..; A little help with reading the Romanian kinda more correctly... C and S are pronounced Ch and Sh when followed by a vowel... Ea is pronounced Ya even when in words such as mEa/mYa... Ch makes a K sound... E's at the end of words make an é sound, and aren't silent, such as in plange, where it's not pronounced plang but plang-é... Iu makes a Yu sound... A in An makes more of an Un/Oon sound, such as in cAnd and cAnta, which sound more like kün... :D Please be very Romanian with your R's! :) Umm if you care, hope that helps

Conspiroº

Oooo, stii de ce plang chitarele?
Le-au ranit amintirile,
Tu iubire spune-le,
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

Vladamire was even somewhat impressed, if not at least intimidated by Byzantium. It was larger than it looked like it should have been from the outside, but he attributed that to the fact that the floor that was level with the sidewalk and road outside had actually turned out to be the third floor, and the club itself consisted of the bottom two. The third floor looked to be offices and storage for beverages and sound and lighting equipment, though the entrance was lavishly decorated all the way down the steps to the second floor. The second floor, unlike the other two, was the only floor that didn't take up the entire place, but instead served as a wide catwalk that went around three fourths of the walls, leaving the middle of the first floor --which was primarily taken up by a large dance floor and stage-- totally uncovered, with many spiral staircases leading from one floor to the next.

De ce plang chitarele
Stiu doar felinarele
Strunele amarele
Ce oare au pierdut?

The bar was on the middle of the three walls in the back, furthest from and adjacent to the stage just a floor below. It was raised up on it's own platform, though it took only two steps to once more stand on level ground, but from the bar stools it was possible to see over the rest of the catwalk and onto the stage, which, to Vladamire's faint surprise, had a live band playing. He was impressed by the music, especially the guitar, considering that it looked like only two people on stage, one on guitar and one on drum set, but mostly it was the vocals that caught his attention. It wasn't even that the words were in a language he dimly recognized as Romanian --the language his mother used on occasion to talk to her family on long distance phone calls-- but the actual voice... It sounded familiar.

Merg pe strada fetele,
Fetele cochetele
Ma privesc si-mi striga-n urma
Hei! Nu-mi raspunzi la SMS...

Leaning over the railing of the catwalk to get a better look, Vladamire nearly fell over the side when, with a start, he recognized the fair-haired singer and guitarist as none other than Konstantinos, his brother, and was only saved from serious injury if not utter humiliation by a firm hand grabbing him from behind and pulling him back. “Woah, be careful, there; we don't want any accidents!” he heard, but Vladamire was far too shocked at what he'd just discovered and the fact that he'd nearly been clumsy enough to let himself fall off to answer right away. Finally turning, he looked at the man for a moment, still not really registering.

Pe strazi pluteste doar dragostea
Noaptea-i amara fara ea
Ea cheama, cheama pe altcineva
Plange chitara mea...

He was taller than Vladamire --but then, that was no real feat-- and his hair was a pale, orange-brown, longish to his chin, and artfully messy. Giving Vladamire a queer look and a small smile, he said, “Are you all right? You look rather pale.” Vladamire nodded, and then shook his head, and then nodded again before giving up entirely. The man, whom Vladamire noticed not only had strangely gray eyes, but was also in what looked like a uniform of some kind, gave a cheerful, bemused laugh, and patted Vladamire on the arm. “Well, you might want to sit down for a moment; can I offer you a drink?” he asked, leading Vladamire over towards the bar.

Oooo, stii de ce plang chitarele?
Le-au ranit amintirile
Tu, iubire, spunele,
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“Ummm, thank you...” he replied a little absently, complying as he was sat down much like an incapable child at a stool, and the man, whom he now assumed to be a bar tender, made his way behind the bar. Vladamire cast a reproachful glance back at the stage and his brother, feeling --strangely-- a little crestfallen all of the sudden. He'd had no idea that Konstantinos sang or played guitar or was even a musician of any kind, let alone a really, really good one. While Vladamire would never in his life have randomly guessed Konstantinos would be the musical type, he looked simply perfect and content up there on stage, something Vladamire noted with a blush, accompanied Lev --whom Vladamire suddenly realized was the drummer, another thing about his brother's life that he'd had not even the slightest inkling of.

Plang in noapte strunele,
Strunele nebunele
Tu, iubire, spune-le
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“Do you know them?” the bartender asked, sliding a glass before Vladamire and breaking him away from staring in a dumbfounded stupor at the stage. Vladamire eyed the drink for a moment, wondering if he should refuse it, before the man laughed again, and nodded his head accommodatingly. “Don't worry, it's just water. I make it a personal policy never to serve anything even remotely alcoholic to someone unless I know for certain that they're twenty one and over... That you don't look,” he said with a grin.

