Solinus City

And speak of the devil, there he was. Nathan smiled at Lep as he spoke, turning to face him with a small sigh of relief. "Ruffians, huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Sounding like a proper gentleman there. Yeah, it's Nathan, but I'm not a gambler by trade. I'm a musician, I pianist."

He waggled his fingers as he walked past the held door, "These are worth more than any roulette wheel winnings I might get!"

And speak of the devil, there he was. Nathan smiled at Lep as he spoke, turning to face him with a small sigh of relief. "Ruffians, huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Sounding like a proper gentleman there. Yeah, it's Nathan, but I'm not a gambler by trade. I'm a musician, a pianist."

He waggled his fingers as he walked past the held door, "These are worth more than any roulette wheel winnings I might get!"

"Me? Oh, I'm just a clerk at a firm, nothing special. Of course, it doesn't pay well enough, but such is life!" she sighed. "And you're a musician? Well, well! An interesting trade. I take it it's not going as well as you hoped?"

Because he had to gamble, of course.

"And you, Lep? Though, I understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it! I mean, we're not terribly far from Wing City. Dreadful place, really."

"Well, I mostly just fly around the galaxy in my ship, doing some work here and there to support myself, you know? But I need to watch my step, because some pretty interesting things have been happening to me lately."

Like the fact he kidnapped a woman and, even as he spoke, currently had her chained up somewhere on his vessel because she caught a glimpse at something she wasn't meant to see. And now? He had no freakin' idea what to do with her.

"But, I'll deal with it. Not as exciting as working at a firm, though. What is a firm?" He asked with a clueless expression. But hey! He WAS an alien!

"It's going fine, actually," Nathan gave Minke a slightly irritated glance, "I'm just here for the fun of it, not as a source of income. I'm no pop star, but I've played some pretty big gigs. I did the R.I.P opening gala just a few months back!"

When Lep spoke about his ship, Nathan turned back to him with interest. "A ship? Oh, wow, that must be exciting. It sounds so awesome to be able to just zip around the galaxy as you please." He grinned broadly at the thought. "Maybe one day I'll do something like that. Some people go and see the world, I'd love to see the galaxy. I wonder what music they have on other worlds..."

"A firm is a place lawyers work, and they're the most insensitive and boring people you can possibly speak to." replied Minke with a sneer of distaste. She really needed a better job.

Minke met Nathan's glance with a raise of her brow. "Well, that's good to know. I heard about that R.I.P event! I could have sworn something was going to go horribly wrong, too. Guess I'm not as good at predicting things as...you are, Nathan."

Both boys were equally as interesting. Lep, of course, being a blue-skinned alien who liked to zip around on a spaceship, and Nathan for being a musician.

With lots of money in his pocket.

"What's it like up there?" she asked Lep.

"It's cold. It's dangerous. The unparalleled beauty of the universe is matched only by it's deadliness. You have similar things here, no? The bright, colourful creatures are almost always the toxic ones?"

He zipped up his jacket to the very top, as though the evening chill was beginning to reach him. "And it's amazingly huge. You say you want to explore the galaxy? It will take you far longer than you'll be alive to do explore this small galaxy we're in, and there are billions of them out there, most a lot bigger than this one."

He couldn't help but grin. "It's quite scary, when I put it that way! Though, I hardly imagine it's as scary as standing in front of a crowd and playing the piano. We never had that instrument on my home planet, but we had a peculiar metal that reacts to starlight, playing what's essentially a music that I suppose I could say is similar to that noise you hear when you blow around the top ring of a glass. But more beautiful. We figured out that the different wavelengths on the light spectrum changed what 'note' it could play and before you knew it, we had the Lightchord. This was only a few hundred years ago, mind. Before that we basically just... Hit things to make them sqwark."

"Music from starlight?" Nathan blinked, giving Lep a stunned stare for a few moments before laughing in disbelief - not a mocking laugh, but one of genuine astonishment. "The music of the stars... that's something you'd write as a romantic metaphor in a poem. That's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about, the kind of fantastic wonders that are out there in space that people down here couldn't even imagine. The songs and the poems that could come from those experiences would be amazing."

