With all that had been going on lately, Nate had been right. Syd wasn't doing what she really needed to, to take care of herself. She needed a good night's sleep, and more then just a quick meal. Now that Luke was out of the hospital, and fully on the mend, she felt better. Like she might be able to relax now.
THe park across from The Magic Door was a good place to sit and contemplate when she needed a break from practice, and wanted a ciggarette, and ironically, some fresh air. With Luke getting hurt, and the decision to put the buisness of stealing gems on hold for the foreseeable future, for some reason, Her father had been more in her thoughts than usual, thinking back to the summer after her freshman year at Tulane. And one of the bigger fights she'd had with Luke.....during a performance... Her eye's looking off into the distance, and her mind wandering back through the years....
"I'm fully prepared, Daddy." Sydney transferred a neatly folded blouse from her suitcase to a drawer in her room at the Washington Ritz. "And I've kept my part of the bargain." She arranged lingerie tidily in the drawer above. "I've compleated my first year at Tulane, with a three point five grade average. I fully intend to do the same when classes start back in the fall."
"I appreciate that, Sydney." Max stood at the window. Behind him, the Washington summer baked the pavements and rose again in oily waves. "But this job has been months in the planning. It's wiser for you to make your debut, as it were, with something smaller."
"I prefer starting at the top." With the careless percision of the innately tidy, she began to hang dresses and cocktail wear in the closet. "I'm not a novice, and you know it. I've been a part of this aspect of your life- behind the scenes, unfortunately - since i was a child. I can pick a lock as well, and often quicker than LeCleric." Conscientiously, she shook a fold out of a silk skirt. "I know a great deal about engines and mechanics thanks to Mouse." After closing the closet doors, she shot her father a bland look. "I know more about computers than any of you. You know yourself that kind of skill is invaluable."
"And I've appreciated your help in the early stages of this job. However-"
"There's no however, Daddy. It's time."
"There are physical aspects as well as mental," he began.
"Do you think i've been working out five hours a week for the last year for my health?" she tossed back. They'd reached a crossroads. Sydney chose her path and planted her fists on her hips. "Are you standing in my way because you're having fatherly qualms about leading me down a dishonest path?"
"Certianly not." He looked shocked, then affronted. "I happen to consider what i do an ancient and valuable art. Thievery is a time honnored profession, my girl. Not to be confused with these hooligans who mug people on the street, or bloodthirsty klutzes who burst into banks, guns blazing. we're discriminating. We're romantic." His voice rose in passion. "We're artists."
"Well, then." she crossed over to kiss his cheek. "When do we start?"
He stared down into her smiling, smug face and began to laugh. "You're a credit to me, Sydney."
The Next night, was the show at the Kennedy Center. God she'd been nervous....
The Kennedy Center lent itself to large scale illusions, as did the network television cameras that were filming the event for a special to be aired in the fall. Max had staged the one hundred and two minute show like a three act play, with full orchestra, complex lighting cues and elaborate costumes.
It began with Max alone on a darkened stage, caught in the moonlike beam of a single spotlight. He was draped in a velvet cloak of midnight blue that was threaded with shimmering silver. In one hand he held a wand that was also silver and glinted in the light. In the other, he cupped a ball of crystal. So Merlin might have looked as he plotted for the birth of a king.
Sorcery was his theme, and he played the mystic necromancer with dignity and drama. He lifted the ball onto the grown of his fingertips. It pulsed with lights as he spoke to the audience of spells and dragons, alchemy and witchcraft. While they watched, already snagged by the theatrics, the ball began to float. Along with the folds of the velvet cloak, above the tip of the magic wand, spinning high above his head at a shouted incantation. All the while it pulsed with those inner lights, flickering scarlet and sapphire, amber and emerald onto his uplifted face. The audience gasped as the ball plummmeted towards the stage, then applauded when it stopped inches before distruction, only to rotate in a widening circle, rising, rising towards Max's outstretched hands. Once more he held it poised on his fingertips. He tapped it once with the shimmering wand and tossed it high. The ball became a shower of silver that rained down on the stage before it went black.
