crux_fleet | [Open log]

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Who: Francœur and YOU
Where: Bistro Deur
When: Forward dated to Majo 22, a few days after the Terabel event. Evening.
Warnings: None

Perhaps you saw the flyers that heavily emphasised Francœur's debut and musical cure, or perhaps a certain giant monster chirped about it to you. In any case, the night of Francœur's performance was looking to be a success. The Bistro Deur buzzed with energy and the masked monster was at the heart of it. He danced around the stage, gliding through turns and spins. The small size of the stage did nothing to hamper the choreography.

"Your kiss is all I need
Just one more
Before you leave
Until I see you again
I'll breathe in
Your memory"

His sweet voice was perfect for singing about love and beauty. The song was enough to bring out a smile from most of the audience. A couple or two may be seen getting closer as the romantic mood spread throughout the bistro. Francœur, not losing his momentum for a second, ended on a high note. He bowed for the audience as they applauded, and he chirped under his breath when one threw a bouquet at his feet. He took it before he left the stage.

After the show, it was not difficult to find him in the crowd. He took his mask off after the performance was over, yet he frequently hid his face by burying it in the flowers he received. They smelled so good!

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Axl almost missed the show, distracted as he was with getting back to the fleet and the pile of messages about possible jobs waiting for him.. but seeing his bug-dude acquaintance from that first meeting was as good an excuse as any to ignore his inbox for a while, even if he only picked at the pastry he ended up getting to keep from having the wait staff toss him out for taking up space.

He was glad he did, and after tossing a few credits to cover the tip went into the crowd looking for the singer.

"Hey~! Nice singing!"

It was not that hard to find him considering how tall he was and that outfit was not exactly subtle. He stopped smelling the flowers and he looked around. Oh, Axl made it to the show! Francœur looked quite thankful for his kind words. No longer singing, he happily chirped while he waved at him.

Using that magic ring, he wrote,
Thank you for coming
Will you stay for more?
There are three shows left
And an encore

"Wow, that many?" Axl said, impressed. "I dunno if I can hang around all day, but I can stick around for the second act."

He did have credits to make. At some point. Stupid inbox.

The next act starts in an hour
I'm not part of that show

He looked around before he wrote the next half, in tiny writing. Seemed he did not want others to read what was next.

I'm in act four and the encore
Don't let everyone else know

The encore was meant to be a surprise. The flyers and the list of shows only mentioned it would be there, not who would be playing. He shared this with Axl because he supposed there would be no point in surprising him since he would not be there.

"Cool," Axl said, grinning up at Francoeur. "That's pretty awesome for a debut show."

True, being a savior of the Fleet (at least from the impression the flier left) couldn't have hurt, but there was a difference between acoustic engineering and music.

"Say, if anybody from the arts council or whatever badmouths you, want me to leave something awful on their doorsteps?" he added, teasingly.

He took his hat and, in one sweep, made the words disappear. The smoke escaped in a puff from under his hat once he placed it back atop his bald head.

What Axl said next shocked him. What a terrible thing to suggest! He shook his head and did it again once more. He wanted to be sure that Axl would not think he would seriously consider such an action.

Axl cackled a little, holding his hands up in surrender.

"All right, all right. I'll let you handle the reviews. Promise!"

He looked uncertain about that laugh, but he nodded. He trusted Axl.

As the food passed around the tables, Francœur stopped to look at it. The food around here looked good. He had not eaten before the performance.

Axl followed his gaze and grinned a bit. "They do some really good pasty things. C'mon... I don't think they stole my table yet!"

Besides, if Francoeur was with him, maybe he'd get an employee discount. And the pastries were really good.

If he had known Axl's motives for inviting him, he could have informed him that he had no such discount. He had an offer for a free meal but he had given it away to Espio.

Francœur looked happy for his invitation and he chirped his thanks before following him to his table. With such a crowd around combined with the slow way he moved, he took a little longer than usual to get there.

Hey, it was worth a shot. Thankfully the table wasn't cleared yet, and Axl passed a menu over while sticking his own nose into the dessert offerings. Nutrition was for biological people, man.

He took the menu. It all sounded delicious but he should not eat too much before his next show. By the time someone came to the table, he had decided.

"Krr," he chirped and he pointed at the menu. The woman looked confused. Francœur tried again but the restaurant's dim lighting worked against him here. She could not see what he was pointing at from where she was standing.

Axl leaned over, peering over the top of the menu to read it upside-down.

"Need a hand?" he stage-whispered. It was a bit odd that Francoeur could sing perfectly understandably but had to chirp and write out anything else... maybe it was magic or something. That stuff was freaky.

That waitress could hear everything Axl whispered. Not that Francœur minded; he was happy to accept his offer. He nodded and pointed at what he wanted to Axl. At least from this distance, it should be easy for him to read.

He pointed at the Créme Vichyssoise Glacée. Hopefully Axl could pronounce that, Francœur could not help him here.

Axl peered at the menu and sighed-- well, he had offered even if that looked like quite a tongue-twister. Old Earth languages weren't really his hobby.

