I'll Have What He's Having (open)

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The Skull known as Nowhere was a large floating object, but on the outside you'd probably mistake it for a giant peice of floating metal. It was ugly to look at and unappealing in her head, but she knew if she wanted any kind of decent life she may as well find it here. As she stepped in the young princess walked forward, almost as if she were on instinct she was aware of everything around her. The aliens here seemed to come from all over to get away from the harsh life to find the finer life that they were looking for. But she knew of the reputation that Nowhere had, it was a lawless place, kind of like the towns you'd see out in the Wild West with no sheriff to be about. 

Udonta walked through the city like life as she knew she'd get a couple of unusual looks from all the aliens that were there with her blue skin. But she was certain she wasn't the first, and she wasn't going to broadcast that she wasn't a princess either. With her bow and arrow case firmly in place, it'd only take a second for the young woman to bring it out and fire away at the unsuspecting enemy, of course even that was sure to cause trouble. After walking forward she found what she was looking for. The humans, or terrans would probably call this place a cafe and bar with the drinks all lined up for those who wanted to get out of their worries and drown themselves until they were drunk.

Well she did want a drink, which was definitely out of the character of a princess, but her mother and father weren't here to tell her what to do. She was old enough to make her own decisions. She walked inside causally and sat down at the bar. The alien turned around, looking rather bulgy and large red, it kind of reminded her of an octopus almost with his hands. She didn't know what exact species he was, but she wasn't about to find out. "What can I get for you ma'am?" He asked.

"I'll have what he's having." She said pointing over towards the man that had been half fallen asleep on the table over on the other end. He had a couple of empty glasses which meant he was probably drinking heavily by now and fell asleep at the table. "Sure coming right up." He said. As Els looked at the poor guy she could see a faint bit of red liquid, it must've been strong since she could smell it across the table, and no doubt put him out in almost an instant. The bar was relatively full that night and lots of other aliens doing who knows what. But they sure were loud. But anyways, the bar tender went to work and eventually the red liquid drink came over towards her as he slid it along the table, it didn't seem that bad, maybe he just had too much to drink.

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It wouldn’t be long before someone else came strolling into the bar, seeming to ignore the loud noises and focusing towards the bar. But no doubt he also got some looks, not from likely because he looked terran but possibly due to his armor, blacker then night and simple in appearance, one would think he was asking for a death warrant. Valrulfur though always preferred lighter armor, and less of it enough to just not hinder him. As was the case now as he ignored the looks, possibly even some admiration from the women patrons of which he also ignored because he wasn’t there for social purposes. No, he was following the scent of one woman he had come to know well due to their shared experiences in the Light Brigade.

“How dignified of you Els, no parents around and the princess goes rogue.” Valrulfur mused as he took a seat beside her, currently in his more human looking state, his Asgardian metal skull amulet swinging for a moment before going still. Before this he had gone to track down some wandering spirits he had sensed when they arrived, slipping away to do his business for Hela before he came back to rejoin his teammates. Although they seemed to have likewise scattered to handle business, what that business was he didn’t care just as they likely didn’t care to meddle in his own business when it came to the supernatural. Most would probably even call him crazy for “chasing ghosts” when in reality that was exactly what he was doing, and quite frankly he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Valrulfur gave the cup of the red liquid she had a small sniff, scoffing as it smelled rather weak in his opinion and he cast a quick glance at the poor fool he drank himself to sleep. “He’s a light weight princess, he wouldn’t last long on Asgardian mead.” The Asgardian werewolf sniffed before he turned to look towards the octopus-looking bartender, “How about that blue stuff bar keep?” He ordered, the scent smelling stronger to him than the red liquid of which Els was now drinking, tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited for his order.

But after a moment he added, “Know what make that three of your largest glasses you have.” Despite it likely meaning he’d get a small buzz, though that was rather difficult with his physiology, he didn’t seem to quite care at this rate. He didn’t get a chance to often get drunk much less feel it. When they weren’t busy traveling he often found himself drawn to little side adventures to cover his quota for spirits to “eat” and banish.

