chloe // embers to ashes

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

OUTFIT & SONG/SINGING STYLE

Nothing in the world felt as good as this, not even sex-- though she always hoped it would. Singing brought Atlanta a wholeness she found nowhere else. The words fell from her lips like honey and everyone lapped it up. Her father and her hometown called it witchcraft, the work of the devil, but why would God give her a gift like this and keep her silent?

She rocked her hips softly as she sang, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders. This song was a classic, soft and jazzy. It didn't matter that mostly people listened to folk, they loved whatever she sang, they couldn't help it.

The words hung in the air, grabbing at anyone they could get their hands on..."Why don't you do right?"

And as the song ended she relished the moment of utter connection with everyone in the room until the attraction broke out in a round of applause. Her painted lips broke into a smile and she backed into the darkness of the stage, her set was over--for now.

She made her way to the bar, "Vodka on the rocks." She said to whoever was behind the bar.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

outfit

Now that Mason was back, things seemed easier. Chloe found that she didn't even mind the emotions surrounding her when she was at work. Now that she had her confidante back, she was getting a little better at managing their influence. It also helped that the general crowd at the bar in this hour was pretty easy-going and happy. Chloe had been steadily delivering drinks, but the crowd wasn't overwhelming yet, and the night was going fairly well.

When the singer who frequently performed at the bar took a seat, Chloe had just delivered the last of the drinks currently in demand and was wiping down a section of the bar that had recently been vacated. Her eyes followed the voice and she was surprised by her instant reaction. She generally claimed to be straight, but had always wondered what it would be like to be with a girl. There was just something so warm and inviting about women. Usually, she could block out those thoughts, she couldn't deny the fact that this girl was pretty, and she seemed to ooze some sort of sexual invitation.

Nodding at her, Chloe grabbed a short glass, dropped a few cubes of ice into it and splashed vodka in on top before crossing to stand in front of her. "How's it going?" she asked casually, though she couldn't remember ever having had a conversation with the girl. It seemed logical enough that they should be casual, though. They did both work at the same bar. Chloe tugged at the end of her ponytail and glanced around at the other patrons, trying to distract herself from the pretty blonde in front of her. Of course, distractions only seemed plentiful when she didn't need them.

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

The bartender moved quickly, which Atlanta could appreciate. The girl presented it to her from her side of the bar, which caused a little half smirk to tug at her ruby lips. She gingerly took the drink, her gaze filtered through her eyelashes. Atlanta didn't know any other way but to flirt, especially after singing when her charge was still lingering in the air for all to enjoy. She'd already seen a couple head to the bathroom since she sat down.

"Just fine, you?" She answered. Atlanta couldn't say she recognized the girl, obviously they were coworkers but otherwise that was all she knew. She had lovely hair though and Atlanta found herself giving an involuntary little nod of approval.

"Remind me of your name...?" Atlanta prompted, going for polite fiction instead if the pedestrian 'who are you?' which always came off rudely. She crossed one leg over the other, silently enjoying her silky smooth skin rub against itself. The tassels on her boots swinging with the motion.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

The singer practically oozed sex appeal, which only served to make Chloe more nervous. It was really too bad she wasn't allowed to drink on the job. Her eyes fixated on the girl's lips as the formed a smirk, and Chloe had to force herself to look away. Her casual question even seemed to invite more attention than she was entirely prepared for. A blush tinted Chloe's cheeks when the singer returned her question, and she chuckled lightly. She'd never handled anxiety all that well. "Fine," she agreed. "I mean, people don't buy as many drinks when you're singing, but it's still good," she continued, almost wincing as she forced herself to stop talking before she launched into a nervous ramble.

Distracting herself proved entirely impossible as the girl shifted to cross her legs. Chloe's mouth opened to answer her question, but no sound came out at first. Shaking her head, she tore her gaze from the girl's legs and met her eyes for the first time. "Chloe. I'm Chloe," she answered, finally able to regain her sensibility. "And I don't think I've ever served you or had the chance to really tune in to one of your performances so..." she trailed off, reaching for an already dry glass to polish a bit more and offered the girl a smile, wondering idly if this was as awkward as she felt like it was.

