#cassjthompson

[thegraveyardshifts]

@cassjthompson

Location: French Quarter, Mardi Gras.

There's a literal, little hole in the wall framed by open shutters with peeling paint and a hand painted menu next to it that displays drinks with a 2 for 1 offer due to the carnival season. Cleo doesn't even bother to join the que that's formed beside the hatch where a bearded man takes orders and then hands out drinks in plastic cups with pretty parasols and fresh fruit garnish. She just says a name all too sharply to catch said mans attention and laughs afterwards, conversing with a friend and skipping the que. Coming away with 2 overly-filled cups of hurricane, she takes a sip and sighs before glancing over and making eye-contact with a woman. A part of Cleo says fuck it, raising the other cocktail up and smiling warmly. "You want one? I can't finish both, they're too sweet,"

[frgdsecrts]

for: cassie ( @cassjthompson ) location: outside a random bar at mardi gras

Levi's body moved to the rhythm of the song blaring from the nearby bar he had stopped in front of. Leto was somewhere nearby, probably in conversation with a random tourist. The vampire had a drink in one hand from another bar, a couple of beads around his neck, and utterly lost in the environment around him. Mardi Gras was the time of year that his spirit could truly be appreciated as almost everyone was on the same wavelength as him. Utterly carefree, living in the moment. His blue eyes scanned for the first closest person to him, trying to see who he could pull into a random dance.

It didn't take too long for him to spot the perfect person, and even less time to approach them. "Happy Mardi Gras," Levi says, greeting the woman with a charming smile. "Are you by chance free for a drink and perhaps a dance?" He chuckled, "The drink is on me, of course, my treat."

[frgdsecrts]

for: cassie ( @cassjthompson )

location: a random bar in the french quarter

Versi was sitting at the bar, chatting away to some random. He was a couple drinks in, but not yet tipsy, only buzzed. The random person he was speaking with was just a tourist who had been on a tour with him about an hour ago, and the tour ended here at a haunted bar in the French Quarter. By this point of the conversation Versi was now going on about his podcast, Ghost Shift, showing the tourist where he could find it so he could listen to it. They laughed a little more and then the tourist man decides he’s had enough paranormal talk for the evening. He waves goodbye to him, ordering another drink. Just one more would not hurt, it didn’t seem he would be called upon by Suresh tonight, plus he planned to be a bit social this evening anyway.

His attention turns to someone nearby, greeting them with a smile as warm as the summer sun, “Hello, I’m Versi. How long have you been sitting there? Hopefully my stories of this bar being haunted haven’t startled you, but isn’t it so neat? Not like the murder part, obviously, but that we are literally sitting in a realm of spirits! There might be one sitting right by you, enjoying a drink too.” He paused, “Sorry. That was weird of me. I’ll just…please ignore me.”

[thegraveyardshifts]

"You usually work it? What do you do?" She asked curiously, wondering if the woman owned a local business or maybe worked as an EMT or something, anything that would mean she spent the carnival working instead of enjoying it. Even in the ER, it was the one time of the year Cleo insisted on having off, offering to work Christmas if she could instead have Mardi Gras off.

"Don't mention it, it's always a good time to meet new friends," The shifter responded with a smile. "I'm C.C, by the way,"

The music was heard before the bar seen, Cleo leading Cass to the entrance where salsa and samba poured out, people inside chatting and dancing to the rhythm.

"Margarita?" She suggested.

As an event planner, Cassidy was one of the people who was making sure the special events in the city went off without any problems. So this Mardi Gras for her was rare cause she was actually enjoying the celebrations no matter what it might be. So she was definitely taking advantage of it the best she could cause as a local she was always learning from the others who lived in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"You are not the first person to say that tonight and definitely not the last, I am just glad I decided to do it and actually enjoy the carnival this year by not working through it all." She responded with a soft chuckle looking over at Cleo as she followed her to the next destination for the night only now hearing about the place where they were heading. "Thank you for hanging out with me tonight, by the way!"

[thegraveyardshifts]

She'd been dressing up for Mardi Gras since she was a child, always involved with young dance troupes and local youth groups eager to show off the future of the carnival and nurture their talents. Cleo simply loved how the vibrant city jumped to life during carnival, a chance to show off to the world how partying was really done.

"Well, you've chosen the best time to start it up again," Cleo noted with a friendly smile, motioning with her head further down the road, greeting a few people who yelled out in familiarity to her. "Yeah, I do. There's a little hole in the wall Cuban bar - they have a salsa band on most days and a courtyard where we can dance. Follow me,"

In the eyes of locals in New Orleans or at least CJ, as long as you are comfortable in what you are wearing no matter the time of the year that was all that mattered. When it came to carnival and holidays it was always fun to see the creativity. The outfit that Cleo was wearing to her was native to the spirit of Mardi Gras and gave her ideas for some future events in the years ahead with outfit ones which the city always inspired.

"I am not actually sure, it has been forever and a day since I walked from one bar to the next. Do you have any suggestions on where we should go next?" She asked the gorgeous female. "I am always willing to explore with new friends during Mardi Gras!"

[thegraveyardshifts]

She didn't go back to get changed, instead dedicating the whole day to being out and about with friends and family, still stressed in her carnival get-up of a bejeweled top and matching bottoms, arms and legs adorned with feathers and soft jingling bells that made a noise when she walked. Cleo partied into the evening with the others that had been on the floats, all them dressed in the dazzling outfits they'd donned earlier in the day.

"Cheers," Cleo tapped her cup against the one now handed over, taking a large gulp of it and sighing out softly, a smile on her face. There was nothing like Mardi Gras to lift her spirits. "No problem. Which bar are you headed to? We could walk together,"

The French Quarter was all a buzz for carnival season, Cassidy was enjoying the night by just being a regular enjoying the festivities after a day of taking pictures and making sure all of the events in which she helped planned were all set for the night. She had returned home to shower and get dressed to the nines in a skin black dress with matching sparkly shoes to match. Tonight for her was one where she wanted to dress up and sparkle even if she was not wearing the regular purple, yellow, or green. As long as she felt good, that was all that counted and she felt like a billion dollars.

As she was walking towards the music she heard someone calling for her asking if she wanted the drink she was holding. Cassidy Jo smiled, "You must have been reading my mind, I was heading to get a drink at one of the bars up the street. Thank you!" She called over to her taking the plastic cup from her. "Cheers! Next round is on me!"