Butterfly Storm {MINOR REVISIONS}

01 || Sailor

～·～·～

~ April 13th, 2021 ~

Neon lights smoothed over the plains of her curves, highlighting the sheen beading on her skin. An erratic music thrummed through her senses—its tempo pulse siphoning her sense of reality. Tipping her head back, Indigo held her arms high above. The tide was out, and a sea of blurred faces revolved around her as if she were a sailor, lost, drowning in darkness.

A red sequin dress fitted to her hips, allowing her to lose herself in an effortless sway. Sprays of color blazed upon the sea, bright like fireworks where pink speckles twinkled in her irises. Indigo drank it in, drowning under its hypnotic flare of brilliance.

It was a moment to live—a moment to thrive.

After a few more songs played from the DJ's album, a hint of candy lingered on her tongue, and the woman decided; it was time for another round. Subtly, she maneuvered herself through fanning arms and colored material. Perfume sweated the air, with the breath of alcohol on one's lips as bodies lapped against each other.

Soon, Indigo found a clearing where she could comfortably release her breath. Steps away from the rim of the sunken dancefloor, she glanced onwards. As one of the popular nightclubs in the city, Nyxius had a reputation for its vivid aesthetics and tight security.

Built across the end of the entrance, the club's bar protruded from a wall sheathed in black. Its sleek gloss emphasized the backdrop; a glowing, curved display of live colors. It illuminated the vast array of alcohol shelved beneath it as its current mood had a fiery orange plunging into a consuming yellow, teased by splashes of white. It gave the illusion of a sunset, sinking behind the bottled city.

Sleek columns flanked above, pedestals to the orbs of pink speckles. They were free to twinkle with the charisma of a lighthouse—a beacon for lost sailors at the mercy of the dark and treacherous tide.

I wonder if she's working tonight, Indigo wondered, maneuvering through more bodies.

A platform lifted the bar, letting neon-shadowed stairs descend to the encircled dance floor. Clean black marble ran the breadth of the countertop, veined with golden tendrils. The stairs were of the same material, creating the illusion of a darkly beautiful waterfall, streaming into a sea of bodies.

Indigo had begun climbing the spacious steps when a middle-aged woman wobbled down. Dark hair clung to her flushing round face, framing a groggy glare to the ground. Her satin blue dress had fallen victim to a spilled drink, as its lashes soaked into her abdomen. Indigo could tell the woman wasn't enjoying her night, as her careless steps drunkenly jerked ankles out from heels.

It was enough for Indigo to wince in discomfort, yet upon her friendly approach, the middle-aged woman warded it off with a sneering fuck-off. Reluctantly, Indigo obliged with recoiled hands, watching as the drunken woman heaved past.

Another sailor lost at sea.

Dismissing the thought, Indigo voyaged up the remaining steps. She breezed by fellow sailors reserving themselves to the high-standing tables and found her regular seat empty and tucked beneath the bar's counter. It encouraged a much-needed smile on her face. She's definitely working tonight.

Quickly, she approached, and stealthily took her perch at the right end of the bar. The sanguine leather cushion flattened comfortably beneath her weight. Its material chilled the back of her bare thighs, antagonizing goosebumps along her warm skin. Unlike the dancefloor, Nyxius's bar smelled of fresh liquor, icing one's senses to its atmosphere. It was like a cool shower from the summer heat.

Slinging her glittery black clutch onto her lap, Indigo watched with amusement as the bartenders shooed away a couple of girls; a drunken pair whining for just one more drink. It was always one more drink. They barely looked legal. Slender frames. Chubby cheeks. Dresses of rebellious naivety.