rey smith is upholding and (bequesting) wrote in repose, @ 2020-03-25 22:48:00 |
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Fucking Christ everyone she knew was rich and lived in fucking mansions. What the fuck was her life? The thoughts couldn’t be helped as Dante drove Dart up upon the third fucking mansion she’d been invited to since moving to Repose. Okay, what the actual fuck was with all these rich people and their mansions and this weird ass little town? Because seriously, fuck. Maybe it would be better if Dante just started assuming everyone that wasn’t her father lived in a fucking mansion. Bits of cursing in Spanish couldn’t be helped as she parked Dart and collected up her keys and the bottle of whiskey she’d brought for Rey. It was the only thing she distinctly recalled the name brand and enjoyment of Rey drinking at the parties and when you could get something someone liked, it was always better than shooting guesses in the dark. Tightening up her grip on the bag that the bottle of whiskey was on Dante would sigh. She liked Rey but being around so much wealth like this? It always made her uncomfortable. Taking another moment to even herself out Dante would finish collecting up what was needed, check Dart’s parking job, and then get out of the car and head for Rey’s house. Hopefully, they’d be able to find something nice for the other woman to wear out. Since there was nobody much around the estate other than the occasional landscaper and the every-other-week cleaning service that the Ogdens had in to keep the place aired before Rey had arrived, Rey could feel people arriving easily. So of course she was downstairs and close by when Dante knocked on the door. Rey ushered Dante in with a grimace of mild embarrassment. "Come on in. Don't mind the house, it's not as posh as it looks. Or maybe I'm less posh than it is. It belongs to my foster-father's sister and her husband." The downplay of the house earned a soft chuckle. “If you weren’t raised with this shit it’s all fucking weird.” Dante offered out as a bit of understanding from her own life, and perhaps sympathy for what Rey May endured if she hadn’t grown like this as well. Regardless, Dante gave a nod of her head and offered the bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey over to Rey. “For the hostess.” Would be voiced as she moved into the house at Rey’s request. “So how’d you wind up here with all the…” Dante paused, the look on her face made it obvious that she was mapping through the family connections Rey had just laid out. “The secondary connections?” "Oh, that's lovely, thank you." Rey took the bottle, recognising the quality even though she herself wasn't much of a liquor drinker. Still, it was something she could share with Uncle Hans the next time he was down, or if she visited him and Leah in the Capital. "It's sort of a long story, but the condensed version is this: Uncle Luke--he's my foster-father but I call him Uncle, and his sister Leah Aunt, and her husband Hans Uncle, too--and his sister had a very strange childhood, and he was--a lot of people would say he was crazy but he was mostly eccentric. She's active in politics--after her mother was killed, she was taken in by family friends and her foster-father was a politician--and her husband is ex-military. "But Luke wanted to live a more solitary life and bought some land in the north of Scotland. He took me in as a foster child when I was twelve. I was abandoned as an infant so I don't know my biological family," which was a parenthetical that covered a lot that Rey didn't really want to talk about "--and so I stayed with Luke for a few years and then he sent me to America to stay with Aunt Leah so I could finish my schooling, though I spent breaks with him in Scotland, and then I went to university in the Capital. "And after that I travelled with Uncle Luke until he got sick. After he passed in April, once I'd cleared the estate, I came back to the States. And Aunt Leah and Uncle Hans weren't using this place so they thought it would be good for me to, well, honestly, get myself together. So that's why I drive an old beater Civic and work at the B&B and live in a fancy lakeside mansion" By the time she'd finished the story, Rey had made her way to the kitchen. "Can I get you something to drink? Or a snack?" “Thanks for inviting me over.” Dante was quick to reply back, if she was raised with anything, it was manners. Even if she often ignored when those rules should be applied. Rey wasn’t kidding when she said it was a long story and launched into a rambling explanation and it would earn a… blink. That was a lot of words for the short version. The story held plenty of interesting tidbits and Dante started plucking them out, making notes in her own head of things she’d have to reflect on, or do additional research on later. If people were just going to keep supplying information like this though, it was quickly depleting any suspicion Dante may have had about the other woman being Spider or working for Spider though. Unless it was a really amazing act? Most people couldn’t act like that. “Water would be great.” Dante offered back to Rey's inquiry. “I assume