Yan Sun snickers. "Riiiight..." she says, not sounding particularly convinced. The grumbling accusation is met with a smug grin as she follows Jessica through the door, letting it close again behind them.
#HourglassClub – August 5, 2026
The fire exit brings them into a dimly lit corridor, partly sheltered from the rest of the club, but even here the air is full of energy and a complex electronic beat. Empty glasses and forgotten half-finished drinks sit on a ledge on the wall near to doors that lead to the bathrooms, gender-divided, and with doors too small to accommodate larger species - not an uncommon sight since coming to Earth. There's a brief glance cast their way by
someone heading into one of the bathrooms, but little attention paid beyond that. The corridor seems to open up into the rest of the club further ahead, judging by the flow of people and the flashing of colorful lights from somewhere unseen.
Yan Sun starts bouncing and swaying in tune with the music, light on her feet as she begins to lead the way further into the club, glancing back to Jessica with a big grin. The dim lights in the corridor emphasize the glow of not only her implants but her clothes as well, they too quickly syncing with the music as she does - even the animated version of Jessica's drawing on her shirt starts to dance.
Jessica allows her grin to fully manifest as Yan Sun looks back her way, that mask of aloofness she so often tries to wear slipping away entirely. A snort even slips out as she notices the goofy cat dancing. In response, she reaches across herself, thumbing the device in her hand before returning the omni-tool to her pocket, a bounce already entering her step as the music makes its way through her bones. The quick interaction with her
device causes the lights in her own outfit to spark back to life, the glow of her cheek piercings decorating each side of her smile as if attempting to match Yan Sun's energy.
Yan Sun 's expression is warm, the grin just widens as Jessica lights up, and she grabs her hand in a firm grip to make sure they're not separated before tugging her along into the club proper.
As they emerge from the side corridor they arrived through, the space around them opens up - the club is a large, round place, and they're on a circular platform that runs the edges of that spaces. To the left, a bar, crowded by patrons and filled with colorful drinks, many glowing as much as the clubgoers, who form something of a neon rainbow in the dark. Indeed, Yan Sun fits right in, although her look is more elaborate than most. To the
right are standing tables where people drink and chat, and a stairway going up. Above are two more circular levels, that similarly run along the edge of the place - the second has seating, and the third is hard to make out from down here. In the center of the club is the dancefloor, recessed somewhat, with steps leading down, where a bouncer stands and monitors the crowd - at least he sure looks like a bouncer between the black tee with a
glowing hourglass on it, the AR glasses, and the muscle. A holographic sign next to him reads: "REMINDER: 1. NO LOOSE ITEMS ON THE DANCE FLOOR (INCLUDING DRINKS!). 2. WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING. 3. THROW UP=PERMANENT BAN." The dancefloor is busy, but not crowded, with people bouncing and moving to the beat of the music, an abstract holographic visualizer lining the edges of it and doubling as lighting, illuminating the dancers in ever-shifting
rhythmic patterns. The sparse, semi-industrial decor of the club matches the silo-like exterior, although the glow that lines stairs, railings and the bar, as well as the oscillating holograms, all contrast that. It's a captivating cacophony of sights and sounds, but overall, not all that different from a club you could find on Aite, aside perhaps from the very human crowd.
Jessica allows herself to be tugged further into the club, but as soon as they enter the club proper she anchors them in place, briefly taking in the sights and sounds of the club. The stimulation overload is welcome, the music like a current, carrying heavy thoughts out to sea. Vibrating through her very being, granting permission to let go of everything eating at her. Maybe there's no happy ending in sight. Maybe tonight is only
doomed to end in pain for both of them. But she's always been good at ignoring the guillotine hanging overhead, and there's a whole lot of night left before it comes down. So, for now, she lets go of those worries. Allows them to be buried beneath the thump of music, crushed by the throng of moving bodies and blinded by a display of flashy lights. She passes a grin Yan Sun's way in a silent endorsement of the place as she's
Yan Sun soon manages to slip between patrons up to the bar counter with Jessica in tow, turning to her and leaning close to suggest "I'm thinking shots! I wanna get to dancing!" over the music that fills the air, flashing a brief, eager grin as she watches her for approval.
Jessica is no stranger to forcing her way up to a crowded counter. She presses up behind Yan Sun when they reach the bar, one arm stretched past her to rest a hand on the edge of the counter and stake their claim on their spot lest anyone else try to edge their way in. When her partner turns to her, she gives a few nods in agreement. "Something strong!" she suggests, seeming just as eager to get to the dance floor.
Yan Sun manages to get the busy bartender's attention with a wave that she strategically enhances with a flurry of blue holographic voxels that trail after her hand. She leans on her elbows over the counter to call out her order, and soon enough two glowing pink double shots are being poured for them by the bartender, a young man in a similar shirt to the bouncer, but with a whole lot of bracelets and an undercut tied back in a bun. Yan Sun
waves her left hand over a scanpad to pay and grabs one of the glasses, carefully lifting it up in front of her face and turning to Jessica to shoot her a grin and wiggle her eyebrows.
