Autumn looked over at Gwyar as she sat upright on the mat. She was about to tell him she couldn’t believe that a SOLDIER would throw in the towel so early when the instructor twisted her body into an even more impossible position. How that woman got her leg behind her back like that was a mystery this Turk didn’t care to solve.
She winced at the thought of even trying to replicate this next pose and rubbing the small of her back she conceded, “Maybe we just take our bruised egos and get out of here before we embarrass ourselves even worse.”
Raffey trotted over to her mat waiting expectantly for his next treat. Autumn reached out and scratched behind the ear. “Sorry buddy! Maybe you’ll have better luck with the next folks that wander in…” Her attention shifted back to Gwyar as she cockily added, “Although, I doubt they’ll look as good doing it!”
Autumn rolled over onto her knees and clambered to her feet. It was weird being barefoot in public. She felt like a kid playing in the yard. “Where to next?”
This particular SOLDIER had gotten this far in life by learning when to cut his loses and retreat from a hopeless fight- and this was as hopeless a fight as he had ever seen one. He had been able to hear his spinal discs creaking with his efforts to bend them against their will, and now felt a whole 2 decades older as a result.
He had his fill, thanks. Specially after seeing the next pose.
Boy, he felt like a broken man just looking. And thankfully, it seemed Autumn did as well.
"Sounds good to me!" Declared the man, happily collapsing into a heap of limbs on the mat and sighing in relief as his abused body attempted to recover from the far too sudden shift; apparently, going from daily paperwork to hardcore, intense goat yoga action was actually not that good of an idea. His head turned towards their little Raffey as he trotted up to Autumn, chuckling.
"Speak for your self. I'll look even better next time." He assured her as he pushed himself onto his elbows, before swinging his head sharply, his hair whipping about sassily.
What? Of course he was coming back. The fact he was getting his ass whooped by yoga was slightly worrying, after all. Desk-bound or not, a SOLDIER shouldn't be this stiff. He wanted to die on a mission, not of a heart attack.
Seeing Autumn Nevada climb to her feet, GAWAIN tried to spring to his own- tried being the keyword.
"Oh god, my spine." He uttered lowly as he immediately fell back, staring wide eyed at the ceiling. "Am... Am I old?" He mumbled overly dramatically, before lazily reaching up a hand towards Autumn, pouting.
"Help." Whether she actually helped or not, he would soon be on his feet, rubbing his back with a groan as he slowly began to make his way to the lockers.
"Well, it's either home or the kareoke from here." He mumbled, humming. "We've certainly discovered enough tragedies about ourselves tonight to go sing a few sad ballads."
Post by Autumn Nevada on May 27, 2020 14:34:21 GMT
“Are you proposing a rematch? … against yoga?” Autumn chuckled. Her friend was a SOLDIER through and through! Admitting defeat just wasn’t in his mako infused blood. “I’m in! We might want to practice a little before we come back though.”
She leapt to her feet spryly, the messy copper bun bouncing as she smirked down at Gwyar. He was really hamming it up down there. “Don’t worry! You’re aging like a fine wine.” She said as she took his hand and pulled him up in an unexpected display of physical strength. “Speaking of which… I could use a drink.”
“Karaoke?” She cocked an eyebrow at GAWAIN as they made their way towards the locker rooms. “Karaoke!”
Autumn was nowhere near ready to go home yet. There wasn’t anything waiting for her there. Gwyar mentioned a sad ballad but she was feeling something a little sassier.
"No. A rematch would give yoga a chance at victory." replied the man from where he laid, looking at the ceiling dramatically. "I'll ambush it instead. It'll be over before it even realized the battle began."
Okay that was enough stupidity out of him. He grinned up at her comment regarding his age, winking.
"Just like my humor?" He asked as she gripped his hand, blinking down at their hands as he felt her firm grip. He oofed as Autumn yanked him to his feet in one pull of the arm, staring at her silently for a moment. He then snorted.
"Show off." He said as he rolled his shoulder exaggeratedly, as if she had nearly popped it out of its socket. "Your careless disregard for an old man's body aside- tomorrow's a work day, you know." He reminded her, tilting a brow. Drinking seemed like a good way to hate yourself in the morning.
Not that logic and reason stood more than a snowball chance's in hell of getting Autumn Nevada home before 1am.
