A melodramatically named place where people come much more for the poetry than the food. Which is edible, anyway. It's a reputable spot for amateur poets to share and the occasional established professional to come back to his old stomping grounds. It's fairly well ventilated, but some smoke--bits funny-smelling--does lace through the air.

Most of the tables are small, others are larger, some truly communal. There's a bar and extremely eclectic decor, along with a small stage. Microphones and speakers help everyone here what the daring are saying.

---

Momo comes out in a dark area, of course, well away from those who might see her appear. Good old Felina - a poetry house crowd would likely not notice for the drugs, but sure.

There are two or three opens small tables, and some space in the more communal areas, available beside some wild hair colours that look like they're having a wonderful time and some more university sorts.

The fellow reading right now looks young and about as nervous as can be. "...and that, dear friends, is why some things are better smelled than tasted!"

A couple of chuckles and a few more pity-laughs roam around the room along with some polite applause. The poet is lucky he doesn't faint coming off the stage.

Felina walks in a few moments later. "Humans. Pff." Grins at Momo.

Momo sticks out her tongue, in a time-tested comeback to pretty much anything. "Let's sit down." It occurs to her that she's being babysat, more or less, by someone who is far too important for this, but it doesn't guilt her. Much.

"Fair enough. Where to?"

"Down by the stage, if that's okay," Momo answers, trotting that way and ignoring the few who happen to blink at her gun. She finds an empty table just as a hammily dressed fellow is taking the stage, grinning at everyone in the room.

Felina has to smile a bit. Poetry, or comedy night? Either way, can be fun. "The food here is all right, but nothing worth coming for, from what I hear. These guys," she glances briefly up to the stage as she takes a seat across from Momo, "are what it's all about."

Momo glances at the fellow on stage. "He looks like a bitch," she observes, smiling when someone looks that way. "A good kind though. The kind that usually has the word 'my' in front of it."

"Ahem," the guy on stage calls through the microphone, "good to see you, good to see you, thank god the lights are low so I can't see you."

Momo groans.

"I have a little poem for you," he goes on, "wanna hear it?"

Felina is listening, curious as to what stuff actually goes on here...but isn't exactly versed in any kind of theatrics, even from the spectator's side, so doesn't respond.

"Shut the hell up!"

Someone sure is. The poet just smiles. 

"Thank you! I'll be sure to remember that witty assault someday while your mother is resting up for another round and asks what I'm thinking."

Mild laughter. Momo starts to reach for her gun, but consciously stops herself.

"Onward! Here's a poem for you undeserving bags of fleas."

I have a thing I want to sing
a pun so bad I got a ring
stuck in my tongue to keep the sound
from kicking my ass
from inside and out.

There was a girl, a painter girl
whose floor was made of paint, and squirrels
would play and dance and sing and things,
but now and again
they'd cause her a scene!

One day as she was painting things,
a rodent plot, it hatched with wings!


They pushed her canvas to the floor!
And now I have to tell you why
with broken meter metaphor.

The only good rhyming word
here would be diesel,
so laugh if you hafta,
but plop went the easel.

Felina has to snicker just a little. "This is going to be an amusing expedition, I think."

Momo grins a bit, but really, every other eye in the house is rolling. The guy bows, turns, and bows deeply towards the back curtain and - wouldn't you know it - his outfit has no back.

Felina laughs softly. "And here I figured they'd all take themselves too seriously." Grins at Momo. Hands her a pair of glasses. "Will translate the script to read the menu," she explains.

Momo looks at the glasses. Lip twitches a bit. Felina probably didn't bring a monocle. Takes them anyway, not wanting to be a bother with it, as the man leaves the stage. Another fellow follows him immediately, and the snickering of the crowd fades to something like reverence.

"Ooh," she grins, looking up at him with her one attentive eye, "isn't he just a stud. Look at those pants!" Fitted leather? "That's courage!"

Felina has to smile. Aww, she's so cute, taking an interest in boy's asses nowadays. An actual interest, not just small talk with Yue. "Yes indeed. And he seems to have the crowd's attention pretty soundly, too. I'm going to assume it's for more than the back half, although that's popular too."

Momo nods a bit. He's interesting looking. He looks to have a sharp, neat goatee-mustache going on to match his close-cropped, oil black hair, but on further analysis she realizes that it's not quite right. "Hey," she points subtly, "is it me, or is his facial hair actually drawn in? Tattooed, maybe?"

Hm? Felina looks. Blinks. "Well. That's different. I'd vote for tattooed, yes, since everyone here should be human...Mara would eat this up." Pause. "If it were purpler."

