asharpertongue | Watersong (For Bach)

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Watersong (For Bach)

Lara liked the club before opening. The place is quiet and clean and it always makes her smile to walk around the edges of the space. Tonight was open mic night and it was always a busy night. She looked forward to it but it was still nice to have the space to herself for a little while.

Well almost to herself. The club's manager, Michael, was tidying some bottles behind the bar.

Smiling, she perched on her stool at the end. "Is everything ready for tonight? Do you need anything?"

Michael shook his head. "We're fine. The others will be in before six to have their charms inked again. I'll get Nat to do mine before that."

Lara nodded. The charms were a necessary precaution in Watersong. Enough witches and sirens frequented the club to warrant a little magical protection from spells and influence. Of course, anyone caught trying to con her staff out of drinks or...other services would have her to deal with. Normally that was enough of a deterrent but you could never be too careful. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing for some people.

"We should have a visitor before then. A young man. Bach, is his name and he's one of mine although he doesn't know it." She hesitated before going on. "Could you put off your inking for a while? Obviously i'll be present but I need a human that he can affect if i'm going to convince him."

Michael smiled and leant over the bar towards her. "Is he good looking at least?"

Laughing, Lara poked his hand. "He's to be taught, not played with."

The man winked and shrugged. "Here to help."

"Thank you." Lara said.

She tapped the bar and pulled out her sleek tablet to do some work as Michael went back to his. Hopefully Bach wouldn't be too long. She'd rather not have his education spread over the club opening if she could help it.

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"The rash is on my skin. As long as I don't start shedding, the skin is me."

He scratched his wrist until the skin opened. "And it's still uncomfortable, but as you have an A game in ignoring things you don't want to hear, I guess you don't give a damn."

"And you have not listened to a single thing anyone's told you since you came to this town. I have never in my whole life met anyone so completely incapable of trusting the evidence of their own eyes." She grabbed his hands and gripped them tightly. "You are a supernatural being. You've seen that you have influence over normal humans and yet you are ignoring that fact in order to be angry with me and deny it to yourself. If you stopped for thirty seconds and actually paid attention, you'd be getting a lot further a lot quicker."

The scales sunk back into his skin like they tried to avoid her touch. Bach just looked at her, huffed and sighed with disappointment.

"Let me guess, you're part time shrink and madame as well? See, fear and anger works. It's the only thing that always works. And it's clear that you like to talk about fairies, but you're the first in this town. Do you want to roll up your monologue, or will you do that after breaking into my apartment tonight or some such?"
He rolled down his sleeves. "You can even have my coat and guitar." That hurt, but both were replaceable. Kind of.

"Madam, yes, shrink, no." She rubbed her thumbs over the back of his hands and watched the scales ripple up in their wake, pulled up by her presence without any effort from her at all. "You've met Riley, yes?" He nods. "She's a witch. So is her sister. People here don't talk about the supernatural aspect of our town with strangers. You can't blame them, can you? We've been hunted through history. We're naturally distrustful. But when we do find others of our kind we try to make them welcome."

She let his hands go and the scales stayed where they were. "I don't want anything from you except your attention to the situation at hand. I swear, if you can pull the change back," she gestured at his scales, "and you're willing to accept the charm, you can leave."

Riley was a witch. That probably made Grant a fairy godmother and the Abasi woman a chimaera that ruled all of them.
Bach lied back on the couch again. "Some pho, please. Spicy crabcakes at the side."

And he thought he had been blasé about encountering crazy women. The thing that bothered him most was that she had hurt his singing. He loved to produce and now it was tainted by a nasty experience. Fucking snake.

"Do you have Japanese beer, while you're at it?" The rash would fade, she'd get bored. He'd make it up with Cinderella as soon as he was home again.

Lara smiled and made the call to order the food. "It'll be thirty minutes. In the meantime..." She tapped the back of his hand.

"Could you maybe stop touching me? It' sends very mixed signals."

"Mixed signals? In what way?"

"Well." He gestured at the ceiling. "Usually people touch me when they want something of me, because they like me or me being close to them. But you want to pull me a magic trick out of my ass before you drop the hostility and end the kidnapping.

Mixed."

Lara sighed. "I want you to just try and believe me for thirty seconds and see what happens. I'm not being hostile. I'm laying out facts as they are."

"You did something to me, I changed it, you did it to me again? How many times before you're bored with it?"
Bach met her eyes. "Were you ever even remotely interested in having me on stage or was it just a plot to lock me up? Because if it's option two, you should join up with officer James."

"I didn't do anything to you. I just brought out what was already in there. And yes I am very interested to have you on stage. I've heard your singing and it'll attract a lot of custom, I just can't have your powers running rampant."

At the mention of James, Lara gets an idea. "I don't team up with James for anything. He doesn't like our kind. Hates us, in fact. However...I'm tired of beating my head against a brick wall, so if you want to leave without the charm, that's fine. I'll inform James that an unchecked Siren is loose in the town. He should be very interested in that. The last time he even got a hint of uncontrolled powers in the town limits, he followed the poor girl for three months."

Running rampant .. He bit down on another sigh.
"I'm not not interested in your charm, it's the hoops leading up to it that make me less than thrilled. The rash already left, and you got it back again. I'm not fond of repeating myself."

Bach perked up. "He's pretty good looking, for a boy. I'm okay with this idea. Make it work."

