Let me know where I can go to save my soul. || Ebony

tagg; ebonynightmare
song; www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5IEt63qOSI

The day had been pretty uneventful for Graham, he had been moving about Port Albion in an attempt to find the last remaining school items on his list before classes started up again in the Spring. The holiday break was still going on and the young man had decided to stay on the island instead of traveling back to his home in Louisiana. He had video chatted a few times with his mothers back home, but otherwise enjoyed the peace and quiet that the school had offered while most students were off visiting their families.

Evening had settled on the island and while Graham had started his slow walk back on the path that lead to the school, a few yards up ahead of him a familiar kind of music had crept it's way past his headphones. Pulling the two devices out of his ears, Graham let out long breath as he walked closer to where the music was coming from.

"I walk the streets of New Orleans,
with a girl of my dreams..."

It had been months since he had listened to anything even remotely close to jazz, much less anything that reminded him of his home back in the states. The song continued on and Graham spotted a crowd that were making their way into the tavern, with a strong feeling of nostalgia pushing him forward - Graham stepped behind a surprisingly tall man, managing to sneak his way past the front entrance of the tavern.

Once in, a moment of regret washed over him as several different smells and sounds hit him all at once. Intent on enjoying the song that had drawn him here in the first place, Graham's power started to work passively and soon his mind zeroed in on the band that was playing near the back of the building. The young boy moved to a corner to stay out of notice and out of the way of the different patrons that were drinking and dancing. Once settled, Graham folded his arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall he was right next too.

For the past few days, Marina had been making trips into Port Albion as an attempt to stave off boredom during the winter holidays, when there was no one around at school to toy with. Darkness was falling, and though she was dressed warmly, the chill was beginning to tighten its grip on her body. Winter was about as appealing to her as beef was to a vegan. She had to admit, though, the snow was beautiful, and the muted silence it created late at night was something truly priceless. The town felt oddly sorrowful at the moment, as if mourning the passing of some beloved figure. That was, aside from the tavern. Deciding she had nothing better to do--as returning to the school would just be an exercise in patience that she didn't have--Marina jumped in near the front of line, placing her hand on the elbow of a randomly selected young man and pretending she was his date to avoid objections from the people behind her. 

Once inside, she could hear faint lyrics over the roar of conversation. I've seen a dozen brass bands playing swing, while little children laugh, dance, and sing. She released a blissful sigh, thankful for the warmth of the fireplace and all the tightly-packed bodies. Then again, it was kind of sweaty-smelling... Oh, well. Looking around, she noted that many of the patrons were drunk or at least half way there. She was surprised to discover that the song was being performed live by a band, rather than played over the speakers. The music vibrated in her chest in a pleasant way. Maybe she'd learn this song and turn it into a siren song. That would certainly entertain her for at least a day. 

Marina was surprised to notice a familiar-looking boy standing in a corner, looking completely distracted and yet intensely focused at the same time. This was the boy who'd somehow been able to resist her siren song, she realized. What was his name? Graham? Yes, that was it. Unable to resist a challenge, she made her way to his corner slowly, trying to blend in. She waited for a few moments before actually approaching him, hoping to catch the boy off-guard.

As she placed a hand on his elbow, she purred into his ear, "Hey there, handsome. What're you doing here all alone?"

The song was half way finished and the young boy had been tempted momentarily to close his eyes and think of home, that was until a sudden sultry tone interrupted the live music and Graham turned with a quick jerk as his whole body felt as though it had zoomed in on the stranger in question. "Minding my own business," the young man blurted out then - growing a bit dizzy at the sudden and unintentional quick use of his power.

Within moments though, Graham quickly collected himself - at least enough to really see who had touched him. It was a brown haired girl, with eyes that appeared warm to him and could easily be taken as cool to others. Her face bared a resemblance to someone in his memory and it didn't take long for the young man to recognize her, giving her the satisfaction of that though was another thing entirely. "Can't you see what I'm doing?" Graham said to the girl then, nodding toward the band.

The boy's response to the contact was amusing, to say the least. Even if she accomplished nothing here, at least that little flinch had made the endeavor worthwhile. She wasn't cruel--no, that would be an unjust claim. Admittedly, though, it was satisfying that even though he was somehow able to resist her mind tricks, there was nothing he could do about anything she did in a physical context. She hoped her directness wouldn't make him completely unreceptive; there was so much fun to be had! He did seem like the kind of guy who would shut himself off in an instant, though. Marina quirked her lips into something between a smile and a smirk, hoping to seem more friendly while remaining aloof. It wouldn't do to act like some puppy-eyed girl. 

