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Overneath the Path of Misinterpretation (Alvis Alendran&Malicious Lullaby)

Wyn kept smiling.
"I'm always ready to go. I'll start us off. And when we get to your part, just jump right in. And relax Esther. Singing is supposed to be fun." Wyn winked at the other woman as she spoke, and began to press the keys of the piano with more force and direction. The song began, a light, lilting tune from the piano. Wyn started to sing, softly at first, but with more force as she went along, projecting her voice enough to fill the room, but not enough to be overly loud. She kept it up, until she trailed off, ready to step in if Esther felt her nerve flee, but smiling encouragingly at the woman to get her to take up her part.

Lloyd and Harrison both knocked a shot back, adn screwed up their faces in distaste at teh liquor. They were about to start again, when they heard Wyn start to sing. Lloyd set teh tray on a side table, adn looked at the piano. he cocked an eyebrow.
"Harry...who is that up there with Wyn?" He asked quietly.
"Shush. It's Esther Martin. Yes, the same one." Harrison confirmed.
 
Esther nodded and she turned, taking a big sip of her wine, not too big that it’d fog her brain to impair her from singing but enough for courage to sing when it was her time to come in. Wyn started out beautifully. When Esther turned to face everyone, all eyes had turned onto them and she swallowed hard. And then the weirdest miracle happened. She swore it felt like she was back in the living room of her parents’ home. Her mom and dad were sitting on the couch together, her dad’s arm around her mom’s shoulders and that was when her mouth opened and a voice came. She faltered just the tiniest bit but she kept her eyes on the wall, as if she was seeing them, being lost in singing to them. Lost in the imagination of being back in her childhood home.

Her voice sang in harmony alongside Wyn’s, perfect harmony. As if the years of not singing had done nothing to her voice. And the song felt incredibly appropriate. Like she was still searching for her parents even though they were gone. Esther lost herself in the song and sang like she had never did before. She stayed in harmony with Wyn when it was appropriate and pushed herself. It felt…liberating to sing again. Her eyes watered a little bit but she didn’t let it falter her voice. It just made her sing better. Like her parents were watching.
 
Wyn caught the mild falter that Esther made, but with someone who made their life this much about music, how could she not catch it. But Esther rallied readily, moving past the falter, and finding her feet so to speak. It was good to hear, adn Wyn chimed in as soon as he part called for, the two voice melding nicely. Wyn closed her eyes, letting herself just get lost in the moment of the music, and the singing alongside of someone else. Most people found Wyn too intimidating musically to even try to do a duet, so she revelled in every chance she got to indulge. As the song wound it's way down, Wyn finished playing, adn moved her hands off of the keys.

The room exploded into applause, and Wyn opened her eyes, standing up, and taking Esther's hand. She winked at teh other woman, and bowed slightly to the crowd, hoping that Esther would follow suit with her. She heard a few piercing whistles, knowing one of them easily as Nathaniel.
"You did great Esther! We should do this again sometime!" Wyn told her. Wyn saw Nathaniel, who cocked his eyebrow, and made a slight gesture towards Esther. Wyn winked back, a kind of silent agreement.
 
Esther’s eyes fluttered closed as she lost herself in the song and it pushed herself to sing better. Even if a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks, it was worth it. It felt so freeing to sing again. She had honestly missed it and it wasn’t something she’d stop doing now. She just might sing in her car again and in the shower and around her apartment. Her voice quality and sound could be matched closely to Amy Lee’s. It was the closest she could ever come up with to explain what her singing voice was like without actually having to sing. She used to practice enough to hit notes she once only dreamed of hitting. She could still do it. The song didn’t call for it but it was clear Esther had the potential.

When it ended, her eyes opened and she was met by the booming sound of roaring applause and whistles. The image she had of her parents on the couch, her mom in her dad’s arms, faded away and she was thrown back into reality. She did it. She finally sang in front of people other than her parents.
Taking Wyn’s hand, Esther’s cheeks flamed red but she smiled and bowed as well, shyly, but bowed as it is. Glancing to Wyn, she laughed softly. “Thank you, and you flawless as always. I’d love if we could do that again.” She moved to her and hugged her, giving the woman a gentle squeeze before whispering, “Thank you for helping me find my voice again Wyn.” And as cheesy as it might have sounded, it was a genuine thanks coming from Esther.
 
