Fire Fight (Camli vs Safiya)

Valencia was a brutish, harsh land, with sand blowing through the wind at every given opportunity and those that would swindle you out of your belongings, your money, or even your very soul at every corner. And despite that, there was a beauty to it, and those that succeeded did so because of their own wit and smarts. It was a hub for travelers who needed anything in their searches, from items, information, belongings, sometimes even comfort if you knew where to look. It was a struggle to come out to such a location, but few that made the journey rarely left empty-handed...sometimes in ways they never would have expected.

The city still had its constant hustle and bustle, that much was expected. However, extra attention was on today, and a few signs are present throughout the city. More than a few could be seen following them with excited looks on their faces, and they all led to an open auditorium that was apparently being rented out. Those same people were talking with one another in hushed, yet energetic whispers at what was presented on them, and there was a small few with noticeable blushes on their face, formed from thoughts alone.

"The Grimleal is giving back to the community with open dance recitals, a performance by one of our star dancers, and lessons to all! Attending (and receiving lessons afterwards) are free for all who stop by, and the lessons are open to everyone, including travelers, after the initial show! All are welcome, and we hope to see you there!" The words were emblazoned on the large display with an image of a woman in traditional Valencian-styled dancers clothes, with flowing robes that allowed for greater movement. Most notable was two draconic horns that were out of the dancer's head, and bright piercing eyes that seemed to follow all that looked at the display.

Camli takes the flap of her blue duster and shakes them a bit to get a bit of dust from the occasional tiny bits of sand that occasionally coats it while venting off some of the air in inside her clothing while wiping the bit of sweat off of her forehead.  Whoooeee!  It is mighty hot out here this sunrise.  Nothing that she can't handle though.

While walking down the plaza area, she caught sight of what looks like a pretty big gathering with quite the number of people, almost immobile, as they are all fixated on whatever is at the center.  With her tall stature of 6 feet, she tries to go on the toes of her boots to try to spot whatever all the fuss is about but the crowd is stretching further than a bunch of bronco busters at an all-you-can-eat BBQ.  Well she has an alternative method.

With a few word chants, Camli lets the wind current flow through the lots of the people, giving her a bit of sight of the biggest gap of the crowd to her.  She worms through the crowd in a pace that no person of her stature would have any right to be so slippery.

Luckily, the crowd was far too enthused with the going ons of the day to notice or at least be bothered all that much by Camli's skillful magic manipulation, allowing her to freely weave her way through the crowds to see what all the commotion was about. In the middle of it all was an extravagant stage set up for the cult specifically, thanks to woodworkers and members within it. All of today came out of their pocket, and didn't ask for a dime from anyone else. As Camli got closer to it all, she could hear the beating of drums and the sounds of instruments to the sound of a fast and frantic beat.

At the center of it all was the same figure that Camli had likely seen on the display, a tanned woman in robes that flew and moved with her own movements and a reflective fabric that refracted the light in ways that drew everyone in. Said movements matched the beat perfectly, and left trails in the air that had the entire crowd transfixed, a few letting out various "ooo"s and "aah"s at the display. More than a little magic was being done to improve the showing, leaving streaks of color through the air that seemed to sparkle like fireworks, although none of it detracted from her skill. Her body moved and undulated with great talent, a clear master of her craft, the powerful rhythm created from the sounds around her punctuating every step, veil covering her face but nothing else leaving anything to the imagination. The beats left a crescendo of sound and visual flair before it all came to an incredible climax, the sound stopping all at once with the final pose. The crowd roared with applause when it was all over, everyone getting more than they could have ever bargained for.

The dancer bowed to the crowd, her eyes scanning over the audience. Camli's form stuck out among the crowd, and she gave her a wry smile as she looked her in the eyes for only just a moment. "Thank you all for coming out today! We have one more display before we will start the personal lessons, and we've been working on this for quite some time! Mayhap you will find it to be even more stunning than what you've seen today!" She gave another bow before she went backstage, probably to clean up before the big finale.

As they waited, the crowd mumured and whispered to each other, although not that softly from excitement. "Madam Esh never disappoints!" "I've never seen anyone bend like that before! And she makes it look so easy!" "I've heard she's part of some cult, though..." "So what if she is? They didn't ask for my money yet, and that's good enough for me!" Comments of all sorts were present throughout the audience, but it was clear that she and the people she had come in with had a reputation behind them.

