Ashriel Vane

Ashriel Vane was crashing the fuck out. Crown of Thorns had just gotten done performing. It was the first night of the tournament and one moment he was convinced it had been the performance of their lives, that they were going to truly win Ashtolia’s Battle of the Bands this year, and then he was in his dressing room for the night and the silence — the ugly, vicious silence — had folded over him and his thoughts started to scream louder than the ringing in his ears. Damned, twisted bastard, be fucking serious for once. You really think you’re worth this deal? You’re holding your band back. Without you, they’d have won two years ago.

His thoughts beat in his own skull, and he ran a hand through his hair, sucking in deep, bitter breaths. He had to get out of here. Had to go before someone found him and discovered he was being a fucking diva again, had to go before he tanked the mood and fucked this night up. They deserved to celebrate, and Ashriel was in no mood to celebrate. He shoved out of the too-small dressing room, suddenly claustrophobic. He nearly shoulder-checked Grim in the hallway and the massive orc just gave him a look of recognition.

“I’ll tell the others,” Grim growled, nodding once. “…that you were not feeling well. Stage fright.” He gave him a crooked grin, knowing that what Ashriel had was far from stage fright. Fucking stage fright. Like an amateur. But he didn’t have the patience for this.

“Fine,” He snapped, then turned away, continuing on down the hall. His wings tucked in, unable to bear any overwhelming contact right now. He pushed out the fire exit, sucking in a deep breath of cold, night air as a breeze washed over him. He paused, turning his face up to the starlit sky as the sound of some rival band — someone called Void & Velvet took the stage. He liked them. He’d liked the band that had played before them, too — Stellar… something. Fury. Stellar Fury. You know fury. It was all over your father’s face when he found you face-down drunk in the yard that last time. His mind supplied unhelpfully.

He shook his head. He was just pissing himself off. He started down the alley, his wings splaying wider, stretching now safely. He rounded the corner of he building as he shoved his hands down in his pockets, stopping short when he realized someone else was here. Great. His dark red eyes narrowed as he tried to determine just how much of a threat CraveU user was. “Can you leave? I’d really like a moment alone and you’re kind of killing that. There’s a whole show going on. Go watch that or something… Just… Can you leave?” He didn’t mean to be an asshole, but he wasn’t really in the mood for smalltalk.