greetings from the kitten club

Danny let his gaze drop from the door and focus on the bar tender. He didn't recognize her, which was saying something. Although lately he'd spent far less time inside the Kitten Club and most of his time outside in the parking lot, or in a back room somewhere. Not that Stella was entirely picky. Thoughts of Stella dropped from his mind as he focused on the chipper bartender. "You ask a lot of questions," he told her, his voice gruff. Squinting he looked at her closer. The girl barely looked a day over 18. "Are you even old enough to be working here?" Ever the cop.

"Still, Sir, sorry that there was a fuss at all." Ki said, moving everything over for him to his new spot. "Happens from time to time, it's alright." It did happen. Some people took issue with things, and that was the way the world worked. She smiled through it. That was how her life ran, and she wasn't about to stop. It worked so far! And at the end of the day, she could occasionally daydream about wiring their ignition with explosives.

"It shouldn't fucking happen. This whole goddamn city is falling apart." Danny wasn't able to shake how bitter he was tonight. Maybe it was the killer on the loose, maybe he was just cranky, or maybe he was a bit drunk, but he felt justified in his utter distaste for the world tonight. Where did people get off thinking they could treat the sweet little bartender who didn't look old enough to serve alcohol, like she was furniture? Don't have daughters or sisters? Fuck, he didn't even have a daugther and he hated the idea of someone treating Ki that way.

Ki looked at Danny and gave him a smile, then she ducked down beneath the bar for a quick moment, and came up a few later. She reached out and deposited a little umbrella into the top of his beer bottle, and she'd drawn a little happy face on it. "Cheer up, Sir." she said. "This city may be falling apart but that doesn't mean we all have to help it." she said in her usual cheerful manner.

Danny was speechless. Not that he ever was a man of many words, but the bright umbrella sticking out of the top of his beer left him completely at a loss. He glanced once at her and then back at the now tropic bottle and wonderef briefly where they'd found this cheery little girl at. It must have been years since he met someone who was actually happy all the time. He plucked the umbrella from the bottle, twirling it in his fingers briefly then he took another drink watching her over the top of the bottle. "Should I ask why you're in such a good mood?" His voice was softer, not quite friendly but far from the growl it had been earlier.

She propped her head on her hand on the bartop and she shrugged one shoulder. "Is there some reason I shouldn't be in a good mood? I just am. It's a nice night so far, there's music to work to here, some of the dancers are really beautiful with all sorts of colors and everything, and now I've met you, Sir, so I say it's a lovely evening." she said firmly with a little nod. She grinned cutely, nose wrinkling slightly as she did so.

Some reason she shouldn't be in a good mood? There were plenty, but at the moment Danny couldn't think of anything that might directly affect the girl. Sure there was a killer on the loose, but she didn't fit the description of the wack job's type. She probably wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop on a debt he owed to a family who could do anything they wanted. She wasn't wondering why a girl who wasn't Stella had come from the door behind the stage and was headed his way. When the other dancer finally got to him she spoke quickly, seeming worried. "You're Danny right?" He nodded slowly, not daring to wonder what was going on. "Stella sent me to find you, she said to tell you she's sorry but she's busy tonight. They've got her doing a few more shows and she can't meet with you." Danny hadn't stopped nodding and the girl took that as her cue to leave.

Turning back to Ki and his beer, Danny absent mindedly crushed the little umbrella in his hand. "Well fuck. Shoulda figured she'd go and fucking blow me off." Scowling, he pounded his fist a few times on the bar.

Ki squinted one eye shut and gave Danny another sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Sir, is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, not thinking there was, but if he would stop pounding on the bartop, that would be nice. He was drawing some attention, and she quickly got a few drinks for people. Luckily she wasn't the only bartender or anything, so she didn't have tons to do before she came back.

He'd finished the last of his beer and when she came back he handed her the bottle. "Another if you've got it," Danny told her, not looking at her but the crushed umbrella. How symbolic it seemed there in his hand, a small crushed glint of happiness. That was how Danny's life had always been, the good things just outside his reach. "What was that list of reasons to be in a good mood again?" he gruffly asked without looking at Ki.

Ki took the empty bottle and got him a new one, popping the top and setting it in front of him. "There's good music playing. I like music. You can get lost in it if you listen, and don't think about too much. The dancers are beautiful. They've got so many colors and costumes and it's always different. It's not too busy in here tonight, so it's less difficult to hold conversations, and the smoke isn't so heavy that it burns the eyes." she said. As she said this, she was folding a little napkin over and again, with purpose. When she was finished, she held it out to him. It was an oragami crane. "Find peace somewhere in your heart tonight, Sir, you seem to be in need of it." She wiggled her arm a little to make the wings flap slightly since it wasn't stiff paper.