Well that explains the hullabaloo. There was a dancer there, and she is twisting herself in a way that is almost pretzel like. Camli admits the sight and art is quite nice, though she can't imagine herself doing that kind of dance; she ain't limber enough. Nevertheless, her right foot taps to the beat of the music as she spectates, beating quite a catchy music, not quite twitterpated as most of the others if the mob but still enjoying herself. She didn't really catch sight of Eshika eyeing her and taught it as just looking about in the crowd.

After the concert, Camli was going to go back to the bar for a good smooth drink when she overhears some of the hearsays of the crowd. Now she ain't a gal that jumps to conclusion about people and has no problem with cults. But a dancer off a cult was a mighty odd combination to her. With her curiosity, she detoured from her original path to try to take a look at at what's what.

The crowd was still alive at the sounds of excitement. She had promised one more showing, after all. At the very least, most of the crowd was fairly positive about the whole performance. Except, however...

"These damn lizards are nothing but trouble! Just last month we had half the street piled up! How'd they even do that?!?" One disgruntled man, holding a bottle in his hand, was not so positive about the whole thing. A few of what seemed to be his colleagues were attempting to calm him down.

"Hey, hey, that's just the drinks talking..." "Plus, they cleaned that all up on their own! Came out of their own pockets, it did!" "How many of them you had tonight, anyway?" They were trying to laugh it off as something not so serious, but the man wasn't having any of it as he pushed them to the side.

"Don't you get it?!? They're crazy dragon worshippers! I heard some of 'em were human once! And look at 'em now! Look more like demons, ain't it?!?" His words were slurred as he was stumbling his way to the stage, bottle in hand and looking like he was about to do something drastic.

From behind the stage, two figures watched the scene play out. One turned to the other. "Safiya, if you would."

The other sighed. "I knew I was here for a reason. Don't worry, no one's getting burned tonight." She stepped off the back of the stage and went around.

"AND THIS IS WHAT I THINK OF DAMN CULTISTS...MAKING A LIVING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!" His friends were trying to stop him as he was about to crash the bottle on the side of the stage, when a hand reached out to grab his arm.

"That's about enough of that." The tall, dark skinned woman with horns, a tail and folded wings as she bore her gaze into the man. "Let me take a look at that..." Effortlessly, she flipped the bottle out of his hands to take a look, taking a sniff and recoiling. "Eugh...powerful. A little too powerful for you."

"SCREW OFF!" He tried to throw a punch at the woman, but she easily dodged his slowed assault and gently pushed him back onto his butt. He rose to meet her again but his friends were quick to hold him back. "W-We're sorry ma'am! It was the drinks, honest!"

"Look, I get that we're not the most liked around here, but please try to keep things civil, alright? We're not here to start fights, and we're not having that tonight. This is meant to be a fun environment, after all." She shook her head with a few fingers to her temple as the man was carted off, setting the bottle off to the side. Camli had gotten a front row seat to what was possibly some deeper issues to it all, and there was no doubt this woman was part of that 'cult' she had been hearing about. The features were similar, yet different from the dancer from earlier.

Camli just stood there and watch that drunken sod get put in his place. Least his pal got enough sense to drag him off before he makes more of a fool of himself.

After the spectacle is over, Camli herself picks up the bottle and takes a whiff of it. To her credit, she didn't recoil as Safiya did but she did make a disapproving face. "Why's that tote got this? Surprised he ain't headin' to barrel-fever city before he can stagger to the doggery?" She mutters to herself but loud enough that Safiya could hear it. With a quick flick of her wrist, the bottle was tossed into the bin.

Camli turns towards Safiya now with a friendly grin. "Well that's the gentlest way to scrap that bad hoss. Save having someone else sloggin' him out" Camli says amicably. Apparently she didn't get the memo, or don't care, that those draconian woman was some part of cult.

Safiya, for all of her effort, didn't take the actions poorly. She seemed...odd. But a comforting sort of odd, at least. Considering the types that were in the Grimleal, she was used to odd. Her gaze went to the woman, before letting out a long sigh. "I would've, if it had come down to it, but I'm glad it didn't. We've already got opposition to all of this; last thing we need to add is 'got into a drunk fight' onto our portfolio."

She looked over at her, the same person that Esh had mentioned caught her attention. The features were unmistakable. "Hope it isn't doing anything to make the experience worse for you." At the very least, Safiya was amicable. Even though she was playing security, she was also looking forward to getting drunk herself once everything was over and done with.

