Arcane Anew

After Kieran left, Seraphine turned toward the instruments, ignoring Orion entirely.

'Why am I getting the cold shoulder?'

"Hey, uh... I've been away so..." Orion paused, fumbling for a way to break the ice. "I'm not familiar with your singing. What's your style?"

She didn't even glance his way, merely shrugging as she tinkered on a dismantled hexcoustic on the table. "I don't have a style. I sing to the soul of the crowd."

"Right," Orion said slowly. He vaguely recalled her sound or singing-related powers in the league game. "No specific style...So what do you think of other singers in the Undercity then, like Scratch?"

Finally, a reaction. She twitched slightly, her hands pausing as she glanced back at him.

"She's fun- I mean, she's a good singer. Her melody was what I was searching for when I went down."

"Her melody? The loud rock and roll and screaming?"

"No!" Seraphine scowled at him, getting more involved in the conversation. Her voice rose a little, growing a little sharper. "Her song isn't just loud music! It's a cry and protest for those suffering."

She glanced down at the table, her hands fiddling with a piece of the hexcoustic as she muttered, "Piltover's side is filled with happiness and joy. It was missing the other half—the struggles and pain that people go through to tell a story through song."

"I don't get it."

"I doubt you would," she shot back, removing her earpiece again and giving Orion another strange look. Her expression tightened, as though she was observing something unsettling. "Your melody is gray, like a soulless husk. You don't care about our conversation."

Orion blinked, feeling a little offended. "The hell?"

"Ah, it's a darker gray now... you're irritated," Seraphine said flatly. "Your soul- I've never seen a soul like yours."

"Hold on, so your magic can read souls and emotions?" Orion asked, bewildered. Her strange behavior and cryptic, musical phrasing were finally starting to make sense.

It wasn't cryptic. It was what she was perceiving.

Seraphine stood up abruptly, her sapphire eyes widening. "How-? No! Wait, no, how do you know?!" Her voice was a mixture of surprise and worry. Her hands fell nervously to her sides, her earpiece still off as she glanced at him anxiously.

Oops. No one else would- or should- know.

"It was a guess..." Orion said slowly, but he could already see her shaking her head. "Especially when you say things like 'your soul.'"

'Is she a lie detector too?' Orion wondered and sighed, growing cautious. 'So I have to be careful with my words around her?'

Her body tensed and she muttered, "Amber..." as if to reinforce his thoughts.

Orion grimaced. He couldn't let this go on, otherwise she would mistrust him entirely. 

"I just knew," he said with a sigh, attempting to steer the subject elsewhere. His eyes drifted to her flashy blue and pink outfit colors. "Don't you think the undercity is a little...unsuitable for your color?"

"What's wrong with my colors?" Seraphine raised an eyebrow, indignation replacing some of her worry. "Also I don't know what you're talking about!" Her voice rose again, defensively.

"You don't know-? I guess we both have secrets then," Orion smirked.

She glared at him for a moment before he continued. "Those aren't colors you normally see in the undercity."

Her mouth opened, but she stopped short of speaking. There were a million retorts or questions seemingly bubbling underneath her surface.

Seraphine stared at him in silence, her eyes studying him closely. Finally, she shook her head and huffed. "You talk as if you aren't strange yourself! I hear your melody! It's fractured and damaged like a cacophony. Bright blue explosions, memories of searing pain... The only good thing I see is a faint, gentle green."

She glared at him, her voice sharp. "You think I would trust someone like you?"

"Did I ask you to trust me?" Orion asked, bemused, but his patience was running thin. "I helped your father out. Keep playing your songs, I really don't care."

"Soulless husk," She shot back, huffing again. Her fists were clenched on the table, unable to express herself fully. She was clearly bothered and irritated, trying to find some way to fire back at Orion.

Seraphine's eyes widened for a moment before abruptly pointing at Orion.

"Attend one of my events then!" Her eyes held a challenging glare, a smug smile tugging at her lips. "I'll be singing with Scratch tomorrow morning! If our songs don't change your melody, then I don't know what will!"

'She's quite confident...' Orion thought while holding a deadpan expression. Her eyebrow twitched, obviously not liking it, but Orion sighed and shrugged.

"Will you cover my ticket?" 

She nodded and leaned forward with anticipation.

"Fine." Orion curtly responded.

"You could at least sound a little more enthusiastic," Seraphine pouted, returning the earmuff to her ear.

--------------------

//Last Drop Lounge//

"Can you two cover us?" Vi asked pleadingly.

"Will you cover us in two days?" Mylo countered. His eyes darted around awkwardly when Vi raised an eyebrow at him. "The Chem Sisters are debuting..."

"Aw, Mylo found himself a girl band," Vi teased, and Claggor chuckled beside Mylo. "More like a girl. He's been eyeing up Gert."

"Gert?"

"Shut up!" Mylo snapped, pacing back and forth. "It- it's not like she's- AGH! HEY!"

"Hehehehaha!"

A loud, sharp clink echoed in the room, followed by a net flinging out across the room. It ensnared Mylo, sending him crashing to the ground with a grunt, angrily shouting back.

"Cut it out Powder!"

Holding an oversized, smoking gun, Powder lowered it and giggled mischievously. "I had to test it on someone- some pervert!"

Vi chuckled, shaking her head, "Is that what you've been working since we got back?"

"Mhm," Powder nodded, placing it down on her bed before hopping off. "So when are we going?"

"Tomorrow morning- Scratch and that flowery girl will be playing back-to back-."

"Oooo!" Powder jumped up and down with excitement.

"Hey! A little help?" Mylo growled from the floor. The two sisters giggled before kneeling down to free him.

"Sorry Mylo," Powder said, still giggling.

Mylo glared at her. "This better not become a regular thing!"

More giggles and laughter filled the room. Mylo sighed with agitation, shaking his head and rubbing his sore shoulder from the impact.