Suddenly there were more people here than Elyse would have liked. She was enjoying her time her still at the very least. Elyse almost laughed at the woman who said it was fake.
"Of course it is. You come here to be entertained. I happen to find Mist very entertaining."
Immediately, Elyse didn't like the man. He smelled fake - he definitely what he wasn't pretending to be, and on top of that, he was an ass. Rena and Ilesha chatted, but Elyse was content staying in her shell and being held. She suddenly missed Sierra. It wasn't likely anything would happen there. The man bought drinks and for the first time tonight, Elyse's glass remained untouched. She didn't trust this guy.
Rena hid a knowing smile as she sipped her drink. The girl with the cat-lady on her lap had a retort. At least she knew. The man's accent was French. At least he wasn't lounging as if they all belonged to him. Rena didn't like the idea of anyone thinking they owned her.
She looked at the woman. "Nice to meet you Ilesha." Despite herself, she was curious. "Safe from what?" The drink was having an effect. Rena was relaxed and enjoying the atmosphere. Despite her...tastes, she did find that this place did in fact seem to work its way under her skin. Not for the woman dancing, nor for Ilesha. And so far, not Alexis. Not the high powered louts at the other tables, the men who ruled the world.
No, but maybe someone who worked the bar. Or served drinks. Someone without an agenda.
Ilesha shrugged. "Not so much a what. More like safety in numbers." Ilesha hummed along with the tune playing over the speakers in between songs and she embraced the power within. She wove a small ring of earth and let it sit in her hand. "Friends here." She nodded towards the stage. "A lot of the slips and lighting were all done with the power." She didn't feel bad telling her, the world was full of them now. They were showing up all over the world now. She wasn't as powerful as the Ascendancy not nearly even a fraction of his power, but she could make a small version of his statue. She'd even done it before coming back to Moscow.
Mist giggled. "That's cool. Moonie will be so happy." She laughed, "Nox might even find someplace to put you in the shows. He loves to use the power."
The girl at the table produced a ring in her hand and the patterns in her aura changed. The whole scene made him nauseous. Too many things going on. Too many images. Xander left his card on the table as he stood up. "Drinks are on me ladies." And he stepped out of the booth and headed for the restroom. His head was swimming. He would need to remember once his head was better to cut the card off after a limit of course.
.
Elyse was still feeling tipsy, but she had cut herself off. Not because she didn't want a drink - she just didn't want a drink from the random guy with the French accent. Her drink still sat in front of her untouched as the man left. There was a change in his scent as he left. Elyse's eyes briefly followed him until she heard Mist talking.
Nox. It wasn't a common name by any means, and he could use the power. The ring created by the woman Ilesha had had shown that this was just a table full of unique people. But it was that name that made Elyse really perk up.
"Nox," Elyse said, looking Mist in the eye. "About 6 feet tall, dark hair, bearded Nox? He works here!?"
Elyse hadn't really forgiven Nox, but to say that she still held her anger would be wrong as well. Deep down, she hoped he was well, but she never would have thought he would work in a place like this.
Mist smiled and ran a finger across Elyse's arm. "Sounds like him. Amazing dancer, sometimes too good for his own good. Missing an arm, completely infatuated with one of our bartenders." Mist giggled, "Not that Raffe is not a cutie. And brave too."
Mist pulled out her wallet and pulled up a video of Nox teaching the girls his show. He was playing Ged while Jules learned all about Nut. The story was bizarre based on myths, it was some big joke he was amused by. The Egyptian gods of old. He was working on a few others, but since losing his arm he'd not wanted to dance. Was a shame he was so good at it. "This is him showing Moonie a part in his skit. But he's only been on stage once he lost his arm and a lot of that confidence that went with it." Mist showed Elyse the video while she ordered another drink.
She plucked Alexis' card from the table and pocketed it. it wasn't the first time a man had left the tab with a girl, and she wouldn't abuse it - not much anyway.