Wyn hugged Esther back without reservation. She had never had an issue with some physical affection like this. She came from a family that hugging was a big thing.
"A pleasure Esther. And I'm always glad to help." Wyn assured her. As they parted, Wyn heard Dolph chuckle.
"Should have brought a karaoke machine! We could have all had a shot at that kind of thing!" THe man called. Harrison heard him and grinned wickedly, taking out his phone. He tapped away for a moment, and then pocketed it.

"Let me guess. You ordered one to be brought here?" Lloyd asked dryly.
"Of course not." Harrison said with a sniff.
"Okay, then what have you done now?"
"I told the staff to bring the one from storage up here. Time for Dolph to put his money where his mouth is." Lloyd had to laugh at that.
 
Esther smiled at her and nodded before parting from her. She slipped away as Dolph made his comment and went into a part of her own world that included alcohol. Picking up her wine glass, she helped herself to a hearty sip, more like a gulp, practically downing half of what had remained. Turning to the group, she smiled and pursed her lips. The comment Wyn made came back to her. She had done karaoke with everyone in this room and it had helped that Esther had some background in singing. It made her smile. That and it made the thought of them all taking part in karaoke more amusing.
 
It only took a few minutes for a staff member to appear, carrying the machine. DOlph stared a moment before looking over at Harrison as the staff member moved to get it set up.
"Fuck you too Harrison. Where the hell you get that thing?" He asked.
"It's been around. Since the last time we did something like this. After all, Kothari dared me to get one, so I had it delivered. So will you be giving us the honour of the first song?" Harrison asked with a grin. Dolph shrugged.
"Sure, I aint shy." He answered. About then, another staff member appeared, bearing a wheeled cart that had covered plates. The cart went to a large table off to one side, and the staff set out the trays, before revealing them. Sure enough, thery were piled with minature Cornish Pasties.

Lloyd smiled, and helped himself to a pastie, biting into it, and sighing. The chef here always made such nice things. Wyn looked over at Esther.
"You look like you could use something to eat. Come on." The smaller woman led Esther over, and snagged one of the pastry rolls, adn bit into it with a sigh.. The smell of well seasoned beef, along with potatoes, gravy and carrots wafted from the pastie, making anyone around it feel their mouth start to water.
 
Esther giggled at the back and forth between Harrison and Dolph. When they brought out the karaoke machine, her eyes widened. The thing looked massive but special and she bet it had a butt load of wonderful songs. After the machine was brought out, another staff member brought out something special. The aroma, even though covered, wafted through her nostrils and her mouth watered. It smelled delicious and frankly, Esther couldn’t remember the last time she ate. Wyn’s timing was perfect because it’d probably be really smart to have something in her stomach. After all, it was why she was not at all sober now, but not necessarily drunk. She’d been drinking on an empty stomach.

When they were uncovered, Esther saw the display and she took one, even hesitantly, after Wyn took one and seemed to relish it. The look on her face displayed pure hunger satisfaction. They smelled good and must have tasted even better. Esther took a bit of one and it took all she had not to grab a nap and pack four of them for later. She enjoyed the one pasty and while she wanted another, she decided not to indulge. No, that’s what the alcohol was for. And it had better side effects but Esther didn’t get wasted out of her mind in public. No, she never did.
 
The machine was established, and the staff member nodded to Harrison as he left. DOlph swaggger up to teh system, adn started pickig through it. ANd was delighted to find the kind of song that he was looking for. He pressed a few buttons, keyed up a song, and let it start. He started singing the moment that the music started, a sudden, almost warbling trupet. Harrison chuckled, knowing what song it was. Incredibly fitting for who DOlph was. Euridice simply put her face in her hands, and sighed, letting him go ahead. Of all the songs he could have picked... (Filthy Bastard Caberet)

Wyn snorted. It was a most unladylike sound to come from her, but she had heard this before from Dolph. In his defense, at least he had the voice for it. And he certainly enjoyed himself, and to Wyn, that was the most important part about singing. A person should love what they sang, and that made most anyone goodat what they did. To her at least. WHen Dolph finished, the closing line made Wyn snicker, but she had to admit. He was probably right. He was the rudest bastard of them all in this company. And it was one of the reasons they liked him.
 
Esther licked her fingers after she finished off that one pasty. She wanted another but instead she sipped her wine and her appetite for food diminished immediately. She had the appetite for alcohol. Wine to be exact. And something told her it was open bar. Good, because she left her wallet in her car.
Turning as Dolph began to sing his song, Esther raised a brow at the odd sounding song. It wasn’t a song she heard before and not likely one she’d want to hear ever again, all thanks to Dolph, but it was entertaining and damn amusing.

