Owner	Pose
Sinister	Last time Sinister was here, it was to a purpose. There was an entertainment to be had in a long-boat bench. This time, there's nobody with him, he is once more here just to study ... things. However, as if fairly standard for Nathaniel Essex, he is not in his usual face. He currently looks /exceedingly/ scandinavian, bearded and moustachio'd with blond hair tied back with a leather thong at the nape of his neck, norse sleeve tattoos on very well defined and bare arms (Of Freke and Gere on one arm and Hrugin and Munin on the other), wearing a pair of black jeans and DM's and a leather waistcoat over a black tank top. The only give-away if anyone knows him is the storm-grey eyes. With one of the drinking horns already at hand, he's chilling in a corner, watching every. Single. Face. Every new entry, every server and all the rather tacky kind of kitsch that has been used to make the place so 'on theme' that it's actually reasonably cool. "What am I actually looking for?" he asks himself though, in a low tone.
Loki	Every once in a while, the Asgardian comes down from his home and decides to mingle with the mortals. Loki, God of Mischief, Prince of Asgard, with his chiseled jaw and slicked back hair that reaches down to his shoulders, walks into the club alnost as if he owns the place. He looks around at the - what he feels - shoddy renditions of Norse themes, those which pay tribute to Odin and his kin. "Ridiculous..." He mutters under his breath as he continues to walk in. A shimmer of green and he's suddenly in a suit of dark green trimmed in gold. Making his way to a table in as much of the center of this place as he can find, he sits, and he looks around once more. "I suppose Father would be.... mostly pleased with this place...." He chides softly and orders an ale from one of the 'wenches'.
Dracula	Dracula has decided to try another club tonight. The name and theme peaked his interest so he brushed aside the more mundane outlets. Upon entering he smiles at the old fashioned long tables with a pause. The drinking horns are given another grin as he approaches the bar. He takes off his top hat and places it to his right on the bar, glancing at the menu quietly.
Sinister	Sinister's storm-grey eyes track the two newest arrivals keenly. Oh, both are recognized -- they're both frankly /infamous/. Unless you've been completely devoid of any news outlets in the last decade at any rate. "Ahh, that's what it was..." lay of the land perhaps, or feeling the movements of the Powers that Be through the world that they inhabit. Honestly, you meet the most intriguing people at times. Sinister-the-Viking takes up his horn, moves to the end of the bar and places himself just about half way between two powerhouses on the field of villainy. "There were rumours this place was frequented by gods," he casually tosses out there. Oddly enough, Mister Sinister does a pretty good Minnesota accent. Lots of Norwegians in Minnesota, once upon a dairy farm.
Loki	"Rumors are just lies waiting to turn into truths..." Loki offers, settling back in his seat and lifting his legs to cross ankles on the table. His ale delivered, he takes a long drink of it and then shrugs. "Asgardian Ale is so much better." He quips and then downs the rest of his mug before setting it on the table. He doesn't drink like his brother, no, but every once in a while he's known to indulge. "My reputation seems to precede me, and yet you aren't running away in fear, or quibbling for mercy. You're not even trying to talk me out of being here which makes me wonder..." It's all he says more as he glances to the man who was wearing a top hat, quirks a brow up and then shrugs. "So...is this where I ask what brings the two of you here tonight?"
Dracula	Dracula glances at Loki, knowing his face. He now has a glass of bourbon, neat, in front of him, sipping it a bit, "I am merely here to drink." His light Slavic accent has a hint of another accent, although it might be hard to place, "It reminds me of a world long forgotten. A more communal society where people were not afraid to brush shoulders while they ate."
Sinister	"I find that there's little point in quibbling for mercy, running away or talking people out of things. Besides which, I would be talking you out of beer, which seems like it might be a crime." Viking-Sin replies, squinting from Loki to Dracula with a chew on his cheek and a chuckle. He finger guns a couple of times at Loki. "I think I met your sister here. I don't think she knew I knew, but I did. Hela sticks out like a lightning rod in a flat field." He drinks down his mead, raising the horn to the barman for a refill. "It's set up like a Thing. That's the trouble with nowadays, there's no Thing to look forward to any more." Oh gads, bad pun.
Loki	Loki chuckles gently, lifting his mug which has seemingly become full again without the aid of a wench. He drinks again. "I suppose this is true... though it is quite hard to talk me out of anything. Just ask my brother." He offers this much and then scoffs when Sinister talks about his sister. "Hela's back around? That's...interesting...I wonder if she'll show her face to me. Probably not without punching me soon after..."
Dracula	Dracula takes another drink of bourbon, "Hela is it? Goddess of Hel, the Underworld, all of that?" He doesn't seem surprised, "It sounds like a stressful job, hers. The dead can be unruly and inconsiderate. Lacking in both manner and custom. It takes a strong hand to quell their natural desires." He grins, "If she has been about then perhaps things about to get interesting."
