[Another Night at Another Bar - OTA]

[dj_esebel]

She's got a decent set tonight for Diwata. Easy, midtempo songs with a couple bursts of speed, good fun stuff for the people who came in for a beer and some fries off the highway just a few miles outside of Siren Cove proper. At this point, they know themselves well enough to follow a list but to also mix it up and improvise.

"So glad you all made it tonight," she says into the microphone, voice soft and maybe a little seductive without quite Compelling. "This next song was written for a man--" she pauses, letting the people who are listening get their giggles in. "A man who...changed my life completely." When she's vague, it almost sounds romantic instead of actually being a song about catharsis, about trying to figure out why she'd slept with her professor and how it had sent her running.

"One track mind like a goldfish, stuck inside my petri dish..." It's almost upbeat and if they aren't listening, an audience doesn't realize the lost numbness of a disastrous first year of college and the sense of being so very lost.

But that's what music is for. She writes songs to let her own past go and let herself live with the few secrets she does keep.

And it pays. She gets free dinner and free beer, plus some pretty solid cash. The audience isn't half-bad either. By the time they wrap up, people are actually hollering for an encore, which makes them all grin and rack their brains for an easy, quick song. Audrey quickly strums her guitar, going to a song that's been on her mind since she sang it for Ed on the phone. "Gray, quiet and tired and mean, picking at a worried seam, I try to make you mad at me over the phone..."

[[Catch her during a lull in the show or afterward, while she eats.]]

Comments

[bachjones]

It's Bach's once-a-month night for being allowed to go out and play (the work doesn't count, Isaac doesn't know he's gone, Alfie doesn't know he's gone). With the lack of sleep he's had recently, it might be no more than falling asleep over beer instead of over a salad.

So when a vaguely familiar woman sits down next to him for a meal, Bach doesn't murmur more than a short greeting. Her voice was ringing a bell with him, but his brain was still catching up.

[dj_esebel]

"Hey," she says, nodding at her new neighbor at the bar. "I hope you liked the set."

And even if he hadn't, it's no skin off her nose. She has seasoned fries.

[bachjones]

"Your voice is thrilling enough when you're not hurting it." He nods at her plate. "Enjoy your meal."

[dj_esebel]

"Hurting it?" Audrey asks, genuinely perturbed and wondering if she should be a little insulted.

[bachjones]

"It didn't feel right during the last chorus. Maybe it was just the wrong emotion catching the lines of you story. If it didn't hurt you.."

He shrugs. "Who are you again?"

[dj_esebel]

Audrey narrows her eyes at him, trying to read what exactly he means. "Which one? The encore song or another?"

If he's offering critique, that's fair. If he's trying to psychoanalyze her, she may well fight him on that.

[bachjones]

"Encore. Maybe you didn't feel it, made the lyrics clash with what you wanted to say. Wait a minute, you're Captain America Marvel girl, isn't it?"

He looks at her. "Woman. Definitely not a girl."

[dj_esebel]

"I don't usually do love songs," she admits. Her heart just usually isn't in them.

"And yeah, yeah I am. Did your son like the comics?"

[bachjones]

"I guess that was the thing, then."

"Loved them. His teacher or watcher or however you call it at kindie says he really wants to learn to read now so he can understand the story even better." It was hard not to be proud of that. "Which is a real good sign, because curiosity gets you places. Her words, not mine."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam had been surprised when he'd seen the advertisement for one of Audrey's bands as he'd driven by the place and decided to swing in and have a beer. Once she was finished, he walked over and sat beside her at the bar.

"Am I allowed to buy the talent a beer?"

[dj_esebel]

"That depends. Does it come with your company?" she asks, patting the empty bar stool next to her invitingly. "How've you been?"

[nomadic_cam]

"Yeah, because I was going to just buy you a beer, pat you on the head, and go on my way," Cam laughed and took a seat. "I've been pretty good, found a job as a mechanic so I get my hands on engines all the time. Nothing to complain about there. You?"

[dj_esebel]

"I mean, as someone who loves going to the salon, I do like a nice head pat now and then," she says, sliding her plate over so he can steal a few fries if he wants. "You working at Hot-O-Zone then?"

