There was nothing quite like a hot shower after a well performed ballet. Muscles that had been worked hard eased under the spray and lost some of the tenseness that came along with running on the high of adrenaline. Not to mention, there was no more wallowing in your own sweat once that leotard and costume was peeled from your body. Fully refreshed, cleaned, and relaxed, Rowan joined others of the corps for the nutcracker ballet in the dressing room as everyone milled around getting ready to leave while chatting with friends.
“Hey, Rowan!”
The purple haired boy turned to Greg who was shimmying into his pants. Rowan raised a brow at him. “Practicing your lap dance skills there, Greg?” Rowan teased as he reached his station. His bag and other items were a bit strewn but well within the confines of the space allotted to him.
“Haha, so funny, Rowan.” Greg responded as he buttoned his pants. “Are you going out with us tomorrow night?”
“Nope. I ended up picking up a performance for John. He needed the night off to do something with his girlfriend.” Rowan responded as he sorted through his make-up quickly and placed it back in it’s proper box. “Besides, I have better things I could do on a night off than go clubbing with you and Pat.” Rowan grinned as he slipped off the towel that was covering him to slip into his boxers. Naked men was a pretty common sight in this particular dressing room and no one batted an eye at it.
“Right. Like being with your boyfriend?” Greg teased Rowan as he threw a pair of socks at him.
“Hey!” Rowan grunted in mock disbelief that Greg would dare throw anything at him. “As a matter of fact, yes. What’s the matter, jealous?” He grabbed the small bundle of clean socks that had hit his shoulder and shot them back at the other man who caught them with ease. “Tiffany not giving you the attention you need?”
“Tiffany is just fine, thank you.” Greg responded. “But I can’t blame ya for your priorities there. Gotta get some while you can.” He gave Rowan a thumbs up before throwing his bag over his shoulder, obviously ready to leave. “I’ll catch ya at Thursdays show then.”
“Right. See you later, Greg.” Rowan waved a bye to his friend before grabbing his bag. Unzipping the top he flipped it open to find not just his own items packed inside. Sitting on top was a folded piece of lined paper. Knowing he hadn’t put it there himself, Rowan grabbed it and carefully unfolded it, smoothing out the creases with his fingers. Scrawled in a hasty handwriting was a note.
‘Meet me in the room three door down from the elevator on the 2nd floor.
It was signed ‘Sinope.’
What could he possibly want from me now? Though Rowan’s opinion on the Dark mirror senshi had changed somewhat since he re-met him as Alrakis, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about Sinope just waltzing into the dressing room and leaving him note now to get his attention. I should just not bother. He mused as he tossed the note onto the counter and proceeded to pull out his clothes and dress.
Rowan continued to debate with himself on what he should do about Sinope’s request. It was oddly mysterious and just a bit unnerving. Even though Sinope was unaware that Rowan was Alrakis, there was that little gnawing in the back of his mind that worried him. What were the chances that Sinope would figure it out?
Let’s be real with yourself. It’s highly unlikely.
With a heavy sigh, Rowan tied back his still damp hair into a low ponytail. A few wefts of wet hair fell around his face but he ignored them as he gathered his things together, tossed his coat over his bag, and slung the black duffle bag over his shoulder.
It didn’t take long to reach the room in question. The floor was all but abandoned by this time of night. Very few needed the smaller rehearsal rooms at this point. At least not until the cast for the next show was announced, but they had a bit of time until that happened. Then all the rooms would be taken as everyone rehearsed their pieces, especially principals.
Opening the door, Rowan stepped into the room. His own reflection greeted him from the far side of the room where an entire wall of mirrors lined up like soldiers on the wall. Adjusting his bag, Rowan caught sight of who he was here for and gestured with a hand. “Here I am. A Bit of a cryptic note to get my attention. Not interested in seeing me change again, I assume?” Rowan teased as he walked towards Sinope.
“Seeing as I’ve got things I need to do, one of which is icing my feet and legs, let’s not take all night. What did you need to talk to me about?”
With colossal mirrors to be found in practically every rehearsal room, there hadn’t been much more the Dark Mirror Senshi could have asked for in terms of an entrance. Sure, he’d had to memorize the size, shape, and location of each one he intended to use the last time he’d been there, but that had been a small price to pay for the convenience it granted him. As a result, Sinope had been able to easily enter the theater from within before that night’s ballet performance, choosing one of the smaller rooms to lessen his likelihood of being caught.
