Legend of Ransera

"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?"

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.

"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.

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.

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."