Too young to try: Altair

Even in the cold weather, Altair dressed to show off everything she had to offer. Of course, pantyhose were involved, underneath her dress, and ankle-breaking heels donned her feet. Over her dress she wore a jacket, and she did not feel at all cold. Being a Fire elemental, her natural body temperature kept her comfortable at most times. It came in handy, since she loved to show skin. Have it, flaunt it. That’s what she’d always been taught, after all, and it’s something she’d abided by beyond her modelling career. She was beautiful, and she knew it, so why not show others just how beautiful she was? That's what had spurred her to go out drinking tonight. Okay, she didn't really need a reason to drink, she simply did it as if it was a part of her nature.

As she approached Corrosion, having walked from the apartment, her killer heels tapped against the pavement. Downtown wasn’t the best place to be dressed like this, but she was used to it. Hell, she’d smirk if any cars pulled up to her. Always dressed like a slut, she thought wryly. No, she was more fashionable than your average streetwalker, thank you very much. Roxanne got herself a nice manicure and white blond hair that was a halo ontop of her head. Of course, standing on street corners was a dead giveaway to the type of business she was in. Altair also didn’t hide it, because she wasn’t ashamed.

Coming to the door, she saw a familiar face and her smirk grew wider. ”Ashley, right?” she asked. Her demeanor was slightly relaxed, since she had a few beers at her apartment and wasn’t out looking for a fight. The girl was an ally, too, not that anyone out on the street or in the Hollow knew about that. No one other than the elementals knew about the Academy in the mountains. ”You trying to get in?” This amused the other Fire greatly, considering the fact she’d also be getting in illegally. It wasn’t hard to fake her age. Her looks and her talents in seducing helped her get a job she wouldn’t otherwise have, a fake ID that came with the price of a night spent with some sleaze ball. ”What if mommy and daddy find out?” She was busting the girl’s balls, of course. Altair couldn’t care less what happened to Ashley if she got into trouble. She wasn’t one to have others’ well-beings in mind.

The older girl guessed she was lucky. She only had the popo to worry about. No parents, just herself. For all intents and purposes she was an adult. There was only one person she actualy worried about, thought of, and that was Rowena. Not that the Thunder elemental cared about what Altair did with her nights and weekends. Still, her sister didn’t think she’d appreciate a call from the drunk tank. So for Ro’s sake, Altair tried to avoid that as much as possible. She wasn’t much one for putting others before herself, but her sister was truly the best part of her. Other than that, you had to dig pretty deep to find the blond’s redeeming qualities, and even then one could only escavate a few jewels. Altair herself didn’t think that way—she was pretty BAMF in her opinion.

Altair snorted, tapping her clutch against her thigh. It was almost adorable, how nervous Ashley was. ”The Academy won’t give two shits what you do in the Hollow,” she said, her tone noticeably more hushed when she spoke of the place. It was as quiet as she ever got, what with how loud her voice tended to be. She liked to be heard when she spoke, because she always had something to say. Lifting a white-blond eyebrow when Ashley pleaded with her, the older girl shrugged. ”I’m going in anyway, whatever.” She looked over at the security. It wasn’t a high up place, but they still needed some big burly men. It was true, Altair was older than the other girl, but not legal yet. ”You have ID?” she questioned. It wouldn’t matter how old Altair looked if her companion did not have identification of her own. Scratching the back of her head, the girl said, ”I’m not gonna ditch, by the way. If you get yourself into a mess or anything, I got your back.” Altair could be loyal when she wanted, especially when it was her own element. She hoped that if Ashley got into trouble, it would be fighting trouble. She had a taste for violence.

The older Fire girl snorted. Ashley amused her, she’d give her that. Not that it was really a challenge. If you caught her in a good mood, she could be chill. Good moods were rare, however, and were as ever-changing as the sea. Or rather, a wildfire burning down a forest. Either way, Altair wasn’t one to be trusted for too long when it came to being amiable. Altair smirked at the girl’s next words, asking if she was ready. ”Always.” She hooked her arm through Ashley’s, not one shy about physical contact because to her it was as casual as all the sex she had, and led her to the door. Security didn’t card even though he gave an apprasing glance, thank God, but the bartender definitely would.

Speaking of the bar, she pushed her way through the crowd dancing to the house music playing, made her way to the bar. Of course she was carded, and she flashed it. There wasn’t any suspicion and she got herself a beer, waited for Ashley to get something for herself. Her arm now out of the girl’s other one, she picked some lint off of her very pronounced cleavage before looking out at the dancefloor. She didn’t recognize any of them, the scene all of age, apparently. ”Any reason you wanted to drop by on what seems to be your first clubbing deal?” She figured the chick was a virgin to the scene, and she almost smirked when she wondered if she was a virgin in other things. She was going into the tenth grade, and Altair had been a little younger than her when she lost her virginity to some random guy she thought was hot. Unlike most, she didn’t regret it. The things was no big deal to her.

Altair got herself a black and tan, running her manicured fingernails around the rim when she listened to Ashley, eyes listless moving along the mass. ”People have parties all the time,” she told Ashley, feeling like a broken record since she’d already told the girl about this before. Parents go out of town, kids take over the house and have it in semi-decent shape again by the time of their return. Altair of course didn’t help with clean-ups—they were the ones who decided to have the party, they were the ones who should clean up after themselves. ”I’m sure there are plenty to crash. Maybe you haven’t been looking in the right places. Or—as I’ve said—you should talk to people. You don’t even need to be invited.” It was easier to crash a party than to get into Corrosion every night. There were the exceptions of BYOB parties, but there were certainly people who wouldn’t mind sharing their booze.