Danny let the crushed umbrella fall out of his hand, and turned his eyes back to her as he reached for the new beer. He hadn't been listening to her list, merely the sound of her voice, but the crane held out for him caught him off guard again, although not as bad as the umbrella. Gingerly he took it from her, noticing how small and delicate her fingers seemed in comparison to his. "Inner peace huh? That might be a stretch."

She smiled. "You americans seem to make it difficult on yourselves, I've noticed." she said good naturedly, like she found it cute, almost. "But it can happen. You just need to stive for it. Let things go that cannot be changed, and look around at what's directly around you in your life." she said. There were a few barks of laughter nearby and to go with, some derisive comments tossed in with more beer orders. Ki served them with a smile just as bright as all her others had been before she returned to Danny. "You could always start small, and let go of your anger for tonight, sir."

He was half off the barstool, ready to teach some more punks about manners when she said the bit about him letting go of his anger. It kept him from bashing a skull or two, but he still shot a few dirty looks down the bar. "There's just plenty to be angry about," he told Ki. Like those ass wipes who were determined to treat her badly. Sure Danny wasn't the most polite guy in the world, but talking to a young girl like that? That was never appropriate.

"There's always things to be angry about if you're looking for them." Ki said. "But there are things to be happy about too. It's okay sir, they're not hurting my feelings." she told him. They weren't. Things of that nature rolled off her back well. "So there's no reason for you to be upset. At least about that." she told him sincerely.

"Just 'cause it doesn't bother you, doesn't make it right," Danny told her. There was right and there was wrong and people needed to remember which side was which. He clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, but eventually let some of the anger leave him. She was right in some regard, there was no need to start a fight tonight. Stella wasn't around to impress and his wife would just worry if he came home with more bruises. He could just get drunk again. Taking another swig, he gently poked the small paper bird he'd set down on the bar. "How did you make it?"

"Do you want me to teach you?" Ki asked, ducking down to grab some more square napkins, and she set them on the bar. "It's Oragami. You can make all sorts of animals with it. It's fun. And paper cranes are nice. If you know anyone who's ill, you should fold a thousand of them. It'll help aid them." she told him, handing out totally unnecessary information and all, but he'd expressed mild curiosity!

"I don't know if I'd be any good..." Danny started but trailed off. She seemed so damn excited and it was hard to completely say no. "How about you just show me, slower this time." He doubted he'd be able to make the animal but it would be interesting to watch. "And how does making a thousand paper cranes help someone who's sick? That's a little strange. It's just paper," he told her poking the complete crane again.

Ki laughed lightly. "It's not just paper, Sir!" she said, tone suggesting 'silly boy'. She did start to fold another crane, making each fold slowly and deliberately so he could follow along. "It's what you put into it. There's intent, and hope, and dreams, and emotions as your'e thinking on someone, and all of that carries through." she told him. "Plus, the spirit of the crane in general, and it's all meant to inspire peace."

But it was paper, just a little napkin folded fancily to make a neat shape. How was all the other stuff supposed to get in there. "So what did you put in mine?" Danny asked, but he wasn't sure if he'd believe the answer.

"A wish for peace and tranquility." Ki told him firmly with a sweet smile. "You seem to be having a bad night, Sir. I was hoping to make it better." And she did! She didn't generally like seeing people upset, and he'd tried to defend her, which was new for her. So, she'd wanted to put in extra effort into making his evening better, even if she wasn't sure how good a job she was doing. She was trying! Maybe it was working, just really subtly.

Danny propped his chin in his hand without the drink and regarded her briefly before answering. "I've had a bad while. I might need more of these little guys than you could make in a lifetime." Realizing that his answer and tone were harsh, he did his best to make up for it."I do appreciate it though." A faint glow of a smile brushed across his mouth but it faded back to the surly look he'd worn most of the night quickly.

Ki, like she let everything else roll off of her did the same with his tone and statement. Instead she just smiled at him in return to his brief attempt at one. "I'll keep that in mind, sir." she told him. And she would. Now she had a plan of making him a new crane every time she saw him. And keeping track of how many she'd given him until he had the right amount. It would be a nice little side project for her.

"Is the 'sir' necessary? It's make me a little nervous," Danny told her. He wasn't used to respect from anyone besides his wife, and she didn't even call him that. "What's your name anyway?" He took another drink, finishing off the beer. The edges of the world started blur as the alcohol took to his bloodstream and he felt himself start to loosen up.