Siren's Song [Closed]

[Moonlit_Demon]

I need an escape..

 

 

 

 

A tall elezen wearing thavnairian clothing. Dark purple. Grape purple for exact color. A dark contrast against the golden chains and soft, pale skin. The veil across her face nearly hid her features but... not entirely. At last.. relaxation. Isabelle felt free in this guise. The sky was dark but the city of Ul'dah was lit beautifully with torches and lamps. She smiled. The harp in hand, wasn't the most beautiful nor the best, but it was well-kept and sang beautifully with every idle pluck of her fingers. 

 

She'd close her eyes, strumming away, playing a soft, haunting melody as the elezen sat beside the fountain just beyond the Quicksand. The sound of the water was comforting. Freeing even. Not too far off was a couple whispering and giggling together which only made Isabelle smile even more. Softly, she'd hum a soft lullaby without a care in the world.

[Hal]

It had been the smell that had sent Tani out of her almost office.  That smell of dead something, which she'd been unable to find (not that the warring relief and unease at not being able to find its source made it any better; if anything, it made her more reluctant to really look for it, alongside the knowledge that some small pest was living in the series of rooms, which she'd also been unable to find -- which was why, most days, she simply tried to ignore it), and which kept her thinking of the space as storage rooms rather than her office and attached archives.  That and all the junk she'd yet to clean.  She knew she should take care of it, but with everything that'd happened... well, it explained why she was in Ul'dah, instead of the Mist.  Why she'd tried to visit Saiyah, and her brother, and failed at both.

 

Hadn't really tried at either.

 

Was ignoring both facts.

 

It was much more fun to lurk about the Weaver's Guild until she was chased out for being disruptive.  Was it her fault she had numerous opinions she chose to share?  ...Yes, yes it was.  But that was part of the fun, and it felt good to crack a mischievous smile at the harried guild leader.  Less good to be banned for a moonspan, but, well, some prices had to be paid.

 

When she got bored of making sidelong commentary at the atrocious stylings and quality of fashions shown off in the Quicksand, she took to the market.  She bought something sweet that she really, really shouldn't be eating (especially considering how she spent most of her days sitting on her ass unmoving but for writing), defying her better judgement for a few bells worth of enjoyment.  Sometimes it felt good to be wicked, and Tani was very fond of indulging in that particular pleasantry.

 

Her thoughts full of idle nonsense, she wandered the streets of Ul'dah, on the outskirts of faster traffic, letting her feet take her along too familiar paths.  She gravitated away from the busier parts of the city, which was how she heard the music.  New music, not the street performers she was used to seeing.  Of a mind to be distracted (and, perhaps, distracting in turn), she followed the music to the fountain -- quiet, watchful; deciding whether or not to be a nuisance.

 

She paused in an archway, savoring her treat and the sight of the woman with her harp, glowing in the dancing light.

 

And the couple.  They lit a wry smile on Tani's face, one not entirely kind.

[Moonlit_Demon]

The elezen continued to strum away, humming her tune with wandering thoughts. She caught sight of Tani and, outwardly, appeared not to have noticed much. 

 

 

What is she doing..?

 

 

Isabelle didn't address Tani just yet. Instead, she watched the hyur with her turquoise eyes, slightly wary but doing her best not to show it.

[Hal]

Maybe she was in a mood.  Maybe she'd been in a mood since the previous day.  Or since that day.  An itch spread over her shoulder, and she reached up to tangle her fingers in and around her dangling earring.  Well, so what if she was in a mood?  So what if the couple two skips and a hop away from canoodling out in the open was an eyesore that she wanted to corrupt into a different sort of public spectacle?

 

The music was nice.

 

Maybe she just wasn't in a mood to share.

 

She sauntered into the open room, cool air of the fountain sweeping over her as she moved past the musician and to the couple.  She sat down much too close to the man, hard confection in hand, and leaned forward.  She had good cleavage, when she chose to emphasize it, and right then she was doing so, subtly but undeniably.

 

Less subtly, she started to lick her confection.  Slowly.  With much enjoyment.  Maybe a little too much enjoyment.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle smirked. Yeah.. she knew what was happening. She'd continue to strum her harp, moving towards the three. The flabbergasted young man did his best to ignore Tani. Her own bosom filled her clothes and she would sit there right next to the instigating hyur. 

 

Isabelle's voice purred almost sultry as she smiled and leaned close and addressed Tani, "Fine night, isn't it love..?"

[Hal]

Oh now they were getting somewhere.

