Closing tabs

The bar had finally quieted down, well into the wee hours. Lorelei disengaged herself from a group of drunk fans and made her way over to the bar. There, her shoulders dropped and she collapsed onto the stool, then fell forward and stretched herself out across the bar with a groan. Propping her face up with her palm tiredly, she looked at Falten and grinned. "Well, I think that went well! I'll be dead all day tomorrow, but it went well!"

Falten was punching numbers at the computer terminal. Her antennae swung towards the songstress, and a grin crossed her tired face.

"I'd say. I'd probably get death threats if I didn't make you a regular installation here." She lifted her eyes after a quick, definitive tap on the screen, and nodded with a satisfied sigh. "You are quite the performer, miss Lorelei."

"Why thank you," Lorelei cooed, her eyelids drooping heavily. She had and quite a few drinks, but was handling herself well - she was an affectionate drunk. "Everyone was so lovely! You're lovely. Did the bar do well?"

Falten laughed lightly to herself. The Risan was so composed onstage, but she was a bit cuddly with a few drinks and some weariness in her. It was charming.

"Quite well - we might have almost matched the night the Commander had an open bar on his tab."

Falten's antennae twitched towards a group of patrons standing slightly away from the bar, ogling the backside of Lorelei and talking in what they must have thought were hushed tones. Falten turned towards her, pushing a glass of water down the surface of the bar to her hands.

"How do you do it? Deal with shitheads like them all the time?"

Lorelei looked over her shoulder at the group and shrugged, lifting the glass up to her lips. "Did you see the ensign talking to me earlier? Like that." She put her finger over her lips, like she'd done to him, and laughed at herself. "What about you? You were popular tonight... and not just because of drinks."

Falten barked a laugh and then sighed, shaking her head.

"Hardly. If anybody looked at me it was because their ale was taking five seconds too long to pull. No, you were a star in a dust field, this evening." She shrugged, glancing at the men again. "If anybody ever gets pushy with me, I've learned how to hold my own. Most back off if I threaten to throw them out." She looked back down at the computer screen, an unusual, forced blankness on her face.

Lorelei's hand landed on Falten's arm, startling the bartender out of her revery. "That is not true," she said, suddenly very seriously and earnestly, looking into Falten's eyes from where she was half-sprawled. "You are very attractive. And very nice and smart. I promise."

Falten looked at her quickly, her antennae poised and her face expressing caution and surprise.

Genuine. Gentle. Flirtation. No lies. It was something she was not used to - honesty.

She didn't move her arm immediately, allowing herself the moment of brief contentment it brought her.

"You're sweet, Lorelei. You can literally have your pick of the galaxy -you're very kind." She smiled and lowered her eyes, taking her arm away slowly. "I think there's a young doctor who has had her eyes on no one but you this evening, though." Were her cheeks slightly darker blue? "Maybe I'll swing by Two Moons sometime." There was something off - she wanted to put up walls, but she didn't seem very good at it. Kindness was foreign and disarming, and she didn't entirely know what to do.

Lorelei didn't seem in the slightest bothered by Falten pulling away from her grasp. She smiled just as beatifically as before, "Ok." Then perked up, "Doctor?" With performing, she nearly forgot T'Pren mentioning that the woman was staying. "Oh... but... is there any more business we must discuss? Or just same time next week?" Lorelei chewed her lip, eagerly scanning the few remaining patrons for Ozan. Maybe she'd left after all.

Regan stretched at the table, enjoying the settling atmosphere. Two and a half bloodwines had left her pleasantly on the drunk side of buzzed. Good thing she had started the evening with tea - one drink more and she would have been too drunk, one drink less and she wouldn't have had the courage to do what she was about to do.

She ran a hand through her hair, loosened her scarf, and approached the bar. "Lyfalten zh'Ungaad? We haven't actually met! I had the plague when you arrived, and no one would let me buy drinks tonight! So hello! I'm Dr. Ozan. I wanted to make sure my group settled their tab!"

She then turned to Lorelei, "Hi. I also wanted to tell you - again - you were wonderful, and I can't wait to see you perform again."

