The Angel of the Undercity & A Homecoming

[Oriena]

Oriena laughed a little for the adorable amount of effort Juliana went to to ensure it was understood that neither Nox nor Rafael had broken Kallisti’s arbitrary rules. If the two men were fucking, it meant precious little to Ori. Even had it transpired otherwise. No fraternising with patrons might have served a purpose, once, but that was now as obsolete as the club itself. The remnant of such a rule was little more than an insurance against the tax on prostitution. Of course, just because Ori didn’t care, didn’t mean she would not choose to retaliate if the mood took her.

A finger traced the line of her lower lip. “I see,” was all she said. A sharp smirk toyed with Juliana’s fears, the coy slant of Ori’s expression suggesting the woman had given up a weapon anyway, just not the one she thought. Webs of compulsion made things easy, and she’d use them on Nox without hesitation to get the information she wanted from him. But leverage was so much the sweeter tool. That revelation alone was probably worth the visit. 

Still, whatever she’d thought to find in the club tonight, it was not here among the meek silences of these women. She offered them a place to belong, and power if they chose to take it. Not that Oriena was surprised to find only disappointment in the trembling way they looked at her instead. Even Ryker had had to be coaxed to find his balls and act on the impulses squirming like poison under his ruined skin.

The man she had compelled to fetch her drink finally returned, and Ori stood to meet him. Her fingers wrapped the crystal without recognition of the service, the ice clinking as she snatched. Her other hand pressed dismissal against his chest, and he went without complaint, confusion furrowing his brow. By now the currents of Oriena’s mood shifted, and her interest in this motley gathering faded like a night bereft of stars. Her gaze captured Ilesha. The little bird of a woman was posed as though awaiting permission to flee -- permission she did not need, nor should she want. Ori pressed the drink to the woman’s stomach, and let go so that she must either accept the gift or let it smash to the floor.

“Loosen up a little, Ilesha. You might even enjoy it.” She winked, though the smile on her lips was nothing short of cruel, and did not pause to hear anything the woman might squeak in return. Nothing, she suspected. Her path took her from the club’s public face and into the shadowy rooms beyond. She took the back way out.