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Another solo gig. She had been making a name for herself in the taverns and alehouses of Palisade, something that inflated her ego like nothing else ever had. Though her duets with Rajani raked in the most coin, she still made ample to support herself and to help fund her pet project.

She laughed despite herself. A rebel moonlighting as a musician. Or was it the other way around?

Soibhan didn't even know if her little army would be considered an act of rebellion. In some minds it would be. In others, it would just be foolishness. Either way, she would have to be more careful about her popularity, and make sure that her name was known only for her musical talent.

The bar was crowded tonight, though that was usual. What was not so usual was the crowd already waiting before the stage, as drunk as only a good crowd could be. On a whim, she'd dressed a little more fancily than usual. Though tight fitting trousers still covered her legs, her top was scoop necked to the point of near impropriety, with sleeves that hung off her shoulders and belled slightly around her wrists. All in all, it left a lot of pale skin tantalizingly bare.

She swung up onto the stage to a roar of applause, cheers, and catcalls. And then she began to play for them, falling into the music as if she were falling into a lover's arms.

The whistle cut over the noise of the crowd with ease, grabbing her immediate attention. When she saw the two of them there, Ollie with a huge grin on his face as ever and Rob hiding his face in his mug of ale, her heart leapt. But it also stumbled as she remembered the fiasco at the masque and how angry and hurt she had been. A myriad of emotions must have played over her face in a span of only seconds, but she managed to keep her song going. The pile of coin at her feet was already enough to satisfy her for the night, which was good, because she didn't think a full set was in the cards for her evening.

As she finished the last bits of the song, her anger steadily grew as memory of that night came back to her. She'd not only felt anger, but also jealousy and humiliation, both emotions she wasn't used to ever feeling. Soibhan had always prided herself on her personal strength....but that pride had come around to bite her in the a**.

Her fingers pulled the last notes from the violin a little more harshly than she had intended and she nodded to Ollie in acknowledgement, hoping he knew that the fire no doubt in her eyes was not meant for him as she bent to gather her earnings. The crowd hardly seemed to notice when she left the stage; one of the reasons she kept getting work from the tavern owners was her ability to fire up a crowd with almost no effort. There would be many drinks bought tonight.

I wish I were drunk right now, she thought to herself, feeling almost panicky as she made her way to the Tiller brothers. But although she felt completely out of her element inside, outwardly she looked...feral. Golden eyes snapping fire, a sashay to her hips and a wolfish smile on her lips. "Ollie!" She shouted, grabbing an ale in her free hand before barreling into her friend for a hug.

The hug made her feel better, but seeing the little, pale colored fawn step daintily from under the table gave her a surge of joy. How had she missed seeing the little beauty at the masque? Her gaze flicked to Rob and she remembered why.

"Taxes. Oh my, yer as cute as a button," she cooed, kneeling down to let the little thing sniff her hand. "Ollie, she's beautiful. I'm so happy fer ya! Has she been on the Amaranta yet?"

Yer bein' a coward, Soi, hidin' behind small talk...

If she had her way, she would be drunk before the night was over and hopefully before Rob said anything that might hurt her. Was that cowardly of her too? she supposed it was, but didn't quite care. "I'm sorry I didna congratulate ya 'afore at the Masque. I was...distracted. That Llyr fellow and Rajani and all that."

She stood rooted to the spot, mouth gaping at Ollie's words. 'Something real special...'

Aye, but not that special, else he wouldna have had that little flower beside him at the Masque...

Before she could reply, however, Ollie was shuffling away with their mugs, saying something about refills and leaving her and Rob behind. Alone.

The whirl of emotions she felt only intensified as Rob tried not to stare at her, the compliment falling haltingly from his mouth. It made her feel good to hear those words, but her anger was a beast with its own mind and she couldn't stop the flippant words from leaving her mouth.

"Aye, I do. But no' nearly as good as that pretty flower o' yours in her delicate lil dress." She set her violin on the table, a bit too roughly, and looked around the nearly full room. "Speakin' o' flowers, where is she?"