He beamed, "It might be scary, but there's always danger. Even just down here, there's vampires and demons and spaceships falling from the sky... It'd be worth the vast oppressive nothingness of space for things as wonderful as that. Music from stars..." He shook his head, still quiet taken by the concept. "I suppose it would be too optimistic of me to ask if you have one of those instruments with you? I'd love to hear it. I could play the piano for you in exchange! Have you never heard it, or have you been here long enough to encounter one?"

It seemed that Minke had been all but forgotten in Nathan's enthusiasm for the music Lep described.

Minke could not hold back a small chuckle. "You put it that way, it almost sounds romantic. Musically romantic. Nathan sounds like he's falling for the instrument." she said, hand over her mouth to hide her grin.

She let them talk; after all, Lep's conversation was far more interesting than her own, so she didn't have to try as hard to get to know either of them better, become more friendly, find a way to the cash. Though, the more she spoke to these boys, the less she was caring about the cash. It was still priority, of course, there just seemed to be more to pursue.

"What an interesting night..." she mumbled into her palm.

"Nope, sorry," Lep replied with a slight shrug. "I didn't think to bring one with me when I was ex- when I was exhilerated by the idea of leaving my planet and exploring the galaxy. Though, who knows, if you look around you might find one. The problem is that my home planet is quite isolationist. You're not likely to find others of my breed and so mercantile from home will be extremely difficult to get a hand on."

He looked at Minke, wondering why she was being so quiet. "But I suppose I can let you know if one happens to fall from the sky or something."

"What time is it?" He asked, looking up at the night sky. "It must be getting on. How long have we been talking? Are any places even still open?"

Nathan glanced at his watch briefly, “Just past half eleven, think we must’ve been talking a half hour or so. I’m sure there’re some bars open, I dunno whether you’re in luck for a steak though.”

He sighed, “Well, that’s a shame. I did think it was a little optimistic. I’ll have to visit your world one day, because I don’t think I could forgive myself if I never heard this star music now you’ve told me about it. I guess you’re right in a way, Minke,” he glanced at the woman, grinning “About me falling for the instrument. The idea of it, anyway.”

Silent for a few moments, Nathan looked down at the street as they walked, musing over the fantastical sounding instrument and lamenting that he wouldn’t get to hear it any time soon. “How are you finding Terra, then?” he finally asked, “What sort of thing do you look for when you’re exploring? Grand sights, interesting people, or what?”

Mink had a small smile on her lips. "Perhaps one day you'll be able to play." she said. My, my, and wouldn't that be something.

"How in the world did you get to Terra? I've heard of pleny Isolationist planets out there, but I've hardly ever met anyone from them who haven't done something terribly illegal to get off. Might I be delving into dangerous territory by asking?" Her eyes moved from Nathan to Lep. She really liked dangerous territory.

"Nah, don't worry about it," he answered Nathan, his arms shuffling under his coat from where he tried to keep warm. "There's always another time, another place, you know. I earned some money on those roulette wheels tonight, so I think I might treat myself to a nice hotel and fancy restaurant tomorrow."

"As for when I'm exloring, I guess I try to look for anything that I might find interesting. I don't really have any specific criteria, I just... Fly. There was an old hero on my world, basically a legend, and it is said that when he was ready to travel again, he would find the highest place for miles around and release a cravat into the wind. The cravat would fly, and no matter where it ended up, he would follow it until he found it again."

His mood seemed to slowly deteriorate into some sort of apathy, or mild depression. It had been happening for the last several minutes; a natural response besides his conscious ones to the questions being asked. Questions asked about him and his lifestyle, which inevitably led back to his culture. However, it wasn't until Minke overstepped her boundaries that it really showed on Lep's face.