'That was pretty smooth.' Regan thought. She smiled - trying not to ruin it by making a stupid face.

Lorelei straightened up, quickly trying to smooth her slightly disheveled up-do. "Oh, thank you!" Since the tab was indeed settled, Lorelei gave Falten one last conspiratory smile and slid off the stool. "I hope staying up this late won't cause a..." she rummaged around her tipsy brain for the right word, "...relapse!"

Regan shook her head, and laughed "No, don't worry about me. I get sick all the time. I can tell when it's on it's way out." Her smile plasticized as she realized what she'd just blurted out, "however," she continued, "I should probably be getting back to my quarters. Early morning meeting tomorrow. I just wanted to wish you a good night."

"May I walk you back to your quarters?" Lorelei smiled at Regan.

Falten tapped the screen a few more times, then grabbed a damp towel and began wiping down the black surface of the bar. She did not look at Lorelei or the young doctor, offering them a bit of privacy. She had stepped back to lay the evening bare for them, in spite of Lorelei's liquor-induced sweetness and gentle touch, and she was going to give them their privacy.

Regan nodded, perhaps a bit too seriously, "of course." But then, it was an honor to have been singled out by Lorelei - the toast of the evening herself.

"Good night, Falten!" Lorelei's arm slipped easily into the crook of Orzan, and she directed the doctor towards the exit. Suddenly she stopped and bent over in front of the doctor, and with an almost orgasmic sigh pulled both her shoes off her aching feet. "There. Now I can actually walk," she said, re-joining Regan.

"And now I don't have to look up to see your eyes."

"Oh no... now you'll see how tired they are!" The two walked down the hall, Lorelei's dress quietly rustling around her. "You know," she went on, "Eucalyptus is just the thing for the flu. We can do wonderful eucalyptus baths at Two Moons. In case you do have a relapse... Or in case you don't..."

"Hmmmm. I think I missed that discovery... However, every doctor worth her sodium knows never to turn her nose up at home remedies, there's usually something. Besides, you have a healers touch. Some people have it, and it's a rare, unquantifiable gift."

Lorelei hadn't quite thought of it that way, and she was drunk enough to be really touched by the compliment, "Really?" She pressed Regan's arm, "You're sweet."

Regan laughed, "I'm really not! It's just true. You must notice that people, well, you must make them feel better. And it's not just because..." Regan was starting to feel a little self conscious blathering all these compliments, particularly because she really meant it, "It's not just because you're exceptionally beautiful. You have something. And if I could put it in a hypospray... the galaxy would be a much happier and healthier place."

Lorelei laughed, "I'm afraid the best I can offer in a spray is some of my perfume." She brushed back a lock of hair. "I think... doctors and personal companions like me do have some things in common," she went on carefully - not every doctor, in her experience, would be flattered by the comparison. "I can't save lives and mend beings the way you so brilliantly do... but people come to me for care. For more than sexual or physical release and relaxation," Lorelei mused frankly, "I find great satisfaction in what I do. I like making people feel appreciated and cared for. The galaxy can make us feel very lonely. Does that make sense?" She looked up at Regan.

"That's a perfectly apt comparison. On Trill our... well the most direct translation is 'soul-cleaners'" Regan laughed, "that sounds so clinical... but in the capitol they are every bit as prestigious as doctors, and caretakers. They provide varied and complex services from couple's counseling, to simple physical release - joining candidate have to see one as part of their application process."

"Really! I'll have to visit Trill sometime," Lorelei smiled, "That's the second lovely Trill thing I learned about in one evening."

second...? oh. Regan was pretty sure her spots were now her second most prominent feature, after the feverish blush that was taking over.

"I'd be glad to show you around. It would be good to have a Trill to show you around to keep you sa - because, most Trill have a bit of a nasty xenophobic streak - That sort of thing tends to stick to a society when its most prominent members live upwards of 700 years - So you would definitely want me - or a native Trill at least - to show you around. Not necessarily me. In any case," They were now in front of her quarters, "This is me here. Thank you for seeing me home. It was really lovely talking to you. Thank you."