TOLSTOY, r. |W|I|P|

ROLE PLAY SAMPLE

The world had always been painted in dizzying shades of green, blue, red, orange, purple, and yellow (regardless of how often people, of all shapes and forms, preached the philosophy of a black and white world) for Elisabeth Juniper Halloway, and today was no exception. These colors could all be found, metaphorically, in actions and emotions such as: chaos, violence, crime, and beauty. The small corner that Hyena’s Laughter, the foreboding bar that Eli worked in, resided in was a small section of the gritty and grimy city of Aegus, and was surrounded by all of the aforementioned aspects. From the disintegrating shack and huts that barely passed as a slum, let alone a home, to the brightly colored, almost neon hued, flowers that struggled against the everyday strife of life buried between two jutting pieces of concrete that had seen far too many robberies and one too many rapes, Eli viewed Aegus as a gem filled with startling, dizzying life and opportunity; and it was shouting at her for the taking.

Quietly sighing in boredom, then quickly pasting on a brightly false smile, Eli grabbed a cold, smooth glass from under the bar to fill with the Laughter’s signature brew while simultaneously asking the next dreary, depressed patron what their poison would be. It was days like today, when the glaring sun glinted off of the brackish, green, tepid waters of the nearby river creating an intimate light show for any passer by willing to stop and breathe for a few minutes, that Eli most wanted to get out and explore. That was the shame with people these days, Shifter and Human. Nobody ever enjoyed life. No, life had devolved into the single minded, vicious pursuit of survival; but what was the point of surviving if there was nothing to live for? What was the point in amassing fortune and power if you never paused the never-ending race for money to enjoy the world around you? Sooner, rather than later, the real never-ending race, the race against time, would end; and no one would have achieved anything valuable and meaningful. Money? Pieces of cotton and metal that would one day wither away from erosion and changing times to attain a place next to every decaying corpse that had fought tooth and nail for the “precious” item; a place in the cold, unforgiving ground amidst worms, beetles, and decomposition.

“The customers don’t like it when you look so forlorn, and neither does that grinning hyena. It’s bad on the books.”

The growling, scratchy voice could only have belonged to the Hyena’s Laughter’s top boss, Mulligan. Eli glanced up at the animal in question that was mounted on the wall opposite of the bar. Day in and day out, regardless of weather, time, or company, the “grinning hyena” (as Mulligan had so eloquently and imaginatively dubbed it, among other names) had kept the dreaming young woman grounded. It’s wild, rolling eyes that would be forever set in their delirious positions, paired with the wide, grotesquely stretched mouth that was forever frozen into a “grin” would have cowed a lesser woman and sent her back to work. However, the clowned animal had morphed into a disturbing friend of a sort over the years.

“What? Good ole Godfrey? He’d never harm a fly.” Eli laughed as her hands rapidly flew from glass to glass as she continued to pass back various combinations of spirits, drinks, and fixtures.

“Can’t I suppose.” Mulligan demurely answered while scratching his chin in quiet contemplation. “You know, they say it’s actually a Shifter, and that the founder of Laughter killed him because the old guy was a traitor.”

“Now that, I don’t believe. The founder of Laughter is never around; he could be dead for all we know. Well, I guess since you keep the books, you do know...” Eli trailed off as her eyes caught the sauntering forms of two somber, and decidedly lost, figures that were prowling around the outside of The Hyena’s Laughter.

“I’d be careful with what you say. You never know when he might just pop up.” replied a patron that had been drowning his sorrows in multiple vodka shots. His eyes twinkled with clear and aware mirth. Unusual for how many drinks the man had knocked back with avid enthusiasm.

“Yeah, well, I guess I’ll have to suffer for it. If the founder ever does walk in through those doors, though, I’d love to hear his story.” Eli sent a quick, sly smile towards the dark patron and dashed out from behind the bar, intent on discovering who exactly would be wondering through Aegus looking as lost as those two men did. No one that vulnerable had any business in the seedy city. “I’m taking five, Mulligan. I’ll see you in a short while!” Eli hastily hashed out as she pushed the heavy doors of the bar open and swung them closed on Mulligan’s gruff protest.

Approaching the two men, Eli quickly caught on to the situation, and the apparent “gayness” of it. Though absolutely comical, the young curious woman was more than interested in understanding why exactly the younger and taller of the two was so dependent on his partner. Quietly sauntering up to the shorter one that had tossed the supposed “bell bracelet” far into the air to be lost forever amidst the hectic rumblings of Aegus , Eli took in his appearance; the man, though significantly older than she was handsome, as well as terribly taller than her. “Well that’s not a very nice thing to do to your boyfriend,” Eli teased. Her eyes glinted with amusement for she had heard the heated debate about the implications such a device would hold over the two large men. “I’m completely joking. I have to agree , though, a bell on a bracelet is just a tad ‘gay’.”