When the lights came up aga, seconds later, it was Sydney who stood center stage. She was all glimmering silver. Stars glittered in her hair, along the arms the column of sequins left bare. She stood straight as a sword, her arms crossed over her breasts, her eye's closed. When the orchestra began to play a movement from Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, she swayed. Her eye's opened.
She spoke of spells cast and love lost, of witchery gone wrong. As she uncrossed her arms, lifted them high, sparks flew from her fingertips. Her hair, mahogany curls nearly to her shoulders, began to wave in an unseen wind. The spotlight widened to show a small table beside her, on it a bell, a book and an unlit candle. Cupping her palms, she made fire in them, flames rising and ebbing as if breathing. As she passed her hands over the candle, the flames guttered in her palms, and spurted from the wick in a shimmer of gold.
A flick of her wrist, and the pages of the book began to turn, slowly. Then faster, faster, until it was a whirl. The bell rose from the table between her outstretched palms. As she swayed her hands it tolled. Suddenly, beneath the table where there had been only space, three candles burned brightly. Their fire licked up and up untill the table itself was aflame with Sydney standing behind it, her face washed with it's light and shadows. She threw her arms out, and there was nothing left but smoke. At the same instant another spotlight shot on. Luke was there, upstage left.
He wore sleek black trimmed in the glistening gold. Lily's clever make up had accented his cheekbones, arched his brows. Nearly as long as hers, his raven hair flowed free. He looked to Sydney like a cross between a satyr and a pirate.
She faced him across the stage with smoke twining between them. Her stance was a challenge, head thrown back, one arm up the other held out to the side. A streak of light shot from her fingertips toward him. He lifted a hand, seemed to catch it. The audience erupted with applause as the duel continued. The combatants moved closer together, whirling smoke, hurling fire as the stage lights came up rose and gold, simulating sunrise.
Sydney threw her arm over her eyes, as if to shield herself. Then her arms fell limply, her head drooped. The silver gown sparkled, hissing with light as she swayed, as if her body were attached by strings to Luke's hands. He circled her, passing thos ehands around her, inches from touching. He passed his spread hand infront of her eyes, indicating trance, then slowly, slowly gestured her back, father back. Her feet lifted from the stage. Her back stayed straight as a spear as he floated her up until she lay on nothing more then wisps of blue smoke.
He whirled once, and when he faced the stage again he held a slim silver ring. Graceful as a dancer, he moved from her feet to her head, sliding her body through the hoop. Unrehersed, he leaned forward, as if to kiss her. He felt her body stiffen as his lips halted a breath away.
"Don't blow it, Syd," he whispered, then whipped off his cape, tossed it over her. It held for a moment before the form beneath seemed to melt away. When the cape fluttered to the floor, Luke held a white swan cradled in his arms.
There was a crash of thunder from backstage. Luke bent for his cape, crouching, he swirled the cape over his head, and vanished.
A few minutes later, Sydney caught up with him. "I didn't care for the ad lib."
"No?" He handed the swan to Mouse and smiled at her. "I thought it was a nice touch. How about you, Mouse?"
Mouse stroked the swan, he was the only one who could without endangering fingers. "Well.....I guess.....Gotta give Myrtle her snack."
"See." Luke gestured after Mouse's retreating back. "Loved it."
"Try it again and I'll do a little ad libbing myself." She stabbed a finger into his shirt. "You'll end up with a bloody lip."
He caught her wrist before she could storm away. From the sound of the applause, Syd could tell that Max and Lily were keeping the momentum high. "Listen Syd, what we do onstage is an act. A job. Just like what we're going to do tomorrow night in Potomac. Nothing personal."
She growled back at him, but managed to dredge up a friendly smile. "Maybe you're right."
"Of course I'm right. It's just a matter of-" His breath wolfed out as she rammed an elbow into his gut. She slipped easly away from the corner he'd backed her into, and smiled with alot more sincerity.
"Nothing personal," She said sweetly. She stepped inside her dressing room, shut, and locked the door. It was time for a costume change.
The next time she had to deal with him they were nearly nose to nose with only a thin sheet of plywood between them. They were locked in a trick box and had only seconds before transmutation.
"Pull that again, Syd," Luke hissed even as they were flipping positions. "I swear I'll hit you back."