What she asked? She had gone too far. And though he held no animosity or ill feeling towards her for doing so, the way his expression became nothing more than a membrane holding back a sea of anger and regret could not be ignored. Even his reply to her seemed forced, as though struggling to keep his teeth from being clenched.

"You... Have no idea."

And then? Sigh. All of it left him with the release of a breath. "Well, I think that's enough for me for tonight. It was nice to meet you both, Nathan and Minke. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime, eh?"

He smiled a little, patting them both on the shoulder before making his way off down the street without another word.

Nathan was smiling happily at Lep’s tale, when he noticed that the blue-skinned boy was quickly losing enthusiasm. He frowned faintly, and it only intensified when he replied to Minke with the seething, curt tone and the following sigh. “Oh,” he said, slightly disappointed when the alien boy announced he was leaving. “Hold up a sec!”

He reached into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card (because hey, freelancing musician, they were useful) and pressed it into Lep’s hand. “Just in case you come across one of your Lightchords, call me, uhuh? Bye!” he said, grinning slyly, before waving the boy off.

It never hurt to be optimistic, after all!

Nathan was then left in the awkward position of being alone with the slightly predatory woman. He gave her a glance, and smiled. “Well, I think I should head for home too. I have to get a train back to Wing City, so I should hurry before I miss the last one! Uhm, nice meeting you! Maybe I’ll see you around here again sometime.”

He offered her a wave, and then was on his way.

Minke watched them both with her lips twisted into a frown. When Nathan came back, she gave him a tight smile.

"Mhm. Maybe. Too bad we couldn't spend more time together, huh?" she said, watching him as he walked away.

"Still, I can't let someone like you with that much money walk away for good, even if you're not interested." She walked into a nearby alleyway, then raised her hand up to the sky. Several patterns swirled along her skin, to her palm, where it peeled off, adopted color and form, then zoomed off into the air.

"Keep an eye on him, mm? Let me know where he deposits that generous sum of money."

Steve was trying out beds. This may have seemed normal at a glance, but it was the way he tried the beds which was odd. An otherwise unnoticeable man, he did not stand out at all except for his hair, which was a vivid blue. That combined with a constantly perturbed look on his face, like he had just smelt something off but didn't want to mention it, he just seemed... Strange.

And the bed was not much better. As he climbed onto bed after bed he stretched out, spread eagle, arms to the top posts and legs to the bottom, as if he was yawning or stretching. Already this behaviour had gathered some worried looks from the staff.

The people. That was the first thing Lyra noticed while traversing through the nameless world. They were far different than the people of Arcanum, and there were so many. It was going to be impossible to find Merrak but Lyra had to try. Methodically searching the world, Lyra found herself in a small shop, or at least her reflection had found it. Above a man's head, in the mirror hung on the ceiling, was the reflection of a young woman with ice-blue eyes. She was staring directly at him but if he looked around the shop, he was going to find that the girl wasn't even there. She was only in the mirror.

Steve's eyes locked onto the mirror above his head, and for the slightest moment there seemed to be understanding in his eyes, with brows dipping ever so slightly to show distaste. His eyes shifted left, right, then back to her as he slowly rose to his feet, standing upon the bed as he rose. And then he spoke, in but a hushed whisper.

"I know of your master and his bargains. I shall seek a breaking implement hastily." Whatever master Steve spoke of was, well, a mystery, but probably what was standing out about him (to those not in the mirror) was that he was standing on a bed in shoes. He climbed down a moment after, head jerking left and right looking for some sort of blunt instrument.

As the man looked to his left and right, Lyra's reflection slid down to another mirror lined against a wall. The surface shimmered and undulated like lake water. Lyra pulled herself from the mirror. She went to the man and pulled out a gold locket about the size of a pocket watch. "I don't know you and I have no idea what you said to me but have you seen this man?" The locket sprung open in her hands and showed a hologram of her brother's face.

Steve's hands clasped over his eyes and he turned his face aside. He let out an offended sound, then uttered, "Do not show me his face, lest I be dragged within. Then both we would be trapped!" He reached for the mirror near him, picking it up and continuing to avert his eyes.

