Burning the Midnight Oil [Alex/Public]

It was almost like home, this cantina. Crowded, noisy, and almost twice as unsanitary, but it was home. Well, almost. At least women patroned them as much as the men did, making it seem like less of a cabaret and more of a party. Plus it was a great place to unwind after the final show of the night, which had brought in a nice profit in itself. It was a perfect place to let one's hair down.

Alex's laughter rang out between the surrounding crowd at the bar. Not that she drank (certainly not as much as she did in her youth), but the atmosphere was informal and jovial, where she didn't have to be a professional, only herself. During the day, the audience of Mystique saw only the cultured, exotic dancer that whirled around with her hip skirts and bells jingling with every swing. When the circus shut down for the night, Alex usually hustled back to her cabin to recuperate from the strain of hours of dancing. However the Egyptian woman occasionally had a small reserve of energy that she spent at the cantina, dancing and chatting with the visitors. She put on an act during the day, and relaxed her cold front in the evening, almost parallel to the sun and moon. Not that she pulled all of the stops and acted like a total floosie, but even she had a partying personality. It must have developed from years of entertaining at some of the more upbeat clubs.

Giggling bashfully, she sat on the edge of a table with the rest of the female dancers. Some had asked her beforehand to give them lessons on how to belly dance, but she had politely refused saying that it was a tradition in her family for only mothers to pass on such knowledge to daughters. While the practice had been watered down in Egypt for quite some time now, at least she wouldn't have every girl and their grandmother beating down her door for lessons.

"Couldn't you at least dance once?" One asked. "It would be like a demonstration."

That made the other women pipe up in agreement until Alex finally conceded. "Alright, girls! But pay especially close attention- I'm only doing this once." Smoothing out the lines in her shiny green party dress, she walked onto the makeshift stage and danced. Not Sharqui or Melaya Leff, but something original and more free. An Egyptian Cinderella, Alexandria would dance until the the clock struck twelve to signal her return from happy pauper to false princess all over again...

(( /TEXT WALL and this is what every party Alex is at is like B) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxtHPA95gU&playnext=1&list=PLCE8CD57A94CBB17C ))

((Hurrrrg, tempted to crash. /has an idea XD But I feel like I post too much--/sob))

((COME CRASH AT ME BRO!!! and nooo never < v >))

((Guh, so late, sorry. I blame 13+ hours of studying/essay preparing WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE TOTALLY FRUITLESS, SINCE MY PROF NEVER SHOWED UP /SOBQUITSLIFEFOREVER. <:I))

Yes. Women patroned the cantina just as much as men did. Which was the only reason why Itakshir was interested in being there. Flirting was practically his hobby; it was what he considered a great way to unwind.

...But unfortunately, the pickings here weren't always so great. Looks aside, he wasn't so interested in trashy girls, which quite a few of these ladies were. What charm was needed to pick up a skank? None, really. There was no challenge in it whatsoever, and subsequently, no satisfaction to be had. The more time and effort you put into some things, the better you felt when you accomplished your goals.

Also, he'd been told that trashy girls had diseases that could only be acquired through sex, and that was more than enough to scare him straight.

This particular night, he was chatting with a couple of girls (Were they even legal? Or was there even an age limit anymore, these days.), explaining the tattoos on his arms, when he happened to look up to the dance floor--and did a double-take.

It couldn't be...

When he realized that it was, in fact, the woman who'd given Arash that robe (which he clung to like it was his blankie--one half-expected him to start sucking his thumb with it), he broke out into a wide grin. Excusing himself, he got up in the middle of his conversation and worked his way through the crowd, leaving behind two somewhat affronted-looking females. Oh well. There was plenty of fish in the sea.

Not enough for Arash, though, apparently. Itakshir had gathered by now that his friend had never really been with a woman, which the Ainu considered to be a complete travesty (though he admired the man for not committing suicide in desperation by now). He liked the guy--he liked everyone, really, but he felt like people didn't give the Iranian enough of a chance to warm up. So far as he could see, he was the man's only real friend (other than his mother? He still didn't quite get that.). And as such, it was his sacred duty to help him out. If there was any chance for Arash to have some kind of a romance life, he should take it. And if he wouldn't, Itakshir would do it for him.

Standing close to the stage (but not too close; dancing wasn't something he really did--unless it was for religious rituals) to where she could definitely see him--and he wasn't exactly hard to miss--he waited around with his hands in his pockets to see if she would recognize one of the three men who'd broken into Mistique.

...In retrospect, it was probably a good thing he'd come off as the least threatening of the trio. Hopefully she didn't believe that bullshit lie about him being one of the freaks, anymore, or this could end badly.

((LMAO, God, why am I laughing so hard-- ffff))

((ARASH IS GONNA GET SOME A DATE, OR ITAK WILL DIE TRYING-- /shotdown forever))

Her feet barely touched the floor as she danced in rhythm with the music, the other girls on the stage following her lead. It was something special to be able to see above the crowd. It made her feel like a focal point in a mix of beads on a necklace. Call it arrogance, but it was her secret wish to be a star attraction. It was great that she was one of the more anticipated acts, but Alex just felt like there was more to her talent than traipsing around the ring. While she may have had noterity and first-picks back in Egypt, here she had to start all over again. Past credintials meant nothing, only ability up front. It was more demanding, but there was never a Royal Road to success.

