siren in the dark

His last class of yoga had just finished and he just felt like cooling down before closing up and going back home. He didn't have work tonight either, so it was going to be quiet... unless he saw something interesting and felt like following them.

But Remi was quickly yank out of their reverie when someone came closer. They greeted them with his usual bright smile. "Hello! How can I help?"

To be fair, maybe Yenna has been, too.

"Hi.", Yenna brushes her fingers through her hair and takes another swig out of her Stanley bottle, "I was considering that I maybe.. switch up to advanced classes? And I wanted to get your opinion. If you think I'm ready." Blink once, twice. She can almost hear how the other girls are rolling their eyes.

Of course he hadn't. Thinking of his replacement meant acknowledging he's replaceable, which isn't a possibility that currently runs in his mind. It never had. Not only that but he, too, had been the one to serve the — metaphorical, in his case — papers for Abel to sign. In theory, neither of them had any rights to complain. And yet.

"Uh, it's fiancé, actually." It hadn't broken the news yet — Yenna gets the first scoop. "But yeah, we do. And, we will." Come by, that is.

The checkout line moves along, but it does so slowly.

"Come on," he laughs, thinking spices. "I was raised on vindaloo and phall. I know I'm marrying a white guy, but I'm not ready to have my Indian card revoked just yet." Bring it on.

"Fiancé.", Yenna smiles, "Congratulations." It's sincere, and her eyes tell as much.

"Can the white guy handle spice, then?", Yenna laughs softly, "I'm seriously disappointed if not." Finally, they reach the checkout -- Yenna goes first, scans the few items she has, and packages them in her brought bag, before waiting for Rahi outside, putting her sunglasses back on. "Let's go?"

"I don't need anyone's money." He muttered, his lips moving towards behind her ear. "And no, I have not been following you. Although... I might start if it gets you excited." His lips moved to her neck, then her shoulder, using his teeth to bite down on her skin.

If there's one thing that he hates - it's that he can't hide his own fear. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe it's good she can see that she still means a lot to him. "Nah, I'm not gonna let you die." His accent is a little thicker, what with the stress of the moment."

He can't bring himself to respond to the rest of it, but he presses hard on that wound, rips off his hoodie and ties it around her torso to keep it in place. "Keep your eyes open, Yen. Keep looking at me."

"Why are we not going to the hospital." It's less of a statement, and more of a warning. Somewhere in her mind, her subconsciousness knows why, but her mushy brain can't quite figure.

— THE RESOL ; EARLY EVENING

In Athena's book, the Met Gala had easily the best party of the year so far. The h'orderves were excellent, the alcohol exceeded expectations, and she loved to gaze at the variety of outfits. Athena believed herself to be incredibly fortunate to be able to attend, despite the negative things that some people said about the Gala, and would never pass up an opportunity to display her wealth and sophistication.

Whilst there she had spotted Yenna and was surprised to see the young woman had even attended after what had happened to her at her own restaurant. It must have been horrific. But she supposed the Gala was a positive distraction for her.

A couple of weeks later, Athena had scheduled a business meeting with a client at The Resol, knowing good food and good wine would help sweeten the deal that she would propose. It would also be a good opportunity to talk to Yenna and see how she was coping. So with plenty of time to spare before the meeting, Athena headed to the restaurant and decided to get in a glass of wine at the bar, which was where she found Yenna.

“Buenos tardes, chica,” Athena greeted with a smile. “I’m surprised to see you back on your feet so quickly. How are you? I do hope you're taking it easy."

"Quick. I was out for two months, almost." A month and a half, actually. "That's bad for business. Though all the publicity wasn't. At least my publicist says so, and so do the numbers." Her smile turns a tad weaker -- "I'm taking it easy. No hard activities, no heavy lifting. I only work a few days off the weak, and have someone for assistance. I'm seriously fine."

Yenna looks around, searching for a nice table, "Did you come to eat? We can sit down together, if you'd like."

Theo cares about her still, more as a close friend than a would-be wife, and often he wonders if they had left it at that, if it would all be fine in the end.

