OTA

[willysilver]

It was late at the Alpha, Will's Tuesday night haunt, and though he'd not come to perform he had come to drink. He'd had glass after glass of Kahluha and cream. Good, thick cream that he downed with the express purpose of getting drunk. Truly pissed.

But at some point someone had tugged at him and convinced him he needed to sing. His magic made him familiar even when his face did not. He was still getting acustom to the face that greeted him in the mirror. The crowd was convincing, though, and the call of music struck him deep. And so he'd taken a guitar from a man performing tonight and he took the stage.

"Just one song," he said into the mike and the crowd clapped and cheered. He tested the strings and thought of all the songs he knew. He decided on one that was relatively new. One from another musician.

Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
Welcome to the final show
Hope you're wearing your best clothes
You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain't really good
If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets
Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying
It'll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying
Have the time of your life
Breaking through the atmosphere
And things are pretty good from here
Remember everything…

The crowd was crying and cheering at the same time as he finished. Cameras flashed as he descended the stage.

Fin was gone and Willy felt hollow. He loved the other fae and yet with the severance of their bond he felt...empty. He didn't grieve him as he otherwise might. He simply carried on. Stop your crying.

Willy passed through compliments and praise. He took the last of his drink, licking the cream from the ice cubes, and then stepped out onto the street. Someone offered him a cigarette and he took it, leaning against the building and looking up at the sky, wondering if Fin could see the same moon he saw.



(Outside the Alpha, one of the smallest bars in London. Fin has been gone since the Solstice war and Willy has a new face. OTA forever)

Comments

[yves]

Yves was not there for the performance, but he did happen to be stalking by just as Will stepped outside, and the pull of the other fae's magic made him pause. He didn't know that face, but he was certain he knew that aura...

"Oengus?" he asked, the name barely more than a curious whisper.

[willysilver]

Very few knew his true name. Even less than that would even dare call him Willy with this new face. Oengus was his name on the Other Side. It was shocking enough to hear it that he looked up from his cigarette and smiled when he saw a familiar face. One of nearly ancient friendship.

"Ah, my friend," he said. Not his normal cheer, but a touch of happiness nonetheless. "What brings you to London?"

[yves]

"Brings me to London? I've been here for an age," Yves replied, always a bit cold and stand-offish. "...Are you still making music then?" he asked mildly.

[willysilver]

Willy took a drag, then nodded as he exhaled.

"I am. It is my joy and my solace. I will never give it up," he replied. "And what of you? What fills your days in this mortal world?"

[yves]

"I remain a student of science and magic," Yves replied honestly. "I'm a doctor. ...Was. I'm taking a break to focus on my studies again."

[willysilver]

"Very good. Very good. And I am impressed that you took a mortal job, even for a while. I am, as my mother says, a layabout. I play my music to bring joy and some coin, though I live comfortably enough. May I buy you a drink inside?" he asked, nodding to the door of the Alpha. Willy didn't look like he needed any more to drink tonight.

[yves]

Yves leant to look past him, peering into the bar and wrinkling his nose.

"My home is nearby if you'd rather."

[willysilver]

"Do you have cream?" was Will's only question. He didn't wait for an answer, he simply pushed off the wall to stand beside Yves. "You home sounds nicer than here, all around.."

[yves]

"I might, I don't honestly know," Yves confessed, tilting his head slightly in thought. He supposed a sprite could be sent to fetch some.

"Come, it's only a few blocks north from here."

[willysilver]

For as drunk as he was, Will was steady on his feet once he was walking. He took one last drag and then tossed the cigarette into the bin as he passed by.

"Lovely night," he said. "I always like the downside after the solstice."

[yves]

"Mmm, I suppose it is calming," Yves agreed, shrugging one shoulder. "All that manic energy and bloodlust slowly fading. What vile creatures we were born to be, hmm? How fortunate that unlike our kin, you and I have become- Civilised, for lack of a better term."

[willysilver]

"Gone native, as they said in colonial times," Willy chuckled lightly. "None of my kin understand why I prefer it here. But I'm sure you do."

[yves]

"It's less a matter of liking it here, more a matter of hating it there," Yves frowned. "Mortals are interesting though, on occasion."

[alcuin]

Alcuin had come in partway through the first song. He too had wanted to get drunk. He'd had a confrontation with his professor, the one who had propositioned and threatened him, and it hadn't gone particularly well. The answer had been largely what he'd expected: who would believe you over me?

But he never made it to the bar. Instead he stood and stared at the man singing. And as he listened, the sadness of it seemed to speak directly to him. It seemed like lately he'd only felt lonely and lost. There was also something eerily familiar about it, but he could not say what.

He saw the man go outside, and after a moment he went out as well. He hesitated, and then said, "I - I just wanted to tell you I think that was really beautiful. Thank you."

[willysilver]

Willy was pleasantly drunk on good cream mixed with liquor. Not so drunk he couldn't graciously accept a compliment, though.

"I am glad you liked it, little dove," he said. "I have many more...but I think tonight I will not take the stage again. I am a bit pissed," he giggled.

[alcuin]

"I did like it," Alcuin said. "It made me feel sad, but... the kind of sad I was already feeling. I - I thought I might offer to buy you a drink, but were you leaving?"

[willysilver]

"No, no. I just needed a breath."

He took one more deep drag, then dropped it.

"Come inside. Be my guest. Perhaps I will sing again...just for you."

[alcuin]

"Oh... that would be nice, only if you want to." Alcuin stepped aside so that there was a path for him to the door. "I'm Alcuin."

[willysilver]

"I know who you are," Willy replied. He made them to the bard as a unit and a bit of magic found them two recently vacated stools. "What will you drink, Alcuin?" he asked. The bartender was already pouring will a glass of cream with just enough Kahlua to stain it brown.

[alcuin]

Alcuin's face fell a bit when the man said he knew him, since typically that wasn't because of something good.

But he came in and sat down next to him. "Oh... double vodka soda, please. With a lime." He looked at the man ."Ah. Have we met?"

[willysilver]

"Perhaps. I meet many people. Your name is distinctive," he said, taking his cream and liqueur to sip as soon as it was before him. "It's French? Or is it really a faerie name?" he asked, too drunk to have a filter.

[alcuin]

"It's... French," Alcuin said, and looked a bit shocked. Was that a real question? "Ah. A faerie name?"

[willysilver]

"There are faeries in France," he chuckled softly. He took another sip and the sweet, thick cream painted his tongue and sent a buzz all through him.

"French faeries have to name their babies, too, do they not?"

[alcuin]

Alcuin took a generous swallow of the vodka soda when the bartender pushed it to him.

"Ah," he said. "Are you...?"

[willysilver]

"French? No. Though I do enjoy visiting," he replied.