Glass Houses

[Oriena]

When blood fanned in water it attracted sharks. Since she'd begun seeking others like her, Oriena had spent time honing the ability - stretching her senses to detect even the lightest flutters of recognition. And it drew her as sure as those sharks.

After Carmen had walked out, she lingered in the dressing room, flicking through the racks of clothes and costume. Something dangerously close to duty tethered her to the club tonight, and if she was stuck here until closing she chose to blend in. But adrenaline still throbbed in her veins, her gaze glittering with the memory of fire. She needed an outlet, and since Jaxen had unceremoniously ditched her, a new game to play.

She freed herself of the ponytail, locks a straight dagger of black over one shoulder, and picked something with the arbitrary interest she'd exacted over Jaxen's choices. Soon blue lace hugged her throat, worked with the dark wink of obsidian beads. The dress followed her curves all the way to her knees, shoulders bare, revealing porcelain flesh in a V to the base of her spine.

She was applying make-up in the soft lighted mirror when Carmen returned.

"Security is sorted, for the moment. I also have this."


Ori plucked the card long enough to read the name, then handed it back with a smirk. Through her tangled webs of knowledge, she knew something about that company. The irony amused her. "You work fast. And you know you don't need permission. Spend what you need to. Hire the best."
She tipped her shoulder into a shrug, watching Carmen's still expression in the mirror. It was for the other woman's benefit Oriena even made the suggestion, though perhaps a deep possessiveness over what was hers also fired her motivations. And a fervent whisper in the darkest of her thoughts. A voice that insisted war.

"You're staying, then? Until closing?"


"I said we'd talk later, didn't I?"
Her expression brightened. "Besides. Tonight, I am the security."


The rolling beat of the music shuddered through her chest when she reentered the club. Oriena's maelstrom gaze took lingering inventory over the faces gathered tonight, but it was to the bar she meandered. Her gaze rested on the back of the girl in the red dress, a smile curling her lips at the baby bird come wandering into a den of wolves.

"You're missing the show, sweetheart."
Husky amusement laced the words as she approached. Her gaze cast slyly to Rafael's beautiful face. "Or maybe not."
She waited until the girl met her eyes before a ripple of power lit her from within, unfurling a second greeting if the other was able to sense it. A playful smirk writ her sultry features.

"This is Oriena,"
Rafael supplied. He tilted his gaze towards her. "Play nicely. I just told her we don't bite."