oh, it's you [Cheesi!]

[nephero]

   The problem with evening gowns was that they were always absolutely fucking freezing.

   Ren swore there had to have been some kind of conspiracy about it all - there was no way that no one had noticed that most charity balls and fundraising luncheons and premieres tended to be held in venues that seemed to think sixty degrees was a normal functional temperature. There was no way no one had noticed that all the drinks were chilled champagne or cocktails over ice, or that the appetizers very rarely approached anything beyond room-temperature.

   It had to be on purpose. Whether that was to keep makeup from sweating off (they made brands specifically for that, these days), or to keep stench down (god forbid anyone not smell like a delicately perfumed lily), or an excuse to make your date want to huddle under your arm all night (would be nice if you weren't always infinitely taller than anyone else), Ren wasn't sure. But what he was sure of, was that the venue owner for tonight was an absolutely sadistic bastard. Or did corpse storage part time. Either, or.

   Even with fur wrapped around his shoulders, Ren was cold. His fingers hurt from holding his champagne glass, and it took every bit of his willpower not to huddle up in a chair and just shiver. But no, he couldn't do that. Not when this was a state-led function and certainly not when he was the only Starstrider in the room. He just had to suck it up, keep his discomfort as inconspicuous as possible, and drink enough that he forgot what nerve endings even were.

   Which would have been much easier, again, if he could feel his goddamn fingers. He flexed the ones on his free hand under the guise of inspecting his nail decor - a fine silver-metal filigree that hugged each claw and extended upwards onto the fingers themselves. He'd opted for a more 'traditional' outfit for the night, and that unfortunately meant the simplicity of the gown itself was accented by plenty of metal armrings. Which, of course, was absofuckinglutely freezing. Even the fur shrug couldn't do much; it was small, meant only to wrap around his upper back and hook to the front of the gown, leaving the rest of him open to the merciless elements.

   Idly, he wondered how the hell any of his ancestors had dealt with it. Then reminded himself that his ancestors weren't usually so sensitive to the cold. And further reminded himself that was his own doing, thank you very much.

   Nope, no, bad. Self-defeating talk wasn't going to get him through the night any easier. Ren took a breath, drank his champagne in what he hoped was more of a sip than a guzzle, and decided it was time for another leisurely walk around the room. Anything to get his blood working again, and at least if he looked like he was en route somewhere there was less of a chance of being bothered while he tried to get sloshed.

[Cheesigator]

"So, Pilot Noble Andromeda, what was the reason for your total media disappearance the last six months?" The eager reporter leaned forward in his chair, curious for juicy drama no doubt while the harsh studio lights made the set feel like a hot summer's day without even so much as a breeze.

She let out a chuckle, crossing her legs elegantly at the knees as she leaned back in her chair; these damn media folks never changed.

"Sorry Jimmy, it's top secret. But! I will tell you this," She grinned, leaning forward to emphasize the importance of what she was about to say, drawing the reporter in with a glitter in his eyes, "It was for the safety of Aedolis! I can't give details, but every single thing I do is to protect the innocent people of this great nation. In that regard, nothing will ever stop me--not even losing my eye!"

"Ohhhh, what an amazing sense of duty!"

She laughed, "Of course! It is the duty of every Pilot, and I'll carry that duty with every bone in my body till my last breath. That is my pride and joy as a Pilot. Protecting the innocent is my purpose."

"Just like always! Wow, even though it's been six months you haven't changed, and it's great to see! Thanks for coming onto our show tonight Andromeda, and everyone in the studio audience please give our esteemed guest a round of applause! That's it for our broadcast this evening, thank you and goodnight!"



Damn PR. They wasted no time at all. She ground her teeth after taking another sip of champagne, standing in the shadow of a tall white marble pillar at the charity ball she'd accepted the invitation of last minute. She'd intended for this to be her first social debut, but man as soon as her PR agent heard that she'd been cleared to step foot out of the hospital she was rushed from one gig to the next, to promote her great and glorious return.

