© cami o'connell | the originals

[bravebartender]

	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M, F/F ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

Comments

[bravebartender]

[She shakes her head.]

New girl nerves, I guess. It's been a while since I've lived in a new city.

[aworldonfire]

I'll try and keep that in mind. [he'll try and be gentle with her] I've kind of lived in Hell's Kitchen all my life, so ... [he's pretty sure she's doing better than he would, if he decided to skip town]

[bravebartender]

[She nods in agreement.]

It's just ... a different kind of city, I guess. Different kinds of worries.

[aworldonfire]

[he's silent for a moment, taking another sip of his drink]

If it makes you feel any better, from what I understand, you get used to it?

[bravebartender]

[She nods a bit in agreement.]

I'm sure I will. It's just right now it feels more complicated than it should be. And a lot like I'm running away.

[aworldonfire]

Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor.

[says the guy who doesn't know when to run away or stay down even when it's in his best interests]

[bravebartender]

[She nods in agreement.]

Sometimes it is. And sometimes walking away from a problem is exactly what you need to get perspective.

[aworldonfire]

[and now it's his turn to nod]

So, you weren't running away. [she was, as she said, getting perspective]

[bravebartender]

[She considers, before giving a small shrug.]

I was ... half running away.

[aworldonfire]

[he offers her a teasing smile]

And we're back to running in circles again.

[because his argument would be, again, discretion is the better part of valor and all that]

[bravebartender]

[She laughs.]

Which is probably a good sign I should let you go back to drinking in peace.

[aworldonfire]

You're fine. [he waves her off] Just, ah -- [subject change, subject change. what can he do for a subject change?] -- tell me about New Orleans? [he's not trying to pry into whatever made her run and to try and demonstrate that, he adds:] I've never actually been outside of New York.

[bravebartender]

Sure.

[She takes a breath because where to start.]

We love our traditions, first of all. And we love to throw a good party.

[aworldonfire]

What kind of traditions?

[he's more interested in that than the idea of a party. parties have never really been his thing]

[bravebartender]

Well, there's the Casket Girls festival. Celebrates the women who built New Orleans back in the seventeen hundreds. There's a parade and everyone dresses up - it's a bit gothic, but that's what New Orleans is. Gothic personified.

[aworldonfire]

Huh. [a beat] You know, I don't think that was ever covered on the Travel Channel. [not that he watches much TV or reads many travel guides, but -- still. he's aware of Mardi Gras; he wasn't aware of that particular festival]

[bravebartender]

[She laughs.]

Well, the Travel channel does try to stay out of the macabre. They only really vouch for happy tourism.

[aworldonfire]

Must be hard to do a piece on New Orleans, then.

[if, like she said, New Orleans really is gothic personified]

[bravebartender]

Well, that's why we have Mardi Gras.

[aworldonfire]

[and now it's his turn to laugh]

Because naked women are good for ratings.

[look, all he knows about Mardi Gras is that it's the last big blow out before Lent -- and that, from what he understands, women take their tops off for beads]

[bravebartender]

Hey, Mardi Gras is more than just beads and boobs. There's a lot of ritual involved and a lot of religious festivals.

[aworldonfire]

Tell me about it?

[he's interested in the religious aspect, naturally]

[bravebartender]

Well, it's not just one night, for one. It runs from right after the feast of the Epiphany to Ash Wednesday. And true, there's a lot of parades and debauchery, but there's actually a lot of devoutly religious people down there, and there are a lot of old French traditions that go along with it.

[aworldonfire]

[he arches his eyebrows, genuinely surprised]

That's -- a long time. [potentially more than a month, depending on when Easter falls and when Lent starts] Wow.

[bravebartender]

[She nods in agreement.]

Yeah. Most people just think of that one Tuesday, but there's a lot of tradition there.