[P] a gilded stage

[Mesnyi]

Mesnyi

F

or Mesnyi, the world was a stage. Sometimes she wished it wasn’t, but how could it be helped? She belonged at the forefront, and even if she didn’t turn out a performer, her beauty and exoticism went unmatched. And if they didn’t…well, she did her best to bring that girl under her wing, just below her. It was good to have friends you could toss at boys who fell too hard or got too close. The heart was meant to be kept in a box somewhere, key hidden under a flowerpot, only for when you locked yours inside. It wasn’t a place for visitors, no matter how many knocked, and it certainly wasn’t a home for two.

She was at it again, dancing in the center of town, violin scratching out foreign tunes. While working, Mesnyi never allowed herself to become lost in the dance. She remained alert, always searching for her next target. If she shook her hips at him, would he throw some coins in her pot? If she smiled at this one or winked at that one, would they offer her food, a drink, a bed? This was her focus always - it was work, after all. She did this to afford a week of frolicking amongst the flowers. Spring brought more wild food, so she wouldn’t have to work as hard, but sometimes it simply got lonely out there.

Perhaps that was because she only had one head.

Mesnyi had danced through her fair share of oddities. Some violent, others hilarious or attractive or otherwise distracting. But this - she’d never seen a two headed horse before. It was - stunning and…grotesque, all at once. The glass violin trailed into silence as Mesnyi slowed her dance to stillness. My, if I’d been in a caravan… This was just the kind of creature the Benevolent loved to collect. The glass bow bounced on the strings quietly, patiently, waiting. ”Excuse me,” Mesnyi called out. ”Miss - might you be a dancer?”

"speaks" | notes: ☽☼☾

rallidae