The band started playing, and Rifka shook out her arms and rolled her neck. All nervousness was cast aside, and she walked up to the microphone. The pub continued to chatter, it was just the normal local band, playing to fill the air with background music, but then red lips parted, and the voice that crooned into the microphone seemed to command the patron's attention.

Her dark eyes swept the bar as she sang, smiling as she rolled her hips to the flutter of guitars, and her gaze landed on Thancred, standing behind the bar with a glass in his hand. He froze in the act of cleaning, his mouth falling open slightly as he stared back at her.

Hmm, Rifka smiled to herself, yeah, I think you're nailing it, girl.

"Don't we look good in red?"

That wasn't really how the song ended, but Rifka was speaking to Thancred in that moment, her lips curled playfully. This was his doing, anyway, so he should reap some of the reward.

"How's everyone doing tonight?!" She released him from her gaze and stepped back from the microphone as the bar erupted in cheers, and she thanked Alisaie for running up and passing her a bottle of water. "That was Good in Red, and we're The Echoes! Enjoy your evening with us!"

The next song started, and the night continued. Toward the end of the third song, Rifka heard a familiar growling engine outside as she was singing, and watched as the door opened and a man entered the bar. He was tall, well-over six feet, wearing black slacks and a dark blue silk shirt, and black driving gloves. He had a hairtie in his teeth and was in the process of pulling back his long, white hair into a ponytail, and his fringe was falling down in front of his long, pointed ears.

Holy shit, Rifka felt her belly clench with hunger, he's fucking hot! Who the fuck is he?

Dark Blue walked over to the bar, and casually locked eyes with Thancred. They spoke quietly, and Dark Blue slid a business card across the bar as he sat down. Thancred took the card and glanced at it. From the stage, Rifka noticed that Thancred froze again, this time just for a split second, before pocketing the business card and pulling the man a beer.

"First one's on the house," he murmured.

The man grinned slowly. "Oh? You're too kind…" His voice was rough and gravelly, and Rifka exhaled as heat flushed through her system.

Rein in it, girl, she scolded herself, people can see you!

Controlling herself, Rifka stepped up to the microphone again as the next song started, but she noticed sharply that it wasn't the song on the list. She looked at Dola and saw the wild bassist was laughing and blushed brightly. Damn, they'd caught her staring!

The song was slow and sexy, as if the whole band was playing wingman for her. Shaking her head, she grinned and gripped the mic softly as she purred into it, trying to pretend she didn't notice when the tall drink of Elven water swiveled in his seat to look at her.

Their eyes met as she sang. His pale gaze was intense. She smiled slowly, feeling powerful. "Don't you wanna slip away?" The song faded out and Rifka slipped away from the microphone with a laugh, collecting her water and taking a break backstage. The patrons were cheering, spirits were high, and she smiled, delighted, but… were there always those small fairy lights around the vanity mirror?

"Oh no," She swayed, briefly overwhelmed by the level of noise – the busy kitchen, the chattering of patrons, the clink of glassware, the hum of electronics… She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. "No, no… not now…" She hurried into the changing room, and turned the light off, sitting on the bench and putting her head down. "Please pass, please…"

"Riffie,"

The familiar, dulcet voice murmured to her tenderly, and she lifted her head to see Thancred stepping up to her, his hand sliding over her shoulders. He touched her hair gently, looking into her eyes. "Did you start getting a migraine?" His other hand offered her two white pills, and she recognized them as painkillers.

"Bless you, Than." She twisted the cap off her water and took the pills, sighing when she was done. "I wasn't expecting it to go this well. I should have taken a break earlier."

"You're doing famously, Darling." He sat beside her and rubbed her back softly, and she leaned into his chest, letting him hold her. "That last song wasn't on the playlist, though…"

She blushed and grinned at him. "The band decided to tease me… I guess they caught me staring at that guy that gave you his card."

Thancred laughed softly. "Oh, yes… He's all sorts of your type, isn't he, Minx?"

"Very unfairly!" Her blush deepened, but she grinned again. "So? Who is he?"

"That tall drink of ice water is the infamous Estinien Varlineau, Darling. Otherwise known as The Dragon, Ishgard's top mercenary."

Her eyes went wide. "Ishgard's what?" She lowered her voice quickly. "What's he doing here?!"

"Well, that's what I'll be finding out, isn't it? Weeks of nothing and then this lands in my lap! If Ishgard is in town, then something big must be in play."

"How did we hear nothing about it?"

He pet her cheek, chuckling softly. "No idea, but that's my job, isn't it? We'll know soon." He looked into her eyes. "Are you feeling better?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, thank you. Caught it just in time."

He lifted her chin and leaned in, kissing her tenderly, and she slid her arms around him, kissing him softly in return. They held each other for a few moments longer, just breathing. Eventually, Thancred regretfully left her to return to the bar. Sighing, Rifka waited a moment before stepping out of the changing room. She finished her bottle of water as she went to the mirror, and checked her makeup and hair, and smoothed out any wrinkles in her dress.

"You okay, Riffie?" It was Alisaie, come to check on her.

Rifka smiled at her friend, rubbing her temple absently. "I started getting a migraine, needed to sit a minute in the dark. Thancred brought me some painkillers, and I think we caught it just in time."

"I brought you another water if you need it." Alisaie walked over to hand her the bottle.

Their fingers brushed when Rifka reached out to accept it, and their eyes met. Alisaie instantly started blushing again, and Rifka smiled softly. "Thank you for always taking care of me, Darling."

"Don't say romantic stuff like that, Riffie," Alisaie pouted, "it's unfair when you don't like girls."

Rifka grinned shamelessly. "I do like my friends, though. So, thank you."

