A drink to the living (open)

Numb, numb was good right about now and she had that covered on several levels. She'd been in the smoky pub drinking, quite a lot, for some time now but she had two very good reasons for it. It was Giovanni's birthday, Val always had a drink in her maker and former lover's honor on his birthday. She wasn't sure quite what had happened to him, she hadn't heard from him in years, but she'd also not heard he was dead. All was right with her little world if Giovanni was alive and out there somewhere.

The other reason was crumpled and held tightly in her fist. Shamus. They'd killed her Shamus. The man who'd taken an idealistic 'young' hot head in and taught her how to fight, how to try and reclaim what was rightfully Ireland's. She'd come to love and trust him over the years. In fact, he was one of the very -very- few people to whom she'd confided in about her... condition. He'd never exploited it either, that's not to say they hadn't used it for the cause but he'd never taken her for granted. She'd gotten the letter from Declan today. Shamus had been shot and killed during a raid. Some one had sold them out and her mentor had paid a very high price. Ordinarily Val would have been on the first plane back, but Declan assured her both the killer and the traitor had been dealt with.

That left her with nothing to do but mourn. Mourn and celebrate, such a morbid combination; but it worked for her. A drink to the living a toast to the dead she muttered as she signaled for another round. Of course it was a bit odd considered that technically both the people she was drinking to were dead, but it was the thought that counted.

Waylon 15 years ago
Waylon nodded as Val teased and gave him directions.

"Good woman. But you never can tell with our kind, now can ya?"

He started up the car and tapped the gas a couple of times just to get the fuel flowing good. That, and he loved the sound the 440 produced. Right after he got the car he had slapped on a set of headers and glass packs to the duel exhaust. It gave the thing a nice rumble with out going overboard.

He still didn't know the town as well as he liked but as he recalled the area was a fairly uptown. This didn't surprise him in the least given what she told him about herself. Though granted it wasn't much to go by. Ah well, all in good time.

Waylon raised an eyebrow at her question. Now who was being upfront.

"Yreka California. The son of a rancher from a village outside of Cork. Mother was Italian, had five siblings. Grew up, married a gorgeous young Basque woman and had five kids of my own. Died in France, spent a fair share of time in Europe; mostly eastern and southern. Moved on when the time came and spent my lost years traveling wherever my feet took me until I hit Canada, for whatever damn reason." He still hadn't figured out why exactly he chose Vancouver of all places, but he liked it for a while."And then just kinda found my way here to Nachton. There ya go, Mr. O'Seighin if you please in a harmless nutshell. You?"

She didn't expect him to give up that info without some in return did she?
Valentine 15 years ago
"Wouldn't be any fun if you could."Â?

Val countered cheerfully.

Well now, that was a great deal more than she'd expected to get from one little question. Val had almost always made her living knowing people, knowing about them and how to read them. She took it all in and filed it away. It was amazing how much people gave away little by little. Given that he said California, she pegged him as rather young. Granted California had been part of the union for some time it still gave her something of a time frame. She supposed he could have been there for the Spanish occupation, but the rest of what he said didn't seem to fit that. It was entirely possible she'd stumbled on something of a contemporary.


"Kids! Oh I never would have thought of that."Â?

Her maker had been her first lover and he'd been dead for centuries before they met. At the time, she'd brought up the possibilities of off spring now and again but Giovanni had always told her it wasn't going to happen.

She leaned back in her seat and considered that a bit as well as considered Waylon a bit.


"So you could have great whatever grand brats running about. Shall I call you grandpa rather than pretty boy?"Â?

Yes, it was possible she was treading on sensitive ground, but she could apologize later. You always could.

She flashed him a full pointy tooth grin at him when he countered. She wouldn't be giving him -that- much information but some was required.


"Ma and Da both from Ireland but me, born, raised, lived and died in Chicago. Not a bad life either I might add. No siblings, no children, no husband but did have fun. After that little bit of anywhere and everywhere, lots of time back in the old country. I haven't seen everything yet but I figure I have time."Â?

She left out her old mob ties, and her IRA ties and her more contemporary IRA splinter group and didn't feel a bit bad about it. Certainly, he was leaving a few unsavory details out too.
Waylon 15 years ago
Waylon gave off a quiet snort and let a smirk creep across his face at Val's reaction to his comments about kids.

"To be honest, you don't have the look of a woman that's raised any rowdy little shits."