Sinister	Sinister glances about, slowly. "I don't know that she's still here. But as I recall, we've had about half a dozen zombie plagues at one point or another, we're probably due for another one." He looks curiously at Loki, down and up then gives a faint chuckle. "It must be a family thing..." still sticking with that bad pun, it apparently amuses him at least. "I think she had help, when she actually sat on the seat. But there's not a lot of bowing down to gods any more. I think she might have been feeling out the waters."
Loki	Loki narrows his eyes a little. "There are still a few many things that could happen...of course, the odds of them actually happening versus not are.." He does a little back and forth weight dance with his hands a moment. "Up in the air I suppose. Course, we all also have our own share of armies that could come after us at any time do we not? I drop a pen and suddenly I have my brother and his band of merry Avengers coming at me wondering what the hell I'm up to."
Dracula	Dracula laughs at Loki's comment, "Armies yes.. in my case not for a long time." He glances at the two, "I feel as if I do not have to tread as lightly here as I normally do, but I always hold something at least in reservation. But I will say that I know how you feel. Fortunately I have had few problems of late, as in years. Decades. Small annoyances but nothing overwhelming. Perhaps you could use such a break Loki?" Dracula certainly knows Loki's face from the news, "I assume that is your name yes?"
Sinister	"That's a problem I suppose, when your face is famous. Have you ever tried incognito? I hear that it works well, for preventing pen-dropping overkills," Sinister observes, taking a healthy gulp of his horn of mead. He lavishes his moustache with his tongue, curling the ends in to clean honeybrew off of them, then swipes the back of his hand across lips afterwards. When in Rome, Salve Romani and all that. "That's just about the only thing that's never happened to me though. Strike teams, certainly. But I've not been converged upon by an Army. Wait... well, no, no. I haven't. That doesn't count."
Loki	"Yes. I am Loki...and while I could consider incognito... I am afraid my pride often gets the better of me. I'd rather be seen. Blaze my trail to glorious purpose..." Loki offers this with a chuckle and then drinks more from his mug. Though his gaze shifts directly to Sinister and a single eyebrow raises in curiosity. "What doesn't count? How can you say it does or doesn't count when we're the ones comparing stories...out with it then."
Dracula	Dracula takes another drink and nods, "Well Loki, I can say that hiding may not make one feel proud, it certainly hasn't made me feel as such. But I can say that over the centuries, it has ensured that I remain... alive?" He grins, "Outliving your enemies is one certain way to guarantee their demise. But if you are so inclined to defeat them face to face, perhaps I can show you my armory one night." He laughs, "Either way your exploits, those that are known to me anyhow, do intrigue me. I must ask however, and this comes from one who was raised, unfortunately, in an Orthodox Christian home, a long time ago. Have you ever met the Christian god?" He smiles amused, "Does he actually exist?" He takes another drink, "I assume that he does not. You clearly exist, gods are real, but there are a multitude of invented deities who have, for whatever reason, replaced true gods in the hearts of mankind. I am not entirely sure why..."
Sinister	"I wasn't the one being converged upon, technically speaking. The red army rolled in from the east across Europe, through country after country, when Stalin was still a friend to America and the Allied forces. They were /after/ someone else, who they never actually caught. I took care of that, eventually." Viking-Sin replies. "Unfortunate case of drowning off of the coast of Argentina," he smiles with a certain level of satisfaction, then fixes storm greys on Dracula. He opens his mouth fleetingly, then seems to decide to just let the answer play out. It might be interesting.
Loki	Loki has his mug about half way to his lips when that question from Dracula comes about the Christian god. "I don't know, honestly. Never met him. We don't really...interfere in other realms of religion. Keep to our own, in a sense." He offers this, drinks, and then sets his mug down. After another moment, he stands and tugs his clothing into place before a glow of green has him in his more ceremonial outfit. Spear and horns included. "Well. I should go about my evening. See if there's any trouble I can get into. As for your story, Sinister, I would love to go into more detail about some facts on it later." He smiles and gives a short bow. "A pleasure, gentlemen. If you'll excuse me. I bid you both a fair night." Turning, then, he goes to leave.
Dracula	Dracula grins and eyes Sinister, "Ah. I do know a Sinister, but he.." Dracula glances at the man in question, "...does not wear the face of the Sinister that I know. Perhaps it is a common name in this city. I have not visited it often after all." With another grin he finishes his bourbon and offers Loki a farewell, "It was a pleasure meeting you Loki. The old magic of this world is not yet gone. I hope that you long continue to operate within it."
