[Flame]

[Disclaimer: Any and all songs used in this RP are NOT original songs. All credit goes to their respective artists (bless their talented souls <3)]


Aella Rose

The Last Chance Lounge.

It was an odd name by any standards for a bar, and no one could really say for sure where it had gotten its eccentric designation from either. It had been around for as long as, if not longer, than the rest of the businesses which it shared the street with, and had carved out a respectable niche for itself amongst the lineup of various restaurants, bars, boutiques, and specialty stores. Its exterior was generously windowed, although the relative dimness of the interior gave it a sense of privacy in spite of that fact during the day. At night however, the heart of the bar was lit with mellow ambient lighting, offset by splashes of color which the multicolored lights hanging over each individual table gave off. The sign perched atop the building advertised the name of the lounge in bright hues of blue and fuchsia in flowing italics – colorful enough to catch the eye, yet at the same time, managing to avoid the appearance of gaudiness. It was a respectably classy joint – depending on the particular crowd of the night, of course – and it used that to maintain its prominence over the slew of other bars which peppered the massive city of Lamenolai.

A young woman sat alone at a small, raised round table off to the side of the room, a good vantage point from which to read the lay of the floor. Various tables and booths lined the perimeter of the lounge, but there was ample open space – in fact, more than ample – in front of the side of the room where the bar was located to make room for the decently-sized stage which hugged the back wall of the establishment. More often than not, after the hour of five in the evening, that stage was occupied by one of any number of different artists, ranging from small rock bands to solitary indie performers. The variety of performers was wide, but the one thing that they all had in common was talent. The Last Chance Lounge prided itself on hiring only the most promising of up-and-coming artists, and as such, the bar was a popular spot for talent agents and music enthusiasts alike to frequent. On top of all that, the food and libations offered were popular with the local crowd as well, so all-in-all, it was the perfect place for unlikely acquaintances to meet and mingle.

Currently, the stage was occupied by a small cover band, and the evening crowd was just beginning to filter in through the doors. It wasn’t uncommon for the rush to begin well before 5pm on a Friday night, after all, and the tables and booths were beginning to fill slowly as the songs rolled by. Unlike most of the rest of the clientele though, the lone woman nursed only a mug in her hand which contained hot tea infused with lemon and honey. An odd drink for this hour of the evening, but judging by the way she was perusing the room, she wasn’t exactly just another normal customer either. She was dressed in a pair of faded, ripped jeans with a pair of knee-high brown boots, her shirt a simple V-necked blouse which faded in a gradient from a faint peony pink at the hem to snow white at her neck. Warm, honey-hued hair tied in a bun of intricate knots framed a delicate face in which a pair of startlingly turquoise eyes were set, along with a diminutive nose and lips upon which a secretive half-smile always seemed to linger. She seemed pensive as her gaze searched the room, although at the same time, it didn’t seem as if she were looking for anything or anyone in particular.

“Miss Rose, you go on in fifteen. Is there anything else I can get you?”

Aella’s trance was broken as she glanced over at the staff member who had approached her. “I’m fine, thanks.” All it took was a smile and a gentle reassurance for the man to bob politely and leave her to her own company once again. If she was nervous, it didn’t show on her face (or, at least she hoped that it didn’t). To be honest, this would be the first time she would be performing in a venue of this size and stature – it made the name “Last Chance Lounge” an ironic one for her in particular. She, an artist who until today, had been performing in smaller, less well-known bars around town such as George’s and Trough & Bottle. It still amazed her to think that it had been less than a week since she’d been approached after a show and offered a gig here at the Lounge. Albeit, it was on a “trial only” basis, but it was a step – and a big one – in her career. If they liked her here…well, it wouldn’t do to dwell on the “what-if’s” before she even knew whether she had a shot. Still though, she had another fourteen minutes to dream about it before her fate was decided, so she went back to her sport of scanning the faces around the room, knowing that no matter how it went, tonight would be a night that would be seared in her memory for the rest of her life.

[Kallile]

Dublin O'Connor

For the tall, slender man entering the establishment, this was a night just like any other. He was dressed in his usual garb--a faded pair of black jeans, a green tribal-printed button up and a thin leather jacket. His green and black ombre hair was pointed to perfection in its normal mohawk this evening as well. He took a moment to survey the tables still open; he was hoping to get close to the stage. Rumor had it there were some new faces playing here tonight and the self-proclaimed bard never passed up an opportunity to listen to those coming up. He was, after all, among friends.