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The blue centariun looked up noticing the arrival of another familiar face, well furry face for that matter. The older man was Valrufur and a team mate as well. Carefully she took the cup in her hand and sipped it almost as if she were being a princess right there using some of her manners. But the woman often disliked the idea of a princess. It was hard to be polite, stiff and still all the time and tried to act like a good girl. When could she be the girl that she wanted to be? Well her parents weren't around right now as she realized it, maybe this was a good time to act like herself.

"Well I wouldn't say 'going rogue,' Valrufur." Els said as she watched him sit beside her. It didn't bother her right now, in fact she was pretty used to it with all the aliens around. Often times, she thought Val looked like a big furry blanket. "I'd say more like acting like myself and not so lady like. I really didn't like a lot of parts of being a princess....it's too demanding." She said. As the Asgardian wolf began to ask for his order for the bartender, they went to work with pouring the bluish liquid. Her's wasn't bad, but the guy who was asleep on the other end seemed to be a poor sap that had simply gone to drink his worries away.

"Aren't you going rogue now, Val? It seems the tables have turned. And I don't want to be the one who has to send an arrow through someone's shoulder just because you picked a fight with them. I'd like to keep a couple of them still on my back." Els said with a warning tone not wanting to have to save Valrufur's hide. If he got into a fight in the bar it might as well end bad. And she didn't want a bad name for the Light Brigade since they had enough to deal with. The last thing they probaby wanted to deal with was Nova Corps stepping on their front door. "Not to mention Nova Corp might here about it." She said wagging her finger a bit almost acting with a warning tone.

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“You always were too literal with things Els. I was just making a joke, or attempting to since you’re suppose to be lady-like but are far from it.” Valrulfur retorted, crossing his arms on the table as he waited for his order. Quite frankly he was terrible at jokes any way, and his attempts usually came out being too literal or lost to his teammates. Maybe he just was bad at conveying his meaning or maybe he just had the wrong tone. Whatever the case, Valrulfur had never been the type to try for jokes, he usually just made small talk, working his charm with those he came across which had always served him quite well in the past.

But her indicating that the tables being turned with his own order made the Asgardian grunt in return, acknowledging her words but found it ironic how she suddenly felt the tables were turned to a point he could start something. It was quite comical really since he only ever bothered with a bar fight when he found someone was going to die soon anyway, most often that night to begin with and he just usually put them out of their misery. It was mercy in his opinion and he would rather stop someone’s suffering than let it be prolonged a few more hours. “I can take a few drinks such as this Els, it’ll be nothing but to help me calm down.” He retorted in his usual gruff tone, watching as the three large cups were brought to him. Though they were more like large mugs of which he could easily pick up.

Tilting his head, Valrulfur touched the amulet around his neck, shifting to his werewolf state that startled some customers nearby but he otherwise ignored the reactions as he downed his first drink rather quickly. “And I was trained to protect royalty, not be royalty. There’s no turning of tables in the slightest centurion, perhaps you should consider your words far more carefully.[/b]” He added with a scoff, finding it ironic she felt that him drinking the blue alcoholic liquid would truly affect him in such a way he’d start something. He even tapped the side of his second glass, looking into the contents of his glass before he downed that one and slammed it on the counter. “Besides, I got really nothing to lose.”

In retrospect, Valrulfur really didn’t have a lot to lose and quite frankly could gamble his life. “Screw the Nova Corp, one of them take a kill shot I’ll be back in a few days anyway. I’m already half dead remember?” He said with a shrug.

