1330/Just Another Normal Evening at Lux.

Just Another Normal Evening at Lux.
Date of Scene:	07 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Ravenna Levesque, Jessica Jones, Lucifer

---

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
It's evening at Lux, and Ravenna is manning the bar this evening as The Bartender is elsewhere. She's dressed in her self imposed uniform of a sleek black cocktail dress and heels with her hair pulled back in an ornate bun. She does well behind the bar, though she doesn't quite have the skill that Lucifer has, she at least has enough to make a good drink and of course get a great glass of wine.

So far, Anthony has been leaving her alone, aside from snide Online comments on Lux Yelp page. She's already spoken to her boss about that, but some time has passed. She checks her watch, hoping that Lucifer returns before she has to dash downstairs to do a private tasting.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica Jones has been out working a very strange case lately, but it's a strange paying case. And for all that some of it has involved taking knives to preserve the lives of criminals, getting aikido'd into garbage piles and involving herself in an increasingly frustrating series of street fights, it has been a paying case from a fairly reputable client that might be worth cultivating. There's also the NPU case, but that one is still sitting in limbo, awaiting the conclusion of a dizzying underworld auction, the value of which has now reached a cool $7 million.

Still, she's here now, in her red jumpsuit today, and strappy sandles. She slides up to the bar and greets Ravenna with a slight, warm smirk and the words, "Wine me." If she picks wine, after all, she knows that she'll still have a pretty incredible experience with Rav at the helm back there, versus some of the cocktails she's been enjoying in Lou's company.

Lucifer has posed:
For a being of near-infinite power, Ravenna's presence on staff is a mundane solution to a wonderous issue-- Lucifer doesn't need to manifest himself in multiple locations at once in order to tend bar and take care of something else that needs his attention.

Which is both weirdly elevated and mundane as any other small business owner.

Still, Ravenna can only work so many hours at the bar-- she's a sommeliere, not a mixologist, two completely asymmetric skills to the nuance of a nightclub. So without any fanfare, Lucifer-- wearing the face of the eponymous Bartender-- appears near the elevators as if coming down the lifts from the penthouse, heads to the bar, and bellies up to it next to Jessica. Both women get a flashing smile of genuine affection, and he puts his hand on Jessica's bare shoulderblade with a gentle caress.

"Hey, Jess. Hi Ravenna. How's the day going down here?" he inquires. He wears a red dress shirt with his sleeves neatly cuffed, under a natty black vest and matching pinstriped pants. "What're we drinking?"

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
Still Ravenna doesn't working behind the bar, it is a nice refresher since occasionally there are people who want good suggestions for an after dinner drink. When Jessica arrives she gives her a warm smile, it's a touch nicer than her professional smile. The regular is growing on her, though apparently not as much as she is on her Boss. "Wine? That I can do." She taps her finger on her lips before she pulls a bottle from behind the bar and pops the cork. The liquid is rich and dark, and has a lush smell of plum. Before she passes it over, she pulls out a small plate with a dark chocolate truffle on it. "The bitterness of the chocolate should balance with the sweetness of the wine. Let me know if you hate it." She says with a wink.

Whenn Lucifer arrives she nods her head at him and while his smile may be affectionate torward her, Ravennna's returns to the neutral professional smile. "Evening Boss. I was wondering when you'd show up, I do have a tasting soon and you know I'd hate to be late." Still, she pours him a glass of the same dark red wine and passes over a truffle. "Did you get the shipment from France squared away?"

Jessica Jones has posed:
"Hey," Jessica tells Lou warmly, accepting that caress and laying a quick, gentle hand on his arm before withdrawing. If her steps are unsteady and uncertain in the dance of courtship itself-- like a dancer who had both her legs broken and only just got the cast off, for all that she boldly does whatever the hell she's decided to do in that matter-- they are doubly so when it comes to things like physical affection in front of others. She flails, for the moment, on what's appropriate and what isn't.

To cover all this, she pops a little chocolate into her mouth, and drinks a little of the wine. She gives Rav a thumbs up. Her oh-so-classy way of saying she does not at all hate it. That she'd in fact have it again. This whole 'having things to eat' with her booze thing is also pretty new, to be honest, but Ravenna certainly has ways to make it worth her while. As it is, she's happy to let them discuss wine shipments and the evening's schedule without a great good deal of interference, relaxed and contented with her lot in life in this particular moment.

