Amaterasu smiled as she took a spot at the bar, the saucy looking redhead as tall as any woman there and matching a few guys too. "Hey Circe," she nodded respectfully as she put some coins on the bar. "Hey,' Circe smiled back, the ancient sorceress clad in skintight leather from top to bottom. The blonde poured her usual drink and passed it over as she cheerfully asked her, "So how's business been?" "Pretty good, actually," Amaterasu said as she took her first drink, "in fact, I'm tempted to tell Jess Drake to put me on speed dial, she calls so often." "You are the most reliable driver in the city," Circe acknowledged, "and it helps that you know about all the supernatural stuff too." Amaterasu looked amused at that comment as she said dryly, "Considering my background, it's understandable." With perfectly unaccented Japanese a voice said, "Hello, Amaterasu-sama. It's been a long time." "Athena!" Amaterasu whiled around in her chair, reaching out to thump the other woman on the shoulder. "Hey, watch your strength," Athena laughed warmly. She studied the other woman, "What's a good goddess like you doing in a place like this?" "Gee, that's nice," Circe muttered, shaking her head wryly. Amaterasu snickered softly, "I just sort of fell into bad company." She took a drink, "Though I suppose it's more due to the whole migration thing." "Ah," Athena nodded as she said, "one of your especially devout mikos left Japan and you followed?" "Exactly," Amaterasu nodded in agreement as she explained, "and I found America quite interesting, so I stayed." "I suppose it doesn't effect your worshipers wherever you are," Athena noted that a bit enviously. Amaterasu was a contemporary goddess, held in reverence in Japan as part of their Shinto beliefs, unlike Athena and the Olympian pantheon. "Yes and no," Amaterasu looked a bit sheepish, "I notice I have a hard time speaking in the formal mode my older worshipers expect now." Circe smiled, shaking her head as she left the two goddesses to chat. In truth she was more than a little tense, with the reports of violence they were getting from the city. 'And Descent and Sam are both out there,' she thought. "They'll be all right," the tawny haired woman said gently as she returned to the bar, balancing a tray full of empty mugs on one hand. "You sure, Diana?" Circe asked as she relieved her lover of the tray then gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. Diana smiled gently. "They're both hunters and good ones," she said firmly, "they'll do well today, I think." "Point," Circe conceded as she loaded up the tray with refills and new orders. She frowned as she confessed, "I just wish we could go out there and help them." "Not a potion," Diana sighed, "not if we want to keep the Daughters neutral in the city's various gang wars." "I know, but I don't have to like it," Circe sighed as Diana hurried off. 'I wonder if she realizes how we've both changed over the years?' Diana mused as she hurried to drop off drinks for customers, 'There was a time neither of us would really have cared about the troubles in this town.' "Ho, beer over here," a sandy haired young woman waved. "Hi Rio," Diana nodded, careful to not bump the woman's wheelchair as she set the bottle down on the table. "Busy night?" Saxon asked, the black haired woman sitting with her friend at the romantic corner table. "Two of our staff aren't available," Diana sighed, "a last minute thing." "That's got to be hard," Rio agreed. She looked over at her companion with amusement, "Sax, didn't you bus tables when you were younger?" "Maybe I did," Sax laughed, "but I think I've outgrown it." "Drat," Diana chuckled, then excused herself to serve another customer. Rio drank from her beer, smiling slightly as she looked over at Sax thoughtfully. "You don't look much older than when I first met you at Bette's party a few years back," she finally said with a grin. Sax chuckled softly, "I blame my good looks on clean living and bathing in virgin's blood every full moon." "Old, very old," Rio snickered. Sax raised her glass in a silent toast and drank. "So," she asked after a moment, "am I being a good date so far?" "I'd give you a nine out of ten so far," Rio conceded. She looked at Sax curiously, "Why did you agree to this blind date?" "Why did you?" Sax countered with a grin. Rio swirled her drink around a moment, "My friend said you were entertaining and cute. Besides, I don't get out as often as I used to." Sax smiled back warmly, "Well, my friend said you were lovely and charming, both of which were true." Gently she asked, "Are you seeing anyone?" "No, I've been single awhile," Rio looked away uncomfortably. Sax reached out to place her hand over Rio's, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." "It's okay," Rio smiled gently, the woman looking younger than her thirty years. Only the few lines caused by pain and stress aged her, the lasting marks of rehabilitation and healing. She took a breath, "My longtime lover broke up with me shortly after this happened." She gestured towards her legs and the wheelchair. Sax frowned, "That's pretty despicable of her." "Not really," Rio shook her head as she tried to explain, "I think I always knew she was basically unreliable." "Still, it's low," Sax said firmly. She looked at Rio thoughtfully, "Is she why you haven't been dating either?" Rio looked at her in surprise, "You really are well informed." "We both know Lucy Yamazaki," Sax noted, "a private investigator who's almost habitually nosey. Where do you think I get all my information from?" "Heh, good point," Rio conceded. She looked thoughtful, "I don't think my breakup is the main reason I haven't been dating." She slapped the arm rest of her chair, "Recovery has taken up a lot of my time." "Good excuse, too," Sax gently teased. Rio gave Sax a thoughtful look, "And what about you? When Lucy was convincing me to go with you she almost made it sound like a pity date." "Pity date?!" Sax looked offended. Rio had to grin, "Yeah, I understand Rose and Lucy have nicknamed you Dateless." "Remind me to have my revenge on them later," Sax grinned back. She sipped her drink, "To be honest, I think I just got tired of it all." "Eh?" Rio looked curious. Sax looked vaguely embarrassed, "I used to get around quite a bit in our community..." Rio smirked, "You were a slut." "I wasn't that bad," Sax blushed. She looked off into the distance, "But after a while, I realized all the conquests didn't mean so much to me." "I see," Rio said quietly. She studied Sax a moment then smiled as she asked, "Do you really want to go out again?" "Yes," Sax answered promptly. "It's actually kind of nice to go out with someone who has no expectations." A grin, "And who forgives my being a slut." "I'm going to have to live down using that word, aren't I?" Rio asked wryly. "Yup," Sax answered promptly. "Well, I hope you'll give me at least a few dates to manage that difficult task," Rio offered just a bit nervously. Sax patted her hand, "As many as you need."
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