A Rose By Any Name

"Ah! That's what Isabel called them- I just thought she was giving them names because we can't understand them. Like Rose except... they make sound," Daniella nodded to Facade.

""...ey... ere..." Sol rasped something with difficulty, filling in the blanks.

"They came here once before on a karaoke night. This was before the snow but that happened soon after I think," Daniella explained. "It was cool to have school cancelled, and the snow is fun to play around with. OH! And I always seem to find a present every morning as if Santa had stopped by. I've no idea if that has anything to do with them but it's been happening alongside all of this. But now it's not as fun any more, and it's bad weather for Sol," Daniella continued.

Sol rasped something about it having to end eventually, or if it didn't they would just move.

"What? But I have so many friends here- and Ally lives here!" Daniella pouted. Sol patted her head reassuringly. Someone was bound to take it upon themselves to actually do something about it- like those teen titans.

By this time, Facade had finished half of his food and the song had changed. This time, Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ began to play, eliciting a shriek of delight from the German man who slammed his palms down on the bar. Grinning like he had just won the lottery, he vacated his stool in favor of standing, grabbed a spoon, and pretended it was a microphone. “Mama…” he sang along wistfully, “…just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he’s dead…” oh, he was in heaven. The song happened to be his favorite of all time and hearing it was such serendipitous glee. He twirled around on tip-toes with the grace of a ballerina despite his height and stature, invoking the deep and joyous form of dance to accompany his sonorous singing. “Mama, life had just begun! And now you’ve gone and thrown it all awayyyyy… come now, Rose! Daniella! Let us revel in this opportunity and sing our praises to Freddie Mercury. Don’t need a voice, just a soul is what I say,” he said, imploring the two girls to join him. Whether they did or not wouldn’t affect his actions, however; he would sing on, already forgetting about the food as he gave himself over to entertainment.

It had been years since Facade had felt well enough to perform, his muse caught in the doldrums of self-loathing and chronic depression. But there was something about Rose, the bar, Daniella and Sol that filled him with a newfound light. He found himself determined to let it shine.

Rose listened to the conversation between Sol and Daniella, a saddened expression coming to her face as she listened. They would have to leave if the snow didn't let up? Indeed, it seemed that it should be gone by now; but still the snow lingered. But no, the snow would eventually cease. It had to.

Her head turned to Facade as he seemed to become quite excited at the next song to play. It wasn't something she was familiar with, but he seemed quiet excited and leaped out of his seat to sing along.

He...invited her to join? The girl that couldn't speak and knew not either this song nor who this Freddie Mercury was? He must have been related to the music somehow; perhaps the singer? Her ability to join was limited but she could think of one thing, hoping to entertain Facade and allow him to not feel left out. Soon Rose closed her eyes and turned her head to the table, her lips moving as she spoke silently once again. Being the target of her own spell, no sound would be heard by others as she appeared like she was praying.


//Target:"Rose"//skill//dance//


She opened her eyes, seemingly now with a twinkle in them as she smiled and lifted her head to see Facade again. The spell wouldn't be permanent but would last quite long enough for what she needed. Standing up before the song progressed too far, she approached the elated individual and gave him a curtsy, extending her hand and offering to dance with him. For one who could not speak, this was the appropriate means of expressing enjoyment. If he accepted, she would match his style as they danced through the song; but she would not dance alone.

Daniella smiled when Facade broke into song, singing along with him and completely missed what Rose was up to. Sol however did notice, and if he had eyebrows, one of them would be arched. What was that about? Sol quietly mused as Rose joined the others with dance, since she didn't seem to be able to speak. Everyone had a way of making due, he supposed. He wasn't really the type to pry into the business of other people, yet at the same time was compelled to be concerned. He again thought of a few half-demons who hid their less than desirable heritage to avoid the attention it'd bring. Daniella was from his understanding, not an uncommon exception. But she was also still quite young and unaware that the reputation demons had weren't without reason... even Ally as kind as she was, always had to make efforts to stay that way. Whereas his former employer, Charlotte seemed to have it under control well enough. And Diana was probably closest to your typical "dealmaking" devil. Basically he was concerned that 'Rose' may bring some unwanted attention with her appearance.

Facade could not be happier as Rose extended her hand, having missed her actions preluding the jamboree. He only cared that the song was playing and that people were joining in. The cherry on the top would be for Sol to join them, but he imagined the fireman was less of a dancing type. To each their own, c’est la vie and all that. Liev gently took Rose’s hand in his and bowed, giggling to himself as quietly as he could manage. “Mamaaaaa, ooooooooo… didn’t mean to make you cry,” he crooned, “if I’m not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on!” he spun Rose carefully and deftly, as he had learned in theatre school so long ago. Then he met the stranger’s rose-colored eyes with his liquid gold-colored ones, smiled, and continued, “…as if nothing really matters.” The sound of Freddy Mercury’s piano playing allowed him a few words in between lyrics. “Sol! Join us, my good fellow, in any way you can!” he goaded. Four more minutes left in the song, and he didn’t want them to end.

Stepping out from the abandoned theatre this evening had been a bit of an afterthought brought on by feeling a little shut-in. There had been many mouths to feed and beds to fill lately, what with the cold bringing in a heightened number of individuals to what was left of the once-grand Le Théâtre de Petits Cauchemar, or as some of the locals called it, The Little Nightmare Theatre. It had hence been named due to the original owner’s penchant for putting on penny dreadfuls and other spooky plays. It now housed over thirty homeless individuals and took a lot of work to run, so free time was a luxury that Facade could only afford sparingly. Dancing and singing with strangers had not been his original plan –– just a brief stroll.

Knowing he had left the place in good hands for the time being, Facade allowed himself this mini-vacation... for now.