"Your prison shall be broken soon."

One of the staff were approaching now, with hand raised to tell Steve to put the mirror down.

"Dragged down? Trapped?" Lyra was takenaback and confused. What was this man talking about? It was just a hologram. She closed it and clasped her fingers around the locket. "Have you seen him? Do you know who Merrak Hunt is, man?" A tone of agitation crept into Lyra's voice but she bit the inside of her cheek. The taste of blood rolled around on her tongue. The annoyance in her attitude was gone, however.

"I know not of who you speak," he answered in a stern tone, now turning his gaze to the approaching staff member, who had stopped in confusion at the sudden arrival of a woman via mirror. Steve stared at the man as if he had just been caught committing murder in a back alley and was about to again to cover his tracks.

He let go of the mirror, letting it land on the ground with a massive thump, but thankfully mirrors were made of tougher stuff than they used to be and it didn't shatter.

Lyra watched as the mirror landed on the ground and her eyes narrowed at the object. Mirrors were beautiful tools in her opinion and should not have been treated in such a manner. She tucked the locket into her pocket with foul words beneath her breath. The man did not know anything and he was drawing too much attention. Merrak was not here and neither was George. Lyra needed to find someone with information and soon. "I bid you good day." Lyra walked around the man, away from the approaching tradesmen, and headed towards the exit.

It would be roughly two seconds after she was out the door that Steve would burst out after her, turning in her direction with a hand aimed for her arm to snatch and guide her away. "Are you of the mirror breakers?" he snapped at once.

Inside the store a man was holding a currently bloody nose from being punched.

Lyra, deep in her thoughts, was caught unaware. As her arm was taken, she jerked and then began to tried to pry the man's fingers from her body. "Get off of me! Don't touch me! Get away! Get off!" It was clear that Lyra was no fighter and had little to no strength about her. Lyra squirmed and tugged to get away. She was very close to using her teeth and nails on whatever she could reach.

Steve, never a particularly physical man, obliged, releasing her. He stood back for a moment, looking very angry, but also very confused. He raised a hand to point at her before ranting, "Then let them claim you as they will and forgo my help!"

And with that he tugged at his clothes, turned around and marched away from the woman in the opposite direction.

There was a sick comfort in knowing that there were madmen in the Eternal Life as well. Lyra rubbed her arm where later bruises would rise. She watched him walk away approximately five paces before she, too, turned and walked in the opposite direction of the ill man.

The sky was thundering above the city as a storm brewed. The early morning light was draining from pinks and oranges to a dull and pale gray. Lyra could smell the oil rising on the asphalt streets as it began to rain. The weather did not deter her from her mission, however. Anyone Lyra passed in the streets she held out a golden locket the size of a pocket watch with a floating hologram picture of her brother's face. "Have you seen this man" she asked them with hope in her voice. When each and every one of them shook their heads that hope was crushed. It was a vicious cycle that seemed to have no end. But Lyra was persistent and had great determination to find Merrak. She approached the next passerby and asked if they had seen Merrak.

Shanthi looked at the locked that was pushed in front of her before shaking her head.

"No, I am sorry," the winged avorian woman replied. Her accent was difficult to place and likely unfamiliar to anyone who had never visited Volary.

"I am not from around here," she explained. "Maybe you could help me though. I am trying to get to the air port, but I seem to have gotten turned about."

Her words were a bit over formal, leaving it likely that the common tongue of these parts was not her native language.

Upon study of the woman in front of her, Lyra saw the wings. She was taken aback. This woman had wings. Confusion broke over the look of desperation on Lyra's face. She had been so sure of where she was and now Lyra had doubt creep into her heart. Lyra tried to take her eyes off the woman's wings and fumbled over her reply. "No. No. I-I-why do you have wings?" The question flew from Lyra's mouth before she could use better judgement or manners. Lyra chewed on her chapped lip to attempt sorting out her baffled thoughts.