late one windy night.

Who: Eris and Finn
Where: The One More Round
When: Late evening

Finn had been sent home early from work, but he didn't much mind. He didn't enjoy working at the Drake Hotel all that much. He preferred the atmosphere of places such as The Kitten, or some of the rougher bars in town. This desire to be near hard alcohol and scantly clad women was what had probably drawn him to the One More Round that night. He needed a stiff drink after what had been a rather long day.

Also, there was that woman. He loved listening to her voice. There was a quality about her voice that aroused feelings he wasn't all that used to - sadness, pain, suffering - but fascinated him. It hardly mattered that she brought forward memories he'd rather not revisit. There was just something about her that made these feelings acceptable. They called her The Shrouded Angel.

Of the countless nights he watched her on the stage, Finn could never shake the feeling that he knew her somewhere. He knew she didn't work at the Kitten. The girls there didn't sing quite this... soulfully. He wanted badly to approach her most nights, but his confidence always failed, another experience he wasn't all that familiar with. He just couldn't bring himself to shatter the fantasy he'd cooked up in his head. What if she was just another Kitten girl?

But tonight was different. Maybe he drank too much, maybe he was just feeling cockier than usual. Whatever it was, it got him where he needed to go. Finn was lucky that he was so small. He slipped past the few "bouncers" that were hanging around, towards the dressing room. He paused, and then knocked on the door with an air of confidence that badly masked his fear.

Eris had been winding down, not quite ready to head back up to the loft, but not especially fancying getting a drink at the bar, either. She was trying to cut back on her drinking, because she was well aware of the fact that she needed all of her faculties about her. And since she'd had to try and re-write the list of instructions for her medication(something she'd not wanted to do at all, she'd liked having Brett's note), she wasn't actually positive she'd even gotten it correct. So, she wasn't exactly even sure she was completely on the level. It made her drinking even less advised--though she did have a glass of wine on her vanity's table.

Her gaze ticked up from where she was looking down at the costume jewelry that littered the top of the vanity to the mirror, looking at the door behind her. People didn't generally disturb her. There had been once, when Brett had sent flowers to get her the note he needed to, but if that was the case it wouldn't be here this late. "Yes?" she asked, after a hesitation. "Who is it?" she called. Hopefully it wasn't the dumbass boyscout Jackson, being blatant and overt as always.

Finn hadn't thought far enough ahead for an answer. "I... is... Hello, is this The Shrouded Angel?" He winced. It sounded stupid. More than that, it sounded more drunk than he thought he was. He hadn't had that many drinks... had he? Now he wasn't sure. He shifted from foot to foot and frowned.

In that moment, Eris was glad she'd been going with her paranoid urges, and she reached out to pick up her clutch bag, which had Brett's gun in it. Then she stood, and walked over towards the door. She just didn't stand directly behind it, just in case when she answered someone was sending a hail of bullets through it. "That's what it says on the star on the door." she answered. And it did, though she knew that you couldn't read it that well. It wasn't like the owner had sprung for anything shiny. In fact, she was fairly certain it was just scribbled up there in felt pen.

"Well, good." He'd correctly placed her voice, that was a plus. His confidence was slightly boosted by this little victory. "I saw you singing, and..." And what? He thought he knew her, but couldn't place her? Finn didn't want to sound like an obsessive fan. Her music made him feel things he wasn't used to feeling? He also didn't want to sound like a perv. "...You're very talented." That sounded less like a creepy stalker, he hoped. "I play piano." He assured, as though this gave him valid reason for bothering her at her private dressing room. "And I wanted to meet you."

Eris arched a brow as he continued speaking, and she smirked very faintly. This was new. Sure, she had 'fans' as it were. But fans that frequented places like the one more round generally didn't do anything so respectful as knocking, nor did they have anything to say but 'yer real pretty, how 'bout you let me take you back stage for a trip to heaven, Angel?' with a drink-heavy slur. So yes, this was different. Different enough that she moved to the other side of the door, and cracked it, looking out into the hallway, which was better lit than inside her dressing room. Bright lights gave her headaches sometimes, so all she had was a soft glow lamp.

When she saw who was out there, she had to admit, her first thoughts were When did they start letting kids in here?, which was quickly followed by recognition. "You play piano?" she asked, that to cover herself just blurting out the boy's name, since she most certainly recognized him. She'd let him stay at Babylon in the past. He'd had some silly little crush on her, which she'd of course catered to, just enough.

