🌶️ Karma

[Clairé Maarkan]

Medonia!
And Clairé, grinning from ear to ear,
At the sight of the oh so familiar city that had once been her Home before the Xet Invasion had decided to go and muck that one up ever so nicely. A long time coming, and now? Ta-da!

Humming away softly,
All dimples and cheer, and Clairé’s mood,
Positively elated as now, now t’was time to see what preparations had yielded fruit,
Of just how the move from Temperance and into Medonia proper was to go about! Cerys most certainly informed before their leaving Ziel Aerca, and naturally, Natulcien to boot - couldn’t skimp on that!​

T’was time!
For the various pieces of the puzzle to fit together!​

From the Home that they were to form,
And find out just how many, if any, from Temperance Castle,
Were taking them up upon the offer of course,
Plus, y’know, finding what place Melissa had preferenced for them!

’Madame’, a business partner,
Figuring out just what Natuclien favoured as a location,
Of who’d be coming from Temperance, or new hires and resources,
Just a little bit terrifying there too! But Clairé, ever bubbly and well, ‘Madame’, sure,
But comfort zone things and Jorel, how she hoped that she had a proper clerk to run the books lest the entire business flop and then some - truly, had no desire what so ever to be caught within the same Problem that she’d experienced as ‘Lady’ Thane,​

Oh!
And of course,
The advice of the Fortune/Future Teller person of Natura!
Couldn’t forget that!​

Home.

 

[Indefinite]

Medonia!

Still there where it'd been left since the last time Clairé had left it. Which, honestly, sounded like the sort of thing that should have been obvious, but you never really could know with Medonia. There'd been the whole thing where the Xet had decided to go and sack it, and might have razed the entire thing to the ground had the Imperial Legions not managed to counterattack and drive them off. Then there was that whole thing where corsairs were apparently rampaging through much of the southern coasts, and in Medonia's diminished state (both the province and the city, but specifically the province) they weren't particularly well-equipped to defend themselves, never mind drive them off.

So perhaps it wouldn't have been too surprising for Clairé to show up and the entire thing had just been burned down by someone in the years since she'd been last. But, nope, the city was still chugging along somehow. It had its fair share of problems, but at the very least it was still there.

At the very least, the trip over would be rather uneventful. Moonstone had a pretty good travel network going that extended a decent way into Medonia, and by that point they were close enough to the capital of Medonia (oh, this Medonia [province] and Medonia [city] thing definitely wouldn't be annoying) the roads were decent enough that it wasn't too rough a ride. The city walls lay before them, for all that there was a level of bustle that wasn't really at the point you'd expect from a city so large. It felt a bit more on... Temperance's level, almost, as opposed to Primus Gaudeo or even Ziel Aerca.

Still, home sweet home?

"I think we'll want to start by figuring out lodgings, even if they're just temporary," Melissa suggested as they approached the city. "Unless there's anything else you think we should tend to first?"

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Home!
Old Home and now New,
And Clairé was all for jump starting their beginning within Medonia, intent upon the Future and ever curious as to what they could well make of it,

“Nope!
Lodgings sounds absolutely perfect!” She beamed, ever cheerful and increasingly so since they’d arrived at the capital of old Enamoria,​

It might not have had the same hustle and bustle of old, but the parallels with Temperance when it came to how busy the place was? Most welcome!​

“Need somewhere to be,
Our initial base of operations,
To find our New Home, and let Cerys and Nat know where we’re at and everything!”

 

[Indefinite]

The priority would be to secure themselves a place to stay, and Melissa would take the opportunity to have them wander around Medonia, get a feel for the lay of the land and how things were doing in the city. On the surface it might have just been a matter of looking for a place to bunker down for a bit. But it was important, too, for her to get an idea of what (and who) was actually still around. They were here with specific ambitions in mind, after all, and the best thing for it would be to get as much information on the city as they possibly could. With how things had turned out in the aftermath of the war, even most of what Melissa knew was likely heavily outdated. Happened when things went up in flames like that.

More specific details would naturally need a more in-depth look at things, but even having a bit of a wander around the city would be able to reveal a lot. There'd definitely need to be some meetings, some rooting around to see who was still in the area, all that sort of thing... but Melissa was thinking a bit too much ahead there. Just, now that they were actually here? Her head was all abuzz with the tasks ahead of them. Finally, after their long vacation, it was time to get into the thick of it!

