13628/Washhouse

Washhouse
Date of Scene:	16 July 2021
Location:	Fort Joseph, Haven
Synopsis:	Faith visits a Laundromat...
Cast of Characters:	Hannibal King, Faith Lehane

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Hannibal King has posed:
    Hannibal King didn't really stand out that much in Bludhaven, he didn't wear his underwear on the outside, or wear a cape, or yellow spandex, but there were people who knew him, good people, bad people, and the great ocean of people in between.
    So when he was walking down the streets of the Fort Joseph section of Bludhaven, there was always a chance that somebody would recognize him. He wore his usual vampire hunting attire, which doubled as regular clothes, if a little militaristic. The bulletproof vest being the obvious suggestion to that. But it was just specific enough that it might be taken as sports clothing, or some new fashion trend.
    He had been walking along the sidewalk, minding his own business, when he seemed to disappear into a place marked 'Washhouse'. From the outside, it looked like a small Laundromat. Once inside, he disappeared from view, the way most people get lost upon entering a building.
    The thing is, if anyone were to follow him in, he was nowhere to be found. There were just washing machines, detergent, exactly the kinds of things you'd expect to see in a Laundromat. This one was smaller than most, black and white checkered flooring. It was completely unremarkable. So where the devil did he go?

Faith Lehane has posed:
It was that time of night. The time all good Slayers were out patrolling, keeping the area that hosted the Hellmouth free of monsters. Or as well as they could.

It was also the time Faith patrolled. After all, she didn't really fall in the Good Slayer column. More of Column B in her case. She didn't like following the rules and having to answer to people. She also preferred a bit more violence in her kills than was strictly necessary. Throw in her personality and it was a full sweep that she was the Bad Slayer. Or Dark Slayer. Rogue. Whatever the Watchers had her labeled as this week.

Catching sight of a familiar face, she turned from the boredom of patrol to go in the laundromat to talk to him. Only, he wasn't there. At all.

"What the..."

She began to walk around the room more carefully, looking for signs of where he could have gone and trying to use her senses to help her.

Hannibal King has posed:
    The Laundromat was an old building, probably around a hundred years old. Of course, it had been remodeled many times. There were stores to the left and right, apartments above, as was the norm for urban areas like this. There was no visible exit, no washroom. It was just a small room, a dozen or so washers and dryers, all of which worked if one were to put some coins in them. Although none seemed to be in use right now.
    Meanwhile, Hannibal had passed through the secret entrance, arriving at the real Washhouse, a bar that has been open since prohibition, and never closed, despite the repeal of the anti-alcohol laws. Nowadays, it was a place frequented by vampires, immortals, and other long lived beings. As he got to the bar, he ordered a beer, resting an elbow on the countertop.

Faith Lehane has posed:
Her senses were going off more when she was in this corner of the room. That Slayer Sense letting her know something 'other' was around. Just a question of what that other was. And more importantly, at the moment--where.

She began using that sense to try to triangulate more and finally came to a spot where there were two washers side by side. She opened the first, peeking inside, looking around, trying to find something. Nothing.

Then she eyed the second, the one with the out-of-order sign plastered across the front. Despite the sign, she reached to open it--and the false door was revealed. Now wasn't that fun!

She pulled it all the way open and slipped through into a darkened hallway that opened into a brighter room at the end. She could see a few tables. She walked that was as the false door behind her closed, blinking when she came into what seemed to be a hidden bar.

Hannibal King has posed:
    Hannibal had positioned himself so that he could see the hallway from the hidden washing machine entrance, and when he saw Faith striding down, he leaned his head, "Warren, do you still have that Macallen, one for myself and my friend here?" then he rethought that, "make them doubles." So much for the beer he had barely touched.
    Part of him was wondering if Faith would make the mistake of trying to do violence in here. Like some other well known supernatural bars, this one was under a protection spell that forbade acts of violence while between these walls. He had learned that one the hard way the first time he tried to stake a vampire here. It was funny then for the onlookers, it might be funny to be an onlooker this time.

Faith Lehane has posed:
A hidden bar in a laundromat. That was not something she'd been expecting. As she came into the room, she was able to see there were a few different things here. Humans. Or at least what looked like humans. Vampires. Some of which looked human and some showing their demonic faces since they apparently didn't need to hide them in here. A few other types of beings that she wasn't even familiar with.

She saw Hannibal at the bar and started that way. Needless to say, her Slayer sense was going crazy. However, as before, she still didn't realize some of that was being triggered by Hannibal himself. She assumed it was due to proximity to other monsters.

Now she could start staking and killing things. But the fact he was not doing so, when she knew he killed vampires too, had her wondering what the reason was. There weren't that many but maybe he knew something about the other entities she did not so information finding could be a good idea.

"Hey," she said as she walked up to the bar next to him. "Whats the deal on this place?" No hi how ya doing, just straight to business this time.

Hannibal King has posed:
    The expensive Scottish whiskey was poured and sat on the bar for Faith and Hannibal, "Prohibition bar, never closed, now caters to immortals, vampires, demons, the one percent, slayers, hunters, and anybody smart enough to figure out the false door." He lifted up his double shot of Whiskey, gesturing to her as if in a toast, "best not to try and stake anybody in here. There's a protection spell. I learned that one the hard way."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"I was considering it but figured you weren't for a reason. Good to know," Faith says as she looks curiously at the whiskey then back to the man at her side. She leaned an arm on the bar, turning to watch the crowd curiously.

