The club is a chaos of smoke and sound, dim lights pulsing red and gold like a warning flare. Bass rattles the floor, the music a guttural growl of rebellion, sharp and electric. The air reeks of sweat, stale beer, and that faint metallic tang of spilled blood lingering from the fight club next door. She threads her way through the throng, shouldering past gyrating bodies and the occasional drunken stumble. Her pulse hasnāt yet settled from the rush of the fightāViās fight. She hadnāt planned to bet much, but one look at the fighter had been enough to change her mind. Those fists had spoken louder than words, but it was the fire in Viās eyes that had sealed it. Not just angerāhurt. Pain buried so deep it turned sharp, feral, and lethal. Gert recognized it instantly. It was the kind of pain that could destroy someoneāor turn them into a weapon.
She slides onto a barstool beside her target, resting her elbows casually on the sticky surface of the bar. Her eyes flick to the brawler like theyāve been drawn by a magnet. Up close, Vi is even more striking, all sharp edges and tension coiled tight enough to snap. Gert doesnāt shy away from the intensity, though. Instead, she leans into it.
ā Those were some sick ass moves out there tonight, ā Gert says, her voice pitched loud enough to cut through the music. Itās rough, unapologetic, but thereās a hint of warmth tucked beneath the surface, a flicker of admiration she doesnāt bother hiding. A smirk tugs at Gertās lipsāhalf amusement, half intrigue. She meets Viās gaze then, unflinching, her dark brown eyes glinting beneath the clubās erratic lights.
ā Can I buy you a drink with the money you just won me? ā she asks, tilting her head as her smirk deepens into something more mischievous. She doesnāt look away, doesnāt back down, because sheās genuinely curious now. Viās got a story, that much is obvious, and Gertās always had a bad habit of chasing mysteries like theyāre promises waiting to be unraveled. That, and Vi is hot. The kind of hot that hits like a sucker punch and leaves you wanting more.