The door opened, and the moment he recognized her, his face went white. He took a small step backwards. This didn't make any sense. He had heard what had happened to the mistress of the Babylon. He'd heard it from the whores, a mob member who claimed to have been there, and a couple street kids that hung around that side of town. The stories were all basically the same, and all equally gory. She had died. "You're... I know you. You're..." He couldn't say it.

Well shit. He wasn't meant to recognize her, even if she should have figured he would. But when he started sputtering, and he had that look like he might bolt, she acted quickly enough. Reaching out, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled, wanting to bodily haul him into the dressing room where she could shut the door, lock it, and then hopefully explain to him why it was she wasn't dead, and why he needed to keep his little mouth shut about it.

Finn's fight or flight instinct was about to go into overdrive, and it was leaning towards what he did best, running. Running as fast as he could until he was back at his apartment with the door locked. Or at least until he'd made it around the next block. Unluckily for him, she grabbed Finn the moment his brain was putting together the message to his feet. Combined with his somewhat inebriated state and the tug on his shirt collar, Finn was sprawled on the floor of Eris's dressing room in no time, not sure if he had collapsed or been pulled in.

She leaned against the door and turned the key in it, to lock them both in as she looked down at him. "Do anything like scream, and it's going to be bad news for both of us." she told him first. "I really rather wish you'd picked some other person to take an interest in, Finn, but I suppose it can't be helped now." Internally, she was going through an adrenaline rush. Because good christ could this go badly. Very badly. Whole worlds of bad. "I'm not going to hurt you." she said, voice gentler. She hoped that was true.

Her words were taking a while to make it through his brain. At this point he wasn't sure what to think. She seemed a little too strong for a ghost, but then, what did he know about ghosts? He had never met one before, and until tonight it would have been much harder to convince him of their existence. "You.. are.. dead." He finally sputtered out. Then more confidently. "You died. I remember it."

For a second, Eris wondered what the merits were of letting him believe she was a spirit. Possibly not good, considering one tended to tell stories about that sort of thing and all it would take was the wrong one finding it's way to the O'Malley's, and they'd know right where to go looking. You remember it? Well that's one up on me. she thought, since her memories of the event were fairly sketchy. "What do you remember about it?" she asked instead.

Finn paused, and blinked. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember much. He hadn't been hanging around the brothel that night, which was odd for him, and everything he'd heard was second hand. He wasn't even sure if he remembered the names of some of the people who'd told him. Had there been a article in the paper? He honestly didn't know, seeing as he didn't read all that much. No, what he remembered, quite vividly, was what had come after. The feelings that had enveloped him, the thought that someone he knew, someone so tangible, could suddenly be gone forever.

"I remember that when I came back to the Babylon, you were gone, and they said you'd been murdered. I haven't been back since."

"Probably a good thing for you." she said, considering what she'd been told about what was going on there, currently. Which again made her hope that Jackson got off of his ass and moved on it soon. She still wanted her girls out, away from the O'Malleys. "Here's the part where I tell you that you're going to have to do me a favor, sweetheart." she told him, tone light. And she could feel it. That slip into her old persona, even if she didn't like being inside that skin anymore. So she resisted, and tried to play this more on her current level, even if it might not be adviseable. She reached her hand out towards him. "C'mon, let's get you up off of the floor."

He let her help him up. He normally would have made a show of jumping up by himself, unaided, but today didn't really fit to the norm. But, he still felt wary. He drew his hand away. "Wait. You need to explain why the whole city seems to think you're dead and gone, before I agree to any favors." Finn really wished he were a more impressive looking person now, the kind you couldn't refuse to give answers to. Still, he stood his ground.

She exhaled, and leaned back against the door, setting the clutch down on a small table within reach, not thinking she'd need the gun. She crossed her arms across her stomach, and leveled her brown eyes on him. "Fine. They tried to kill me, they nearly succeeded, and I didn't feel like giving them a free second shot. And the second you go blabbing around town that you've seen Eris Stockard, then I'm going to be just as dead as you thought I was." she said, laying it all out flatly. "I would greatly appreciate, especially since I had a fondness for you before, and I helped you when you needed it, that you would do me the favor of not running about, telling stories about this."

I had a fondness. This phrase soothed Finn slightly. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that he'd had a small crush on her back in the day. He'd adored her. He had looked up to her. Something about her reminded him of that mother figure that never seemed to exist in the Walker house, mixed with what he missed most about Jamie. It wasn't that she was matronly, no one could every say that about Eris. The fact that she was so clearly in charge when she walked into the room also didn't quite describe it. She was warm and she was nice and she had acted like he was some semblance of a person, rather than a bratty kid who wandered off too much.

