Welcome to MQA!

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi looked anxiously around the bar, wondering if Freya had arrived before her. In the past couple months, Freya and Maxi had gotten to know each other pretty well from working at the school, and this was the first time she was meeting the younger werewolf outside of the school. Usually their meetings occurred in the teachers' lounge and consisted of coffee cups in the morning and bagged lunches in the afternoon. She had purposely worn a bright, sunshine yellow top so Freya would see her in the crowd, not thinking it might also attract unwanted male attention. Maxi was a pretty young woman with her large, deep blue eyes and her flaming red hair falling in lazy curls to the middle of her back; add to that her slight build and her short stature, and it made for a sweet combination--one that she seemed wholly unaware of. She felt eyes on her as she made her way to the bar, but she did her best to ignore them. Tonight was not about men--it was a ladies' night.

Ultimately deciding that Freya hadn't arrived yet, Maxi perched on a bar stool and waited for her. Maxi quickly shot a text to Freya, just letting her know she was at the bar, and proceeded to order a Sea Breeze. Her eyes continued to roam the crowd, looking for any sign of Freya. She felt vulnerable sitting alone at the bar. It was one thing to invite others to feel vulnerable talking to her behind closed doors, but it was quite another to feel it herself in a public space. Sighing, she practiced her violin in her mind before the bartender finished her drink. She absentmindedly went over scales and turned Albert's criticisms over in her head. Even when her drink arrived, she barely noticed as thoughts of Albert bounced around her head: his smell, his voice, the way he always called her "Maxine" instead of "Maxi," and the way his voice sounded when he said it in that French accent...

Maxi stopped her thoughts before somebody could read them. She was still in denial that she had caught feelings for her violin instructor. He was a rude substance abuser who didn't bat an eyelash at hitting someone, even a woman. The man was mean, an asshole, if you will, but still Maxi couldn't help thinking about him. He just worried her so with his reckless behavior...Why was she even thinking about him? This was not a night for men! It was ladies' night, damn it! But whenever she was alone like this, her thoughts began to drift...Finally taking a sip of her drink, she hoped Freya would show up soon to snap her out of her ridiculous daze.

[FREYA ELD]

Spending a night out with someone like-minded was exactly what Freya needed. She wasn't as boring as most people figured her to be, but then again she was nothing close to Santiago's daredevil. Scolding herself a little as she thought about him, the blonde shook her head at herself as she looked in the mirror to check how she looked in the dress she decided to wear. The heels were waiting next to the mirror for her to slip them on. A touch of make up and a bracelet and she was ready to go. It was warm outside and so she decided she didn't need a jacket she'd worry about losing during the night. It was a good time to wind down and she decided she was going to have a good time with Maxi tonight. Frey liked the other woman and always found a little something to talk about with her. Freya headed out of the door, closing it after herself. The house was rather quiet, but there were some pack members around.

She was close to the club when she heard her phone go off. She checked it, smiling and texting back that she was on her way. Frey was running late, but only fashionably so as she didn't like people waiting for her. Within minutes Freya walked into the bar, running a hand through her hair as she looked around for Maxi. She could smell everyone in the place, it was overwhelming at times. Her senses were at their highest and with the number of people in here it was enough for a sensory overload in the she-wolf. But she enjoyed her senses and the fact that she could pick up in the subtlest of scents. Of course unless it was sewage which tended to take things to the whole new level of gross and uncomfortable. There were people she could pick out from the crowd sometimes, people she knew well and spent time around. Max was one of them thanks to their daily interaction in the school. Santiago or Adrian were other examples and same went for other pack members. She could smell a handful of vampires and witches in the place too, but not like it mattered.

Frey turned around to notice the other woman at the bar. The blonde headed her way, passing through a crowd of people, having to squeeze through here and there. ”Hey!” she greeted Max with a smile as she finally reached the bar. ”Hope you've not been waiting too long,” Frey said before she ordered a drink for herself, a rum with coke to start off and put the money on the bar for the bartender. She got a smile from him and chuckled to herself at the thought. She was still regarded as the little sister in the pack, or at least she often felt like that when around some of the men and even women there. Wasn't a bad thing, but any other reaction from people still caught her off guard a bit.

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi smelled Freya before she saw her. Her eyes lit up, snapped out of her daydreams at last, and she gave a big smile as she turned to her friend. "I've been waiting forever!" she replied in playful exasperation. "It always feels weird sitting at a bar alone." Smiling again, she made it clear she wasn't really mad. Maxi had a hard time being mad at anyone, especially Freya. The younger wolf was just too sweet and too much like Maxi herself. If Maxi ever had a younger sister, she felt she would be a lot like Freya. "You look so cute tonight! I love that dress," she commented before taking another sip of her drink. "No doubt you'll have many admirers by the end of the night." In fact, glancing around the bar, Maxi found she was right. There were several eyes pointed their way. Another sip of her drink might help her ignore them.

Sliding off the bar stool she was perched on, Maxi leaned against the wood of the bar. "Oh, Frey, once again you've saved me from my daydreams," she sighed, playfully dramatic. "I'll never understand these werewolf men. All of them are so frustratingly difficult." She cocked her head to the side as if thinking, looking up to the ceiling. "Maybe I'll find me a nice human man, or a warlock. Do you think they would be easier to deal with?" She laughed a little at the thought of just surprising some poor human man with the knowledge of her existence, or maybe springing it on a warlock. It would probably be easier news for the warlock, though the thought of half magical, half were offspring was a slightly disturbing thought.

Turning back to her friend, she took another sip of her drink. "Anyway, how are you tonight, lady?" she inquired sweetly. "Any children driving you to the point of needing my therapeutic services?" A smirk indicated she was teasing, but she waited patiently for Freya's answer.

