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frogoru · 5 days ago

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‧₊˚ Theatrical Afterglow ‧₊˚

Characters: Thalia Sani, Moxie Vera, Atticus Leroy, and Natalia Rozanova (OCs)

Words: 2,194

Summary: Atticus invites Nattie and Thalia to the opening night performance of his latest play. Thalia traverses the crowded halls of the theater in search of him afterwards, and the eccentric angel greets her with proud enthusiasm. In the middle of their pleasant exchange, a wispy-haired demon—introduced by Atticus as Moxie—is tasked with retrieving the angel for something work-related, but gets caught up in the flow of conversation instead.

“Ahah! You get it, Thalia! Yes!” The eccentric angel laughed, clearly still hyped on adrenaline. “Such is the art of theater! That wondrous symphony of collaboration! The shared joy of performance! The…” Before he could continue his inspirational monologue, Atticus fell into a coughing fit. “Hold on, give me one moment…” He breathed, propping an elbow against the wall.

❀。*₊°。 ❀°。

Thalia fiddled with the ends of her vine-like hair, sifting through the crowd of awestruck attendees as she scanned the theater for a certain blond angel. Her long, flowy skirt felt heavier than usual, and the golden jewelry that adorned her body suddenly felt irritating against her bare skin. Her long ears drooped, bothered by the incessant sound of boisterous laughter that rang through the lobby.

The dendrian never did well in large crowds. While she never thought of herself as socially anxious, she was undoubtedly an introvert at heart, and the unending chatter of audience members who flooded the building did nothing to ease the discomfort she felt from being alone in such a bustling place. Thalia furrowed her brows, praying that Atticus would show up sooner or later. He had personally invited her to watch his latest show, and she’d visited the Celestial realm along with Natalia and her mother to watch him perform live on opening night. After the theatrics had ended, tears shed and all, Nattie’s mother had sent her off to find him in the crowd while they gathered their bearings. She’d listened to the older woman without question, but now, as she scanned the lively room and its occupants, she reconsidered her actions with a heavy sigh.

Thalia drifted off to an empty corner of the lobby, taking a seat as she whipped out her phone. She opened her most recent conversation with Atticus and began typing frantically into the keypad, asking him the specifics of where to find him after the show had ended. She’d grown so used to him just sort of walking out during his days with their local community theater, but professional establishments like this were bound to abide by different rules. After a few minutes of awkward waiting, her phone buzzed, and the angel of the hour instructed her to wait out front by the stage door.

The embroidered skirt that hung from Thalia’s lengthy frame swished around as she made her way through the building. Her angular eyes gazed over the detailed architecture of the theater, admiring the care and attention to detail put into its craftsmanship. This place was so lovely… No wonder Atticus yapped about it so much. After her short trip to the stage door outside, Thalia leaned against the wall beside the entrance, taking deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself from that awkward stupor she had found herself in earlier. Not long after, the door swung open, and she heard her name called with the highest degree of enthusiasm one could possibly muster.

“Thalia!” Atticus exclaimed, shutting the door behind him. His wings spread wide as he beamed up at her, bright as the sun. The elaborate costume he’d worn for the night had been whisked off, returning him back to his original state before his role had completely enveloped him. “I’m so glad you could make it this time! Are the others with you as well? Goodness, I’m so worn out! But! Excited to see everyone, nonetheless! Gawh, after weeks of practice, the fruits of our labor have finally been presented…”

“Just me,” Thalia chuckled at his expressive reaction. Sometimes his melodramatic nature could get really overwhelming, but witnessing him in his element was truly something else. “Nattie and her mom are a little far back. Ms. Rozanova told me to come find you. There was… A lot of people out there.”

“Ah! Very understandable! It is opening night, after all, and the story of Gilded Wings is certainly a classic,” Atticus dreamily sighed, resting a hand atop his chest. “What an honor it was to tell such a timeless tale—and in front of such a wide audience, no less! This truly feels like my calling in life. Every time I step foot across that stage, I’m reminded of why I do this! Did you enjoy it, Thalia?”