Lucifer has posed:
"I wouldn't leave you on the hook," the Bartender says, hiking a brow at Ravenna's professional masque. He leaves Jessica some space to adapt and adjust to circumstances; preferable always to have smooth companionship than provoke Jessica into flailing reaction. Still, he stays just at the edge of her comfort zone, a bit closer than a strange would remain.

"All covered. It'll be here via special parcel post by the twelfth," he assures Ravenna, reaching for a chocolate too and popping it into his mouth for a few quick chaws. "Had a little hiccough with getting an armored truck to deliver it, but that got ironed out. Most of a quarter of a million dollars worth of wine," he says, grinning a little. "Not the sort of thing one wants to entrust to Earl's Discount Shipping."

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
"I should hope not, they are your patrons after all and you would be keeping them waiting.. or having an empty bar." Ravenna's smiles have been growing more professional the longer she stays here, and it's not clear what is causing it. She takes out her phone and types in several notes in her calendar about the shipment and nods her head. "No, Earl has no idea how to properly package or tempurature a sock, let alone a case of wine." Not any Earl in specific, but just Earl in general.

"The floor is yours boss, I'll let you get to your evening." Turning to Jess she gives her a smile when the thumbs up is granted. "Good, I'm glad you like it. If you want more like that I have a few bottles I can reccomend." With that she takes off her apron, checks her hair and walks out from behind the bar. "I'll be downstairs getting things ready for the tasting, if they're prompt send them down." With that the professional mask slips back in as she pulls the key to the cellar out of her pocket and slips off.

Jessica Jones has posed:
"When people start telling me about wine that requires /armored trucks/ in those kinds of dollar amounts," Jessica replies dryly, though with real humor, "I am kind of afraid to buy more bottles."

Still, it's mostly just a joke, with no particular rancor behind it. She's certainly still working on the glass in front of her. Her quick grin takes in the both of them, even as she turns just a little to allow herself to be a bit closer to Lou at the bar, for all that he's probably about to resume his post behind it. She watches Ravenna go, and says to him:

"I'm really glad you hired her." Not just because she gets the benefits of Ravenna's skills as well as Lou's.

She's glad Ravenna was plucked out of an intolerable situation, one where she'd felt trapped.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer's brow narrows minutely at Ravenna's back. Her stoic professionalism is a bit of a change from usual; normally, she's sweet and even sassily urbane, which is the sort of candid confidence one generally prefers in an employee trusted with a multimillion dollar wine collection. Her somewhat frigid temperment collects a suspicious look, but she moves with a swift step that precludes a friendly delay.

"I am too," he tells Jessica, as Ravenna slips out of earshot.

"She seems a little off today, though. Hiding it well, but there's something on her mind. I don't suppose she confided in you?" he inquires. He pushes off the bar, hops onto it and swivels on his butt so he can pop off into the work area with an agile spring off his hands.

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
Most regulars are already here, but at this hour the people stopping in for a simple taste of Lux start to filter through. One gentleman has been lingering at a table neary by the bar, and once Ravenna is out of sight he finds an empty seat at the bar. He on the opposite side of the bar from Jess, and is dressed in a well fitted suit. His brown hair is longer on top, but neatly slicked back on his face showing off his angular features. He is clean shaven and has a jovial smile on his face as he leans on the bar. He doesn't so much as greet anyone, but simply drops one of those fancy black credit cards on the table, trying to get anyones attention.

Jessica Jones has posed:
A shake of her head from Jessica. "I actually didn't get here much ahead of you," she explains. She glances at the new patron, frowning faintly at the dude. But she certainly shuts up on the matter of Ravenna at the appearance of the douchey man...

Who looks familiar. The PI is a quick study on the ways that appearances can be altered, and she darts a glance down to take a look at the name on that credit card.

Lucifer has posed:


The Bartender picks up the credit card, glancing at it, and flashes a Professional Smile at the man. He keeps the card in the hand nearest Jessica, held between index and middle finger by a corner-- he uses a subtle magician's pass to distract the fellow long enough for her to read the card.

"Welcome to Lux," he tells the man. "Unfortunately, we can't take credit cards. Cash only," he explains, flicking the card and passing it back. "Can I get you a drink?" he inquires, reaching under the bar for a lowball glass and polishing it with a clean bar rag, more to keep his hands busy than anything else. "Beer, wine, cocktail...?" he suggests, lifting a browe at the fellow.

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
The card reads Ralph A. Tanner, and it has that heavy weight of being one of those expensive cards with a yearly fee that's usually a good pile of someone's salary. However hearing that it's cash only, he makes a slight face. "Cash only? Are you living in the stone age?" Still he doesn't seem all that fussed about cash, or at least he is giving that impression. He is making a large effort to not look at Jessica. Either through fear, or not wanting to be noticed. Even if part of him believes his disguise is flawless.

