Bovine Clocks Harm The Singer [Private | Illya]

Saying that Illya and Jariel got off on the wrong foot would be an understatement. Her physically imposing fellow guildmate seemed to be attacking another member of the guild when Illya did not know him and-

Well, that was a thing of the past. She admittedly held somewhat of a grudge on that moment, figuring he was some infiltrator looking to bring her guild down. After all, why else would he have been attacking a fellow guildmate? It took some time, not to mention a lot of convincing from her since departed friend Kenzo, to drop the grudge on Jariel. They had formed a team between the three of them, Hell Razers, Kenzo called it. Before they could do anything, unfortunately, he had died on some mission. She had not quite gotten around to changing the name, especially with Kenzo being Illya's first real friend in the world.

But now, she had Jariel as a close confidant and friend. So came Illya's biggest concert ever. Shortly after their Urban Nights Festival jaunt and her impromptu concert, some big concert hall owner in Crocus offered her an exclusive concert! The same sorts of venues that Sakura Kisagami, the most popular idol in all of Fiore, would headline, now Illya was in that echelon! Of course, Illya had the foresight to figure that the concert hall's normal security would not quite be enough, so, perhaps as a way to apologize for all the wrongful mistreatment, Illya asked Jariel to be her personal bodyguard when they would go on the road, starting with guarding over the entrance to this concert. She had not quite figured out what to offer him in exchange, despite his surprising acceptance of going along with her.

Maybe after this concert, she would need to ask him what she could do for him since he was working for her now, in a sense.

"Concert's in five, Pegasus!" the gruff voice of the head of the stage crew around the venue barked as he knocked on the door.

That was certainly enough to pop Illya out of her internal bubble of thought. She was a bit nervous, she had to admit. The Urban Nights Festival was one thing, but now she was going out there all by herself and everyone knew who she was and were there to watch her. The manager here said it would be best if she sent in recordings of her songs so she could lip sync to them, but that was something Illya simply could not do! She was performing for the people! She made her way up to this peak without trickery, and she was not going to delve into it now! This was for the passion of the music, not for the appeal of a perfect concert!

"Thanks, Gus!" Illya called back, a cheery voice masking her worried demeanor.

"Aand yer done!" Laerwen called, a chipper tone of voice spilling forth from the Spirit. Illya looked up to see how Laerwen had done. When Illya sent in the tagline for this concert, "All Dolled Up," Laerwen chomped at the bit to get Illya's look prepared. The rough and tumble Celestial Spirit of the Forest was a surprisingly good hand at the prospect of clothing and looks, evident in Illya's attire and look for the concert. "Yer lookin' all dolled up there, Illya!"

Yemaya hummed slightly. "It is impressive, I won't deny. Some of your fans may go a bit rabid in certain ways."

Illya chuckled slightly and leaned back in her chair. "Such is the life of a celebrity, I guess. Still weird to say. I'm a celebrity! I'm in one of the biggest venues in Crocus! I'm in a concert with Sakura Kisagami coming up! It's more than I could have asked for, but still I can't just stay put. We gotta put a show on! Well, I do. I don't know how well the fans'll take to you two."

Yemaya tilted her head. "Regardless of their thoughts, I have no interest of joining you on the stage."

Laerwen similarly gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm fine wit bein yer makeup and clothing gal, just don't ask me to go on the stage. I dunno how you do it, Illya."

Illya smiled, getting up out of her seat. "Neither do I." She headed towards the stage, knowing this needed to be a perfect concert, and that nothing could possibly go wrong.

A deep breath filled Illya's mind as the first bit of music began playing, the accompanying band blaring the first track on her album Field of Dreams. The piano's a little flat, the expertly tuned Slayer noted, the minimal change not being audible to anyone else. Soon enough, she burst onto the stage, the jazzy lyrics flowing out of her mouth as she danced around, making sure her mic was fine as she went through the song, not missing a single note or step. Everything in the concert was going without a hitch. The entirety of her first five minutes of song was completely perfect, and she soon posed as the song ended, the crowd erupting into cheers.

"Thank you all for coming!" she called out, giving a moment for the crowd to cheer again. She bantered with the crowd a bit, gauging their feelings on different matters as a sharp pain began to pierce her stomach. Wh-what the hell? she thought, hiding her pain from the crowd. It wasn't anything natural, she could already feel it. Her body was being attacked by magic. That much was clear, even from what she could feel. But there was enough of a crowd here that she could not just call it off, even as her voice strained and tightened. So, she cued up the next song, beads of sweat beginning to form on her face. Even as the second song began, she still began to miss notes already, her notes slightly off her pitch as she struggled to get words out. She gulped at the earliest convenience, her throat barely allowing her to breathe until she managed to spit out the next line of lyrics. JJ! she mentally screamed as her throat began shutting tight. I need you to help me!