"So it's like that magician bar. McSomethingOrOther. They have the same rules. No violence inside. Not sure if they have magic to reinforce it but likely." Since she'd not tried.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "Yeah, when I walk into a bar like this, there's either a strong magical protection spell at work, an action sequence that would make even Michael Bay blush, or a pretty girl in a short skirt... sometimes leggings. I like to vary it up." He took his first swill of the expensive whiskey, letting it glide down his throat, "Hmm, smooth in that, oh god, my throat is on fire kind of way." He was used to drinking whiskey, but the burn never quite went way, even on the ridiculously expensive stuff. "I'm not sure what kind of McDonald's you've been going to, but they've clearly upped their game."

Faith Lehane has posed:
Faith remained turned so she could watch the room. Nobody seemed to care she was there. If they knew she was a Slayer. Most knew Buffy as the Slayer and Faith was an unknown to most. Or they just knew they were safe while in here.

At the comment about McDonald's she had to laugh, brown eyes focusing back on Hannibal. "Not that McSomething. Although would be a good place to setup in plain sight now that I think about it." She shook her head as her brow furrowed, trying to find the word. She picked up the whiskey and sipped, enjoying the fiery sensation all the way down. "McAnally's. That's it. McAnally's Pub."

Hannibal King has posed:
    The look he gave her when she said McAnally's suggested he had a private thought there. It might be that he was going to make a joke about the name, or maybe he genuinely wasn't familiar with it. He didn't comment, except by body language. "Oh, yeah, I can see you diving into the ball pit at playland right now." Hannibal was of course talking about McDonald's. "What's the food like there?" He had switched to McAnally's Pub, "With that name, I'm guessing it'd be as spicy as the black hole of Calcutta, or Kolkata. Why do they have to keep changing names? It's hard to keep up."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"I'm always ready to jump in the ball pit. Like here." She obviously was meaning in an entirely different way. Since her idea of fun would be more going nuts seeing how many things in here she could kill before they got her. If they got her. Would be interesting to test. If not for protective spells.

At the question about the food, she thought he meant the fast food chain until he followed up with the rest of his sentence. "They have a mean chili cheese fry. Not really bad priced. Named after the guy who runs it. Not a bad place if you don't mind...well, this." She waved a hand at their surroundings then picked up her whiskey for another sip.

Hannibal King has posed:
    "A woman after my own heart," he remarks as he took another sip. He often got in over his head, asked questions after the vampires had been dusted. Of course, those were very short conversations. "Yeah, well, a lot of the best places seem to allow? this. Washhouse, Caritas, Denny's, this McAnally's," although he was probably joking about Denny's having a magical spell against violence. "And don't go thinking you can wait until they leave, then dust them. The owner doesn't take too kindly to that sort of? misbehaving. And if you do that, they close shop, since who wants to risk it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, am I right?"

Faith Lehane has posed:
Denny's. He might be onto something there...

"Well there go my plans for the rest of tonight. Was just going to start tracking everyone that came out and finish them on the street. They are no fun at all," Faith mutters as she leans on the bar now, actually turning her back on the room. If there's a spell against violence, she doesn't need to keep an eye on everyone. Can actually relax and enjoy her drink.

"Good place to pick up intel and learn where they go after though. So I think I'll take advantage of that aspect at least."

Hannibal King has posed:
    That was the good of a place like this. A Vampire Slayer, or a Vampire Hunter, could just relax, enjoy the moment, and not have to worry about an attack coming from behind. No one was going to try anything. No one could. Places like these were the closest things to a vacation that someone like them could get. The rest of the time, no matter how relaxed or at peace, there was always the chance that someone or something would come for them. "There's a card game in the back. I think they play for kittens though. Not sure why, besides they're supposed to be delicious. No matter how long I live, I don't think I'll ever understand that kind of mindset."

Faith Lehane has posed:
"What?"

Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that part. Faith was a killer. Deep down, something in her psyche wasn't quite right for this power she had been given. She enjoyed it too much. Maybe she had been broken when the vampires killed her Watcher in front of her, but not after toying with her for some time. Maybe she was broken before that, after a rough upbringing.

"They eat kittens?" She was standing up a little taller now, gaze flicking toward the back room.

Hannibal King has posed:
    He was still relaxed, but her body language had him rising a bit, though not to his full height. He was still leaning a bit against the bar. "Who knew they were Koreans?" He offered, meaning it as a joke, "or Chinese, Vietnamese, hey, why is that only East Asia seems to think that dogs and cats are versatile enough to be beloved friends, and a dinner?" And it wasn't all of East Asia. Japan didn't go for it, it was banned in Taiwan, plus all the former British and Dutch colonies too.

Faith Lehane has posed:
As he goes on about that, she is still eyeing the back room. "I guess for them meat is meat. People in South America eat guinea pigs which just seems insane to me too."

Then she picks up her whiskey and finishes it off. A long draw on the drink, a few swallows despite the burning that it caused all the way down her esophogus.

The glass was put down with a loud sound then she pushed off the bar. And headed for that back room. Oh Dear.