"Eh, the other tenderfoot's thought ain't worth spit to me, but I can see who y'all want others to opine y'all better. I reckon some of these folk, ain't to keen with ya...what ya called 'gain?" The tall gunslinger wasn't able to hear heads or tails of what the announcement saying with the sound of the crowd going googly eye over that dancer.

She held up her gloved hand to Safiya. "The name's Camli, howdy stranger. No need to worry 'bout me, missy. I've seen worse owl in the badlands than here. Some packin' irons, some painted lady 'daras." "

At the very least, she seemed appreciative back. That was good. Even though she had been simply to keep the peace, what little she did could be interpreted as aggressive to the wrong kinds of people. This was their attempt at getting out there and helping public opinion. And to a lot of people, it was actually doing that much. That little incident with that goddess woman had seemed to completely drop out of people's memory, which was what they were hoping for.

"Safiya. The term they use for it is 'cult', but we refer to it as a covenant. One that gives back to the community. You wouldn't think doing something so simple would be difficult, but the hardest parts of my job are the simple things. As long as you're not starting trouble, you're welcome to the festivities. And, well...be sure to save the stronger stuff until after the presentation. I know I wil-"

"Safiya! A little help is required!" A voice could be heard from behind the stage. Along with the faint smell of smoke.

"ESH YOU HAD EXACTLY ONE THING TO DO!" She let out an exasperated sigh, looking back at Camli. "I have to go, job duties. Make sure to have fun!" She darted backstage, using her wings as leverage to practically take off from her first step. Hurried voices could be heard from where she was, but it seemed like everything was under control.

What in tarnation is going on in there? Someone accidentally lit fire to some whiskey? From what she hear from Safiya? Sounds like this 'Esh' is a tad bit clumsy, or incompetent. Maybe, she could lend a hand in some emergency struck; a fire that is out of control would be mighty bad if it gets too close to the building.

Still the curious mage, she strides over to the back area where Safiya has raced over .
Though, unlike the fellblood, her gait is slow and steady pace with a relaxed posture, trusting that at least one of them has the noggins to take care of things before things go south.

Before Camli caught up to the two of them, she could hear a few voices from behind the stage, along with the sound of a doused flame, likely by smothering. The first was definitely Safiya's. "Are you sure you can do this? You've...never done anything like this before, right?"

"Oh, poppycock! I'm one of the best dancers in the country! I'd be bringing shame to my title if I turned away because of 'danger'!" The second was the voice that Camli had heard, matching that of the performer from earlier.

"And I'm pretty sure the goddess would not appreciate you coming home with burn scars because of something like a title."

"And that is why I shall pull it off with aplomb, instead! Best of both worlds, is it not?" By the time Camli had caught up to her, Safiya was already in full facepalm mode, knowing that this is what she had to put up with tonight. Legendarily hard to deal with. A very small portion of the inner curtain had some burn marks, along with two rods wrapped in cloth on each end that were a bit charred. Still, it wasn't anything anyone not behind the stage would notice. Eshika is the first to notice Camli's appearance behind stage. "Oh! If you are looking to join in on the lessons, be sure to see me after the final per-"

"She's probably here to make sure you didn't burn the stage down." Her gaze went over to her next, not entirely surprised she rushed back with her. "Don't worry, I got it."

Camli takes a brief moment to look around a bit. Well looks the curtains got a bit barbequed by something and there was some sticks with charred cloth on it. With those two things, she drew her own guess on what has happened that caused Safiya to rush back in like a bronco buster getting tailgated by a rampaging bull.

"The tall gal's right. Where's there smoke, there's fire and looks like I was right." The back of her gloved left hand taps the burnt curtains. "Would have done the clean thing and help but guess Safiya got it under control." The earth that surrounded her right hand crumbles and disperse into dust in the wind. "So what kind of shindig ya doin' anyways that had y'all a bit cracked with l'il missie here be the bettermost?"

At her question, Eshika moved what could now be seen as a baton over to one of the nearby torches, lighting both ends on fire, twirling them about before delivering a pose with both in hands. "For the finale! It was supposed to be a secret to wow the audience, but as you are already acquainted with Safiya, and considering you valiantly rushed to my rescue, there isn't much need for secrecy, is there?"