His wife had gone through the transformation, and a smirk turned into a chuckle as the cowboy's mind wondered back to that long lost memory. Waylon had watched as she went from the sultry, feisty, smart-ass young woman that enjoyed his playful barbs to a feisty, smart-ass woman that took no shit from anyone and had no patience to pretend otherwise. And if a stone-cold glare didn't work, well then there was nothing a swinging frying pan couldn't fix.

At Val's next comment a thoughtful look crept into Waylon's eyes. There was a lot of might have beens down that road that he wasn't fond of contemplating.

"Oh hell, I stopped keeping track after a while. Damn humans breed like rabbits."

That comment masked the anguish he still felt about not being around to raise his children. They all had ended up living full lives in their own ways and most had died of old age surrounded by numerous children and grand-children. It still pained him that they had grown up without a father. To Waylon it was all about duty. Duty to his wife, duty to his offspring. He had let them down in his eyes and to him it was an utter failure; one that was unforgivable.

For many years that pain could make Waylon an unpleasant being to be around and it took several ass kickings from his maker to get him out of his self pitying mood. Many years down the road he would learn to live with it all, but to this day the thought of what he had failed to do, his fault or not, still gnawed at him from time to time.

Deciding he had pondered his own history enough for one night Waylon considered the History of Valentine as she spoke.

She had given out almost as much information he had. He gathered she couldn't be more than a than few hundred years old if she was telling the truth. Lots of time back in the old country would explain the accent.

He gave her a playful grin and a sideways glance.

"No doubt making the limey's stay as comfortable as possible."

He wasn't asking a question. Going off what he had seen tonight Val wasn't going to give away any incriminating information. Frankly he would have been disappointed if she did.
Valentine 15 years ago
“Oh I’ve had my fill of rowdy shits but a different sort.”

And she could handle them as well as any woman alive, or undead which ever was more appropriate. It didn’t bother her in the slightest that she had apparently no maternal appearance. Let some one else stay barefoot in the kitchen she’d been too busy living to feel like she’d missed out on something.

She half laughed at his comment about breeding humans, apparently forgetting he had been on. She didn’t push beyond that. There seemed to be a contemplative air the to the few seconds silence. Apparently, he had something to think about. Funny old world really, Val hadn’t given her parents a though in decades, they must be dead but she’d never bothered to find out. Of course, it would be different with kids she reasoned and immediately let it go.

Val gave him a few fine tuning directions as she could see her complex now, gated drive, fountain, tasteful lighting of the landscaping. Yes, it was just a bit yuppie.


“Now I’m surprised at you thinking such a thing. My halo is in the shop tonight but I’m a good girl over all.”

And if you believed that, she had something to sell you.
Waylon 15 years ago
Waylon gave the redhead a quick laugh and a playfully suspicious look.

"Of course." And left it at that.

Val pointed out her complex and Waylon pulled the car up to gate and had her punch in her code. It was definitely a nicer place than his old farm house outside of town, but the 20 acres gave him room to roam. When Catina had died she left Waylon with no small financial backing. Not to mention his own endeavours paid quite nicely, thank you. So he could have found a place as nice or nicer than this, and there was always the Manor, but he preferred to go home to a place that kept him out of Nachton.

Waylon pulled up outside of the building Val had pointed out as hers and offered his hand to his new acquaintance.

"Whelp, it was nice meetin' you Val. The offer for flight lessons still stands, I'm sure you'll find me around the airport if nowhere else. Oh," He gave her his best shit-eating grin. "and don't go gettin' into anymore fights with gangbangers. I won't always be around to take up all their attention."

He had to get in one last barb for the night.

With that Waylon pulled out of her driveway and took off for his own place. He still wanted to go for a flight tonight, without the chopper.

(OOC- Waylon out)
Valentine 15 years ago
She wiggled her eyebrows a bit and giggled at the idea of being good. Even if she was a good girl, she hadn’t set up that expectation tonight and Waylon was quite right to disbelieve her.

As she set about getting them in the gates and to her building she ‘accidentally’ dropped a business card with her cell number jotted down in nice neat hand writing on the back. Some times, she liked being chased, and it was only sporting to give him a lead.


“You’re not off the hook yet fly boy.”

She grinned and let his comment slide right by her. She could more than hold her own and she knew it and had a feeling he at least suspected it.

Val tossed him a wink before finding her door and ducking inside. Maybe she’d go back out… maybe she wouldn’t she hadn’t decided.


((OOC… Val out as well.))