The dendrian nodded, “I did! I think you did well… I know you’ve been talking about it for a while now, but getting to watch it for myself really does feel special. It was really neat to see how everything came together.”

“Oh, um. Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes! Just got a tad bit carried away there.”

“Maybe you should tone it down a bit…”

“I’ve been through this before, Thalia, I can assure you I am fine! But, erm… Let’s just rest for a minute.”

While Atticus regained his voice, Thalia just kind of stood there. She peered down at the blond man, who raised a hand to his throat in order to stroke the area around his vocal chords. Right, all of that vocal performance must’ve taken a toll on him, even if most of it was carried through his microphone. She crouched down a bit and patted his back, lifting the front of her skirt so it wouldn’t drag on the floor. Despite this mildly unfortunate turn of events, she knew he’d be up and at it again in no time. After all, he was probably accustomed to this, as he had mentioned.

“Still good?” Thalia double-checked, to which Atticus nodded in response.

“Yup,” He simply replied, his tone considerably softer than before. “Alright, perhaps I should dial it down…”

Right as the words left his mouth, the stage door slammed open, causing the both of them to jolt in surprise. “Atticus!” An unfamiliar voice sang, dragging out each syllable in a playful manner. “Where’d you go, man? Dave needs you for somethin’.” The owner of the voice, a woman of demonic descent with wispy, blue hair and lavender horns, skipped up to the angel. She practically threw herself at him, tossing an arm around his shoulders rather carelessly. Loose strands of hair stuck out from her low ponytail, and the black work attire she wore pointed towards her role within the theater. Atticus shook her off with a huff, but that didn’t stop her from looping her arm around his.

“What do you want, Moxie?” He groaned in annoyance.

“Mmm, no. Not me. Dave!” The woman—Moxie, repeated with a grin. “I dunno what he wanted. He just needed you for something before you left.”

As Moxie briefly explained the situation, her eyes drifted towards Thalia, lighting up as she acknowledged her presence. She immediately dropped Atticus’ arm and stepped towards the dendrian, staring up at the long, verdant strands that cascaded down her shoulders. Thalia shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Was she… Judging her or something? She couldn’t tell.

“Atticus…” Moxie began, intentionally pausing for dramatic effect. “Who is this absolute goddess? Oh my gosh?? Hello!?”

Thalia was quite taken aback. “Uhm…” She quickly tried to come up with a worthy response, but all she could manage was a slight wave of her hand. Moxie didn’t seem to mind.

“Girl, oh my gosh! Your hair is so long and pretty! I can see so many different style opportunities just looking at it... What’s your name? And what are you doing hanging out with… This guy,” The wispy-haired woman went on, gesturing towards Atticus as if he were some weird creature they were murmuring about. “You could do sooo much better, y’know,” She leaned in to whisper, making sure Atticus could hear every hushed word.

“That’s hilarious coming from you,” He retorted.

Moxie whipped around to face the man in question once more, ignoring his mean-spirited jab. “Dude, you gotta introduce us right now!” She cheerfully demanded, pulling him closer by the wrist. He rolled his eyes in response, yet allowed her to drag him by, too tired to put up with her antics.

“Moxie, this is Thalia, a friend from my youth. Thalia, this is Moxie, my agonizingly annoying co-worker,” Atticus spoke, glaring down at the demon beside him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Moxie…”

“Same to you!”

Before Moxie could add onto her introduction, Atticus cut in. “Now that you two have been acquainted, might I go and check on things backstage? A certain someone failed to clarify the purpose for my delay, despite the fact that I’ve signed out and intended to catch up with my loved ones during this time… Hm! I’m also quite certain they need more help getting everything situated for tomorrow's run-through in the hair and makeup department, Moxie.”