When he arrives, the first thing he sees is smashed plates and blood, which gives him that ice-cold feeling as he searches the place for Yenna.

It's only when he sees her does adrenaline kick in, rushing to her side. The wound is horrendous, and he looks around and grabs a clean dish towel that had fallen in the chaos and shoves it to her side, holding pressure. "Easy, easy, Yen."

Tears started streaming down her face, a mixture of relief and panic, "I-Is he gone?", she asks, fingers grabbing Theo's leg, then his arm, brown eyes quickly scanning the room as she tries to sit up once again, but the strong strike of pain makes her crash back down once again. Then she notices it -- the change in his demeanor. "You're scared.", she points out, voice becoming a little more high-pitched, "Am I dying?"

Yenna can't quite tell, with the way the pain is eating her up. She allows herself to close her eyes for just a moment as she starts to feel sick -- there's cold blood everywhere. Her heels are gone. She opens her eyes once again, and everything is spinning.

who: @yeniens

Zane's eyes swept the crowd as he lifted the glass to his lips. He took a sip of the scotch as his gaze halted on someone familiar. Someone he had been thinking about a lot lately. Someone he wanted to hang out with more.

He finished off his drink, sat it down on a nearby table, and walked towards the woman. Zane came up behind her, one arm wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest, the other hand lifting his and covering her eyes. He leaned in towards her, his lips gently brushing against her right ear. "Guess who."

"Wait is it-", she fake pauses, "Dean?", her lips curl up into a grin, "No, sorry, Zack?" She corrects herself only a moment later -- "Have you been following me, Zane? First you show up at my grandparents home, now here? Seems suspicious." Her friend looks at Zane, eyebrows raised high, before disappearing in the crowd. Good for her. "So do you just want my money, or..?" The blonde starts tracing the line of his arm, eyes closed beneath his hand -- though she knows that's not what he wants.

She didn't want to see his face -- knowing it would haunt her, likely for the rest of his life. Knowing that would likely mean her death, sooner or later. Or now.

Who knows, he says, and Yenna thinks that she'd really like to, but the blood pooling out of the wound becomes more and more, and she's starting to feel a little lightheaded, a little dizzy. "I don't know who paid you, so I quite literally can't.", she points out, lips pressed together in a tight line, fingers still trying to hold the wound close, not sure if that's even the right thing to do.

Isaia, Isaia, Isaia.

It's like a chant in her head.

"I'd rather be the boss, than the tool.", she bites out, "If I was you."

"Certainly." Zane said as he lifts his own hands to the back of her head. He gently gathers her hair in his hands and holds it up and away from her shoulders. "I am a gentleman. I also know how not to be one." His eyes shone with amusement as he used his free hand to motion towards the drugs on the table.

"After you, my lady."

The gentle burn in her nose makes her sigh, a feeling she hasn't felt in a long while. It takes a moment, but the drugs hit her system quickly, and she feels herself relaxing against the table, elbows resting on the top of it, pupils slowly blowing out.

"You're making your life extremelly difficult." she spoke with an air of distance from the idea — hoarding old feelings definitelly was unfamiliar to her.

The apology came as a slight shock. I'm sorry — it meant that Yenna assumed that in a way, this had hurt her. It barely did anything other than poke at a wound that had healed years ago. Her face neutral and drained of any emotion.

"Awful for who, exactly? You can do better than him. The man is deprived of actual morals."

Eva wouldn't exactly consider this bad-mouthing, but she did say a bit more than she originally intended to — luckily Yenna wasn't going to throw that slip up in her face. She knew what laid at the bottom of the dark abyss it was coming from.

She scoffed softly, "Please, don't do that. I will have to tend to your withdrawal." there was barely anything Eva couldn't handle. "I suggest, you just steer clear from anyone who works in politics, or Wall Street."

"Wall Street.", Yenna snorts, "I like my men with personality and without coke." Not that she has never done coke before. But, not that that counts. "I think I'm fine without a man for now." She sighs then, deeply, "Maybe we should stop talking about them altogether. Maybe we should." No more Archer, no more Theo.

"Are you going to attend the MET?"