This wasn't quite Sol's cup of tea- but variety was the spice of life. Not that music was much of a concern for his kind in the first place. "Yeah Sol c'mon, dance with me!" Daniella added to Facade's attempt at goading him. Sol simply shrugged and allowed himself to be dragged out from behind the bar by Daniella. Sol during his previous employment learned a number of new things, and he quickly proved he wasn't a bad dancer. He was mostly just following Daniella's lead but he still wasn't bad.

“…nothing really matters, anyone can see. Nothing really matters to me…” Bohemian Rhapsody came to a finish after minutes flew by with song and dance, ending with a round of applause from Liev, who was simply flush with glee. Even Sol had joined in, making tonight and evening to remember if it hadn’t been already. Eventually, Facade took his seat and resumed eating. After finishing, he wiped his fingers and finished his beer. Good times, good food, good company. Now the evening waned, allowing night to filter in, prompting the shapeshifter to say his goodbyes. He didn’t want to of course, but the theatre and its patrons called.

After paying the bill, he addressed one of his new friends. “Rose,” he began as he unfolded his collar and placed it around his neck. “Do you have a place to stay? We’ve got plenty of room if you don’t mind company. The quarters are separated by gender and includes male, female, and non-binary. Youth and adults take up separate places as well unless you happen to be a family. It’s all up to you of course,” he smiled.

There were only so many words that could be used to describe this moment for Rose.  This wasn't normally the type of song she would dance to or enjoy this much, but she could see the spark in Facade's eyes as he sang and danced to it.  Something about this music spoke to him; and while she did not share that deep captivation for it, she knew better than to doubt the power of song.  It just happened that her own song was of...a different flavor.  Yet she had heard something new, and had enjoyed it.  

Considerably calmer than her dance partner, she followed after him as he relaxed again and sat down at the bar in front of her food.  Oh right...she still had half a sandwich left.  Should she eat it or should she not?  It was there, it was hot, it was ready.  Might as well have it now, and so she sighed and took up the second half to finish what she started.  Ah, still just as good.

She was down to her last bite when Facade stood and prepared to leave, but offered to take her with him.  It seemed it wasn't hard to tell, she was without a place to stay.  A soft stare lingered on her face as she looked into the man's eyes, taking her time to make a decision.  Should she trust this man?  Was her shelter worth the burden, or should he a allocate his resources to those already with him?

She decided that before anything else, she would take a good look at him.  Finishing her food, she turned to sat facing him and looked directly into his eyes.  Her mouth opened, and out flowed an ensemble of words and syllables that Facade would hear as some strange, beautiful, foreign language.  She spoke long enough to convey one or two sentences, but the meaning of her speech would be lost to him.

//reveal-to//Target:"Rose"//nature-of//Target:"Facade"//


Sol and Daniella would not have heard her say anything, again looking to Sol like she was mouthing words in silence.  

With no evidence that her words had actually done anything, the demoness now looked into Facade's heart and saw something that caused her to look long and deep.  She saw something...volatile.  She saw a nature that could change like clay, made to fit the mold that it needed to.  It was a chaotic nature, but not one that appeared evil.  She knew someone like that..

Eventually she realized that she didn't know what to expect from this person, but she was confident that he had no desire to harm her.  Going with him would be safe, and that was all that she needed to know.  Her smile returned, and she lifted her hand with an open palm towards Facade to accept his offer.

Sol and Daniella had their own little moment to ham it up- there's a joke here about having some flare. Daniella was the only one to strike a pose on her own, Sol merely supported it so she didn't lose her balance or fall over. "Heehee that was fun. We need to bring karaoke night back, once this snow biz blows over," Daniella punintentionally punned. Sol made a sound that one could say was what fire sounded like laughing. Daniella was confused as Sol just pat her head. "Oh yeah! Or you could stay here for alittle while. It's just upstairs and all- if Sol doesn't mind," Daniella chimed in when the offer of a place to stay came up.

Sol added by rasping on about Rose's horns, to which he made a pair of flaming horns jut up from either side of his head- this was so Facade would understand what he was saying. "Sol's concerned that some people might get anxious around you because of the horns. Maybe a really big hat?" Daniella suggested off-handedly. He also didn't say no, she couldn't stay with them. Which meant that she'd have a new friend sleep over.

As Rose spoke in an unknown language, Facade listened with intrigue. A language he couldn’t understand… that was new. But what he could not decipher meant little to him after the young individual offered her hand to him. He would have taken it had Daniella not presented a new offer. More options were better in general, but it could make the decision harder for the girl. Liev truly only wanted what’s best for his new friend and would support her decision either way. “Appearance wouldn’t be a problem at my place, my dear,” he chimed in. "We’ve got all sorts. Horns would be something trivial compared to others’ uniquenesses. Carmen has cat ears, Li Mei has wings, Gargoyle has stone-like skin, and Juuzo has no pigment in their skin, hair, or eyes. All lovely, lovely people. But it’s what you want that matters.”

Rose was definitely most likely overthinking it. Based on what Facade said, it sounded like she'd be fine there too and that made Sol feel better. "Aww alright. But your still free to stay over any time you like," Daniella said almost pouting in typical, childlike fashion. Sol untentionally did the Hades "two flaming thumbs up" thing to let her know that it was fine. "And maybe you can meet Ally if she stops by. I'm sure you'd get along with her great," Daniella added smiling.

Meanwhile...
The Sightseeing Steves ran by the bar at high speed, snowballs literally being fired at them from the opposite direction as Steves on Stilts trotted after them. "Stand still!" One of the gass mask wearing Snowtroupers Steved.

"Can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" Red Steve Steved as the little commotion quickly drew out of audible range. No, this was not just a lame excuse to make this post look larger.