Up to the gates of Medonia - the walls themselves? Rather dazzling, a bit of incredible architecture involving glass of all things? There was definitely still a very worn aspect to them, not nearly as polished and glamorous as they had once been, but that was the city in a nutshell. Beaten down, but still here, and figuring out ways to pull themselves back into things.

And as Melissa made just a few cursory inquiries to the guards? Annd turned towards Clairé.

"I think I'll want to be specifically on the lookout for other bakeries or similar services while we're having our little wander about," she'd note to the Jorelite - which also meant, of course, that it'd be appreciated if Melissa and Clairé helped pay attention to that sort of thing. And vice versa? "Anything in particular you'll want us to look out for?"

Specifically, in regards to Clairé's planned 'enterprise' in Medonia.

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Home,
And a far nicer start than what Malice into Temperance had been if she was to be brutally honest given the challenges that had come from the initial conquest of the Aeternian town,

“Definitely important there that we find something,
That best matches Annie so”, Clairé happily agreed, the notions of the Future that was a Fortune Teller still quite lingering in the young woman’s head,​

And as for Clairé?
The radiant smile ever intact there,​

“I believe Nat had some intentions there,
Though I don’t know what she ended up deciding,”

“Be good to know if she made any decisions along with staffing and what not,” because as important as the enterprise was? That it was a partnership rather than Clairé being the star attraction and money maker was still quite the novel concept (even if Clairé had intentions there entirely in sync with the not-a-plan of old),​

 

[Indefinite]

A bit of a "wait and see" sort of thing with Natulcien? A bit of getting an idea of what was present in Medonia? A bit of both! Whatever the case, the important thing would be communication - business partners, after all!

So with Melissa having gotten a few directions from the guards? Let's head on into Medonia!

It was... well, definitely a little desolate, heading on in. Medonia was not a city that had easily bounced back from the war with the Xet. Sacked, and with much of Enamoria's remaining wealth siphoned away by the founding of Maeve in the east? The province had lost a lot of potential resources that could have been put towards allowing it to recover, and Maeve (not to mention the rest of the Empire, really) hadn't been particularly forthcoming with assistance. Harsh!

But it was also apparent that some progress had definitely been made in the years since. Things might have felt a little muted, definitely nowhere close to Medonia's heyday, but there were people about, and enough hustle and bustle for at least a small city's worth.

A small tour of the city? Medonia really was in a bit of a strange state. There'd been some luring back of wealth into the city, but there was definitely a feeling of things being a little top-heavy. Signs of wealth and luxury but not really a lot of commonfolk citizenry to be able to support it. A long-term problem of Medonia didn't deal with it, for certain, something that wasn't going to be sustainable for long. Obviously there was very little that could be done without any money, but there was also very little that could be done if you didn't have... uh, people. Manpower!

Definitely an opportunity present if somebody wanted to found a bakery, give the common folk some soul food.

Brothels were a bit more ubiquitous. Rather, the opportunity was perhaps there for something of a middle-tier - more than just a crack den, but the wealthy had definitely brought in some entertainment for themselves. Trying to muscle in on the high-class hookers was certainly possible, though... business was ruthless, after all!

And in the meantime, Melissa would help give Anna and Clairé an overall idea of the city's layout, so that they were less likely to get lost if they ever went wandering. The overall shape of the city was still remarkably similar - perhaps because it was a pain in the ass to rebuild everything from scratch.

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

As ever? Wanted all the things,
And tended to figure that they’d set up enough people working to their agenda over the year so that when the Holiday came to an end that at least a good amount of progress would have been found (or, failing that, word of disaster would have found their way at one stop over or another),

Medonia?
Definitely worse for wear from what Clairé remembered, and certainly not surprised by the results given that she’d fled when the Xet-bug scouts had been making themselves known rather than having been within the city during the assault,​

No, for that? Clairé had been within Ziel Aerca and then the Handmaiden recovery issues thereafter,​

Bakery options?
Perfect! And really, who didn’t like yummy breads and pastries? No, there, Clairé was quite confident that everything would be just fine and that it was probably more about picking a nice, safe location for their Love to build up from,

Brothels?
In that, Clairé was utterly reliant upon Nat’s efforts and support there being the foundation to build upon. High Class would have been the ideal admittedly, but middle tier? Just as fine as anything given the Jorelite’s cheerful willingness for an expansive range of customers,​