Slinking around, he had made certain all the performers were backstage before infiltrating the dressing room. Once that had been accomplished, he had slipped a note into the bag he had identified as Rowan’s from their previous encounter and left. During the actual ballet, Sinope watched and waited among the audience members, patiently biding his time as he allowed a pair of summoned mirrorwraiths to roam free, feeding on the enthusiasm of fellow spectators. But despite the beauty of the dancers, their cohesion to their choreography, the costumes, set design, and music, the senshi’s expression and body language reflected only dark rumination.
That rumination was reigned in behind a mask of solemnity once the dancer with violet locks finally appeared in the rehearsal room after his performance. The redhead had been prepared to wait an hour before departing, but to his mild surprise, the Cameron boy had eventually decided to entertain his request to meet. Part of Sinope wished he hadn’t, but he wasn’t about to back out now.
Negative thoughts swirled like vicious serpents just beneath the surface of his placid demeanor, and though he had them contained for the time being, he knew he would have to release them eventually or they would strike out without warning. This was an opportunity to control something of the when, where, how much, and in what way they would be unleashed. Even at that very second, though, they were gnawing at his self-control; his resolve to maintain composure despite the true chaos of agonizing, spiteful emotions caged within his too-tight chest. It would be best for everyone if he got this over with quickly. Luckily, he anticipated it wouldn’t take much to achieve his desired outcome.
Light spilling in from the corridor found Sinope propped up with his shoulder against one of the walls, his own gaze protected by the shadow of his hood. He pushed off the cool surface once Rowan began to speak, walking toward him, and took gradual step after step to meet the other male in the center of the room.
Though not as muscular as the dancer, there was a slightly thicker build to the younger teen and he moved with a confidence and purpose he hadn’t before possessed. At last he halted before the taller male, his countenance neutral even after the comment about not wanting to have seen Rowan change.
You act like you’re in some big hurry; that you don’t have time to waste on me. But you came here not knowing why I asked you over and you spend your first sentence taunting me about our last meeting. the super senshi noted. Are you pretending to be less interested than you are?
“It seemed foolish to think we’d have the dressing room to ourselves after an actual show rather than a rehearsal like last time,” Sinope answered sedately. “And I didn’t want to risk us being overheard. I’ll try to be brief.”
He strode past Rowan to lift a chair from a stack by the door, returning with it in order to present the seat to the performer. “Please, sit. I know we don’t have ice, but at least it’s better than having to stand on those legs after you’ve put them through such a workout.”
Crossing his arms, Rowan grinned. “Considering the dressing room is still hosting an array of dancers, that was a smart move on your part.” He watched the cool countenance that Sinope was putting on. The confidence in his movements was undercut by the obvious lack of free movement. Being a man who focused so much on movement, it was easy to spot when something wasn’t quite right. Sinope, for the most part, tended to have a carefree gesture to him. Things were large, unsedated, almost quirky in a sense. There was a strong fluidity to him that seemed to be missing.
Something’s up. Immediately Rowan was put on edge.
As the chair was plopped down for him, Rowan shrugged and sank to the floor in front of it. If he was going to be stuck here he might as well utilize it. Plus, stretching would help him relax. “I might as well utilize this time productively.” He remarked as he extended his legs into a straddle split. With care he sit forward and eased out some of the stiffness that was beginning to set into his hips. Thankfully I opted to wear sweats tonight to go home in.
“Right. So, we don’t need to worry about my overworked legs.”He remarked as he sit there, now leaning forward, elbows on the floor, as he flexed and pointed his feet slowly. “What did you want? I can’t imagine you went through the trouble of leaving a message in my bag if it wasn’t something important.” And what will I do if it’s what I fear? What are the legitimate chances I somehow tipped him off to whom I am? Rowan knew he was careful.
Under normal circumstances, Sinope might have responded to what he perceived as condescending praise with an eye roll or some cheeky remark like, ‘I’m so glad you approve’. Instead, he simply ignored the comment. He didn’t have the mindset to respond to it just then.
“Suit yourself,” he replied when his offer of the chair was turned down. Returning the piece of furniture to its stack, he began a round of the room starting at the front near the door. Placing his hand on a balancing barre, he slid his gloved hand across the wood grain, his gaze trailing in its wake. How best to start? He had said he would try to make it brief, but getting straight to the point had never been his forte. It was much more fun to dance around the issue and play with people. So why wasn’t he having fun?
Is this for their benefit, or mine? He couldn’t remember which he’d last concluded was his truth. Can’t it be both?
It didn’t matter. It didn’t change what he planned to do. He could reason it out however he wanted to later. “I appreciate that you can take me seriously enough to trust that I wouldn’t deliberately try to waste your time,” Sinope began, eyes still trained on the barre. “I hope you can keep to that trust as I continue. First things first: is it true you’re dating Elex Yorke?”