So the vishyssoise maybe ended up sounding more like bitchyssoise, but the waitress giggled and the order got made, and wasn't that the important bit?

Bitchyssoise. Francœur's eyes widened at that and he chirped something, perhaps in a fruitless effort to correct him. After the waitress left, he smiled at Axl and chirped something that could have been some form of thanks.

While he waited for the food, he buried his face in the bouquet and just deeply breathed in the scent. When was the last time he smelled roses? It must have been back in the cabaret.

Espio, for his part, was really only here for the free food Francœur's voucher had afforded him, and if he hadn't picked the very corner of the room to sit, he may very well have stuck out like a sore thumb as a single diner. If he ever thought to come here again, he would have to invite someone.

He'd never been much of a musical person. To him - after that initial moment of surprise that the oversized flea that chirped and clicked at him now sang actual words with such a high, feminine voice - the music fell into the background. It was nice for the atmosphere, even if he wasn't fully engaged in the performance.

Only once the performance (and meal!) were over did he try to get Francœur's attention with a small wave.

His eyes, which had a glow in the soft lighting, caught the wave in the far corner of the floor. He doffed his hat to Espio to greet him before he made the journey to his table. It took him a while to get there, as should be expected with the careful way he moved. It was important for him to get there without hitting any tables or people. Compared to the way he gracefully danced on stage, it was a stark contrast.

He was chirping again. The way he tipped his head, glanced at the table, and gestured his hands suggested he was asking Espio a question, specifically, why was he sitting all the way back here?

Hmm... Espio tilted his head, trying to work out what Francœur was trying to ask. It took him a moment. "I didn't feel like being in the middle of everything today," he explained, with a small shrug.

The corner of his mouth tugged down as he wondered. Did Espio even enjoy himself here? There was no one else with him. He wrote in the air using the ring, though the lighting was even dimmer in the corner. Hopefully Espio could read it.

Did you like the show?
There's still more
Next is jazz and then blues
Does any of that suit you?

Jinto and Lafiel had ended up here by accident. After Terabel, he wanted to celebrate by eating somewhere the food didn't come out of a replicator but was also a bit more comprehensible than at his current part-timer. That 'more comprehensible' meant a French restaurant said a lot about the level of hipster where he was working.

He hadn't expected to see the giant arthropod who had ended what had been popularly dubbed 'The Plague Of Feelings' playing. Nor the music to be quite so...Wait. Dim lighting. A love song. Fancy food.

It looked a whole lot like they were on a date.

Face suddenly hot, Jinto excused himself to go talk to the performer when he was finished.

Figuring a handshake was probably a bad idea, Jinto offered Francouer an informal bow and a smile. "That was an excellent performance. Is there a recording of yours anywhere?" He said, glancing around for a tip jar.

While a handshake would have been fine with him, Francœur was happy with doffing his hat to Jinto. He made a quick, happy chirp. He was touched that Jinto liked his performance so much. There was no tip jar near him, and not a physical recording of the performance either.

Now that he was not singing, he only made chirping sounds that expressed mild disappointment. He communicated further with the aid of the ring over his gloved finger, which allowed him to write words in the air with a type of smoke that could hold its shape.

He wrote,
I am regretful to say
There is no recording of this play

Jinto watched the writing, fascinated. What an ingenious way to let the formerly mute speak.

"Ah well...I'd like to at least tell my friends about your music. What's your name? I'm Jinto Lynn." He said with a chuckle.

He smiled endearingly, that was, if sharp, crooked teeth could be considered endearing. He waved the words away with the back of his hand and then replaced them with more.

My name is Francœur
Pleased to meet you
I'll perform again later
Do they like the blues?

"The...blues?" Jinto does not know the blues. He is from space suburbia and the Abh only have blue hair.

He smiled playfully. Why explain when he could just demonstrate? He reached for his guitar and he began to play a hauntingly remorseful melody. His smile vanished, and he lowered his gaze. The poor bug looked on the verge of tears as he chanted about despair and crushed hopes. Just as his sweet voice was perfect for love songs, it was eerily suited for sorrow as well.

As the short song ended, he sighed and his posture slumped. A few customers that were close enough to hear applauded. Francœur peeked at Jinto from under the brim of his hat. He smiled; did he like that type of music?

Jinto stared, transfixed. This was clearly a music born out of deep suffering. He'd tried to compose a poem like that when he thought he was going to die on Lobnas III but it had just come out mawkish.

"That's..." He didn't know what to say. 'Good' might not have been appropriate. Did you congratulate someone on the quality of their weeping? "...It's very poignant."

He cheerfully hummed as appreciation for his comment. True, that sort of singing could only come from experiencing tragedy, but he appeared fine at the moment. He preferred the happier love songs but he made a sad one at the request of the Bistro Deur's owner.

He waved the words away and he replaced it with more.
Much later tonight
I'll play that type of show
But by that time young couples
Have already gone home

Two people in love had better things to do with their time than listen to sad songs. He glanced at the young woman that Jinto was with and he smiled. Were they a couple?

