"Creature of the night, I guess," Aerith shrugged. The line of questioning was as normal (rote even), bartenders always wanted to know why she was out, why she was alone, where her boyfriend was... although this one didn't seem to ask her about that. Maybe she knew.
Aerith couldn't get a read on her. Fem in dress, with luxuriously long black hair and rouged lips, not to mention nails like claws - could go either way. The thick arms - god, were those triceps!? - were bare, as if to say 'I'm the bouncer as well as the wench.' But when she caught Aerith tracing the shadows down to the elbow, she gave a little flex as she reached for the top shelf liquor.
"Where I'm from, the term was night owl," the barkeep said. "Although in the slums, I guess 'creature' works fine." She twirled the mixer in one hand, rapping it with the tips of her black nails. Aerith felt like she was the only person in the joint.
"I didn't order, yet." Aerith said, feeling the bartender's eyes on her cheeks.
"Is that so?"
The drink was as red as the lips, dress, and eyes. Red eyes..? Aerith lifted the tumbler up in a salute, then took a timid sip. It was thick, sweet, and a little coppery.
"Hey there, night owl," Tifa's voice cut through the din of the crowd, slipping through gaps in the party goers to make the hair on Aerith's neck stand on end.
She turned around. "Oh. Hi. Tifa, right?" As if she could have forgotten, as if those red eyes hadn't cut through the fog of her sleep every night for weeks. "Are you... working the party?"
Tifa gave a hum in laughter, keeping her lips closed. "Kotch owed me a favour, he's introducing me to some potential buyers. The real question is, how did you manage to get an invite?"
Part of her brain screamed 'Danger! Danger!' but she was already too lost in the flow. The giddiness of sharing her secret with Tifa foamed over the thinky part of her brain. She took a few steps back from the punch bowl, into a darker corner. Tifa's steps to follow were measured, heel to toe, slow like liquid.
"There's someone at this party who's been causing trouble in Sector 5. I've been tracking them for days, and my best intel is that they're here tonight."
Tifa hummed, "Oh? What kind of trouble?"
Aerith managed to break the eye contact. "There have been some murders... not just murders, they've been... well, it's like a monster got to them. Ripped apart."
Tifa shook her head. "Oh, that's just awful." She didn't sound too fazed. "What kind of people were they?"
"What?" Aerith asked, surprised. She met Tifa's eyes again and for a moment the party around them ceased to exist. "Oh, well... actually, the victims were all awful... But... They were in my community, y'know?"
"Such a good heart," Tifa placed her hand on Aerith, elliciting a gasp. Fingertips along her clavicle, her thumb bent so that the sharp nail pressed the skin above her heart. "Good luck finding your killer."
Aerith had a moment, standing alone at the bottom of the stairs, of doubt. The Plate loomed above, blocking the moonlight, and a haze blanketed the Sector 7 slums as thick as blood. The apartments opened onto an exterior walkway, Tifa's was the first at the top of the stairs. Aerith looked up at them, bending her neck to gaze at the closed door, the shuttered window.
'I mustn't turn back,' she told herself. 'I need to know the truth.'
More than that - because she already knew the truth - she needed to confront her. 'I know it was you. And more. I know that it's not just them. I know about the girls who come and go from your home. I need to know what kind of spell you put on them. I need to know why their eyes look like that when they leave. What kind of drug do you give them to make their faces so... I need to know what you... do to people... Why you have such a hold on people... Why you keep getting away with it... I want to know... how it is that you... hurt people. Why? What do you get out of it? What do you feel? What do you do to them? I need to know how they feel. I need answers. What are you? What would you do to me..? Why...'
She had drifted to the top of the stairs like a dream without her consciously moving her feet. She now stood in front of the door, shallow breaths buffeting off the plate metal.
'Can you hear my breathing? Can you hear my heartbeat? Can you hear my thoughts? Tifa. Tifa...'
A click from inside let her know that the door had been unlocked. Her breath caught in her chest and she came to for one last moment, one last touch of light before she opened the door and stepped inside. It closed behind her.