Sinope was taking his time and Rowan was growing bored of the silence. As the Dark Mirror Senshi slowly meandered around the room, trailing fingers and hands along worn and well loved barre’s Rowan stretched his body out straight on the floor between his legs. He could feel muscles beginning to tighten and worked at loosening them back up with careful, easy stretching.
Then the question came and brows rose as Rowan looked over at Sinope mid stretch. “Not that I am sure what it matters to you, but it’s not a secret that I am dating Elex.” He lowered back down, his face turned to watch Sinope and catch any sort of reaction.
Oh. Well excuse me, the senshi thought bitterly. but that’s not the impression I got after having interacted with him on a regular basis for the past few weeks and only finding out from a rare, recent glimpse of Facebook.
He kept his head down, hood shrouding his face, eyes still fixed on the barres. Then his chest rose and fell with what seemed like more effort than was usually required and he exhaled, “I don’t know how much you may or may not have been told, but Elex is part of a sketchy organization.” Sinope took up his slow journey once more.
“I don’t know the circumstances under which you’re dating - personal interest, family affiliations, media manipulation, etcetera - but whatever the case, I was under the impression that most relationships, business or otherwise, are founded on honesty. As I learned fairly recently, Elex Yorke seems to keep a lot to himself.” Finally, slowly, he raised his head and turned to look at Rowan. He struggled to maintain a neutral expression, tightening his trembling lips, but his eyes were overly bright and he quickly looked away again.
“I just wondered if maybe you two were close enough as a couple for him to have already told you about his involvement with that organization. Heh...after all, if his association with them gets out and your family name gets dragged through the mud with his, that wouldn’t be too good for you or your relations, would it?
closing his legs in front of him, Rowan stretched downwards again taking time to muddle over what Sinope was telling him. The real question was, why was this such a pertinent topic? Was Sinope trying to do a good deed? Perhaps he gains something out of this. Surely the latter considering his experience with Sinope as Alrakis. Nothing of much worth was freely given in that encounter.
Sitting up from a stretch, Rowan leaned back, supporting himself with his hands. “You’re going to have to give me more information than ‘sketchy organization’. That’s a rather broad term to use and not at all useful. There’s a lot of things you may consider sketchy but I would find normally acceptable.” He shrugged with one shoulder. “And you’d be surprised how easy it can be to recover one’s reputation if done properly so that’s certainly not an issue for me right now. Especially considering how new Elex and I are in our relationship. So, that’s a moot point right now. So, elaborate please. Explain to me what this organization is and, while you’re at it, what good it’s doing you to tell me about this?”
There was no way Sinope was still on ‘guard dusty’ from the halloween event. Surely he grew weary of that. Actually, if he was still following me, he wouldn’t have had a need to ask if I was dating Elex.
Turning to face the back wall, he clasped his hands behind him as he restlessly, anxiously began to rock back and forth on his heels. “I wish I could,” he answered, swallowing a hard lump in his throat. “But I’m in a similar situation myself. If he hasn’t told you yet, I guess it’s possible he might just be keeping you in the dark to protect you.” Unlikely. For you and me. “I’m not in as deep as he is, though, so I can risk telling you this much, at least.”
He spun about to walk toward Rowan, gradually beginning to circle his stretching figure with languid footfalls as if to better admire his form. “You’re right; that term is subjective. Maybe you dabble in associating with disreputable groups of your own. Maybe I’m overreacting and you already know what I’m talking about but can’t confirm it unless I give you more details.”
How much to tell? What to do? How much to hurt? How he burned; how he wanted them to suffer like he was suffering. How dare they be happy at the cost of his own happiness. What childish thoughts. Had he always been this way? Or did everyone go through this and had he just never experienced and grown past such feelings because he had forbidden himself to get too close to anyone before?
Now there were too many people to concern himself with and it was all too much. He wasn’t supposed to care.
Halting directly behind Rowan as the dancer learned backward, Sinope knelt and delicately raised his arms to wreath them loosely about the purple-haired young man’s neck so that his hands rested one over the other atop the other’s chest. “How open is your relationship? How new is it?” He watched the other through half-lidded eyes. “Tell me those and I might be able to answer your questions better.”
Rowan kept stock of Sinope’s position. What had first started as benign movement slowly began to resemble a predator narrowing in on its prey. For most people, that would feel terribly disconcerting. In fact, Rowan would be lying if he said he wasn’t at a bit uneasy, but he had the skills and experience to deal with people who tried to express their dominance in such manners. The best way to react was cool and calm. The instant he tried to run the predator would launch its attack.