the dress display area and runway are upstairs?” There was a smile offered with the words that bordered on a smirk. "Yeah, we can take something up, though." Rey bustled about in the kitchen, preparing snacks on the plain white dayware in the tall cabinets. The refrigerator had a stock of cheese and crackers and sandwich fixing, which varied in style from American singles to the fancier sorts available in the local market. Rey fixed a little plate of the latter and found some grapes in the fruit drawer. She finished with two glasses of water in the heavy glassware from the cabinet next to the plates. "I warn you, my wardrobe is mostly hoodies and leggings, and a couple of pairs of jeans, plus a few things for going to fancy political parties. I'm hoping that we can figure out how to put a shirt from one of the party outfits with jeans or something without me looking utterly ridiculous." With how quickly Rey busied herself with all of the snacks and drinks and things, and the talking, woooo Rey was a talkative one. Which was fine by Dante, generally she wasn’t a blabber mouth by any means. Of course she could enjoy a good conversation, and often did, but Dante was just as happy to have someone grunt at her and point at something most days. Hell, she generally preferred the grunting and pointing if she was honest. There was enough noise in her head at any given time anyway. This was nice though too. “Can I help?” By the time Dante had made sense enough of everything the other was doing it might be too late but it didn’t hurt to ask. However, the commentary on outfits earned a soft smile and a thoughtful hum. “I’m sure we can figure it out, and hell.” Dante looked Rey over for a moment, considering. “You might be able to fit into something from my closet if we can’t figure out anything for you here. I think we’re… Actually about exactly the same height.” The smile offered was easy, one relaxed and unbothered. They’d find a solution, Dante always did. Rey had settled easily into Repose; it didn't require her to dress fancy or--put on airs wasn't the right word for how things were with Aunt Leah and her political guests but it wasn't exactly wrong for how she felt about it, either. Dressing up didn't come naturally to Rey. So she was infinitely grateful for how easily it seemed to come to Dante and how confident Dante was that they'd find something. "I appreciate the offer. I hope we can find something here, though." She led the way up with the tray full of snacks in hand, down to what was clearly the family side of the house. But not toward the master suite, into another one that was decorated in a sort of hunter's green, with botanical prints on the wall that said someone had spent money professionally decorating the place. There was an ancient boombox sitting on the dresser and a chair that clearly served as more of a resting place for clothes than as an actual sitting zone. The bed was made up professionally; not a surprise, given what Rey did. The tray went on the bed, within reach of the chair, and Rey cleared off the hoodie that had been slung over the back of the chair so Dante could sit. She pulled open the closet doors to reveal a minimalist's dream wardrobe of plain and simple gear with a sidebar of a half-dozen party outfits and a couple of fancy suits suitable for public occasions and very upscale dining and events. There was even what looked like a full-on ball gown. Rey gestured to it and made a helpless face. Then she pulled out the top, which proved to be separate from the giant skirt. It was a black sequined bustier. "I was hoping this would do with a pair of jeans, and--are stompy boots right? I have heels but I always feel like a kitten in them." “I’m sure we’ll do just fine.” Dante grinned with a sincere reassurance. It felt like a repeat but it was the honest truth. They’d find something. It was a club not a wedding or a funeral or a graduation or some crap, while there were rules it wasn’t anything too crazy and everyone should be able to slip in without too much trouble. Worst case? Dante could use her charms and powers and Hugh could use his money and they could work things out. When Rey led the way, Dante would follow along, taking in the house and its decorations as they went. It was quite a nice place, a place so nice it made Dante uncomfortable in a sense. Anytime she was in one of these huge mansions the people who lived there seemed so comfortable, but she could never imagine being comfortable in a place like this. Hell, even her own house - with its excessive amount of function built in with workshop, gym, theater, garage and more - felt a little too big some days but… She generally liked it. Not having to share all that space and having everything she needed within easy reach. Maybe that was why people had mansions like this but… Even with her own house as excessive as it was this just felt far above and beyond anything she’d ever do or even want. “Thanks.” Was given in passing as the other woman cleared off the chair but Dante wasn’t interested in sitting, not yet, not until they had an eye on some of the - Oh. Well. Okay. Yup. Dante could see why Rey had asked her over here after