The Late Night Show [Open]

[monaco]

Her foot extended into perfect form, her hands high above her head with emphasis. With a flick of her wrist, her form was transformed into another posture with the precision and speed of a tight spin. The wolf whistles, cheering, howling and applause were deafening, though the barrage of sound was dulled within her ears. The girl dancing was miles away from the smoky, dusky club that was filled with jeering, stimulated, intoxicated men whose glassy-eyed stared all watched transfixed upon her twisting curves. Her focus was completing upon her routine, her personal choreography, and ensuring she satisfied her adoring crowd. The music was loud and carried her through one form to another: a spin, a shake, a well-placed wink or smooch of her painted lips.

She gave a few more turns, another kick and wiggle of her hips, before she spun once, twice, tree times before dropping into a straddle split and arching her back backwards with her arms raised, her chest heaving. The crowd exploded. The multiple of loud thuds of chairs toppling over by their drunken owners standing too quickly and the shattering of mugs hitting the floor while the stampeding drum of feet beating the floorboards in accompany to the multitude of clapping; another perfect show. Coins rained down onto the stage, some hitting the feathers extending from her coiled, golden hair upon her head, though she mainly ignored them. She knew that she would be paid well for tonight for her presence alone brought in a full house.

In one smooth, graceful movement, she stood, the luster of he outfit catching the light of the room, and she bowed low with another teasing wink, causing another series of wolf whistles. A sweet, sultry smile remained upon her lips, as it had her entire performance, and though her blue eyes were bright, the only thrill that dwelled there was from the heat of the dance and not from her admiring fans. A few more bows, a wave, and a blow-away kiss she gave before she head off the side of the stage and ducked behind the screen, heading straight for her personal dressing room, the sooner she got out of the rather revealing, busty, fantastical fairy outfit the better.

She began to process of stripping off the tight fitting lace and replacing upon her skin with her casual clothes, this consisting of a scarlet bodice over a white blouse, a long dark shirt over lace-up, heeled boots. Carefully, she removed the pins, clips, and feather from her hair, allowing for her golden locks to cascade down her back. With steady hands, she took her long strands and entwined the, together in a single side plait, securing a scarlet bow at the top and pinning back her bangs with two pins. Lastly, she replaced her spectacles that she had removed before she got u on stage; wearing glasses were not practical when one is spinning and moving about with drunk men at her feet. Looking upon her reflection in the mirror, she looked like a completely different person from what she was a few minutes ago. Perfect.

She donned her coat and collected her pay before slipping out of the back door of the cabaret into the nearly empty back alley save few a crates a feral cat sleeking in a far shadow. Normally a bouncer of the club would accompany her to the division of the Entertainment District and the North Residential District where her home resided, but due to the mass attendance, all of the able bodied men were required to quell any brawls and handle the crowd. Clutching her dark emerald green frock closed and holding her purse close to her chest, she started down the alley with a quick step.

Hopefully, she would meet no one who could described as unpleasant…

[molotov]

Prowling the night streets of the unsavoury entertainment district was one of the less appealing aspects of her work, but Natalya bore with it anyway. She had no idea why the Military bothered sending (wo)men out to "control" the rowdy, drunken people who usually occupied the place at such a late hour. And, as per usual, Natalya was skulking around the area, doing absolutely nothing.

The cliffs, the entertainment district... I have rotten luck. Why do I never get an easy place to patrol? Natalya sighed and placed a hand on the guard of her blade to reassure herself. It glinted slightly in the moonlight, hopefully driving any foolish drunkards who wished to take their chances with the Military.

After a while treading carefully in the semi-dark alleys, Natalya's trained ears picked up the sound of footsteps, and they belonged to someone who was trying to be cautious. Someone dangerous. Continuing on as if she had not heard anything, Natalya removed her hand from her blade and pulled the cloak closer around herself, hopefully concealing the obnoxiously bright colours of her uniform. She flicked an imaginary speck of dirt off her shoulder, craning her neck as she did so. And that was when she noticed the sinister glint of a blade which had caught the moonlight. Realising by her stalker's movements that they were about to attack, Natalya broke into a wild sprint, her right hand poised to unsheathe her blade at any moment. She grimaced as her assailant cursed loudly and took off after her. So careless. I must be getting less sharp, damn it... Zigzagging through the winding alleys of the entertainment district, Natalya was too busy concentrating on escaping to notice the young woman just ahead of her.

Just as she registered the fact that nobody was chasing her anymore, Natalya ran into something--or rather, someone. Cursing softly, Natalya removed her hand from the guard of her blade and steadied herself, completely disregarding the young woman she had just knocked into.

[monaco]

She was nearing the end of the alley, the expanse of the dark street opening up before her, when the torrent of steps of someone running towards her made her freeze. However was coming, they were in a hurry. Tightening her grip upon her bag, Adèlie began to step aside in order to clear a path for the approaching person but she underestimated the speed at which the unknown person was traveling.

In a matter of seconds, a figure appeared from behind a corner and glanced her shoulder into Adèlie’s who could not get out the way in time. Pushed off balance, the dancer fell backwards and was caught by the support of the cool and damp wall of the alley while the mystery person say to his or her own re-establishing of balance. In the chaos and confusion, or perhaps from the force of he collision, Adèlie bit back a curse when he glasses slipped from her nose.

Catching the spectacles by chance in the dark before they hit the cobbles below, she replaced them back into position before her eyes before finally gaining a moment to look upon the person who had so rudely collide into her. In was in fact, another woman who was about her height, with what looked like near white hair in the shaded cast of the moon’s light.

Adèlie was about to voice some sort of retort regarding the woman’s actions with hitting her but the blond caught glance of the edge within the other woman eye and she quickly swallowed her words. Leaning back against the wall a bit more, she slightly bowed her head in a respectful manner, for she also had seen the colors of the military sheathing the mystery woman’s torso.

“Forgive me, madam, I meant not to stand in your way. I hope that you are not harmed”.