Jessica has to lean past Yan Sun to scoop her shot glass up and immediately scrutinizes the pink liquid. Her brow quirks up as her gaze shifts past the drink in her hand and returns to Yan Sun. She gives a playful roll of her eyes, as if to say, 'Of course you'd order a pink drink'. But it doesn't seem to deter her from tossing it back.
Yan Sun downs her own shot as well, face inevitably scrunching up a little as much as she tries not to let it show - the drink is indeed quite strong as requested, although it takes a moment for the intense burn to make itself known beneath the sugary sweet, chemical flavor of the glowing liquid.
Jessica licks at the roof of her mouth a few times and sucks in her lips, surprise showing through her expression at the unexpected kick that chases the initial impression. "What is this?" she asks, leaning in close enough for her breath to be felt on Yan Sun's ear as she reaches out to place the shot glass back on the counter.
Yan Sun shimmies in place and shakes out her arms a little as the warmth of the alcohol works its way through her body, although she pays close attention as Jessica leans in. "A shot that doesn't taste like 熊猫尿!" she replies with a cheery grin, mind on the various unpalatable drinks that Jessica's made her endure over the past months. "Now come on!" she exclaims after putting her glass too on the counter, once again taking Jessica's hand
Jessica scoffs, the expression felt more than it's heard once the music drowns it out. "Shots are supposed to taste like ass!" she protests as if Yan Sun is missing some important element of what makes a good shot. But before that thought can be peeled apart she once again finds herself pulled along, causing a snicker to slip out.
Yan Sun can't seem to keep from bobbing and shimmying as they weave their way closer to the dancefloor, but she stops before the steps, leaning back to Jessica to ask near her ear: "Do you have anything in your pockets?"
Jessica is, likewise, moving with a bounce in her step as they make their way through the club, the music infecting her movements. Yan Sun's question takes her a moment to process amidst the sounds of the crowd, causing her to furrow her brow and lean closer, hand instinctively moving to her pocket. "No." she confirms before immediately contradicting that statement with a shrug of her shoulders, clearly not sure why Yan Sun is asking,
Yan Sun nods her head in the direction of the dancefloor. "No loose items!" she says, although how that applies to something in her pocket isn't quite clear. "I can take it if you don't have a pocket that can close!" she suggests, holding out her right hand palm up.
Jessica frowns as if she was just scolded by her teacher. She gives her pant pockets a pat before her frown deepens and she retrieves her omni-tool from her pocket, reaching out to place it in Yan Sun's hand. She hesitates before letting go of it, however, narrowing her eyes on Yan Sun. "Do not go through my shit, kitty cat!" she warns, "I know how you are and I will know if you fuck with anything!" Unlikely, but the threat is implied
nonetheless. She glares at Yan Sun for a moment longer before reluctantly dropping the device into her hand.
Yan Sun doesn't seem particularly threatened, in fact she flashes an amused grin with an unusually wicked edge to it. "I reeeeeally don't need to actually have your omni-tool to go through your shit!" she points out as the device is deposited in her waiting hand. She raises her left arm, the glow of her cybernetic lines concentrating around a rectangle of skin that slides open to reveal the concealed compartment, where she stows Jessica's
omni-tool. She shoots her a wink as she flicks her wrist and it slides shut. Down on the dance floor the holographics have started to shift into a golden yellow color, and they grab Yan Sun's attention, making her exclaim a "Let's go!", once again snatching Jessica's hand and pulling her with as she hurries down the steps.
Jessica of course, already knew that, but her eyes still widen at the unspoken threat- or perhaps confession- buried in Yan Sun's words, intentional or not. She scrunches up her nose, meeting Yan Sun's wink with a conspiratorial glare. It quickly shifts into a look of confusion at Yan Sun's sudden urgency, a half-uttered, "Wha-..." tumbling out before she finds herself stutter stepping to keep pace when she's pulled along once more.
The music, too, shifts as the color of the lights do, a new song with a subdued, droning beat. The dancefloor is growing more crowded as more people are drawn in by the shift, despite the for now subdued energy of the new song.
Yan Sun finally comes to a stop after finding them a good spot among the bodies. Some are swaying to the slow beat, while others talk in each others ears or look around. There's a sense of anticipation among the gathered clubgoers, illuminated in the golden glow of the holograms, which gently bob and swirl along the edges. Yan Sun just smiles eagerly, eyes locked on Jessica as she sways in that graceful way she can never match off the
Jessica seems no less confused, but also doesn't need an excuse to hit the dance floor. Considering the people hurrying to join them, she just assumes that this is probably some popular Earth song that she's never heard of. She gives a confident nod as her body falls in rhythm with the song, remaining close to her partner. "I like this song!" she leans in to say against Yan Sun's ear, playing it off as if she has any familiarity
Yan Sun 's smile has a mischievous tinge to it, but she doesn't reply, just dancing close to Jessica as the music slowly ramps up in intensity. From down here on the dancefloor it's easy to see that the club's ceiling is so high that it disappears into darkness above the third tier of rings running around the exterior of the dancefloor, but about here, where they are? It's all empty air. It must take up the entirety of the cylindrical
building. It seems like an awful lot of unused space for a club, but it does provide some unique and intense acoustics, the music reverberating and wrapping around everyone on the dancefloor, the beat overlapping itself. Despite its distinctly electronic, dance-oriented nature, the droning beat has an underlying griminess to it that suits the locale.
