A Dance Amidst the Dread [Finn]

[Khyan Nykara]

"I am sure eet favours you fair complexion." Khyan observed with a slightly flirtatious wink, but quickly glossed over his allusion to the hue of the wine in favour of the flavour.

"Amici novi!" He agreed with a grin perhaps broader than his brain, which never questioned the criteria for worth instilled in him by his culture. He pressed the rim of his cup to that grin and parted it to take a relishing sip of one of his favourite vintages. He ran the tip of his tongue over his lips and lolled his head back in exaggerated ecstasy to display how much he loved the wine.

"You guess ees good as mine!" Khyan confessed, "Solunarium do not brook much chaos, so when eet come? There no telling what weell happen." He cracked a smirk, "Who knows? Maybe we go upstairs and the Crownwyrm do a couple numbers, eh?" He sniggered heartily at his own jape, though it did remind him of the possibility that one of the elven royals might make an appearance. It was not unheard of that a few of the more adventurous members of Caste Regalis slum it in venues that weren't elf-only. A momentary flight of fancy crossed his mind where one of the almighty dynasty befriended him and influenced the Princeps Prætor to dismiss the case against his father. The only person he knew with blood ties to the Crown was an old school chum, but they hadn't spoken in years and he was an Aværyan connected to the controversial house that had gotten Gens Nykara into trouble in the first place. He would likely do more harm than good if Raithen were to attempt to influence the outcome of the case. Finn's comment drew him out of these thoughts and back to the present.

"Hm?" He took a moment to register, then smiled and shook his head. "Eef you listen weeth you soul, Lystreia's soul will tell you how to dance." He grinned, "Some Mesmusici? They make complete stranger dance weeth other stranger, um... Synchronus? Ees beautiful. Lystreia no do thees. Her mooseek make you feel free, other musici make you feel connected to others... to the world." He knitted his brow,

"Ees different for Mesmer? I no Mesmer. Perhaps ees no as good for you. Like, um... artist who knows technique so well that they no can enjoy art anymore like when the started. Ees like this for you?"

[Finn]

"Amici novi!" he agreed, attempting to master the music of the new language. While no oenophile, Finn knew well enough how to take a proper sampling sip of the vintage, and smiled with genuine pleasure at the flavor and mouthfeel. "My brain is already broader!"

The foreign man laughed at the joke, wondering if the legends were true and dragons could sometimes taken humanoid form to walk among them. The Crownwyrm might now how to boogie. He split his attention between Khyan and the woman performing, given that Khyan was talking about her. Part of him wanted to just sit there and observe with eyes, ears, and Rune, sipping his wine. Part of him wanted to decipher what she was doing and how to replicate it or, at least, do it in his own way. But he was also cognizant of his new friend, to whom he owed finding the woman and her strange Mesmusic—strange to him, but apparently not to Solunarium.

He smiled at Khyan.

"I suppose I have been careful mixing magic with music," he admitted. "I will have to experiment while I am here."

A brow quirked up, his head canting slightly to the side as he considered Khyan.

"Would it be rude of me to invite you to dance with me before we ascend to meet the glitterati?" he asked. "I am curious how this sychronicity feels."

If he was attempting to seduce Khyan, he was awfully good at seeming innocent. Blue eyes were wide, hoping he wasn't being presumptuous. He was only anyone here because his lover was of royal blood, and he wasn't about to spread that around as it wasn't his secret to tell, nor was he the sort to name drop, especially when he didn't know the intricacies of Solunarium's court; he only had a foundation in Kalzasern society.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan laughed heartily at Finn's jest. Perhaps more emphatically than the joke warranted, but part of his enthusiasm rose from pride in having understood Common well enough to get it in the first place. It was an exciting and invigorating thing, Khyan thought, to practise a tertiary tongue with a native speaker. He had the boon of his Semblance to read between the lines when things got too obscure or complex for his frame of reference, and he used it, but that didn't take away from the fun in the least.

"Are they very, um... Streect weeth mageek een Kazasi?" Khyan knitted his brow, uncomprehending of Finn's caution. He'd understood Kalzasi to be one of the more liberal Northerly realms when it came to the use of magic. Besides, Khyan had always been of the belief that music and Mesmer were inextricably linked and built for one another. It seemed only natural, as they used common terms like Symphony. "Well, you have come to good place for thees expeerments, Feen. We have here orders from antiquity... dating back to days of, uh... of Re'ha een Sol'Valen? They merge together these... these... these eenexorable forces!" Thrilled that he came up with the word 'inexorable', he toasted himself and took a hearty draft of wine.

He blinked, lowering the cup and breaking into a broad grin at Finn's request.

