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Kyndall loved the energy of live concerts. Sure she was not part of the band's usual target audience but that did not mean that she could not find reasons to enjoy being there. Her husband's face, for one, looking terribly nervous. That right there was almost worth the price of admission.

She had dressed in one of the many outfits she used for just such occasions. A cute skirt, a blouse, and her hair done up on top of her head, messy but pretty. She did not have the problem with this that Tony did, obviously, and laughed, pressing to his body.

"Remember those dates we haven't been able to go on recently?"

She meaningfully shot a glance down to his leg that, until very recently, had been broken. Not to mention all of the nights he was off patrolling and she was at home with Sarah. With everything else that had happened Kyn felt like her marriage was suffering. She missed him in a very deep and meaningful way.

"Anyway, you get to see me bounce around to the music all dressed up so what exactly are you complaining about?"

She kissed his cheek and pulled him deeper into the crowd, giving zero ******** that they were probably some of the oldest people here.

Samantha let out a gasp of a scream, as her voice was still missing in action, as someone bumped into her. She hit her limit as far as bumping and shoving went, and she just wanted to escape to a quiet corner and hide for the next few hours. Was that too much to ask?

Probably. Bathrooms at places like this were in constant use, and someone would probably notice if she never came out of hers. She would have to come up with a better plan than that, anyway.

Maybe a closet of some kind... she would still be able to hear the music...

Looking like a deer in headlights, she stared at Chailee for a long moment before her need to be polite overrode her fear and she finally managed to make a human noise.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, though the words sort of tumbled out on top of each other, all at once, and she was speaking way too quickly. "I wasn't watching, ah, are you okay? Oh, oh, I'm fine, I'm... I'm okay, I was just uh... you were pushed? Did they apologize? How rude! I'm so sorry! Uhm."

She blinked and then looked around, not seeing anyone who looked particularly guilty, at least not over any of the other faces milling about, bustling to get their drinks and then get to their places for the show. She looked back at the other girl, offering a sheepish smile.

"I've never been to a concert before," she explained, so she understood why she was being such a nut. Hopefully the other girl did not find her too odd... oh, so much for making friends!


Tony gave his wife a very skeptical look.

"I did not think this was quite what you meant. Were there no monster truck races or bull runs for you to drag me to? I feel like I would fit in at those just as well as here."

He did not really think his cane added much to his look. It did very little to take away from his feeling old, to boot, and he was feeling a strong wave of self consciousness moving over him. In fact, it was less a wave and more a steady tide, never truly ebbing and leaving him feeling like a constant ball of pent up nerves.

But at least she looked like she was having fun already, even if it was at his expense. Her smiling at him was enough to make his shields fall a bit, and he affectionately caressed her cheek after she kissed him, before she was off and tugging him into the throng of people and he was quickly reminded why he had been so anxious before.

"Do you want a drink or anything, love?" he called, over the sound of a thousand different conversations, "I could get you one, and meet you at our seats? Or we could both go get one, I suppose, if you want to brave the crowd over there."

She seemed better at getting through them than he was, anyway, as he could sometimes slip back into old, bad habits as far as being out and about was concerned. Not too far back, of course, as that would probably be helpful here. No, not his wild youth, but rather his Librarian attitude. Quiet and not too interested in getting in anyone's way.

Kaida giggled at Albert, nodding. "You're fine, Albert. I promise. Most dashing man in the house." At least in her opinion. And then a familiar face came up to them, and she was blinking. Wait. "Loki?" And then her friend was off again and Kaida was left wondering what the heck. "Huh...I didn't know you were Emily's Dad." Eh...wasn't going to ruin her date! She had already known Albert had a grown child. Well, more than one, actually.



---

Chiku had managed to secure herself some orange juice [even if she'd had a fake ID, she wouldn't have tried to get alcohol...it dulled the senses in ways she didn't like just upon READING, she didn't want to find out what it was like in actuality], and had found herself a nice place to move with the crowd, maybe dance a little, maybe keep an eye out for familiar faces or interesting new ones.

Well, okay, most everyone was an interesting new face to her. 'Interesting' turned out to be a girl with the prettiest shade of teal hair that she quickly scooted over to. "Hello! I'm Chiku! Fan of any of the bands playing tonight?"

Suri hadn't intended to go to the concert--anything at the Academy was loud, and the seats were too cramped, and people would be close enough to breathe on her. It was a vulgar display, on a night where her efforts were better served in scouting the city. And yet, Romaine had been so excited about finding tickets that Suri could hardly stand to look at the extra stub sitting on her counter.

And so she maneuvered the crowds, wearing the closest thing she had in her wardrobe to 'rock indie' (it was a varsity jacket with music notes and records embroidered on it and a pair of distressed skinny jeans), cradling her drink as if it might have been her only anchor to sanity. Her eyes were furtive as she scanned the room in search of Romaine--ugh, why were there so many people here and why were they so tall?

---

"Hell. ********. Yessssssss."

Katie was on cloud nine. She'd managed to score a ticket to the first decent concert she'd heard of since she'd moved to Destiny City, her ID had been convincing enough that she was currently wearing a 21-and-up band for drinks, and it was only half past six. The night was young, the energy was high, and if Katie remembered enough about the event tomorrow morning, she could even write a review and get college credit for all of this. Life was great.

In the minutes before the curtains went up, the redhead took to posing near some of the eclectic academy decor, making faces at her phone for snapchat. After all, what use was technology if she couldn't use it to make her friends totally jealous?