Jessica's focus remains fixed on Yan Sun, her movements confident as ever as the music begins to ramp up. The decade-plus spent on dance floors in Adrasteia is apparent given just how naturally she seems to lose herself in the music, unbothered by the world around her.
Emboldened by the alcohol in her system and - more profoundly - by her time spent on Aite, with Jessica, Yan Sun spins around and presses back against her, making her holographic vest sputter and distort where it collides with her partner. Her arms rise above her head as the music climbs, a flurry of bright blue voxels streaming from her left arm and slowly raining down around them, each tiny cube still pulsing in time with the beat. The
display draws glances from several nearby dancers - a few people further across the dancefloor actually join in with similar displays, painting patterns in the air by waving high-tech glow sticks that leave a holographic trail.
Jessica seems entirely unbothered by the eyes on them, her arms instinctively slipping around Yan Sun, body matching her partner's shape as they press against one another, her smile felt on the back of Yan Sun's neck. Her own light show pales in comparison to Yan Sun's, but patterns glow across across her outfit, twisting and turning into shapes on beat with the music, her piercings sparking up with light on every other beat.
Yan Sun 's head turns, flashing Jessica a private grin over her shoulder, amplified by the stark contrast of her blue lipstick with her skin. One of her hands finds Jessica's arm while the other seeks out her hair, fingers tangling in it as she moves back against her in tune with the beat. It only lasts for a few moments, however, before the music picks up in intensity and a voice on speakers calls out something that Jessica's translator
struggles to catch amid all the noise, but whatever it is it gets the crowd on the dancefloor bouncing, jumping and dancing with far more energy now. Yan Sun too separates from Jessica and spins to face her again, her movements energetic and bouncy. Around them, golden holo-voxels, like particles in the air, start to flow onto the dancefloor from the edges, thrown this way and that by the movements of the dancers, as if affected by
Jessica continues to dance against Yan Sun, one hand on her hip, the other slithering across her belly. The sudden increase in tempo and the voice over the speaker seems to momentarily snap her out of her musical trance, gaze seeking out Yan Sun once more as she pulls away. Her brow briefly pinches together in a silent question that wouldn't be heard on the dance floor even if she were to voice it, but she doesn't. The energy of the
music, the people, and the effects swirling around are enough of a universal language for her to quickly find herself swept up in it and, without any real consideration, she's soon bouncing to the beat as well, head tilted back with a big, unrestrained smile as laughter spills out of her.
Jessica's laughter proves infectious, and soon enough Yan Sun is laughing with her, the sound drowned out by the music, but open, enthusiastic joy visible on her face as her bouncing dancing takes her higher and higher. In fact, all the people on the dancefloor seem to be jumping just a little higher as the music climbs, staying off the floor just a little longer. Jessica too. It feels light and easy, and it's an intoxicating sensation. Around
them, the gold voxels grow more numerous, swirling around every dancer, mixing near Yan Sun with her own stream of blue. Each time someone jumps near them they flurry, and then they move slowly, floatily, like snowflakes, or sand in the ocean.
Jessica doesn't even seem to notice at first that each hop takes her higher, far too caught up in the moment, but soon it becomes too obvious to miss, causing another cascade of laughter. As the voxels swirl around her she begins tracing patterns in the air with her arms, hypnotized with the way they follow and sway with her movements.
Yan Sun giggles, a bright smile on her face as she enjoys the rare sensation of the reduced gravity herself, but, more importantly, as she watches Jessica's reaction. She jumps high and twirls, sending a spiral of blue out around herself before falling down. Everybody is moving enthusiastically to the intensifying beat, which gets closer and closer what should be drop. Then golden voxels, now everywhere around the dancers, start to float
slowly upwards. Here and there other dancers stop moving, looking around in anticipation of something. Others leap as high as they can. No drop comes as the building music reaches its climax, instead, there is a sudden shift in the melody, to something almost ethereal, with a hissing, inexorable undertone. Jessica would feel something strange in her stomach - in her whole body. Disorienting. Exciting. Like jumping a car, or dropping
out of FTL. In front of her, Yan Sun looks incredibly excited as she shoots her a wink and... pushes off against the floor, soaring upwards alongside the now rapidly streaming voxels. All around other dancers are doing the same, some eager, some flailing, and other hesitant. The hourglass is turning.
Jessica counts herself amongst those leaping as high as they can, arms stretched upwards, hands swiping through the air above her to manipulate the flow of particles around her. So caught up in it, she wouldn't have even registered the sudden shift when she leaps off the ground one final time were it not for that strange sensation that settles into her stomach. The sensation of falling. Falling even as she's moving upward. If up is even