With the rallying war cry that was kareoke, the two headed into the locker rooms and emerged soon after as they had arrived- in dapper, professional killers office-workers suits.
As Gawain exited the locker rooms, he came out with the sword slung over his shoulders, staring icily at the yoga studio around them.
"I'll see you around." He muttered threateningly to the entire place, snorting lowly shortly after before marching out, not wanting to distract the people in there any more than they already had.
Standing out in the streets of Sector 8, the man turned to face his friend, stretching his arms over his head with a groan. Yup- his body still ached all over.
"Well. Hit me with your best, party girl. I gotta get my singing voice on." He said, before clearing his throat.
Several times.
"Mi-mimimi... No, that's not right. Mi-mi-mimi...! No, no, trying again. Mi-"
Post by Autumn Nevada on May 31, 2020 21:40:32 GMT
Autumn grinned at his gentle reminder that they both had to work the next morning. She shrugged. Either one of them could be killed in action tomorrow. They probably wouldn’t though. It was far more likely the two of them would be entombed in paperwork; the light in their eyes drained away by corporate bureaucracy. “All the more reason to live it up tonight!”
The Turk stepped into the locker room and quickly changed back into her work trousers and heels. She decided to keep wearing the lime green racerback. It was made of a flowy cotton and was much less stuffy than the button up she had been wearing. Besides, they hadn't stuck around long enough to break a sweat so it was fine. Her suit jacket and pistol went on over her new shirt and she grabbed her briefcase and handbag. The yoga pants she stuffed hastily into her purse.
She walked out and followed Gwyar out onto the bustling street. He challenged her to show him a good time and she didn’t want to disappoint. “Hurry up then, Pavarotti!” She laughed as she grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging the still warming up SOLDIER towards the entrance to the Karaoke bar next door.
It would have been quite the spectacle to anyone watching but luckily most common folk were too busy pushing past to get where they were going to notice anyone else.
A pink neon sign hung over the same kind of glass wall as the studio next door but the windows had been covered up by signs and posters for weekly events and special shows. Upon pushing inside their ears would be immediately assaulted by the discordant wails of a duo that had probably been too afraid to sing solo for good reason. There was a bar to the right, a stage to the left and a sea of people between that lingered around tall round tables.
“Here we are!” Autumn shouted over the din of cheers and clinking glass.
"That's not how it works." Was his dry reply as they each sauntered into their respective locker rooms. The gauntlets and pieces of plate was easier to put on than take off, so at least he wouldn't keep Autumn waiting long. Once fully clothed, the man stuffed his new clothes into his otherwise empty and for show suitcase before turning towards the lockers.
They were divided into 4 rows and about a dozen columns; he approached the one furthest to the right, nearest to the locker room entrance, and opened all four of them, revealing his sword stabbed through all rows to fit inside.
"Oh goodie, it's still here." He said cheerfully as he grasped the handle, before yanking off the sword right off, ripping chunks of metal off the locker frame. Slinging the sword over his shoulder, the man soon joined Autumn outside of the locker room, dropping a neat stack of cash on the studio owner's desk before following his friend out into the night life.
And naturally, immediately got yanked about the streets by her.
"Oh? Do not mock my range, foolish Mezzo-Soprano." he chastised playfully while all but dragging his feet, making her job of dragging him about as annoying as possible. "It may be limited, but its quality is excellent." He boasted dramatically, before 'oofing' as one last yank brought him smacking against her as they came to an abrupt stop.
At first glance, it looked like a wonderful little bar for one to enjoy themselves with friends.
"Oh, what a lovely little-" The wailing set in. "Nest of Harpies! I take it you taught them all they know yourself?" He asked casually as he slung an arm atop her head, smirking at the duo on stage as he leaned atop her.
Autumn’s shoulders slumped as she felt Gwyar’s weight against her. It was lucky his mouth was so close to her ear. Any further and his voice might have been drowned out by the usual din associated with Midgar’s nightlife and the ungodly screeching of the train wreck happening on stage.
“I know nothing.” The redhead admitted. “My only advice for them would be not to quit their day jobs but… that’s not really in the spirit of the thing, ya know?”
