The lights cut out and the final echos of a wailing guitar lose themselves in a fair sized crowd. They are lost further beneath a round of cheers and claps. It is an exhilarating energy. Yet Icy can't say that she shares it. In fact she is the first to leave the stage. She takes her guitar and heads off. She is certain that Darcy and Stormy aren't particularly pleased with this new habit of hers.

It is better than her old habit.

Perhaps if they knew then they would understand. But she has kept things under wraps.

She probably shouldn't have come along on the tour at all, she can hardly last a full setlist, by the end of it she is physically shaky and exhausted.

She leans her guitar against the wall and runs a hand through her hair. God, her head hurt. She can hear Darcy making their closing statements and Stormy promising an acapella encore. The third one of the tour.

The crowds are probably getting aggravated with her for leaving the stage so early. She wonders if she should even be in the band anymore.

Icy rummages through her purse and picks out a stick of peppermint. It does a decent job of stimulating the feeling of a cigarette between her lips, but it lacks the kick she craves. That her body craves.

The withdrawal symptoms are tapering off, but not enough to alleviate the longing. She tries to focus in on the taste of peppermint. It is strong and potent and somehow soothing. She leans back in her chair and stares at the ceiling.

"Hey."

Icy's head snaps in the direction of the voice.

"Sorry." Ogron mutters.

"I thought that you went back to your tour bus."

"I left my wallet here somewhere, I think."

"And here I thought I'd get to keep it." She reaches into her pocket and holds it up.

"How'd your show go?" He asks as he takes the wallet.

"Not as well as yours. Perhaps your band ought to headline instead."

He pulls out a chair. "Eh…" He shrugs. "Wizards Of The Black Circle isn't as well known as The Trix."

"True." She mutters her agreement. "Our band is the greatest band in the magical dimension." But she wouldn't mind passing the headline act to the Wizards if it means a break from the headache inducing flashing lights. "You haven't heard, have you?"

"Heard what?" Ogron inquires.

"That the quality of our shows have been declining and that it's my fault." She shrugs.

"No, I haven't heard anything of the sort. I feel like your shoes have been excellent." He replies.

Icy gives an indignant sniff. "They have been subpar."

"Why do you say that?"

"I have a tendency to leave stage early. It's hard to have an encore with no guitar."

"Why don't you go back on then?"

"I probably shouldn't be performing in the first place." Icy shrugs. "That's what my doctor says. My addiction therapist says that I should leave the rock scene entirely." She takes a small bite if the peppermint stick. "Too many drugs here or something like that." She is well aware that Ogron reeks of tobacco. Whether it is from his own cigarettes or the perfume of his tour bus, she can't say.

"How long you been clean for?"

She twirls the peppermint stick between her fingers, "about a month and a half."

"Oh so pretty recent then…" He trails off. "Gotta give you props for going on stage at all. Been a little over a year for me." He nods. "Gantlos doesn't make staying that way easy. I know he means well when offering me a light, but I'm worried that one of these days I'll say yes."

Icy nods. She supposes that Stormy's offers have the same effect. It helps even less when Lucy and her crew blow smoke in her face and ask when she'd become such a buzzkill. "Sex drugs and rock n roll." Lucy quoted. "You used to be fun. You used to be the most badass rocker in the industry." Icy is almost certain that this is what her therapist meant by the rock scene being detrimental to her progress.

And perhaps Lucy's commentary was justified after years of Icy mocking her for being new to the industry. Not that that had stopped Icy from snapping at her. She snaps at Darcy when the woman suggests that she tries to last a full show.

She goes off on most everyone for the simplest things. Her hair stylist had quit some days back.

"It gets easier the longer you're clean."

It sounds about right, but at the moment Icy isn't so certain, "sure, if you say so." She rolls her eyes.

"It does." He insists and she decides that he is probably right. She has gone through the worst of it; the sleepless nights of sweating and inexplicable anxiety. The nausea and the unbearable headaches.

Her concentration still wavers and sleep is still hard to come by, especially when the headaches persist; even if they aren't so intense as they were the first few days. She is irritable and edgy on most days but at least the sickly feeling has gone. At least she can take care of herself again.

"Lucy is a pain in the ass." She grumbles.

"The front woman of Draconian Era?"

Icy nods.

"I'm sure she won't be as unbearable when her voice is hoarse while yours is still strong."

"I don't do vocals." Icy mutters, "that's Darcy's job."

"Still." Ogron shrugs. "I feel like it's some kind of display of strength and power to resist the cravings."

Icy almost laughs. So the man knew what to say to get her to see his point. "I do like power…"

She isn't sure why she hasn't talked to him more before tonight.

"I've heard." He chuckles. "Weren't you trying to take over the world before this?"

Icy nods.

"So how do three witches go from conquerors to rockstars?"

"The same way that evil fairy hunters do, I imagine. Honestly having a large fandom is close enough to having subjects." Icy finishes her peppermint stick. "They do what I tell them to; I say sing along, they do. I say clap, they clap. I've gotten my fans to buy my drinks and carry my guitar. That's close enough to taking over the world for me."

"Brilliant." Ogron laughs, "I wish I thought of that."

She catches him looking at his watch. She can feel the headache coming on anyhow and realizes that she is well overdue for a cup of tea. That usually helps with the pounding.

"Hey, well, we can chat more before the show tomorrow" he offers, "maybe go out for drinks…or lunch."

"Sure." Icy says.

He leans over and kisses her forehead. "Night." He gives her a small salute and begins walking away.

She lets him walk a few paces before deciding that she doesn't want to spend another night alone–not that she hasn't requested such and left Darcy and Stormy in a separate hotel room. "Come to the tour bus with me?" She requests.

Ogron pauses. "I guess I can use a break from cigarette smoke and Duman's sexcapades. "Let me just tell the guys."

"Works for me." Icy replies. "Going to the hotel separate will probably spare us some headlines anyhow."