"Oh! I'm shaking." Sydney sprang out of the box in Luke's place to thunderous applause. They took their bows graciously after the finale. Luke pinched her hard enough to bruise. Sydney trod heavily on his instep.
He bowed with a flourish, pulling roses out of thin air and ofering them to her. She accepted them, but before she could dip into the curtsy, he moved. No way he was going to allow the blow to go unrewarded. He arched her back in an exaggerated dip and kissed her.
Or it appeared to be a kiss to the delighted audience. He bit her.
"You bastard." She forced her throbbing lip to spread into a smile. They stepped back as Max made his final entrance. Luke took Sydney's hand. His eye's popped wide when she gripped his thumb and twisted.
"Jesus, Syd, not the hands. I can't work without my hands."
"Then keep them off me, pal." She released him, satisfied with the idea that his thumb would be aching every bit as much as her bottom lip. Together they joined Max and Lily center stage for a final bow.
"I love show business," Sydney said with a breathy laugh, earning her a grin from Luke, as well as her father, and earned her hand a squeeze from Max.
Remembering things was never a bad thing. Remembering that first night, reminded Syd why she and Luke had agreed to put an end to the thievery. It was time. Four generations of Abonwoods. Eye's still distant, she slowly pulled another smoke from her pack. lighting it and takeing a long drag in, and leaned back against the tree behind her.
She was glad that Luke was alright....but it was memories like that, that only reminded her of just how much she missed Max.
They could say that absense makes the heart grow fonder....but this just flat out sucked....
With how the days could be, the evening was the only time he felt comfortable jogging. The evening when most didn't go more than a few feet beyond their porch he let the beast run free, sort of. Shields down just enough to let the beast breath, his feet were a blur across pavement and grass as the faintest traces of wind blew out from him. The lick of a crisp winter morning with an off-shore breeze surrounding his path through the park feeling the animal with in yowl in delight at being allowed to roam.
Nate was working that night and despite the rather placid relations of late between the two he watched her edge out for a smoke and a breather. He gave her a few minutes and not that she needed to be fussed over. but after 10 minutes plus and still no sign of her that large white male lion seemed to preceed him towards the scent of the female. Nate shifted from his post and eased out towards the door, leaning against the frame seeing her out there lost in thought. He nodded to one of the other workers and lifted up his pack of smokes. Pulling one free and slipping it between his lips, lighting it and taking in a deep inhale of the smoke then eased from the buildings stoop and meandered along towards her. The feel of another near by had his head lifting upwards. that large white male lion looking as well as he took a light padding trot towards the lioness of Syds. pummeling his thick maned head against hers and rubbing before flopping and growling towards the female.
Nate looked to the back of Syds head a good 6 feet behind her and the tree she leaned on. His smoke carried on the light wind towards her announcing his presence if the power that eased towards her didnt. he took another few steps then stopped and not looking to her but out he spoke. "Penny...." not needing to finish the old saying his browns finally turned down towards her in her lean and took the remaining few steps to stand about 8 inches behind her so that power could ease over her for mere moments that scent teasing her nostrils before it was sucked in like a dyson and only a small amount and his beast remained.
The chill presense of another shifter had Syd comming back to the present, and the white lioness within letting out a roar in response to the yowl from the leopard. Other than her lions, She had been working to damn much to meet many of the other lycans. While normally this wouldn't exactly be a bad thing, Syd was also trying to establish herself in this city. She'd lived here long enough, you'd think she'd know the commings and goings of everyone around. And while she did have her resources that told her who ran what, she had yet to actually meet the various other leaders. Emerald eye's shifted down the path, watching the blong man as he jogged along the path in her direction.
It wasn't untill Nate's scent hit her though, that she actually smiled. Not takeing her eye's off the approaching Leopard, she spoke quietly to the male behind her, at his comment about her thoughts. "Just thinking...Wondering if I'd made the right decision....Wondering what Max would say if he knew we were throwing in the towel now, and why." Her voice softened as it always did when speaking of her father. The battle he'd fought with alzhimers, and just old age in general had been hard on everyone in the family. Watching such a strong, dominanting man, be reduced to what he had been at the end, where he didn't even recognize his own loved one's by the time it was over. Remembering only days past, and thinking it was still back when Sydney herself was only 8 years old. Glancing back at Nate, she nodded towards the approaching lycan as he jogged nearer still.
