What Not to Do (Kallisti)

[Visha]

“Inspired by. Yes I think so. Did you see the little devilish creatures? And the magnificent blue hair? It’s a very old film, though. Definitely vintage. Heroes and things.” She made a hand-wavey gesture, but did not take her eyes off the stage. Visha remained transfixed throughout, though she also leaned to whisper more comments the moment they popped into her head – mostly confusion or exclamation on how the magic was interwoven. At the show’s conclusion she stood to clap her gloved hands, smiling widely. Though her gaze scanned the crowds too in observation, curious to see what was supposed to happen next. Her attention bounced back to Seven with the same question on the tip of her tongue, “What do we do now?”

[Oriena]

One heel and then the other slipped from her feet. Oriena rolled the cold glass along her bottom lip and smirked, watching for a moment before her attention turned to the stage. He seemed like he was on something, though whatever it was, he was very clearly enjoying himself. She thought about asking what it was; the first vodka went down her throat smooth, but Ezekiel’s buzz had long since lapsed. For now though Ori only idled at the flourishes Nox had asked her to perform. The soft breeze on stage was not difficult, and nor did it take much of her focus. Naturally, she added her own embellishment, just for the amusement of Nox's reaction. He styled it seamlessly, but she laughed anyway as she refilled her glass.

Her gaze only shifted when Aiden leaned over. He’d seemed mildly irritated with her provocation, and she expected something mildly boring to come out of his mouth. By the fact his boyfriend’s hand still rested inside his thigh she’d made some presumptive guesses as to why he hadn’t simply swiped her legs away. But what he said prompted throaty laughter instead.

“Bad things, I hope.”

[Sage]

Sage's mind was still split between the things in his head, the stage, his boyfriend, and the women's feet in his lap. For most people it would be information overload, for Sage it was flying high. Higher than he'd been in ages. Not that living with Aiden was bad, but he was still building his network, Phaser was dead and the Wicked Truth was just beginning and he had to rebuild the things he relied on. This was heaven.

He listened to things around him. Saw everything, heard it all even if there was a delay in his reaction. He could pause and rewind and rerun entire conversations with the processor in his head. It was like having a personal surveillance on at all times. And he used it without hesitation. Aiden leaned across him to talk to Ori and Sage smile with the scent of his boyfriend so near.

Oriena laughed and her words made Sage smile when the registered in his mind.

"Only the worst." Sage delved quickly into the public footprint the woman beside him left. Like most of Nox's acquaintances they left little in terms of paper trails. Shady dealings requiring those sorts of things, but they couldn't hide from Sage. He was finding it near impossible to get to Raffe inside of the fortress he was currently part of. And the hacker who tried to thrawt him was a fanboi of the greatest measure and spent more time typing out prolific gratitudes and not defending his system. Sage supposed he was confident in knowing he couldn't breach the air gap. If only he could get a device close enough... Nox's wallet was ideal, but it was turned off.

A tidbit of knowledge flittered across Sage's senses as one of the newest searches pinged a coincidence -- Jaxen and Oriena entering Jaxen's abode together. A wicked smile grew upon his lips and he added as an after thought to what he'd said to her what felt like eon's ago to him. "Seems as though Jaxen gets around. His lips and found purchase upon both of you." He squeezed Aiden's thigh and Oriena's foot currently in his hand.

While he monitored Jaxen's front door, he didn't trespass beyond the lobby -- not even the elevators. Voxel was a colleague, and Jaxen sorta a friend. He respected his privacy to a degree -- the same degree in which he respected Nox's. Well maybe not Nox's Nox was free with all his information even if his partners didn't know. Nox didn't exactly know either. The other man was currently making eyes with two women at another table. Obviously knew them in some way. He only lingered when he did. He'd join them soon. Sage had much to tell him. Though he sent most of the information he'd found on the girl Visha to his wallet, and the same with Raffe's where abouts. He'd ask eventually -- Sage knew that much about his friend.

[Danika]

Next thing she knew, Nox’s arm was wrapped around her neck and she couldn’t help but be tugged into the embrace. Wide eyes exchanged looks with Ilesha, but the other girl was in the exact same predicament!

His turnings guided her gaze on a tour of the audience. She watched the women and men closely, noting the intimate ways they were all touching and leaning.  Her big eyes glanced up at him. “They must be very good friends!” she nodded just as he guided their attention to the stage. Surely Nox wasn’t suggesting that they meet that girl too. Danika would be thrilled! Everyone was so talented. Her outfit didn’t fit very well though.