"Are you a mixologist? I know several in the city if you need to hire one. If you are, I would love a Death in the Afternoon, if you haven't heard of it I would be more than willing to instruct you on how it's made." Once he gets his card back he'll slip it back into his pocket.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica half shakes her head at the credit card. She does not recognize the name. She is, however, honing in on the voice, narrowing her eyes and trying to place it. She bristles, a bit, on behalf of the Bartender, and snorts. "Really? You'd be happy to instruct him? You've only been here five minutes and you've already decided what he knows and doesn't know?"

Sure, she'd played a similar little game with him on first arrival, but...it was a game he started. Since she'd walked in and ordered a basic shot of whiskey like an apparent bohemian. The next thing she'd known, she was being encouraged to broaden her world and horizons a bit...and she had basically had to wrack her brains for drink names just for the fun of rattling off how to make them.

Lucifer has posed:
"Sure. You picky about the champagne? I prefer dry champagne if you're gonna pair it with absinthe," the bartender says, fetching down a tall, narrow flute.

He pours a few ounces of the chosen champagne into the flute, then digs out a bottle of Absinthe. Real Absinthe, with a label all in French. He uses a dropper to extract an ounce of the Green Faerie, then with a flourish feeds the absinthe into the champagne flute from the bottom upwards, creating a lovely, milky dance as the absinthe reacts with the champagne, causing it to fizz and bubble in a dynamic display.

"That'll be twenty-two dollars." Which is about twice what the Bartender normally charges for his drinks. He makes a soothing gesture at Jessica with one hand, clucking his tongue-- but he turns his head so he's on profile to the fellow, at winks at Jessica. Seems whomever this fellow is, he's struck a nerve with the Bartender too.

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
Man whose card says Ralph turns to Jessica and scoffs. "I have no idea of his talents, there is nothing wrong with me assuring myself that I am getting what I pay for." Though he watches Lucifer carefully as the drink is mixed and once he is prestend with it he holds it up to the light to give it a once over. Trying to gauge if the color is right. When he tastes it, his face betrays him. It's what he asked for, and probably better champagne than he's used to getting at his hipster joints. Still he pushes that look off of his face and clears his throat. "That'll do in a pinch." When the price is mentioned, he reaches into his pocket and fishes out the right amount. He doesn't seem phased by it, either because drinks are normally this expensive where he goes, or he just has the money laying around. Which is contrary to what he told Jessica a few days ago.

"I heard of your new aquirement and I was disappointed to hear she was not available. Sommelier's are so hard to find in this city, though I'm sure she probably had earn her place in here, if you know what I mean." He says, giving an almost lewd wink to the Bartender.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jess returns a bit of a smirk to Lou, but...ultimately lets him handle it.

Indeed, she's got chocolate to enjoy. She ignores the whole spectacle of the guy tasting his drink.

Then? He makes his final shot.

And that's the moment Jessica Jones recognizes him. She turns fully in her seat and says, "Hey. Ralphie. My friend need to get a restraining order against you? Cause I've totally got the lawyers to draw it up. Nobody is forgetting about the way you destroyed her property, and your ridiculous bid to come into her new workplace and malign her? It's bullshit. It's also illegal. They call it harrassment. And this is seriously the most pathetic shit I've ever seen. All butt-hurt cause you got fucking rejected."

She leans forward. "Move. On. Do not let me see you bothering her ever again. Ravenna? Just wants to get on with her life. Me? I love getting vindictive with little shits like you, and I will not hesitate to make your life into a living Hell if you keep it up with this stalker shit. Please believe I'm being extraordinary kind when I say this, cause I usually don't do second warnings. I'm a PI, and I will dig into your every secret and make sure every investor, future employer, friend, family member and even future /adopted pet/ you ever have shuns you like the piece of trash you are."

Lucifer has posed:
The Bartender is quiet while he counts out the change, lays it on the table, and mostly adopts the invisible persona of a quiet service industry worker while Jessica lambasts the fellow. He's still, and silent, letting her vent her spleen.

And then when the man reaches for his money, Lucifer's hand flashes and the paring knife he uses for cutting limes abruptly appears in the middle of the man's hand, pinning it to the lacquered bar wood like a butterfly pinned to cork.

"You are one dumb son of a bitch, coming into my bar and threatening my employee," Lucifer tells the fellow, calmly. And yes-- the paring knife is still covered in lime juice and salt.