Midway through the song, something in the crowds caught her attention. The crowds around the stage made it difficult to identify who or what it was, so she paid it no immediate attention. The second time around, however, Alexandria got a good glance at the all-too familiar white hair in the front row. It was one of the men from the freak yard! What was he doing here? Alex's frown disappated after a moment as she allowed the girl behind her to take her spot, uncaring of the change of pace. Alex nearly tripped off of the stairs in her black heels as she maneauvered towards Itakshir. She had not seen them since that one night the blind girl was taken from her room. So he wasn't a freak, she steamed at her lack of insight, but what was with that hair?

"You!" She jabbed a finger into his chest, jaw protruding as a testimate of her demand for an explanation. "What do you think you're doing here? And what have you done with our girl?" Alex knew about the squalid conditions the freaks lived in, but what could she do? What was a freak to do with an expensive perfume or costume? Nothing she could have offered would have improved their situation, but she felt a pang of sympathy for the Ukranian girl. It wasn't often that she came across a woman who was actually as booksmart as herself. Sure Alex indulged in the finer things, but that was only because she had earned them. Still, that didn't hinder her from reading to the blind girl every so often. The Egyptian felt somewhat obliged to, not knowing how long she would last due to her radiation sickness and constant stress.

"Where are you're other cronies, 'freak?'" The woman crossed her arms and fixed him with a stare powerful enough to dilute any number of snakes' venom. "I'm talking about the tall man and the one with my robe. Are they stealing more of our freaks again?" If she could help it, the Ragtags would owe her one freak and one set of clothes by the end of the night, plus interest and reparations for the damage done to the fence.

((TL;DR sorry I've been loaded with butt-tons of homework, too. Sorry for the late response :l))

((It's cool, bro; I feel your pain. :( ))

Whoops. Looks like she was upset. He didn't let it get to him, though--the first key to being friends with anyone was to act friendly. One might think that this would seem obvious, but it could be surprising to find how many people were incapable of just behaving congenially. Laughing, he pushed her hand away gently, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Didn't think this place was ritzy enough for Mistiques." It wasn't a jibe, although he may have unknowingly worded it badly. There was no malice in his tone or expression, though. He just said whatever he really thought.

"Sonya? She's totally fine--way happier, I think," he put an emphasis on 'happier', watching for her reaction while still smiling, "She has a bed now, and proper food and all that."

If he didn't know better (and he didn't, really), she was making it sound like it was possible to treat someone worse than the way the freaks were at Mistique (and oh, Sofia had spilled all the beans), and that the fancier carnival deserved to have her back. What had they done with her? Even if they'd killed her, at least it would have put the poor creature out of her misery. But he could give this girl the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was just an employee who couldn't do anything about it. Maybe she wasn't even aware of the extent of the cruelty. Maybe she truly was concerned for the blind girl.

At least he could see what kind of person she was before nudging his friend in her direction. Did this make him some kind of a matchmaker? Haha. Of all people.

He had to laugh again when she mentioned 'cronies', as if they were so dastardly. "My friends? Back at home. Sleeping, maybe. Dreaming of how to kidnap girls and take over the world," he added with another, even harder, burst of laughter.

Composing himself, he waved a hand easily, as if to brush away suspicion, "I never put a lot of stock into first impressions. We're actually pretty nice guys, you know?" Well, he was. Arash could be, once you chipped away all that outer ice. And Cosim was cool as long as you didn't make him mad. ...But since he was the one representing the three at the moment, that meant they were all 'nice guys'.

Alexandria snorted and shook her head, smiling since she failed to deny his insight. "Give me a break! You'd come here more often too if you worked with a bunch of prissy divas who don't appreciate the simple things." While that statement was just a teensy (read: not) hypocritical, she couldn't refuse the homey, inviting atmosphere that the cantine exuded. It was contagious, the dancing and revelry. When she was here, she felt a little bit closer to home.

"Happier, you say?" Alex felt, as a Mystic, she shouldn't believe such a thing, that the much poorer carnival was capable of taking care of their own more so than Mystique. However, a part of her was relieved that the Ragtags accepted her as one of their own, giving her the proper amount of attention and care that Sonya needed. "Yes, well, she is a sweet girl. I just wish there was something I could have done sooner to help," Alex wrung her hands, trying to smooth over any rough tone she gave off earlier. "But you know how the hierarchy works, majority rules. Still, that doesn't excuse you from property damage and lying about it." Alex crossed her arms, smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "I think your hearts were in the right place, but I can't say so much about your minds." For Alex, reason ruled, but a little daring made things a whole lot more interesting. That was something Alex could appreciate since she was told multiple times how much bolder she was compared to her more conservative family.

Motioning to an empty table, she smoothed her dress before sitting on a bar stool. "Please, sit," the Egyptian said as she waved a busboy over and asked for some glasses. "How funny!" She laughed a bit, legs swinging idly above the floor. "But I can't say I condone kidnapping. You are welcome to keep her; as far as the managment at Mystique is concerned, they had more sickly people to choose from." Alex let out a long sigh, exasperated at the flippant attitude her bosses took to the freaks. Losing any part of the sideshows was equivalent to losing money. "But she has found a place among you, happy and well-fed, so it's not my business anymore." Alex stirred her lemon in her water, "and what about your friends? They don't come with you to the Cantina? Sounds like someone needs to live a little! Tell me: do you perform with the Ragtags? Do your friends do, too?"