 

The bench was suddenly crowded, and Tani regarded the minstrel with barely concealed delight.  She turned enough to appear to be polite to the elezen harpist, causing her hip and thigh to press up against the man's.

 

"Your music is...inspiring," Tani replied, matching the woman's tone.

 

Lick.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle grinned really wide as she continued to strum her harp, "Oh my.. Such a lovely night full of lovely things, mm..?~" She would shift to cross her legs and accidentally bump Tani in the process, pushing her even further into the couple.

 

"Oh dear me, my pardons, mi'lady." She would give Tani that knowing look before addressing the very distracted, very perturbed young man, "Shall I sing you lovely threesome a song..?"

[Hal]

"Threesome," Tani mused, setting her hands primly in her lap.  "What a lovely thought.  I would love a ... special song."  Her earrings swung as she turned to beam at the couple, so rudely jarred from their bubble.

 

She hoped they were uncomfortable.

 

She hoped they left.

 

It was incredibly petty of her, but she wanted to be petty, and petulant, and a bother.  At least she owned it, right?

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle tried to stifle a giggle as the man's lady huffed and stood, storming off with her young man. He dared to cast a glance back at Tani.. and certainly not directed at her eyes. Isabelle strummed and started to sing a little tune, eyes curiously focused on the hyur.

 

Does she notice who I am..? Stay calm. Stay collected.. You've done this a thousand times before.

 

Isabelle took pride in her songs as she began, 

 

"Lips ripe as the berries in June

Red the rose, Red the rose

 

Skin pale as the light of the moon

Gently as she goes"

 

All worry or hesitance melted from Isabelle as she dedicated her heart and soul to the simple, yet elegant song. Isabelle shifted while she sang, leg's crossed and nearly bare. She sang for Tani with a smile, continuing sweetly, as she sought to melt away the dour, vindictive mood her friend seemed to be in..

 

 

"Eyes blue as the sea and the sky

Water flows, water flows

 

Heart burning like fire in the night

Gently as she goes."

[Hal]

The smile Tani aimed at the retreating couple was definitely unkind, and full of a predatory sort of nasty.  She watched them with that ugly expression until they vanished from sight, whereupon she let it slip from her face, bit by bit.  The song was soothing.  Gentle.  Absent of the intent that had set both women on the bench to harry two people that had done nothing wrong.

 

Well, at that moment.  Tani was sure they'd done something wrong, at some time.  In that light, she wasn't so bad a person.  Right?  Right.

 

Right.

 

Tani was self-absorbed.  It was a base fact, and one she couldn't be proud of, but it was truth.  And right then, she indulged in her moodiness, her vindictiveness, and her need to cause others unrest; she made use of the performer and brewed in her own thoughts, closing her eyes and listening.  She relaxed by degrees, coming down with music in her ears and sweetness in her mouth (chomping hard rather than licking).  By the time the song ended she was mellowed, and distant.

 

"Lovely," she said, eyeing what was left of her confection.  Wanting more.  Wanting the whole market's worth.  She wouldn't enjoy getting sick from it.  She weighed her options.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle mused, watching Tani. She wanted to laugh but at the same time, no one would know why. The little hyur was a stark contrast to how she was around the company and the elezen savored the knowledge. 

 

Her voice was soft and sweet, "What brings you to Ul'dah, mi'lady..? Seeking companionship from the Quicksand..? Enjoying the sweets of the market? Maybe.. hoping to hear a song or two more?"

 

Isabelle had fun intentions as she started to play the same tricks that Tani had played on the couple. Shifting in her seat, the elezen would press into the hyur once more.. but only for a moment. Relaxed, she'd lean back against the bench, giving Tani full view of herself.. as she often did for the men who requested songs.

[Hal]

"Indulging in a need for entertainment," Tani replied, her voice husky and low, in part from the candy and in part her desire to tease and flirt.

 

She turned more fully on the bench.  Minstrels and bards often had reputations, and Tani wondered what sort of reputation followed this one around.  She looped an arm over the bench, and behind the harpist, leaning back to give the illusion of space.  Her smile showed teeth.

 

"I would love to hear more of your voice, dove."  Her tone was friendly.  Her eyes declared the depths of her meaning.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle just smiled very wide. She was as welcoming as could be and hardly missed a beat as she responded with just as sultry a tone. Eyes wandered up and over Tani's form, appraising the hyur before meeting Tani's eyes with a flirty, playful gaze,

 

"In which tone would you like to hear it..?"

 

Isabelle bit her bottom lip for a moment.

