Cabaret & Candy (TONIGHT ONLY!)

[Aiden Finnegan]

Aiden shook his head a little, the French words chased away as he thought of his Mother getting angry and yelling at his Father in the language. She was French-Irish and only spoke the language when she was frustrated; a habit Rowan and Aiden had picked up on in their youth… Growing up in New Orleans only encouraged that behavior.

                Jaxen made a big show of ‘not caring,’ the lazy mockery apparent in every sleek move he made. A few eavesdroppers giggled at the comments being strung out between the little group. Aiden had lived way too many nights similar in tone to this one. Every celebrity had a high opinion of themselves and made sure you knew exactly what it was. Crawling back to Sage’s room and locking himself in there for the next decade was beginning to sound tempting.

                Nox didn’t exactly help matters with his own question for Aiden. With a furrowed brow and a long pull of his whiskey, Aiden considered his answer.

                “The last week has shown me how little I know about the world. I’d see myself educated before I make any plans, perhaps figure out if there’s any merit to the myths I grew up on… Monsters are real, so why not the rest of it? What about the Tuatha Dé Danann or the Olympians for that matter? If they were real, did they leave anything behind? Records, artifacts… something…” Aiden said in a serious tone. He really hadn’t considered what came after his tutelage under Nox and company, but that was now changing.

                Aiden had made a career out of mythology in the most unlikely way. Everything he had created in his life was the product of ‘divine’ inspiration; every song, illustration, and story had something to do with the ancient Gods of his people… and now he had found that life decided to give him Godly powers. A funny twist of fate that was.

                If the Tuatha Dé Danann did ever exist, it was unlikely that they survived to the modern era... Unless they really did become fairies and hid inside the hills… If Aiden could figure out what happened to them and why they fell, that might help Channelers everywhere. History had a tendency to repeat its self; knowing the fate of the old Gods would help the ‘new’ Gods avoid destruction. Aiden added that question to the ever-growing list of things to talk to Nox about…

                Although Nox would probably give the same response he always did: The Atharim.

                Aiden was getting very sick of that shadow organization. Everything always went back to the Atharim. It was grating. The thought of them compounded upon Aiden’s irritation over Jaxen’s smart mouth.

                This entire interaction with Jaxen had left a sour taste in Aiden’s mouth. Oh, he could handle people like Jaxen, but tonight was supposed to be enjoyable. He had wanted to meet this man after seeing his skill with the Power and his command over the stage, but he was proving to be more and more like the shallow assholes back in Hollywood. Aiden thought he might be able to learn something from this Jaxen; that idea had been stamped out quickly.


                With all eyes on the four of them, there was little doubt in Aiden’s mind that he’d be able to wash his hands of this little scene and go back to having a nice night with Sage.


                Perhaps we should just leave and find a nice restaurant to enjoy the rest of our date… Aiden began thinking to himself.

[Jaxen Marveet]

It wasn’t that long ago when Jaxen would call bullshit on Aiden’s wandering diatribe, but he’d seen too much this past year to hand-wave the notion completely away. Gods and monsters, kings and pawns. “Ahh forgive the jokes at your expense. It’s all in good jest. I’m happy for you two.” He winked at Sage, but was dying to know what Nox was thinking.

He leaned over and pat the guy on the shoulder like the gesture might patch up the rifts between them. Not that they were lined with barbed wire and gnashing teeth, more like sandpaper and tic tacs, but still, celebrities were a testy lot. One of the reason Jaxen loved to hang out with them.

“You know what, Aiden? You may be onto something.” A wry smile tugged at his lips, bait dangling for the little fishy to nibble. “Anyone care to move the party to my place before we get raided and thrown into the nearest gulag? I’ll show you something.” He stood, hand offered like some peace-offering.

[Thalia]

My name is Rafael. Please don't ask about the scar. It is a LONG story.

"Like the angel? Fitting. I'm Thalia." Her lips curved a smile as she squinted at the tiny letters, like he hadn't quite taken her reassurance as permission to mar her drawings. Curiosity burned, particularly since he asked her not to ask, but as her gaze bounced back up she shrugged acceptance. She hadn't joined him out of concern; or at least not the sort that felt any obligation. Rather, he had looked lonely.

Monsters are real? The eavesdropped conversation tripped a wire in her head, then. She'd joked with Aylin about the Fuseli painting while she'd searched for the identity of that other sketch, the one that demanded life. But Rafael's answer scrawled in the margins of a page that suddenly set her heart to beating; a cluster of creatures, their ravenous gazes peering out at the viewer. An idle musing, not a compulsion, and yet for a moment something blurred like a memory rose and burst against the surface of her mind.

