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<span>Spoiler: <span class="bbCodeSpoiler-button-title">Ember</span></span>
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</div><br/><br/>The night was in full swing as music played throughout the bar, light Irish tunes bouncing off the walls and mingling with the sound of people chatting and the clinking of glasses.  There were people scattered throughout the establishment, occupying almost every table and seat available at the pub.  It was certainly a busier night for the Guilded Kilt, however not the busiest it had ever been.  Among the sea of people, a fiery-haired young woman by the name of Ember sat at one of the round wooden tables.  She was dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, a black leather jacket, and a grey tank top, the dark colors only helping to enhance the bright strings of copper that fell down her shoulders.  Emerald green eyes watched the band play from afar as she picked up her drink, lifting it up to her ruby red lips as she tipped it back and took a long swig.  Her friend, Valerie, sat next to her, going on about she felt she needed to get up and go socialize.  Ember just let her rant, content with keeping her friend company and people watching as she listened to the music.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff">"Seriously Em.  You need to put yourself out there.  Just go and talk to <i>one</i> guy tonight.  For me?"</span>Lowering her half-empty glass bottle of beer away from her lips, she turned to give Val a hard look.  Ember was met with a rather childish pout and a pair of puppy dog eyes that were so ridiculous, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.  Val was always good at getting her way though, and this time was no exception.  She could see the obnoxious determination in her friends eyes, and knew this was a battle she was bound to loose.  Sighing, Ember pushed her chair out from underneath the table and stood up.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00b300">"If it'll get you off my back, fine..."</span>Making a point to frown at her dark-haired friends beaming and triumphant expression, Ember made her way over to the open-faced bar with a drink in hand.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff">"Great!  Maybe finally getting laid will help you stop sulking so much."</span>Her fingers tightened around the bottle she was holding as she resisted the urge to turn and throw it at a snickering Val, choosing to instead ignore her with yet another exasperated sigh.  She knew Val meant well, but the curvaceous young woman could be a bit much at times, pushing her own opinion and desires onto others who may not feel the same way.  Spending time with her could be exhausting, but she did care about her, and always tried to make time for her friends.<br/><br/>Ember did manage to strike up a conversation or two with a few people just to appease Val, but in all honesty, it was rather boring.  An hour later, she was sitting back at her table people watching once more, a freshly opened ginger beer in hand.  Everyone was the same, and it was just mindless, pointless flirting or conversation that she wasn't much interested in that night.  Which she supposed was the point of coming to a bar... But in her defense, the venue hadn't exactly been her idea.  Ember had had enough of mindless conversations in her life.  She had enough of flirting and fun, and that being it.  Of course she wanted that in her life, but she wanted substance as well.  Something to back the fun up, and keep it fresh and new each time.  Something<i>more </i>to go along with it, so it didn't feel empty each time.  Perhaps she was being too philosophical tonight though.  After all, this was a bar, a place to unwind and have fun.  Maybe Val was right... maybe she did just need to loosen up.<br/><br/>Taking a sip of her drink, Ember breathed in deep and let out a sigh, relishing in the way the alcohol burned down her throat.  Her eyes flicked around the room, listening to the music and watching as the pub slowly began to empty out as the night drew on.  Na... she was content, just like this.  A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she leaned back in her seat, letting her shoulders relax as she closed her eyes for a second.  The alcohol was starting to get to her, giving her a buzz just enough to help her tense muscles begin to relax some.<br/><br/>As the night started to come to an end, the bar began to empty out, and soon enough there were hardly anymore customers.  Val had made her way back to her side, and was now going on about some guy she met as they finished up their drinks, telling Ember all about the exciting night she had had.  It was around that time that one of the waiters came up to their table, her head turning and angling up to look at the taller man as he approached them.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Hey there.  I'm James.  You two having a nice evening?" </span>The waiter who introduced himself as James flashed them a pearly white smile, leaving Ember a bit confused as she slowly nodded.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Good.  Maybe I can make it a little better by ending your night with one last round of drinks, on me."</span>Blinking a couple times in surprise, Ember merely stared at him for a moment, not expecting that.  She expected him to ask about their drinks, see if they needed to be topped off, or tell them they'd be closing soon.  Not offer to buy them himself.  And for what purpose?<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00b300">"Thank you, but I think we're good..."</span>Wincing as she felt a nudge in her side, the red-head ignored her friend next to her as she continued to smile politely up at the waiter.  What the hell was wrong with that girl?<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Alright alright, I get the message.  Didn't mean to be pushy.  Honestly... I just saw from across the room, and had to have an excuse to come talk to you."</span>A pair of brown eyes settled on Ember as he spoke, surprising her yet again as he flashed her another charming smile.  Ah... so that was why Val nudged her.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00b300">"Um... Thank you, but.. we were actually just leaving.  Right Val?"</span>Pushing her chair back and standing up, she glanced down at her raven-haired friend with a pointed look.  Maybe some girls would have been flattered by his interest, but Ember was just a little... put off by how forward he was being.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff"> "Were we?  Hmm.. I don't 'member that.."</span>Feigning innocence, Val tapped her chin with her perfectly manicured pointer finger.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00b300">"Val..."</span>Hissing under her breath, Ember glared at her with a look that clearly said she meant business.  She knew what Val was trying to do, and she wasn't going to have it, nor did she have the patience for it at the moment.  Pouting, Valerie sighed, pushed her chair back, and stood up.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff">"Fine.  Les' go, stick in da mud.."</span>Her words slurred together as she turned to leave, stumbling in her high heels a bit as she struggled to keep her footing.  It was obvious the girl had had one too many drinks.  Sighing, Ember rolled her eyes and finished off her drink before turning to leave.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#808080">"Do you really have to leave so soon?  I didn't even catch your name, gorgeous."</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#00b300">"It's Ember... And yeah, we do.  Sorry.  Nice meeting you though."</span>With one last polite smile and a small wave, the short red-haired woman turned and quickly left to catch up to her friend, eager to finally get out of that joint.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#a64dff">"He was cute... to think, you coulda' gotten laid t'night... What a shame."</span>Before they were even out of earshot, Valerie was already mumbling her complaints over her decision to turn the guy down.  She actually looked genuinely sad to, as if her love life affected her in any way.  This time, with both of her hands free, Ember was more than happy to smack her upside the head.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(0, 179, 0)">"I hope you have the worst hangover tomorrow..."</span>she grumbled, ignoring her friends whines and protests as she pushed her out the door so they could begin their walk home.<br/><br/>Her apartment was only a block away, so she figured they would be fine.  They had done this several times before with no problems after all.  Because of that, and Valerie's incessant whining about her feet hurting, Ember didn't think to check to make sure they were safe.  She was distracted, and didn't think to be more cautious of her surroundings, especially since she was so familiar with the area.  However, due to her ignorance in this one instance, she failed to notice the two men at the bar leave at the same time they did.  Or that they began to follow them for an abnormally long time, slowly gaining footing on them the farther they got from the bar.  Both of the young woman were ignorant to the danger that was slowly closing in on them, having no idea of what they would be facing in mere moments.  No clue that they could be seconds away from loosing their very lives.