[nomadic_cam]

"I'll keep that in mind," Cam nodded, as if making a mental note to pat her head often. Then his brow furrowed, just a little as he nicked a fry off the plate. "Hot-O-Zone? I think I'm lost."

[dj_esebel]

"Oh, the last issue of the Cove said the mechanic shop as like Auto-Zone, only hotter. Well, they called it Hottie-Zone, but I think Hot-O-Zone is a better pun," Audrey rambles, laughing a little at herself before shrugging.

"I think if you're gonna make shitty puns, you gotta commit."

[nomadic_cam]

Cam remembered the day that one came out, and his boss having a reaction of sorts to it, but he hadn't read the actual rag. To him, the only thing newsprint was good for was streak-free windshields.

"You've got a point on the shitty puns," he replied, raising his glass to her, "but I didn't read the article so even the non-pun was lost on me. To answer, yes, I did get hired on there. Not quite sure if that means I'm considered one of those raising the hot level."

[dj_esebel]

Probably for the best, then since it had mentioned their hookup too. Not that Audrey's terribly ashamed. They had fun, made friends, and had some delicious pancakes in the morning. All good things by her standards.

"Oh trust me, you so are. Like, through the roof."

[fairywren]

Wren isn't seeking Audrey and her band out per se, but when he realizes who it is up there on stage, he might stay a little longer. It's not always his type of music, but to be honest there's very little music that Wren outright just dislikes. Audrey has a compelling voice - probably common for a siren, but it can't be discounted - and a good band. The audience is responsive, and it's easy to want to stay and listen.

He's lazily finishing his fries when he spots her looking a little less than happy, and tips his head at her. "Bad time to tell you you sounded good up there?"

[dj_esebel]

The presence of one of her musical idols goes pretty damn far in soothing ruffled feathers and Audrey shakes her head, managing a smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere. I had a pretty good set, I think, so thank you."

But then Bach had come along with a shitload of judgmental bullshit. Critique is fine; she can't make it very far with a thin skin and sirens know music. But when judgment gets laid down about her life choices by someone who's more acquaintance than friend, Audrey gets a mite temperamental.

"Dropping out of school doesn't make me a failure. Neither does playing in bars."

[fairywren]

He nods to her, and raises an eyebrow at the next thing she says, which seems pretty fucking obvious to him. It's out of context, but he can guess that it has to do with the scowl she's rocking.

"I hope not," he answers back mildly, "or I should just give up on life entirely. Which I probably would have if I'd stayed in school, honestly." He makes space. "Let me get you a drink, you can tell me about how you got judged on such arbitrary standards."

[dj_esebel]

"Thanks," Audrey says, leaning heavily on the counter as she sits back down. "Bach, this guy I know, sat down next to me and said that the last song didn't sound right and then he was all, 'Well, good thing you didn't go to school if all you do is play in bars. Your mom and dad must be proud.'"

Audrey scowls and slumps over the bar. "For the record, my mom and dad are proud of me."

[fairywren]

Wren waves over the bartender, and raises an eyebrow. "Funny I'm not seeing this guy's name on any arena billboards," he drawls dryly. "Bars are bread and butter. When I was a teenager, I used to fake my age and beg just to get gigs in places half this size, never hurt my career."

He smirks. "I would hope so." He takes a drink. "Are you? Because that's what ends up mattering."

[dj_esebel]

"I may not live the high life, but I have the life I want," Audrey says, leaning her cheek into her hand. "I make music for a living. I have great sex with great people. I live the life I want with integrity."

She sighs and orders a midori sour, in the mood for something that's both strong and fruity. "And all of that is more than I can say about the person I was in college. When I was on the 'respectable' path."

[fairywren]

Wren's pretty sure he has better absinthe at home than this particular bar is going to offer to spice up anything with, so he settles on a gin and tonic. "Sounds like a good life to me," he says with a smile. "The great people are the key," he grins, and nods a thanks to the bartender.

"Fuck respectable," he says bluntly and takes a drink. "I take it college wasn't the right choice."

[dj_esebel]

"I hated having to take lessons on things I already knew and loved, you know?" Audrey says, waiting for her apple candy of a drink.

"Plus then I fucked up. Like really fucked up. And I didn't have the heart to stay."