Safiya simply reached her hands over to smother the flames with her own hands, painlessly at that. The flames seemed to have no affect on her. "I'll go get some more towels..." She let out a groan as she walked out, clearly used to this by now. This was not the first time something had gone wrong tonight. Chances are it wouldn't be the last, either. This, also, she was used to.

That left the two of them on their own, although Eshika was halfway through a pout as she left. "Oh, she's such a worrywart! It's not like I haven't been practicing this for weeks! She's so worried about cleaning up our appearance after that little incident last month. I feel like our reputation isn't that bad...after all, we volunteered to clean up that mess ourselves! Did wonders to show how competent the groundworkers in the Grimleal are, at the end of the day..." She hadn't been part of all of that drama herself, but she heard the cliffnotes version. Something about some other goddess starting problems. Laikah, bless her heart, was still recovering from it all. Hadn't seen her smile since.

"But, enough about the doom and gloom! I hope you're enjoying the performance!" Tossing the batons behind her, she approached Camli, her form much shorter than Safiya's that was close to her own. "Eshika Agarwal, charmed, I'm sure. Dancer, priestess, ambassador...I try to make things lively! I don't think I caught your name, miss...?" Camli had caught her eye during the performance, and she had a habit of sticking out in a crowd. She was certainly...exotic, on first glance. Chances are she had some secrets to share. It was a good thing Eshika had a bright, gentle smile, and outwardly had a perfectly bubbly, yet focused persona.

"Camli Oakley. Err...mercenary, bounty hunter, rounding' up the scallawags of the badlands and all that fiddle faddle. Ya got the hard money and some longrider out there, I'm ya gal; though flannel rub me off the wrong way." Camli gives her broad shoulder a slight shrug. "Gals gotta do what a gals gotta do."

The salt of the earth, she looked like. However, Eshika was used to those sorts of people, as well. She seemed to follow her tone very well, though, but Safiya was having some trouble. She whispered to Eshika "did you get all of that?" but the dancer wasn't offput in the slightest.

"Well, Ms. Oakley, I must say you are not the first like you to be welcome around these parts. Many even within the Grimleal were at one point just like you, everymen and women that live by the work they forge with their own hands. Quite a few of them are good friends of mine! And I'm always willing to get to know new faces from across the globe..." She sauntered up to her with a seductive look. "Perhaps, we can find a way to get to know each other be-"

Safiya cleared her throat, as she pointed to the time. "Oh! Yes, right! My mistake!" She looked back at Camli. "Forgive me, I seem to have lost track of the hour! I thank you for rushing to my help in such a dashing manner, but we have one more performance tonight before the open lessons start! We'll need just a few moments to prepare, and it should be spectacular!"

"Provided we don't burn the place down..."

"That was just a slip of the grip! Accidents happen in the rehearsal. It's only natural!" She turned one last time to Camli. "I hope you'll be in the audience to see it! It should be...'the hollerenst hootenanny this side of the prairie'!" The expression was enough to catch Safiya completely off guard. Oh god, now there was two of them.

"Hell yeah!  It's gonna be a A Hog-Killin’ Time!"  Camli agrees, seemingly enthusiastic.  Inwardly, she was a mite bit startled from Eshika's bold advances early.  They barely even met!  Well at the least, this should be a good show though.  

She takes a glance over to Safiya whom looks like she is a bit cock-eyed from the whole conversation.  "So whatca be doin' with the whole shindig?" The tall witch asks while crossing her arms.  Now that she thought about it, what does Safiya do anyways?

At the very least, Eshika seemed to be able to communicate in her language. Even if it was mostly lost on Safiya's part, if she could pacify her to an extent, that was good enough for her. Eshika went back to her preparations, clearly not needing Safiya for the last bit. "If I smell smoke back here one more time we're canceling it early." The dancer gave a halfhearted wave as she continued to practice before the last showing. She nodded Camli to follow, giving her some privacy.

"My official title is 'priest' but I do a little bit of everything. Tonight, I'm here to make sure no one causes problems...whether that's drunk idiots like you saw earlier, or from Esh herself. Judging from your reaction earlier, I take it you're not too familiar with us. Which is good, actually. I prefer that then instantly assuming we're some sort of death cult, or some such. You'd be surprised how quickly people jump to that." Safiya reached from behind a booth counter to pull out a vintage bottle of scotch, definitely finely aged.

