The Bright One spun with grace and a bright smile, catching the landing before swinging in to give a playful hip check. They sighed wistfully, looking out at the gathering of the evening, taking a moment to soak it in.
As Archie made a joke about a leotard, Riley let out a small bark of a laugh.
" Duly noted! And Ivory and Wayland? Tonight's full of small surprises," Riley thought about the pairing for a moment.
They look at Archie with a smile.
"You know you really did a great job; I hope you know that." Riley nudged Archie. Sure Riley was a host, but Archie really carried the weight of putting this together.
They took a glance back to the prep area before looing to their manager and friend.
"Thanks, I need to hear that; I'll knock ‘em out for ya." They wink, squeezing his arm before departing to get ready for the show.
The DJ brought the music down, bringing attention to a temporary stage that had been set up not far from the gazebo on the green. It has been the site of live performances all night long, mixing up the entertainment with the DJ and showing off the talents amongst the Freehold.
The lights on the stage shifted into a deep purple.
Duality; the contrast of two things in opposition to aspects drawn together into one.
Taking to the stage felt like an act of rebellion. Riley couldn't name entirely why, but there was something like a distant nightmare they felt every time before they took to the lights. It was not quite stage-fright; it was a sinking feeling that they should hate doing this. A gnawing fears deep inside, telling them to recoil and hate the light. That it had hurt them, that it will hurt them. It whispered to the Moth that taking to the stage was akin to death. But listening to that feeling was to give up, to let that inner, distant horror shape them. They would not be shaped by another again; they would claim it. Turn it into a celebration.
Stepping onto the stage was a handsome
young man adorned in eye-catching regalia. He wore a genderqueer rendition of the
three-piece suit, With a Fetching black coat, fitted pants, a silk glove on one hand, a
bejeweled one on the other. Beneath the coat was a silver tie, and white collared shirt, and a
boned corset waistcoat. Trailing behind from beneath the jacket was a
voluminous feathered tail, whose colors paid homage to the patterning's of
a moth. Lady Jack-Off stood dead center of the stage. His eyes were staring to the ground, his hand on the rim of his hat. Then the music came up, and with it, he came alive.
"Birds flying high
You know how I feel"His eyes caught the spotlight, as his gaze landed upon the audience. A captivating smile, oozing with confidence.
“Sun in the sky
You know how I feel”
They grip the microphone delicately in hand. He tips back the top hat, allowing the alright on to his painted face. Each sultry word of the song grows his confidence.
“Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel"
With each beat of the music, Lady Jack-off descends from the stage, seeming to pull the light within. Moving with swagger and sass, down into the audience their steps in time to the song that they sang.
Burlesque performers are often called dancers; dance, however, was only a tiny part; the art form itself was more of a variety act. Part song, part dance, part comedy act, and all sexy. The show was in the hips, in the movement of the legs, the flick of a hand. The true star was the face, a charming smile, a knowing glimmer in the eyes, the playful pop of an eyebrow, or a well-timed look of surprise. It was coy, mischievous, confident, and contagious.
"It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good"
Lady Jack-off flirtatiously flutters from one changeling to the next. Targeting those wearing yellow or green wrist bands. Roping each in turn into the performance, a playful touch to the cheek of Golden Boy, the shaking of tail feathers for Mitch, lazing against Nimbus, fingers walking his chest.
"I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea
You know how I feel
River running free
You know how I feel
Blossom on a tree
You know how I feel"
He slid up next to
Oren, sliding his shoulder against the mirror skin, the blacklight paint rubbing off onto the pristine suit. He pulled the top hat off before placing it Upon Oren's head, tilting it just right before twirling towards past
Lucas Chevalier. Their winged bustle flapping just enough to breeze past him, the cold touch of a plated finger beneath his chin. A moment of eye contact.
"It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me"
It was a display of transformation; it wasn't only clothing they stripped away. As the routine progressed, they also stripped away their mask. It was grotesque as it was a beautiful, hypnotic display, like an insect shedding its shell to reveal its fresh new form below. The skin peeled away in dry wisps that melt into ethereal light, like embers in the night. From man to
woman, back to
man, they emerged from the chrysalis of one mask onto another. Through the performance, they had three masks. Each face was a story once told, a person from their past, a lover long gone.
"And I'm feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
For me"
They fluttered up between
Wayland and
Ivory Placing a delicate hand on either shoulder as if to hold themself up with their support. Riley turns his head from one to the other, serenading them each in turn. Before the twilight dancer coaxed the Pale Dragon to take hold of the suit jacket sleeve, allowing Riley to slowly peel it off. While offering Wayland their silk glove to be extracted from their hand.
"Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Oh, freedom is mine
And I know how I feel "
Riley spun around
Linden, giving the ogre a playful nudge of their shoulder as they peeled off the tie and looped it loosely around the ogre's neck. Before giving
Alecto a sultry wink, turning their back with a playful wiggle, baiting the beast to use her claws to cut the dancer free from the laces of their corset vest.
“It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life”
As Lady Jack-Off made their way amongst the crowd, their energy only grew, soaking in the power of those around them. Step by step, they teased the audience about living, embracing who they were, to take the night and claim it as their own. To be reborn, transformed.
“ It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life”
As they peeled another layer of their costume, their mask metamorphosed into the familiar mask the face everyone had come to know as Riley. Their costume had stripped away until only a mesh and lace bodysuit remained. The dancer's eyes gleaming, their body now covered in splattered blacklight paint that had rubbed off of the crowd.
Riley's made their way to their last audience participant,
Firebringer. They grasped her hand and guided the Elemental as they sang, towards a chair. Their mask began to crack as the light of the Bright One began to seep out from beneath the flesh. Long strips peeled away as Riley started their final act of transformation. The glamour that held the mortal mask dropped away, letting the Mien shine forth undaunted by a human guise. What remained was only the Moth, glowing, ethereal, beautiful, and dark.
“It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
It's a new life
For me”
Dani found herself trapped between the chair and Riley. The Moth straddled the Elemental, leaning in close enough they were almost face to face. It was an intimate moment, heated and charged, it felt almost voyeuristic for the audience, a glimpse at something often kept out of sight. Riley sways to the beat of the music, the lap dance leaving smears of the neon paint across Fire’s dress as Riley sings the final moments of the song to her.
"And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good
I feel so good
I feel so good"The song came to an end. Leaving Riley straddled on Dani's lap, eyes locked on to hers. There is an excruciatingly long pause before the Moth breaks the tension.
"Boop!" They tap Dani's nose with their paint-covered finger leaving a glowing blob of paint behind.
"You owe me a dance," Riley said softly, catching their breath from the show before they looked at the gathering onlookers.
"What are you waiting for? Let's dance!" They proclaim loudly with a smile as their illuminated form beams brightly.