[color=gray] [CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/LE0oU15.png[/img][/CENTER] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/GZTjRyO.gif[/img][/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] [center][color=#BB253E][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Eclipse • [color=#BB253E][b]Time:[/b][/color] Dusk[/center] [center][color=#BB253E][b]Interactions:[/b][/color]N/A • [color=#BB253E][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] [@AuthenticTomb] Luther/Volfango [@Tae] Lys [/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] [color=#a03c3c]"You're the one letting me off my leash, so no complaining when I get into something, yeah? See ya in an hour, Sicily."[/color] Angel huffed a laugh and grinned at him as she lifted her hand in a salute. [color=#BB253E]"Stay safe, mutt,"[/color] Then she stood there, watching as he melted into the crowd. Tall and broad-shouldered, confident in the way predators always were when they didn't believe they could fall. He disappeared in the flashes of neon and bodies. Angel lingered, the smile fading from her lips as the night reclaimed her. Perfume and sweat hung thick in the air. Laughter against the walls, and the music thrummed beneath it all. It should have felt intoxicating, but the longer she stood there, the more it gnawed at her, this parade of humanity that was always just out of reach. The neon painted her skin, the colors too bright, too loud, as if trying to color in the hollow abyss inside her. Angel tipped her head back and closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, the grin was gone, leaving her face empty and still. Her blue eyes lifted to the sky above, locking onto the distant stars that twinkled back at her with indifference. It was impossible not to think back to earlier...To the way Luther's voice had cracked through the phone, the way his body had twisted against itself, as if even his skin wanted to abandon him. She could still feel the ghost of his clawed hand in hers, the desperate way he’d clung to her voice like it was the only thing anchoring him to the world. He had been [i]so[/i] afraid. Plagued with the helpless, humiliating kind of fear that left you feeling like you had been cracked open. Like you were bleeding out and no one could see it but [i]you.[/i] Angel toyed with the idea of trailing after him, of shadowing him like some overprotective sister. But she knew better. He’d catch her scent in a heartbeat, and she could only imagine how much worse that would make him feel. Giving him his space was the right thing to do. Still, the decision sat wrong with her as she finally stepped forward and made her way toward The Eclipse. The noise of Sundown Row faded into a muffled, distant hum as she stepped toward the club. Here, the world felt heavier, more charged. A crumbling brick building loomed ahead, graffiti sprawling across its surface. Above a heavy steel door, a single flickering neon crescent moon burned in violet. The bass leaked out from behind the door, a pulse that seemed to vibrate beneath her skin. The sound, the smell of sweat, all of it: It was a siren’s call, and she answered it without hesitation. There was never any guarantee how much longer she'd have this freedom. No guarantee how much of [i]this[/i] she'd have. So she planned to take it all — [i]every last second of it.[/i] As she approached, the bouncer barely spared her a glance. The door groaned open, and Angel slipped inside. The first thing that hit her was the oppressive heat. Neon lights stabbed through the dark in sharp beams of electric colors. The ceiling arched high overhead, lost in shadows, with rigging and cables sagging above the dance floor. Bodies moved in an endless tide. Angel moved deeper, the crowd parting instinctively around her. It felt as if a thousand gazes had slid over her. Some were appraising, others predatory, and many even dismissive. She didn't flinch. Instead, she tilted her chin up, a glint in her blue eyes daring them to try. A faint smirk played at her lips as she wove through the crowd. As the song shifted, the rhythm pulsed beneath her feet deep as if it were a second heartbeat. Angel’s body found it naturally, her hands sliding up the curve of her hips in slow movements. It felt like the music was hypnotizing her, pulling her deeper with every beat. The world around her blurred until it was just the sound and the sensation running through her veins. The bass rose, heavier now, vibrating through her bones, her chest, her soul(if she even still had one). An unguarded smile grew across her face, and as the tempo quickened, so did she. Her movements were fluid and unapologetic, blonde hair whipping, skin gleaming under the strobe lights. Angel found herself surrendering to it, lost in the rhythm, the moment, the fleeting taste of freedom that was hers [i]right now[/i] and [i]only now.[/i] She danced like she didn’t care who was watching and that, of course, was exactly why they [i]watched[/i]. As the music droned on and her dress glimmered as it caught the lights, she lost herself. But then a flicker at the edge of her vision pulled her attention, and she couldn't ignore the sight. Her movements slowed, the spell unraveling stitch by stitch, as her gaze locked onto a scene she hadn’t expected. There, tangled in the glow of the club’s back booth, was a ghost from her past. The recognition hit hard, tugging the smile from her lips. It dragged the warmth out of her chest and left something heavier in its place. Angel stood frozen for a beat too long, the bass still pounding in her ears, the lights still flickering over her skin. All of it felt distant in that moment, muted under the weight of her memories. She hadn't changed. Still beautiful. Still chaos incarnate. Still effortlessly having an intimate moment with any other beautiful creature she wanted in the moment. For a moment, she felt as if she had stepped into the shoes of her younger self. The lost, lonely girl who had clung to a lovely, dangerous thing just to feel [i]something[/i]. And Lys, sprawled in that booth, smiling that same wicked smile Angel remembered too well, was a reminder of all the things she could never quite outrun. But tonight, Angel was determined to. She tore her gaze and her body away from the sight, refusing to let the past claim her. [/color]