Sinister	Sinister's steely greys narrow on Loki. "You little git," but he doesn't deny it. With a shimmer and absolutely seamless metamorphosis, hair changest colour, lengthens, muscles shift to a leaner, more top-heavy frame and the classical white skin, red diamond, bio-steel body armoured form coalesces out of well... viking. "Remind me to pay you back for that, sometime Loki, son of Odin, son of Farbauti." The englishman is back in black. And red. And white. But mostly black. He looks at Dracula with a flourish of 'topknot' greeting, gesturing in the wake of it to himself. "You should probably ask me about the christian god. I've had more encounters with his bloody brats than I care to remember, thanks to association. It's very hard to mistake the progeny of Enoch for anything other than what they are... a pain in my backside."
Dracula	Dracula grins at Sinister, "I did not wish to make a spectacle out of that revelation in front of Loki. Yes he knew who you were, but it is not my way to gloat as such. Either way... what is your take on him then? We both know Lucifer, or at least a being who claims to be him. He isn't at all a mortal, or human by any means. Yet I find myself still wondering.. I am not easily fooled and as such it takes much to convince me of such a fantastic claim. There are demons, there is Hell, yet none of this precludes a Judeo-Christian paradigm of the universe."
Sinister	"He is who he says he is," Sinister says this simply and without complication. "I have been to hell. I have seen it. It was not... well, lets just say nothing is ever quite what you think it will be. And I have seen every face he possesses, absolutely none of which ring as false. He really is the Devil, himself. I have zero reason to lie. I know what faith does to you, Vladimir." There's an open palmed hand toward the Lord of Vampires with zero deception that is obvious at least. "From what I understand of it, simple power of faith itself granted Lucifer the dominion over hell. The realm exists for multiple faiths and he does not really bother any of the other pantheons if they use portions of it. Erebus can be reached there, as can Helheim, the Thousand Realms and others. But the seat of power answers to one only and he truly -is- the only Archangel upon Earth."
Dracula	Dracula nods and thinks for a moment as his drink is refilled, "Interesting. No there is no reason for you to lie about such a thing. As I told Lucifer when we first met, he would not suffer long one taking his name, or his title. Especially a being with the power to back up such a claim. Pride would demand him answer it." He takes a drink, "Very well, I will not dispute this claim again unless there is reason for me to. And Loki himself was just within this very establishment. This is a strange city indeed." Dracula rests a clawed arm on the bar, "Loki's continued existence means that the one Lucifer answers to is not in complete control. I have never felt myself inclined to test that theory, for many reasons, but suffice it to say that there seems to be a balance. Pantheons of gods hold the corners of reality, not one single, omnipotent deity. I for one however, would rather that the old gods continue to keep this balance. I have lived in a world tipped in Yahweh's favor, if that is even his real name, and it was dull, colorless, and most men, and woman were feeble cowards beneath priests with the power to command their deaths with but a single accusation of heresy. I would rather not return to that world.."
Sinister	"Hear, hear. But this postulate is Medical, rather than Clerical. We are, by and large, a species of individuals called to question the merits of belief in an ephemeral being, as seeing is truly believing. Or experiencing in a way that can be documented and expressed scientifically. Even now, I cannot consider myself athiest. I am agnostic, but solely because I comprehend that immensely powerful beings exist in the cosmos, which cannot be defined in any other way by the mere mortal mind, as anything but a deity. I suspect if I walked in your world, four centuries ago, they would have labelled me a god. I am not one though, I am merely all that I can be. Now new and improved and with added features," There's a flex of his shoulders and a pair of gargantuan wings flit into existence, black as coal, but with a red fringe as if they were dipped in hellfire. THey're there for but a moment and the humans in the area stare, for all of a moment before they suddenly seem to want to look anywhere else, looking confused. "Funny thing, when you condense an energy being into a mortal meat-sack, it does odd things to its DNA. That can be harnessed, with the right know-how. That's how I can =survive= in hell, Dracula." He inclines his head to the prince of vampires, then with a flourished bow, saunters toward the doors. Nobody even looks at him when he leaves.
Dracula	Dracula grins again, "I can see your point, a position I held for more than a few centuries myself, but I have had a long time to see, and experience a great many things. I am powerful, I was transformed just as you described, long ago. I was once a feeble man, an arrogant nobleman in fact, a child compared to who I am now I dare say. I have a sphere of influence, and within that I am all but unstoppable. I have mastered my sphere of influence, shored it up, and vanquished all who would have challenged me for it. But the undead realm is but one of many is it not? There are others who operate from similar heights of power. These are my equals. Yet there is a sky above even us, metaphorical towers rising far. There sits upon these towers beings with wider, more complex sway over spheres of influence, perhaps beyond our understanding." Dracula takes another drink, "And without a doubt, there are hierarchies above them even. This is where we get into the question of gods, and what they truly are, perhaps a discussion for another time, when we have hours to converse perhaps?"