Sinope was behind him. Arms draped casually over his shoulders and Rowan didn’t react to the intimate proximity. Instead he stared ahead boredly and sighed. “You’re rather nosey aren’t you. Poking yourself into other people’s business you have no right being in. I still can’t figure out why you’d bother to come here to warn me. What do you owe me? If you think this is a favor that will be reciprocated in the future that only works if I find the information you’re giving me useful. So far, you’re demanding more from me than vice versa. Almost sounds like an interrogation and your information isn’t enough to make me want to delve deep into my personal relationships.”
He heaved a sigh. “Again, it’s no damn secret though you seem to think it is for some reason. By this point, I’d say we’ve been seeing each other on a more serious note since November. It all started back in October though.”
Turning his head to attempt to see Sinope from his peripheral vision Rowan gave Sinope a no-nonsense look. “That’s about all the information you’re going to get at this point. Anything else will take this conversation from slightly creepy to incredibly creepy and at that point I am going to waltz right on out of here and call myself done with you.” Though how I’ll accomplish that when you always come to see me powered up, I am not exactly sure. It’s not difficult to find me, after all.
Sinope’s amusement manifested as the breath that slipped through his grinning teeth to tickle Rowan’s ear. “Yes, I’m nosy. I’m curious. But what makes you think you can judge whose business I have a right to stick my nose in? Hmm?” Resting his cheek briefly on the older teen’s steady shoulder, he whispered, “Maybe it’s not so much what I owe you as what I owe him.” The senshi lifted his head and pulled away. “But if I can keep you from sharing my fate, all the better.” Shifting his weight, he shoved off the ground so he was standing once more and circled back around to pace before the older teen.
“Oh no, I don’t work that way - doing things for future favors. Too unreliable. Yes, my motives are usually selfish, so it’s reasonable to conclude I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t have something to gain from it. For you to understand why, though, would require a long-winded and complex explanation that I doubt you have the time, patience, or interest for, so just trust that I’m telling you the parts you’ll care about most, ‘kay? Namely, the parts that pertain to you.” The Dark Mirror Senshi’s pacing became more fevered and his gestures became erratic.
The mention of the months froze Sinope in the midst of his peculiar behavior like he’d been drenched with liquid nitrogen. He stayed that way until Rowan had finished his threat, at which point he turned his head and only his head to focus on golden eyes.
If only you knew what I could do to you, surrounded by these mirrors, he thought, staring at the dancer with vacant features. I could grab you and drag you into any one and trap you there where nobody, not even my other court members could find you. I could imprison you there, Mirrorspace draining your energy while you wasted away. I wonder what information you’d be able to withhold from me then. Then he was forced to blink, breaking their eye contact, and he shook his head to clear it. Calm down. Nothing he’s done to you so far warrants anything close to that. Besides...this is probably going to hurt badly enough without any extra logs to stoke the fire.
“So, at the risk of sounding like a complete loon,” Sinope tried to start, sighing as he ran a hand over his face, “a while back, I had my soul grabbed.” Keep going. You’re not going to be able to get it all out if you pause there. “It was...the pain was unbelievable. That’s all I can say because it’s not something you can describe or compare accurately to any purely physical sensation. It’s your ******** soul, and yeah, that sounds like something out of a fairytale. But that sketchy organization? They can take souls right out of peoples’ living bodies. And you know who almost crushed mine? Who nearly ripped it out of my chest and ate it? Elex Yorke.”
What could you possibly owe Elex? And how does telling me he’s involved in some sort of sketchy organization count as possibly repaying something back to him? I’d think it was the opposite. And what do you mean by sharing your fate? What exactly have you done, Sinope? Rowan didn’t budge or comment on Sinope’s annoying need to continue the close contact. It didn’t last long. In fact, Rowan was surprised the DMS was willing to move away and lose that bit of leverage so quickly. Instead, he opted to pace like a caged animal. Back and forth. Back and forth.
I get the feeling if i asked my questions I’d get no answer. Not at this point. Listening and dropping just enough pertinent questions and information was all he could do at the moment. Rowan was patient enough.
He didn’t need to wait long.
A tension rose from his core as Sinope mentioned souls. It was such an obvious clue. Who else could do such things than members of the Negaverse? But, how did Sinope come by this information? How did he know Elex of all people was an agent? There was a lot of questions behind that. Rowan had doubts that Elex would tell anyone about his identity considering how important glamour was for both sides of the war. Did Sinope have leverage being of a chaotic faction as well?