De ce plang chitarele
Cand rasare soarele?
Canta pasarelele
Despre durerea mea.

Vladamire finally gathered himself together enough to smile back, thankful for the water and the man's generosity --even if he was just doing a job. “You're right, I'm not, and water is just fine, thank you,” he said, hoping, suddenly, that he sounded ladylike enough. “But ah...” he blushed a little bit, bringing the drink to his lips in a futile attempt to hide it. Referring back to the first question the brunette had asked him, he said, “No, I don't know them... Um... I'd... Like to though,” he admitted, a little hesitantly, and the older of the two smiled knowingly.

Pe strazi pluteste doar dragostea
Noaptea-i amara fara ea
Ea cheama, cheama pe altcineva
Plange chitara mea...

“Ooh, I see,” he said, but when Vladamire suddenly froze and a forlorn expression came over his face, the bartender --otherwise busy with mixing random other drinks, as he was still taking orders between his conversation with Vladamire-- just laughed again and shook his head. “No, I was only joking.. Hmm, let's see... Well,” he said with a smile, something, Vladamire noticed, he was seldom without. “I know for a fact the drummer's name is Lev Casablancas, but only because he's also the owner of Byzantium.” He laughed again when Vladamire, who afterwards just blushed all the more, looked thoroughly shocked.

Oooo, stii de ce plang chitarele?
Le-au ranit amintirile
Tu, iubire, spunele,
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“And uh...” he paused in making drinks long enough to scratch his head for a moment and gaze thoughtfully down at the stage, where Lev and Konstantinos were stilling performing and attracting quite a crowd of dancers and people just waving their arms around in support of the music, his gray eyes clouded over faintly. “I believe the singer's name is... Konstantinos Kapranos? But I wouldn't quote me on that, if I were you... Anyway, they're both rather well off young men, as you can tell by the fact that Mr. Casablancas is my boss.”

Plang in noapte strunele,
Strunele nebunele
Tu, iubire, spune-le
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

Vladamire nodded, listening to every word with a silent but thorough devotion, leaning in as though it would give the words a greater impact than they already had on him. “And ah... What else do you know about Konstantinos?” Vladamire asked, just then noticing how odd he must seem, pulling his drink back up to his mouth and turning off to the side on his stool a bit and looking back down on the stage in an attempt to avoid meeting the gaze of the knowing eyes of the bartender, who laughed again, turning a bit to mix more drinks behind him.

Pe strazi pluteste doar dragostea
Noaptea-i amara fara ea
Ea cheama, cheama pe altcineva
Plange chitara mea...

“Well now,” he said with a grin, his words harmlessly calculating, though they did nothing to lessen the reddening of Vladamire's face. “Let's see, he's... A senior in high school, I believe, and I think that's the only reason they're still here and not famous, Lev having already graduated and all. He just got back from some fancy boarding school a few days ago... I heard something happened to the point that he was asked to leave, or kicked out, or something to that extent, but I wouldn't quote me on that, either,” he said, and Vladamire nearly spurted his water all over the newly-whiped bar. His brother, asked to leave? His brother, kicked out? That was just... Impossible. Perfect Konstantinos would never...

Oooo, stii de ce plang chitarele?
Le-au ranit amintirile
Tu, iubire, spunele,
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“Hey!” Vladamire jumped and turned swiftly away from watching his brother sing to a grateful crowd at a firm, friendly hand coming down onto his shoulder suddenly. He was startled to find the violet-eyed surfer whom he'd sometimes talked and surfed with standing there grinning at him, patting him on the arm in a jovial way with a surprised but happy smile on his lips. Vladamire's pale green eyes went wide and he froze. The brunet had recognized him..? If someone whose name he didn't even know recognized him, then surely his own brother...

Plang in noapte strunele,
Strunele nebunele
Tu, iubire, spune-le
Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“I barely recognized you,” he said, as though he'd read Vladamire's mind taking the bar stool next to him. “It was only because of that,” he said with a grin, pointing down at Vladamire's right ankle. Vladamire looked down, confused for a moment, before he noticed the small birth mark he had there, at the inside of his ankle. “I've watched you wipe out enough times to know that birth mark anywhere! But anyway,” he said, reaching his hand out towards Vladamire with a charming, laid-back smile. “My name is Morgan, since I don't think either of us know each other's name... Morgan McAllister.”

Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

Vladamire, who'd cast another glance at his brother on stage, was only slightly relieved by Morgan's words as he took his hand, trying to smile as carelessly in return. “I'm ah...” he paused, unsure of what he should say. Surely Morgan would know he wasn't a girl, but... “Valentine Medley,” he offered, trying to sound a lot less meek than he felt. Morgan only smiled, putting him just a bit more at ease, and shook his hand happily. He cast a glance to the bartender, whom he noticed was purposefully busying himself with other customers so as to give the two some privacy for their awkward way of meeting. Vladamire gave a faint, nervous laugh, saying, “It's so odd not to see you... Wet and sandy, or something.”

Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“Likewise,” he said with an airy grin, pulling his hand away from Vladamire's and propping himself on the bar counter with it. “I didn't ever expect to see you somewhere like this. Especially after I asked you already to come here with me...” Vladamire blushed and opened his mouth to protest, but Morgan simply waved a hand dismissively. “I'm only joking. Anyway, you came on a good night. If you didn't know, that's the owner down there on the drums, and his friend up there singing.” Vladamire bit his lip and looked and them once more, this time a little reproachfully. Everyone already seemed to know more about his brother than he did. “What do you think of them?” Morgan asked, rather interestedly.

Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

“Ah...” Vladamire blushed a little, gazing still at his brother before looking away almost guiltily. “Um, He's--I mean... They're... They're very, very good,” he said with a timid honestly, and Morgan's smile only brightened, Vladamire's answer seeming to satisfy him. “Um...” Vladamire asked hesitantly after a moment, absently moving some of his bangs from his face. “What do you know about him? Everyone seems to know something... I mean uh... The owner's friend, that is; the one singing.”

Ce-a fost nu s-a pierdut!

Morgan smiled knowingly as the song ended, and Vladamire turned suddenly when he heard his brother speaking, saying thanks for being a good audience and introducing the next set. It was so odd... He'd never heard his brother humble enough to thank anyone sincerely for anything... “Well,” Morgan said, finally, snapping Vladamire's attention back up to the second floor. “I know for a fact he's single, if that's what you mean,” he smiled, and Vladamire turned completely and totally red, doubting that, this time, it was even worth trying to hide it behind his glass.

“No I didn't mean it like that,” he said hastily. Of course he hadn't... Or.. Had he..? Of course, that didn't make sense, so he couldn't have... With a thoughtful frown, he said, “It's just... He seems interesting is all. They both do,” he added, trying to even the slate a bit. Morgan only smiled.

“Good,” he said, grinning at Vladamire. “Otherwise I might have been jealous,” he said with a wink, thoroughly confusing the daintier of the two. “Anyway I've been meaning to ask you if-”

“Hey!” Vladamire heard someone call, only noticing because Morgan suddenly turned to look. He was startled to see Lev, who, noticing Morgan had noticed him, smiled and waved, and made his way over, Konstantinos, much to Vladamire's horror, following behind him. “You're Morgan McAllister, right?” Lev asked as he reached the bar, stopping in front of where the two sat. Morgan stood with a grin that Vladamire then realized reminded him of Lev's, and took the hand that the red head offered to him. “We talked over the phone,” he said, “But what did you think just now?” he asked, gesturing his head towards the stage behind him.

“It was great!” Morgan said happily, and Vladamire, who stood only because it seemed appropriate, seeing as how everyone else was, was yet again without any idea of what was going on. The only thing that kept Vladamire in the awkward situation was that Konstantinos had remained down the bar a ways, and was busy ordering a drink from the bar tender. “My friend here thought so too,” Morgan said, putting a hand on Vladamire's shoulder, who just smiled uncomfortably.

“Is that so?” Lev asked with a raise of his eyebrows, looking and sounding generally interested, though it seemed he had only just noticed Vladamire. A smile, however, as he looked Vladamire over, slowly spread across his lips. “And pray tell,” he asked, turning to Morgan to address him, though it took him a moment to actually look away from Vladamire. “Who is this lovely friend of yours?” he asked, as though trying to infer something.

Morgan simply laughed, and waved his hand a few times, shaking his head. “Ah, just a friend, unfortunately.” Vladamire blushed again, wondering if he should be catching something... “But, she has quite the interest in your guitarist over there,” he said, nodding in Konstantinos' direction.

Vladamire simply gaped and Morgan, and Lev gave a jovial laugh. “Is that so?” he asked quirkily, a whimsical smile on his features. “Well then, we ought to introduce the two. Konstantinos, love!” He called, making his way to Konstantinos to drag him unwillingly away from his drink.