He grabs the man's other hand when he reaches for the knife, bending his thumb backwards in a fairly expert jointlock. "No no no, you can just sit there and ruminate on that," he suggests. "Jessica, what do you think? Should we handle this ourselves, or give Ravenna a heads up?" he inquires, ignoring the fellow's screams. Weirdly, not one person in the bar or lounge so much as /looks/ at The Bartender. Everyone seems to have come down with a case of 'Didn't see nothin', officer'.

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
Ralphie didn't expect to be outed, than again he's an arrogant bastard and his disguise was flawless. Granted he didn't think running his mouth was really going to break his cover. Still he turns and scowls at Jessica. "I am not stalking her, thank you very much. I simply wanted to see why this place was so amazing that she had to give up everything she worked so hard for!" His voice is just a touch higher in pitch than normal, which would indicate a lie in most people. "Look, I made her, so I don't know why everyone is all--" At this point he began to reach for his change and that's when his words are abruptly stopped with a cry of pain.

His eyes go wide and turn to the knife. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" He yells trying to free his hand, only to find it in Lucifer's grasp. "What the fuck is wrong with you people!?" He hisses, as the salt and lime sting the wound. He is yelling rather loudly, and frowns when no one really seems to give a shit about it. "It was you then. You're the one she fucked to get the job." He says through a hiss of pain.

Jessica Jones has posed:
Jessica has had enough as Ralph makes his accusation the second time. "We handle it," she says. "Ravenna doesn't need to be bothered with this shit. Also? Ralphie? The only one sleeping with Ravenna's boss is me, so seriously, can it. You didn't make her, she has talent all her own, and you are, if you can't tell, over your head."

She plucks up her wine. Gives Ralphie a little salute with it.

She's seeing a bit of the colder side of the Bartender. But she's got a colder side of her own. This man is just a miniature Kilgrave without the powers.

She doesn't think he deserves death or anything.

But she's awful short on sympathy for him.

Lucifer has posed:
The Bartender grabs the man's jaw and hauls him almost over the bar, fingertips sinking into the man's face and staring at him with a blazing fury behind hazel eyes that is /definitely/ not human.

"You know, you remind me a bit of my brother," the Bartender says, with a voice cold enough to frost the glass around them.

Correction: it /is/ frosting the glass around him. The temperature around the Bartender drops twenty degrees, swiftly. "He was an authoritarian dick too. Wasn't ever enough to play by the rules. You had to /love/ the rules. Wasn't happy if you left-- you have to /suffer/ if he left."

The room starts getting darker. No one's playing with the light switch-- the entire club is reacting to Lucifer's growing fury. Several patrons hustle out of the lounge as discreetly as possible, leaving drinks behind in some cases.

"Now, I've been called a little petty," he says, with a forced, insincere laugh. "Vindictive, even! Sometimes," he says, with that same laugh, still throttling Ralph one-handed, "I just fuck with people because it's a Tuesday. Now imagine the calamity of your fuckup, you /worm/, in coming here and threatening someone under my protection."

As the dark grows, Lucifer grows brighter, his ruddy skin literally luminsescing with the fury of a dawnstar. He grabs the man's head and slams it into the wood, pinning it there with an apparent lack of effort so he has to stare at his own impaled hand, and looks to Jessica with an immense, forced calm like a hurricane battering at thick windows.

"Am I being too hard on him?" he asks, a little philosohpically. "I've been accused of having a temper."

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
"Why don't we get her and confirm that information hmm? I can't just take your word on it!" When the room gets darker and he gets lifted up, all he can do is fail about and whimper in surprise. If Ralph was confused before, he's beyond confused now. He's just a normal man, not used to all of the Supernatural things going on in the world around him. He probably doesn't even know of Ravenna's magic. This glowing inhumanly strong man before him only causes fear to run through his body and once he is let go and pinned on the bar he looks to Jess. "He's crazy! You've got to help me! Get Ravenna! She'll save me! Please!!" His pleas continue in a pathetic manor as he does realize he is way the fuck in over his head.

Jessica Jones has posed:
It is getting to be a bit much, probably, but sometimes it takes something like this to get the message across.

"I think you've made your point," is what she says to Lucifer, with no particular rancor. This is clearly a hot button for him. Or a bit of theatre. No. It's a hot button. She can -feel it.-

So, paradoxically, she becomes calm where he is raging, despite her own rage of earlier...

Which is sort of laughable compared to his rage, really.