She watched through to the end of the performance with a sort of bemused fascination and when the time came the other patrons gave a half-hearted but polite round of applause and the turk let out an enthused whistle, clapping noticeably harder than anyone else in the bar.
“C’mon!” She exclaimed as she turned around and linked elbows with Gwyar. It was too crowded to skip but she bobbed around through the crowd until they made it to the signup sheet. “Oh good! There’s only one person ahead of us.”
The Turk picked a pop number that was sure to be a crowd favorite and then stood on her tippy-toes eyeing the bar as she waited for Gwyar to make his selection.
“I’ll be right back.” She placed a hand on his back before turning to elbow her way through the crowd. If he looked for her, he would see a mop of copper hair bob in and out of sight as she moved through the crowd like an excited chihuahua.
It was busy but she managed to lean far enough over the counter to attract the bartender’s attention with a harsh reprimand. Either way, her plan worked and she was able to secure two shots of liquid courage.
Post by Sergeant Oswald on Jun 8, 2020 5:33:30 GMT
“Next up... it’s Gabe,” an unenthusiastic bartender said over a microphone before turning back to dishing out drinks.
A wavy blonde man in a leather jacket approached the karaoke machine and the microphone. As he approached some of the crowd started whistling and cheering. Soon after he got up to the microphone he stood silently and gave the audience a grin.
The music kicked on and an upbeat tune began playing.
This isn't exactly what he is singing but it is the OOC filler.
He held a good key and had an energy that got people tapping their feet in the crowd. He climbed up onto a table with his electrifying presence. As he sang into the microphone he flipped his hair to the side and got his scruffy hair out of his piercing amber eyes as he leaned forward into the crowd. When he made eye contact with Autumn there was a brief moment that he looked a bit surprised before he withdrew back towards the stage.
It was unlikely that anyone would recognize him without his uniform on anyways. He'd continue performing but kept his eyes away from the Turk. His hobby wasn't something he wanted the whole company to know about.
"Such a cruel teacher." He bemoaned teasingly as she linked her elbows with him. He hummed along cheerfully as Autumn dragged him about the place, bumping up a storm through the crowd like only she could, leaving him to deal with the apologies in her wake.
He couldn't fault her though-they were there so swiftly there was only one person ahead of them on the line- lucky.
Soon as Autumn took her ticket, Gawain took his own before casually slinging an arm over one of the nearby high tables; none of these were 'private' per say, and it was a good way to meet new people; though Gawain simply smiled at the group present before turning his attention to the stage.
Someone was up there.
He did not recognize Sergeant Oswald out of his uniform, but he nonetheless watched him work up the crowd like a true entertainer.
"Is that a regular?" He asked the people on the table with a smile, getting shrugs and nods in equal measure. "He is very talented." Good thing- he had needed the palette cleanser after the previous act.
He looked around the place for his 'date' as the wonderous performance drew to an end, trying to find that mop of copper from among the crowd.
She was already coming back when he finally found her- and her bounty made his smile thin slightly, brows furrowing. Oh boy.
Liquid Courage.
"We still have work in the morning, Agent Nevada." He said through pursed lips, even as he reached for the drink without a second thought. Not like a single glass would screw them over in the morning; not like he was 'straight-edge' or anything silly like that either.
It was simply that SOLDIERs had a hard time intoxicating themselves through alcohol; and with the taste of most beverages being what it was... GAWAIN did not much care for drinking half the time.
But still- if Autumn Nevada needed extra encouragement to get on stage with so many people- he could only hoped she had picked him something sweet.
"Cheers." He said, holding his glass towards her, his taut lips smoothing back into a smile. "Better give me a worthwhile show, Mezzo-Soprano."
Autumn chuckled as their shot glasses clinked together. It was bad luck having to follow a regular performer. He’d raised the bar considerably from the duo before him and the crowd was still pretty riled up. The Turk heard her name called over the mike and she downed her drink with a little blush. “It’s probably good we did those warm up stretches right before this because I’m about to bust a move.”
There was a big goofy grin on her face and she did a little mock shimmy as she backed away into the crowd. There was no way she could get through this if she couldn’t poke fun at herself. The red-head hopped onto the stage and bounced nervously in front of the microphone. There were a lot more people here than she’d originally realized. The bar was pretty packed for a weeknight and it was basically standing room only.