Crack-den?
Sub-optimal, that even if Clairé had zero qualms with narcotics and returning to an existence that had included doing lines of cocaine off a Lutran’s hard cock? It was probably more of a fallback option than the default, as delicious an experience as such was - no reason that it needed to be limited to the bottom rungs of society after all! Fun was fun no matter the social standing of the individual,​

Important for a girl,
To keep her options open,
Just as Clairé’d continued to ensure that her legs? Very much so if people were willing to pay the coin,

Tour!​

 

[Indefinite]

Tour! Which really did highlight Medonia's relative stratification. Here's where the rich people live, here's where the not-rich people live, and there really wasn't all that much of an in-between. One would hope that the people in charge of Medonia (both the province and the city) were aware of the problem and seeing what could be done to resolve it, but it was certainly a bit of a problem. Limited resources definitely weren't making anybody's lives easy, and then there was the whole thing with the elven corsairs?

Small wonder why refugees tended to just... go somewhere else.

Really, what was seen in Medonia wasn't a problem with the capital city so much as symptomatic of the issues that plagued the province as a whole. Perhaps it drove home the point that they were working in the big leagues now? Temperance had been something of a more self-contained sort of locale, given its position as a small city within Maeve. Medonia? Capital of a province, which meant that there was a heavier reliance on everything else in said province. It was all... linked! Which had its positives and its negatives.

For now? Some wistful sighs from Melissa on occasion as she realized that a certain landmark or building hadn't survived the sack of the city.

Ultimately they'd wind up at the inn that Melissa had decided they'd be staying at, having apparently done a bit of homework already. Old family friends who'd been a bit entrepreneurial and managed to make something for themselves in the aftermath of the war and all. Lots of catching up, socializing, networking, and schmoozing to potentially be done!

"Hopefully we won't be staying too long, but this should be a good base of operations for now," Melissa noted. "Until we pick out a more permanent residence. I'll probably want to grab dinner with them tonight... did you two want to come? It'll honestly probably be rather stuffy and boring..."

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Bit of you here, is there kinda thing,
But hardly anything that felt outside the norm given Clairé’s travels given so many towns and cities ended up with that to one extent or another - but ever more mindful that, well, location for their future prospects really was going to have implications,

Similar enough though to Temperance,
But on a much grander scale, far more people for the Dollhouse and as an expansion point? Likely superior to Port Alysandrya which had been designated as Plan B,​

All in all?
Clairé remained ever optimistic, the Changes to be expected and plenty of wiggle room it seemed for a great many more alterations,​

Inn and Friends,
And there, she was a bit at a loss,
All wide eyed and unsure as instead, looking towards Annie for guidance,

“A quiet first night in does sound nice,
But these are also your Friends, Meli my Love, are you sure?” Wanting to do right, but also, boring and stuffy didn’t have a whole lot of appeal there truth be told,​

 

[Indefinite]

When in Temperance, a lot of the more formal and official affairs had been taken care of by Melissa alone, after all. Anna had her bakery, and Clairé had her... well, for a fair amount of it, Clairé'd had her wanton whoring about. There was a distinct separation of the matters that each had taken care of, more or less. Would the same hold true for Medonia?

To a certain extent, it was no doubt inevitable. But it was also true that once again a fair amount of the burden was going to fall on Countess Melissa Maarkan, and one imagined that when it came to dealings among nobles, it was going to be rather difficult for her to get much traction if she didn't show up with a date to prom.

"We're going to have to get used to it at some point," Anna offered up slowly, glancing back towards Clairé to make sure that they were all on the same page here. It wasn't going to work if the Jorelite wasn't willing to go along with it, after all. "Eventually we're going to have to be trotted out as your wives, right? Better to get used to it with something more low-risk like this, I think."

As opposed to embarrass her at a super-important ball, right? They might as well get some practice in early. Boring and stuffy... didn't sound appealing, obviously, but sacrifices had to be made!

