Bent Masquerade

A hidden but active club. It is an invitation only Club, in that you can gain entrance only if a VIP member has added you onto the guest list for a certain time, or an extended duration.

Masks are required to be worn by anyone who enters the club, and cannot be taken off until you leave. This is to maintain the club's promise of providing a safe place where anyone allowed in can remain anonymous. Typically those who gain an invite or are a VIP have their own personal masks that they take with them, but the club does provide a selection of masks for anyone with an invitation who doesn't happen to have one on them. Due to the nature of this place, it is the ideal location for shady deals to be made and for refugees to hide so long as they have an invitation to do so. VIPs can revoke invitations and ban others from ever entering until they are removed off "The Black List" by that VIP.

While at the Club, guests must obey the rules and restrictions set by their patron VIP that supplied them with an invitation, or else they will be kicked out and possibly banned entirely.

Just down the hallway after officially entering lies the main chamber of the Bent Masquerade. Here is one of the most lively atmospheres in all of Janlea, as the guests are free of inhibitions and self-consciousness by having their identity kept safely tucked away behind masks. This sort of place isn't exactly for everyone, as such circumstances often bring out the wilder and more corrupt sides of people.

Up the stairs, or the elevator, is where business goes down. Security is extremely well maintained up here and normal guests aren't allowed on this level without special permission or the accompaniment of a VIP. There are many small conference like rooms on this floor where transactions and deals of all sorts occur, from drugs, to gang turf, business deals, blackmail, and private meetings. If it's being done up here, that alone says that what's going down isn't exactly legal or up to any good.

[/font]

Mania
A tall and slim man sat at a round table with a long curving booth wrapping around it. The mask he wore was a lesser used type, as rather than concealing the eyes, his covered his mouth. The black cloth bearing the design of a rather macabre pair of open mouthed dentures. The mask often made others unsettled around him, a reaction he rather enjoyed arousing in others. He seemed to be setting up some sort of dice game at the table.


Kiba
He tall, fit man, maybe around the age of twenty, twenty-one, sat on a black leather couch. He had on a mask that covered his entire face. It was white with black marking and looked almost like a demon, although it hid a rather handsome face. On either side of him and under his arms were two women who also had on masks. He was usually found like this.


Mania
The man with the dice and unsettling mask draped an arm over the back of the booth's leather couch and turned to call out to the man with the black and white demon mask. "Care for a game of dice Incendiario?" He called over his shoulder and the pounding base of the music to the man whom he was aquainted with. "The invitation is extended to your ladies as well if they wish to play" he added, as the man with the jaw mask knew he wouldn't want to leave them just to satisfy his frequent desire for a game.


Kiba
The man looked up and a pair of blue eyes flashed from behind the mask. "I'm good. I always end up loosing to you anyway." He said, and the two girls giggled beside him. He smiled behind his mask and kicked his feet out onto a table in front of him.


Mania
"Oh come now, it's not like it's just you that loses to me. It's a different game this time, "Tali". I don't believe you've played it yet, and we can add some interesting stakes if you want for your ladies" he tried to suade him. He figured he'd catch the hint he was giving him that the ladies would most likely end up losing and having to carry out...well, whatever the terms were set to, and he'd let Inendiario choose whatever he wanted.
The girl with the peacock mask that covered just accross her eyes that was sitting under the demon masked man's left arm turned and leaned closer to his chest and looked up at him. "You'd do better than how I'd ever do" she said with her usual flirtatiousness. Girls like her were a dime a dozen here.
The girl with the black feathered swan mask on his right traced a finger up his chest. "I think it'd be exciting, especially if there were some high stakes" she tried to persuade him, not that she cared too much if he decided not to play. She was more than happy just to be in his company here.
Both of the girls were quite obviously tipsy at the least, and were bound to drink plenty more throughout the game, should he chose to play.


Kiba
He listened quietly to his friend at the table and sighed. Turning his head to see both girls as they spoke, he nodded, a grin spread across his face beneath the mask. "Sounds interesting enough. Ladies, care to join me at the table? Ill buy a few more rounds while we're at it." He said as he stood up. He stretched his arms above his head before walking over and sitting down at the table, leaving room for the two women he was with.