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“Alright I suppose I owe you an apology for that one at least.” Els said with a soft nod as the blue centariun princess looked at Val as he managed to receive his drink. They had a slow increase of people arriving at the bar as they sat on seats waiting to be received with their own drinks. Some of the aliens stood up while they were drinking since there were only a limited amount of drinks. But she did know one thing, Val was right about acting not like a princess. Els had been taught how to act like one, but her personality probably was far from one. If anything, she liked being called a renegade member or even rogue at some points. It was probably rare finding a princess like her teaming up with a group, but heay sometimes it was fun and it did have its perks with being on the Light Brigade.“I trust you with that one too. We’ve been together for some time now on the Light Brigade; it’s only fair that I trust my team mates.” She said crossing her arms and put her feet up on the table. That was indeed an unlady like manner right there even for a woman. Sometimes she really thought she was a tom boy which wasn’t unheard of. She was certainly not the first.

“You’re really putting on a gamble.” She remarked having heard plenty of news from the Nova Corps these days. Heck rumor had it one was even on Terra for some unknown reason. Whatever the case was Nova had a strict code of enforcing authority and a strict code that they all needed to follow. Els probably wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of life. But as far as she could recall they had never once visited the Inhuman race while they were there. “How about this question for you Val,” She started. “Why did you choose to protect the Inhuman royal members?” Els asked as she paused ot listen to what he had to say she took a sip of the red beverage that was in front of her. It had an interesting taste of flavors in it, something that she actually liked.

Though Els could never admit it in front of him, she had a hard time accepting death but every Inhuman in some way or another usually had a chance for living longer. And she was no exception. Els looked around 25 years old but really with her exposure to the inhuman crystals granted her a longer life. Of course, if she died in combat she would have at least preferred a noble death.

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"You owe me nothing princess, and I don't expect us to exactly trust each other so easily. We may have been a team for sometime but that doesn't mean we necessarily trust one another, we do enough to work well and that's it." Valrulfur stated, having never really trusted anyone for almost a hundred and fifty years since he had been taken from the gates of Valhalla and made into what he was today. A part of him never felt like he could trust someone, possibly even using him if they wanted to. And his trust in others was partly tainted by Hela's own deceptions and twisted reasonings, only further making him feel he did not belong anywhere any more.

He merely gave a shrug though at the gamble remark, finding it funny she made a mention of it. When did he never take gambles as it was? Even now he could look into the additional people that were pouring into the bar and probably would be drawn to one or two who were fixing to die, or were dying. That was discounting the whole "Everyone slowly dies" remark usually given; Valrulfur meant those suffering illness,power problems, stuff like that, which he would happily end their suffering and send them to Hel. Alright, he wasn't particularly happy to do that necessarily, but he wasn't given much of a choice but to comply with the Asgadian goddess. "The Nova Corp can kiss my left butt cheek for all I care." Valrulfur snorted, finishing his second drink.

Though he almost spit it out when Els inquired to why she protected the royal family, but not the royal family he was expecting her to mention. "Inhuman? Hahaha! That's a good one Els." The Asgardian werewolf howled with laughter, finding it rather amusing that was her first thought. "I'm talking about the Asgardian royal family, there is nothing but Asgardian in me and my transformation is from making a twisted contract." He said, wiping away a fake tear before he turned to the princess, "And I protected them because it was seen as a great honor in my family. It meant we were going somewhere, that we were trusted to ensure the safety of Odin and his family. It also meant I could make full use of my warrior spirit rather than sitting idle training all the time. Attacks happened and I could make use of my combat while also getting to learn discipline and humanity." Valrulfur explained, scowling at his cup as he picked it up.

"But those days are over, I'm here now and nothing but a washed up guard." He said simply as he down his third drink and letting out a loud belch.

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“That sound like a good idea then. If you say I don’t owe you anything I’ll be fine with that. But I’ve always got your back if you need it, Val. We’re teammates and always will be.” She said putting a soft hand on his side but she half wondered if Val was going to remember this moment after drinking so much. Sure he may be undead but he’d be in a world of pain tomorrow once he woke up and regrettably drank way too much alcohol.

