[art cred]
The song of birds could be heard before the sun had even began to rise. Despite the early spring chill, small woodland creatures that resided in the winter-like depths of The Spine were out and about, already working on foraging for the day. White colored pine martens were dashing along the sparse underbrush and tall yellow grass while a a trio of ravens were fighting one another over something that may or may not have been food. Rabbit steps were muffled by the layer of snow that had settled about on the ground and foxes were just starting to return to their dens, some with prey tightly clenched between their jaws and others that would have to search elsewhere for their dinner. A stray owl cooed before it got ready to nestle inside it’s home for the day.
Lyra normally would have been asleep, she should have been asleep. She had become quite the nocturnal lady, both conotatively and denotatively speaking, and was a true night owl now. When the sun began to peek out from the tall buildings of Alliria, she was often in her bed— often not alone— snoozing away and dreaming of whatever normal woman would dream up of: revenge. Fire and revenge, blood and revenge, redemption and revenge. One could never guess what horrors lay beyond her sweet sleeping face, or if they did guess, it would ruin the image they had of Lily-white Lyra, the Lively Lady of Lilac Lounge. Yes, all that alliteration was completely and truly necessary. Especially for someone of Lyra’s renown.
Lyra had quickly become the loveliest and brightest flower to ever grace the lucrative escort business that had grown to fame. All of their establishments dealt with flowers(Lilac Lounge, Peony Parlor, Tiger Lily Teahouse), and the high-value escorts inside were truly a delight to partake in, and often given names belonging to beautiful blooms. Lyra herself had been given the title of Lily-white due to her hair and fair complexion, and because of her deep vocals and popularity, no one found reason to change her name. Which she was happy about. Some of the names of her fellow dancers made her want to roll her eyes: marigold, wisteria, rose, primrose, lily, aster, daisy, buttercup— barf.
The dragon shifter had always wanted to stand out. She demanded it, really. She’d do whatever it took for all eyes to be on her— woman or man or whatever creature that had enough coin to step inside the lovely establishments, Lyra made sure that their focus was on her. Whether through her dance, her songs, the way she laughed or flitted about. All eyes had to be on her. Of course, naturally, that was just the way world worked. Something about Lyra was completely ethereal, otherworldly by all accounts. She seemed soft yet strong, kind yet brutal, happy yet sad— a true amalgamation of all that was the sweet sublime, the aura of danger always about her no matter how gentle she smiled at someone.
And it made her completely popular. So popular that she was leaving Lilac Lounge to join the more popular location, the very first of the Sweet Pleasures franchise: Buddleja Bordello. Lyra was already planning how she would be popular there, and so she had been up all night, locked away in a carriage because really, they couldn’t afford to have such priceless merchandise escape. Not that Lyra wanted to escape. She wanted to stay in this carriage, to make a grand entrance at Buddleja Bordello, and finally come face to face with the man that ruined her life many, many years ago. A twisted smile appeared as she looked outside, seeing the sky slowly turning pink and lavender as the sun was finally rising up. Just ahead was a small cluster of buildings, another “town” that had formed due to this road being popular. It would only be made up of inns and a few other businesses, a resting point for travelers and hunters alike.
Lyra couldn’t wait to stretch her legs.