Autumn looked out over the crowd in search of Gwyar’s mako-green eyes to make sure he was watching. She spotted him just as the opening chords of her song started playing.
It was one of those songs that was just so catchy that no one could resist tapping their feet and humming along. Autumn knew all the words by heart and a wave of nostalgia from her pre-teen years bolstered her confidence. She wasn’t as good as the guy that came before her but what she lacked in talent she made up with attitude.
Autumn shook her hips to the beat, bouncing on her toes during the faster bits and flipping her copper hair for emphasis whenever she got particularly into it. The song didn’t require a lot of range but she did her best to match the nasally timbre of the original singer with some success.
At the end, she was breathing heavily and her cheeks were flushed pink but she got a standing ovation (not that anyone had a choice). She hopped down and made her way through the crowd. Several people tried to chat her up about the performance but she smiled politely, thanking them as she continued on towards Gawain. “You’re up Next!”
GAWAIN gave Autumn Nevada a wink and a little shimmy in response to her her own, before pressing his hand to her back and giving her a gentle shove. "Stop stalling and get in there already, Britney." He said teasingly, watching her go before downing his own pint of liquid courage.
He felt nothing; well, that wasn't entirely accurate. His tongue recoiled at the strong taste of alcohol, and his throat seemed to rumble and protest as the cold drink somehow managed to heat up his entire torso and made his stomach bubble and rumble.
He felt uncomfortable and not much more courageous than he had been before. Autumn had climbed onto the stage with a bright smile though, her gaze looking for his own as the music began. She found it; so he smiled wide in return, winking once again.
He supposed it had been a good trade off.
He had tried to pay attention to the show, but regretted it quite quickly. Seeing her dance had quickly reminded him that, ah, yes, Autumn was indeed a young, beautiful woman in great shape. He found his gaze trying to pull to the ceiling in response to this reminder, though his gaze would inevitably wander back to the show. He would rather she not catch eye of him and think he was too embarrassed to watch or something.
Her singing was decent and her dancing was, ah, quite something, so it wasn't surprising that by the end of it, she got a standing celebration and quite a few fans as she made her way back. The blonde smiled her way as she came back, taking one look around to measure the excitement of the uproarious crowd, running his hand through his blonde hair before crossing his arms, giving her a smiling purse of the lips.
"You just had to go everyone excited with that energetic number, didn't you?" He complained, sighing exaggeratedly. "You were great, by the way. Pity my boring little song is gonna get me tomato'd out of the stage now." He chuckled as he reached for his long jacket cape, swinging it off his shoulders and over hers casually before walking past her.
"Hold onto that for me, please. I would rather not sweat it." He said as he began making his way towards the stage.
Autumn blushed at the praise from her “date”. It reminded her of the big grin on her dad’s face the first time she won a marksmanship badge. It was raining that day but his smile shined like the sun.
“Ah!” Autumn chuckled dismissively at Gwyar’s self-deprecating prediction, “You’ll do great… Besides, I’m getting hungry.”
She winked cheekily at Gwyar but her eyes went wide as he swung his jacket over her shoulders with ease. She inhaled sharply and her eyes twinkled as if she were seeing him for the first time. Maybe her emotions had been elevated by the music. Maybe the warm drink resting in her belly had stripped away her better judgement.
He was older than her and their jobs put them both in constant peril. He wasn’t worth the heartache but… damn, he looked cool.
The warm weight of his jacket enveloped her and she was surrounded by the intoxicating scent of a man of action. A sly grin crept across her face as a thought crossed her mind. He was so close.
The announcer had called his name and the audience was growing impatient. A quiet chant began as a whisper near the stage and spread throughout the room as all in attendance prepared for Gawain’s performance.
In her hesitation, he had turned towards the stage and the moment of opportunity was squandered. Autumn bit her lip as she watched him walk away. Before he was out of sight she rushed forward to give him a slap on the ass and a quick, “Good Luck!”
Gawain didn't know why, but he felt like obe of those fabled male strippers found at bachelorette parties as he climbed onto the stage, his ass still stinging. Starting tomorrow, Autumn Nevada couldn't drink any alcohol, he decided as he stared at the expectant crowd, narrowing his eyes at her specifically and fighting off the urge to blow a raspberry at her on stage.
