What Not to Do (Kallisti)

[Oriena]

Jaxen wasn’t the only one. Amusement lightened the shadows of Oriena’s expression. Aiden was in equal measure derisive and charming, but it was the conspiratorial lean of gossip that held her attention. He seemed to think she was already tangentially involved in his circle of friends. Fucking Jaxen Marveet a few times hardly counted.

She laughed. “What makes you think I know your boyfriend at all?” Her smirk sharpened, given the quite obvious answer, though since Aiden didn’t seem in the slightest perturbed by the overfamiliarity it had lost its shine. Not that she removed her feet. Her gaze momentarily roamed the man in question. It was a more curious than hungry attention. Ori had a good memory for faces, and did not recognise his in the slightest. The knowledge he tossed was insignificant, but not something she would have expected him to know by chance. “You just had the best seats,” she added slyly. Which was true. Just not the whole truth.

“I take it Jaxen implied he burned the Baccarat to the ground then. Else maybe you two don’t do much talking,” she said to Aiden. She was not circumspect in the measure of her voice, though the general din of the club and presently raucous stage entertainment hardly made it necessary, even if she was concerned. Talk of the Atharim was not likely to sooth the inclement nature of her mood. Infamy was not among her interests, but she rarely acted without the expectation of retaliation. “I assume they’re too scared. Which is just as well.”

[Sage]

Sage giggled. She thought he meant because of Jaxen. He removed his hand from her feet long enough to gesture to the stage. "Jaxen is not the circle in which you'd know me. I doubt Nox mentions me by name. How do you think he knew there were Atharim here? He's not that good." He grinned manically. "You probably don't know me. But I know you. I know everything about this club, and who works here. I know that Mr. Janssen is off in Paragon behind walls I cannot breach. I know that Miss Moon Pyre is getting an A in gross anatomy. And I am learning so much about you Oriena."

Sage leaned back putting both his hands behind his head and he smiled as he let himself drift into cyber space and the Kallisti's systems. The music cut off and then restarted. A single light behind the stage started to flicker in ones and zeros. It gave the effect of a strobe light but it began '0100001001100101011010000110111101101100011'.

It only took a moment before he got a text from Nox.

Stop playing with my fucking system!

Sage sat forward and grinned at the man who was completely involved at another table seemingly oblivious to what was going on behind him. The chatter on the comms had revealed his intrusion. Sage shot a text back, which Nox promptly looked with the same non-chalant glance he had before.

Then hurry up. I'm getting bored. So is Ori. He didn't know if she was, but she seemed the type to tire of them quickly.

The flickering had stopped when Nox had asked. Not because Nox could do anything to hurt him or kick him out. There was no real reason he had to do as he was asked. But Nox had good information, he had access to places Sage could only one day hope to hack into and gather intelligence. All the knowledge he had gained just from being friends with Aurora's little brother had been sweet. And he was always getting more. He smiled at Aiden and Oriena. "He says we are next on his list of stops." Not that either of them cared. But Nox was the only reason he was here.

[Seven]

He was utterly entranced by Visha’s slow words and sultry stare. All she had to do was mention the bracelet and he was slipping it from his wrist and asking her to take it. “Please. It would make me so happy to see you wear it,” he smile was charmed by a passion brightening his eyes that said he’d give her anything she wanted.

He straightened as Nox came near, charm smoothly including him into the conversation with all the welcome that he should not be worried by perceived interruption. The friendly squeeze of their shoulders hurdled any polite space that might have separated them, and Seven found himself enraptured by a second person in the same evening.

His gaze slipped from Visha to Nox and back again. He was very aware of the state of Nox’s clothes and all the ridges of his body beneath it. Certainly, he spied the coiling of rune threads crowning his hair with blue light. “It’s no interruption. We’re honored to have the star greet us,” but his voice trailed as the flickering flames drew his blue eyes toward the shared color of Nox’s hair. “It’s really beautiful,” he complimented first, then met the man’s eyes, and held them, with an impressed smile.

It was inevitable that Jay’s name would pass between them. Seven was only aware of snippets of their story; any hints that were offered, Seven didn’t pursue. And Nox found them sharing a drink and laughing. It certainly looked like they were friends. For Seven, he would count Jay as such, but he only met him the one night. Jay blacked out not long after they left.