all. The wardrobe was much less impressive than the rest of the house and Dante gave the top an eye for a moment. “That could work, yeah, maybe not jeans though.” There was a passive hum as she considered. “Unless you’ve got some designer jeans in there?” The question was half joke and half serious. Dante had always been more into other types of pants when it came to clubs but hey, there were all sorts. “Boots can work.” She’d offer helpfully. “What sorts do you got?” Even with the question awaiting guidance, Dante couldn’t help the fact that her eyes were already starting to roam, to pick out the shoe selection available to them. The shoe selection was in the bottom of the closet, and showed the same sort of split as the rest of the wardrobe: expensive, probably designer, heels that weren't that high and then sneakers and stompy boots: actual Doc Martens, probably vintage and bought in a thrift store, which Rey promptly handed to Dante. Then she picked out a pair of the heels, a pair of sandals with crystal-covered straps, and dangled them, looking a bit hopeless. "I was guessing these if the boots won't work. If you get the feeling I was hopeless at going out when I was at uni, you'd be a hundred percent correct." “Those if the boots won’t work.” Was repeated back to Rey with a smile and a nod as confirmation that was, indeed, correct about her assumption. Eyes still lingered across the show selection though, mulling it all over. “So here’s what I’m thinking. I can tell you the items that should and shouldn’t work and you can mix and match from there? I don’t wanna cramp your style too bad, going out clubbing is about having fun as much as anything else and if you’re not comfortable enough to have fun, then we’re all just wasting our time.” The offer was made good naturedly, her tone inclusive as well as her words of Rey in the night of shenanigans they had planned coming up. With that Dante would turn, walking into the closest as if it was the most natural thing in the world as she began to move around, touching a few items, and getting better looks at others. “Why don’t you tell me what you know you’re comfortable in? Help me out?” There was a smile tossed back to Rey, this could be fun and corporative, they just had to set the mood right. "I'm not really a skirt girl. I like clothes I can move in. This works--" Rey held up the bustier "--because I can move in it. I mean the big sort of ballgown skirts work enough for me but I prefer trousers. If I could just wear leggings all the time I'd be perfectly happy. I mean you get it--you're a mechanic. It's annoying to wear things I couldn't get under a car in, if you see what I mean," Rey explained. "But the sort of parties my foster-family throws ..." she trailed off and gestured around, as if the house itself could explain the issue. "They tend to be too dressy for this kind of thing. So I can get my nicest jeans out but they're not going to live up to this top like the fancy skirt that it was bought to go with." Having said all that, Rey pulled out all her trousers and jeans and set them on the bed for Dante's inspection. Rey was clearly a thrift store buyer, and not just for her Docs: most of her things were well-made and clearly on a second life, even if they weren't properly vintage. The jeans were Levi's and old school, with button fly and good quality denim, no stretch whatsoever. There was a pair of black trousers that was clearly interview wear and too stuffy for clubbing. She rummaged around through the closet some more and came up with a pair of ankle jeans in a sort of shimmery colour. "Maybe these? I forgot about them. They're relatively new and they look kind of festive." Dante listened, nodding along as she thought and reviewed the items in front of her. It would be a few more minutes of looking through things hung up, moving things this way and that to determine what was too high class versus not quite cleaned up enough and she’d finally have what would likely be an acceptable selection of items in mind. “Don’t worry about the jeans being super-duper fancy.” Dante offered warmly. “What we’re mostly looking for is clean, nice looking, well kept clothing. Something to make you look dressed up while not needing to be professional or gala wear like inherently.” There was a soft smile offered with the explanation before she’d move to stand next to Rey. “Oh, those might work.” Dante would point to one pair. “Or those could.” Another pair was pointed out. However, her tone held a tiny bit of hesitation in it because if the pants would work would partly depend upon the rest of the outfit too. “Now, com’mon.” Dante gestured for Rey to follow her back into the closet for a moment. “I think we can probably make this work just fine.” Moving over Dante would begin to point out several items that Rey could potentially wear over or in combination with other things - if the items Rey had specifically brought her or others - making suggestions for how to pair them and how to make it flow well so that Rey could still obtain the comfort she’d seek. It’d take a little bit to go over each item in the closest that had caught her eye but since Rey seemed far from the haughty