The blue eyed angel who walked the floor to pick up empty drinks filled her eye. Shoulders broad but tapered to a V at his waist that bulged into a firm ass. She could almost imagine the cut of his abs above his hip, the divot at his hip bones visible and deep, sweat dripping...
The proprietor of Kallisti knew eye candy alright. And Rena's eyes were smokey. She crossed her legs and felt her thighs squeeze together in anticipation. Her prey was marked.
Enough that the present company was excluded. Aside from Alexis, it was all women anyway. And he had not been impressive. She was always drawn to the earthy, brawny, hard working men. Sweat dripping off their brows. Tired but still hungry for life.
Not given a fucking thing. Working to survive. To climb. To prove they had a right to be there.
Men like her.
Spoiled nothings who inherited daddy's money were tools. Useful, to be sure. But none held her interest more than a moment.
Not that blue eyes looked destined to be a captain of industry in the next 10 years. But she was drawn to the under dogs. And you never knew.
Suddenly, she felt a flame before her. Not literally. But warmth all the same. She watched as Ilesha formed something from....something! Her jaw dropped. She had heard rumors, of course. But the Ascendancy was the Ascendancy.
Blue eyes vanished from her mind as if he never existed. Her nostrils flared. She had used her tricks to manipulate, to steal. To occassionally cause a fall or some other thing necessary to advance her career.
Her eyebrows turned down in surprise as she stared first at the ring and at Ilesha.
"How...?" was all she could say.
Alexis left without warning. Ilesha felt only slightly better at the situation but Rena asked with more curiosity than she'd seen anyone. "Magic. I don't know what else to call it. That was simple. There are more complicated things like the Ascendancy made in the Red Square for all to see. But we can't sense anything from it." Ilesha laughed. "I tried."
Moon Pyre's act finished and she came out from backstage, wearing only slightly more than she had when she left the stage. Now she work a filmy see-through skirt and a red feather boa around her shoulders that looked almost like it was on fire. It was an illusion she was sure of it, all she saw was the lights of the threads used. How it didn't burn her she wasn't exactly sure.
Moon Pyre squeezed in between Ilesha and Rena and put an arm around both of them, "So lady's, do you want to join me for a private dance." She winked at Ilesha.
"If it will get me out of here." Ilesha said shyly. She hoped the wink meant it wasn't for what the on lookers could hear. This was a safe place - she kept reminding herself.
Rena stared. Not because the woman seemed to be half naked. But because she could see a....glow. Around her. Around Ilesha. And she felt something break.
Her entire life, she was an outsider. Roma, for one. Which meant that wherever they went, the local community looked on them with suspicion. No. She was being to generous. Like rats. Vermin.
So there was that.
And then that her family was at nominally part of some secret group. And yeah, dado and daya didn't really practice it, they had enough fear that Rena and Nina had to be careful about what they said. Where they went. What they saw.
And finally Rena herself, realizing she was different from even her family. Hiding even from Nina, what she could do.
And outsider, looking in, desperate to find a place to belong.
In the space of a few minutes, she found it. Maybe she was being naive. But she felt a kinship with these women. A connection she didn't know was possible.
Was this what it felt to be normal? She stood up quickly, nodding more vigorously than she realized. Was she drunk? She'd had two. Which was her limit. She wasn't a heavy drinker. But the excitement made her feel like bouncing.
"Yes. Let's do that."
Yes. She wanted to go to wherever they lead. She had so many questions. She wanted to understand. Lyra was not even a consideration, if she had paused. The woman was likely trying to see if she could either if the other women- or both- into her bed.
No. Rena had found something and she didn't want to lose it.
The others left, and Elyse was relieved. In truth, it had been kind of annoying that random strangers had been added to her group without asking. Elyse watched the video that Mist had shown. It was for sure Nox. Nox had lost an arm, and Elyse wondered what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. Trouble seemed to follow him everywhere. Elyse felt a sadness for him. Nox was an ass, but he was a decent human being - cheating aside. He definitely didn't deserve it.
Elyse fought the urge to send him a message - at least for now. "How did it happen? Elyse asked, absentmindedly resting her head on Mist's shoulder. "Is he okay?"