Mania
The peacock woman promptly jumped up in her excitement , giggling as she skipped over to the table in her heels and short tourquise dress. She sat herself down on his left again.
The black swan woman walked over to the table in her deep red heels and deep cut black dress. Rather than taking her previous position just on his right, she decided to sit herself on his right knee.
The man with the mouth mask waved a server over with little effort, as he got optimal services here due to his VIP status. A server with a full blank white mask came to the table to take any orders. "I'll let you set the stakes for your ladies" jaw mask offered as he placed four different sets of four sided dice on the table, each set being a different color. "Chose your bones" he told them with slight enthusiasm. He selected his own usual set, a simple set of aged goat knucklebones, although the actual origin of them could be rather questionable if one knew this man well enough.


Kiba
He chuckled and wrapped his arm around the woman on his knee and ordered a few shots of whiskey. Plain and simple, yet very strong, he thought to himself. "Alright ladies, the stakes are these. If I am so lucky as to win this game, you have to spend the rest of the night with me. But if I lose, you can be on your way." He said, his voice smooth as he spoke to them. He reached out with his free hand and took a random set of dice. "Care to explain the game?"

Mania
"You'd be getting lucky all right" the black swan woman laughed as she joked. She took the set nearest to her. "Are these really bones?" she asked with curiosity and slight fright.
"And what if you don't get lucky?" she peacock woman giggled as she followed up with the other gir's joke. "Don't tell me that's gonna be it. Don't we get anything more than just a night to ourselves?" she asked, craning her head up look at him, as he was easily a head taller than her, even when sitting.
"There are four main sides to each dice, each side with a value of 1, 3, 4, or 6. We take turns rolling all four of our dice and add up the points of each side. Pairing points works just like poker, such as a tripple beats a pair but two pairs beat a triple The only catch is that combinations of all the same number are low in scoring. The first person to roll a Venus, or roll with each die on a different side, wins- but we can simply use that as an ending point of the game and tally up points" he explained, his knowlege rather extensive. He had slightly altered the scoring and rules of the game to allow for a non money stake.


Kiba
He laughed as the two girls questioned him about the stakes. "Don't worry ladies. If you really want, even if I lose, you can still spend the night with me." He offered. He liked the idea either way, and was already fantasizing about the night that he hardly paid any attention to the man beside him. "Right. Lets get this game started then. Wouldn't want to keep these lovely ladies waiting."


Mania
Both girls giggled in response as they started their shots.
"El Incendiario es siempre tan ansiosos por echar un polvo" he tsked behind his mask and shook a finger at the man. He was fluent in Spanish, although it was a third language to him rather than second. "We can start from Miss Peacock over here and I can go last" he offered, choosing a counterclockwise rolling order.


Kiba
He turned to the man beside him and simply chuckled. "Don't be upset. I'm sure you can find your own in here somewhere." He said, blue eyes flashing again.


Mania
"Ahh, but you should know me better" he spoke, slightly shaking his head. "If I want something, I get it" He explained briefly, meaning that if he wanted some ladies of his own tonight then he would have them. "Most of the ladies here aren't to my taste anyway. I'm not as easy to please as you", he joked, refering to how the man across from him seemed to be happy so long as they were somewhat attractive and drunk.

Miss Peacock had finished one of her shots. "Here goes nothing" she giggled as she rolled her dice across the table. "I really don't have a single how these dice can tell anyone what they are" she slurred slightly nonsensically and merrily, meaning how she couldn't read the score of her role since the dice didn't have marks on their sides.

They weren't too hard to total up if you were taught at least once or twice what each side was, as they were each slightly different.
Miss Black Swan had already downed her second shot glass by the time the other woman rolled, and wasn't too focused on the game at the moment. She had leaned her head back against Demon Mask's chest and was tracing one of the markings on the front of his mask with a finger. "Will the mask ever come off" she slurred slightly while flirting. She could hold her drink somewhat better than the other girl. She'd probably get just as wasted soon enough so long as she had shots at hand.


Kiba
He chuckled again and shrugged. "That's true. Just loosen up, go out into the club, and find someone. You look like you need it." He smirked as he watched the dice roll across the table. He waited for the man next to him to tell them what she had rolled since he was pretty clueless. He turned back to the girl in the swam mask and shrugged again. "Who knows. Maybe it will come off tonight, or sometime when I'm not here in the club." He said, blue eyes flashing behind the mask.