Momo just grins, looking back up to him. He is attractive, in a dusky sort of way, and... well. Tight.

"Thank you all for sparing me the leftover boos from Mildon's performance," he begins, and Momo finds herself staring a little. His voice has a mystifying quality to it, rhythm emphasized in a chant-ish sort of way, and it's easy to get lost in it's soft footfalls. "I wrote something just now... I hope you all approve."

One golden morning rose tonight.
It's sunbeams tumbled
tawny blonde in wisps of straw,
descended past a neck
as ivory white as little plaster statuettes
of kittens, pups, and children
rolling in flour.

Today the morning and the night
connected in a way that made
them wonder how they'd ever
spent a single Dawn apart.
Sparkling wet in love's caress
they spent the afternoon.
Midnight carries doom.

So morning.
Spend the evening shining wet
the way you never knew
you could.
Midnight carries doom.

The hairs on the back of Felina's neck are prickling a bit, as arresting as this young man's voice is. The words, just...well...especially how close to home the words had struck, she's trying very hard to shake them off as "just a poem."

Momo is all but swept away by it, along with most of the room. She can barely even make out the words, really.

"I swear," she speaks slowly, as though her tongue is heavy with alcohol, "I think I'm in love."

The poet bows his head a bit. Glances at Felina, and winks one bright violet eye, and then plays to the rest of the crowd.

This, of course, is absolutely the last thing she wants to see. Suddenly...she just wants to be with Kaies. More than anything she's wanted in her life. Shakes her head a little. Logical...the violet eye, though, that colour is all but impossible to find in fully natural humans. It had looked a lot like the guy in Ceracka's...the one she tries not to think about, who she'd ignored and manipulated long enough to get killed. But that doesn't mean he's a seer, by a long shot. Forces a smile and calm demeanor after a moment, and does have to smile a bit at Momo. "Fetching, certainly...he has lovely eyes as well, did you notice?"

"Yeah," Momo nods, "so blue..."

Felina blinks slowly. Okay...yeah. "Yeah." Smiles. Is not going to let him out of sight, for sure, until she decides what to do. "so...want a drink, Momo?"

"Huh...?" Momo looks at her. "Oh, water, please. Please god, water." Smiles some. She's actually quite red, for reasons she's not sure she understands.

Finally, the violet-eyed man leaves the stage. A woman takes his place, a great lyrical talent for sure. Momo doesn't even notice her. She's wondering where the guy in the white shirt and leather pants went.

Felina's perfectly aware, of course, and intends to remain such until she's decided whether she wants to question him. For now, she does have to smile a bit, genuinely, at Momo's fascination with guy--he is a fetching one, to be sure, though not as good as hers as far as she's concerned. A certain one-eyed teenager is growing up, and fast. Now she just heads over towards the bar, features clouding with worry once she's not facing Momo anymore.

"... and four mushrooms bought me a ticket home. Hey," the bartender, another boy of emo-ish attire and yet, somehow, clean-cute appearance, calls, "gold mods? Cool. What can I get you?"

"Two waters would be wonderful, thank you," Felina smiles back.

"Sure thing. Let's see... water... water..." He scrounges around, looking for a tap that hardly ever gets used here. "Ah." Blows some dust off it with a can of compressed air. "Here we go." He turns it on and lets it run for a second, ignoring it's contents pouring into the bar's drain. "The air will have to run out of the line. No one ever orders water, here. Can I ask you something?"

"Knock yourself out."

"How much did you pay for those?" He's looking at her eyes as he speaks, admiring the gold there.

"An innovative friend likes trying everything. Stumbled on the process for making mods and started playing with it. So now I have gold eyes." Felina smiles. "He's bored of it now, though. Moved on to violins."

"Must be some friend," the bartender notes. "I could never afford mods, not in a hundred years. Oh... finally." He fills two tumblers with water, nice and cold, and hands them to her. "With the house blessing?" He holds up a packet of fine white powder.

"No thank you. My life's trippy enough without it." Felina takes the tumblers, smiles in thanks, and heads back over towards Momo...LeatherPants' poem still running through her mind.

Momo is fidgeting when Felina gets back to the table. "He's gonna come back out! That's what the women at the next table were saying. At the end of the show. Hi!"

Felina has to grin at Momo. "Hi. Here you go." Sets the water on the table, and sits down. "Anticipating another dose of leather pants and artsy voice, then, dear?"