The invitation back stage sounded amazing. Danika nodded emphatically, but all the employees seemed rather busy meeting up with their many friends. It might be more than an hour before they were done for the night. Surely not more than that!

Ilesha seemed like she was stuck between being uncomfortable and very happy. Nox was whispering to her, and his laugh was quite melodious. Danika was one big smile for her friend.

“This is a nice shirt,” she said, patting Nox on the arm. Oh muscular. She pat his arm a second time just for emphasis. Inevitably her attention was pulled to the scars on display. “What happened there? Looks like you got scratched by a pet tiger! I’ve heard that rich movie stars and mafia types keep exotic animals like that. Tigers and hippopotamuses and stuff.”

[Seven]

Her excitement was infectious, but Seven never needed coaxing to the warmth of fireside revelries. He joined freely on his own, and the hum of his laughter was lifted by Visha’s exaltations. “Devilish imps and blue hair? I must simply watch this movie, it seems.” By then, their star had descended from his mountains to walk among the common people. He was presently entertaining two young women, but was still still many tables away. The hair danced with little flickering runes that turned the tips blue. “I didn’t even know you could do anything like what he did. Fascinating,” he added with a thoughtful nod.

Visha’s question tugged the corners of his mouth into a smile.

“Well we can stay and have another drink. We can order some food. We could wait for some private entertainment. Or if you want, I will happily do my best to engage you in stimulating and whimsical conversation,” he attempted* to slip a hand through hers with the gesture that he might kiss the knuckles of her glove.





((*Didn't want to mode in case she retracts her hand from the attempt.))

[Ilesha]

Ilesha's eyes went wide with Danika's presumption they were friends. She'd have leaned across to tell her otherwise but the man between them was too close. And she was doing her best not to stare at his chest as it was. Danika seemed oblivious to their situation. Or maybe she was just a little drunk? How much had they had.

Pizza sounded good. Sitting in the back room even better. "That would be wonderful." She said with a relieved smile.

The smile on Nox's lips was infectious, and he answered Danika's question with ease. "I could tell you the truth. Or agree that some tiger from some famed person I once met did it. Or I could give you a more embarrassing lie, like you'd never believe all the naughty things the girl and I did that night. Hell of a story if you'd want to hear." He laughed softly, "The truth is hardly romantic or story worthy."

Ilesha was sure that he could weave an interesting story even if he didn't want to tell them the truth. The production was nice, he had to have a good imagination for that sort of thing. She'd love to hear any version of the story, the truth of course, but she'd leave that to Danika, it was her question after all.

But he took a step back and held his finger to his ear and spoke in softly. "Bruno, these two ladies want to slip to the back. Order a pizza and let them wait. They are friends of Juls and Claire."

He stepped back into the girls and smiled. "If you'll follow me." He took both their hands and Ilesha grabbed her drink with her free hand. His walked in front of them with their hands held over his shoulder like he was leading them down a runway. Ilesha couldn't keep her eyes off his backside. The toga like outfit was just as revealing in the back as in the front -- almost more so.

[Nox]

Oh boy. Nox hoped that Danika wasn't that naive. Hopefully more drunk than she looked. She really had no clue what type of place she was in.

He could have spun any number of tales, but he didn't feel like lying to them exactly. He wasn't ashamed of the story. He'd tell them if they truly wanted the truth. Nox was more fond of the lies he could tell -- it had led to several impactful sexual encounters with women when he was younger. Now it was just a reminder of his father's hatred.

But he pushed those things aside and drew the girls behind him down the long corridors to the private rooms. All the doors where shut but the music from the otherside drifted to their ears as the stage music lessened. They passed several of the occupied rooms, one was in the middle of being cleaned before the next guest. They had standards. (and rules) But not everyone followed those rules.

At the end of the hall Nox opened the 'employees only' door and shifted the girls inside and closed the door behind him. The room was deafening silent except for the crack of a bottle of water opening. Nox turned to see Juls lounging on the plush couch resting her feet and grabbing a drink of water.

"Ilesha. You came!"

"The show went viral. I had to come see what it was all about. Figured it was a good time to come and visit."

Juls was up on her feet and offering her hand to Danika. "I'm Juls. And you are?"

Nox interrupted. "This is Danika. She knows Ilesha, but I invited her. The girl from Alamaz."

Juls pointed to her lip and nodded. "Oh. Diet Coke." Juls took the girls by the hand and nodded at the door. "Get back out there. They want to see the star!"