“So I’ve heard from asgardian monsters there are about twice as nasty as they are here in the galaxy. Though we’ve managed to handle ourselves now but…that would explain a lot on how you came to be. I suppose my life has been pretty sheltered but even the Inhumans wanted me to be ready for anything that came. The Inhumans are so...” She sighed as she tried to think of a word, normal was not the word that she was looking here. They were different. They lead secluded lives since they were afraid of what others might think of them and their powers, but they could use that advantage to do some good for a change, save lives, and they knew the galaxy sure as heck needed some help. The galaxy was the new untamed Wild West. She looked at Valrufur and rolled her eyes as she heard him belch like that. If he thought she had horrible manners on being a princess, well look who was talking as the tables were turned here. But Val certainly had come to the right area with this crowd, these guys were nuts.

As Els listened to Val as he spoke up not caring about the Nova Corps as well, she just about turned hearing something near them as a fight started to break up behind them. “Makes me wonder if you’ve got a grudge on them or something the way you talk.” She started but two larger aliens started to push their weight around nearly knocking her back against her seat and dumping her drink or at least what was left of it.

“That is enough you two big heads! If you want to fight do it out on the street! That’s an order!” She said as she quickly whipped out her arrow case, bow and arrow itself as she pointed at one of the throats of the aliens in the odd angle that she was. Both of them looked stunned at the sudden raise of voice from Els. It was like they were in the middle of a commanding army that had been run by her. But it wasn’t an army it was in the middle of a bar. “I said MOVE IT. NOW!” She warned again not taking no for an answer, as the two large aliens headed outside. It probably caused a scene but she was willing to avoid a much larger one that was going to happen any second, and the tip of her arrows were as sharp as ever, made from inhuman materials that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world. For someone who was so lady like, she sure did have another fiery side of her when she let it out.

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“As I said before Els, we’re teammates but it doesn’t always mean we trust one another. Quite frankly, you really shouldn’t put your trust into others so easily, especially agents of the dead. The next soul I take to Hel could very well be yours.” Valrulfur said with a serious tone, implying he wasn’t exactly one to be trusted. Perhaps there was a part of him that could be and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to harm his teammates. But conscience didn’t always win over a binding contract and severe pain that could easily been inflicted, something he slightly cringed at the thought of. He had been disobedient in the past and had paid for it, something he really didn’t want to face again if he ever came to that choice.

Though he raised a single finger to the bar tender, ordering three more drinks as he listened to Els for a moment, “Some Asgardian creatures are beings of legend. Some are easily no different from creatures we faced on Battleworld or our trip around the cosmos, and others could easily shattered and shake Knowhere to its very core. Just depends on where you go or what creature you’re talking about.” He confirmed as his now three empty cups were taken and refilled with the same blue liquid but he gave her another glance. “Oh don’t give me that look, I told you I’m a washed up guard I don’t really care for manners. And the Inhumans are an odd bunch Els. Your people, the Inhumans, are a mystery and intrigue to many so don’t be surprised that no one sees you as “normal” or anything.” He finished for her.

Not that he got much of a change to elaborate on it as he heard the bar fight, initially rolling his own eyes as he turned away from the scuffle. Normally these things happened when people got rowdy around alcohol and tempers flared before anyone could stop them. But that quickly changed as he felt Els get pushed against his side, growling as he nearly dropped his drink and turned to snap but the centurion had it under control before he could step in.

That was until he noticed some of their buddies standing ready to say something but Valrulfur stood himself to his full height beside the Inhuman. His fangs barred slightly, a low rumble of a growl coming from his chest as he cracked his knuckles. There was no one dying at the moment but the Asgardian werewolf was on the verge of changing that personally as the smaller aliens seemed to contemplate their next move until a step forward by Valrulfur was enough to make them gulp and finally back off and returning to their booths. But Valrulfur remained posed and tensed, eyeing them then the rest of the bar who had gone silent before finally going about their business and Valrulfur finally relaxing and returning to his seat. “We really need to contemplate our next area to go.”