Momo blushes quite red. "Hey! You liked him too, I saw you puzzling about him." Takes the water, grinning.

Felina just smiles and sips her water. "The poem was interesting. I have a very pretty fellow back at the inn, if you recall."

"What were you puzzling, then?" Momo leans on her fist, smiling at the haiku-reciting fellow onstage. Sips her water.

"Just small anomolies. Appropriately paranoid, you know." Felina looks back up to the stage, not really wanting to ruin Momo's good time with doom and gloom stuff. "That didn't rhyme."

"It's not supposed to," Momo points out. "Rhyme is good, but no necessary thing." She's clearly having the time of her life, here. "Are you enjoying yourself?"

The haiku reader switches out for the next poet. Apparently, they move fairly quickly here.

"Certainly. This place is amusing...and I've already been complimented on the 'mods' in my eyes." Felina smirks. "How about you?"

"It's just great! I'm having so much fun, and there he is...!" Sure enough, the sweet-spoken man from before has taken the stage again, performing the appropriate bows. He's still wearing the leather pants, though now his ruffly white shirt is unbuttoned almost all the way down and his eyes are plainly burning blue.

"Friends, patrons, my children, my lovers," he smiles a bit more, eyes settling on Momo. "Would you have some more?"

Felina, for her part, is quiet and attentive...and does note the eyes. Her eyes, along with many in the house, follow his to Momo.

Momo is staring at him, breathing faster and faster.

"Young woman," he breathes, no more than a whisper, "will you join me on stage? I think I would like to show you all a trick of magic."

She's already nodding, but does manage to look at Felina for permission.

Felina had frowned just a little...just because she's unsure of what's up with this guy. Manages a smile at Momo when she catches the girl's eye, though, and nods.

LeatherPants reaches a hand down to Momo, and the beaming girl child takes it most happily. He lifts her onto the stage to a round of mild applause. 

"Tell them your name, child," he coos at her.

"Um... Momo. Um, Momo Deyono." Smiles. Felina has probably never seen her so nervous.

"I am going to make you disappear, Momo. Would you all like to see that?"

Cheering, of course.

Felina's expression is...really quite serious, now. All of her senses are just keyed to detect anything amiss, and to follow the destination of any teleportation.

"Face me, child." 

Momo turns to him, looking up. He is not quite Kaies tall, but still, he is certainly up there. His eyes catch his, and all she sees is blue.

The bulk of the crowd sees green. But when he glances at Felina, they are just as violet as ever. When he lifts his fingertips to Momo's cheeks the light displays a sort of tracing under his skin, as though filaments of ice or metal run above his bones.  The girl's breath comes out as quivering mist, but still, there is no sorcery or psychic interference in the area.

Felina tries to fiddle with her claws. Of course they're not there. Damn. Just watch raptly, then.

He waits. Brings the audience's suspense level up, fingertips idly petting Momo's cheeks. Her eyes are slightly out of focus, breathing shaky, legs numb. She has to pee, but can't remember if it's important or not. Finally, he leans foward, hand spreading out to cup her cheek. 

"May I take your soul, my dear...?"

She nods.

He leans down, as though to kiss her forehead. As he does, though, Momo's form shimmers and breaks up, fading away as if it were nothing but mist.

Still, no sorcery.

Now Felina is really up in arms. It's all she can do to keep from jumping onto the stage and grabbing him by the collar. What's this about soul taking, now? She tries aagin to get a fix on this guy's energy...mostly, searching for any hing of anything infernal, and waited with bated breath to see where Momo has gone.

He turns, takes a bow. Smiles his perfect smile. His energy is quite human, although there is an unusually high electrical signature within him.

"Shall I bring her back?" he asks the crowd. "No, you say? Why, what a splendid idea. I believe I may just keep her."

"Relax," someone near Felina's table assures her, "it's rigged. Right, Visk? That guy is hacked all to hell"

"Right," LeatherPants assures them, "some people say I have so much computer in my body that I can read discs with my tongue and must be plugged in to function." Laughter.

Felina? Are you still here? Where are you...?

Felina smiles a little at the good samaritans beside her. She doesn't mind that she comes across as naive and paranoid...well, not to any great extent, anyway. Momo? I'm still sitting where I was before. Where are you?

I don't know...! I can still hear the crowd, though, it's kind of muffled. I might be in the next room, but if I am, I don't know how I got there. Only, his voice is really loud in here!

Well, the whole prestidigitation thing is best when it confuses you, too, I suppose. I'm still here, though, don't worry. She tries to get a feel for where exactly Momo is.