While she'd never been popular with other Pilots, her PR manager had worked her ass off to market Andromeda to the public; they ate her up. She was a hot hero with muscle, power, and justice on her brain, as far as they were concerned; truly the sheer number of her fan clubs was no laughing joke. Though apparently they'd seen a drop in membership lately due to her absence, not that she cared... But the resounding shrieks of her PR manager still echoed in the hollows of her skull, "THIS IS A BIG DEAL! YOU NEED TO GET BACK OUT THERE RIGHT NOW AND GIVE IT ALL YOU'VE GOT BECAUSE YOUR PUBLIC IMAGE IS THE ONLY THING YOU HAVE! IF YOU LOSE THIS YOURE FINISHED! DO YOU HEAR ME?! FINISHED!!"

Jeeze, she was right but Andy always hated how she phrased it. And those stupid interviews and commercials would probably start airing tonight; man she really wouldn't get a chance to rest until she was dead, wasn't she?

Whatever.

She took in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, stepping out of the shadow of the pillar to do another lap around the room. She specifically chose a more inconspicuous black gown with a sweeping V down her back, an alteration she'd have to make to all her garments now she realized. Even though it blatantly showed the new scars all over her back around her shoulder blades, it was always better safe than sorry.

Andy had decided this ball would be her first attempt to get back into regular society; six months out in the Wastes where the only thing that mattered was that you were breathing left her completely rusty when it came to social skills, and that was unacceptable for a Noble. It was time to get back into it, whether she liked it or--

In the middle of her ruminating, she bumped into someone hard enough that she took a hard step back and the champagne in her glass sloshed and splashed onto the clothes of the person who'd dared cross her path.

"OI, WATCH IT--" She started before remembering she was, yknow, trying to be a better person, and quickly shut herself up. "I mean--er--sorry--" When a sudden specific scent hit her nose.

It was oddly familiar, stirring at something in the back of her head as she actually took a moment to recognize the person in front of her, realizing that she knew them.

"Oh, shit, Ren? Oh, shit, your dress--"

[nephero]

   Honestly, for how much Ren's joints were not listening to him, he might have taken the blame for the impact. It wasn't as if he had been particularly paying attention to where he was going, rather it was all about going, and keeping going, and just pretending to not-go enough to avoid looking like a lunatic walking in circles all damn day.

   But that, of course, would have been his reaction for absolutely anyone but Andromeda fucking Messiere. Ren had no gods to curse, but oh, he had a few choice words for whichever one was responsible for this particular bump in an already turbulent road. Still, three hundred years of training prevented his face from crumpling into an immediate sneer full of teeth and hissing, and instead he straightened his back to better assess the damage.

   Yup. That sure was a load of champagne, alright. All down his front and everything. The lack of patterning just made the deepened black of the damp fabric all the more telling, and Ren had to take a long, slow breath through his nose. This was fine. He could handle this. This was absolutely fine.

   What he really was not in the mood for was beratement over the encounter. He knew Andromeda well enough to expect to be put on the defensive as quickly as it took her to realize who she was talking to, and Ren pushed everything into overdrive just to catch up and keep that very thing from happening.

   "I don't suppose you're hydrokinetic, because that would actually be useful right about now." He stated flatly, making a swipe at the mess even though he knew full well that would not be nearly enough to get it all out and dried. As if it weren't cold enough in the room already. He half considered trying to get his own kinesis to do the trick, but with his control, that'd more than likely end up with him ripping the dress completely off in the process. A fun parlor trick for later, but definitely not one to try out right then, right that second.

   Ren channeled his birthgiver as best he could with the sharpest, coldest sigh he could muster. It really wasn't too bad, if he said so himself - if Reitrael Dei was capable of being proud of him for anything, he might have considered it just for that.

   "No, it's fine, it's only a hand-me-down from a thousand years ago. No harm done." The truth was, something Starstrider-made was more than capable of handling a little bit of champagne, and for a single solitary moment Ren wished he could turn back time and retract his words. This wasn't the person he wanted to be - as much as he wanted to lash out, especially to Andromeda, who did that actually serve? It certainly didn't make his dress any drier, nor would it make him any happier to be there. He sucked hard on one sharp canine before shaking his head tiredly. "Really, no harm done. If you will excuse me."

   Back still ramrod straight, Ren headed directly for the nearest bathroom, opting for the unisex option just so there would be less likely a chance he'd be walked in on while attempting to pat dry the fabric. Or maybe he could just get a bottle of vodka, lock the door, and stay there for the rest of the night.