[[ ooc: gonna leave ya'll with Juls. Nox potentially will be back later. He will tell any story Danika wants to hear just let me know and I can PM it to you or add it to the next post with Juls. ]]

---

Nox slipped out the door relieved to have a moment of quiet. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes recentering himself for the mass of people he was about to enter. He just wanted to get back to doing something that mattered. Protecting Kalllisti was the top of his mind, but there was the significance of Raffe's absence that drew upon his heart.

One step in front of the other Nox wound his way through the crowd again. Stopping to chat with others. He spied Aiden and Sage in the front with Oriena propping her feet up on the hacker's lap. Ori might not know what she was getting into, but Nox spied the girl who had dropped his name. He made his way slowly through the crowd stopping when needed until he was at their table in the back. He offered them a welcoming smile and put his hand on each of their shoulders. His mechanical grip on the girl's was barely felt between his fingers. He concentrated on that impression more so as he leaned closer to the man who he recognized.

He'd been with Jay that night at the Alamaz. "Nice of both you to join us. I hope I'm not interrupting." He offered the pair his sweetest smile before asking him. "You didn't come with Jay did you?" Nox chuckled uncomfortably. "Don't want to run into the same problem as last time."

[[ ooc: in case it's not clear he's at Seven and Visha's table ]]

[Visha]

The longer Visha watched, the more she began to suspect Raffe had lied. Or that the rules he’d spoken of were simply the kind expected to be broken for the thrill of doing so. Her curiosity outbid her concern, at least for the moment. Perusing the various tables below was almost as interesting as the show had been itself, for she’d never had the opportunity for such organic observations in person. The various flirtations were compelling, and she felt her own body react in kind. Yet she considered that it might be prudent to extricate herself sooner rather than later.

Seven somewhat complicated the desire to be good and sensible, though.

His smile was princely, and his mannerisms precisely the theatrically romantic kind Visha spent much time fantasising about when she was confined to her room at Paragon. She’d meant the question quite literally of course, but his reply captivated every ounce of her attention. When he reached for her hand she took in a small surprised breath, but did not resist. The glove would protect him, though by now she thoroughly regretted her dedication to fashion over her usual coverings. Her eyes grew round as he raised her hand to his lips and dusted a kiss at her knuckles. A kiss. A first kiss in fact. And probably the only one she could ever have.

“You never finished telling me about the last bracelet,” she said, voice low and silky. Visha wanted it still, but she wanted the perfection of the moment more. Her heart beat like butterflies in her chest, fizzing her skin with wonderful sensation. The eyes that met his were liquid dark and utterly intense. For once she was very unaware of her surroundings, so when a hand landed on her bare shoulder she visibly flinched in surprise. Panic flared. Visha twisted away while he leaned to speak to Seven. Nox; the star from stage and video. And currently still very naked. Her gaze wandered curiously for a moment before it skewered for the interruption.

It had only been a moment of contact. Surely not enough for harm. A little euphoria maybe.

[Oriena]

“Hardly an exclusive club, sweetheart.” She laughed around the rim of her glass. Ori kept half an eye on the club around them. An Asian man by the bar. The wheelchair, obviously. And Nox’s travels amongst the customers. But the wicked cast of the boyfriend’s grin held her attention. She arched her foot a little at the squeeze. “But unusual to find someone who knows more about me than I do about them.”

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden rolled his eyes at the mention of Jaxen. In another lifetime they might have been the best of friends. The pair had plenty enough in common. Hell, between Nox, Jaxen, and himself, they might have put on the grandest show ever to be seen in the Ascendancy’s expansive kingdom. They still might if Aiden could bring himself to trust Jaxen with that kind of intense collaboration. At present, the man was playing games and Aiden didn’t have enough free time to play along further than red carpet antics.

“Ah, so then he swings whichever way the wind blows then?” Aiden asked with a chuckle, although the question had been purely rhetorical.

Oriena was acting the perfect pussy cat as Sage’s hands worked magic on them both. Dimitri had remained quiet, instead focusing on his drink in an effort to cover up his eavesdropping. Aiden shrugged and let the man listen. He was more than welcome to chime in if he had wanted to. Perhaps he had finally caught a buzz.

“Oh, Sage knows everything – almost everything,” Aiden whispered to Oriena in a mock conspiratorial tone, “You must not know him very well if you don’t know that. I, on the other hand, only know so much about you. Not afraid the Snakes are gonna put you on their hit list?”

For all Aiden knew, she might have already been on that list. Nox certainly was. Perhaps that common thread was what had drawn them together in the first place. She clearly didn’t give a shit if she was wielding the Power so openly. Then again, one had to really be paying attention to have noticed her little chair trick.