"Considering you rushed in to help like you did, and you're one of the first people I've met tonight that hasn't greeted me with either a look of fear or a snarl of displeasure, I suppose I owe you a bit. Tell you what, keep me bringing this between us, and I'll share. You seem like the kind of woman that can appreciate a good gut punch in liquid form, or several." She had a halfcocked grin on her face as she swiveled the bottle a little bit, knowing full well this stuff was powerful, knocking out elephants powerful. Her own talents greatly reduced any nasty effects she'd get from it; while she never really got drunk, she never really had hangovers, either. Camli likely wasn't so lucky, but she seemed durable enough. And a thrill-seeker, at that.

"Ya got yourself a deal, partner.   Got a horn for that deadshoot?"  Camli can definitely get behind a bit of booze this early on.  Safiya's boss might have a problem with it but that isn't Camli's mess to wallow in with, that and this Grimleal group may be too busy trying to step around eggshell question her.  The gun witch takes a glance over the the content of what booze Safiya got in mind while looking for a mug or something.  

"Ya ain't the only one that got a bit of everythin'.  That's kind of my job.  A bit of it comes down to roundin' up the longriders, daras, and even some bulls bellying through the brush."  Camli pauses as she notices the confused look that pops on Safiya's face.  "Crooks, crooked ladies, lady, and crooked sheriffs."  She explains.  "Get some good hard money for all that.  Ya could say I am a bit of everything merc.  I reckon ya can say that puttin' out some cinder part of the job."

Safiya pulled out two shot glasses from behind the counter, and poured each of them a cup. She was obviously prepared, no doubts there. Camli was quick to notice that some of the terms weren't catching on, and recollection crossed Safiya's face at the more legible explanation. "Ah, something of a merc, then? Makes sense. This far out, chances are work is in no short supply. Some members of the covenant were actually in that same line of work, before they joined hands with the goddess. A lot of them have crazy stories about their former lives. Wild tales of taking on corrupted men, midara, even a few demons here and there. I'll never know if they're true, though." She gestured out to in front of the stage, where she had a few rows reserved, taking a seat and letting Camli sit next to her.

She took a sip of her own, the power just enough for her. "Ahhhh..." This would normally be the kind of stuff that burns going down, but that never really affected her anymore. Maybe she was too internally hot for it to really hit her like it used to. "You know, a few years ago, and I probably was something that'd count as your "crooked ladies" you hunt down." She chuckled as she remembered the days before joining the Grimleal. "Hope that doesn't spoil the mood that you're drinking tonight with a former criminal."

"Yep, y'all call us mercs, and yep I myself got some notches on my belt and I can tell ya 'bout them if ya wanna know.  But I ain't full of bluster though.  That's for the tin-horns that are too big for their breeches.  Across the lot, I show them my 6 shooter and many of the longriders throw up the sponge.  Simple and clean and ain't full of tight scouging.  Ain't as glorious as takin' down demons but it kept out of being six feet under."

Camli takes a brief sip of her own and lets out a groan it felt like she pour a bit of dragonfire down her throat.  Most people would have been flattened by the intensity of the burn of the alcohol but Camli held her head and shakes it though was no worse for wear.  "Whooee! That's some gut warmer there, partner."  Then without missing a beat, she takes another sip and gets another dose of impact but was able to recover in no time.

"Now, I ain't got problems with ya, partner.  Former's the word.  As long as ya ain't pulling a fast one, that's all in the rear view."  Camli replies, looking pretty relaxed around the said former criminal.

"Well, it was either I become 'former' with the covenant or I meet a guillotine face to face. I'm basically indentured to them for life now. Personally, I like living. And, to be frank...it kinda solves the reason I was causing trouble originally." She took another sip, actually somewhat impressed that she was holding her drink as well as she did. Much larger, much more durable men had keeled over from that stuff. She was casual giving Camli more to drink down, at the very least. Maybe the drink was making her nostalgic.

She brought the glass up to her gaze, her vision going through the cloudy liquid. "It's hard to be poor, especially out here. Have to make ends meet somehow...but that's really an excuse. No, I was only like that at first. Used to like the feeling. Having power for once in my life. It felt so good, the first time. I wanted more. And more...until I was dragged in, by the Grimleal actually, and that was all over." She looked over at Camli. "I don't really miss it. I'm well taken care of, which I'm sure pisses off a lot of people that would've liked me hanged. And I get to...occasionally have my fun. Most of the time, I'm working like this, though...hah! That's right, this is me on my work hours." She chuckled to herself as she poured herself another glass. Hushed whispers went over the crowd as the curtains finally pulled back. "Ah, here we go. Time to see if I'm going to need to rush up on stage..."