He took out his fingers, wiping her blood on her shoulder. "Now that you're listening. There's some really shitty people who wanted me to come here and hurt you. Unfortunately for you they didn't want you dead. But they wanted you hurt and scared. I think I'm doing a good job with that, right?"

"...Yeah, I get it." Rahi shakes his head. "And honestly, if I ran into someone who even knows my ex, I would probably have a shit time for the rest of the week."

The artichokes are innocent, and so are the both of them. Late night hours be damned.

"Come on, I'll pay for them. They're already in my cart, anyways." Mutual apology. "But, yeah. I mean — I'd love to know what that dish is. And to be the first one to try it."

The blonde smiles at the offer to pay and follows Rahi along to the check-out isle, heels clicking on the floor in a constant pattern. "You should come by sometime.", she invites him, "My treat. Bring your boyfriend. You two seem to work well together."

The name 'Madden' is filed in her repertoire, though she hasn't met the son yet. "Theo comes by sometimes, too.", she admits, "I'd love to have someone over that can handle their spices.", she smiles softly, "Or can't you?"

smooth. he hadn't expected her to shoot back at all. it didn't take a genius to see that yenna was out of his league. the woman had a beauty that felt almost otherworldly, a haunting allure that lingered long after she was gone. her wide, expressive eyes could convey a thousand unspoken emotions with just a glance. alabaster skin, smooth and unblemished, glowed with a delicate radiance, giving her an ethereal quality. high cheekbones framed her face, blending classic elegance with a contemporary edge. it was as if she had been carved from the finest porcelain, each feature meticulously crafted with an artist's precision.

"aw, ain't ya just a tease? especially with a dress plain beggin' for trouble" bold words accompanied by an even bolder glance as heath checked her out once more. this time slowly "now, i do love me a good ol' game of 'what's underneath'. patience ain't never been my stron' suit, but i'll make an exception for ya"

after all, if luck had decided to be in his favor, you can't beat that with a stick.

it felt good to have a pretty little thing hanging on his arm and it shone through in the confident expression on his face, walking the room with the venomous grin of a man who always got his way.

"awfully borin'? well, i don't blame ya. ya can count on one hand how many folks here are actually interestin'. they're all empty as a gourd, but full of themselves" he admitted, taking another quick scan of the environment around them.

His words about the folks surrounding them causes a soft and laughed out Hm, "Indeed. God forbid someone doesn't want to talk about money, or power. I'm enlightened to hear you appreciate the topic underwear more. Though if you're about to start bragging, please spare me. Or else.. I'll have to help you shut up."

-- There's a wink as she finally comes to a halt in front of the bar, arm still wrapped around his as they wait in line, and as he drops a well executed row of compliments, an expression of satisfaction fills Yenna's face -- she's made the right choice when choosing the person to talk to.

Archer lifts his drink up to his lips, his arm still around her as he scoffs, "Me?" He gives her a teasing little glance, "You're right. I'm the problem. What else is new?" She did have a point about the arm, "I know. I'm probably more tipsy than I thought. You want me to stop?"

He laughed not at being told he wasn't an option, but at being called Prince Charming. "I was just trying to get you laid. Not married. You have to communicate to your wingman if you want a life partner." He looked at Yenna as she talked then shook his head, "Best I can give you is Ennui. Maybe a little existential dread. But I can't do mopey. Too depressing."

"Been there, done that." Getting married. "Didn't quite work out, so now I'm sitting here trying to get us both laid, which sounds crazy to my old self in itself." Five years ago, Yenna would have laughed hysterically at such a statement. Archer, and she. Not with Theo. Out trying to hit on hot ones in bars.

"Sorry, wingman. Please, search me someone who will give me the night of my life, and not a single one after, so maybe I can be a little mopey." Laughing softly, Yenna downs the leftover content of her drink, "What you can't do, I will. Like being the hottest person in this place."

-- Deep sigh, "You can punish them by bringing someone home they won't like. But careful, while it works on your parents, your grandmother might accidentally become obsessed with them, constantly asking about them and inviting them after your divorce." Yenna rubs her face, "Come, let's go home."