s clarion call. Some new, poor soul come to the Booth to lose themselves.
He understood the feeling better than most. Lifting the coaster, he closed one nostril and inhaled - drawing the substance into his nasal cavities where it burned for only a moment as he tilted his head back with a half-wince. Rubbing the sides of his nose, he eased the burn for only a moment before licking the pad of his finger and drawing it through the powder, running the remnants over his gums. A fist pounded on the door, the voice of one of the regulars loud on the other side. “Fuck, hurry up! Gotta fuckin’ piss!.” Percy rolled his gaze towards the door, closing his eyes as he focused his mental acuity. Easy enough to reach into the man’s mind, to look at I.D. To gaze at the ego.
“Piss outside! Takin’ a shit!” He called back, lying through his teeth as his hand searched his pocket - plucking a small case of cosmetics from it. He hated it with every fiber of his being. Looking at his reflection, he leant forward as he reapplied the mascara to his lashes - realigned the glittery, blue eyeshadow that decorated his lids. The image in the mirror made him want to retch. With a trembling hand, he cleaned the line of his pale pink lipstick. Smeared and fucked as it was from the blowjob he’d just given out back. More pounding on the door, more yelling.
Percy didn’t bother answering. ‘I like it when you’re pretty.’ The owner had told him once. Had given him thirty bucks to run down to the drug store and buy some slutty makeup. The Psion was proud of himself for not hurting the man. He knew better than to bite the hand that fed.
Turning on his heel, he ran a hand through his hair as he pushed out the door - slamming it into the man who had apparently chosen to wait rather than piss out back. Striding back onto the floor, he made his way behind the bar - taking a few empty glasses and tossing them in the soapy water of the filled sink. But there was a new mind - a new sensation that caressed Perceval’s mind like a silken glove. His hand stopped from where he’d been absently polishing an already clean glass to turn and stare at the newcomer.
Percy sidled up to stand across from him, leaning on his elbow with a half-smile. “Hey there, stranger. What’ll ya’ be havin’?”