Word of Mouth (Invite Only)

Kiyoshi looked down at himself and made a face. He wasn't dressed up for this. Should he have bought a suit? But who went to an interview in a suit? Well, a bartending interview, that is.

He was dressed plainly in jeans and sneakers, a deep blue tee with a faded "42" on the front in white. It was simple, unassuming, and most importantly, Kiyo could move in it. His long hair was neatly braided, hanging down his back in a single thick rope, and he had his backpack slung over his shoulder. He always used his own equipment when he flairtended and he assumed that that would be a part of any interview, if he was able to get one.

He looked at the series of buildings and abandoned airplanes that sprawled out in front of him. There was no doubt this was the place. The area was quiet. There was a car out front. Walking up to the main entrance Kiyoshi cautiously pushed the door open and peered inside.


"Hello?"

His voice echoed across a large dance floor. Beyond that was a long sleek chrome bar. At the moment it was stacked high with boxes and bottles and boxes of bottles. Kiyoshi didn't see anyone immediately. His inclination was to turn around and leave, come back later, but he needed a job and he didn't want to lose an opportunity.

He slid inside the door and let it close softly behind him.
"Excuse me? Is there anyone here?"

It was a large place. There had to be someone around somewhere. He would find them. He opened up his senses for anything that indicated the presence of another person.

Evan Talkingwater 13 years ago
Evan hmmphed at the idea of being a slave driver but made no further comment; he could not fully disagree. He supposed once long ago he had captives that would have been considered slaves by some; however, he thought of them as part of his household, taking care of them and protecting them as he would have his family, were he able to have any. But that had been many years ago.

He laughed at Guillaume's astute observation. "It does...its a tour...of sorts." Evan looked over at Kiyoshi and shook his head. "Not really the plan unless that's what you want to see. I figure you'll have enough of bars and alcohol pretty quickly. There is very little reason to also visit them on your time off." Unless a person needed to hunt for food...but that was his own personal problem and not one he would mention to werewolves. He sighed at their eager new barkeep. "Looks like I don't have to drive him. He'll do that all on his own." Elbowing Kiyoshi lightly in the arm, Evan grinned. "Then come with me on my night off."

Looking over at Guillaume at Kiyoshi's question, Evan shrugged and then looked down at their new employee. "What would you prefer? I know that it is good advertisement. If you enjoy the competitions then, by all means, go to them. If you don't like touring then stay. We'll manage."

In answer to Guillaume's question about the snoopy dance as a wolf, Evan grinned. "For you, Navid, in exchange for the much loved Snoopy Dance, I will do the chicken dance. Its not nearly as graceful but it is somewhat amusing. I suppose. I'll even do it in advance, if you like."
Guillaume 13 years ago
"Mon Dieu! He is going to try and tend bar with four feet. We are going to have to throw him out during the day!"

Navid wanted to laugh, he couldn't help but smile. At least Kiyo was enthusiastic and that was better than someone who was resentful of their job. He would trust Evan to keep Kiyo from working himself to death. Perhaps, in time, he might ask Kiyo to join him at the Arch. It seemed the quiet environment might appeal to their new bar tender.

He was impressed with Kiyo's question. It seemed the man did take some pride in his skill, but he nodded in agreement with Evan's answer.


"It is your decision. Perhaps you would like to focus on the regional ones rather than traveling all over, but whatever you like."

He didn't feel bad offering an option. There was no reason for Kiyo to feel obligated to audition constantly. Besides their primary clientele would be happy enough with just a place to be themselves.

"I think perhaps we need to work on this exchange. After all at least the Snoopy dance involves decent jazz, that 'music' that goes along with the chicken dance is grating."
Kiyoshi Salinas 13 years ago
Kiyoshi regarded Evan uncertainly, not sure if he was supposed to be accompanying his new employer as an employee, to actually see the competition, or because Evan really wanted the company. Neither Evan nor Guillaume seemed too upset at the notion that he would be pleased to work as often as required, so he contentedly let himself assume he could show up to work every night. It gave him a sense of being needed and he liked that.

"I'll go with you whenever you want," he said to Evan. It didn't matter what capacity, really. He sort of liked Evan. Guillaume, Kiyoshi was still feeling out. The irony of being more comfortable with the vampire than with his own Packmate was not lost on him.

Kiyoshi shook his head at Guillaume's suggestion.
"There's no point in doing regional," he said. "There are only a handful of worldwide competitions and if you want to make a name for yourself you need to stay active in them."

It was a circuit Kiyoshi knew well. He'd been competing on it for several years now. However, each win in the major competitions netted him over twenty thousand dollars. When shared with his sponsor, usually more in Kiyo's favor, he made plenty of extra cash. He won quite often, as long as he could get himself into his zen-like state beforehand. The few losses he'd had were because he had not been able to calm himself.

At any rate, the only way to go was worldwide.
"It would be very good advertising," he agreed with Evan. "There's a fairly short list of bars by continent that are known for being flair bars. If you want Terminus to be one of them, I can help you make it happen. It just depends how much you want me to do."

There was flair, and there was flair. It was a huge difference, doing working flair as opposed to exhibition flair. Things like what Kiyoshi had been doing when Guillaume had entered, just didn't happen behind the bar during working hours. That was more for show. If Evan and Guillaume wanted him to display that talent he certainly would. Working flair, however, was what he'd shown them when he'd mixed Evan's three requested drinks. It added some time to the mixing of the drink but Kiyo was quite fast, slipping in bits of flair while he mixed. Working flair was often his best category.


"I'd like to keep competing, if that's all right with you," he decided. "The benefits to the bar would be good."

If they didn't want to sponsor him, he would pay his own way out of his wages. The pros far outweighed the cons. Kiyoshi could really help put Terminus on the map. It didn't matter if he disliked performing. Evan and Guillaume were offering him something he would not find otherwise, a decent job that understood his needs and his strange schedule. He would use his few talents on their behalf, then, since it seemed he might be able to do them some good in return.

Having made his decision he fell silent again, content to let the dancing discussion happen around him, very glad he hadn't been brought in on it... however, the idea of Guillaume doing the snoopy dance was still amusing.
Evan Talkingwater 13 years ago
"Luckily there will be no one here during the day so he'll have to sleep." Evan grinned over at Kiyoshi.

The tour of the town was sorted out, after a fashion. He would have some time to consider what would be a good evening out for the quiet bartender.

They continued to work on checking out the inventory, taking note of any of the broken ones. Kiyoshi mentioned that the regional flair competitions weren't worth worrying about if he was not going to do the larger ones. He listened as their new employee explained how it would be good for business,something unique to draw attention to Terminus. The advertisement to the bar from the videos and news segments would help as well.

Evan smiled at Kiyoshi, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. We appreciate it."

They continued to work until all the glasses were put out and the front end of the club was clean once more. There would be plenty of other things to get done in the nights to come.

((OOC: All out with permission))