My name is--

My name is--

Her head tilted, but the thought drowned, leaving little more than an uncomfortable scratch of déjà vu.

[Nox]

Nox was curious about this something Jaxen had. He'd seen something in Aria's books. He'd seen something in his everyday life. Some artifact well that was different. Most people didn't realize the monsters were proof of the gods. They were the weapons they used to fight one another. And then there was those strange new ones in the tunnels. He still hadn't gotten to the bottom of it and Dorian had said the police were getting involved. Not a good thing for them to get into Atharim business, but maybe Domovoi was the new Atharim. Nox wasn't sure he could follow all those rules.

Sage was almost clinging to Aiden. He looked like he wanted to say something but he was staying quiet.

There were all sorts of faces looking around and Jaxen invited who to the party? How many? Was that a smart thing to do. Nox wasn't sure but he nodded his agreement. "I'm almost afraid to see your something." Nox grinned at Jaxen.

[Sage]

The waves were getting frantic with Aiden sightings. Sage didn't like it, he curled around Aiden and whispered. "We should take Jaxen up on his offer. Your fans are getting wind of this." Aiden was supposed to be incognito - unknown - in hiding. And this wasn't any of that. Jaxen had played to his arrogance. Sage hadn't thought any better of it. He was too eager to see Aiden perform himself, and Methos too since his last performance got cut short - as always it seems Nox was always around when shit hit the fan... trouble followed him. It wasn't his fault, but he knew Jaxen, and that was partially the problem.

Sage didn't like the banter so much, though it was supposed to be good natured. Sage wasn't so sure. The man was a legend in the hacker world. He was a great many things, but good natured was not one of them. And Sage didn't know enough about him. But that was easy to remedy. He probably would flip a few of Jaxen's own triggers but that was kinda the point too. But he'd have to at least look at his phone. Sage didn't have to do any of that.

He'd let Aiden decide. Nox seemed eager to see what Jaxen had to offer. He wondered if there was more to that then it seemed.

[Aiden Finnegan]

Jaxen completely flipped his attitude, even going so far as to apologize. It threw Aiden off almost instantly. He had been on edge since Jaxen opened his mouth, but it was hard not to be when you met someone new and they instantly threw an old scandal in your face, laughing heartily at it. No doubt there would be talk online about their meeting and the old stories would be circulated once more. He'd be seeing old pictures of Kyle and himself for the next month if he wasn't careful.

                “Yes, well, perhaps I was a tad sensitive. We can trade barbs again later… I’m far too sober for all of that right now…” Aiden said as the tenseness began to fade from his body and mind. He finished what was left in his glass as Jaxen suggested they move the party elsewhere. Nox and Sage both thought it was a good idea, so Aiden had very little objection to the offer.

                It was Sage’s turn to grow tense; it seemed the net was already going on about the night’s activities. That wouldn’t do at all. Pulling out his wallet, Aiden messaged his driver and asked him to pull the limo around; provided he hadn’t drunk too much.

                “It's all right, babe, we'll go," Aiden said softly to Sage, "Should I be worried, Jaxen? You don’t have a banshee locked away at your place, do you?”

                Cooper, Aiden’s driver, responded quickly and affirmed that he was quite all right to drive.

                “My driver is out front. Stretch limo. We all pilling in? There should be a few bottles stocked in the back of it if anyone’s still thirsty… Lord knows I am.”

[Thalia]

Thoughts converged like the slow meander of divergent streams suddenly rushing together in a torrent. Monsters are real and I hunt them crashed together into an epiphany that rounded her eyes.

After raking through her own collection of books at Filvesky with Aylin, she'd spent a morning at Russia State. Seventeen million books and not a clue where to start, though there were worse places to drown. 

But why search books when she could ask a person?

After the break-in Thalia had dropped all the threads of her life. A few short weeks ago the idea of chasing the mysteries in her sketchbook would have shivered her with fear. Even now it felt like the sheer and reckless drop of a waterfall, but rather than inch her feet back from the plunge it only prompted a smile. Grey eyes sparkled.

"Life is infinitely weirder than I realised." Thalia dipped again to riffle through her bag, this time producing her wallet. She held out a finger to Rafael, begging a moment's diversion as she uncurled from the sofa.

"Excuse me!" She threaded her way back to the bar, blinked for a moment's double take now that she looked at the self proclaimed monster hunter properly. Though she was pretty certain she did not know him. "Can I borrow you? Just for a moment?" 

[Nox]

The girl from before came back and inserted her self into their little foursome and spoke softly but confidently. "Can I borrow you?" Nox's eyebrow raised. Okay he said of all the people here he hadn't been expected to be singled out. Aiden was famous, Jaxen was the star of the show. And Sage well that went without saying.