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Different roles!
And even if Clairé might have started in Temperance (Malice),
As the Lady Thane, there had been a certain gravitation to the young woman’s earlier beginnings when she’d partaken of a Priest and an Incubus within a sordid alleyway all those era’s ago. Leopardi and changing their spots and what not, and Clairé or Éclair? Subtle with her desires she truly was not,

Inevitability being what it was?
No, Clairé had zero qualms with the path she’d chosen,
Quite the contrary given well, wasn’t as if everyone got to have a job they enjoyed and even if she knew her own status was something of an anomaly given ‘luxury’ (even if, at her core, Clairé remained cheerfully the same girl that had shared a kennel with the High Priestess of Alithea and a great many delightfully entertaining doggo’s),​

No, all in Medonia,
Was promise and hope insofar as Clairé was concerned,​

Boring,
Potentially stuffy meetings though,
As Melissa’s Wife? Irksome to an extent, but also,
Wasn’t as if Clairé wasn’t also quietly looking forward to smoozing, parties and where her own profession ended up overlapping with Her Lover’s so. No, plenty of fun surely to be found given time and networking!

Right now?
First steps! And dinner? Well could, would certainly eat,
“True enough!” Clairé agreed with a smile flashed back at Melissa once Annie was on board too,
All dimples once ayup, definitely on the same page there,​

”Then dinner it is!”​

 

[Indefinite]

Dinner it is! Melissa fretting just a touch and making sure that the both of them were really all right with it, but Anna seemed to be quite set on it. They'd had their easy time of it in Temperance and they'd had their lovely vacation - it was about time to throw themselves into the thick of it, don't you think? A presumably relatively low-stakes get-together?

For all that, once it was decided that they were going to be doing this? There was still plenty of time left in the day before said dinner, which meant that there was going to be some practice. Sure, in the grand scheme of things this might have been rather low-stakes, but that didn't mean they could just be nonchalant about this. Countess Melissa Maarkan was not going to have anybody insinuate that her wives were country bumpkins, you know.

And that was just as much a matter of rankling at the idea of anybody poo-pooing her beaus as it was a matter of protecting her own reputation.

Up to their room then. Come now! Anna, break out the cutlery, it was time for some rehearsals on table etiquette. Clairé, get the makeup set. Melissa was going to make dolls out of the two of them.

(Anna? Doing her best not to look too regretful right away.)

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

And Clairé on board,
When surely why not? There were bound to be advantages,
Plus, wasn’t as if they weren’t going to have to eat after arriving at Medonia and so why not now? A little more practical than the young woman normally was, but well, food things had a way of capturing the Jorelite’s attention,

That though,
There was a need felt for practice?
A touch more worrying when Clairé had admittedly been more of a mind that this?
Low stakes, entirely more a relaxed affair which… bespoke of a Future involving a whole lot more complexity too than was her norm,​

Rather more nonchalant about it indeed,
Than was to be the case, oh dear!​

Deep breaths,
But still, whatever ensured Melissa’s happiness,
And so? Make-up (still weird given well, Clairé tended to Change herself rather than use cosmetics… but well, Meli things!), as Clairé settled in for an afternoon of being readied for their first Medonia social outing,

 

[Indefinite]

Makeup! If not for Clairé, then certainly for Anna. And if nothing else, giving Clairé a potential blueprint to work with as well. Welcome to Medonia, welcome to Enamoria, where etiquette and trends were the law of the land. It truly was the sort of place where a country bumpkin would have been torn to shreds by the pack of rabid wolves that socialites could be. No easier way to stick out (in a negative way) than to make it apparent that you didn't know what was going on. Or at the very least, you needed to be in bed with some powerful figures to be able to get away with it.

Granted, that was certainly the goal for Melissa - to be a powerful enough figure, and to be in bed with Clairé and Anna.

Makeup. Right now what was popular was eyeshadow like so... somebody had gotten it into their heads that seasonal colors were good for color, so go for more muted blues and silvers, don't do anything as eye-catching as red... and this was the particular brand of foundation that everybody was using recently, stay still for a moment...

Dolled. Up.

And Clairé was free to use Melissa and Anna as visual reference on what to replicate. A few corrections from the Countess as needed, and they were looking fab.

Thankfully, today's dinnerware etiquette wouldn't be too complicated - again, "low stakes." Just remember - dinner plate, salad plate, soup plate, napkin. Forks on the left, salad fork outside, dinner fork inside. Spoons furthest to the right, soup spoon at the very furthest, then a general spoon after that. Next came the knives, salad knife, then general knife.

And Melissa would keep it at two simple rules for cutlery. If you pause eating, set the knife and fork at angles, pointing towards one another, but not touching. When done? Knife and fork side by side on the plate.

"And use the napkin, love, not your dress or the tablecloth."

Anna, quietly off to the side, "so all the specialized cutlery is on the outside", trying to remember everything. Closer to the plate meant it was meant for general use. Got it, got it...