By the end of it when he finished, Esther had a big grin on her face as she was trying not to suddenly burst out laughing and die from it. Noting the last line, she turned to Wyn and leaned towards her slightly. “Are all of your friends ‘the rudest bastards of all company’ or is it just Dolphin?” She officially nick-named him Dolphin. And he’d have to live with it. Because what Esther did was law and permanent.

Yeah, right.
 
Wyn smiled thinly. She thought for a moment before answering. Giving Esther a little more of a backing with Dolph didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Dolph...definitely a special case. Self made man, and these days, he's richer than God. I'd say that these days it's made him more reckless, but he's actually always been like that. Even when we knew him back in school. And Euridice there has known him longer than anyone else that's here. Those two go way back. And according to her, he's always been this recklessly nuts, even before he had the money to make it seem like he was just eccentric. I know it sounds cliche to say that you get used to it, but...you really do." She explained. And she wasn't lying. Dolph really was just...a feature in their group. But spending time with him did always get you a decent story to tell in the end.

Harrison shook his head as Dolph finished up his particular song. It wasn't exactly a shocking choice on his part. Dolph had rather often had a certain amoung of swagger, and it had fit a lot of his choices of song in the past. He seemed to lend himself to swing, and a kind of bluesy jazz. Under the right circumstances, he could do quite an impressive bit of singing. But his last one was far more about a sinple self indulgent run. And Harrison didn't exactly fault him on that. Lloyd was offering another shot of the rot gut, adn Harrison took it with a sigh, knocking it back, adn scowling as the horrible stuff trailed down his throat. Gods, why was her drinking this stuff again? Oh right, because he and Lloyd were, on occasion, idiots when they spent time together.
 
Esther listened to Wyn and she frowned. After she finished, a small look of shame crossed over her face. “Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean I call him Dolphin for crying out loud, I’m obviously not harboring any ill-will towards the man. Just…he sang that last line and I thought it’d be a little bit of a funny pun, certainly not a knee-slapper.” Now she was just babbling so she quickly bit down on her tongue, though not literally. “He seems…” How would she put it? “Full of life. And you can’t certainly fault a person for being so full of life. It’s really admirable.” If she hadn’t been so down in the dumps lately, she’d love to be full of life. She used to be. Once upon a time…

Lately, it was easy to fall prey to the unglamorous lifestyle of loneliness, losing that zest for life even if she was doing everything she ever wanted. But still, the heart wanted what the heart wanted and Esther couldn’t have what her heart wanted. She liked to believe in destiny and fate but even she knew that it was a choice, not so much a set-in-stone belief that everyone should adopt. So perhaps it just wasn’t the time. Then the scary thought would ebb its way into her brain and nag her. Would it ever?

[I just watched Frozen and I have this zing to my writing. Sounds all mushy-gushy and fairytale, I know. Hopefully you don’t hate it?]
 
Wyn smiled, and pat Esther's shoulder.
"SPend a little time with us dear. We'll make sure you enjoy yourself as often as possible. It's one of the things we're good at." She assured her. Truth be told, Wyn liked Esther. She seemed very...earnest. and that was an appealing trait. and in a lot of the people she worked with, that trait was hard to find. So she'd value it wherever she could find it.

"So...Esther is here." Lloyd observed.
"So she is." Harrison confirmed.
"And you invited her."
"I did."
"Client?"
"Among other things, yes." Lloyd looked at him, and then sighed.
"Stole her right out from under me, didn't you?"
"Last I checked you hadn't staked a claim, or shown any real stages of interest in going farther. THought you just liked taking young ladies out for the enjoyment."
"And I do! Oh fine, call my bluff. You are a terrible friend."
"Drink your rotgut." Lloyd made a face, adn both man knocked another shot back. Harrison had to admit that this rotgut had a reputation of being bad on his judgement. After all, the last time he'd been drinking it, he ended up fucking his secretary. He only wondered if it would get him into trouble again tonight. A part of him hoped so.
 
Esther smiled at hr. “Well thank you. And I’d say the same but I’m pretty sure you all wouldn’t need to have Esther Martin around to enjoy yourself as often as possible.” She laughed a little bit. “I’m glad to be apart of the party.” Because hanging out with them was definitely like being at a party. Not a dull moment.

“So, how long have you known Harrison? I mean, if you’ve known him long, surely then you know quit a bit about him?” She asked, going on quite a bit of the limb about it. She was not sober, especially if she was asking about a guy she was crushing, therefore making it blatantly obvious that she did like him-like him.
 