Alisaie turned bright red and went completely silent, her mouth falling open. Rifka snickered softly and patted her lightly on the shoulder as she headed back onto the stage. Finally finding her voice again, Alisaie spun to call after her, but saw her parting the curtain and stopped herself from shouting.

"What does that mean?!" She hissed.

Rifka looked back at her and winked. Smiling, she stepped onto the stage. She had planned on going straight back to the microphone, but Aren stopped her, his eyes soft with concern. "You were gone awhile," he observed, "you okay?"

She was touched by his concern and noticed that Dola and Coult had come over to hear her answer. She smiled softly at all three of them. "Yeah, I'm okay. I pushed that first set too far, I guess I was excited." She blushed, but grinned. "I gave myself a migraine, but it wasn't anything a few minutes in the dark couldn't fix. Thancred ran me some painkillers and Ali brought me a fresh water. I'm good to go!"

"That's our girl!" Dola crowed, grinning. "Now! Let's light this place up!"

Grinning, Rifka prowled up to the microphone and checked the playlist taped to the stand to see the next song. It was a good one, upbeat to get the bar jumping again, a strong return from the break.

Her eyes drifted across the bar as she sang. If the patrons weren't outwardly watching her, she could see their toes tapping or their bodies wiggling in their seats as they enjoyed themselves. That made her happy to see. Thancred and the other bartenders were busy behind the counter, pulling beers or pouring shots. Alisaie and the other wait staff were hustling too, shouting orders to the kitchen or carrying plates out to tables.

It was just a typical night, right? Nothing special or different about it.

…Right?

There was only one person in the whole bar remaining motionless, and he stood out for it. Estinien, still sitting at the bar, had finished his free beer and was leaning back against the counter, watching her with a cool, aloof expression.

Their eyes met and held again. She smiled slowly, purring the song into the microphone with a playful curl of her lips, her hips following the rhythm of Coult's guitar. Her feet, and her heart, were pounding to the beat of Aren's drums. She got what she wanted; an eyebrow went up, a brief, startled look when he realized she was flirting with him. He glanced away, but not before she saw him grin to himself.

His phone rang, and he cursed quietly, drawing it out of his pocket and looking at the screen. He rose smoothly from his seat, glancing at Rifka again, and strolled easily out the front door. Rifka looked over to Thancred to see he was also watching the tall man leave, and he shrugged at her. She smiled and resisted the urge to sigh, finishing the song to a room full of cheers.

Compared to the roar of the bar, the night air was virtually silent, save for the summer song of crickets and cicadas. Estinien leaned back against the building and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He hated crowded places. He lifted his phone to his ear.

"I'm here."

"You took your time answering," purred a rich voice with a smooth, cultured accent.

Estinien sighed. "You have me staking out a bar. You're lucky I heard my phone ring at all." He saw more people coming up the ramp to the door and pushed off the wall. He headed back to his car and jumped inside, putting the hood up for more privacy.

"Oh? My reports didn't mention it was a terribly popular establishment, did something change?"

"How the hells should I know? You never mentioned that the woman you sent me to scope out was the singer in a band, either."

"What?" Estinien heard paper shuffling. "No, she's not supposed to be. She sings?"

Estinien sighed again, recalling the purring voice, the provocative, soulful eyes, the way she rolled her hips to the music with a knowing, flirtatious smile… and allowed himself to blush deeply in the privacy of his car.

"Yes. She sings, and the crowd is loving it."

"I wonder if she's an Empath. What do you make of her?"

That was a loaded question. Estinien felt his heart thud in his chest as he thought about how to answer. He shrugged and decided to be blunt. "Attractive. Charismatic. Powerful. The photos in your file didn't do her any justice."

"Really…?" The cultured voice purred with interest, and an obvious smile. "Don't tell me you like her?"

Estinien growled quietly at the teasing. "She's hot, Aymeric, but I don't know her to like her… What are we actually doing here, anyway? If Thordan wants her…" He exhaled, growling again, "Aym, I swear to Halone, if you've sent me here to ki…"

Aymeric drew in a sharp breath. "No such order has been made. We're just gathering intel for now."

"Aym… You know what he usually gathers intel for…"

"That's enough, Ien. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." He sighed, verbally brushing the topic aside. "For now, focus on the intel. We'll speak again later."

"Fine."

The line clicked and Estinien tossed his phone into one of the cubbies in the center console in his irritation. Thordan was a power-hungry vulture of a bygone age, a relic that deserved to be buried and forgotten. Unfortunately, being the next in line, Aymeric was literally the next in line. As Thordan's son, he wasn't able to take him out himself, nor order it to be done for him. Their whole organization would implode, and Aymeric's reputation would be forever stained.

Estinien pinched the bridge of his nose, then flicked his hair back with a growl. He hated the feeling of being trapped, of not being able to pull Aymeric out of the hole they were both in. He hated not being able to break the chains holding his friend captive.

He glanced back at the bar. If what Aymeric's file said about this woman was true, though… She might be just what they needed. With that hope in mind, Estinien climbed out of his car and strolled back into the pub once more. He bellied up to the bar and quietly withdrew a roll of cash, putting it down. "Another beer, and whatever's on the grill, open me a tab. And make sure you overcharge me."

Thancred took his money, gazing up at him quietly with an expression of curiosity, then grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Enjoy your stay, Mr. Varlineau."

Estinien smirked at him. "I have been so far." He turned to slowly look at the stage again. "I like the music."

Thancred chuckled and poured the man his beer. "Can you believe she's the emergency backup?"

Estinien's eyebrows went up in surprise. "What's the regular singer sound like?" He wondered.

Thancred placed the beer on a coaster in front of him. "Not nearly as good, but you didn't hear that from me."

"Who would I even tell?" Estinien muttered as he lifted the beer and drank deeply, and Thancred snickered quietly.

"Fair point."