She casually leaned on the wall, watching the band and avoiding prolonged eye contact in an effort to be a little more subtle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Graham motion with a jut of the chin, and her gaze flickered over to him. "Well, you're quite obviously enjoying the music. Just like I am. I'm sure you're feeling just as isolated as I am, considering the state of the school and the average age of all the other guests here...Want anything to drink?" She arched a brow and winked at him. Marina wasn't sure of his age, but he seemed around her age, which meant that alcohol was out of the question. Plus, she didn't think mentioning that she could probably beguile someone into buying her drinks would go over well with this particular teenage boy. 

The music was nearing its end and so was Graham's longing for his home. Noticing that Marina was still talking, the young man managed to catch the very end of what she was saying.

"... Want anything to drink?"

The young man thought for a moment, there was no way that she could actually get them a drink. Did she have some sort of power of persuasion? If so, why hadn't he been affected by it in the first place? Had she already tried to use her powers on him and if so... why?

Looking briefly confused, Graham quickly shook his head "Probably would be better if we didn't drink. It would only draw more attention, I just came in here for the music. Plus, aren't you eighteen or something?" Graham inquired blatantly. After all, she did seem slightly older than him despite the fact that they were actually the same age.

Now that the music was over and the young man had nothing really drawing his interest in the place, it was easy to see the teen withdrawing into himself as he peered at his surroundings. It was only then that Graham realized there was no easy way to sneak back out the way he came, muttering a curse to himself - Graham put his back to the wall they were near and considered all their options. "Aren't you worried about how to get out of this place?" Graham was somewhat of a geek, in the sense of not doing that well when it came to authority figures giving him consequences for anything that he might've done wrong.

The girl arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? What's wrong with attention? And no, not even," she said in response to his questioning of her age. Her words were punctuated with a sly grin. Marina was not oblivious to his discomfort, though she wasn't sure if it was because of her presence or because of the wall of people that had suddenly formed. She followed his gaze and guessed it was the latter, though she didn't quite understand his concern. Shrugging, she answered, "If you can get in, getting out can't be any harder." On her part, it wasn't an assumption--with her powers, there was almost no sticky situation she couldn't get out of.

Suddenly, she made a snap decision. She was going to get them something to drink, though whether it was alcoholic or not, she hadn't decided. "Stay here. Watch and learn," she said, eyes glimmering. This direction was, of course, misleading, as there was no chance he would be able to actually replicate her methods. 

Walking over to the band, she whispered into the lead singer's ear, and he nodded in response. They were wrapping up their set, anyways, so there was no reason for them to deny her. While they were cleaning up, she ran to the bathroom and ran tap water over all of her exposed skin. It wasn't ideal, but it would work. Considering the fact that so many of the people here were already inebriated, and would lack the mental faculties necessary to resist, working her magic wouldn't be too difficult.

When she got back, the band had just packed up, and the singer handed her the wireless mic. She made sure everyone's attention was on her before sauntering over to the bar. Marina leaned on the bar with practiced poise that disguised the fact that it would actually support her while in the "haze". With a sultry smile, she began to sing. "Let's get these teen hearts beating faster, faster... So testosterone boys, and harlequin girls, will you dance to this beat, and hold a lover close?" She figured this song would do well enough for this setting, and it was a nice change of pace from her "traditional" song, which was higher-pitched and more ethereal. Her awareness faded for a few moments, and when she was sure that she had everyone captivated--except Graham, of course--she began to remove some of the charm and glance at the bartender. Wordlessly and slack-jawed, he handed her two glasses. She had no idea what was inside, but that would have to be forgiven. 

She finished off the song and bowed with a little flourish, winking at a few of the wide-eyed patrons. They applauded enthusiastically, and she walked off to where Graham was as another group began to set up for their act. 

"Drink?" she queried, offering both of the glasses for his inspection, a self-satisfied smirk lingering on her lips.


song

Whereas Marina seemed to enjoy attention, Graham felt a bit more self-conscious. While she had made a fair point about being able to get back out of the tavern, Graham couldn't help but feel a tad bit worried. What sort of situation had he accidentally gotten himself into?