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Had been a while,
Admittedly since Clairé had ended up,
Doing anything more than the equivalent of lipstick and kohl, and so?
Practice makes perfect! Switching things up for a more Enamorian feel? Entirely appropriate given the whole, New Home Thing,

Weird though!
But Important given well,
‘High Class’ implied that she too was at least going to have to be able,
To move within the select social circles even if, her sheer contrariness to anything by way of ‘standards’ bespoke of being entirely unsuited for such. Well. Mostly. Enamoria of old was still Enamoria, and half the Province’s degeneracy and hedonism had hardly found Clairé wanting either,​

Medonia might have been the more prim and proper territory,
But sandwiched as it was between Moonstone and Maeve? Clairé really didn’t see it holding out for long…​

Dolled up!
And the refresher course upon the cutlery,
(Whilst making sure not to use her skirts as a napkin…),
Well those were, while less Important to Clairé’s way of thinking? That too which was evidently more in need of attention given the Vacation had indeed made for a few lapses here and there,

Low stakes?
Important! Ease their way into the new scene,
Quiet and assured, treating the afternoon as a return tot he foundation of what was to be more or less expected when out in public at least for situations such as the evening dinner,​

 

[Indefinite]

Medonia on one side, Moonstone on the other, and Centripax pressing down from above at that. One of these things was perhaps not like the others, but then again, at the moment Governor Andares beat out Governor Maeve when it came to number of kids. Not to mention the union with Arium and all that came with it. Medonia was all laid out on a couch with three big hungry provinces standing behind her.

And the presence of Clairé and company probably didn't help much in that regard, either.

Especially not when Melissa's decided-upon means of making the lessons a bit more pleasant was smooches for Anna and Clairé. Mwah~! Results got rewards! Did potentially mean that the lipstick would need to be re-applied, there was a bit of smudging as things got just a little... enthusiastic... but that was hardly an issue.

Basic run-throughs of what entrees and dishes they might expect and making sure that the appropriate cutlery was used - remember, each one had its specific use. Don't use the general spoon for the soup, that's what the soup spoon is for. This fork is for salad only and nothing else! So on and so forth. Honestly, it could have definitely been worse. It wasn't as if this were the first time Melissa had provided these sorts of lessons, so it was more of a refresher than new things being fully sprung upon them.

Eventually, Melissa let the pair go, the lessons nominally finished. There was a bit of time yet before dinner, but purposely so.

"Outfit time!" the noblewoman clapped her hands together. Strip down, so Melissa could dress them back up!

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Smooshed in,
And Clairé, of a mind that Medonia,
Should, would be far better off if it cut loose a little and borrowed from the neighbouring regions a touch more - certainly, given Clairé’s choices and continuing down a slightly more payment orientated version of the ‘Not a Plan’,

Which, admittedly,
She too was hoping might end up taking some of the stuffiness,
The edge of Medonia that was say, cutlery concerns (fashion? Fun, knowing the right fork? Less so!), but time would tell there and ultimately didn’t matter, new Home was New!​

Or would be,
Once they found their domicile and had those from Temperance Castle,
That were willing and Interested to rejoin the household here, and if not? Rebuild things!​

Kisses?
Ooh, happily!
Always, as incentive indeed to learn,
And ultimately going through the motions until Melissa declared time,
For the next component of the evening preparations, and well, as if Clairé ever needed encouragement to strip down as word given? Clothes being discarded all too happily - skirts and pants seen as something of a scam - the decencies of society being what they were? Possibly important, but also, oh so restrictive, nope! Bye-bye!

 

[Indefinite]

Picking an outfit was a matter of a number of criteria. Simplest and most straightforward was the matter of aesthetic. Did it look good? Did it match current trends? Was it in fashion? But one also had to keep in mind intent, and context. What sort of message did you want to bring across? What did you want to tell people with an outfit?

For instance, there really might be some parties Melissa would bring Clairé along to where she'd be dressed up in some of those outfits she'd picked up in Ziel Aerca. Letting certain parties know that her wife was there as fuckmeat, and please do approach if interested. And Melissa might have on something that was much more low-cut, or have significantly less cloth than a proper dress should.

This dinner was not one of those occasions. But here was the thing that Clairé and Anna were to learn about Enamorians - even when they were nominally casual, they loved their dressup. Tasteful shoulder-less dresses, a dark blue that showed off a respectable amount of cleavage, split down the leg to reveal a second layer of frilly white that spilled outward. A poofy little scarf around the arms, some nice black heels and gloves, a fashionable wide-brimmed hat...

