Seeking Solace

Aubrienne had already had a short talk (and long hug) with Jed, which calmed her down some after the shock of her brother's letter.  Now she was headed back to Tits' office to...she wasn't quite sure yet.  All she knew was that seeing Tits would make her feel better.

Her knock was little tentative, perhaps, but not hesitant.  She unconsciously wiped her eyes again and fussed with her hair, though she'd already cleaned up before heading this way.  Aubrienne always made the effort to look her best, but this was, as ever, a special case.

Tits opened the door, ready with a brisk 'what do you want?' as she expected it to be some staff-related drama (who hadn't shown up, or was too drunk to go on, or was squabbling with another performer) or maybe a problem with lights or supplies or something else that would need her to sort it out. Instead, seeing Aubrienne there, she smiled. "Oh, it's you!" Then, looking more closely at her friend's expression, she asked, "Is everything okay? Is Jaspart wasted again or something?"

"So far as I know, he's fine," Aubrienne said with an attempt at a smile.

"I'm actually here about me for the moment," she continued, her face slipping back into a frown. "I don't suppose you have a second?"

"For you, doll? I've got a whole minute." Tits ushered her inside, taking her by the hand as she did so. "What's up?"

"I don't know if the gossip chain made it back to you yet, but I had a visitor earlier," Aubrienne said with a grateful squeeze of Tits's hand. "My, uh, my brother's old commander from the war. She brought me his last letter from before he...went missing."

Aubrienne managed to get it all out reasonably well, but she maintained a tight grip on the other woman's hand.

"Oh, honey..." Tits sighed and brought her over to sit on the couch. "Do you want to talk about it? Do you need to... not go on tonight? We can handle it if you need a break."

"No, I don't want to be a flake," Aubrienne managed, fighting tears. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so balled up. I just...I didn't know this would hit me so hard."

Aubrienne raised her gaze from her and Tits's hands.

"Can I just...sit here with you for a minute? I know you're busy, and I should go get ready. I'd just like to be here and not think for a little while."

Without another word, Tits gathered Aubrienne into a protective hug, letting her rest her head on her chest, just above her expansive (and rather magnificent) namesakes. "You got it, sweetie," she said, stroking her hair soothingly.

Aubrienne's arms wrapped around Tits reflexively, leaning into the hug. She stayed there, mostly winning the struggle against more tears, trying to avoid getting anything on Tits' dress. It was nice, after a while, once she'd calmed down, to just enjoy Tits' nearness.

"So, I know you said you only had a minute," Aubrienne said after a while, "and I don't want to overstay my welcome, but this is, ah, awfully cozy."

"It is, isn't it?" Tits sighed. "We'd probably be sensible to get off our butts and back to work." Still, she didn't move away quite yet.

Aubrienne moved as little as she could to enjoy the rather unusual situation of looking up at Titania. Contorted as she was, she certainly didn't mind. Even so, she was mostly speaking into Titania's neck as she replied.

"I've never been very good at sensible," she said, her voice low and insinuating.

Tits chuckled. "I wish we could just blow off this whole night, get wasted and forget about whatever's on our minds. Probably that'd be a bad plan, though." She straightened up, taking Aubrienne gently by the shoulders and smoothing her suit, making sure she looked presentable.

"But I tell you what, honey. If you still want a distraction later on, after you're finished your show for the evening, come on and find me. I should be able to check out of here by midnight, assuming nothing explodes before then."

Aubrienne gave a groan of grudging agreement.

"You're right, of course," she replied with a regretful smile.  "And don't joke.  It wasn't so long ago something almost did blow up."

She reached out to squeeze Tits's hand.

"Thanks, for everything.  I'll see you after the show."

Once Aubrienne's act (which she peeked out to watch a few minutes of) had concluded, Titania bustled around waiting for the magician to show. After she found herself fixing her hair in the mirror for the third time, she decided she was being silly and pulled on her coat, going to her friend's dressing room. "Knock knock," she said, tapping gently at the door. "Ready to go?"