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[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta chuckled. That didn't surprise her, people were generally otherwise engaged while she sang. Her powers ensured it. They hooked on her words, offering their very souls into the sexually charged air. She hated to be like a siren, but she figured it was harmless. No one was dying, they might go home sexually frustrated, but that would pass. Judging by this girl, she didn't even need to be singing to throw people into a strange emotional place.

"Hi Chloe," Atlanta said, almost cooing. Chloe was adorably lost looking. "I'm Atlanta." She offered, raising her glass in a bit of a toast before taking a sip, the cool alcohol burning the back of her throat. This is what it was to be alive.

"So, what do you think?" Atlanta asked, being purposefully vague. Chloe had never interacted with her or seen her show before? Obviously it, and she, was bound to leave an impression and Atlanta wondered what it was. Though, usually people were just horny and entranced by the time she was done with them.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

If she'd felt awkward before, it was nothing compared to the way Chloe felt when she finally deciphered the feelings coming toward her from this girl. She might have read it wrong, but she was pretty sure she felt a sense of attraction coming from the singer's direction, and it startled her so much that she dropped the glass she was polishing, leaving it to shatter on the floor at her feet. "Shit," she muttered, reaching for the well-placed broom she kept behind the counter. While she didn't generally drop glasses for this reason, broken glasses were pretty common behind the bar, so they tried to keep a broom within arm's reach if possible.

Once she'd cleaned her mess up, she returned her attention to Atlanta, who was still sending the exact same vibes. Blinking a couple of times to clear her head, Chloe managed to smile at her, tuning in just in time to her her vague question. What did she think? That really didn't make much sense all on it's own. Had she missed some earlier part of conversation? Atlanta was looking expectantly at her, though, and Chloe fished for an answer. As she thought, she noticed a stunning lack of emotions being hurtled at her. She hadn't noticed it before, but every person in the bar seemed to be in agreement on their feelings, and those feelings were primarily lustful. Frowning just a little, Chloe glanced up at Atlanta. "I think that you've managed to make every person in this place feel exactly the same way," she mused, not bothering to explain how she would know. It wasn't exactly a secret that people in this town weren't all normal, so there wasn't a lot of point pretending. "How long does it last?" she asked, still somewhat in awe of the relative calm she was experiencing.

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[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Chloe dropped her glass and Atlanta watched it fall and shatter, a cloud of glass, with a ripple of sound. It wasn't unusual for people to lose their cool around her, so she didn't mid, or even blink. She just took another sip and watched the bartender move. Atlanta loved the way different people moved. It was more idiosyncratic than one might think.

Then Chloe picked up on the effects of her power. Some sort of feeling psychic perhaps? It wasn't like everyone was making out or something, but Atlanta knew what was happening in everyone. "15 minutes for every minute I sing, so if that was one four minute song, they'll be like this about an hour." Atlanta smiled lightly and looked at the audience, still sort of in a daze. Because people got so entranced and thus didn't drink, she was only allowed one song per night generally.

"Fabulous isn't it?" She said with a mischievous and flirty grin. "So you feel emotions, yes?" Atlanta queried.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

It occurred to her that she was acting like an idiot for absolutely no reason. About the time she realized what Atlanta's singing could do, she also realized that the girl must be used to people behaving like morons around her on a regular basis because, as far as Chloe could tell, none of them were able to focus on anything but their sexual desire. Even so, she couldn't help but feel silly by the fact that this girl's presence flustered her. She was more in control of her emotions than she figured most people in the bar were at the moment, so her reaction to Atlanta had to be at least somewhat genuine, she figured.

Even with the fact that magic wasn't a secret in this town, Chloe was surprised by how easily Atlanta answered her question. She did so with a note of pride in her voice, and Chloe couldn't help but grin in response. It really was wonderful. It gave her a mental break, which definitely made things a little more bearable. It was just too bad that this trance was bad for business. "It's incredible," Chloe breathed in response, offering Atlanta the first truly confident smile she'd been able to muster since meeting her. Her smile faded a bit when Atlanta pointed out her own powers, though. Chloe had always been a little shy about her abilities. They weren't heroic like some, and they certainly weren't as amusing as Atlanta's. She supposed they were useful enough, but some days, she really would have preferred to be normal. "I do. Sometimes I can project them, as well," she admitted, shrugging at the girl. She didn't bother to add that doing so could sometimes take so much energy that she actually passed out. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to look weak.

