"I think it's a mix of both," Nora said delicately, eyeing Bit with some amusement. The white polyhedron had given up trying to get out of the light box and was sulking morosely on the bottom, pulsing at a rather slower speed. "But you can see why Castor hired her."
“Fair enough. Like I said, you know her better than I do.” Cor agreed, finding her answer understandable. He chuckled softly and nodded. “She has skills. And can come off as friendly so… Yeah, I can.” he smiled a little.
Nora nodded. She privately thought that Skye was a little too friendly, but she at least balanced out Astra's coolheaded seductiveness and Nora's resistance to attachment.
"Well, she was programmed to work here, rather than being repurposed," she said, sipping her drink. And it was true; in fact, out of the End of Line staff, less than half of them were former Sirens. Castor had liked to surround himself with beauty and power, that much was obvious.
Cor hummed softly at that and swirled his cup slightly, as he didn't have a comment to add. There was something of a debate on being programmed for something versus being repurposed… and he didn't want to bring that up or accidentally insult Nora especially. “Well… Castor certainly had a preference for pretty faces.” he said instead, thinking about how many Sirens worked at the club before.
Nora nodded and looked around, ignoring Bit, who was trying to escape from its cage again.
Cor sighed slightly and took another sip as he looked around at the popularity of the club back in full swing, though he chuckled a little when he noticed Bit's failing escape attempt.
A pounding dance beat swept through the club, and Nora perked up slightly. She loved this song, and she wanted to dance… and Bit was safe in its cage where it couldn't wreak havoc.
"Shall we dance?" she said smoothly, setting her drink down.
Cor looked up at her in mild surprise, not having expected the question or a second chance to dance with her, but gave a small smile and nodded. “Sure.” he replied as he set down his drink and stood up.
Maybe it was the drink that was making her so… loose, Nora thought, picking up Bit's cage and slipping behind the bar, setting it down in a cupboard where the bartender could watch it. "Stay there."
Bit said nothing, now resigned to its fate; with a small chuckle, Nora came back out from behind the bar and led the way onto the dance floor.
Cor waited patiently, taking one last drink before following her onto the dance floor. It felt like a privilege to dance with the club owner in her own club after she asked you to.
Dancing. Everywhere, programs were dancing, heads thrown back, arms in the air, feet stamping, bodies waving. Nora joined them, but in her own, significantly less frivolous way. Somewhere, she thought she saw Skye dancing wildly, and was glad of the chance not to stop and say hello.
Cor smiled as he danced with Nora, enjoying the moment of near normalcy. His style of dancing hadn't changed as he was uniquely still a barely off rhythm.
(why am I already envisioning an unmasking scene for Cor in front of Nora? It's way too early in the story for that…)
Nora was simultaneously irked and amused by Cor's slightly offbeat movements. As a Siren, it was in her core programming to be rhythmic and mechanical, and that part of her wanted to grab him and force him to dance in time.
Or maybe it wasn't her core programming that wanted to grab him and dance with him.
She shrugged off the thought with a roll of her shoulders and continued dancing, the tiles lighting up beneath her heels, a few loose pieces of hair swinging around her face. She'd forgotten how much she loved to dance. She hardly did anymore. And best of all, she didn't have to worry about what Bit was doing.
"I should use Bit's cage more," she said, almost absentmindedly.
(why am I already envisioning an unmasking scene for Cor in front of Nora? It's way too early in the story for that…)
(Because we're writers and it's in our nature to think waaaaaaay far ahead 😆 )
(lol 😆 very true.)
If she had decided to grab him to correct his dancing, he genuinely wouldn't mind. He’d be blushing at the situation, but he wouldn't stop her.
Cor chuckled at her offhanded comment and nodded briefly. “Could save you a lot of trouble during business times.” he agreed. “Though I hope I’d still get to see the little rascal.” Truthfully he wanted to see both of them again and while there was nothing wrong with saying that… his other job was too dangerous to get attached like this. He was good at faking these kinds of friendships but this one was far from fake.
"Rascal, hmm?" Nora nodded. She liked that, it was a good way to describe Bit.
“Yeah. It basically means the same thing as “troublemaker” or “playful” or even “mischievous”. It just sounds nicer… kind of endearing.” he explained with a small smile.
"I know what it means," Nora said, sidestepping him and swaying in time. "How would you describe me?"
Cor laughed softly with a light blush and nodded. Of course, she would know what the word meant… Had he been trying to show off? If that's what the explanation was, then he just made himself look silly. Her question caught him off guard, however, and he had to slow down his dancing. “You? Hmm… I guess I’d say you are…” he paused for a moment to think. Graceful? Well, yes, she was a Siren after all. Snappy? He’d used that one already at the other bar… or had that been Sassy? “Passionate.” he finally decided. “You don't let anyone or anything get in your way when you know what you want and you don't take attitude from anyone.”
Nora paused for a moment at that. Passionate. She'd never been described that way before. Straightforward, efficient, and slick, yes. Passionate, no. That was a word for programs like Skye.
She didn't know what to say; eventually, a "Thank you" tumbled out of her mouth, and it felt strange in the few seconds it was there, heavy and coarse. She hoped he wouldn't notice and take her as insincere, but the words were foreign to her now, even more so than they had always been.
With a smile she hoped looked genuine, she continued dancing.
Cor's blush darkened slightly as he returned the awkward smile with one of his own. “You’re welcome.” he replied, the words coming out smoothly. He didn't often have a chance to say that phrase but it felt more fitting here than his usual, and sometimes slightly dismissive, response of just saying no problem.
Nora's eyelashes dipped, and she smiled, the first true, full smile that had graced her lips this evening.
(Skip to next vigilante scene/Astra sending Cor a message?)
(oh, oops! 😳 I'm so sorry. I thought I replied to that last one. 😅)
(If you want to skip ahead, that's fine with me… Again, sorry.)
(Ah it's aight! You can reply again if you want.)
(ok. Thanks… I’ll just respond to your last post then)
Cor’s eyes widened as he felt his breath leave him. Nora's smile… it felt like… There had been moments when he regretted his decision to make a second identity, though there were also plenty of times that made it so worth it. This would be one of the former. The idea of spending time with her and getting to see that smile was almost as intoxicating as End of Line’s best drinks. In his opinion, it suited her much better than that voice she used for her speech. But he didn't say anything… he couldn't, so he simply continued to dance with her.
Nora noticed the change in the look in his eyes, and she could feel her stubborn, emotion-refusing self clawing its way back into her mind. With a deep breath, she kept dancing. What was wrong with her? She was becoming… attached to him. He was nice, funny, honest. A lot like Kaira. Maybe a little too much like Kaira.
Cor likewise found himself finding a few similarities between Nora and Tetra. Both were fearless and said what they felt or what they were thinking. Though Tetra was only a very good friend, almost a sister to him, where Nora was… enchanting in a way. Maybe it was her charm as a Siren but there was definitely something else. The fire that she mentioned Gem said she had, possibly? He couldn't put his finger on it but he was certainly drawn to it.