"I won't tell anyone, why would I?" He said sincerely, though to anyone who knew Finn this was a bit of a joke. Finn told stories, though never his own. He was always telling someone else's story to the street kids, or the mobster on the corner. He couldn't help it.

Eris smiled very faintly and gave him a look. Her expression clearly stated that she knew that he was the kind who loved to share his adventures in grand stories to anyone who might listen. He'd regaled her with enough in his time. "Do I really need to answer that, dear?" she asked lightly. "I need you not to say anything. It would undoubtedly end me. Sooner, rather than later."

"Alright." He said seriously. "What can I do to convince you that your secret is safe with me?" He meant it. Finn was a lot of things, but he wasn't a killer or a snitch. Plus, the first time Eris had died was hard enough. He really didn't need to relive it. "Also, why are you hiding here? This doesn't seem like entirely the safest place to be invisible." Though, he had to admit, he'd been fooled.

"Nothing, really, either you keep the secret or you don't. If you don't, I'll likely figure it out just before the lights go out again." she said, moving to sit back on her chair behind the vanity. "Go ahead and have a seat." she said, nodding to the in rather poor repair but comfortable chair next to it. She took a sip of her wine, eyes on him. "I'm hiding here because this was the only place I could find that would give me a place to stay, as well as employ me no questions asked." she said. "That, and none of the mobsters come here. They avoid this place as much as the cops do. So, sure, it's not necessarily up to my standards...but it's away from the eyes I don't want seeing me."

Finn flopped down the the chair. His head hurt a little, probably from everything he had to take in. He wasn't sure what shook him up more - the idea of Eris as a ghost, or the idea that she had been pushed down into hiding, where she most likely didn't have a lot of people on her side. This felt very strange to Finn. "Fair enough." He said, finally letting his mind make sense of the situation. "But what are you going to do. You can't stay in this place forever. You need somewhere really safe."

And there it was, out of the mouth of such a young thing, the very idea that she'd known ever since she'd really taken a look at her entire situation. she couldn't do this forever. Though in Eris' mind, she couldn't manage anything forever, even if she was going to be attempting some insane idea later. Of course, she had to make it to 'later'. Still, she sipped at her glass and gave him a rueful little half smile. "Sweetheart, nowhere in this city is really safe." she said. She knew that better than just about anyone. Hell. She hadn't been safe in her own goddamn fortress.

Finn was one of those odd people who didn't seem to understand the full concept of danger, not really. He spent most of his time going and going without giving a moments hesitation to really think. To be honest, tonight was the first night in a long time that he'd felt fear, and it had been a reaction to the shock of the situation more than anything else. Safety wasn't something he necessarily concerned himself with. He knew not to leave a candle lit when he left the house, or that you shouldn't swim in a river in the middle of winter. He had a vague awareness that danger lurked in certain places. Everywhere he spent his time felt safe to him, in a sense. The One More Round was slightly different. He felt safe because no one seemed to notice him. He wouldn't suggest it for other people. "What do you mean? I know plenty of safe places. I live in a safe place."

Eris didn't say anything for a few moments, just keeping her eyes on him. "Finn, there is an entire group of people, people with no morals and lots of firepower that would hunt me down, torture and kill me if they found out that I was around. People are looking for the quickest buck they can find, and are willing to fuck anyone over to get it." she started. "Just up until a day or so ago, there was a killer roaming the streets. There are still killers roaming the streets, they're just better at not getting caught. And you live in a safe place but it wasn't that long ago that you were under my roof because you needed someplace safe--and turns out it wasn't so safe, now didn't it? I grew up in this place. I know exactly how dangerous it can be, and if you want to keep your own ass from getting hurt you might want to consider that a little more." it was naivety that she didn't think he could afford for very long. So far, he'd been lucky. Most of that likely had to do with his family. But either way? A happy shiny place Eidolon City was not. And at this point, she really felt the need to tell him, since he was so blatantly in the dark.

It took Finn a moment before he could think of anything to say. He was tired, slightly confused, and now a little annoyed. If there was anything that tended to push his buttons, it was when people told him what to do. A part of him realized that what she said was for his best interest, but the flood of emotions had left him in a bad mood. "Well, then stay here. I don't know. I was just saying, as far as safe places go, this bar tends to fall pretty far down on my list. Sure, the people in that audience don't normally include the mob. But, you stand on a stage at night. For someone who preeches the dangers of this city, and is supposed to be hiding, it seems to me that singing in front of a crowd of people might not be the safest career choice. I noticed you. I recognized you enough to try and find out how I knew you. Do you think I'll be the last?"