As she swallowed the drink, she felt the beginnings of a buzz. It wouldn’t be hard to get smashed on this, but she prided herself in holding her liquor well enough. Of course, she loved to push herself past the limit. What was the point of drinking otherwise? ”Have you?” Altair said, wondering if she could believe it. She didn’t know the girl well, so she decided that she wouldn’t be able to know. ”I guess you were with friends then, huh,” she said, since the girl had obviously been nervous about going in alone. Altair couldn’t sympathize—she wasn’t an easily sympathetic person and she never got nervous for anything. ”How long have you been living in Maple Hollow, anyway?” she asked. The girl may have been a native, she didn’t even know. It was obvious that Altair was an immigrant from her accent, but with some people—including Americans—it could be difficult to tell.

Altair swirled her drink around, ice clinking against the glass. She was taking it slow, so as not to get completely shitfaced. Well, not too soon anyway. She liked getting drunk, she was just concerned about getting home. She knew what downtown was like, and didn’t want to be plastered trying to get home. It was almost amazing, with her profession, that she’d never been raped. Well, she did have a knife pulled on her and some guys liked to get violent, but she could handle herself. She wasn’t drunk when she worked, after all, and therefore she could defend herself quite well. Luckily enough, even in the downtown area, no one had given her too much trouble. She didn’t have a “pimp” even though people automatically assumed that every whore did. They didn’t realize that you could just work for yourself.

The older girl grunted in response to signal she heard, but in her head she was debating whether or not Ash was lying about the whole family thing. Then she thought about how she didn’t really care and took a swig of the drink, wrinkling her nose as it slid down her throat. With the further explanation, Altair snorted. ”Mother unit? Hate her that much?” She didn’t like her parents at all, but it was half-amusing to hear the girl refer to her mother like that. But Altair wasn’t about to question her about any mommy issues or the such. She almost laughed again—it must have been the buzz working its magic—when she considered the stripper steretypical daddy issues that she didn’t have. ”I guess it’s decent here.” She shrugged. She didn’t really have too firm a stance on whether she liked Canada or not. She was completely blasé about the issue. Altair blinked when she watched her companion swallow down her second beer. ”Tryin’ to get plastered or what?” It was only half-joking, though Altair didn’t care of the girl did end up shtifaced. Of course, it would suck for Ash considering that Altair didn’t like to take responsibility for others. She was a selfish person.

Altair let out her signature barking laugh at the girls words. Apparently Ashley was well off, even though she didn’t very much act like a spoiled brat. Then again, she didn’t know the fellow Fire well. Altair behaved like a rich bitch, even though she was living in a downtown apartment with her sister. She spent her money wantonly, got whatever she desired, and so one might think that she had rich parents of her own. The truth was she grew up with suburban middle class parents in the UK, and came to America when Ro got into trouble with the law. Altair took it upon herself to become the sort of ‘mother’ figure that she believed her sisters needed, which was why it stung in so many ways when Syria died. Of course, she didn’t tell Ashley these things. For all the girl knew, she was just some random Fire student who enjoyed getting into fights.

She finally finished off her first drink when Ashley suggested they find some suckers to find to buy them drinks. Now, Altair wasn’t one to be dependent on others, but she didn’t mind using a couple of assholes to buy her way. She smirked when she saw the girl unbutton her shirt in preparation. ”How about them?” Altair suggested, pointing her finger out to three guys who were idling by a booth. They looked to be in their twenties, but they looked young enough that Altair could be mistaken. She left her empty glass on the bar and slid out of the chair, making her way over to the gents, stroking her hand down one of their arms as she stepped up close to him. ”Just when my girlfriend and I were thinking that only losers decide to come here, right?” She winked over at Ashley, her eyes glistening with mischief. The guys, beers in their hands, seemed interested and it take only a few compliments and a bit of flirting to rope them in. It wasn’t too hard to sway a man if you had looks and charisma, and the same worked for men in swaying women. Sex was a powerful thing, and something so primal could neer be denied.

Altair noticed that her companion was a little buzzed, or at least she assumed by how the girl’s demeanor changed. She wondered how well Ash actually held her liquor, but didn’t ask. That’s what she was good at—not asking questions. Simply because she didn’t care. Instead of questioning Ashley about pointless things, she focused on the guys they targeted. While some girls may have opted for the simpering, good-girl flirt, Altair wasn’t about to turn down the sex appeal just to get what she wanted. Guys liked girls who could take control. Actually, guys liked any girl that would sleep with them. The guy Altair had pinned took a glance at his buddies, nodding and laughing, before turning back to the girls. ”I’m Tad,” he said, jutting his chin out at his companions. ”That’s Mark, and over there is Damen.” The guy furthest from Altair lifted his hand in greeting. ”You are?”

A smile slow smile found its way onto the older girls face when she said, ”I’m Altair, this is Ashley.” After greetings were exchanged, Damen answered Ash’s question. ”Just hanging,” he said, and the look in his eyes showed that he was interested in the new arrivals. ”Yeah, we party hard,” Mark said, lifting up his bottle and laughing, the others joining in. ”Looks like a fun time,” she said, slipping her hand around Tad’s waist, turning the charm on. It was something one wouldn’t expect Altair to be good at, but how else would she work? ”We wouldn’t mind joining you. The thing is…we’re dry as fuck. And broke.” She moved as if to walk away, knowing what she was doing, but Tad pulled her arm back as he laughed. ”All right, all right, I see what you’re getting at. How about I get you a beer?” Altair glanced over at Ashley, wondering how she was doing with her man. Maybe the guys were just nice, or maybe they were too drunk to realize that they were being hoodwinked by a couple of teenagers.