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[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta grinned as Chloe agreed that her powers were cool. She loved to hear that. It was a stark contrast to what happened the first time she sang after puberty. Sometimes she still got pains in her chest from the beating her father gave her in the name of casting out demons. In any case, she had to be proud to keep from falling apart.

Chloe seemed less excited to talk about her powers, which Atlanta would have understood if they were anywhere else but Heatherfeild. "Ah," She nodded. "Looks like we have something in common, you and I." They could both toy with people's emotions. Granted it sounded like Chloe could pick which ones, which had other implications.

Atlanta polished off her drink and tucked a fly away hair behind her ear. "It seems my powers don't work on you, that's intriguing." Most never realized quite what a spell they were under, just that they liked her. Chloe was far too aware of what was going on to have been effected by her singing.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

For a moment, Chloe felt a ripple of grief. She could only assume it was from Atlanta since everyone else was still in their trance, but as quickly as she'd felt it, it was gone. If she'd known the girl better, she might have asked about it, but, as it was, she figured she ought to leave well enough alone. Besides, she had a more pressing question on her mind. It was just a matter of how to delicately insert it into the conversation. She was enjoying her relative peace as much as she was enjoying talking to Atlanta, and she didn't want to make things awkward just yet.

Generally, she did what she could to look busy even when people weren't buying drinks, but Chloe had basically given up that effort now. No one was likely to notice, anyway. She offered Atlanta a smile. "I guess we do," she admitted. "Nice to know I'm not the only weird one around here." She hoped her smile would lessen the words. She didn't mean weird in a bad way, and it really was nice not to be alone. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she eyed Atlanta's glass, almost wishing the girl would empty it so she'd have something to do. She rarely carried on a conversation without leaving the room or at least moving around a great deal. Being still and keeping focused were not her strong suits.

It wasn't until Atlanta pointed out her apparent immunity to the song that she noticed it herself. Frowning a little, Chloe cocked her head to the side and mulled over everything she'd felt in the last few minutes. Sure, there'd been some lustful feelings in there, but that wasn't all of it, and she could directly connect it to attraction based on the girl's appearance. Maybe she really wasn't affected by Atlanta's powers. "I guess not... Maybe I'm, like, immune or something... I mean, I can fawn over you if it makes you more comfortable or whatever, but... I don't think I need to, like, jump you in the bathroom or something." Not the most eloquent explanation, but it was true.

Chewing her lower lip for a moment, Chloe glanced around the bar again. When she was satisfied that everyone else was still in their trance, her eyes returned to Atlanta. "So... do you always get all lusty when you sing, too? Or do you still have your own feelings?" She had a feeling based on the earlier blip in Atlanta's emotions that she already knew the answer to that, but she was determined to figure out whether the girl was actually attracted to her or whether it had been some sort of fluke.

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[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta noticed that Chloe was a little uncomfortable and placed her empty glass on the bar. "Can I get a refill?" She asked coyly, sort of enjoying watching Chloe squirm a bit.
As for weird, everyone here had talents, gifts, so weird would be not having them, right? But it was all semantics and Atlanta didn't bother herself with that.

She laughed as Chloe announced that she didn't want to jump her in the bathroom. "You don't have to fawn over me," Atlanta said. Frankly, Chloe was already staring at her in awe, so really she already was fawning, but Atlanta figured there was no need to point that out. "And bathroom sex is overrated anyway," She said with a light wink at Chloe. But the girl seemed like she'd probably never had sex in a bathroom.