bullshit type it wasn’t a bother at all. In fact… It was kinda nice. Just… Hanging out with someone. Like this. That hadn’t started with her hitting on someone or through a club or work and… It was… Nice. “Now!” Dante would turn to Rey with a grin as she finished up explaining how the last item would work. “I think it’s time for a fashion show, how about you?” This was more attention than Rey had ever paid to her clothes except when she was being deliberately styled for a public appearance with the Senator. And Dante's attention was not unlike that, but without the concern that Rey would reflect badly on anyone (except maybe Dante, who didn't seem worried). But Dante had so many ideas that one of them was sure to work out. So she nodded to Dante's question and started sorting through the outfits, trying on first one and then another. It was pretty clear someone had taught Rey the model strut for demonstrating how clothes would look on her: probably involving the shopping situation that had ended up with the bustier and the designer shoes in her closet. Dante's eye had found some hidden gems that Rey had clearly forgot she owned, so the fashion show was more of a surprise to Rey than it should have been. And it was quite a revelation for Rey, whose university friend crowd had been mostly male and not that interested in what she wore, for all that some of them had been pretty snappy dressers themselves. Several times Rey oohed and ahhhed at herself; she had no idea she could look like this and be comfortable as well. "What do you think?" Rey finally said, having narrowed down her choices to three different outfits that Dante had chosen. With the modeling strut Dante couldn’t help letting her jaw drop on a grin. “Girl, look at you. Hold up, hold up.” Slipping her phone out of a pocket youtube was quickly keyed into and a song her father had shared with her long ago was set to play. ”I’m too sexy” by Right Said Fred blared out over the phone’s speaker and Dante raised a hand in the air, her hand twirling upwards. “Now go!” It was fun, it was teasing, it was meant to make the whole thing a lot less fucking stuffy and miserable feeling. Especially since Rey seemed so passively distraught about the whole thing. They were going out to have a good time, why not have a good time to have a good time? It all seemed perfectly logical to Dante at least. That was why she’d cheer and grin and clap. ‘Wooo!’, ‘Get it!, ‘Oooo~’ would all be verbalizations offered to the other woman as she showed off this outfit and that. It was good they were doing this, Rey could feel how comfortable each potential option was - or theoretically wasn’t - before they went out and that would simply make the whole night easier on the other woman when it came. Being this was going to be Rey’s first time too? Comfort was extra important. With the options laid out before them Dante would point to the first one. “I think you looked most comfortable in that,” Her finger would move to the next. “But that one? You look wicked bangin’ in.” The grin that followed the sentence showed nothing but truth in the statement. “The third one there totally works too if you wanna go for something a little more risque though. I personally love bad decisions and risk and would totally go with the last one, but you’re not me.” The grin remained as she spoke. “The second one is a good compromise between the one and three, but if you just wanna be comfortable? Definitely the first one.” Rey started giggling as the music started playing and then found she couldn't stop giggling as she changed outfits. The womanly arts of looking good were something Rey was very aware of her shortfalls in. Dante was making it easy and fun. At the end of the whole thing, Rey picked the second of Dante's choices. The compromise between comfort and sexy. Being told she was "wicked banging" was an entirely new experience. "If I'm going to get out of my comfort zone, I ought to get a little out of my comfort zone. It's not uncomfortable and I've tried on some uncomfortable outfits. At least this one ought to get some attention I'm interested in for a change." The club was alive. That was the only word Rey could use to describe it. She knew some of her friends had enjoyed this kind of thing when they were all at uni, but Rey had been too uptight and strait-laced, too focused on success and survival, to try it herself. She could only imagine what Uncle Luke would have said. Aunt Leah, maybe, too, but she suspected Uncle Hans had been quite the troublemaker and maybe Leah had cut loose a few times with him. Tips on keeping herself safe had been drilled so hard into her head that Rey was following on instinct: keeping herself to beer rather than mixed drinks, keeping her bottle in hand and with an eye on the top so nobody could spike it, and care in who she chose to dance with. Her extra sense was good for that last; sometimes she could tell when a dancer wanted more than she was interested in offering, and she was able to subtly influence them to find a partner who was willing. Really willing; if Rey had to make that kind of suggestion, she made the full suggestion. It was a mild violation of consent