Issue 1 Downtime

Claire knocked on Victoria's door, smiling a bit.

Victoria answered the door, as usual looking... well, she always looked good, but Claire would still see the signs that she wasn't sleeping much and had generally been in a pissy mood. Nevertheless, she smiled a little when she opened the door and saw who it was. "Well hello there, darling. And here I'd just about written today off as a loss," she said as she pulled the door open so she could come in.

"Glad I came by then," Claire says, walking in and closing the door behind her, "How've you been?"

"Mmm... lousy with a side of 'naive morons playing with elder gods who think they know every bloody thing because they can bend spoons,' I think that pretty much sums it up."

"That does sound pretty awful," Claire admits.

"Done wonders for my mood, let me tell you," Victoria said dryly. "I mean, granted, I could use a few cultists to punch around, that might be therapeutic. But still."

"Well, how can I cheer you up then?" Claire asks.

Victoria smiled a little. "Oh, Goddess. Just help me think of something to get my mind off of all this nonsense."

"Well, I was coming to ask if you wanted to go out," Claire says.

"You, my dear, are an angel. I don't even care if this is a trick to make me suffer through something you can't get out of. Angel. What did you have in mind."

Claire smiles brightly, "I really had no idea. I just thought it might be nice to go out together."

"I mean...not...well," Claire sighs, "You know what I mean."

"Of course I do, darling," Victoria said with a little smile. "I might not have ever really had any, but I'm still well acquainted with the idea of 'going out with friends'," she added in a little teasing voice.

"So where do you take your friends?" Claire asks.

Don't say 'Wrath.' Don't say 'Wrath.' "...Clubbing, usually," Victoria said.

"Cool," Claire says, "Know any interesting clubs?"

Don't say 'Wrath.' Don't say 'Wrath.' "Well, there's one we went to at the start of the year that was good. A bit psychedelic, but it was a good time."

"Psychedelic?" Claire smirks, "Alright. Didn't figure that was your kind of scene, but what the hell. I'll try anything once."

"Darling, right now I could go for loud and flashy over dark and sophisticated. Some day I'll show you some of my real haunts," she teased, winking at Claire. "Suppose I'd need to get dolled up for it, though."

"Might be a good idea," Claire says, "What's the dress code like?"

"Hmmm... I should have something that'll work for you," Victoria said, looking Claire over. "Want to see?"

"I wouldn't mind taking a look," Claire says, smiling a bit.

Victoria started going through her closet, and Claire would probably be a bit alarmed at how... sparse the outfits she was looking at and rejecting were. Finally, she pulled out a little red number that was... not totally immodest, but Claire would definitely have to be careful of how she sat in it. Or how far she leaned over. Victoria looked at it, then nodded, licking her finger and making a few slashing motions over the cloth on the inside of it before presenting it to Claire. "There we go," she said. "What do you think?"

Normally, Claire wouldn't be caught dead in that sort of thing. She honestly preferred pants to skirts.

But there was something about Victoria holding it up after carefully choosing it...

Does she want me to wear stuff like that?

"It'll work," Claire says, "I don't suppose you have some nice heels to match?"

You hate heels.

Shut up.

"Mmm, sorry, darling, but no. I despise heels, so these are what goes with it." The red boots Victoria pulled out were... well, for one, they were thigh-high, they were hot, and the heels were only slightly elevated. "If you don't think it'd be too silly, I've got a black outfit like this that I was thinking of wearing," she admitted with a little smile.

Claire shakes her head, "No. That sounds great."

"You're sure? I don't want to steal your thunder," Victoria said, reasonably as she handed the boots to Claire and started digging in the closet again.

Claire snorts, "Not like I'm trying to show off or anything."

Besides, I damn well want to see you wearing that.

"Well, then we'll just make everyone drool together," she teased, coming out with, as she said, the same outfit in black. "You eat yet? Best to do it before we go out, we could order in if you want. Probably would take us a while to get ready anyway, if I'm going out, I want to do it right and do my hair."

"Sure," Claire says, starting to get dressed, "I should probably get fixed up a bit as well."

Victoria looked through her closet, pulling out the things she'd need to get fixed up. Notably, she didn't have any makeup. "Lovely," she said giving Claire an appraising (and appreciative) eye. "You want to hit the shower first?"

Claire blushes a bit, "Sure. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea."

"All right, I'll call for pizza while you're in there. What do you want on it?"

"Bacon and potato," Claire says, "Though honestly I'll eat just about anything."

"Will do, darling," Victoria said, reaching for her phone. She gave Claire a teasing grin. "Towels are in the same place. Just give a shout if you need anything."

"Of course," Claire says, getting a towel and heading to the shower.

Victoria called for the pizza, then produced her dagger and, with a little slice in air, stepped through. A second later, she stepped back, damp, her hair wrapped in a towel.

A little bit later, Claire came out of the shower, drying her hair. She quirked an eyebrow at Victoria but didn't say anything on the subject.

"It's been forever since I went to a club," Claire says, "I used to hit them up all the time in high school."

Victoria had her hair wrapped up in a towel, and was laying on the bed reading in a t-shirt and panties. "Oh, I know. Been ages since I've either had the time to or the figure to," she admitted, a more than wistful look on her face for a moment.

Claire pats Victoria's leg, "None of that. No sad thoughts tonight. Tonight is about getting drunk and dancing."

Victoria smiled a little, reaching down and squeezing Claire's hand for a moment. "I know, Darling. Little things like that just sneak up on me. It helps having some reason to put it out of my head."