[Flashback] The Demon of the Crossroads, ii [Arvalyn]

[Aurin]

Antiris, Free City of the North
16 Frost 117

[con't. from The Demon of the Crossroads]

Aurin reached out and clasped hands with his new—friend? Surely not. His own hand was a slightly larger, scarred version of the thief's own, though his had likely been a mistlord's playground to worse ends over the years.

"Well met, Arvine," he said, sensing candor coming his way as well. There was always a margin of error when it came to people, but perhaps Lunaria had been correct: a holiday was what he had needed. He might come return to Kalzasi with old skills honed back to a razor's edge, with information and spoils, and a new—apprentice? Well, the city elf would likely complain the whole way. Sore feet, though perhaps they could travel with a caravan. Beasts of burden wouldn't notice two men sitting on the edge of a wagon even if Arvine stuffed his face with honeyed lemon cakes from now until it was time to depart. Then again, he might need to escape Antiris at speed, in which case, an airship would be best.

"What say I meet you in front of this place at noon in three days? Perhaps they'll have some cake for the journey."

He cracked a smile. It wanted to be a smirk, but it was a smile, albeit a small one.

"Madame Lunaria is Hytori, as well. Hytori and human." He barked a short laugh. "Perhaps it's fate."

For all that she took good care of her employees, he wouldn't call her maternal. And for all that there was some turnover in employees, there was a collegial air behind the scenes. The performers relied upon each other for their acts to succeed. The bartenders, the card dealers, the cleaners, and the cooks—they were a sort of team. It was as like a family as the little thieves' guilds like that to which Arvine likely belonged.

He leaned back, stretched his legs out under the table to prop them up on the bench next to Arvine, not so close as to alarm, and still leaving an easy avenue of escape. He rested his mug in both hands on his belly. There was work to be done, and soon, but this was surprisingly pleasant. And perhaps he could demand a finder's fee of Lunaria for bringing her a new employee while he was supposed to be enjoying himself.

[Arvælyn]

Arvine's grip was as delicate as the hand that delivered it. He inclined his head along with the gesture, and smiled broadly. This day had taken a marked turn for the better. The moment that had seemed to threaten his life and livelihood had somehow evolved into an opportunity the likes of which he'd only dreamt about.

"Really?!" His lips parted and his eyes went saucer wide. "It's a plan then?!" Overcome with excitement, Arry sat upright. Both voice and body were free and open. Suddenly he wasn't silent or slumped like he was evading the eyes and ears of the world. He was just a happy kid, expressing himself honestly, openly and unconsciously.

"I'll be there." He promised, with an affirming nod as his mind was already painting the life he'd lead in Kalzasi. His fancy flew toward an opulent city, teeming with stylish aristocrats sauntering pristine streets as winged guardians circled above in gleaming armour. He imagined himself, entering great gates at Aurin's side, and bowing politely to all the fops and dandies who just regarded him as an exotic foreigner with a sexy accent. In the real world his grin fell slightly.

"She's a mixed blood?" He sounded almost as if the notion offended him. "And she owns the cabaret?" He blinked at this information, "Do people know what she is, or is she discreet? One of the girls at Demitrov's wears a wig and I always have my hat..." He trailed off.

"It's mostly humans in my neighborhood, and a lot of 'em..." He wrinkled his nose, and leaned across the table, voice hushed: "...they don't like other races. There's not much work, right now... ever, really. So they feel competitive and take it out on misfits. Growing up, I was taught to hide in plain sight for my own good. Is... is Kalzasi different?"

[Aurin]

"That's the plan," he said, uncomfortable with the lad's enthusiasm, but glad for it anyway.

"Ahh..." His smile turned into a frown, but it wasn't for ire directed at Arvine. "She makes no bones about her heritage and anyone who has a rude word to say about it wisely keeps it to themselves if they want to patronize her establishment. I've been around... some places are worse than others about that. Kalzasi's one of the better places, probably because of the bird boys in charge. They are... well, they're magical. But some of them are orkhan with wings. Others, elves with wings. The crown fucking prince... his mother's an elf. The silver kind. His father, the human sort of bird boy. Everyone wants in good with the people in charge, so perhaps that's why Kalzasi isn't quite so fucking racist.

"Anyone can be a shithead," he added. "Doesn't matter what race or mix of races. Seems to be an equal distribution from what I can tell. Don't be a shithead, all right?" Then he smirked again, which was his way of smiling while keeping himself safe.

"I'll just steal your hat when we leave. Teach you to be proud of yourself by the time we get to Kalzasi so you don't stand for people shitting on you anymore. Madame Lunaria won't want you embarrassed of yourself on that account. It would imply she should be embarrassed of herself, and the woman has no shame, which is probably a good thing for someone running a cabaret. Lots of feathers and sparkling things, by the bye, to answer that question of yours. Sometimes not a lot else, though." He could already think of several of the costumers drooling at the chance to deck him out. Golden eyes, golden hair from what little was peeking out from under his hat, and gold in his complexion. No wonder the Hytori thought they were amazing; the Gods saw fit to make them creatures of gold.

