Takeda played by @mauserzito

Meifang

Every day was the same at the Silken Bloom. Sure, a wide variety of patrons stopped by, some regulars and a significant number travelers passing through. Of course, he tried not to sing a song more than once within a few weeks of one another. Obviously, he had a new costume prepared for every tenday, with several accessories to make them different day by day. The bar had a drink of the day, the decor would change frequently, and the kitchen would have a weekly special. But that was all about the patrons. This wasn’t about the patrons. This was about him.

It had been years since he’d looked forward to a show, let alone the nighttime ones. The nighttime patrons were always drunk and always tired, and more frequently than not, either mean or creepy. If there were anywhere else Meifang could be during the late hours, he would take it. But the nighttime shows generated more revenue, and that revenue went directly into the pocket money he got for the week. And his free room and board, of course, was completely dependent on his labor. He wished he were back home.

But earlier in the afternoon, they had been visited by a mysterious guest. Or, mysterious to Meifang, at least. The proprietor had immediately recognized the vastaya who came in with his instrument and offered him a show. And finally, finally, Meifang didn’t have to carry the entirety of the evening act on his back.

Out of gratefulness more than anything, Meifang had offered his room on the fourth floor (or rather, the entire fourth floor was his room), to the guest. But he had to admit, he didn’t exactly enjoy having them there. It took him hours to get ready, between painting his face and securing his headdress and adjusting the many layers to his costume. The other performer— Takeda, he remembered, bothering to learn someone’s name for once— had a much simpler schedule. But neither of them were supposed to go to the ground floor until thirty minutes before the show, and the moon had yet to rise. So they would be stuck here together for a little while longer.

“Please don’t watch,” Meifang said in a tone he really hoped came out as sufficiently neutral. He didn’t have anything against Takeda, if anything, he was thankful for his presence. He just hated having people in his room while he was getting ready.

“And don’t touch anything over there,” he intoned more seriously. That was much worse. The bottles he gestured to looked like nothing more than unassuming perfumes, but in reality, that was only most of them. A few of them, disguised around the ornate crystal bottles, were something a lot more dangerous that he’d been working on as a failsafe. Even if they were only a few in a massive set, he didn’t want to risk Takeda touching one of them and getting sick or dying. Not when he was finally relieved to be having a second act for once.

Takeda

Takeda had not expected such a warm and lovely welcome from the proprietor, and even less so from the local performer. Meifang was a name that he had heard of plenty of times, and it was nice to finally put a face to it. Even as they traded their first words, Takeda could hear that voice... and know in his soul that it was made for singing.

The offer of sharing the room surprised him even more, and that was a courtesy he didn't really... require, but felt reluctant to refuse, especially considering his counterpart was much more elaborate in his preparations than he was.

— "Oop- sorry. I'll turn away, my apologies." Takeda replied, not wanting to disturb the fellow singer more than he already felt like he was doing.

— "Heard. Don't worry, I won't touch anything I'm not requested to." he replied again, noticing that little change in tone... finding it a bit strange, but shrugging it off. If there was a warning, some incident must have had happened earlier, which he did not know of, and he wasn't going to be one to judge.

— "I can wait downstairs if it makes you more comfortable, friend. I'm pretty much ready to go over here.”

Meifang

Meifang shook his head and turned behind him to look at the other man, just finishing pinning his hair back in a bun on the top of his head. He still had a lot to do— makeup, jewelry, and of course warming up. But he also always had a surplus of time, so they could stop to chat for a little bit.

“Is your getting ready routine really that simple?” He asked, voice flat but with a hint of humor. It was odd, how when he was far ruder to people he didn’t mind than people he disliked. It had pretty much always been like that. It definitely had to do with his training as a spy, and there was probably a good helping of nonsense to do with his psyche to it as well. But he didn’t really care. He didn’t like the outside, but he wasn’t particularly interested in looking inside, either.

“I mean, I guess it would make sense for a bard, but you have unlimited time here,” Meifang continued. “There’s not anything else you could be doing besides sitting there? I have some books on that shelf over there.”

Now, Meifang was not a generous person. But nothing annoyed him more than sitting in a room, working, while someone else was idle. And while his opinions of Takeda were still high at the moment, he certainly didn’t want them plummeting before it was time for the show. He always gave worse performances when in a sour mood.

Which had been nearly every day in the past several years. But for once, today, there was an opportunity for that not to be the case.