 

.. Careful now.

 

She'd giggle a bit with her own thoughts, mostly about how absurd this whole situation was, strumming her harp idly.

[Hal]

Amusement met that question, and that bitten lower lip.  The giggle provoked a responding smile.  They both knew what the other was about.  It was a harmless game, a trick, a challenge: it was a wall to smash herself against, over and over, until she settled the uneasy energy beneath her breast.

 

"Passion," Tani said, sounding rather thoughtful despite her leer.  "But I suppose you must fill your voice thus for all your endeavors, no?"

 

She glanced sidelong at the other, looking away with such a patently false demureness that it was nigh ridiculous.

[Moonlit_Demon]

If only you knew..

 

Isabelle giggled and leaned in a little more. Her soft, purring voice was nearly a whisper. Intentionally quiet enough to try and lure Tani closer, "And what sort of passion do you love most? The quiet and sensual kind? Hard and rough? Heroic and bold..?"

 

Isabelle would let her eyes openly wander Tani's form before meeting that gaze once more. Her dark lips curled into a mischievous little smirk, easily seen through the purple veil, "Or maybe.. secretive and taboo..?" 

 

She'd trace a long nail down Tani's jawline, playfully musing to herself, as she leaned back once more to strum her harp.

[Hal]

Tani leaned forward, all right, and lowered her voice in kind.  "Why don't you give me something new to love?"

 

She allowed the touch, tilting her face into it before its withdrawal.

 

Ul'dah was full of the illicit and the tawdry, after all, and it was tradition to add a little more to the pot.  Tani leaned into the arm set to the back of the bench, making the shift just this side of proper.  The wrong side.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle mused and began to strum a little something, "Your wishes are my desires.."

 

The perfect song came to mind..

 

"The rain now falls

Each drop an agony

The war has come

Without you next to me

 

Oh wandering love

Farther with every mile

Know no defeat

Through ice and dragon fire

 

Come to back to me if i fall

Please believe you once loved me

 

Though you don't know me.."

 

Her song was soft and haunting, heartfelt and gentle. Her gaze remained locked with Tani's as she continued..

 

"The arrows fly

Points tipped in misery

To ruins laid

Our home, our sanctuary

 

Smoke fills the skies

All the worlds a burning ember

Shall our love die?

With no one to remember

 

Hold onto me and what was

Please believe you one loved me

 

Though you don't know me.."

 

Isabelle lost herself in her own song, strumming her harp as her heart poured forth wordlessly with such passion.

 

"Come back to me if I fall

Please believe you once loved me

 

Though you don't know me.."

 

She paused as the song ended, still gazing into Tani's eyes.

[Hal]

Something in Tani's face shifted, amorphous and delicate, though she showed the bard another wry smile.  "My, my," she said, as if the sudden silence was unwelcome.  "You must be thirsty.  Care for a drink?"

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle nodded once, "Sounds lovely. Lead on..?" She would only stand once Tani did, following the hyur with curiousity.

 

What the hell do you think you're doing? Mm.. relax.

[Hal]

Ul'dah belonged to Tani.  Would always belong to Tani.  Not because it was the city of her birth, because it wasn't.  Not even because it was the city of her childhood, because it certainly had been.  No, it was because everything had happened in Ul'dah, had stripped her down to her bones, and ingrained its sand and wind into her flesh.

 

She was still one of its denizens as she stood, heavy-lidded eyes daring much as she settled them on the other, the stranger, at once familiar and new.  Just like every other stranger who had crossed Tani's path, and touched the blood that ran hot beneath her skin.  She didn't know if the minstrel was part of Ul'dah, and really didn't care, because as she held out her hand with her fingers crooking languidly in a universal sign to follow, she intended to draw that honey-tongued flower down beneath the sands, to the bonedust that clogged her gutters and her perfumes that ground everything into so much flesh and heat.

 

That mood.

 

Silent now, choking silent.  Tani drew her guest past the bronze and gold stone walls, over the cobbled walk.  Out, away from the center of the city, past the throngs and rosy lantern lights.  They drew attention as they walked, and Tani knew what it must seem; the elezen was dressed in some kind of finery, in the sort of outfit Ul'dah was famous for, flashing skin in waves of motion and heat, a mirage of invitation all too quick to prove fatal.  So many looked, open questions on their faces: Tani, by contrast, was dressed in rough-spun, loose fitting shirt, and cheap shorts.  Her sandals were worn, and dusty.  There were only so many reasons why someone like her would be leading someone like the minstrel about, and passing fancies reflected back at her in the faces of those who noticed them.  Seen and forgotten, like so many things in Ul'dah.