He stepped up to offer to shake hands. “My name is Seven.”

Nox accepted the hand with a smile, and replied, “Nox. Pleasure is all mine.”

There were plenty of people stealing glances their way and he did not want to exclude Visha, but for the moment, Seven’s attention was fixed on the man before him. Nox was the enigmatic star, and he was still wearing the stage costume that made him that way. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind an ear and continued. “Seems like everyone wants to talk to you. If you are free later, I’d be very happy to buy you a drink. Maybe hear the details of how you did the hair?” His brows rose at the suggestion. It really was beautiful.


((with Nox))

[Nox]

Visha pulled away and Nox let her slip away. He didn't mean to make her uncomfortable he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Not that I know of," he said. Nox was grateful that Jay wasn't there.

The man introduced himself and Nox grinned at the name. Simple and mysterious. Nox decided not to kiss his knuckle like he might have before, Visha slipping away had rattled him a little. He wasn't used to the reaction in the club. They wanted to touch him, he was usually fending off the women's hands and his touch was usually welcome. But it wasn't unusual. But he was sweet and all smiles. Specially when he complimented the hair.

He beamed with the compliment he sorta needed it. "Thanks. And I can talk now, unless you wanted someplace quieter. But..." Nox turned to Visha and put on a wider smile. "My darling, Visha. How is it you know Raffe? Cause he wouldn't have sent someone I don't know to watch me for him, specially when we haven't spoken in several days and he doesn't know I'm preforming. I just want to make sure Raffe is safe." He put his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his mechanical and and tapped his fingers against his cheek. There was a sudden rush of something and the darkness inside flared and the blue hair flickered.

[Visha]

The bracelet pressed into her hands left her spellbound. It would still be warm from his skin, though of course she could not feel it through her gloves. Was this what love was supposed to feel like? Because she was feeling all sorts of things inside that left her fizzing and strange. She started to smile, utterly beguiled.

And then Nox.

Seven adjusted for the intrusion with easy charm, but Visha was not similarly enamoured. After her concern about the effects of Nox’s touch fled, she felt a spike of something she could not explain, except that she very much wanted him to go away. The words floating around her went all watery. When she saw the way Seven looked at Nox, it all only got worse. A sharp tang hit the back of her tongue, and her eyes widened in surprise.

She reached for the wineglass, but by then the tide of attention had turned, and Nox was addressing her directly. All Visha could feel was a horribly familiar sense of pressure, which made it very difficult to concentrate on controlling the instinct to spit. Usually it was fear that triggered it. She took an uncomfortable sip of the wine, let it and the poison spill back out into the glass like the mouthful had turned sour.

“I didn’t lie” she said defensively. “That man heard what he wanted to. He wouldn’t let me in. And Raffe was safe last I saw him. Well, he was asleep actually.”

She realised as she said it that maybe it was too much to reveal about where she was from. But she was too busy staring at the glass and suddenly wondering if it would even hold. And the feeling hadn’t even gone. She stood abruptly, the liquid sloshing. Nox’s hair flickered, and something inside her screamed predator so loud she flinched, half stumbled backwards. Though she caught herself gracefully enough. “Excuse me, please.” she said, and slipped away to try and find the bathroom; glass tight in one hand, bracelet in the other.

[Seven]

His brows lifted, pleasantly surprised by the invitation for a quieter conversation later. Such statements implied a specific idea in Seven’s experience. He might have nodded to agree for a later rendezvous until Nox’s questioning turned to Visha.

He watched with open curiosity as the two interacted. He hadn’t been aware they knew one another, but the conversation was strangely one-sided. Nox’s affable friendliness oozed openness even as his questioning veiled something darker within the implication. Who was Raffe? A friend or a partner? Visha did not seem enamored by the sudden intrusion of his name. In fact, she seemed the opposite, and she hurried away.

Seven blinked with surprise and concern. He moved as if to follow her but not before addressing Nox.

“I do still hope to talk later if you're open to it,” he paused long enough to offer to share his number, but he was half-a-step away from departing the whole time. “I’m just going to check on her,” he added as means of a polite goodbye, and hurried in the direction she had gone.