"No one actually sees me on stage." Eris pointed out. "And you have a better ear than a lot of people. No one even knew I could sing, so it's not going to be the first leap they come to. And you quite clearly didn't expect it to be me, you just knew that you recognized something. That's hardly proof that everyone who's ever met me is going to immediately click that into mind. Beyond that...where else would I go exactly? This place is the only place that I can actually get a job, a place to live, and is away from both the cops and the mob. Now, are you just getting snitty with me because you don't like what I have to say?" she asked, leaning back on her chair and eyeing him. She was used to his mood swings. The kid liked to think he knew absolutely everything and he flat out didn't. It was like he'd never got over that mentality when he's stopped being a teenager. Her tone wasn't goading him, she wasn't picking a fight, but he did seem to want to tell her like it was when he didn't know the half of it. And in her opinion...if he didn't learn a thing or two he was going to be just another floater in the river one day.

"What else am I supposed to say? I don't want you to die. I want you to stay alive as long as possible. I want to do something. When you died before... when they said you had died... it was so painful." Then Finn was silent, averting his gaze from Eris's face. He couldn't tell her that he hid for a week afterwards inside someones shed. That he was so afraid, and so shaken up when he found out that his safe place and the strong person who ran it had both been ruined, that he almost went back to the Walker house. Instead he picked himself up, and moved on, and worked very hard to forget that feeling.

You're backing the wrong pony if you want me to live a long, prosperous life and die of old age, kiddo. she thought. But that was mostly her suicidal streak talking. She still didn't know what to do there. She still thought her plan was the best, that she'd go down getting him out, she'd have paid her debt to Brett, he would be free to do whatever he wanted with his time, and that would be that. But no, he didn't want that, and now they were on this insane track of...continuing. And she still wasn't entirely on board with it, even if she knew she'd go through with it. Probably. The idea of surviving was still so much more daunting than putting her own lights out even if it was just by putting herself in harm's way. "I'm sorry it was hard for you." she said, voice softer than it had been. She looked at him for a long moment, really having to study him. "It was, wasn't it. You're not...you're not making that up." she assessed. Which was kind of a switch for her. She'd been fairly sure no one would do anything like be devastated or even close. No one but her girls, really, because they'd lost a provider, and they were loyal. This was...different.

Finn still couldn't quite bring himself to look at her. "Don't think I hadn't seen death before. I do live in this city. But those deaths weren't connected to me. Your death seemed, felt, so real, and so permanent." That was ironic. The most permanent thing Finn had ever experienced turned out to be untrue. There was a bittersweet consolation in that. "It ... terrified me." Finn almost winced. Terror was not a feeling he experienced very often. The thought of it made him feel queasy.

Well, that was something. If it had actually scared the boy, maybe he'd make it after all. Eventually. When he started applying that to other areas of his life and it wasn't just 'something that happens to other people'. She kept her eyes on him even if he wasn't looking at her. It was permenant. The woman you knew really doesn't exist anymore. she thought, but didn't share. It was something she couldn't tell him, considering what she planned to do with her time. The whole 'brain damage' thing needed to be kept under strict wraps. "It's not really over. The woman you knew...she's gone." She could say that and he could take it metaphorically. She glanced around the shabby dressing room and then back to him. "Now I'm just a shadow. An echo."

He finally looked up at her, and furrowed his brow. He spent a very long moment studying her face, as if he were reading a particularly challenging piece of music. This expression was his most adult, though he didn't realize it. He almost looked like a grown man, for just a moment. Then he nodded. "You're right. If she is there, she's hiding." Then he squinted at her. "I'm still not entirely convinced that you aren't a ghost." There was the faintest flicker of a smile on the edge of his lips, but he didn't let it out.

Eris smirked faintly at that, then leaned forward, reaching out to touch his face lightly. Just a tiny bit, just a brush of fingertips across his cheekbone. "I'm not a ghost." she told him, before leaning back. She then recognized that that had been an automatic sort of reaction, not one that she likely would have gone for if she'd thought it through first. An echo of who she'd used to be, she supposed, and wow was that ever disturbing. She wasn't even sure what to think about it. But it was done now, and she was hoping that he was now convinced.