Artemus did a double take at the literal 'pinging' he just got from farther up the trail; eyes lifting to fall on a man and woman together by a tree. Was it one of them? While he let it all hang out during this jog he wasn't extending his senses beyond more than a handful of feet around himself. Watching the pair as the distance lessened he took in more details from them.
Obviously they knew each other, that was clear, but it still set him on edge simply because he picked out lion. Territorial and aggressive, at the best of times. Easing down into a steady lope he finally got close enough for conversation. "One of you rang?" Always best to open with a minor joke.
Nate looked to her as she spoke. His arm easily moved against her when the story got hard as he noted in her eyes, that far off look one gets when in the past, he himself got it at times. He pulled her against him long enough to offer that close, comfort and warmth and bathed her in his power and scent without letting it flow further than a foot or two from him. But her eyes picked up something else and he eased back from the tender affection.
Hues fell to the jogger as he neared His male lion lifting upwards and watching the other lion a moment then turned his gaze upon the other beast as it drew closer. His own beast then let off his own roar towards the beast and in a slow lazy response to the white lioness beside him.
Nate heard her question and looked him over a little better. "Maybe around once or twice." He wasnt honestly sure. But as the man approached Nate kept his place a breath away from Syd, protective but letting her instead take the lead. He wasn't Rex and there for had no true reason to respond first. She was the Queen around here well aside from the drag show down the street.
Takeing the comfort from Nate, she closed her eye's a minute, and soon pulled back a little to lean against the tree as she told him what she'd been thinking about. When he responded about the leopard, she nodded, murmmering quietly. "Maybe we can make some new friends, hm?"
As the leopard approached, Sydney looked him over. Letting eye's trail from head to toe, and back up again, stopping at his eyes, and gave a soft chuckle. "I suppose you could say that....when you call out, same flavor or not, it's hard not to respond back." She offered the male a smile. "Not usually alot of joggers out this late. At least not in this park." NOt that he really had all that much to worry about. Unless some jerk off with silver bullets came after them, there wasn't really much they could do. When the person your attacking can pick up and throw a car across the road? yeah....gun ain't gonna do much more than piss em off.
Here now, as Syd looked him over again, was an opportunity to start to make the pride known (small as it was at this point) to the other groups. They may be small in numbers, but they were there. And it was time to come out of the shadows so to speak. There was an easy power around her. While some leaders tended to try and shove power down your throat, and use it to beat you and your beast into submission, Sydney was of the mind set that all that did was piss people off and make them rebell against you. And it wasn't in her nature. She was laid back and relaxed most of the time, untill you got her angry. That was when the lioness truely made herself known.
"I'm Sydney. This is Nate." nodding to the male lion just behind her. "What brings you out jogging so late?" her head tilted to the side curiously, as the white lioness sat watching the white leopard curiously. tail flickering back and forth as she sat quietly. A lion that wasn't instantly all 'grr get out of my territory' and wanting to get into a pissing contest? Wasn't her style. There were ways to be agressive. To be ruthless and to protect your own, without being an ass about it. Sometimes, the antics of the male population of lions made her want to smack them all upside the head.
Eyes slide from one then to the other with a slight dip of his head at her words. Staying within a casual lean, a smile curved on his lips. "I'm not exactly a morning person, so I run at night."
Brazen to say the least, his beast actually moved right up to the duo without fear, its bulk setting it more on size with jaguars than other leopards. Slowly it met the female lion on her level and offered an appropriate greeting. The man stood a respectable distance apart while taking them in. "Well, Sydney, Nate. I'm Artemus" The smile on his lips curved more as she looked him over, his bright emeralds doing the exact same thing in return. "What of you to?"
Nate looked to her as Art spoke and his eyes were looking over to her. His eyes meandered along the sites before they fell upon Art after his introduction. "A pleasure." he responded evenly. He wasnt angered or anything he just was usually close to the cuff around people he didnt know.
His beast looked to the male as it approached the female and he let out a grumble but kept his place beside the female. His thick mane shook as his head shook and he looked towards the female with another grumble before settling once more beside her.
However he remained quiet as Art asked what they were up to, letting Syd once more take the reins.