Momo's signature is definitely there. It's just mingling with Visk's, as if they're in the same place.

Presi who what what?

Fake magic and a word I threw in just to confuse you with. She's looking intently at the performer, though, puzzling over the oddball feel of this and trying to align it to the notion of a digitally-based trick.

Oh.

"Now," Visk shouts out to the crowd, "regardless of what you want, the young lady must return. I don't want angry parents on my case today. Therefore...!" He turns to one side, and sets his hands in the position they'd been before Momo vanished. The same blurred, misty effect pops into sight just before Momo herself does, and this time he does kiss her forehead to a suprised - but not unhappy - eep. "Take a bow, dear." 

Applause, and a very shaky Momo taking a shallow bow, follow. Visk winks at Felina again. Or maybe the person next to her.

Felina lets her breath out. Yes, she is entirely too paranoid. This she considers as she mentally pats Momo down for a soul. Eh. She smiles a little, though, and applauds politely along with the rest.

Other than being out of breath and flushed, Momo is just fine. She accepts a hand to help her hop down to the floor - as though she needs it - and sits back down with a long, contented sigh.

"That," she blinks, "was fucking amazing."

Felina has to grin at her a bit, quite relieved that all's well. "Are you talking about the trick or the fact that he kissed you?"

"Both. Felina, it was funny." She's still watching the stage, but the only thing there now is a man telling everyone to have a safe trip home. "When he touched me, I felt so good all over, it was like... I don't know what. I could barely breathe."

Felina has to smile. "Well...he's an attractive young man, with a lovely voice to boot." She sips her water. "So, I'd say that's perfectly reasonable."

"No," Momo leans on the table, looking at Felina. "Not like that. Well, a little like that. But it was more like... oh hell, I don't know. It wasn't natural. Plus his fingertips were vibrating, really soft like."

"Hmm..." Felina considers this. "I did get the impression from the other guests that he's a cyborg in some manner. Electric, possibly?"

"Maybe. But whatever it was felt so good I almost peed myself. Um... and I will, if I don't find a bathroom in eight seconds." She smiles a little, and cranes her neck around to search for one.

"Out the door straight behind me, to your left, first door on the right." Smiles. "Extrasensory perception is very practical."

"You suck, you know that?" Momo smiles at her. "I love you, though." Blinks. Shit. Did she say that out loud? She doesn't wait for a response, though, and bolts for the bathroom.

Felina smiles. Aww.... Sips her water.

People are beginning to file out, now. The emo bartender hands a tip to one of his waitresses - who really only serve the folks backstage - and then heads over to Felina's table.

"Hey. We're closing up - do you want anything before I sign off?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Just waiting for my sister." Felina smiles at him. "I'll be out of your hair as soon as she gets back. By the way..." She holds up a small box over her shoulder. She'd found someone with "mods" and boredly duplicated the structure while waiting for Momo. "Here. Don't need them."

He blinks. "Oh, I can't accept gifts from customers, more's the pity..."

Momo snatches the box out of Felina's hand as she returns. "Here," she nods, "take it, or I'll punch you."

Felina smiles, eyes closed amusedly. "She will."

"I really can't tmoof!!"

Momo pulls her little fist back from his belly. "Toldja!" The emo guy takes the box, smiling despite himself.

"Um... yeah." He breathes in and out. "You two should get going. Visk might come looking for you, and he usually ends up talking all night if he gets half a chance."

Felina laughs softly. Glances to Momo. "Well...would you like that?"

"I don't know. He makes me feel weird. Fluttery. And my belly feels... um... nervous? I don't know. Fuckin' unusual."

Felina tilts her head. "Is it a good weird, or a bad weird?"

"A good weird, I think. Hell if I know, I've never felt it before."

Felina examines her nails. Trippy things they are. "I think you should take a minute to finish your water, then."

Emo guy shrugs. "Here." Lays a packet of white stuff on the table. "For later, you'll need it." And he walks off, waving.

"Felina, I'm a little scared. Can we leave, really...?" Momo looks over, sees Visk talking to a waiter.

"Do you really want to? If so, we can." Felina nods.

"I think I do." Momo looks aside. "When he touched me, things happened. Things that shouldn't happen from a little touch. Something artificial caused it, I know it." Looks at her, solemnly.

Felina nods, taking Momo seriously as always. "All right, then." She turns to head for the door. "Yue will be wondering, anyway."

Momo smiles at her, letting out a relived breath. "Thanks." And she heads off to leave with Felina.

And thus, it's back to the seven suns inn.