“Why did you do that?” Vladamire whispered harshly, slapping Morgan on the arm, though he was really too nervous to get that angry. Morgan just laughed and ruffled his hair a bit before shoving his hands in his pockets and waiting, and Vladamire, frozen where he stood, just silently prayed that he'd die or disappear or something, both of which seemed preferable to his brother recognizing him in a skirt...

“Konstantinos, meet Morgan's friend,” Lev said, finally pushing Konstantinos in front of Vladamire. “Morgan's friend, meet Konstantinos!” he continued, taking each of their hands and placing them in an odd, reluctant handshake of sorts. Vladamire just knew he was all kinds of odd shades he shouldn't be, and Konstantinos seemed none the more comfortable. “And don't the two of you look lovely together!” Lev said, clapping.

“I'm afraid I'd have to agree,” Morgan said, shaking his head a bit, though he still had a smile on his lips. “Anyway, we should leave them and get down to business...”

“Quite true,” Lev agreed, taking Morgan by the arm. “And I suggest you and I discuss business over drinks, because interesting things are always discussed over drinks, or at least drinks make things to discuss all the more interesting. You two children behave, now!” Lev said behind him to Vladamire and Konstantinos, who still stood there dimly, holding each other's hand.

When they were at the other end of the bar and talking with one another and the same bar tender, Vladamire finally looked up at Konstantinos, and then down at his hand. Konstantinos seemed to react just as slowly, though when he did, he finally pulled his hand away and in stead ran in nervously through his snowy hair. Vladamire thought for a moment that he saw a faint blush on his older brother's features, but, bringing a fist to his lips and coughing slightly, whatever blush Konstantinos may or may not have had faded. “Uh...” he said, less articulate than Vladamire had expected. “So I guess you know I'm Konstantinos,” he said with a shrug, seeming none too thrilled by their situation. “And your name was um..?”

“Valentine,” Vladamire, nervous as he was replied almost instantaneously, and Konstantinos quirked a wary brow at him. “Valentine Medley,” he added, smiling as sincerely as he could. “I um... I think you're really good. I mean...” he blushed and looked down, doing just awful with the small talk. “I just saw you perform, and you're an amazing musician...” he said meekly, but it was true. He would have never expected something so... Artistic, he supposed, from the brother who was destined to inherit a fortune in the business world.

“Uh... Thanks,” he said, shrugging again, and for a moment, Vladamire thought he was just really uninterested in talking to him. But, looking up at his brother, who was busy looking anywhere but at him, Vladamire suddenly realized that there was a very good chance that Konstantinos was actually... Nervous. This did something to relieve him, as he found he'd been quite nervous himself, and with a sigh he finally laughed, shaking his head a bit.

“What's so funny?” Konstantinos asked, sounding almost offended, though he finally looked down at the blond.

“Oh, nothing... Ah...” Vladamire just smiled up at him, a lot more relaxed than he had been. “It's just um... You're really not how I thought you would be,” he said, though he couldn't say he wasn't relieved. He brother was acting almost like an actual... Person.

“Is that so?” Konstantinos asked, making a face, though he seemed a little more relaxed too. He sat down at the bar finally, still taller than Vladamire, though not by as much. “So uh... You're friends with Morgan, huh?” he asked rhetorically as Vladamire sat down as well. “Lev held some auditions a while back --or at least he got our manager to-- and Morgan is supposed to be our new synth player. But anyway, um...” Konstantinos began, turning away from Vladamire for a moment, his hand covering his mouth as though his gesture was meant to be thoughtful, though it actually simply served to make him look all the more nervous. “Can I... Er, that is... Can I...” he trailed off again, furrowing his brow. He seemed to be frowning, but finally moved his hands and opened his mouth again, only to be interrupted.

“Konstantinos,” came an emotionless, monotonous voice, and Vladamire turned and looked a very long way up, finding the speaker standing, suddenly, right behind him. Vladamire, intimidated as much by his height --though he was around the same size and build as Konstantinos-- as his expression, took a step back. Konstantinos sighed and looked rather miffed to see whoever it was, not that the dark haired individual in the suit seemed any more excited.

“Die,” he said, addressing the man, who wore dark sunglasses even though it was rather dark inside, and for a moment Vladamire was startled but what Konstantinos had said, until he suddenly recognized who the tall, pale man was. Diego --or ‘Die', as he was often referred to because of his... less than chipper disposition-- Casablancas was Lev's older half brother, and the President and CEO of Casablancas Industries, the very powerful family business. Vladamire had only met him a few times, but Diego was the kind of presence that was... Hard to forget. “Lev's over there, interviewing our possible new synth player, if that's who you're looking for.”