And similar styles of dress for Anna and Clairé. Perhaps just a little less elegant than the Countess, there was something of a hierarchy that it was important for a noblewoman to follow, in the same fashion that the bridesmaid should never outshine the bride... but more or less, it was just a matter of not having that frilly second layer to the dress. Delightful greens and reds to accompany Melissa's blue.

This? This was definitely not a run, run, running away sort of outfit. But not quite so stiff that it was impossible to hitch up the skirts to be able to accomplish such.

Melissa? Sneaking in a smooch on both Anna and Clairé to leave behind a lipstick mark, hidden underneath all the cloth. A little something to thank them again for playing along. The side of the torso for one, the tummy for the other. Mwah!

So with everybody dressed and dolled up? "Shall we?" Melissa asked, offering each an arm. It was about time!

 

[Clairé Maarkan]

Which, given Clairé?
Attire tended to have a very specific purpose (cf what she'd picked up at the Pink Velvet!),
Which largely involved trying to expedite her present state as she happily sat there naked with Annie,
Smiling cheerfully as she but awaited Melissa’s decision,
Ever relishing, ever curious as to what Her Lover would decide when treating her like a ‘Doll’ for dress-up and now was definitely, certainly even no different there,

Fashion though,
More than a little bit confusing,
Given Clairé’s world view tended to be more along the lines that,
A nice derrière, legs to die for and ample 'talent' never really went out of style, but well, professional bias things.
There'd almost certainly be other parties, other events after all; where Clairé's joyous delight at being fuckmeat was entirely on the cards,
All too looking forward to getting back into the swing of things,​

The 'Not-a-Plan' might have been over,
But the Medonia-Plan was just getting started,
Which, while on the surface looked a lot like the 'Not-a-Plan' and well, outside avoiding getting knocked up? Really was the only defining difference to Clairé's mind,
Well - and Shinies, but that'd come with time. Reputation building and ensuring the New Business was up and running was the critical foundation,

That this dinner,
Was to be rather more respectable than Clairé's long-term (and short, and middling) goals,
In which Clairé preferred to entertain? Something of a (sad) given, what with this being one of Melissa’s old, family friends style approach and well - even if Clairé had zero qualms with ‘keeping it in the family’, and Enamoria and Nobility insofar as she understood it? On the same page? Well…​

But there’d always be next time!
For now? Behaving! Even if Clairé,
All kinds of tempted for the ‘off the shoulder’ to only stop once it was bunched up about her hips? No, would and could certainly behave! Red? Nifty! Liked that, certainly so the split down the leg too, even if the scarf felt a little odd but sure? Heels? Always welcome! The hat though was a little bit unusual and not all that much a fan there,

But well, outside things? Right?
They’d surely have to take it off when having dinner?!​

Dressed to the nines?
Appeared to be! And a happy little blush too from Clairé at the lipstick mark left behind in Melissa’s wake once she sealed the outfit with a mark of Approval!​

“Yup! Lets do this!”

 

[Indefinite]

Family friends! Not even of the greater Maarkan family, but specifically the smaller regional cadet branch that Melissa had been a part of. So there was certainly a sense of camaraderie there, those who had been somewhat 'relegated' in the scheme of Enamorian politics to the backburner now finding an opportunity to step onto the stage that had been cleared by the Xet. A tad macabre if one thought about it, but simple solution there: don't think about it! More merchants than noble, but at the end of the day, enough capital and assets and nobody really batted much of an eye.

Just look at the Northumbrians. New blood.

Off to get dinner! Not in the common room with the others, but a private lounge off to the side of course. The three of them would be joining a couple for dinner, five of them in total. A nice round circle, attended to be attentive staff, everything already set up for them...

Melissa was close friends with the wife. Rise, greetings, hugs, cheek kisses. Hand offered to the husband, taken and kissed and so on. So nice to be here's and it's great to see you again's and- oh!

"My wives," Melissa would gesture towards Anna and Clairé. Oh, she wasn't introducing them? They were to introduce themselves?

Well, Melissa couldn't always be holding their hands, after all. She could dress them up and make them look nice but at the end of the day there was no way to coach them on each and ever single little social interaction that they might run into. So let's call it a trial by fire! (Low stakes!)