"Well, I feed off the audience's sexual energy, and I just naturally have a high capacity for lust because of my power, but I still retain my feelings. Its just like also being high," Atlanta mused with a shrug, not sure why she was bothering to clue Chloe in to all the mysteries of her powers. She preferred to be an enigma.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

She hated to admit how much relief it gave her to finally have something to do. Nodding enthusiastically at Atlanta, Chloe grabbed her glass and hastily refilled it for her. After she'd filled it, she took a couple of seconds to try to clear her head and make sense of herself again, but she wasn't entirely successful. Even if she wasn't in whatever trance the girl's song put everyone else under, she was more than a little flustered.

Her usual sarcasm proved to be unhelpful, as well, as Atlanta's laugh only had her smiling and blushing in return. If only she hadn't mentioned sex! Now it was inevitable that she was going to wonder about it for at least the next hour. She had a break then, but she certainly wasn't planning on spending that break exploring the intricacies of bathroom sex. Really, the whole concept didn't sound all that appealing. Especially given the fact that bathrooms in bars were known for being small, dingy, and crowded. Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head hard to rid her mind of the image, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Forget I mentioned bathroom sex," she muttered, her cheeks flushing pink.

Chloe realized she'd been blushing almost as often as not since Atlanta approached the bar and she found herself wishing she could push emotions onto herself. It would've been helpful to calm herself down a bit at the moment. Fortunately, Atlanta's answer to her question did that for her. From the sounds of it, Atlanta was generally attracted to most people. Or, at least, that was Chloe's take on it. "Right. So... you just flirt with everyone, then?" she asked by way of clarification and trying overly hard to pretend Atlanta's response wouldn't matter.

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta laughed brightly and stuck a finger in her mouth with a little wink . "More fun that way isn't it?" She asked Chloe. Flirting was way more fun than just talking. Of course, she didn't flirt with everyone equally, she was a person, she did have types and preferences. Atlanta figured that was obvious, but maybe it wasn't. Either way, she didn't give Chloe a real answer to her question.

She sipped her new drink lightly and looked at Chloe. She seemed highly uncomfortable... maybe she wasn't used to being flirted at, or maybe she was a bad flirt. It was hard to say but it was adorable to Atlanta.

[CHLOE ALICE CAIN]

While the realization that Atlanta was just a naturally sexual person had disheartened Chloe a bit, it was almost a relief. The more the girl caused her to wonder, the more she questioned her sexuality, and that in itself was disconcerting enough. The moment the singer's finger moved to her mouth, though, Chloe's attention returned to her lips and all hope for calming down was lost. She let out a short laugh and shook her head, forcing her gaze to focus on Atlanta's eyes. "It's a little less confusing if you're a bit more selective," she murmured, quickly turning away to grab a glass. A couple of people seemed to be starting to return to their normal state, and a few had just trickled into the bar, so she was sure she'd have customers again soon.

Placing a couple of beer glasses next to the tap, she closed her eyes and tried to force herself to think normally. Atlanta probably wasn't interested in her at all. The girl clearly had no shortage of options. Maybe she was only intrigued at having found someone who wasn't impacted by her powers. After several long seconds, she realized she was being rude. Regardless of her comfort level, she had just walked out on a conversation.

When she returned to Atlanta's seat, she offered the girl a hesitant smile. "People are starting to act half normal again," she told her by way of apology. "I have a break in an hour if you want to chat more..." Her eyes locked on Atlanta's and she gave her a hopeful grin, once again caught up in her beauty. Maybe messing around with a girl who was apparently sexually charged and just liked to flirt with anyone wouldn't be so bad. It would at least give her the opportunity to answer a few of her own questions.

[ATLANTA MAE TISZA]

Atlanta chuckled. Obviously this girl's sexual experiences were few and certainly unexciting by her standards. Selective? Well of course she wasn't a slut, but there was no real harm in some flirting. Atlanta hadn't done anything too forward with Chloe up to this point for example. "Selective?" She repeated. "Have you never just had sex for the fun of the game?" Atlanta could guess the answer.

Chloe got busy with arranging glasses and Atlanta polished off her second drink lightly, waiting for the girl to find her voice again. And when she did, she chuckled.

"Maybe next time, then I can buy you a drink," She smirked lightly and got up from her chair, flashed a smile and headed on her way. Over her shoulder she added, "You'll know where to find me." Here, of course.