“Oh shit, you’re right!” Moxie swore, glancing back towards the stage door. “Oops, almost lost track of time. Hey, uh, Thalia! You’re staying for a little longer, right? ‘Cause of Atticus?”

“I am”

“Cool, cool. I’ll get your contact info after I’m finished back here!”

And with that, Moxie waved goodbye and rushed to return backstage. Atticus said his temporary goodbyes as well and followed her, leaving Thalia to awkwardly stand there and wait once again. She dusted her skirt off and leaned back against the wall, slipping her phone out to message Nattie about her current whereabouts.

❀。*₊°。 ❀°。

“What the hell, you’re so cute!! I can’t believe Atticus has been hiding you away all this time!!” Moxie complained with a hint of feigned sorrow, fawning over Natalia. The wavy-haired angel giggled in response, basking in Moxie’s enthusiastic praise. Her hands fiddled with the fabric of her pale blue dress, the nerves and newfound excitement from meeting such a lively person taking over.

“Hiding her away?!” Atticus huffed. “I did no such thing! I just didn’t feel the need to spill the details of my family life to the likes of you!”

The demon clicked her tongue. “Hm, hm, hm… So you say.”

Moxie and Atticus had finished up their work within the theater, and their group currently stood outside of the main building. Nattie and her mother, Amber, had met up with them, and after Amber was done showering Atticus in praise and maternal affection, he introduced Moxie to her daughter. As Moxie continued to excessively compliment Nattie, Thalia stared down at them, curiosity taking hold of her. Despite their snarky banter, Moxie and Atticus seemed very close… Which was odd, seeing as he had barely mentioned her at all. Did Thalia expect him to spill every detail of his life? No, not particularly, but he basically did so anyway. He’d rambled on about anything under the sun at any given opportunity, so the lack of detail about this random woman who appeared to be very touchy and comfortable with him was kind of weird.

Moxie had exchanged numbers with Thalia a few minutes prior. She’d gone on about meeting up to do her hair and hang out for fun in the future, and while Thalia was receptive for the sake of politeness, she didn’t really think they’d get that far in terms of friendship. Moxie seemed so different from her, and while yes, that didn’t stop people from connecting with each other, she could just sort of tell that Moxie was on a different level from her. She looked so full of life, so exuberant… Thalia couldn’t see her maintaining interest in her quiet demeanor if they ever hung out one on one.

Once introductions had finally been established, pleasant goodbyes were shared, and Moxie clutched her purse as she walked off. While the city streets were still crowded as ever, the busy environment that the theater had cultivated was put to rest. Amber whisked Atticus beside her as she asked for further performance details, and Nattie turned to Thalia as they began walking off.

“That was so sweet… I didn’t expect to meet someone new tonight!” The angel fondly mused, glancing up at the twinkling stars that painted the Celestial’s atmosphere. “Especially someone so friendly. I love when girls are just super friendly like that right off the bat. Except for when it’s like… Fake. I don’t think Moxie was being fake though.”

“Yeah, her excitement seemed really genuine,” Thalia nodded in agreement.

“Mhm, mhm. Oh! Thalia! What were your thoughts about the show?” Nattie asked, smiling up at her best friend. “I know it’s been a while since you’ve gone to one of Atticus’ plays… Or like, any play in general, I think.”

“It was nice. The visuals were so pretty, and the acting was really heartfelt. I know Atticus doesn’t make it a secret at all, since, well, you know… But I forget he’s genuinely really good at this stuff. It was cool to see him up there doing his thing again,” Thalia thoughtfully replied. “It was really packed in there, but since I was with you for most of the time, I didn’t really mind. Real neat how you improve my surroundings by just existing, huh?”

“Gawhhh!!” Nattie cooed, reaching up to take the taller girl’s hand. “I love you so much!! I’m so happy we could hang out again tonight…”

Thalia faintly smiled, brushing a strand of verdant hair away from her face. “Me too,” She spoke in a soft reply.

#ocs #thalia #moxie #atticus #natalia #writing

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