to potentially prevent a larger one. The music changed again and Rey found herself on the edge of the dance floor near Dante. Rey had been keeping an eye on her friend, and staying close enough that Dante or Hugh could keep an eye on her, for most of the evening. It was probably time for another check-in. "Hey," she called over the new song, "how's it going?" With all the dressing up and bouncing around Dante made sure to keep the tunes playing. While they may have started with Right Said Fred she was quick to follow it with ”Nail, Hair, Hips, Heels” by Todrick because why not? That song was fun too. But Rey’s final decision was what was most important and the willingness to get out of her own comfort zone? Oh that made Dante grin. If Rey was going to treat this like a new undiscovered land to explore fuck yeah was Dante gonna encourage all manners of exploration. “I am here for your exploring whatever you want in whatever way you’re gonna be most comfortable.” The sentence was stated with clear support in her tone and perhaps just a hint of mood that would imply anyone attempting to mess with Rey on this? Well, they’d have to deal with Dante. Which was really her biggest thought for the entire venture of them going out. If she was bringing people into a new environment that they’d never been in before? It was her job to give them all the rules and info they needed to succeed, give them gentle reminders - but not force anyone to follow anything - about how to stay safe and then just watch everyone’s backs too. There were always things that couldn’t be accounted for and while Dante didn’t really expect to have much of an issue with any of that? It was always better to be safe than sorry. However, that wouldn’t change the fact that both she and Rey would look AH-MAZE-ZING! come the night they’d all venture out. While Dante went high femme for the evening in her skimpy red dress, red heels, gold hoop earrings and coordinates necklace - gifted from Leena - it seemed like everyone had come in styles that reflected their comfort and preferences which Dante loved. There was no better way to venture out into new circumstances than looking good and feeling good with people that were there to have just as much fun as you. Most people had ventured out in Hugh’s car - which worked great for her - and met at the parking spot they’d agreed upon. The initial shepherding of everyone to where they needed to go - a simple point to verbally raise her voice to tell people where to go or to apply gentle physical nudges if required - from there had been easy, getting everyone into the club, into their VIP section that Hugh had bought and informing everyone of how the club worked and what would be expected over the course of the night. But from there? It felt like everyone instantly ran in different directions which… Wasn’t quite true but it certainly was much harder to make sure everyone was doing okay. However, this was where her powers were fucking awesome. Tapping into the club security feeds she kept a ‘watch’ on them in the back of her mind - almost like a TV running in the background of her brain - and occasionally made a reach for the radio signals the club security were using to ‘listen’ into what was going on around the club. Nothing was going sideways so far and everyone had seemed safe. An occasional dip into a stranger’s cell phone was taken if she saw any particularly suspicious one attempting to talk to any of her group - to check for any shadey intent or planning of the stranger - before her brain bailed on the read and Dante felt comfortable returning to her daiquiri. A number of the beverages would be drunk as she kept switching between strawberry and pineapple but attempted to assure no one would catch just quite how many she could put away without seeming impacted at all. Yet, with everyone seeming safe and happy? Dancing. That was where she’d catch Rey and a grin would be offered to the other woman, a sincere enjoyment of engagement with her new friend. “Hey!” Dante’s grin widened a bit as she’d shift, slipping up close to Rey for ease of chatting and letting her eyes quickly scan the area before falling back on the other woman. “Good, how about you? Liking this wild party?” "I'm having fun!" Rey told Dante. And she really was. People were happy here. The flow of their emotions--excitement, pleasure, desire--was strong and, as far as Rey could tell, nobody in the club had any intention of hurting anyone else. The place buzzed with energy, with life, with power. It was the sort of thing Rey drew strength from: not so much in the metaphysical sense, though she could have if she'd felt the need, but in the emotional sense. "I have no idea what I'm doing, but I really am having a lot of fun. I had friends who went clubbing in college, and now I wish I'd gone along with them." Rey was bouncing along with the music as it shifted from one song to the next: new tune, new tempo, new tones. "Is it always like this?" Rey had had one drink--she didn't drink much--and was happily mellow. “Good!” Dante called back with a grin on her face. Bringing people out to do new things was always a gamble and with the group they’d collected