Beauty In Sound

This was where Dash felt the most comfortable…He wasn’t much of a fighter, although he was being trained by other members of the group…But he was much better at being a distraction/seducer. Hell, he even enjoyed it. And if the other man’s moan was anything to go by? He was quite good at it. “What about you?” Dash asked with a playful grin. “Surely you have a talent or two?”

The question threw Cyrus off. He didn’t typically have conversations like this with dancers. He usually just threw around compliments and was met with quick ‘thank you’s’ and that was it. But this was a little more interesting. However, Cyrus didn’t find himself to be good at anything but doing drugs and getting wasted. But that wasn’t something someone could really be good at. “I paint,” He lied. “I think I’m rather good at it.” 

Dash smirked when the other complimented him. “How nice of you,” Dash purred as his hands moved up the man’s legs and to his thighs, a cheeky and mischievous grin on his face as he did so. “It would be quite awkward if I wasn’t skilled, you know?” Dash pointed out as he slowly pulled himself into the other man’s lap, allowing his hands to begin to explore the other man’s body with a grin as his hips continued to gyrate to the rhythm of the music.

“Yes, I suppose it would be, wouldn’t it?” He responded, hands immediately wandering once the young man was in his lap once more. Unable to stop it, Cyrus let out a barely audible moan, not being able to contain his arousal with how divine the other looked and how wonderful he was at riling him up.

Dash when he was younger had always dreamed about being a dancer…So as he grew up, he took many dance courses. Coming from a rich family, for humans anyways, most definitely helped with that. And Dash supposed that, in a way, he did succeed in his dream…Just not exactly the type of dancer he expected to be. Dash untangled his legs and gracefully caught himself with his hands, doing a graceful front flip from the handstand position he had landed in and bit his bottom lip as he made eye contact with the other. He pressed his back against the pole and slowly started to work his way down it, the tight and skimpy briefs he was wearing stretching across his crotch and ass as he did so before he finally moved onto his hands and knees and started crawling towards the other with a seductive glint in his eye on the slower part of the song.

Cyrus shifted in his seat a little bit as he watched the dancer. Not out of any discomfort, but because he was growing more and more excited, and he knew it was going to be easy for the other to see and possibly exploit. “Well, aren’t you just one talented little thing?” He commented, eyes never straying from him. He was an intoxicating person. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be the only encounter that Cyrus would have with him. He was definitely going to want to enjoy the other’s company and service again.

“It’s not like I’ve got much else to do right now,” he shrugged - he’d been doing that way too much lately, spotting the flickering diner sign up ahead and grabbing Cyrus’ hand to pull him forward more quickly. With his wings out of commission, he hadn’t been feeling much like seeking out company or trouble. He snapped at people and spent most of his time either curled up in his apartment or sitting behind the counter at The Treasure Chest. It was an even more pathetic existence than normal, but he really couldn’t be bothered to do much about it. He felt almost as if he were getting what he deserved. 

“Whatever, we’re here. You wanna booth or what?” 

“There are always things to do, you just have to find them,” He told him, allowing himself to be pulled forward to the diner. Macca definitely seemed a lot more snappy than before. Cyrus was going to make it his mission to get him to have some fun and he was going to get him to smile. That was going to be the mission for today. “A booth sounds wonderful, darling.”

“Mermen are a pain in the ass,” he replied with a frown, not overly fond of the Conclave’s fishy allies. They scared the shit out of him, but he could see how they’d be fun to mess with - especially if you could fly the fuck away when you were done. Macca himself got a rush out of fighting so he couldn’t say much. Shrugging when the question was turned on him, he noticed the awkward movement of Cyrus’ shoulders and the brief look of discomfort that crossed the siren’s face. It was easy to assume his wings played a part, something that Macca could relate to considering the atrocious state of his own colorful plumage. He’d fix it if he could bear to look at it long enough, but as they became more disheveled his own self-hatred and overall disgust grew. It was a vicious cycle. 

“Nothing. Literally nothing aside from The Treasure Chest.” It was the sad truth, his life had been reduced to monotony and Cyrus was a welcome break from the cycle. “What’s with the shoulder roll? We’re near the center of town, I don’t think anyone’s gonna give a damn if you’ve got your feathers out.” 