Suddenly, Marina insisted that he stay where he was. Before he had a chance to respond, she was already gone and Graham was standing there once more in his own silence. His eyes followed her figure carefully, wondering if she was about to to get them noticed or in truth - what she was even up too in the first place.

Narrowing his eyes at her slightly, it seemed as though she was putting on some kind of performance. As she did though, Graham suddenly felt his head start to throb - her music made him reach one hand to his forehead and rub his face in an attempt to rub away the pain that was echoing through his skull.

Once she had finished, Graham felt his headache slowly start to fade and by the time she was showing him both drinks the young man only felt the trickling of neurological pain as his eyes moved from the drinks to her face.

"Seems like you put more effort than what was needed," Graham replied cynically - making a pained look. Despite his worry with drinking alcohol and despite having full access to his mind, Graham really couldn't see any way to get out of this situation. It was for those few moments then that Graham's age and maturity took over the ever active reasoning of his powers and the young man took a quick swig of the drink in Marina's left hand.

Reeling from the taste, Graham blinked a few times before his lips hardened into a straight line. "Mmm, delicious." He said to the girl sarcastically then. That was the first time he had ever tried alcohol, after all whiskey and coke was always a great alcoholic beverage for a minor to start on.

She felt a small amount of satisfaction when he accepted the drink--he could be pushed around a little, then. Ah, men, so easy to manipulate them into doing what you wanted from them. Marina disagreed with his evaluation of her actions though, as she told him blatantly with a shrug. "Points for style, then. Nothing wrong with showing off a little and magicking some humans," she said, laughing a little to herself. 

She grinned, at his reaction to the beverage, showing off perfectly white and aligned teeth. Okay, so she didn't particularly like alcohol, either, from what little she had tasted, but she wasn't about to admit that. She took a sip of the drink he hadn't chosen, and closed her eyes to create a semblance of ecstasy at the taste of the alcohol. Marina didn't deny that she was a prideful person, but that pride required some sacrifices--including a little acting here and there. "You didn't ask for anything specific, so don't blame me," she countered, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Wanna see who can down it the fastest?" she asked innocently. Marina wanted to see what he was made out of. To add an extra incentive, she said, "If you win, I'll do whatever you want me to do, besides leave. Just--make it interesting, please. If I win, you have to down two shots of any alcohol."

Graham shook his head slightly at Marina's lack of care when it came to using her powers. He was only just beginning to understand the depth of his own, so when it came to people like Marina that used their powers so freely all the time - it felt as though he was living in a different world.

Staring at his company though, Graham couldn't help but feel he was living in some sort of opposite reality. His friends back home would have gawked at a chick like Marina, although it wasn't like he was going to blame them for it. He had noticed a lot of things about her the moment she had touched his arm. The way her hair laid against the curve of her neck, or how when she spoke it seemed as though her eyes had a special sort of shine to them - almost as if it were a dare to be near her in the first place.

Her light and innocent question made the young man look at her in surprise, then a little bit pensively. At the proximity they were at with each other, Graham took a deep breath - inhaling a warm nostalgic smell, mixed with something almost fruity. Suddenly, Graham felt the core of his body grow warm and the young man really looked at Marina then - nodding slowly. "We can, but you really mean anything?" Graham asked the girl then with a slightly quirked eyebrow.

She couldn't quite understand his aversion to using his own powers, especially since her own were so fun to play with. What was the point of having powers if you weren't willing to use them? After all, un-Gifted humans were so obsessed with superpowers--they filled their media with superheroes and magic. To each their own, she supposed. 

For the first time during this entire encounter, Graham seemed to finally focus his full attention on her. She loved the attention, and surprisingly, even felt her cheeks grow warm. Was she really blushing? She mentally berated herself; she was better than this--wasn't she? She'd thought she was beyond the point of stupid crushes and being flattered by the attention of boys. Marina was almost tempted to slap herself. She hated to admit it, but somehow the fact that she had captured his attention without the use of her magic made it more...special. 

She shook off her thoughts and offered him a bet, hoping he would take it. There was no saying whether she could win or not; in hindsight, she would probably come to regret this. Although he wasn't much taller than her, there was still a noticeable height difference; this disparity and her slight frame made for a substantial disadvantage in regards to alcohol tolerance. Maybe she could attribute her strange emotions to the alcohol she had sipped a few moments earlier, but she knew that was a poor excuse. It'd barely been anything. 

"Anything you want, good sir," she replied with a wink. 