He wanted to say he didn't feel nervous- but that would have been a lie. He already felt embarrassed just standing there in front of everyone. He always imagined Karaoke as a much smaller affair- he didn't think the people would actually be paying much, if any attention.
Clearly, he had been wrong.
Still, he was nothing if not capable of smiling and faking it like a champ, so he grinned at the crowd as the music suddenly cued in, a harmonica ringing through the air as he reached for the microphone and pulled it close to his chest.
There was about a snowball's chance in hell of him being as good an entertainer as those who came before him; whoever the young man with the marvelous hair had been, he clearly had a knack for entertainment that was being tragically wasted in some dead-end high-risk $$-pay job that drove him to sing his brutalized heart out every night. He couldn't match that passion.
And Autumn was Autumn. He couldn't match that energy, let alone those hips.
So it came down to the only thing he had on his side of the court.
His singing voice.
He didn't move as much through the stage- actually, if one spoke strictly about distance covered, he moved precisely nothing, simply tapping his foot and lightly swaying his body as he tried to forget about all the eyes on him and focused on the melody of a song that had captured his attention all those years ago.
Earlier he and Autumn had been trading playful jabs- he had played along, but she had been 'slightly' off at her assessment of his range. As it turned out, he wasn't really a tenor.
His deep baritone rung through the building, thumping through everyone's chest like a bassline as he sung in a language that most couldn't even understand, but had a pleasant oomph to the ears.
He never really danced -not that the song he had chosen would have allowed for anything but a slow ballroom dance-, nostalgia eventually sweeping him away from the crowded club to 10 years ago, to ruined nations' slowly recovering capital.
In a club very similar to the one in which he sung, where a young man sitting at the counter thinking of everything it had costed to come this far.
Autumn leaned back against the bar and ordered another round of shots that were delivered to her promptly as she waited for the music to start. She caught Gwyar’s eyes and raised the other glass as she drank hers down and the harmonica signaled the show was about to start.
A deep, resonant, and profoundly sad sound emanated from the microphone and it caught the woman a little off guard. There was a vulnerability there that Autumn had never seen from her best friend. She’d often been frustrated by the ever present smile, that that mask he wore, but she’d never before caught a glimpse of the regret that lay beyond.
The Turk threw back the drink she’d intended for him, gulping it down greedily before placing both shot glasses face down on the bar. It was a beautiful song and Autumn soon found herself carried away by the melody. She spread her arms wide and swayed like a ship on the ocean. She twirled around and around just to feel the cape spin around her as she willed herself not to think of her own brief time in WuTai.
Autumn stumbled to a halt as the song ended, falling into a group of strangers and nearly knocking a burly man flat. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she was grinning as she reached out for Gwyar to help her steady herself. Unlike Gawain, the red head was not a super soldier. She held her liquor like any woman of her size would; poorly.
“Hey!” She giggled a bit, “That was pretty good. I wasn’t expecting you of all people...”
Autumn trailed off midway through a thought and she looked around suddenly. “I’m hungry. Are you?”
The blonde man breathed out in relief as the music slowly died out, pulling at his tie to breath more easily.
The fear of looking bad in front of so many people had somehow made him so nervous about making any mistakes he had come around to not feeling anything at all.
All in all, 0/10, terrible experience, never again.
At least one of them was having fun, was all he could think as he came back to Autumn Nevada , finding her just as she stumbled into another group's table. He couldn't help but snort.
"My apologies. She can't help herself." He said with an eyeroll as he reached over and grasped her hand, yanking her to her feet while his other arm wrapped itself around her.
She smelled of alcohol; not an extremely strong smell, but if he had to guess from her graceless fall earlier...
"You are drunk." He pointed out, before snorting. "But I'll accept the compliment all the same." He said before beginning to walk towards the exit of the bar, his hand wrapped around hers. His priority now was to get her home safely and put her to bed- the party was over.
Well, more or less.
"... A bit." He conceded as they exited the bar, turning to look at her. "... I guess it might be in your best interest to have something in your stomach before going to sleep..." Would hopefully save her a headache in the morning.
Though it was perhaps best to check if she was even apt for eating out.
He reached for her face, tipping her chin up to look her in the eye.
"Are you good to be taken out? Or will you embarrass yourself?" He managed to snort out, smirking.