“I bet they’re much easier to deal with when you’re on the same team, though. But not getting along just proves to make things more fun, the messing around with them being the number one thing.” He shrugged. Cyrus just enjoyed tormenting lots of people, but, especially because they were fish, he enjoyed tormenting the mermen the most. And because it was probably the most dangerous. Cyrus frowned whent he other said he hadn’t been doing anything else? “Really? You need to make sure you’re making time for yourself. It must suck being cooped up all day.” Like being a regular bird in a cage. Shrugging once more, he sighed. “I figured that you being seen with a siren probably wouldn’t go over well for you. And if my feathers are out...” He trailed off, not needing to finish.

“I doubt it, but okay. There’s a diner down the street I like? It’s got normal diner shit so you shouldn’t have trouble finding something to eat,” he replied after a moment. Macca didn’t eat out all that much, he really didn’t eat much in general, but when he did he went for convenience above all else. The dinner he’d suggested had really good vegetarian soup options as well as killer egg salad sandwiches (they were good if he didn’t think about it too much.) “C’mon it shouldn’t take us more than five minutes to get there. You can tell me what you’ve been up to.” 

Without further ado, he continued forward, kicking the pebble as they went with the toe of his scuffed combat boots. 

“It’ll be great.” He chimed, wanting to stay positive. He was sure he could get something he would enjoy, considering Macca said that he shouldn’t have trouble. “What I’ve been up to? Um...” He certainly didn’t want to tell the other he had recently gotten lapdances and had been doing more drugs. “Nothing, really, aside from my usual. I’ve been bothering the mermen again. It’s fun to watch them get agitated. Until they conjure up storms, that is.” He laughed softly. “What about you? Besides The Treasure Chest, what have you been up to?” Rolling his shoulders uncomfortably, Cyrus silently wished that he could have his wings out. Instead, they were tucked away, considering where he was. He was so used to them being front and center for everyone to see.

“Nah, it’s just unappealing to me. I’m a shifter, I’ve known people who shift into ‘farm animals’. it just feels goddamn weird,” he replied, kicking at a stray pebble on the sidewalk. Macca felt kinda bad for shutting Cyrus down, especially since he was pretty sure the steak house would have other foods - a salad at the very least, but it wasn’t like he could take it back and he didn’t do the whole outwardly apologetic thing. Not really. 

“I was joking. We can still go, I dunno. Everyone’s got salad or some other bullshit with vegetables.” 

“I suppose that’s understandable.” He responded, nodding. He never really thought of it like that. Cyrus was a bird and yet he still ate chicken. Now that was going to bother him for a while now. Hopefully not to the point where he gave up eating meat, though. “I don’t want you to be confined to just basic salads and vegetables. Why don’t we go somewhere you know has things for you to eat? It’ll be a new experience for me and I’m usually all good with those.”

“Dinner? Alright…where to?“ Macca wasn’t expecting something so…well, it was tame for the siren who always seemed to be looking for his next high. He forced himself not to read too much into it, it probably wasn’t any kind of romantic advance, no one had ever asked him on a proper date and he doubted it’d start now. The shifter was more of a ‘fuck and go’ kind of endeavor for most of the people he saw, those who didn’t become his friends, he supposed it was some kind of vibe he gave off? He wasn’t the friendliest and he had quite the temper, that on top of the whole trust issue thing didn’t make for what people saw as ‘dating material’. 

Regardless, he was looking forward to food - he’d forgotten to eat lunch and he was itching for something other than the pine nuts he’d shoved in his jacket as a snack. Pulling away and planting his feet fully on the ground once more (standing on the balls of his feet began to feel stupid after more than a minute) Macca gestured for Cyrus to lead the way. “I don’t eat meat so I hope you weren’t planning for a steak house or something.” 