Mania
"Eleven", he provided for them. He could've been making up whatever numbers he wanted and no one would probably care, at least not the two women. He rolled his eyes at the man. "While you don't care of the size of your fish so long as you get a catch, I only go after the big fish" he explained in a small metaphor. He wasn't strictly meaning women with his metaphor, but he doubted the other man would realize what he was meaning.
Peacock clapped once and jumped up in her seat a little from excitment, but what for was lost to Armazón, as the score really wasn't that good. She did have two one's rolled at least as her double.
"I don't know whether I like the mystery of the mask or the idea of what's behind it better" Swan mused aloud.


Kiba
He nodded as he heard the number. He really didn't have a clue at this point and was only playing to help out his friend. "No, my friend. I do care about the size of the fish. But on some days you catch nothing for a long time and will settle for a small catch." He glanced at the two women and smiled behind his mask. "Not that there's anything wrong with that." He turned to the girl as she spoke again. "I would be more interested in what's behind the mask."


Mania
"I never settle for anything less than what I initially aim for" he said, shaking his head. "This shark only goes for the big game. Your roll."
Swan just smiled and took a third shot.
Peacock giggeled, "Gosh you guys really like fish. I like dolphins best". She really didn't understand what was being discussed, or the well known fact that dolphins were mammals and not fish.


Kiba
He laughed at the girls comment and picked up his set of dice. "Dolphins are good. Just stick with those." He said as she took his turned. He watched the dice roll across the table and waited to see what he got. He tried to figure out what each side of the side was, but didn't have very much luck with it.


Mania
While the other man cast his dice, Armazón's fingers twitched ever so slightly as they lay laced together atop the table. " 4, 4, 6, 6" he offered the man, as he saw how he was unable to read the roll. "I trust you can do the math", he added. It was a rather nice roll. The swan woman took her turn and cast her dice. Armazón stifled a laugh after her roll as a thought crossed his mind. "all one's" he explained for the others. He just shook his head and cast the thought that had been conjured up just a second ago away.


Kiba
He smiled and nodded as he heard what he rolled. "Twenty. I'm guessing that's a good number." He lifted a hand and spun a finger in the air, signaling to the bartender to keep the drinks coming. "How many rounds is this game?" He asked, setting his hand back down on the counter.


Mania
"As many or few as you want" he said simply with a very slight shrug. This was supposed to partially be a hint to Incindiario that he was manipulation the rolls and could continue to do so however his masked acquaintance wished. He personally, was becoming tired of this simple game for he knew the other players weren't fully into it and the wagers had no interest or effect towards him. Even though be had urged Incindiario to play, he wasn't providing the entertainment that he desired from the game. Maybe he would return to working on the affairs of the Gris Triada, he thought as he clearly was losing interest in his friend right now and was busy with his thoughts.


Kiba
He nodded to Armazon and leaned back in his chair. He cocked his head to the side slightly, remembering something, and turned to one of the girls. "Ladies, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak with my comrade hear alone for a minute. It won't take long, I promise. When I'm done, we can return to the game." He said. It was more of a demand than an offer, but he still said it with a smooth voice, no harshness in his voice. He had a few things on his mind that he wanted to clear before his mind got to hazy and the night went wherever it was heading. He waited patiently for them to reply.


Mania
"of course" one of the ladies spoke and gently squeezed his arm before standing up. "yeah, we'll just go to the bathroom to powder our noses" the other giggled as she got up. She gave him a flirtatious drunken wink before they both left for whatever they were going to do. They were most likely too drunk to be able to accurately reapply any makeup, but that didn't matter.

Kiba
He watched as the girls left and shook his head, letting out a soft sigh before leaning against the bar, resting his arms on top of it. "Interesting girls, those two." He said, rolling his eyes behind his mask. "Anyway, you seem Riesgo lately? Haven't seen him around much." He asked, turning to look around. The third member of their little gang hasn't shown up yet like he thought he would have, and he was curious where he was. "Also, we gonna get out of here and get anything done? Don't get me wrong, the women and gambling are fine, but I'm gonna get stir crazy soon." He said as he turned back to his friend.


Mania
He shrugged and flourished a hand. "Oh, you know how he his. Gone the moment you glance away, there when you could've sworn you were alone" he said with a cryptic grin in his eyes (as his mouth was hidden but one could tell his expressions by his eyes). "I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's off doing something" he added, his vague statements not helping to explain the matter at all. He didn't say it, but it could be inferred by anyone that knew Armazón long enough that Riesgo was 'off doing something' for him.
"Relax amigo," he carelessly said. "You don't put the kings on the frontline unless they're puppets" he spoke in his special tone that could creep almost anyone the fuck out when combined with his awful answers that begged for questions that no one truly wanted to know the answer to- unless you had become used to this part of him and built up a ridiculous amount of patience (or impatience, he really wasn't sure which nor did he care so long as his fellow members could work with him).