"Ladies and gentleman! I thank you for your patience! We have been preparing a finale for the night that should be new and exciting for everyone!" Eshika's voice boomed with charisma as she approached the stage, batons in hand. Safiya's hand reached out in that direction, waiting for her cue. "Before the night is over, we could not end it without leaving the audience wowed and in awe! And therefore..." Safiya's hand quickly closed, and both ends of each baton erupted into pink fire, Eshika twirling them and assuming the poses she had practiced. "We hope you will all enjoy the show!" She gave a bow, which was the cue for the music. Drummers were on standby out of sight for the performance.

"Five gold pieces says I'm going to need to put out a second fire, tonight. We agreed to use my fire, since it's a bit harder to light things with it, but I'm sure she'll find a way." Safiya relaxed back in her chair as the performance was about to begin.

"That ain't a bet I am willing to put into the hat.Hope she ain't skipping the cogs a heaps" Camli mutters as she watches. While she generally like the performance, she wasn't exacty keen with the fireworks. And with her MO, things could heat up and not in a good way. She glances back over to Safiya.

"Now I ain't able to say I can see what it is like. I only need some hard money, my trusty 6 shooter, a henskin, and a bit of pemmican for the road. Then again, I reckon ain't a lot of city slickers ain't landlopers and ain't gonna do well living out in the wilds." She says while dusting off her leather hide gloves.

At Eshika's cue, the music started, a thumping drumming beat as she began, the batons twirling and the performance dazzling. Unnoticeable to most was Safiya's hand, gently making motions out of sight that altered the color of the flame mid performance, changing it from pink to red to a deep blue multiple times throughout the show, causing the effect to shimmer and refract. The crowd was completely entranced by the display, and it looked like things were a bit of a hit. And during her part of the performance, Safiya was still able to speak freely, clearly skilled in her own field. "Sounds nice. Living free, like that. I don't really get that anymore, but I'd probably end up liking it. I'll bet some people think you're some kinda hero, huh? Something tells me you're not really into that, though."

The performance went on, and Safiya was doing her damnedest to make sure nothing went wrong. The action was starting to make her sweat, though. "Dammit, Esh, we didn't rehearse that..." The dancer's movements were wild and fast, and it was clear Safiya was making sure the edge of the flame didn't ignite anything, starting to strain from the notion. "It's not like I don't trust her to do well. She's probably one of the best dancers in the country. It's more that she tends to get...overeager? That's probably the right word for it. A real pain in my ass, sometimes, too..."

"I reckon they do, and yer guess is right as rain.  Ain't no hero here, just a shack well to live out on the prairie."  She shrugs casually as she watches the show.  She digs the color changing flames, though from a side glance, she also notices that Safiya's hands are also glowing, the same colors in fact.  The gunslinger put two and two together and saw that her friend is the source of the actual flame.  However...

"Ya hale there, partner?  Ya lookin' as if ya tryin' wrangle a steer by the horn."  Camli looks a tad bit concerned on how much effort Safiya is exerting.

Safiya's effort wasn't wasted, at the very least, as the flames on the edges of Eshika's wands was burning brightly and avoiding anything that could be set ablaze by a missed motion. It was easy to see she was a master of her craft, even if Safiya's work was clearly keeping things in motion. The movements timed to the beat of the thumping drums were a sight to behold, and the crowd let out a few "ooo"s and "aaah"s at her display, the batons being flung into the air mid-spin. For a time, people didn't think they were some death cult that was untrustworthy. The act was taking a toll on Safiya, though. Making the flame move and morph was quite a strain on her, and said nothing as she kept going. She didn't keep flames going for this long, especially on multiple sources at once and burning this brightly. She was just hoping it would be over soon...

And over it was, with the music coming to a climax and ending with a pose. The crowd went wild with a bow, and by now they had really stopped caring about the Grimleal being what it was. Safiya nearly collapsed in her seat, the flames on the ends returning to a normal red as she caught her breath, coughing a few times. "Ah, hell..." Despite her fatigue, it didn't stop her from pouring herself another shot and downing the whole thing in one swig. "Making it harder on me...probably doing it on purpose, too..."