“Oh, you don’t eat meat?” There went his plans. The siren was going to take him to a steak house. Maybe not as a date, but definitely just to take him out. He did like spending time with him. It was nice. They didn’t get up to anything too extreme, save for when they met. It was a nice change of pace, being surrounded by someone who wasn’t much into drugs. “Then we might have to go somewhere else...” He admitted, blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Much to Macca’s dismay, Cyrus’ touch brought unwanted color to his cheeks and his words did nothing to help. It was incredibly tempting to just say ‘fuck it’ and run off with the siren to go do whatever the hell it was he had in store this time, but then again there was still an hour and a half until closing. Sure, it was technically his business and he could do whatever the hell he wanted with it, but Gran would probably have his head if he went through with his desires. Was it worth it for what would probably be, at most, one more customer? 

Hell no. 

“Fuck it, I’ll close early. It’s been a slow day and I’m about ready to lose my mind stuck behind this damn counter.” Lightly kicking the heavy hunk of furniture for emphasis, he stood up and went about getting shit closed down. It wasn’t hard, not much had been moved from that morning, and the shifter was done in no time at all. Macca pulled the keys out of his jacket pocket and ushered Cyrus out with him before shutting the lights off and locking the door. Fucking finally. Freedom. 

“You better have something fun up your sleeve,” he said, turning to face Cyrus, tilting his head up so he could meet the siren’s eyes. He was feeling antsy, the constant twinge of discomfort from his feathers mixed with sitting behind a desk culminating in a lot of energy he’d normally burn off through confrontation. However, the shifter had other ideas. The last thing he wanted was to fight the handsome siren.  Macca grabbed the siren’s shoulders using them as leverage to lean up and press his lips to Cyrus’, the action a lot more tentative than he intended. 

Cyrus was proud to see that he brought color to the other bird’s cheeks. It was certainly very cute to see and he felt a little powerful for being the cause. The siren smirked. Yes. He’d gotten him to close early. He had been a little nervous that the other wouldn’t close up shop on a whim to just go mess around with him. But he was going to and that made him really happy. Maybe a bit too happy. Cyrus was willing to ignore that part of it, though. “Of course I do.” He laughed. The kiss was a little more surprising than it should have been. Cyrus had planned to do the same, give the other a soft kiss and wrap his arm around him like in the past. Smiling at Macca, he let out another chuckle. “I wanted to take you out for dinner.”

Propping his feet up on the counter, Macca watched the minutes tick bored out of his mind and in mild discomfort. Even like this, he could feel the phantom twinges of his rumpled plumage and there were no customers to take his mind off of it. Slow days at The Treasure Chest had become fewer and further between rolling into summer, but that just made them all the more excruciatingly dull when they did happen.  

The shifter jumped at the sound of the door, yanking his feet off the counter as he turned to the customer only to relax when he realized who it was. Cyrus. The siren he definitely shouldn’t have been as eager to see as he was considering how Olin and the rest of the Conclave leadership felt about the Syndicate and anyone who was a part. Macca smiled, raising an eyebrow, surprised but pleased by the company.

 “Oh, you know, living the high life. It’s exciting stuff sitting here watching the clock. At two, the second hand stuttered for three seconds. That was thrilling. How ‘bout you? What brings you to this shit show?” 

It was funny to see the jump and yank his feet down when he’d entered. Of course the other had just been lounging around. It just showed that it had been a slow day, and that couldn’t be very fun at all, even though he worked in a place full of interesting items. Reaching across the counter, he brushed a thumb over the other’s cheek. “Oh, I bet it’s fascinating just being stuck here. But have no fear, I’m here to provide plenty of entertainment.” He assured him, chuckling. “What brings me here? That’s a question that should answer itself, really. I’m here for you, Macca.” He explained. “If you’re feeling up to abandoning your position, that is. If not I suppose there is always sticking around here. Or I could leave. But that’s up to you.”

The past few days had been quiet for Cyrus. He’d been relaxing after spending so much time out an about, but now it was time to go about having fun again. And he knew just where to start. Cyrus walked into The Treasure Chest happily, looking right at the man he was looking to find as he did. “Hello, baby bird.” He cooed as he walked up to the counter, leaning on it cooly. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m all about giving the customer what they want.” Dash joked. Dash nodded his head and didn’t waste any time…A few seconds later Pour It Up began blasting from the speakers. Dash moved seductively slow at first as he moved towards the pole, swaying his hips to the beat of the music as he did so before he reached the pole. He slowly twirled around it once before the human showed off just how flexible he could be by easily wrapping his legs around the pole and swinging around it with his legs being the only thing holding him to it. 