 

She breathed it in.  Spice and perfume, blood and dirt.  Strident catcalls, answering songs; the endless back and forth between predators of every gender, looking for money and pleasure, back and forth: a game.  Ul'dah's game.  So many games to be had.  Tani slid past most of them, pausing for brief snatches of the life around them, gauging her companion's reaction at each: the coordinated, easy movement of dancers in torchlight; the drumming rhythm of a street performer making do with the things others had thrown away; a game of dice, in the dust -- its players a scruffy lot of dark-eyed miners slinging back booze and hard words; children chasing a dog, sticks, and whoops, and hollers lingering behind them long after they were out of sight, until their voices faded into the city. 

 

Tani didn't know why she was touring the woman around, as if presenting some shiny bauble to fickle friends, though which was which, she didn't care and wouldn't name.  She walked because she wanted to, because the most overt haunts were not her favorites, because maybe she wanted to feel the pulse of the city with new fingers at its throat.  Whatever the case, a quarter-bell had passed before she stopped in front of a dimly lit archway, unmarked but for the crude sign that was carved into the arch: a mallet.  Behind a loosely hung cloth and some hanging beads was a small, smoky den.

 

There was music -- raspy strings -- under the scattered chatter, with just enough light to catch the curling smoke.  No one really paid them heed as they entered, but for the bartender, wiping down a glass in that way some bartenders had: stodgy, but well-rehearsed.

 

The bar was Tani's destination, and she sat without introduction, simply turning partway to look behind her: observing, waiting, daring.

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle was intrigued with this side of Tani. The confidence, the arrogance, the clear-cut assertion. She would follow the hyur through the streets of Ul'dah. A place not unfamiliar to herself. Though she was born to the icy snows of Coerthas, Ul'dah was the city of choice. The night life thrived and cool air wasn't quite so frigid and icy. The sound of sand in the wind was nothing short of calming. A different kind of ocean than the one she'd been living in.

 

The elezen would play her part, winking, smirking, musing at the attentions of others as they glanced at the pair. She followed without protest. Without a second thought. With.. trust.

 

Trust? Hmph. Curiousity. Merely curiousity. That is it.

 

Isabelle glanced at the tavern and strode in behind Tani. She was slightly wary, though did her best not to show it. Confidence. Steady..

 

When prompted with that curious little side-glance, the elezen would continue to smile. "Such an interesting place. Of all my time spent in Ul'dah.. I am pleased to see that there are always new things to learn and new places to dwell."

[Hal]

"Ul'dah would be impossible to know fully, unless you spent all of your life chasing her.  She is always changing."  The words were full of fondness, Tani rolling her head back on her neck as she looked from the other to the bartender.  She lifted her hand for service, and was rewarded by the slender man moving before them, the question asked with a silent lift of his brows.

 

Tani took a deep breath, relishing the smell of smoke and an underlying scent, like fragrant wood. 

 

"Spiced tea," she said, exhaling, smiling contentedly.  She lifted her hand, holding her fingers an ilm apart.  "Spicy, and sharp.  On the side."

 

She slid her eyes to the other.  "On me."

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle would playfully retort to those words, "On you..? What position?" She'd mischievously grin and giggle a little before turning towards the bartender, "Have you a bit of spiced ale? Nay much. I like the warmth but I like my wits about me."

 

She'd give Tani a knowing side-glance. She knew this game. It was a game of chess.. and she delighted in it.

[Hal]

There was a shadow in Tani's eyes as her companion giggled, and the bartender nodded and moved off.  She rubbed at her lips, the hand gliding over her cheek to toy with her earring.  It jingled, barely heard above chatter and that deep, rasping stringed instrument.

 

"A winning hand," she said.  Her smile was lopsided, and easy.  "Really, any winning position."

[Moonlit_Demon]

Isabelle would lean closer. She'd let the hyur smell the soft scent of her perfume. Floral. Cinnamon. Expensive.. She'd let Tani's eyes wander her form freely, as she did others. Once more, that nail traced the accountant's jawline with a predatory glint in her eye.

 

Her voice was a low, sultry purr, "An earned victory or a stole one..?" She would lean in close. Very teasingly close. The elezen bit her bottom lip and mused, comforable within Tani's space without a care in the world who saw or spectated.

 

That nail would trace down Tani's neck.. only to withdraw after it had traced the hyur's collarbone.

 

Drinks are here.