{I'm good. You?)
Carissa noticed the look this girl gave her. The same look she'd gotten for over a thousand years. She was smitten.
Of course, Carissa was too. Thick, lush, brazen hair fell around this woman's beautiful face, she was very lean, vaguely muscular.
"You come here often?" Carissa asked sincerely. Not in the way you'd ask as a pick-up line, but legitimately.
(tired, but pretty good)
Estella wasn't sure which was getting to her more, the loud, drunk yelling, or the gorgeous woman before her. Snap out of it, you idiot! she mentally chastised herself, straightening her back and trying for a more confident smile. "No, I'm not actually sure why I thought this would be a good idea in the first place. Bars are… not my thing. How about you?"
"Actually I do stop by regularly. Something about bar the scene reminds me of home." She replied. "Are you alright? You don't look wasted enough…" She joked, smiling.
She had not seen a woman this gorgeous in town before. She shuddered.
Estella caught the shudder and immediately stiffened slightly. Was the woman repulsed by her? Had she done something wrong? She cast a glance back to the stranger's stunning eyes, and suddenly it wasn't that hard to relax.
You're kidding me. You're smitten… with a random woman at a bar.
"I don't drink a whole lot, I guess because I'm here alone," she tried explaining, a faint accent hinging on her 'r's.
"Well then why don't I buy you a drink?" She asked, in an amused manner. "What'll it be darling?" She asked, running a hand through her cascading crimson hair. She shifted her weight in her seat.
Estella's eyes widened, the gold flecks catching the light. Still, she did her best to feign nonchalance, leaning one elbow against the top of the bar. "Oh no, you don't have to pay for me, I'd hate to leech off of you, Miss…..?"
"Agnimitra… Call me Carissa…" She said. "And please, it's my pleasure!" She added. "Think nothing of it." Whe received her sidecar and took a sip.
"Carissa." Estella tried the name out. It was strangely sweet on her tongue, though why she had no idea. "I'm Estella." Her accent was more prominent in the way she said her name, highlighting her heritage quite clearly. "And thank you. Surprise me, I guess. Something light, though."
"Ah. I see you are of Hispanic heritage? You can't tell because I have been here for a long time, but I'm of Greek heritage." She beamed. "You have a nice name. Very poetic." She turned to the bartender. 'dirty martini for the beauty with the caramel tips."
A faint blush rose to Estella's cheeks, but she somehow managed to keep a casual expression on her face. "I'm flattered, Carissa. And thank you." Was the woman…. flirting with her? She was slightly dizzy with disbelief. "Yes, I am Latina. What's Greece like?"
"Don't mention it." Carissa said, with a brittle smile… "Greece is, well… It's fallen very far since I've been there… The politics… The economy… The society… It isn't what it was!" She rhapsodised. "Have you been to your country of origin?" She asked.
Estella nodded, smiling fondly in recollection. "Yes, Mexico and Spain. Both equally beautiful, though Mexico is enduring much more than it's fair share of trouble from the U.S." The smile turned into a slight frown.
"Yes, this country is… Imperialistic… To say the least…" Carissa said, as she held the martini out to Estella. She took a sip of it, before smiling cheekily.
Pink bloomed across Estella's cheeks, and she had to look away for a moment to collect herself. Carissa was flirting. My god, I found a beautiful woman in a bar who's into girls, and sort of into me.. am I dreaming?
Trying her best to play along, Estella reached over to pluck the martini from Carissa's hand, their fingers brushing. She grinned, taking a sip and blowing a subtle kiss to her over the top of the glass.
Carissa started to blush, she accidentally hiccuped, a squeaky sound. She covered her mouth.
"Pardon me. Gin is a bit too bubbly for my preferences today." She said, suppressing a giggle. This woman was truly a one-of-a-kind person. Carissa looked into her aura and chakras. They were beautiful, her aura surrounded her like a nebula. Each chakra a miniature Sun. She was definitely special.
Her Patrician features flashed in amazement.