"Apologize," she suggests to Ralph. "Apologize, pledge to never darken his doorstep again, and give your word that you're going to leave her alone. Maybe he'll be merciful."

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer's expression softens just a little at Jessica. Also, the dichotomy of light and shadow normalizes somewhat and the temperature starts equalizing.

"What's 'asshole' for 'not good enough'?" he asks, mashing on the man's face a little. He fishhooks his mouth and pulls him awkwardly around, twisting his spine so he has to look up at Lucifer with the back of his head on the bar.

"A public apology. Written and mailed to every restaurnt journal of note. Admit what you did to her and why you did it. Back wages-- thirty days termination pay." He mulls, thinking.

"And you get to walk home naked. Leave your clothes and phone by the front door, or I'll cut your achilles tendon and you can /crawl/ back to the bar."

He takes the knife back, and waves it near Ralph's face. "Good? Good."

He sets the knife on the bar and goes about cleaning up the blood pooling on the lacquer.

Ravenna Levesque has posed:
Ralph finds himself being moved jerks around by Lucifer agian, his face move to meet his and he whimpers. He has no idea who he's pissed off, but he finally regrets doing it. Once he's freed again he looks toward Jessica like she was savior and spews out a few words of thanks. "I willl! I will apologize! I promise! I'll never come back, I don't ever want to come back here." Soem part of his wonders if Ravenna is danger, but that thought is fleeting. Once the knife is gone he whimpers and clutches the hand to his chest. He'd worry about getting it dirty, but it appears he's about to lose it. He needs to not say anything more, instead he dashes off to the front desk to follow his other order. Nudity. It also appears that he may have soiled himself in the process.

The silence that follows Ralphs whimpers and moans is a deafening, but soon the healthy buzz will return to the room.

Jessica Jones has posed:
It should be noted that Jessica was fine with about 70% of that.

She was fine with the back pay, the public apology letter. But the final bit? Makes her intensely uncomfortable.

And it is in the nature of Jessica Jones to say what she has to say about anything, even if it's to the devil himself. "That's too far," she tells him flatly, her own skin crawling. Triggered. "That //is// way too far, Lou." And she looks at him. Expecting him to do what needs to be done to fix it. She's sure it was all out of some sense of poetic judgment, but the connotations of it are so far outside of her 'okay now' zone that it's not even funny.

Even for someone like that, there are limits.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer looks at Jessica evenly. Even though he's calming down, there's still that pressure against the eyes and ears-- the world itself responding to his fury and force. So much that it even leaks past his guise as a plain, simple bartender.

"Do you know the one thing that Ralph fears, beyond anything else?" he remarks, cleaning up the mess rather prosaically-- with Simple Green and a dishrag. "It's not losing money. He doesn't appreciate it. It's not rejection, either. He's the sort of creature that sees rejection as a challenge to be overcome. If this was any other time in human history, Ravenna would have been dead in an alley for embarassing him."

"He fears humiliation. I've seen courage from humans. Men and women who could walk the street nude, unbowed and unashamed. He doesn't fear Ravenna. He fears a world that sees him as a man without power or authority, who recognizes he doesn't have the will to fight. Nudity is a passing thing and unremarkable. His shame has nothing to do with his nakedness."

He examines the divot the knife left in the wood, scratching it with a thumbnail. More cleaning supplies come up and he starts layering down spot waxer to repair it.

Jessica Jones has posed:
He explains his reasoning. It should make things better. "This is New York City, circa 2017, not Sparta."

It doesn't. Jessica's mouth twists.

She's conscious of her bare shoulders and arms. She suddenly wants her hoodie, her jacket, her scarf, her gloves.

She pays for the wine, for the chocolate, gently laying cash on the bar, her face shutting down. She perhaps caused this by not calling Lou off earlier. Or perhaps she's as caught in the tide as anyone else.

"I'm heading home," she says, pushing away from the bar, eyes black with anger. She stalks to the door and retrieves Ralph's pants. Not his shirt, not his phone, not the rest. Just his pants. In the act of actually following the devil's instructions he's already had some moment where he's got no power or authority, and even if he hadn't...

There are lines.

Outside, she throws them to him. Hard. She won't be a party to the shit that could happen, won't be a party to the fact that while Lou might not have meant it that way, //she// sees the act as a sexual assault against another human. No matter how vile, no matter how disgusting, that's not a choice she's going to participate in.

Then she leaps, high enough for a rare moment that represents more flight than leap or fall, clearing a building and landing on the other side just to get that much more space, faster.