Wyn only smiled, looking at Esther a little slantwise, having a good idea why she was asking these questions. She took a pull out of her vodka.
"I've known Harrison for a few years to be sure. I blame that on Lloyd. I needed a lawyer after I had an...incident with a fan, and Lloyd got Harrison to take care of it. We stayed in touch after that. What is it you wanted to know about dear Mr. Trenton, hm?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"So...are we to be polite about this then? Simply...have me wash my hands of the lady?" Lloyd asked.
"Looking to figt for her?" Harrison asked.
"Well, no. She's smart and she's funny, but I'm a little too old for that sort of thing. Still, it'd be nice to know where you expect me to stand."
"Where you normally do. Which is...wherever you feel like. If you want to keep chatting with her, do so. I'm not the jealous type, and she's more than capable of making her own call on who she'd like to spend her time with."
"You're not a terrible man Harrison."
"I'll see if I can convince you otherwise by the end of the night." Lloyd made a face.
 
She nodded her head, as if trying to be disinterested but pretending to be interested. Even though it was the other away around. She was interested and trying to pretend to be disinterested but it wasn’t working. Either way, she was curious. She wanted to know if Harrison ever…dated.
“Oh um…” She cleared her throat and her cheeks turned red. Wyn totally knew what she was getting at. It was obvious. “Oh it’s nothing really. I was just curious if you know…he’s…ever dated or something.” She said it quickly and quietly. “Or is he just all about the liaisons?” Was she seriously asking this?
 
Well, that dispelled any thought that Wyn might have had at misinterpreting what Esther was after. She wanted an insiders look at Harrison, and Wyn could only do so much.
"Oh he's dated before. Not as much in more recent years. I think it's just his age. Looking less for long drawn out thins, and more for a short term enjoyment. But it does still happen. Last woman he was with was...different. But they got along well, and she seemed to enjoy the fact that he tends to get very focused, and spend a lot of time with his girlfriends. Seems to enjoy spoiling them." Wyn explained. She knocked back the rest of her vodka, and looked over at the bar. The woman there had poured another, adn was leaving it on the bar table. Wyn sighed, adn quickly made the switch.
 
The fact that Wyn was willing to share a little bit at all, made Esther eager but it was like a little bit of a let down. Hearing that he didn’t really maintain much of long-term relationships but enjoyed the benefits of short-term ones was a bit of a let down. Okay, a major let down and she just forced a smile and nodded. “Well whoever is able to snag him is a lucky girl. He’s a good guy.” She downed the rest of her wine and put the empty glass on the bar top. She waited for it to be refilled or for another filled wine glass to be produced. It was official. Esther was going to get really drunk. Just for tonight. And then tomorrow she’d stop and get over it.
 
"Have to be one hell of a woman one way or another. But I don't think that the kind of person to do that would really be from the high life. They're usually a little too...stilited, and entitled for him. He's had his most enjoyable relataionships when dating nice, normal girls. He dated a waitress for a little whie. And then he dated paralegal from another firm. That caused a stir. Especially when she left the firm to work at his once she got her law degree. Oh, those were good times." Wyn said calmly, draining half of her vodka. She'd put away close to nine shots worth, adn still didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects of the alcohol. It seemed little Wyn had a tolerance that belied her stature.
 
Esther listened to her, looking for an ounce of hope. Harrison’s dated a waitress before but then he dated a paralegal. She sighed softly and tried to mask her disappointment. “Well then.” But even Esther noticed he seemed to have a thing for staff. First Mallory and then Amy. Oh, she wasn’t about to get into that. If she did, she’d go a bit insane. Well more than she probably was. “Well that’s interesting. Excuse me, I need to go use the bathroom.” She took her wine with her though and made a bee-line out of the room they were in to find a bathroom. She really had to use it and well she needed a moment.
 
Wyn let Esther go. Poor girl. Fixated on one of the hardest to fathom and obtain men in the area, and it looked like she was head over heels all ready. Or well on her way towards it. She felt Nathanial step behind her.
"So my dear. Would you like to invite Esther to join us tonight, or shall I be making the offer?" He asked her at a murmur. She leaned back into him.
"We can share that task. Though I think she should be tasked with bringing a partner." Wyn replied in a lazy tone.
"Really? We're to play that game tonight?"
"Yeah, I think so. I'm feeling playful. Indulge me?"
"Always my love." Wyn smiled, adn leaned her head back, letting Nathaniel lean down to kiss her briefly. He winked at her, and moved on.
 