"The 'hoops' you're talking about are for your own benefit. I brought your scales up the first time, but now they know the way, every time you sing, every time you feel lust or arousal...they'll come up unless you know how to tell them otherwise." Shrugging, Lara crossed her legs. "The charm will prevent those accidents but of course you're welcome to do as you please." She smiled and leaned forward. "A word of warning though. If you try and manipulate James, when he comes back to himself he'll arrest you and lock you down for the rest of your supernaturally long life. And I won't stop him."

"Did you ever leave this town or did you just grown so small-minded? Even your threats are dull: being locked up in Pleasantville? Oh dearie dearie me!"

He closed his eyes. "Plenty of people will appreciate sleeping with a freak. I can do without singing. Why aren't you giving me this charm yet? Do I need to take it in with some food or drink?"

Lara didn't normally hiss. She'd managed to keep that particular trait under control since she became Matriarch but something about this man-child got under her scales in the worst way and she caught herself making a quiet hiss when he sneered at her offering.

She got up and moved around behind her desk, picking up her phone and dialling a number. "Michael. Please send Nat in and tell her to bring her inks."

Fixing Bach with a sharp stare. "Nat is a witch and she will administer your charm. It has to be painted on your over your heart so you will need to remove your shirt. If you protest or try to influence her in any way, I'll restrain you until she can finish."

A knock at the door interrupted her and a pale young woman entered. Lara smiled. "Nat, sweetheart. You look well."

Nat smiled but didn't say anything, instead casting her eyes at Bach in askance. Lara nodded. "He'll need a control charm. Restrict his latent talents completely. He doesn't wish to control them so we'll have to do it for him."

Nat nodded and went over to Bach, kneeling in front of him and started pulling out her magical inks, arranging him to her liking before setting to her work.

"I feel like this could have happened earlier."
He sat up and unbuttoned his shirt. "There you go, sweetcheeks. I guess it's water resistant, whatever you're putting on me? Or do I need to return in a couple of weeks for a new shot to keep the bullshit down?"

Edited 2014-04-25 14:07 (UTC)

"Yes. It really could have if you'd just listened and been respectful instead of being obstructive and offensive." Lara's patience was done. "The charm will last around a month. Let's see how much fun you have in life when you can't influence anyone to do what you want just by humming a tune at them."

"Are you sure you're not my mother, angry little tot." The brush was cool against his skin. "I think I've been clear about taking anything to get out of here. But maybe your hearing isn't that great."

"Your spies are behind on the times, I don't do that. Barely do that." He shrugged. "Even got a potion not to do that anymore for a bit. Any side effects I should worry about?"

Nat finishes up adding a final symbol as an afterthought before she places a finger on the edge of the charm, setting it hard into his skin and drying it to a faded, burnt red colour. She turned and nodded to Lara.

"Thank you, Nat. You can go. Michael will bring the others to you for their refreshers later. There's food and drink for you in your room and just let him know if you need anything else."

Lara waited for her to leave and then turned on Bach as he was doing up his shirt.

"There are no side-effects that I know of. And as to your earlier statement, my hearing is fine." Lara lets her eyes go slitted and her teeth sharpen, words hissing longer than usual on the 's' sounds. "And for the record, it's Miss Quinn to you now."

She stalked closer, scales rushing forward and darkening to dark reds and blacks, nails lengthening, hair twisting together and pulling back into tentacles that settled around her shoulders, lashing angrily. It'd been a very long time since she'd allowed this much of her other self out in anger and she had to admit it felt good when she saw the shiver of fear run over him. She reached down and lifted him easily up out of his seat, holding him a foot off the floor.

"Speak to me with that kind of disrespect again and I'll pull out your tongue."

Dropping him like he was something dirty she took a step back, the change vanishing as quickly as it had come over her. She stepped across the room to the door and opened it, smiling sweetly.

"You can go now."

Bach had never been so angry before. Not like this, in a way that risked burning him alive yet was too exhilarating to let go. This woman, thinking she knew all.

"You sure know how to arouse a man." He stayed on his knees. "What about my stuff?"

It was a sweet relief to feel the itch fade and the rash disappear. Now he could return home again. Finally.

"Pick it up on your way out." Lara said, words clipped and tight. "Michael will pay you for the time you would have been performing tonight. I'd rather you not come back here for a few days."

"The blondes of this town do love to throw money at me for no reason." He got up.
"Thank you so much for your time and don't worry, I'll stay as far away as possible. Better places to be, actually people to meet and all that."

Edited 2014-04-25 15:03 (UTC)

Lara closed the door quietly behind him and went back to her desk. She sat down heavily and blew out a breath.

Bach was officially the most infuriating siren she'd ever met. She'd known some trying sirens in her time as matriarch but they'd all come through. Sometimes they needed a little structure but most of the time they'd been willing to learn and came around quickly. This...she wasn't used to this kind of wilful ignorance.

She ran her hands through her hair and made a face. Maybe she should go for a swim. It's been months since she'd last ventured to the beach.

She nodded and picked up the phone. "Michael? Can you manage alone tonight? I think I might take the others swimming."

He was surprised how exhausted he was, almost stumbling into the wall while gathering his music and guitar. "And you owe me some pho", he muttered. "Crazy bitch."

With his arms full, he left Watersong.

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Watersong (For Bach)

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