   Inwardly he cringed at the idea as soon as he had it. He could hear it now: local Pilot has considerable issues, locks self in bathroom for the night. No, no. He could do this. Just get some damn paper towels, run the fucking thing under the hand drier, whatever it took, and he'd sit down for the rest of the night. That'd keep it from being too noticeable, right?

   Right.

[Cheesigator]

"I don't suppose you're hydrokinetic, because that would actually be useful right about now."

"Uuuh, w-well--" Really, what finesse, what eloquence.

Stick her in front of an interviewer and she could spew bullshit all day but when she was actually trying to be sincere... She could come with diddly squat.

She visibly paled a bit at the mention of the dress being a thosand years old, her ears--much longer now than they used to be--pulling downward a bit. Did dresses that old even still exist? She would've thought something like that would have to be kept in an air-tight pressure-sealed case in a museum so it didn't immediately disintegrate if you looked at it. But then again that probably just made this dress even more special--this dress that she had just promptly ruined. And snapped at him for.

Still at a loss for words, the exhausted elf excused himself before Andy could think of something, and for a moment she thought about just letting it be, but... That wouldn't be a good look.

She glanced down at her hands, scarred and beaten after her adventures in the Wastes, and realized that while a hydrokinetic she was not... She might be close enough, and quietly she followed the direction he went in, picking up his scent again in the unisex bathroom. Convenient.

She paused before entering right away though, realizing that her sudden appearance might just make him actually lose his cool. She had to prove herself first, right? So she closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling, sensing and recognizing the chemical compounds that made up every material thing in the immediate area. It was hard work, like going through a haystack with a fine-toothed comb in search of a golden needle; but if her time on a constant mission had done anything for her, it had helped her hone her instincts.

Crafting compounds out of thin air by mashing atoms together was incredibly dangerous and risky for anything past the first few periodic elements, but pulling them from pre-existing conditions was much easier. For her it was just identifying the chemicals in the fabric of Ren's dress that differed from the rest, and lifting them out.

Got it!

She stepped in as the champagne quite literally lifted itself from the fibers of Ren's dress, separating and swirling in the air to slowly circle around her finger as she geared herself up for whatever kind of reaction she might get now, at least feeling a bit more prepared.

"Hydrokinetic no, materio, yes." She rumbled, flicking the champagne over into the sink to go down the drain as a steady drop of blood rolled down from one of her nostrils. Ugh, the nurses told her to go easy with her powers for a while yet but if this wasn't easy then what was?! Stupid body, it needed to heal faster, dammit.

"Is the dress okay?" She wiped the blood away with the back of her hand, sneering at it a bit before rinsing it under one of the faucets.

[nephero]

Oh.

Well, that did the trick.

Ren had been folding a paper towel and was just about to get to blotting and scrubbing when the champagne literally lifted straight out of the fabric. He turned to watch it float up when Andy walked in and flicked it into the sink, and for a moment Ren was at a loss. Had she followed him in there to help, or was this a prelude to some snide diatribe of some variety?

He gripped onto the paper towel a bit, and felt the pressure of his own claws against the meat of his palm through the thick material. Still, he somehow managed to keep his expression neutral, and instead leaned back against the countertop, unfolding the paper towel and slowly shredding it piece by piece.

"Yeah. The dress is okay. Is your nose?"

[Cheesigator]

Right, yeah of course he'd ask about that. She sighed a little through her nose, another droplet of blood rolling down as she got a piece of towel from the dispenser and held it up, tilting her head back to keep it from bleeding more.

"It's fine, it'll be like this for a while if I use my powers. That's what the nurses said."

She glanced over at him though, before quickly looking away again and clearing her throat. Right, if she was gonna start over and try a different approach to people and things now, maybe Ren would be a good place to start. Person to start. Whatever.

"The dress is nice, so I'm glad it wasn't ruined."

...

Oh come on Andy, think of something better!

"It's... Been a while. A long while. How have you been?"

Gods she was awful at this. Making this kind of casual small talk without somehow insulting the other person was harder than she thought. How did people like Addie do this so effortlessly?!