Or was he making this all up?
“You’re crazy.” He said finally as he digested the information given. “A soul? Are you the religious sort who believes people have souls and those souls go to a heaven or some sort? And you’re standing there telling me Elex can somehow rip the souls from people?” Rowan forced a laugh. “You’ve been reading too much religious fiction I think. Even if souls were real I can’t imagine they’re a tangible...thing...that could be pulled out of someone like an organ.”
He mentioned how painful it was. That’s one truth I can personally confirm.
”Crazy? Maybe. A liar? No.” He had expected to be met with such a reaction, of course, whether feigned or real. Having his credibility acknowledged had not been his goal in coming there and talking to Rowan. All he’d wanted to do was plant a single seed of doubt and that seed had an easier time germinating when it contained truth. With his aim accomplished, all that was left to do was wait.
Sinope predicted that eventually, Rowan’s doubt would grow too strong to ignore and he would have to confront Elex about it. Elex, strict as he was about keeping his civilian identity and his half-youma Negaverse identity separate, would likely refuse to speak on the matter. The doubt and distrust would be too much for the pair to survive and Rowan would have to break it off between them. It seemed simple enough.
The senshi’s spite was not yet satisfied, however. As confident as he was that the captain would be able to trace back who, exactly, had dropped Rowan enough hints to be suspicious, there was still the matter of getting back at Rowan himself. Sinope had grown irritable enough over repeatedly hearing how common the knowledge supposedly was that he and Elex were dating. He was tired of having been repeatedly jabbed with that metaphorical stick, so he decided to grab it to jab back with at least once before his departure.
He held out his arms in mock exasperation, shrugging with a forced smile. “Well, if you don’t believe me, guess there’s nothing I can do,” he appeared to concede, marching toward the doorway to make his exit. Once he got there, though, he turned around to face Rowan again. “But one more thing before you do - just humor me.” His smile broadened. “This is pure hypothetical talk, here. Just so you know. But if you and I ******** in...oh, say mid-November, would you say you cheated on Elex?”
Concedes to possibly being crazy but not a liar. That brings about the question if a crazy person believes the sky is green and tell you so, it doesn’t mean the crazy person is correct. It just means they believe the words filtering from their mouths. One point in Sinope’s case though was the fact that, as crazy as it might sound, Rowan knew souls were real. He knew they could be ripped from people’s bodies and he knew very well how painful it could be.
Sinope wasn’t lying about that, but who’s to say Elex is truly involved in all of this? Rowan still felt there had to be some underlying reason to this whole confrontation that was more selfish for Sinope.
Perhaps unrequited feelings? Something more? Did Elex know Sinope as a civilian and not know it? Or was this the work of someone with a vendetta against either of them? There were too many options and not quite enough clues to go off of.
Thankfully, it seemed Sinope had grown tired of his warnings and was going to leave. Rowan heaved a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding only to startle ever so slightly as Sinope spoke again from the doorway. Swinging around he furrowed brows at the DMS. “That’s a rather odd hypothetical question considering I’d have no interest in doing anything with you.” He retort back with the slightest hint of venom in his tone meant to sting. “So hypothetical or not I am not bothering to answer. The state of Elex and my relationship is really none of your business and who’s to say we’re both not in an open relationship?” He shrugged.
Of course, he had not had such a conversation with Elex yet. There hadn’t been a need to broach the subject and neither of them seemed in a rush to talk about it. Perhaps they were both still being careful with one another, afraid to ruin what they had, but there was absolutely no reason for Sinope to know that.
Even if Rowan feigned disbelief regarding plucking souls from bodies, Sinope recalled Elex having mentioned that he’d drained the purple-haired teen of his energy before, so it wasn’t as if he had no experience of what the Negaverse was willing and capable of doing. Dubious as it might have sounded, the senshi trusted his warning to the youngest Cameron son would be sufficient for his purposes.
As for his other comment, it seemed the other young man had completely missed his hint, but that was probably for the best. He was already playing with fire and it wouldn’t have done him any good to turn up the heat. Still...it was intriguing to observe how Rowan started and became more hostile in response to his crass question.
“Oh, yeah? That’s a good question.” He put a knuckle to his lips as his brows furrowed in mock pondering. “Well, anyways, good job on your performance tonight. See you around, lover boy.” Clicking his tongue, he winked and blew the dancer a kiss before slipping out the door. “Say hi to your sweetheart for me.” Laughter echoed down the corridor after him.
Kitomyx
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