Diego quirked a dark, narrow brow, though his expression remained hard to read. “And you're not over there with him because..?” Konstantinos only rolled his eyes, and Diego shook his head. “You know Kitty will give you hell when she finds out that you're being a drama queen again,” he said, and Vladamire, who had no idea what was going on, and no idea who ‘Kitty' was, felt more out of place now than he had all night.

“Kitty can s- uh, that is...” he cut off, seeming to just remember that Vladamire was there. “Kitty can interview him herself, if she's that interested. Anyway, as you may or may not be able to see, I'm in the middle of having a conversation with someone,” he said, gesturing to Vladamire, who Diego, it seemed, only just then noticed. “Diego Casablancas, meet Valentine Medley. Valentine Medley meet Diego Casablancas. Cheers,” he said, unenthusiastically.

“Speaking of which,” came a voice --once again from behind Vladamire-- and they all turned to look, finding the bar tender holding a drink in his hand, and offering it to Diego. “It's for you, boss, from the young man down at the end of the bar there,” he said, gesturing with his hand as Diego reluctantly took the drink. “Who says that I'm to tell you he thinks you have very lovely eyes,” he grinned, and Vladamire, looking where the bar tender had directed, spotted Lev blowing kisses and waving giddily at his half brother.

Konstantinos snorted, Vladamire hid a small laugh behind his hand, and Diego stalked off over to Morgan and Lev, but not before glaring at Konstantinos --or, so Vladamire assumed, as it was hard to tell what exactly went on behind his dark glasses. “Anyway,” Konstantinos breathed, turning to engage Vladamire once more. Both of them were still smiling at Lev's actions, and when their eyes met again, they both looked away, each seeming equally embarrassed. “Ah, anyway,” he repeated again, clearing his throat. “I was wondering if you'd like to--”

“Kapranos!”

Both Konstantinos and Vladamire gave a start, and looked up at who had suddenly called out their last name from a ways away. Vladamire spotted a dark haired, dark skinned young man who reminded him a lot of Yuli, only his hair --which was curly rather than straight-- and eyes were a bit lighter, and Konstantinos let out a long series of muttered curses, his hand reaching up to slap his forehead in quite the forlorn manner. “Great...”

“Kapranos,” he said again, once he had reached them --after first pushing past numerous, now-miffed people to reach them-- hardly using the surname in a respectful fashion. “I bet you think you're big stuff, performing at the newest, hottest night club in town, don't you?” he asked, and Vladamire suddenly noticed a girl standing at his side, who looked at Konstantinos too, though she said nothing. She was very pretty, with long, wavy, golden blond hair and dark blue eyes, and looked less than thrilled to be there. “Who do you think you are, showing up here again and doing something so outrageous!”

“Kannan--”

“My band performs here all the time,” Kannan interrupted. “Well... Not here,” he said with a quick gesture. “But around here. As in, in town. You know what I mean!” he said, glaring at Konstantinos, who just gave an indifferent sound. “And you just come back suddenly and are all the rage! The sheer audacity,” he ranted, though, at this point, he seemed to be mostly engaging himself. The girl at his side glanced at Vladamire, gave an odd smile, and then devoted all her intention to the young man beside her.

“Look,” Konstantinos said with a sigh, standing to better confront Kannan, whom he was at least half a head taller than. “I'm sure your band performs just peachy, and I'm sorry I moved back here and ruined whatever it is that you had going for you, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. I'm sure if you'd like to perform here some night, Lev would--”

“Ha!”Kannan interrupted, waving a finger in front of Konstantinos' face, his amber-gold eyes narrowed. “As if I'd want my band to perform somewhere you've already played and completely devastated,” he said, moving his finger from Konstantinos' face --which seemed a rather safe decision-- and in stead waving his hand dismissively at the crowd of people still on the dance floor around the stage, now occupied by sets of popular dance mixes, who hardly looked devastated to Vladamire. “And what's more,” Kannan began again, thoroughly crushing the hopefulness his slight pause had given both Konstantinos and Vladamire.

As Kannan continued, Konstantinos sat back down and rested his head in his hand, shaking his head rather forlornly as the young man ranted and raved, more to himself and the girl standing next to him --who nodded every once in a while. But when Konstantinos, who seemed to be ignoring Kannan and trying to ignore the onslaught of an apparent migraine, looked from underneath his hand, and smiled --almost apologetically at Vladamire-- Vladamire felt his face go warmer than it had that entire evening, and he had to look away.

º

DX Sorry for the lame boringness of the chapter D: It was mostly to introduce some characters... :D There's still a couple that haven't been introduced yet so... DX Go take the Which Conspiro Character are You Quiz which can be found in my profile! Yaay