Briar wasn't a particular fan of Luna Bay - in fact if asked he would have had to admit that he didn't really know who they were - apart from being a band. That last was kind of obvious given that it had been printed over the flyer that his big brother had shown him and come to think about it Briar kind of remembered seeing posters that may or may not have been about the event.

The only reason he was here though was because of his big brother who was currently home from college, because there was way, way too many people here and he was kind of on the fence about whether he would even actually like the music.

He didn't get to see his brother that often though and he adored him and so although whilst he would have preferred to go to a water park (which would have been much more fun), he hadn't put up more than a token protest when his brother had decided that they were going to go out and they were going to see this band.

He wasn't planning to mingle, sucking instead at the diet coke that his brother had picked up for him earlier whilst sticking close to said brother.

As Luna Bay appeared on stage the expectant crowd went wild, cheers from everyone erupted around the room as the band members waved and picked up their instruments. Diving straight into their number one hit the crowd surged forward, dancing, jumping and singing to the popular song as the escalated noise blocked out everything around you.

Inducing the erratic screeching underneath the floorboards.



The Youma clawed at the basement ceiling, feeling the vibrations of hundreds of feet as they pounded on the floor. Teeth bared, it snatched and growled as another cheer went up from the crowd and the Youma screamed along side the noise, gouging deeper into the concrete with more furiosity than before. It had dragged itself out of the rift with broken nails and torn flesh. Its power sapped and drained for its years spent behind the locked door. In its once eternal prison it had wilted to a shell of its former self. Yet it had managed to escape, to pull itself onto this earthly plane and as soon as it had done so it had thought of only one thing.

To destroy.

The comatose bodies of the academy staff were piled high, surrounded in purple fog as the monster hungrily leeched their energy. With every ounce of substance the Youma's form began to fill out. Its once broken horns began to mend, the petals that covered its body grew back in abundance. The energy swam through its veins until it pulled its mouth back revealing thousands of needle pin teeth in what could only be determined as a smile. Despite the new health that radiated from its body the creature looked almost delicate, its form slender and lithe. The petals that surrounded its form, once touching a surface or a wall, would suddenly turn brown and die, falling from it and leaving a trail of crisp and decayed leaves as it stalked under the floorboards. And above all of that were the chains it wore around its head, a constant reminder of what it had been through.

Captured.

Imprisoned.

Broken.

It had only one thought and as the pounding of feet grew heavier, louder, the splintering of the wood and concrete became deeper as it drove its nails into ceiling, breaking though the surface and ripping the floor boards apart. Its mouth opening wide as gallons of purple fog began slipping from its jaws and out through the gaps above its head.


INFO
.Some of you may begin to feel the floor shift beneath your feet but its difficult to tell with everyone dancing and singing around you and your not sure if the drink might be going to your head!
.Others may even start to hear the screeching of something not so musical!
.But a lot of you though will start to see purple fog around your legs! It could be a cool special effect the gig has put on but still...it doesn't move quite like fog should do...

There was a certain satisfaction to be had in acclimating quicker and smoother than his brother. Sometimes Slate considered himself already acclimated, with his internet knowledge of the city and prior experience in tending market. He knew of most common customs, and could function in an environment with far less awkwardness than a hunter who never developed social skills from the start. And sometimes he wanted to prove that he was miles ahead.

Whole leagues ahead.

'Luna Bay' wasn't a name he knew well. 'Luna Bay' advertised and he recognized the name and logo, but fostered few connections to put to the band. He heard a handful of songs over the radio, and a DJ to associate a name with the music, but nothing more. But his being here proposed two benefits: one, that he had finally attended his first concert as part of the common culture in these parts; and two, if he found the music desirable among many people, he could learn these songs and play them on violin. The latter held more benefit with money at stake.

The boy dressed in what he considered 'appropriate' - a black tank with cinched sides, tight jeans in a dirtied wash, and every piece of gold jewelry he owned (amounting to much more than a necklace and some rings). He heard the throbbing bass long before he entered the building, and once his ticket was taken, he opened the doors to an ear-punishing din hat left him wincing initially. The band was easy enough to spot on the raised stage, which left him wanting to linger back near the opposite end of the building, but the second set of speakers wired to that wall provided just as many decibels as the band up front. This pushed Slate more toward the center, where the sheer loudness felt slightly less harsh.

The center space encompassed the dance floor, however, which meant that Slate enjoyed the highly interesting affair of being pushed and thrust into someone else's personal space. And considering that most people preferred maintaining their personal bubble, Slate figured that a good lot of them either didn't care or had a handful of drinks to loosen up beforehand (and their coordination suggested much of the same). however, the excitement of the dance floor lasted about a minute before Slate wound his way toward some standing space; the redhead didn't know how to dance in any fashion they resorted to here, and watching seemed a far better idea.

None of the seats were open, but there was some space between those and the dance floor that allowed him to watch without being too in the way. He considered it a good exercise of people watching, even as purple smoke rose up to his ankles and rolled lazily through the crowd.

Paris pursed her lips at Rene and bestowed an unforgiving glare upon him. She would have said more on the subject but decided the shove to his shoulder had gotten her point across.

"It looks... different," was all Paris could say about his hair. It would take some getting used to.

"I guess you can join us if you want," she added. "You'll just have to sit there while Chris and I make out."

As it turned out, Paris did not spend the initial stages of the concert making out with her husband. As soon as the music started, Paris got straight to dancing, encouraging her companions to join her. She was so into it she almost didn't notice the floor shifting, but inevitably stopped when the trembling compromised her balance.

Always paranoid these days, she asked, "Do you feel that?"




Sorry if there are typos. Posting from phone.