Aubrienne turned, smiling, to greet her friend, draping her ubiquitous scarf about her shoulders.

"I was just on my way, sorry," she answered. "I only have so many of my clothes here, and I wanted to, uh, I had trouble deciding."

She grinned as she stepped towards Tits, offering her arm.

"Where to, mademoiselle?"

Tits considered, as though it wasn't something she'd been thinking about for the past few hours. "Well, there's Vanitas, or The Heartless Siren," she suggested, naming an elite members-only club and a rather upscale burlesque show respectively. "Or, if you weren't quite feeling up to more crowds tonight, we could always go to my place." She added the suggestion casually, leaving the choice up to Aubrienne.

"Hmm. Tempting and more tempting," Aubrienne mused, drawing out the decision playfully, though she'd made up her mind the moment Tits mentioned her place, "but a distinct lack of crowds sounds really good right now. Normally I love them, but I'm not in the mood to put on more of a show tonight."

She leaned into Titania for a moment, turning to give her an appreciating look she had to remind herself to look away from.

"Great," Tits said, smiling and squeezing Aubrienne's arm affectionately. "My car's just out back - did you drive? Do you wanna follow in your car, or ... well, you know, they aren't gonna give me a parking ticket at my own club," she said with a bit of a shrug. "I could ride with you and pick up my car tomorrow. Whatever's easier." She didn't shy away from the implication that whatever was happening, it wouldn't be over until the next day.

"I'd be happy to give you a ride," Aubrienne replied, fully appreciating the entendre. "Do I need a cap? It might look a little butch on me, but I can make it work."

"Well, we won't be going too far, but it's on Riverside, and it can get a bit breezy there - so it's up to you. You'll look adorable either way, I'm sure," Tits teased. "Either a cute little cap, or pretty tousled hair."

"I prefer the wind in my hair," Aubrienne replied, "but I can put the top up if you prefer. I wouldn't want you to get cold."

Titania turned up the silver fox-fur collar of her long midnight blue coat. "You're so thoughtful, but I think I'll be all right. I'm sure we'll warm up once we get inside."

"Well then, let's get a wiggle on."

Aubrienne led Titania out to her car, grinning and giving a playfully mocking bow as she opened the door for her. Getting in herself, she turned the key, adjusted the dial to find some appropriately soft music, and pulled out onto the street towards Riverside. With the wind and radio, she was happy just to cruise along, once again appreciating the simple fact of Titania's presence, sparing the more than occasional glance over at her companion.

Titania gave her directions to get to her flat - in actuality a very posh townhouse overlooking the river, with an excellent view of the glittering turrets of the palace she'd grown up in. There was a courtyard for parking, suggesting the place had only been built within the past few years, like many of the more elegant parts of Rhenea.

"Gabby won't be home until three or four at the earliest," Tits told Aubrienne as they made their way up to the door. "So we'll have the place to ourselves for a good few hours, at least."

Inside, the flat wasn't quite as ritzy as you'd expect - it was certainly classy, and spacious, but it wasn't dripping with gold and diamonds, and there were signs here and there that it was lived in by two young women who didn't always feel inclined to pick up after themselves. There had to be servants, though, with a place this nice - but apparently they didn't live in, since the apartment was as quiet as a library right now.

Tits seemed ready to change that, though, crossing to turn on the radio. "Now," she said, shrugging off her coat and tossing it aside, "what can I get you? There's most any kind of booze you'd like, or I've got onyx, dreammist, vodare, cherry nectar..." She rattled off a list of drugs almost as extensive as anything Dorien carried at the club.

"Oh, well, aren't you the well-stocked entertainer," replied, slipping off her jacket and taking a look around.  She hummed along to the music for a moment, an older song from the war years.  "Well, if it's all on the table, I'd like a glass of brandy, some dreammist perhaps...and a dance."