Esther walked to the bathroom, or well found the nearest one and locked herself in. Setting her wine glass down, she turned the water on, making sure it was ice cold before wetting her hand. Her palms were sweaty and her body was on fire. Wet hands now moved around and behind her neck, trying to bring some cool to the hot skin that felt like on fire. Her eyes met her reflection in the mirror and a soft sigh came from her. She hardly recognized the woman in there. Eyes that lost their shine, breaking every moral code possible, pining after a man that was potentially detrimental to her health; Jesus, it felt like high school and college all over again.

Glancing down at her wine glass, she picked it up and took a heavy sip, more like a gulp, indulging in more than half of its contents. Leaving the bathroom, she walked slow steps, fearful of wavering a little bit. Walking back into the room, she spotted the karaoke machine and it was as if her feet had a mind of their own. Before she even knew it or realized, she was picking up the microphone, setting her wine glass down and looking for a song in particular. She had to be completely drunk to do this or just seriously venturing down a terrible down spiral. Either way, she found the song of her choice and when that guitar riff played, Esther took her place and she sang it out loud and proudly. Without even really thinking anything of it, her eyes located Harrison and she sang it to him. The message was loud and clear. I want you to want me.
 
Lloyd and Harrison both looked on as Esther took command of the machine, and began to sing. It was a fun tune, and Harrison took full notice when she picked him out, and seemed to fix her gaze on him as she sang. Lloyd noticed as well.
"Well then. Shall I stand aside completely then? Let you do your thing?" The older man asked with a grunt.
"Unless you planned to actually stand in the way, how is this different from your usual behaviour?" Harrison countered.
"Point. Stop me if I'm wrong Harrison, but I think she might like you."
"Noticed that did you?"
"So...what are you planning to do about it?" Harrison thought for a moment.
"Very little." Lloyd sputtered.

"Very little? Really?" The man asked.
"Of course. I'll...likely speak to her after she's done, offer her a drink, and continue to chat with her. But...I also do not wish to be rude, and abandon my own party." Harrison explained.
"We're al big kids now Harrison. If you want to spirit her away to a room somewhere and return a littlemussed, no one will think less of either of you."
"Thank you for that Lloyd. Thank you ever so much." The older man grinned. All the same, Harrison left his eyes on Esther as she sang. And he smiled.

Wyn and Nathanial were moving closer to Esther, keeping themselves close. They would make their offer, and see where things went from there.
 
She had to be way out of her mind, okay not had to be, she was. But this was one of her favorite songs and she liked this version by Letters to Cleo. She let herself get into it, losing herself and performing. She did like to perform and it became obvious among not just Harrison and even Caughlin but everyone else too that she was clearly singing this song to him. She was going to take a risk. Esther would no doubt hate herself for it in the morning, leave as soon as possible to sink into her own world of booze. A state of mind in which nothing could hurt her, until she became sober. Ah well, that’s why she would try to make sure she never did become sober. This was the drunken stupor concocting something stupid in her mind. Her mind of mush.

She finished her song with a bang and then threw her arms up in the air like a certifiably insane rocker would do. Throwing her head back, she let out a soft sigh. “Thank you! I’ll be here all evening!” Esther Martin was officially drunk.
Putting the microphone down, she grabbed her glass of wine and then stepped away from the karaoke machine. It’d probably be a good idea if she didn’t revisit that again for the rest of night. Even more, it’d be better if she did start sobering up, enough to drive home. When the time came, for the night was still young.

Wyn and Nathaniel had made themselves come closer to her and she walked right up to them. “Did I make a complete fool of myself?” She winced a little bit too.
 
The room applauded Esther as she made her dramatic finish. They certainly appreciated the kind of drama that she was exhibiting. Dolph had a grin on his face, clearly having enjoyed the show. Wyn and Nathanial both smiled at Esther.
"No, not a fool. No more than any of us have done a thousand times before. Trust us, you're in safe, non-judgemental company. In fact...we both wanted to talk to you about something." Wyn assured her.
"I brought you one of these. It appeared that you may have emptied your own." Nathanial said calmly, handing Esther a new glass of wine. They led her off to the side of the room slightly, and Wyn began to speak.

"Nathanial and I are happily married. Have been for years. But once in a while we...like to call a special night." She started, looking up at her husband for some support.
"We have a good, loving relationship. And on these nights Wyn speaks of, it is a good, loving, and open relationship." He said with a heart melting smile.
"So Esther...would you like to join us tonight?" Wyn asked.
 
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