"Then I guess we'll be fortunate enough to hear it." Jinto said, sailing down de nile river.

He looked at Jinto with a knowing smile but he did not press the matter any further.

Lafiel was missing the social clues, because... well, Lafiel was Abh. While she recognized that eating dinner with a person could be Significant, she wouldn't have clued in that others would interpret this as romantic, rather than, for example, a dinner in remembrance.

Of course, Lafiel did know Jinto, so she could read that he was agitated about something.

Abh did go on dates, he knew that. But the signifigance of the atmosphere and music would probably be lost on one.

He hid behind his French bread to avoid her inquisitiveness.

Well, the Abh weren't too interested in foreign cultures.

Add in the force of personality that was Lafiel's assumption that of course people would know what she was up to, because it was obvious. (Of course, were Lafiel and Jinto's crew would probably correctly read the situation... in all its levels.)

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah it's just that..." He glances around. People are looking meaningfully at each other. One couple is even doing that 'sucking up a strand of spaghetti from both ends' thing like in The Lady And The Tramp. "...I can't help but notice everyone else here is a couple." Everyone else. Jinto, in addition to helping to fly a spaceship, can also sail up de nile with the best of them.

"And?" Lafiel said. She was starting to look around, though, and it was dawning on her that he was right.

"Well...It looks like we're on a date. I'm just hoping that noone from the crew is around..." Even Janeway would probably give one of her knowing smiles, which in comparison was almost worse than outright teasing.

There was also the musician to add to it. It was certainly the sweetest music he'd ever heard from an arthropod.

Lafiel was starting to blush. "They should mind their own business if they are here."

Not that she could verbalize why she was rather flustered and covering it with irritation.

Since when had their crew ever given a fuck? Certainly not when they were going to Febdash's funeral dinner and not now either. Luckily none of them appeared there.

Jinto nodded, also blushing. He needed something else to talk about, stat.

"How did Diaho handle the trip?" Lafiel blurted out. Because it was the first thing that came to mind.

Oh thank the stars.

"He tore up whatever he could then looked at it like it was my fault. I think I've been neglecting him." That would be the part timers, retraining and battles. He hasn't had enough time to pay attention to his cat.

"He's gotten spoiled," Lafiel said.

"It can't be helped." Jinto polishes off his pasta, trying to ignore the people at the next table who are frenching. Francoeur is almost too good at what he does. "Maybe he needs to meet more cats."

"He did grow up with many other cats," Lafiel said. "Perhaps he'd be less lonely if he's around them, even if they are new to him. At least while we're working."

After the stress that was being on the Sub Fleet, Moa had decided to take an evening to relax. A concert at the Bistro seemed like the perfect thing. She'd admired the Bistro from the street several times now, so why not take the opportunity to check it out?

Watching the giant insect was strange, but Moa wasn't one to judge on appearances. She'd met odd-looking people before, after all, back home in Orokos. The monster reminded her of Vago, actually - a creature so odd and even scary-looking, but so full of wonder and life, too. It made her a bit wistful; she still had no idea what had happened to Vago after they'd parted, even if he was still alive or not. She didn't know if Rail was alright, either....the beautiful songs about love were right up her alley, and she thoroughly enjoyed them, but they did remind her that she was without her best friend here on the Fleet.

She gave him an extra round of applause as he passed by while making his way through the crowd. They hadn't spoken before, but that didn't mean they couldn't now, right? If nothing else, she should say something about how great his performance was.

"That was really beautiful!"

Though he was nose deep into the bouquet of roses, he stopped smelling the flowers as soon as he heard her voice.

"Prr!" the monster cheerfully chirped. That was sweet of her to say. He nonverbally expressed his thanks for her compliments by nodding his head.

{ooc: Sorry for the lack of action. Sometimes Francœur can be about as engaging as a big, scary rock.}

[ooc: no problem, Moa can be extra friendly :D ]

Did he just chirp at her? That was kind of adorable. Scary, maybe a little, but he seemed awfully cute to be scary. Was he a real flea? Maybe he came from a place where everybody was a giant flea.

"You're a Transport, right? I am too. My name's Moa." It was true that her friends from home weren't here, but that wasn't a reason not to make new friends. She glanced around at the crowd, wondering if this was a bad time. "Sorry, do you have to play again or anything? I just haven't really had people to talk to lately..."

He chirped inquisitively as she spoke. Once she introduced herself, he lifted his hat and chirped twice as if he were trying to say hello.

He shook his head to assure her. While he did have to play again, it would not be for at least another hour. He pointed at the people setting up their equipment on the stage and then he gestured in an attempt to say that he went on after the show following this one.

She didn't get the whole message, but the gist was received. Someone else was playing right now. Also, the hat thing was very gentlemanly, nice touch. Brightening again, she patted the seat across from her. "Do you want to join me, then? The bread's free and everything."

How sweet. He hummed in a pleasant tone that expressed his thanks. The seats here were a little small for him but he managed to squeeze onto it.

He smelled the bouquet one last time before he set it aside. It seemed he was asking her something. From the way he chirped and looked around, he could have been asking her if she were here before.

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