[Arvælyn]

Arvine nodded along as Aurin described his future home, fascinated. How strange it would be to regularly see human-like figures soaring through the skies above. He was used to pigeons, mostly. Sometimes a few ravens.

"I'm only a shithead when I have to be." Arry explained, "Which will hopefully be a lot less when we get to Kalzasi! It sounds like a paradise." And, indeed, it was in his current imaginings, which painted each picture Aurin described in vivid detail.

"If I had a few more inches and big, broad shoulders like yours I might stand up for myself more, but if you steal my hat just make sure you back me up when I get into trouble." He wrinkled his nose, "Or maybe just wait until we're on your side of the mountains." He suggested, before launching on to a more important topic- Perhaps the most important to Arvine's mind.

"So, what kind of work do you think you'll find for me? Not sex stuff, I know, you already said that-..." He waved that off promptly, not interested in rehashing the subject. "But you think I could be a performer? You mentioned they might teach me to sing and dance..." He ignored the less glamorous additional options that had been mentioned. Not that there was anything wrong with dealing cards or mixing drinks, but the idea of performing was so incredibly alien to this sunlit child of shadow.

"I don't know what makes you see a performer in me, but I'd sure like to give it a try and see if I don't make a total fool of myself." His heart was racing with anticipation. His whole life was lit up, now that the promise of reinvention was on the horizon.

[Aurin]

"I'll have your back," he said, "so long as you don't go doing something stupid like picking the pocket of someone bigger and meaner than me."

That was a lie. If Arvine put his future in Aurin's hands, he was going to have his back regardless. He might be a bad man, but he did have an internal sort of ethical system.

"But I can also teach you to fight. The first lesson is: avoid fighting. But if it can't be avoided, you should be able to take care of yourself. At least until I can get there and end the fight, I guess." Half of him still expected Arvine to disappear and never return, but the other half was accepting that he was going to help this kid get out of a shit situation and at least put him in a decent one where he could make a life for himself if he put in the time and effort.

"It won't be glamorous at first. But you'll be able to see it, study it. You'll probably start cleaning, running food from the kitchen. That sort of thing. But you'll be learning to sing and dance. All the courtesans do. Some of them become stars, but even those who aren't stars end up in the shows. They'll find what you're good at and hone those skills. A lot of it is just being charming, looking pretty and making conversation, keeping people drinking, gambling, and the like. Make sure people are having a good time, but that mostly entails having a good time yourself, so it's not a terrible trade-off. Some of the clients are less entertaining than others, but that's why we get paid to do our jobs."

He paused. "But you are a performer. You have your schtick for seeming innocuous when you're cutting a purse. No doubt you've learned how to keep Demitrov happy. It's a similar skill. You meet new people and show them a good time. Figure out people's humor and then be funny. A lot of it's showmanship, knowing how to perform. You can learn."

[Arvælyn]

"I feel like I've got the first lesson down!" Arry assured Aurin, "Don't let today mar your idea of my fleet-footedness. You grabbed me while I was off-balance." Reminded, he held up his wrist and checked to make sure the red mark Aurin left had dissipated.

"And it's not like I've never been in a fight, it's just... It's been a while, because I got good. There's not much I do to get by in this world. I sneak, I steal... That's about it. So, I've got a lot of practice and I don't mess up much these days. And, even when I do, I wind up with a free meal and a job offer, it seems, so I guess I've got a leg up on the whole 'being charming' thing, too." He said with a playful wink and a subtle expression that seemed tongue-in-cheek enough to fall short of actual arrogance.

He considered Aurin's elaborative reply, and contemplated the implications. There were others in his gang who were more practiced at the kind of art Aurin described. Arry's style of pickpocketing relied upon stealth more than charisma, but there were those who used charm to distract while they or a colleague with Arry's skill set, did the work of actually liberating the mark of their coin. But he'd seen them at work enough to get the gist, even if he'd been too cautious to attempt it himself because it called for a lot of eye-contact. That would probably be the biggest adjustment moving into his new life- All the eye-contact.

"I don't know what a 'courtesan" is." He admitted, after a beat. "Is that what my new job is called?" He rolled the word in his mouth, slowly: "Cour-te-saaan... It sounds so exotic." He switched into a near flawless imitation of the Haqs accent Aurin had used for the first act of their discourse, "Like an elegant word from some foreign state!" He said, giggling at the sound of his voice rolling through such alien vowel shaping.

Arry picked up his ale and took a sip, then leaned back and kicked his feet up next to Aurin, the way Aurin was doing beside him. He rested the tankard on his belly in the same way, also- trying Aurin's deportment on for size.

"I can be funny." He blinked, "I think."

[Aurin]

"I know you're good at what you do," he assured him. "You wouldn't still be alive if you weren't. The streets have a way of culling the herd of the inept."

A frown appeared for a moment as he watched Arvine check his wrist. It was rare for Aurin to feel bad about something he had done. Most of his bad actions he placed on the altar of Necessity. He could knife a man without batting an eyelash, but he wasn't in the habit of manhandling kids.