[FREYA ELD]

Frey grimaced in response that Maxi has been waiting ages. It wasn't serious though, all in the good mood. ”Well you shouldn't have come that early then,” she stuck out her tongue teasingly before she laughed. It was so nice to be out with Maxi who was very similar to her in many ways. She felt comfortable with him and Frey felt relaxed. ”Thank you, I had it in the closet for quite a while now and I finally got to take it out for the night. As you'd imagine it's hardly an outfit suited for the school corridors,” the blonde noted with humour. It was true that some things just didn't fit with the school setting and she didn't get to wear some things too often. Maybe she needed to get out in the evening like this more, it was something to ponder. ”We'll see about that, you are quite the competition,” Frey noted as she took a sip from her fresh drink.

”Tell me about it” Freya chuckled with the parallel exasperation about that statement. Let's just say that things haven't changed with Santiago and she was getting annoyed by that fact. It wasn't that he'd potentially not want her, but that nothing was out in the open got to her. She wanted to tell him, but she sensed he was not ready for it, or he told himself that at the very least and he'd only feel bad about the situation. She didn't want to do that to him, she'd feel bad for doing something like that to him. He's brood and obsess and it'd generally lead to no good. ”Which one you mean though?”[/b[ she asked curiously before she laughed at the thought – a human or a warlock. She wasn't sure either would be any better, each together with werewolves bringing their own set of issues to the table. [b]”I think there'd be something with each of them,” the blonde said with another chuckle and a dismissive wave of the hand.

”Though to answer your other question, I am doing surprisingly well considering those spawns of Satan try their damnest sometimes...” she joked. ”Nah, just kidding really, things are good on that front, nothing I would need to see a shrink about,” she winked, not even realising that she was pretty much done with her drink in the matter of minutes they've started talking at the bar. She finished the last of it, feeling the small amount of alcohol coursing through her system. She ordered another one, with double the rum. ”Want to go sit down a bit away from the bar?” she asked. Maybe dance a little in a bit too, Freya felt like dancing, like really letting her hair down. !And we'll have to dance, but only after you tell me who prompted you to think about chasing after warlocks,” she grinned, taking her drink and waiting for Maxi to follow her to the seats nearby.

[MAXINE McMANUS]

Maxi laughed when Freya referred to the students as spawns of Satan. They could certainly be that way at times. And usually when that happened, they ended up in her office somehow. When Maxi spied that Freya was almost done with her drink, her eyebrows arched. "No, you don't need a shrink, you need a drink." With a laugh she finished off her own drink which she had been sipping for some time. "Alcoholism cures everything." It was a joke and she grinned at Freya to indicate that. She ordered the same as Freya and shrugged when she suggested they move away from the bar. "Sure I don't mind. But you're going to have to get me drunker to get me to dance. You know I was born with two left feet," she scolded playfully with a smile.

"But only after you tell me who prompted you to think about chasing after warlocks."

The older werewolf made a face, finally free of her thoughts about Albert. And John. John was in her mind too. With a sigh she made her way over to the seats, following Frey, and she plopped down in the seat. "Well, it's two guys," she started. "Albert's as frustrating as ever. All quiet and brooding, and now I think he's mad at me because I'm showing interest in John. He hardly shows any interest in me at all, even as a student, but now that I'm kind of seeing John, he's bitter." She suddenly realized what she was saying and she shook her head, frustrated. "I don't even like Albert like that! At least...I don't know, maybe I do. But he just teaches me violin, insults me, and confuses me. And I really like John, but Albert hates him, which makes him even harder to deal with because he's always making snide comments about John. And, like I said, I think he's mad at me for liking John. I don't even know why I care if he's mad or not. I really, really like John. Albert shouldn't even be part of the equation. But he is." She took a drink, realizing she was rambling.

With a heavy sigh, Maxi ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what to doooo," she complained. A small smile came back to her face, though, as she looked at Frey. "So that's why I want to chase warlocks. Because I can't understand what's going on in Albert's deranged head. Any advice?" Really, she needed to talk it out with someone. The whole situation was driving her crazy.

[FREYA ELD]

Frey wasn't expecting a waterfall of words that Maxine unleashed. That wasn't to say she minded, she was just a bit surprised. Maxi was the loveliest girl she knew, well one of them at any rate, and in a way rather happy that they were talking about her for the time being. She tried not to smile but it was hard. The other blonde got so flustered, recounting to Frey her trouble. It was a sympathetic smile she was getting off Frey, for she could understand in a way how things went. She didn't have the same problem, never had had one like that so she wasn't entirely sure how to help, but listen and comfort the she-wolf she was having drinks with. The confusion was however rather familiar to Freya who herself was in a mildly confused and exasperated state of mind. She took a sip of her drink, enjoying it before swallowing. It created a pleasant sensation in her legs as alcohol always seemed to travel to her legs and make them heavy. It was a funny thing, same as with her poor blood circulation, but everyone had a little something right?

”Well from what I know, Albert is the man who you don't want to understand. Just steer clear off, but then again I don't really know him. It might be judgemental, but he was never nice to me and I have no reason to like him. Or trust him,” Frey finally said once Maxi finished. ”But you seeing John, now that is something else. You do need to share more details on that,” she grinned. John was a good man, handsome for a good measure too, but what made him endeared to Frey was that he was fair and just. At least she had always perceived him so. The stand up guy so to speak, though she didn't doubt he had his own little streak of something in him. No one was perfect, everyone had something flawed about them. But she liked John, he was often helpful and never been anything but nice to her when they met. Even back in Aldenville. ”I would just concentrate on John more since he seems like the better option here,” Frey concluded rather logically.