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“Sona, this is underground, even for you,” Lux signed to her dear friend, who had been leading her through alleyways which seemed to be the perfect staging ground for a film noir crime drama about two musicians who were tragically murdered, and a hard boiled piltovian detective trying to solve the case. Sona only smiled in response and beckoned for her to hurry up.
“I heard interesting rumours about the band we’re going to see,” she signed while picking up the pace. “Apparently their lead guitarist is a real handful.”
“You just want to see an onstage fight then, huh?”
“It doesn’t happen often in orchestra, right?”
Lux pondered. There was that one time the tuba player had an artistic disagreement with the conductor, but that happened during practice, so it didn’t count, she concluded. Though it did take a visit to the hospital to get that tuba off of the guy’s head. Lady Laurent had earned herself quite some respect after that.
“Besides,” Sona shot Lux a knowing look, but never finished the thought as they finally arrived at the venue. The bouncer outside nodded at her and let the two of them in, much to the chagrin of everyone else still waiting in line. Lots of people for such a hard to find place. Inside they got a stamp on the back of their hand after Sona paid for the tickets, along with a free drink coupon. People Lux has never seen stopped Sona every three steps, presumably old friends and acquaintances - she was well known in the music industry after all, as the most prominent member of Pentakill.
It was different to be popular in these circles, that Lux noticed a long while ago. The people approaching Sona seemed to do so because they genuinely liked or admired her, not because they wanted something out of it - well, most of them anyway. Not like the afterparties at the Grand Demacian Orchestra, where skill always seemed to play the second fiddle to lineage, a thinly veiled attack hiding under every compliment.
And while Sona was someone here, Lux herself was just a face among many, just another guest trying to enjoy herself, easy to lose in the crowd and even harder to find for she wanted to stay lost, at least one night in so many others to be led instead of leading. And so she followed Sona, drink in hand, to the best place in the little venue, just in time for the show to start.
As soon as the lead guitarist stepped onto the stage she commanded the room - a grin cocked like a shotgun ready to blow everyone away, and green eyes that stood out against the red of her long hair, sparkling with life. It was obvious she was full of herself, so much so that her ego probably needed an entire venue all for itself to even fit. Tension filled the room, electric like the air before a thunderstorm, yet as the rest of the band took up their positions Lux barely noticed them.
When the first note hit it was only her and Lux in the room, existing in a bubble outside of everything else.
Her energy was beyond anything Lux had ever felt, and just like the bass echoed through her bones, so did her voice. It was angry, so full of rage, yet there was a sorrow to it too, unspeakable, hidden in the words she sang, the words she almost screamed. Her guitar followed her perfectly, not as an instrument, but as an extension of herself - and during all of it, the spark in her eyes never left, not for a second.
None of their- of her songs were soft or gentle, even the slower ones had a bite to them - they weren’t made to please anyone, they seemed more like a…
“This last one goes out to my beloved father,” she spat out the words, and suddenly Lux was torn out of their little universe. The crowd around them seemed to grow uneasy as if they were anticipating something, but Sona only gestured for her to pay more attention, this is gonna be good, her smile conveyed.
“Fuck you and all you’ve done to me!” she shouted into the mic, starting off another song, but it felt different this time. Raw. Almost unplanned. Like tearing open a wound that just barely closed itself.
“I won’t forgive and I won’t forget, and I hope you know you’ve lost all my respect!”
This was the closest thing to baring her soul, a stranger in a room full of strangers, yet Lux felt the pain as if it was her own - she felt connected, more and more as the song went on.
“Because I’m not a pawn to play for you in your fucking game!”
By the time the last chorus hit, Lux could sing along perfectly, screaming out her own feelings of anger and betrayal into the crowd, against the loud roar of the bass, the drums, the guitar.
“No, I’m not a failure, I’ve got something to prove!”
Her voice felt raw and her soul… lighter somehow. And just as the song ended and she opened her eyes again she felt the guitarist’s electric gaze on her. It wasn’t by chance for she held it until the bass player had to drag her off the stage - but not before she winked at Lux.
Huh?
The crowd started to dissipate, little groups splitting off and already loudly gossiping, while Lux was still caught in a haze. Sona took her by the hand and led her toward the backstage, against the stream of people until they were relatively alone.
“You liked the show,” she stated.
“It was… different, like you said,” Lux simply answered. Her heart was still caught up in that final song and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t still it. The melody would be stuck in her head for a while, that she was sure of.
“Follow me.” Again, it was not a question, but Lux didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts just yet so she kinda sheepishly went after her into the backstage area. It seemed like one of her schemes, but she could also simply want to go say hi to some people. Yes, that was an acceptable explanation, Lux decided for herself. Or was Sona still looking for conflict?
It didn’t take long to find it, if that was the case.
“Are you stupid?!” An angry male voice shouted; it came from the direction of the dressing room where the band was apparently having a fight.
“At least I’m not a fucking coward!” That was her, and even angry she sounded amazing- uh, no, angry, she sounded very very angry.
“Maybe we should leave them be? It looks like they’re in the middle of some-” A loud crash made Lux flinch, then the door violently swung open, revealing the guitarist in question. She didn’t just sound angry.
“It’s music! It’s supposed to be fucking personal, you jackass!” she grabbed ahold of the door, her knuckles turning white from the pressure, “You want me to sing about the last girl I fucked? Or rainbows and unicorns and lovey-dovey shit?”
“Oh for the love of- Katarina would it hurt you to listen for once in your life?! It’s not about the lyrics, it’s about the ‘this is for my father’ statement!” another male voice interjected, riling Katarina up even more. For a moment it looked like she was going to tear the door off its hinges and commit multiple cases of assault and battery, but she opted for a less destructive option instead.
“You can both just fuck off!” she shouted and slammed the door shut with a thunderous crash. Lux wondered if that’s what Sona meant with the lead guitarist being ‘a handful’, however, her wondering was cut short as said guitarist stormed off towards them - and stopped in her tracks just as quickly when Sona waved in greeting.
Anger was quickly replaced by a childlike awe, then by what seemed to be burning embarrassment. Clumsily she signed “Hi, I’m your biggest fan” and then looked very lost when Sona excitedly started signing back.
“Is that the only thing you know how to sign?” Lux asked her to which Katarina nodded, even more embarrassed. “Want me to, uh, translate for you?” Katarina nodded again, and so Lux set to work.
They talked for a while, with Katarina being awfully fangirly, and even gushing for a bit before she caught herself. Sona’s music had really touched her heart, that much was obvious as she thanked her for coming to her show.
“It was nice talking to you, Katarina,” Sona smiled almost too kindly and Lux narrowed her eyes at her, “and take care of Lux, she’s got it real bad for you!” That last part she translated as a simple goodbye, signing a few angry words of her own to Sona, who simply left.
“I can’t believe I just met Sona. Damn.” Katarina seemed to be caught in awe before remembering that Lux was still standing next to her. “Um, thank you…”
“Lux.”
“Thank you, Lux.” She shifted her weight from foot to foot, making Lux wonder if she wanted to say something more. Was she nervous? It was almost cute in comparison to the confidence she displayed on stage. Katarina exhaled and smiled, finally speaking her mind.
“Hey, let me treat you to dinner, alright? I owe you, and I always pay my dues.”