Finn shivered slightly. It was eerie having someone you'd been so convinced was dead touch your face. But there was something about what she had done that he couldn't help smiling about. He shook his head. "A ghost you definitely are not. I haven't ruled out poltergeist, but for now I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Now he was grinning.

She kept the amused little half smirk on her features. "Good to know I've been moved up from ghost." she said. "I suppose I'll just have to keep trying to convince you otherwise." she said. "Assuming I see you again, that is." Since she didn't know, really. He clearly wasn't a fan of this place, and she didn't even know how long she'd still be there. Before she went off the rails and went with Brett's plan. Of course, she could be outright killed then, and she knew it.

The smile immediately faded and his eyes became very intense. "You're not going to disappear again..." It was an odd mix between a question and a command. He knew that if she slunk away into the shadows he'd be wondering for a very long time if she had died, or was still just deeply hidden. He knew it was stupid, but when he'd been talking about her safety before, he had assumed he would be a part of it. He was in on her secret, and she'd take him in deeper. Now it was starting to become clear that this was not the case.

"I don't know. Currently, things don't look like they'll go that way. But I can't promise anything. If I am found, there's not going to be anything I can do about it. If I'm not, then as you stated before--I can't keep doing this forever either, and I'm very aware of it." she said, being honest. "Noplace is really safe, and I have very little in the way of options. If I disappear...don't come looking for me." she told him, even if she thought he might anyways. "There probably won't be anything left to find." Since she certainly assumed if she dropped off the grid that she'd be dead.

He nodded, accepting this answer. "There must be something I can do to help. I want to help." He said. He feared that she would turn this idea down, though he felt he couldn't leave the room without asking. He wasn't entirely sure how he could help. Clearly hiding her at his flat would be a bad plan, and he knew it was something she wouldn't even consider. But, he felt that there had to be something.

"It's very sweet of you." she told him, again sort of struck with the weird knowledge that he was being honest with her. That this meant something to him, and she really hadn't considered that. she hadn't considered anyone would feel that way period. She had trouble with thinking Brett wanted to help her. Or whatever it was he was doing. There was the C word that she still had trouble associating there. "I don't want you getting wrapped up in this though. People are really playing for keeps, and they really won't hesitate to go right through you, if they have to."

"Not even something small? I could listen for you." He couldn't imagine who she even had on her side. Surely not the Babylon girls, he would have heard something. "I can wriggle into places most people can't. People discount me. They think I'm just a boy." He paused, and bit his lip. "I'm not saying I'm going to walk into the mob's den, but I don't really need to. Those men walk down the street just like the rest of us. Maybe I just happen to be walking past. Also, people aren't necessarily quiet at the Kitten."

Eris paused, considering. "...If you hear anything, whispers, my name, anything like that, I would appreciate if you let me know." she said, both to give him something he could do that would let him feel more like he was helping and because it would actually be useful. "I'd very much appreciate that. All I can do, really, is sit back and hope I'll hear it before the storm hits, but there's not actually much luck with that. So...yes. That would actually be a great help, honestly." And she figured he'd do it, too. Hold up his end of the bargain.

"I can do that." Finn felt a little better. There was security in the thought that he had something he could contribute. Also, this made him feel as though he was still a part of her life, and she was less likely to disappear. He knew that this was not necessarily true, but he couldn't help feeling that way. With this wave of reassurance came exhaustion. A lot had happened in a short period of time. "What time is it?"

Eris shrugged. "Late." she assessed, since it was after she'd already performed. Then she smirked at him and winked. "Past your bedtime." she told him, in a bit of an affectionate, teasing way. "I'm sure you've got better things to do than to be here keeping the dead company." she added. Even if she was actually oddly glad she'd seen him. It was strange, but she'd take it.

Finn laughed. "I'm not really a kid anymore, you know." He did feel tired though. In fact, he was completely exhausted. He couldn't hide a yawn. "I really don't have anything better to do. You got me." He winked. "I better get out of here, though. The streets sure don't get safer at night." He stood up, and stretched. "I will be back, though."

She smiled a touch as he stood. "Be careful out there." she told him. "And thank you for keeping this quiet." Because if he didn't, bad things would ensue. Probably for everyone. "And you know where to find me now, so I'm sure I'll see you around soon."

"That you will. You can count on me." He winked once more, and strode out the door, closing it quietly behind him. He sneaked out the back way into the chilly evening air, and slipped into the shadows. He could be inconspicuous if he needed to, and tonight it felt especially necessary.