to come out it was inevitable that someone wouldn’t be fully into it. Which was fine, Dante expected that. However, the fact that Rey liked it? That… Felt like a relief. They’d had so much fun picking out clothes that perhaps Dante had gotten her hopes up a little that dragging Rey along might become a more common thing as well. The new admission from Rey though? That earned a delighted giggle from Dante which was partially covered with one hand. ”Do any of us know what we’re doing?” It was largely intended to be a joke even if the philosophical bent on the sentence wouldn’t be lost on her as well. “As long as you’re having fun and no one’s getting hurt, I think that’s all that matters tonight.” Cheer was the immediately obvious emotion there but encouragement, support, acceptance were all things Dante would hope Rey read in that as well. “I didn’t really start until a few years ago myself.” Perhaps that was a dangerous line of conversation to offer but it was the truth. Dante hadn’t really started going to clubs until well after she’d recovered properly from the cybernetic leg install. “When you go to a good club, on a good night with a good group of people, yeah, but one of those being off can make the night a mess. Why club selection and timing is always important.” It was the simple facts of the matter. Dante could talk to company selection but… That seemed like it would explain itself. Rey was reading the crowd more than she was reading, or trying to read, Dante, so she missed any unease Dante might be feeling at the disclosure. "It feels right," she told Dante. That was probably too direct and honest but could also be taken metaphorically. She wished Ren were here for a moment, because she wanted him to experience it with her. There was something to be learned here, but she'd analyse it later. For all that she could feel the intentions of the crowd, Rey was curious. "How do you tell when it's going to be good or not?" Dante was the one with the experience. And of course she had no idea that Dante had powers of her own to exercise. Rey just wondered what it was like to do this as a mundane, concerned for her own safety and that of her friends. In the unlikely event anyone needed help tonight, Rey could provide it. “I’m glad.” And those words were filled with sincere honesty. Trying something new and finding out you hated it? While great for keeping a data file on yourself, not so good for your mental health while trying to navigate whatever the fuck you’d gotten into. The next question caused her face to be thoughtful. “There’s a lot of factors.” Her voice continued to be raised above normal talking volume to assure Rey heard her. “How long the club has been around, what their reputation is, who tends to go to the club, what the crime rates are in the area the club’s in and what the crimes are, how happy the staff does or doesn’t look, how many events the club has a month. Longer they’ve been around with a lower crime rate and a high attendance with a lot of events? Probably a good club to go to but then you gotta ask around for the their reputation to confirm that. There’s more but that’s a pretty solid start.” Dante would casually move through the logic before taking another sip from the straw of her daiquiri. “I’d always recommend going with a friend though if you think you’re gonna wanna check out more clubs or have someone one speed dial who knows where you’re going and how long you plan to be out.” The words were a sort of passive checklist that one ought to follow. Dante had repeated the words enough in her life to other people that it was almost like she was parroting back information from a textbook. “Thinking of checking out some more?” A glint in her eyes couldn’t be helped as Dante grinned with the question. If Rey liked it that much here was hoping that was the case. "If I had a friend who could go with me, sure." The music and dancing were fun, but it was really the vibe of the place that had Rey so enthused. "I'd want to be safe, though." Which was a slightly depressing thought. Who would Rey call to tell them that she was expected back at a certain time? Who would even know to miss her? If something happened to her she'd just go missing. No, that wasn't true. Noah would notice, and Del, and even Ren. And Dante would notice. Rey had made more friends in Repose than she had expected, or imagined possible. She wasn't alone. "I will be safe," she added, as much for her own benefit as for Dante's. "And thank you again for letting me tag along. This is more fun that I ever expected." “You’ll just have to come out with Chris, Hugh and I then.” There was a hint of smugness there but an obvious invitation and perhaps the decision had already been made for Rey a little too. Dante did have a bad habit of dragging people along into her schemes even if they rejected a little, assuming it wasn’t sincere rejection. “Of course you’ll be safe with us hanging out with you.” Dante leaned in with her grin ever present before reaching out and wiggling fingers at Rey to take her hand. “But I think for the real club experience, you and I need a dance.” A nod of her head was given to the dance floor. “Let’s go.” |