Kiba
He let out a soft sigh that turned into a chuckle as he leaned back in his chair, hanging one arm over the back of it. "Right, right. Enough with the riddles." He said as he looked around the club again, he gaze stopping every now and then to watch a few women dancing around the place. "But you see, this 'kingdom' we have here needs all three kings to run smoothly." He said as he turned back to the man next to him. "After this next round, and the girls decide the fun is over, how about we take a stroll through the city, eh?" He asked his friend, raising a brow behind his mask.


Mania
"I know you're a man that prefers to be a direct part of all the action, that's one thing I admire about your character." He started to fiddle with he knucklebones, moving his fingers of one hand fluidly, causing the bones to roll themselves aimlessly around or spin about on their axis.
"But let me assure you with utmost seriousness when I say that our measures of drastic indirect string pulling are by no means too roundabout to get anything done, I really do mean it. " He looked him in the eyes through his mask. "And I am not a man that simply finds the designs of great works to be 'great' by their entricacy alone Incendiario. I am a man of purpose." He fanned out his fingers then brought them back repeatedly with absence and the dice pushed out away from one another then back together with his movements. "A night stroll would certainly satisfy all our needs and wants however", he mused aloud while witholding his train of thought from his words. Incendiario would get his direct actions and he three kings would begin attatching their invisible strings.


Kiba
He listened to his friend silently, not even bothering to try and get a word in. He knew that he wasn't going to easily persuade him to do anything than sit there and gamble with his bones. "You really do like to speak in riddles, don't you?" He asked as he pushed away from the bar. He stood up and turned away from his friend, sliding his hands into his pockets. "A night stroll could be fun. We could get a few things done and return here while the night is still young." He said over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll bring the girls along, show them a little of what we do." He added, although he didn't actual mean that.


Mania
"Well then the Gris Tríada would become the Gris Dúo" he said in a playful tone, although he was only half joking. "Aparently you haven't spent enough time here at the Bent Masquerade if you still think that time really matters here to its guests. It's a world of its own with only a few rules and as VIPs we get to make them". He began to stack the dice into a precariously balanced tower without actually touching them. "Speaking of our status, you probably want to know what it is we'll be doing on our little night-time adventure" he didn't explain how the two had anything to do with each other just yet. He would get to that shortly.


Kiba
He shrugged and turned his head away. "Yeah, yeah, because Riesgo doesn't wanna show his face." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I gues your right about that. No one that comes here cares about the time, and they just want to have fun." His friends last statement caught his attention, and he looked over his shoulder at him, blue eyes flashing. "What did you have in mind?" He asked.


Mania
"I ordered a shipment that should be coming in tonight and I don't intend to provide any sort of compensation if you catch my drift" he explained. He meant that he wasn't going to pay what he owed his supplier. "The men who are responsible for delivering my shipment need to be put out of commission as well...I think you'll certainly get your fun for the night". He figured that his partner could easily get his kicks by some combat and theft. "As your name, I believe you can supply us with the talents of an arsonist?" he raised a brow.


Kiba
He turned back to the man and smirked a little evily behind his mask, flames seeming to spark in his eyes. "Count me in." He said, lifting up his hands slightly, his palms starting to burn a deep red. "Burning things to the ground is what I'm known for." He glanced around the bar before looking at his hands, tiny flames dancing along his fingers.


Mania
He clapped once as he stood. "Then we'll be on our merry way if you're ready for a little night stroll at the Waterside Zone" he replied cheerfully. He was ready to begin setting things in motion while Riesgo finished up some other business.


Kiba
He closed his hands into fists and dropped them to his side, nodding. "To the Waterside Zone it is." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he headed for the door, completly forgetting that he was leaving the two girls without an explanation. If there's one thing he like more than women, it was burning things.


Mania
He was smiling behind his mask as he headed for the door as well. They need not worry about removing their masks when in public. They knew how to stick to the shadows at night and eliminate anyone who might get to curious about the masked men. He checked his watch before walking out the door.