"Rude? No, no. Thees ees very polite. Here." He downed the remainder of his cup in a few broad gulps, and placed the vessel aside. "But I tell you- Lystreia no do the Synchronus mooseek. Her Mesmer no eenfluence you toward the, um... Symmetria? But still- You weell find the dance, and we weell, together, make beauty weeth our body, yeah?" He ran a hand quickly through his hair, before offering it to Finn and gesturing toward the dance floor with the other.

[Finn]

Finn grinned, glad his new friend was able to catch his drift. He did hope he would get to practice Vastian with him at some point, but he was already immersed in it so he supposed it was the friendly thing to do to allow Khyan his practice.

"Ahh... not especially strict as things go. Zaichaer requires all manner of licensure, so many have joined the secret covens to avoid oversight and oppression... Anyway, the Circle of Spells has some sway in large swaths of Karnor. Perhaps I was overcautious... I thought people would mistrust me, think I was singing them out of their coin or something..." He shrugged and smiled. Perhaps he was paranoid. "Inexorable, indeed."

Brightening, he tried to drink the rest of his wine quickly, but not so quickly that he couldn't savor the bouquet and flavor.

"Inveniemus pulchritudinem simul."

Finn took Khyan's proffered hand and walked with him out among the dancers. Somewhere between the bar and where he stopped, his feet had picked up the rhythm and he began to subdivide the music with his body. Perhaps that was the seed of dancing; he was letting the music's rules instruct his movement. But he turned and smiled to Khyan; he would be dancing with Khyan and the music, so he was open to whatever his new friend brought to the table—or the dance floor. The other bodies shifted to accomodate them like a living thing, several bodies connected by the music and the Mesmer. But Finn could sense the magic in a way most present could not. He chose to reach out and accept it.

[Khyan Nykara]

"Thees to me is crazy." Khyan shook his head in disbelief. "Hiding you majeek? Daft." It wasn't unheard of for someone to be private about their Craft in Solunarium, but those were typically shy or reclusive sorts who shirked it merely for the attention. People who, by their very nature, were not likely to be in Khyan's purview. Rather, in Khyan's circles, magic was an all-important boon to be broacast ad nauseum.

"People like us, Feen? We no hide our shiny. We flaunt eet." He closed his hand around Finn's, and sauntered into the writhing congregation of reverent hedonists. As Khyan stepped ahead of his guest, the Kalzasern visitor would note the Rune of Semblance at the back of his neck- looking back at him like a third eye. It was actively engaged, now. Lystreia may not have used her Mesmer to ply synchronisation, but if Finn wanted Synchronus, Synchronus he would have.

Khyan turned round with a broad grin and a new intensity in his gaze. His dark brown eyes were now clouded over, as with a subtle, shifting haze. It looked as platinum pale as Lystreia's hair. In Finn's aura, Khyan found and matched his rhythm- anticipating his movements in such a way as to interact seamlessly with them. With no prior rehearsal, they seemed choreographed. Finn was leading their movements whether or not he realised it. Any who observed them without the aid of aether would have had no idea that one was leading and another following, because there was no delay. The anticipation and execution were simultaneous.

By and by, Khyan leaned his face close to Finn's and spoke softly into the cup of his ear.

"Use your Mesmer to find where you feet eento my Symphony." If Finn were to use his Craft in a complementary fashion to Khyan's implementation of his own, they would be able to execute more complicated choreography and potentially be coordinated enough to both lead and follow simultaneously. They were, after all, two Masters of their respective Crafts.

[Finn]

It was new to Finn to be proud and open about his magical abilities; he wondered if he would take it to heart, if Solunarium would change him such that he was hardly himself whenever they returned to Kalzasi. When in Solunarium, however, he would do as the Solunarians... He would use his Mesmer openly, albeit ethically, and he would continue to train his Traversion such that he could spirit Arvælyn to safety at need. And he would learn to shape glyphs and sigils, the better to unlock the true extent of these powers.

But then they were on the dancefloor, and a note of keen observation came into Khyan's melody; he supposed the indigenous man was using his own magic to read Finn. Then he clocked the strange patina to his new friend's eyes; curious, he wondered if there were physical tells for his own use of magic. But gradually, Khyan's symphony took on some of his own pattern even as Khyan's movements complemented his own.

Nodding to the whispered instructions, he compared their music, finding the confluences and counterpoints, and let his body respond to the music of the artist and the music of his dance partner. It was strange and heady, not the same connection as he had with his lover when they merged their symphonies during lovemaking, but a new sort of simpatico that was exciting as a human and as an artist. He knew when and how to touch Khyan so as to support his weight when necessary and not offend. There was a rushed intimacy to that, but he was caught up in the music, heard and felt.

As he often did, he began to hum under his breath, harmonizing with the woman performing. It was nothing at first, but eventually, his volume increased. Perhaps Khyan could hear it, anyway, Finn adding a bit of his own music to the air around them.