Estella's heart rushed at the sight of the blush dusting Carissa's face, biting the inside of her heek to suppress the tiniest of smirks. "It's alright, and thank you for the drink. It's delicious." She took another sip, this one deeper than the last, and felt tingles settle in her stomach.
"So. Estella, dear, tell me about yourself…" The sorceress requested, with a deep gaze into her gold-flecked eyes.
The tingling intensified, though it had nothing to do with her drink this time. Estella crossed her legs, suddenly painfully aware of how casually she was dressed next to the beautiful woman before her, in just a golden-brown jacket over a white shirt with thin black stripes and a dipping neckline. "There's not much to say, I'm not very special.."
Suddenly, pain built up in her gums just as she was swallowing a mouthful of alcohol, and her hand flew over her mouth as fangs began to emerge, replacing her canines. Dammit. Gotta love Sphinx genes. "Sorry, give me a second," she apologized to Carissa, prodding the fangs with her tongue and willing them to retract. God… This was the opposite of what she needed, she didn't want to scare her new… friend?
"Are you OK?" Carissa broke her composure and leaned in to support Estella, laying her hsnd on her shoulder. "Darling?" She asked, looking into the other woman's eyes…
Darling. She called me– she called me darling. Estella's eyes widened at their sudden closeness, and the name she'd been called. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. I just–" The fangs began to sink back into her gums, bringing a painful but welcome relief. "Long story. But thank you for you concern." She swallowed, unable to take her eyes off of Carissa's.
Carissa, held her closer, slightly worried.
"Are you… Are you sure, dear?" She asked. "It's nothing wrong with the drink is it?" She asked, knowing that it wasn't totally that, and more what she saw within the other woman.
Estella's eyes darted around, her heart pounding in her chest. She had never been this close to woman before, not in this way. Swallowing again, she wet her dry lips. "No, not at all. I have… strange heritage," was all she said, hesitating to elaborate. There was a lot of stigma against Sphinxes, and although she was mostly human, she did not want to be overheard.
"Ah. I see. So that splash of color in your aura, and that pulsing in your chakras is no fluke." She reasoned, then, getting closer. "You must be part Sphinx." She said in hushed tones.
Sh*t. Estella pulled away abruptly, her heart now thundering for very different reasons. Chakras? Aura? Is she an elf or a sorceress? "Don't–" She stiffened slightly, eyes darting from customer to customer. "Don't say it out loud–"
"You have my word, darling." Carissa smiled, putting her index finger and thumb to Estella's chin. She leaned in, grinning, until their noses brushed.
Estella thought her heart was going to tear itself out of her chest. This woman, this woman who'd she'd just met, already had this kind of effect on her. This woman… had feelings for her? Something there? A want to flirt, at the very least. And even that was enough for her.
But then a thought struck. Carissa… Carissa didn't know her. Not really. And if she did, there was no way she would be doing this. She would be walking in the opposite direction.
Estella's expression closed, becoming withdrawn and almost… scared. This wasn't fair to Carissa. She didn't deserve this.
Carissa became worried as the other woman's demeanor changed considerably. She looked her in the eyes.
"Estella, is everything okay my darling?" She asked, concerned, her azure eyes lit with nervousness that was uncommon for her.
No. All of a sudden, Estella’s head was spinning. This was moving too fast. She couldn’t keep up. Carissa didn’t deserve this. She nodded, gripping the side of the bar. “Just a bit nauseous—“ she lied, getting up and wiping her sweating palms on her leggings. “I’ll be right back. Just going to the washroom.”
She walked away before Carissa could hear the tremor in her voice
Carissa gasped as she left, adjusting her jacket, and taking a sip of her drink. Her concern was blinding her. She wanted nothing more than to charge into the bathroom and make Estella's troubles go away…
Estella stared into the bathroom mirror, disgust at herself completely taking over. How could she have done that? Left Carissa back there, alone, like the freak she was.
But everything had been spinning out of control, Carissa had been leaning closer, calling her darling, not knowing what she was really like…. she hadn't been able to stand it. Too much.
Eventually, she calmed down enough to fake a convincing smile and drew in a deep breath, slipping back out of the washroom to the other woman.