Once she confirmed that indeed she would do anything he asked if he won the dare, hesitantly the young man nodded. "Let's do it then, when you're ready." Graham said to the girl then, holding the drink up to his lips and waiting for Marina to count down.

A few feet away an older haggard looking man looked up from his drink to notice the two teenagers with drinks in their hands of their own, they looked out of place to him and with an audible grunt the old man got up on his feet to start toward the two teens.

Marina grinned at him as she began to count down. "Three, two, one." Bringing the glass to her lips, she tipped her head back and began to drink. The liquid burned her throat unpleasantly--she wasn't sure how anyone could enjoy this, except maybe people who were drinking as a coping mechanism. She could certainly see how alcohol was an effective distractor from other pain. 

She paused about a third of the way through the glass to take a breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an older man heading in their general direction. She wasn't too concerned, but it would certainly be a hassle if he was in fact coming over to them to berate them. Tricking people in taverns wasn't really the 'true purpose' of her magic, but considering that the 'true purpose' was to lure men into the ocean to drown them, she decided she was alright with this use. Marina decided to pretend she hadn't seen him and to keep drinking; she was fairly sure that Graham, on the other hand, would be quite alarmed if they were approached. 

On Marina's count, Graham started chugging his drink - inwardly wincing at the taste. It was only after a few seconds of trying to convince himself that it wasn't that bad and that he could drink it all that by some stroke of luck that Graham had indeed finished the whole drink and fairly quickly at that.

Gasping for air once he finished, Graham put his cup down on the closest flat object - which happened to be the farthest end of the stage. Looking toward Marina, the first effects of the alcohol that he noticed was that once more the core of his body grew warm. Blinking a few times, Graham then realized as well that he had beaten Marina in their little drinking contest. "I won," Graham said to the girl then - looking more stunned and surprised then anything else. The full effects of the alcohol hadn't hit him yet, but it was creeping up on him slowly.

Before he had a chance to say anything else though, the old man that had noticed them finally came up to the two - shaking his hand at the both of them. "Get out of here both of you! This is not a place for children."

Stunned at their sudden discovery, without saying a word - Graham grabbed Marina by the hand and quickly rushed out of the tavern. In truth, he had been too scared to stick around and see what would happen, but it wasn't like he was going to admit that to Marina anytime soon. "God, that was close." Graham gasped then - seriously spooked by their discovery. "I hope he doesn't work for the school."

[ooc; If you want me to change this post so he isn't grabbing her just let me know! Also, I could have probably made this post a bit longer but I figured Graham being scared of an old dude was enough XD]

Marina was still struggling to finish her drink when Graham announced that he had won, seeming surprised. She would have scowled in irritation at having lost the bet if not for the fact that she was extremely curious about what his dare for her would be. She was confident that there was nothing he could challenge her to do that she wouldn't be able to accomplish--she had no shame and was willing to do anything to not back down from a challenge. Giving up without even trying was the ultimate defeat, and that was just unacceptable. 

The girl resolved to finish her drink even if she had lost the speed challenge. There was no way she was going to be inferior. Just as she was lifting the glass to her lips again, the harsh voice of an aged man broke into their little bubble of peace away from the sweat and griminess of the rest of the tavern. Before she had a chance to set the drink down, Graham was dragging her outside. When they were safe, she laughed breathlessly. "I think you mean 'exhilarating'," she corrected him teasingly. There was nothing like the excitement of escaping a sticky situation to get your blood pumping. 

"Nah. He looks too gross and old to be putting up with a bunch of naughty teenagers," Marina answered, wrinkling her nose. "Well, now that you've won...Your wish is my command." 

As Graham was finally able to get enough air into his lungs and briefly calm himself, the boy looked over at Marina for a few seconds as she spoke - noting that her words seemed to have slowed down quite significantly. Blinking for a few seconds, Graham stood up straight as he tried to process what she was saying - when in reality the siren had been speaking normally the whole time.

For another moment, suddenly everything sped up and Graham was only able to catch the very end of the girls sentence. With an expression of surprise mixed with incredulity, at his point the alcohol was finally starting to effect Graham - but there had been one thing ringing around in his mind the whole time.

Don't waste your wish yet.

Patting his chest to hold back a burp, Graham looked at the girl through half-lidded eyes. "Am I allowed to save it? Maybe use it anytime I want? After all you did say anything I wanted."Both of Graham's brows raised and along with them his eyes opened a bit wider just for the moment.