”I know I misbehaved
And you made your mistakes
And we both still got room left to grow
And though love sometimes hurts
I still put you first
And we'll make this thing work
But I think we should take it slow~!

We're just ordinary people
We don't know which way to go
'Cause we're ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow
Take it slow, oh-oh
This time we'll take it slow
Take it slow, oh-oh
This time we'll take it slow~”

The pianist had been reluctant at first to give up his seat to August, but after a few cited credentials and a surreptitious hex, he had been convinced. August had seated himself gingerly, and proceeded to play beautifully. He had sung with the playing, less beautifully, perhaps. But quite serviceable, really. If he had to toot his own horn, so to speak, he would have given it an 8/10. Maybe even a 9, if he were being NPD. Maybe if the pianist liked his presentation enough, he wouldn’t have to toot his own horn at all. Someone else could compliment him and do that. The party was quite droll. A little escape would do wonders for his mood.

It was a cocktail party at a gallery opening. He’d come to support a friend. They had a vested interest in the gallery’s success. Their partner also had art on display. August had seen the art. He’d thought it looked like two hippopotamuses mating. But it was abstract enough to almost be a Rorschach test. What did that say about the state of his mind? Perhaps that he thought the artist had shown talent and would go far. ‘Good chops, kid.’ And all that.

He finished up the John legend song. Ordinary people. Stepped away from the piano, to a few scattered applause. Not resounding. Maybe it had been closer to a solid 7.5, after all? The Violin was more his speed. That was why they pay him the big bucks for it, after all.

The pianist did not approach him.



He needed a drink. Dressed in black slacks, blue shirt, and charcoal grey silk vest, he strolled across the floor to a man holding a tray.

“Thank you,” he took the offered glass of white. Took a take sip.

Art gallery opening. One of those things Serena considered work, not leisure. It was good for networking, for being seen, and for generally keeping up the image of belonging to the New York elite that had money to burn on abstract modern paintings. Tiny food, expensive cocktails, mediocre company. All of which had been improved significantly by her newfound mystic powers.

Tonight, it was all about the cocktails.

The man who played the piano finished the song and went for a drink. Serena had noticed him earlier, he was clearly not the hired entertainment, but he was still fairly good. And had to be a little off kilter to perform in public like that as a guest. Interesting enough for a little experiment. Serena had put the spell on the wine on the tray a few minutes earlier, with a little sleight of hand. Now to see if it worked.

"Is it just me, or is that a picture of two elephants f***ing?" she smirked, stepping up to stand next to the guy, holding her own glass of wine.

“I would have said hippos, but good eye!” He said. Turned his head slightly to look in the direction of the source of the voice, and smiled.

He had only taken a tiny sip of his wine. It had tasted like normal wine. White wine. He held it and did not drink any more. Not for any reason, other than to not be drinking while speaking. Because that might be rude. Maybe a tiny sip was not enough to achieve whatever results someone had hoped for. Certainly, it was not enough to achieve the results he had hoped for (read: being drunk).

“That artist in particular has unique tastes. Personally, I thought it was kind of a Rorschach test.” August glanced around. “The statuary is pretty good though. Some real Adonis pieces.”

About fifteen feet away, a man with blonde hair and blue eyes opened his mouth to say something to one of his two dates. He utterly failed. Strange, August thought. Worthington was usually far more talkative than that. Guy could be positively flighty when he wanted.

Okay, so maybe a gallery opening was not the best place to test the truth magic, since everyone was sipping, rather than drinking. In large quantities, alcohol was its own truth serum (that's why it worked so well combined with the spell. Better that coffee anyway.). In small quantities, all she could hope for was some fun bursts of honesty from the patrons tonight.

>>“I would have said hippos, but good eye!”

Serena smirked at the young man. He looked like he shared her feelings about this event. She was curious if he'd voice them too.

>>“That artist in particular has unique tastes. Personally, I thought it was kind of a Rorschach test. The statuary is pretty good though. Some real Adonis pieces.”

"All of modernist art is a Rorschach test if you ask me." Serena noted, glancing around. "But at least the Adonis asses are realistic?"

Some artists had to just stick to what they were good at.

"Serena Lockhart." she introduced herself, turning back to the man and offering a hand. She was not going to add Lockhart House. People who knew fashion knew it anyway, and those who didn't... well, didn't need to. "Buying art, or just here for the company?"

>> "All of modernist art is a Rorschach test if you ask me." Serena noted, glancing around. "But at least the Adonis asses are realistic?"

“True,” August agreed. “All of it. Seen a few in my day. Enough to be an expert, but if you ask me, never enough…”

He didn’t pause as if shocked to say it. He did sip his drink though. Mildly amused at his own crass ass.

Serena lockheart introduced herself, and stick out a hand. He took it, shook it, set it free.

“August, of house Appleberry.” He said. He omitted the ‘first of my name, yadda yadda’ bs. Game of thrones was lame. And yes, he knew she was The Serena Lockheart of the House Lockheart. Now, at least. Once she’d said it, it had clicked and he had recalled articles and her face plastered on pages. More, the joke was just to say ‘I know, you know I know, no big deal. Let’s not take it too seriously.’ Just to pad egos though, he added “Big fan.”

Appleberry was also a big name. A family name. His father was in television: advertising or something. He wore a big wig and was important. The name might stand out but if it didn’t, no big deal, again. Also, his name was known in the music community if you were into orchestral stuff in New York. Not top billed known, true, but second chair? Not bad.

He smiled lightly. “I’m here to support a friend. His partner did some of this art. I still think it looks like hippos, but some people love hippos.” August raised and lowered his hand in a gesture that said ‘well there you go.’

“What about you? Buying, or mingling? If you’re here for the company…” He made another gesture that said ‘well there you go.’ “Some people love the company.” And some people are bores. He would have said that out loud normally, even without any form of truthiness foisted upon them. But he had a moment of restraint. A rarity to be sure.

>>“True. All of it. Seen a few in my day. Enough to be an expert, but if you ask me, never enough…”

Serena smirked. Even with the sips, some of the inhibitions were lowered, and some truth was seeping through. Or maybe he was just carefree with his words in general. Sometimes it was hard to tell. They shook hands.

>>“August, of house Appleberry. Big fan.”

Appleberry. That was a big name, too. A media name, if she remembered correctly. Was the the heir to the kingdom? She vaguely remembered the name in the context of music, but she was not exactly deep into the music scene of New York. Fashion already had her dance card more than full.

>>“I’m here to support a friend. His partner did some of this art. I still think it looks like hippos, but some people love hippos.”

"I am sure they appreciate your support in their time of going public. With the hippos." Serena chuckled. So, he was not really here to buy, either. Or network, or whatever. Which explained why he had been playing music instead.

>>“What about you? Buying, or mingling? If you’re here for the company… Some people love the company.”

"I am here for the drinks." Serena deadpanned, then smiled, raising her own glass. Technically, it was true. "And to be seen. I'm sure you know how it works. But I wouldn't mind some company, unless you have another performance coming up..."