[Nox]

Everything happened to quickly. Her words spilled out and he didn't get a chance to offer an apology for implying she'd lied. He hadn't meant it that way. But maybe... Nox growled at himself and took Seven's number with a laugh. "Seems I'm always scaring away your companions. Sorry." Nox wasn't sure why he took the strangers number though. It wasn't like the man didn't know where to find him. And talking seemed to what he wanted -- the hair intrigued him. Another one like him? The crowd seemed ripe with godlings. Nox was concerned for Visha. "Tell her I'm sorry." he offered before he left after her.

Nox didn't get much further before he as dealing with technical difficulties in the form of his friend who he sent a scathing text to before making his way their direction, stopping to chat with others before picking up a coffee at the bar and making his way towards his friends. He pressed a kiss to Aiden's cheek, and offered Dimitri his hand in friendship. He'd never really met the man, knew of him, and slightly about him. Sage kept him abreast of all things Aiden, perhaps in the hopes he'd join them one day. While tempting, Nox didn't want to share his lovers. Nor himself. Which only made what he'd done all that much worse in his head.

Nox made his way around to Sage and Oriena, draping his arms around his friend and boss with a smile. He pressed a kiss to Sage's temple and then leaned into Oriena's ear with a soft laugh, crossing his arms on the back of her chair. He whispered. "Choosing this table invited you into Sage's circle of friends. It's not a bad place to be if you don't mind being stalked. And all your deep dark secrets being dug up and kept safe in whatever secure vault he deems worthy of his time. But he's good if you are in a pinch." Nox didn't know how many times Sage has saved his bacon. It was good to have an all seeing eye on his side. "Speaking of pinch." He said including everyone else. "I think I need a lot of help from Wicked in the next few months. And need you to order me a few things, I got a pesky Atharim problem I gotta take care of."

Sage just grinned at him with a nod. "Whatever you need. It'll cost you though."

"Always does." Nox smiled at his friend. "So tell me, was the show worth all this unintended attention?"

[Oriena]

Well wasn’t he a weird little fucker. Somehow his association with Nox came as no great surprise, and Ori only laughed. Though there was deliberation too, while she decided what he meant and whether he intended it as a threat. The flex of whatever power he possessed momentarily drew her eyes to the flickering lights. He had no idea how close her foot came to exacting an uncomfortable pressure. But in the end she let it go.

When Nox rested behind her chair she leaned into the whisper, though her attention didn’t break away from Sage. Nox gave the warning to her about him; but maybe he should have been giving it to Sage about her.

“What makes you think I have deep dark secrets?” Her lips hitched a deeply wicked smile.

[Visha]

Visha moved swiftly, agile even in her rush. In the bathroom she spit immediately into the sink with a grimace. Then she twisted the faucet and tipped the wine in after. It made a fizzing sound as it hit but didn’t seem to mark the porcelain bowl. Not that she looked too closely as she wiped the edge of her mouth and fought a distressed sigh. It didn’t hurt, but she was mortified and confused in equal measure.

About which time she caught a reflection in the mirror, and realised Seven had followed her.

She cleared her throat as if to offer an explanation, unsure what he had or had not seen. But realised she didn’t know what to say.

[Seven]

His delay, seconds only as it was, behind Visha meant he could only follow the glimpse of platinum blonde hair as she slithered across Kallisti. He was relieved that she ducked into the washroom rather than heading straight for the exit. After confirming that it was unisex, which wasn’t as common in Moscow as he expected to find, he entered.

At first he thought she might be sick, but a patient thoughtfulness settled as he watched what happened. Gentle concern flickered his expression when she noticed he was there.

It quickly shifted to one of empathy. “Sometimes the champagne goes straight to my head too. I think it’s the carbonation. All the bubbles can settle poorly,” he approached, joining her at the next sink and rinsed his hands off while he looked at their shared reflection. His hair was tousled by the hurried path through the club, which he fixed behind his ears again.

“I find that it’s more likely when I haven’t eaten much that day. Would you like to get something to eat?” he asked as he offered her a towel from the nearby stack. Then he smiled and offered his hand. ”With me, in case that’s not obvious.” Then he picked up the bracelet she’d been clutching and offered to help slip it on her wrist.