Music ran through his blood as well, though he wasn't quite as gifted in the pipes as others. Oh, he could hold a tune just fine, but he wasn't as practiced as he'd like to be in range. No, his real passion rested in the lyrics of the songs. Words were everything and without them well...most of these people would be out of a job. He loved to hear what the new singers had up their sleeves--old favorites or fresh material? He could always get a better feel for a person based on the words they chose to sing before a crowd. What a crowd it was tonight, too! He could barely spot a place close up, but there were still some spots open to wallflowers. It was, almost without saying, hard to be a wallflower with a partly neon green mohawk, so the man began the long tetris-like journey to gain access to the precious bit of wall.

Dublin would have been content to just go and casually lean, but someone caught his attention first. A lovely vision sitting all alone, what a pity. A quick glance around to see if anyone else was worming their way through the crowd to get to her and when it seemed she was truly waiting on no one, Dublin made a change of course. The going was rough but it would hold a two-part win for him in the end. Firstly, he'd get to say hello to the lovely lady-in-waiting. Secondly, even if he was rudely brushed off he would be that much closer to the wall and would happily go back to his original plan without letting the encounter dampen his mood.

Weaving over to the table he offered her a perhaps cocky smile and a wink. As he spoke his Irish accent was clear and ringing over the cover band as they played their final songs. It was reminiscent of Northern Dublin in sound, a fact that aptly named man happened to love. "Eh, wha's a lovely lass like you doin' here all by herself?" he drawled, flashing another good-natured smile just for good measures.

[Flame]

As the minutes slowly ticked by, Aella watched as the crowd slowly began to swell in size, tables and booths quickly filling, leaving only standing room for the customers who were later in their arrival. However, even the standing room was prime real estate, especially the area directly adjacent to the stage. It appeared that many of the people coming here had come specifically for the music – it was a testimony to the caliber of the artists which the Lounge brought in. To be entirely honest, Aella was a little nervous about her upcoming performance as it drew nearer. It wasn’t that she hadn’t performed in front of audiences of this size before; no, rather, it was the nature of the onlookers that caused her heart to flutter in her chest as she looked out over the sea of faces bathed in soft mood lighting. It wasn’t hard to tell so-called “music people” from the non-musically inclined folk – she’d seen plenty of the latter in the bars that she was accustomed to. There was a different level of appreciation (and in some cases, criticism) in the eyes that she saw fixed on the stage close at hand, and it sent a small thrill of anxiety up her spine.

Gripping her mug a little tighter, she mentally told herself to get ahold of her nerves. She’d dealt with them plenty of times in the past, and she knew that dwelling on the anxiety would only worsen it. Aella was a seasoned enough performer to know that once she was up on that stage and singing, all of that would simply melt away – music had that kind of effect on her, and she was more than happy to let it sweep her (and if she was lucky, her audience as well) away. By her estimate, she still had about ten minutes of time left before it was her turn to take the stage, and so she turned her attention to the band that was currently playing, trying to feel out the vibe that they were leaving the room in so that she could pick up accordingly with an opening song. She wasn’t the kind to prepare a set-in-stone set ahead of time, but rather played based on what she felt was appropriate for the audience.

She was just mentally crossing off possible openers when movement coming in her direction caught the corner of her eye. That, and the fact that the person headed her way was somewhat hard to ignore, considering the bright hues he was sporting, especially in his rather impressively sculpted mohawk. Well, that was certainly a different look from what she’d become accustomed to seeing in the room, and coupled with the fact that he was now making a beeline for her table, he quickly gained her full attention. Based on the confidence in his stride and expression alone, Aella assumed that he probably worked here – perhaps they’d sent someone to check on her again just to make sure she was getting cold feet at the last minute. However, his appearance wasn’t the only surprise she was in store for tonight. Not only were the words which came out of his mouth not ones which she’d been expecting, arguably the Irish accent which colored his voice took her even more by surprise than any combination of other factors had.

As taken aback as she might have been though, Aella made a commendable effort of not letting it show on her face. Clearly, this man wasn’t affiliated with the establishment, otherwise he would likely have known who she was and why she was here. If anything, it seemed he’d mistaken her for just another customer, here to mix, mingle, and listen to music. His somewhat direct approach might have come across as creepy if it wasn’t for the good-natured expression which sat comfortably on his features, accompanied by a smile that bore no ill-will. Aella couldn’t begrudge a man singling her out in a crowd to approach and talk to her, and if she was going to be entirely truthful, the accent coupled with the somewhat edgy look he wore so naturally was doing it for her. After all, she still had ten minutes to kill – why not have some fun with it? “Me? I’m waiting for someone to alter that situation,” she replied smoothly, her answering smile just barely hinting at coquettishness. “That, and I’m here for the music.” Neither of her two statements was a lie, although neither told the whole truth either. "How about you? Taking a night off from pub brawling?" The accompanying grin showed that she was merely jesting, but that she'd clearly taken note of his accent. She wasn't about to let him know that she found his accent charming and attractive - not yet, at least. That, he'd have to earn.