“I bet you are.” He chuckled, smirk and eyes not wavering. Contentedly, Cyrus hummed, liking both the choice in music and how thebother walked. It was incredibly sexy and made Cyrus want the man more so than he already did. Now, he had seen people like this dance before, he’s seen them move impressively, but he could tell by the way he was already moving, that he’d be the best by far.

Dash grinned as he moved to the mini-circular stage in the room and got to the music control center. “Hm…Well do you want me to start off on the pole or just go straight to the lapdance?” Dash asked with a playful glint in his eyes. “That will probably change what tone I go for.” Dash admitted with a chuckle.

“I would love to see you on the pole. I bet you look amazing.” He smirked, relaxing in his seat as he watched the other closely. He wanted to see just how well he moved. He was already quite excited about it, considering how attractive he already was, he knew he was going to be even better as he danced.

Brennus was skilled at lying, and he was proud of that, but his silver-tongue was never enough to hide the way his face betrayed him with more honest reactions. Cocking his brow in disbelief as the other siren spoke, he couldn’t help but wonder how one of his own kind had come to think like that; how he’d come to behave like that. “They pluck at your feathers, but you don’t even shoo them away? What– are you worried you’ll hurt their feelings?” His tone was mocking, at first, but it softened as Brennus let out a sigh. “I’d rather have them grovel at my feet and beg for mercy despite knowing they won’t get it– but, sadly, the powers that be still frown upon that in the world we’ve built here so the most I can do is suggest putting them on a leash.”

Spreading his wings, he lifted himself up over the body and crossed over to the other; his feet touching down beside him as Brennus tucked his wings against his back again. “A beautiful thing like you should never worry about them plucking at your feathers; if anything, they shouldn’t even be allowed in your presence if they aren’t on their knees before you– but this is hardly the place for a conversation about world views…. where you headed somewhere, or do you think I’d be able to buy you a drink? I know a private little spot just around the corner from here…”

“Well when they pluck at them I do, but no other times. I like to have fun, and sometimes I need humans to claw at, so it’s handy to just let them be around if they wish.” He explained. Cyrus didn’t like the mocking tone that the other carried but he just dismissed it, not wanting to pick a fight. Watching the other hover over to him, he admired his wings for the brief moment that he saw them. Cyrus always had his wings out, he was so proud of them. Maybe that was why humans always tried to take his golden feathers. That and the fact that they were gorgeous. “Hm...I guess so.” He pondered. That would kind of be nice. “A drink sounds nice.”

Dash grinned as he nodded his head and slowly slipped away from the other man. He grabbed his hand though and lead the other man to the private rooms. “Do you have a preference on the song?” Dash asked curiously with a grin as he seductively pushed the other man into a chair and perked himself up onto the other man’s lap. “I’m willing to share some of the creative control with you just because you’re so dashing.” Dash said playfully with a grin.

Cyrus let himself be shown to the private room, keeping up with the other fairly well for how crowded the club was. “Nope. Whatever you feel like dancing to, tonight. It is you that is going to be doing all the dancing, after all.” He told him, shaking his head. Humming happily as he was pushed and the other was back on his lap. “I appreciate the sentiment.” He cooed.

Dash grinned as he heard that the other wouldn’t be opposed to a dance. “Want me to lead you too one of the more private rooms then?” Dash offered with a grin as he looked at the other man. Dash let out a happy hum as he felt the hands wondering to his ass, pressing the large cheeks pack against the hands playfully.

“That would be wonderful, darling.” He nodded, giving his ass a squeeze. Tonight was going to be eventful. It was definitely taking a turn for the better and Cyrus could tell that maybe it wouldn’t be the time of his life, but it would definitely be a wonderful time. “Lead the way, gorgeous.”