"I don't know if this..." he indicated Arvine right now, "is an act or you being relaxed, but it's pretty charming. Pretty funny. Courtesans are entertainers. The word covers a variety of expected skills. Changes from place to place, culture to culture. Since we're a cabaret, they lean into the arts—singing, dancing, instruments. Some courtesans are rich themselves and host parties with dignified guests that they engage in witty conversation, hiring out the entertainment to other people. Some people get trained like apprentices in a long line... others come with some of the skills and pick up the rest as they go. It can be what you make of it. It's good you're young, though. You still have time to pick up a lot of those skills. How old are you, anyway?"

Regardless of his answer, he would be safe from a whole bevy of transgressions. Madame Lunaria was many things, but a purveyor of children for prurient interests was not one of them.

As Arvine mirrored his posture, he wondered if it was meant to be a joke or if it was an unconscious thing. Either way, observation and imitation were good skills to have from what he understood of it all.

[Arvælyn]

"I don't think I'm acting..." Arvine blinked, and tilted his head thoughtfully. "I mean... I probably was before when I thought you were going to take me to the city watch." He thought back, "I was trying to sound younger, more innocent... I guess I pitched my voice up a bit, and inflected things a little differently? But I wasn't really conscious of it." He sat up, straightening his posture a bit.

"I've never thought of myself as... an actor before." He extended the word and sort of presented it, the way he'd seen players deliver their lines on stage. He'd been to a lot of plays, and he loved when they came to town. Not because he paid attention to them, but because other people did so they made it way easier to steal from them. He smiled to himself at the thought of a crowd of strangers looking at him and hanging on his every word that way. Was his voice rich and resonant enough? Was it even pleasant? He was suddenly self-conscious about sundry things he'd never even thought about before.

"Oooh..." Arry said, comprehending, "Well, I wanna be one of the rich, party-host courtesans. Is that too unattainable?" He paused for a beat, "It's just... This morning I thought getting out of here alive was unattainable. I thought moving to another city was unattainable... Living somewhere with winged men and half-elves who own cabarets felt unattainable this morning, so now it feels like the sky is, maybe... the limit?" His eyes widened as he realised, "But maybe not even that, with all the Avialae about." Aurin's question brought him back to reality.

"I'm sixteen." He wrinkled his nose, narrowing his eyes at Aurin. "Why? How old are you?" Not really understanding the purpose of a question, it seemed he'd taken it as some sort of challenge based on the reaction.

[Aurin]

"I don't think the best actors are really acting," he mused, "but I'm not an actor either. At least, not the stage kind. I can convince a drunk patron of the Cabaret that we're long lost best friends and that he should definitely let me buy him a drink instead of harassing the pretty lady, though... Most of the time. But hells, they'll train you for that as well. The Velvet Cabaret is on the same plaza as the Theater of the Golden Peacock, so if acting turns out to be your thing, you might be working next door as well... or exclusively."

He gazed at Arvine, his golden eyes more open than he had seen them. It was strange he wanted Aurin's opinion as to what he could accomplish with his life.

"None of that is outside the realm of possibility. You just have to work on your skills. And be smart with your money. Once your working, I'll take you to the Bank and start an account there. Put your money there rather than spending it like some of the idiots do and you can buy yourself a place to host parties. Hells, befriend the right bird boy and he might even take you flying. Just be sure to bundle up. Those fuckers don't feel cold like normal people and even on a sunny summer day, it gets cold up where the birds live."

He shrugged one shoulder, the other holding steady so he didn't spill his drink as he took a sip. "I'm twenty-four. We both survived longer than we should have, so we both should be able to dream big."

Of course, his own dreams were to keep surviving and maybe become a power player in Kalzasi, to be the guy who drinks and knows things.

[Arvælyn]

"Golden Peacock!" Arvine exclaimed in wide-eyed awe, "Those are both such fancy things! Put them together, and well... Doesn't get much fancier than that!" He took a fortifying sip of ale. He felt like he needed it to calm down, at this point. He was getting overstimulated and, like Aurin, he recognised the danger that hope could represent. And he knew that he was letting himself get very carried away.

"I know that acting isn't really a respectable job..." At least certainly not in his circles. A lot of times they were just glorified criminals themselves, "But there's just something that seems so glamorous about it. I don't know how they keep all the lines in their heads, or know where to stand and that, but it's hard to imagine a bunch of strangers looking at me. Seeing me as something different and better. What's that saying- One man's trash is another man's treasure? I wanna be the treasure for once..." He trailed off and took another gulp of the beer as Aurin blithely talking about the possibility of Arry flying! ...or, at least being flown, as the case may be.

"I don't know what I did to deserve this opportunity or why you're willing to offer it, but thank you so, so much. If I ever get to be as old as you, I hope I can change someone's life the way you're talking about changing mine." He tilted his head,

"Do you have a wife and kids or something?" He'd heard that having children could make people more sentimental. Maybe Aurin was having some sort of paternalistic feelings toward the wayward youth. But he was also just curious about the life Aurin led abroad of Antiris.