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Riley wanders the corridors of the theater. Feeling the air growing colder and grimmer as he travels deeper into the darker part of the old building. He shivers and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his vest.
Ugh I wish they'd give me a map to this place.
Another few steps and a squeak is heard down by his feet. He looks down and sees the origin is a little sutasuta pecking at his boots.
"Oh hey, sorry about that bud." Riley kneels down to pet the small bird only to be greeted with a peck to the hand. He retracts his hand and shakes off the sting. "Mind leading me to your king?"
It gives out a small huff and skitters off deeper into the theater. Riley rises back up and hesitantly follows, hoping he was truly be led to the older of the two maestros and not into some trouble for nearly stepping on the poor thing.
Deeper in features of negativity sprout from every which direction in the halls. Creatures scramble back into the darkness as the two pass by. Riley keeps his eyes down to the ground, focusing on the details on hardwood flooring to avoid thinking about all the eyes on him.
They eventually reach a giant door with swirling heart and negati designs. The sutasuta stops in front of it, squawking, urging the human to go in. He lets out a sigh and reaches for the bronze handle.
Peeking inside he sees not the king of the negati but a being dressed in white, gold markings lining down their tendrils.
"Oh sorry, didn't mean to barge in. Thought the little guy was taking me to someone else-"
The sutasuta skitters past his feet towards the being. They give a soft smile and gently picks up the little one squeaking at them begging for attention. It's angered mood calmed as the being runs their finger through its ink black feathers. Riley squints to take another good look at them and notices something familiar about their clothing.
"Wait…Lance?"
"Heh, almost got you." Their smile more mischievous. They gently sit the now sleeping bird onto the couch nearby and walks over to the man. Clothes returning back to their tattered state and negative aura surrounding them once again.
Riley shifts in place, fiddling with a pick in his pocket. “So uh, there a reason why you wanted to see me?”
Lance gestures towards a small metal table, porcelain tea set placed neatly in the middle. “Have a seat if you’d like? And I will gladly explain.”
Riley gives a slight nod and cautiously walks around the maestro to take his place at the table. Lance follows suit, taking the pot in clawed hands. They pour tea into each of the cups, the scent of lavender with a hint of rose filling the air. Lance gently places the cup on the plate in front of the blonde. “I have milk and honey as well.”
"Mmn I'm good" Riley grabs the teacup, pulling to his mouth just to have something to occupy his hands with.
Long elven ears twitch to the sound of a foot tapping against the wooden floor. “There’s no reason to worry, I only want to talk.”
You didn't have an interest in talking before.
Riley bites his tongue. Outside of his initial stay, he didn't really see much of Lance. Anytime he would walk into a room with them, the maestro would promptly leave in the other direction. Riley winces when he remembers the sound of a metal bat connecting with the maestro's head. Were they still angry about that? Is that why he was called here?
Lance takes their place on the other side of the table. "I invited you here because I believe there's a certain topic that has not been discussed with you. Despite the reassurance that it would."
Riley perks up a bit. Topic? What topic? Balan had been pretty open about sharing everything about the theater and Wonderworld to ensure that his transition to living here went as smoothly as possible. What had they been keeping from him?
“There’s this…cycle that occurs. I was not always the king of the negati you see before you. Before Balan I was once the maestro of the theater and the maestro before me had my current place.”
“That form I saw earlier, is that what you used to look like?”
“As close as I can get to anyways.”
Emptied teacup now placed on saucer, Riley sits on the edge of his seat. “Wait what happened then?”
Sorrow filled the maestro's eyes.“I loved them too much…humans that is. I took in so much of their burdens and in turn it took a heavy toll on my heart. Negativity continued to grow in my heart and so Wonderworld created a new maestro.”
“You said cycle…meaning this will eventually happen to Balan?”
"If he continues on a similar path I did, yes. As of late we've been taking the steps to avoid this. As much as Balan doesn't want this to occur I too wish not to fade into nothingness."
Riley slouches against the back of the chair, the gears in his turning with the information present to him. "…Is me staying here going to be a problem?"
"In all honesty? I have no idea. Usually once a visitor's heart is healed they are sent home with their memories wiped of this place despite any protest made." They let out a laugh. "A visitor begging to stay and have a job here is certainly not the norm."
" I'm so fucking glad you find my career struggles funny ."
Lance jumps a bit at the venom in the other’s voice. They stare wide eyed at the human glaring daggers at them. "I'm sorry, I was laughing more at the scene of Balan attempting to deter you, not your hardships." The maestro now feeling guilty for the ill phrasing. Gods they really didn't know how to talk to people anymore did they?
Riley crosses his arms and tips a bit back in his chair, muttering something the maestro couldn't quite hear. Lance sighs, "I would certainly like to hope that one single human staying here wouldn't cause an issue, but we'd thought it would be best that you were at least aware of the situation in case things did go south."
"...But what if it was more than just me staying here?" Riley focusing his gaze at the ceiling above. Lance tilts his head in confusion.
"I'm sorry?"
"When you say you loved humans…had that love ever been romantic?"
Oh.
“ You like him .” Lance leans forward onto the table, resting chin on hand. A mischievous smile grows on their face, pocketing this newfound information for later.
Iron legs slam onto the ground, the man’s face growing red in embarrassment. He didn’t really expect he’d be spilling out his heart about this of all things.“I mean, I don't know, maybe? But it’s been something I’ve been thinking about…”
Lance hums in thought, twirling around one of their tendrils with their fingers. “As far as I’m aware Balan hasn’t initiated a relationship with a human before, so it would be a first time for that. That is of course, if he returns your feelings.”
Riley’s heart sank into his gut. He tried not to think too much about the possible rejection and his previous relationship attempts. "Even if he did, it'd probably be a bad idea to start anything right?"
"Do you think it's a bad idea?"
The man throws his hands up in the air. "I don't know! That's why I'm asking you !"
"I only know my own experiences and Balan is his own person. How would I know what would happen if he entered a relationship with you? "Lance’s grin growing wider, clearly enjoying toying with the human like this.
A growl erupts from the human's throat. Iron screeching against wood as he rises from his seat and heads towards the door. " For fucks sake. "
“Do you need assistance getting back?” Lance calls out to the human making his exit.
“ No, I'm good! ”
Lance winces a bit at the sound of the door slamming and sighs. Teasing the human was fun but him remaining here brought a lot of uncertainty and a possible relationship only added more worries. They would hope that he would be the more sensible of the two, but they’ve come to find over the course of the weeks that he could be just as bad at going into things with reckless abandon as much as their younger sibling…
“BY THE WAY-” Lance is startled out of their thoughts when Riley swings the door back open. ”I’m sorry for accidentally bashing you in the face with the baseballer costume. I haven't had the chance to apologize for that yet.” Riley pulls the door back to a crack. ”I’m still mad at you though.” The door clicks shut.