A part of him wanted to phase his body out and feel the vibrations of the music ripple through him.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan smiled, pleased to observe Finn and see the evolution of his Aura as he explored novel sensations. Khyan took unique pleasure in introducing people to new experiences, and it was rare that he encountered such a naïf as this Finn. Solunarium wasn’t exactly a happening tourist destination as it was historically neither easily accessible nor particularly hospitable to foreigners.

He could tell that Finn was venturing out of his comfort zone and he was able to tap into those feelings of precarious excitement as the Solunarian’s Semblance mingled with the minstrel’s Mesmer. It felt electric, enveloped in the taller, broader man’s arms in those magically augmented moments. It was as potent as first love, and just as portentous. Belatedly, he would realise that some of the sensations flowing between them were the artful Mesmer ministrations of the singer.

Khyan relished and reveled in the sounds and emotions emanating from his dancing partner, as Finn began to contribute to the music.

“You vox ees as beauteefool as you are…” He declared, utterly shamelessly and placed a tentative, if presumptuous kiss on the moon pale neck of the foreigner. “You skeen ees like Argenti elf. Ees thees normal een Kazasi?”

Though Finn’s voice was not loud enough to be heard from the stage, Lystreia’s attention fell upon her fellow Mesmer. She smiled inwardly and through the currents of æther, she emitted an air of encouragement. If he wished to sing, he has more than her blessing to raise his voice in contribution to her song. He had her urging and if his attention was cast toward the stage he would meet her sparkling, lavender gaze and be met with a wink. She found the commonalities in their two Symphonies, even as she plied her Craft across the whole of the crowd. Though Khyan was no Mesmer, the Sembler was attuned enough to Finn’s Aura at present that he sensed a new connection binding the twain.

[Finn]

The kiss didn't startle him, which might alarm him later. He liked Khyan, so he didn't want Khyan's brains to come pouring out of his orifices if Arvælyn saw and assumed something was going on. It was strange how Finn himself felt secure in their love, but Arvælyn didn't. He tried not to let it bother him, and Lystreia's music helped.

He glanced at her, caught her approving gaze, and laughed before turning back to Khyan.

"We come in many shades, though the sun is certainly less punishing there." He leaned in when the music bade him and kissed Khyan on the cheek. "Best be careful," he said, laughter in his voice. "I have a jealous lover." His symphony assured Khyan that he hadn't offended, and tried to blunt any disappointment or negativity in response to that little revelation.

Finn harmonized as best he could to the strange music, louder with encouragement, though not trying to deafen his dance partner. He could always find a point to pause if he had to reply to something Khyan said, though it seemed as though their bodies were doing enough talking. He wondered if he could get Arvælyn to one of Lystreia's performances; it was akin to how they made love, and it would be nice to share something similar, yet different. He flushed from more than the dancing, though, when thoughts of Khyan dancing with them crept into his mind.

Perhaps it was better they quit the dance floor and ascend to where the glitterati glittered, but they were having a good time so he didn't see the need to break it off yet. Khyan knew this place better than he ever would, he was certain.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan chuckled at Finn's biding.

"Eet ees a peety that you lover hoard Feen all to themself as wyrms een treasure drown." He tsked, "Very greedy." But he was still smiling, and seemingly in high spirits. He wouldn't have needed Finn's Mesmer manipulation... at least not with Lystreia's in effect. How he might have reacted to the mild rejection were his Symphony not under the influence would have to remain a mystery. His Semblance was keen enough to note that the rejection was a reluctant one, at least. He needn't have deployed his aetheric abilities to notice the attraction was there, but there were other drakes in the desert. Perhaps not as enchantingly exotic ones tonight, but his life wasn't over quite yet. With any luck, the Dread Mists would delay the trial for at least a few days and stay his execution a little bit longer.

He was somewhat surprised, when Finn's voice began to rise and he glanced over his shoulder to see that it was at the encouragement of the performer. After a few moments, the urging spread out to the greater crowd and others began to sing along. Even Khyan lent his less than impressive vocal talents to the chorus.

Others we looking over at them, now, because Finn's incantations had sounded so sweet and many found his appearance no less appetising. But, jealous lover or not, Finn was dancing with Khyan which was a formidable feather for his cap. Perhaps it wasn't quite the boost his reputation required to be dredged out of its current state- Not even a dance with Lystreia the Platinum was like to achieve that at this point. But at least, for the night, he could feel a bit less like a pariah.

Unconsciously he decided, in that moment, to be a bit greedy himself. They were like to be lost in the glister of the hoi aristoi who haunted the upstairs area. Khyan would draw more welcome attention down here. As Aværys was purported to have said in a prior age: "It is better to be first in a village, than second in Solunarium."

[Finn]

Review

Experience: 10 xp, available for magic.

Lore: Khyan (15); Finn (14).

Injuries: Inebriation!

Loot: N/A

Note: #JusticeForKhyan