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“You see this arrow? Next time you might not be so lucky, next time it might go through your thick skulls.” Els pointed out towards the arrow that was on her bow, ready and loaded. The other aliens seemed to understand what was going on, some left in a drunken stagger outside of the bar while others seemed to be hardly phased by the idea that Els could over throw them in fighting. She was just a girl after all. But some women were deadly and learned how to fight as well.

“I can tell you that much, my mother married the current heir to the throne who’s Blackbolt. Blackbolt is famous for his sonic screams that he achieved as a child, so he hardly utters a word these days. Despite not being able to talk the two quickly found a way to understand each other and fell in love. With those two as king and queen of the Inhumans it wouldn’t surprise me if they once again tag team in a fight if one were to come their way.” She pointed out half wondering if she wouldn’t have come to existence if Blackbolt and her mother had never come to marry. It was hard to imagine how things would be like if the two of them hadn’t been married. Blackbolt would’ve married someone else and her mother probably would return to her own home world.

“To be honest I really think the two married to keep their worlds at an alliance. But perhaps over time things changed.” She said as she sat back down in her chair. But this time she wasn’t all that interested in getting a drink this time and sighed. Surprisingly the guy to the left of them, the one who had fallen asleep hadn’t woken up through that fight and through the yelling. The alien was a mystery to her, but she didn’t want to know if this guy was bad news.

“I was thinking of returning to the ship and training a bit, it’s been awhile since I’ve done some downright hard training.” She said knowing her bow and arrow had reminded her. And her light powers reminded her as well with it. But even taking a break from the training for a few days didn’t seem to change her abilities. Els could still defend herself to that point in time. “But I’ll take your word of warning when you say be careful who you make your friends with.” She said with a soft nod. With the inhuman race, most of them were granted long lives. “Most Inhumans can live well beyond the human counter part by a couple of hundred years, if we’re lucky. Battle may likely kill me first, but I don’t plan on dying tomorrow.” She admitted.

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“We Asgardians, most of us anyway, grow up learning of the many difference species and races that live across the cosmos. The Inhumans are no different and we are even aware of how they even came to be, if even if it was not by humane ways in what the Kree did.” Valrulfur explained to her, wondering if Els knew of the ancient origins of the Inhumans. Sometimes the Asgardians got their hands on quite a bit of history and knowledge, some of which were taught to them as children and others were locked away due to the wrong hands that could get a hold of such information. Knowledge could be power, and the wrong person with that power could smell trouble for all the universe. The creatures of Asgard sometimes even paled in comparison to some of those beings out there rumored being able to completely tear through the universe and utterly renew it if they wished. It truly sent a shudder down his spine to think about.

The Asgardian werewolf grabbed his drink and gulped it down once more, listening for a moment before he continued. “I’ve heard of Blackbolt, his powers are amazing but he cannot utter a word otherwise he risks destroying his own people by accident, with even a small whisper.” Valrulfur admitted to hearing but he had heard that the Inhumans had in recent years seemed interested in forming alliances with their own to keep them protected. He wondered if any of the nine realms would resort to similar contracts since they always seemed at war or odds with one another to the point of destroying themselves.

“I’m finishing my drinks then I might consider using one of the teleport systems here to head elsewhere. I need some time to myself, the ship is getting stuffy.” The young Asgardian grumbled, not hesitating to gulp down his final drinks of which he let out a much louder belch then before and slammed his cup down, shaking himself slightly as he stood. “I’ll still be in touch with the team if you need me but I need a change of scenery, a new place to hunt if you will. Last thing I need happening is Hela getting restless with lack of new souls.” Valrulfur said gruffly, giving a last look at the poor soul who had drunk himself to the point of even ignoring a bar fight.

“Try not to have too much fun without me Els. And you aren’t dying any time soon, I can guarantee you that.” He told her as he strolled off towards the entrance, exiting out of the door as some parted aside to allow Valrulfur by. If any of his teammates were dying any time soon he would have seen it, but so far all of them appeared to be safe. And as much as Val would never openly admit this, he was quite glad for it.