But Nox nodded. "Sure, duckling."

There was a vague deja vu about her. But beyond that strange feeling he might know her that was all it was. He hadn't slept with her had he? Surely he'd remember? Nox never got that drunk. He even remembered sleeping with Jay. Nox signed inwardly - he hated his memories sometimes. But he was fairly sure he'd never met her before. "Yeah alright. You guys can go. If you are still here when I'm done great, if not, I'll see you at home." Nox let the girl take him off in the opposite direction of his friends. He had been curious about Jaxen's something, though artifacts were artifacts and Nox really didn't care about the dangerous things the gods had once left behind unless it was to kill it. But he'd failed at that so many times recently he was frowning when they finally stopped.

She turned around and thrust her wallet into his hands. "Do you know what this is?"

The wallet showed Nox an image. An image he would never forget. "Did you draw this?' Nox asked. He looked up from the image at the girl who was showing him the Queen of evil - the fucking Ijiraq that had sent her mates to die. She wasn't there. Queens didn't come out - that much was known. Queens were always in hiding, so how... Nox blinked at her. "How?" He didn't mean with what medium though it could have almost been a picture taken instead of a drawing. Things were tugging at him in all directions. The power in the darkness hummed and Nox wanted to grab it to feel the searing pain again. But seeing it again - knowing what it could do to him, well not him, but what it could do that was not good... Nox shivered visibly. "Tell me you don't know where this thing is." If she knew then he'd have to kill it and Nox was not looking forward to confronting her - or any other ijiraq again.

[Thalia]

He raised a surprised brow. Thalia questioned the reaction before she recalled the nature of his company, and then her impish smile twitched in amusement as she stole him from his friends. It was not privacy she desired so much as a straight answer, one unshadowed by the curious gazes of others who might theorise upon (or ridicule) the peculiar request. But the moment they stepped far enough away the question spilled out like burst banks, the copy of the illustration thrust into his hands. She noticed he was already frowning.

"Do you know what this is?"

Thalia watched his expression, prepared for accusations of crazy or a blithe shrug of the shoulders, which would more-or-less spell the same answer. She wouldn't take offence. It was crazy, but such was the curious current of her life lately. She'd made peace with that, and found the world a more remarkable and baffling place because of it.

He didn't shrug her off, though; instead he blinked and asked her quite emphatically how.

A great question, actually, but one she couldn't answer.

"You do know what it is." She breathed the words like wonder. Her head tilted, considering. Truthfully she hadn't actually known for sure that it was real; or at least it was a certainty she only felt in her bones, purely intuitive. Even Aylin doubted her this time, and she had been there throughout the entire strange fairy-tale of Yana. Some of the old discomfort crept into Thalia's expression. These kinds of portraits did not go easy on her soul, wherever they came from; a steady haunting, and one of many reasons she tended towards flightiness from the people who dipped in and out of her life. 

But she'd never been compelled to draw something inhuman before. And the creature's expression.

"Hmm. This seems like the bad kind of thing. Why is it always the bad kind of thing." She chewed her lip, brows furrowed as she pooled the consideration inward. His height shadowed over her, and he didn't look like the kind of man to scare easily, yet he shuddered. The floor was uncomfortably sticky beneath her toes when they scrunched (she needed to find her shoes). But while worry circled like a predator, she also felt something else; the thrill of having captured an answer. Or the promise of one.

"You didn't tell me what it is," she chided, though it was with a crooked grin. "I don't know where it is now. I've never seen it before." An unlikely confession considering the detail of the drawing, and yet her words were utterly guileless. For once words escaped her, but only because she had never tried to articulate such understandings, even to herself. She'd always filled reams of sketchbooks; sometimes beautiful, sometimes strange, and sometimes terrible. But nothing compared to the ones that demanded life.

The last time had been just before the tube that broke down, when Katya had died.

"Is she really so bad? I thought she looked in pain."

[Nox]

Nox had too many questions. He looked back at Sage, Aiden and Jaxen and sighed. So much for that. He was Atharim long before he was a normal boy. "We can't talk here." Nox pulled his wallet from the pocket of his leather jacket and sent Sage a text.

"GO ON WITHOUT ME. SOMETHING ELSE FOUND ME."

Nox tucked his wallet back into his pocket and grabbed her hand. "Let's find someplace quiet and with lots of coffee." He said as he tugged her after. He glanced behind him and frowned, she wasn't wearing shoes, what the fuck? "Shoes?" He asked as he stopped and turned back to her so she could lead the way to her things, he hoped she had shoes.