Ya use yer anger as a shield, sister. A very blatant one. Ya can never truly hide when yer hurt... Her brother's words echoed back to her and she could only curse to herself at remembering them now of all times.

Soibhan caught the glint of desire in his eyes even as he spoke of wishing things were different, and it made her anger flare until it colored her cheeks.

"Ya all but promised me a song, Tiller. Ya even said ya'd hold me to it! And fer some idiotic reason, I was pinin' after ya this whole time while ya were gettin' cozy with little Caroline."

She stormed past her chair and bodily pushed his back from the table so that she could stand before him with clenched fists. When she spoke, it was with quiet vehemence. "If that fight hadn't started, I woulda taken ya upstairs fer that tumble in the sheets and maybe it wouldna have gone any further than that. But ya had ta flash that beautiful, stupid smile o' yers and ya had to feckin' rescue me and say those stupid, stupid things!"

She could feel her anger building from her hurt like a fire grows from dry wood. If her brother had been here, he would he smacked her upside the head and reminded her that she never let a man get the better of her. That she truly had only known Rob for a short time, and one night stands, real or fantasized, never amounted to anything else. And she had had plenty of those, with not a tug at her heartstrings the next morning.

"Only ta forget about me as soon as ya left that tavern," she added so quietly, he almost didn't hear it.

Why did she care now? Why was she acting like a little girl swooning over some silly knight in shining armor?

I'm tired of bein' alone, and fer some reason, I let me own brain think that he'd 'rescued' me and let those damn feminine feelings take over me common sense. Stupid, stupid girl.

The fiery woman suddenly felt embarrassed at her outburst and her cheeks colored for an entirely different reason as she let her hands unclench and drop to her sides.

Why the FECK am I still sober!? she all but screamed in her own head, turning to search for Ollie in the crowd and also, maybe, to hide her face and her shame.

She stood there with her back to him, shoulders tightening as he threw back his own anger towards her. What he couldn't see was the way she bit her lip to keep her emotions from clogging her throat, or the way her eyes no doubt darkened in response to his admittance of wanting to give her that song.

There will be no songs, stupid girl. At least not this time. He's not yers and never was. Ya need to stop acting like ya had any claim on him.

She turned abruptly and leaned down enough to press her lips to his, the kiss as light as a feather, but her lips trembled with all the things she wanted to say but wouldn't. "At least there's that then. At least ya didn't forget me."

Stepping back, she took a deep breath and slid back into her chair, grabbing her violin and a cleaning cloth from her case as if they were the only things keeping her afloat. "If that pretty flower needs ya as her water, who am I to drink it all up? Weeds don't need as much water as flowers, and even if rain ne'er falls, a weed still manages ta live on. It'll wait as long as it needs to fer that rain to fall fer it someday," she said softly, golden eyes lifting to look at him. The fire was still there, but the anger had washed out of her all in a rush.

Stupid girl...

His words made the corner of her mouth turn in the barest hint of a smile, but she'd already dipped her head to stare at the well-loved instrument in her hands. Her violin had never elicited anything but joy in her, and at the moment, it was the most uncomplicated thing in her life. But she would be lying to herself if she thought she could ignore the way Rob had almost returned her kiss.

Just then, she caught sight of the little fawn staring intently up at her with eyes like a lady's pretty jewelry.

Soibhan reached down to gently stroke the fawn's head just as Ollie returned, in a manner that seemed far too timely to merely be coincidence. Her eyes narrowed as she reached for one of the mugs, in sore need of a drink or three.

"I've a mind ta throw this at yer head, Ollie Tiller," she muttered, throwing him a grin even as she threatened him. "But the drink is too precious." With that, she tipped her head back and drank. And drank, until nothing remained.

"Ahhh. Now then. What're yer plans with that little 'un there, Ollie?" she asked, giving Taxes a smile. The little fawn really was a beauty, and the intelligence that shone in her eyes hinted at great things.