Ghost |Tag: Dania, Eden|

[Dania Shardae]

 Dania jumped when he shut the door, and then flinched when his tone went from pleasant to demanding. "I'm-not-going-back-please-don't-be-mad" was what she finally managed between her now-hysterics. She was really bawling, something she hadn't been allowed to do for a long time, so it was safe to assume it was going to take a while for it all to get out of her system. About that time, the phone rang anyways, and Eden would have a chance to hand her a box of tissues, dumbfounded, and answer it - especially when the caller ID flashed his brother's name.

  She wasn't even listening to his conversation because she was so into her hyperventilating. Not that she really was, she just hadn't cried since she was about fifteen or so, and she had forgotten what it had even felt like to, well, feel. Who would have thought that having a meltdown would be something anyone would want to experience? Dania, though, kept upsetting herself and kept crying harder - until Eden's voice peaked and he hung up the phone.

  She stopped long enough to look up at him with an incredibly guilty expression as he seemed to try and find a way to approach what was happening.

[Eden Cobriana]

Well, wasn't THIS a clusterfuck?

Not only did he have the future Tuuli Thea (or so he thought) sitting in his office bawling her eyes out, but his phone would NOT stop ringing, and it turned out that it was his brother.  His brother, who never called him.  Baffled by the sheer idiocy of the last few minutes, he grabbed the tissues and the phone at the same time, cradling the latter against his shoulder while he handed her the Kleenex.

"Lucien, now is a very strange time for you to call," he pointed out, surprisingly mildly, since they NEVER talked.

"Is Dania there?  I don't need to talk to her, just, did she show up there?"

"...Yes.  She's currently...indisposed, I guess is the best word for it."

"What's wrong with her, is she alright?"

"I feel like asking you the same thing.  What's happened?  She showed up here, I came in and she burst into tears.  I can't get any sense out of her," he explained, his voice betraying more agitation with each word.  He was upset by this, and didn't know what to do with it.  He'd handled crying women before, but not like her.  Not for many years.

"Eden.  She renounced her title.  She gave it all up, and then took off.  None of them really know where she is, but Mother called and we guessed she might have gone to you.  Just...keep her safe, alright?"

Eden wanted to tell him to shut up and stop stating the obvious, since he was definitely going to keep her safe, but he didn't.  Lucien wasn't being an asshole, and he wasn't going to ruin it by being one this time, either.  "I will, you know I will.  I have to go."

"I know, go ahead."

There was nothing else to say, so he hung up the phone, and then she had all of his attention again as he leaned in to try to wipe up some of her tears.  She'd cried like she had fifteen years of tears to let go of, and as much as he hated to see them, he knew they were a good thing for her. 

"You don't play around when you go for a scandal, you know," he pointed out, face serious for about half of a second before a little half-smile formed.  Despite everything, he was happy to see her, happy that she'd come to him.  "You certainly took long enough to stop by."

[Dania Shardae]

 Dania laughed-cried when he teased her, managing to ungracefully blow her nose. She had a wadded up bundle of tissues already in her lap, decorating the lovely dress she'd been wearing for dinner still. "Shut up," she said, though she was smiling through her tears. It took her a few more moments of stable breathing before she calmed down enough to be coherent, but when she finally was, it was something else.

"I didn't know where else to go," she admitted. "Brennan was dead, but then he wasn't dead, and when he came to tell me that some witch doctor had turned him into a - I just cut him loose, told him it wasn't meant to be anyways, and then took my chance," she said. It didn't make sense, really, but it was a long, long story, and she didn't know she trusted herself with the details.

  "I felt bad because I didn't feel worse, because the only person I really felt bad about was, well, you," she said, shrugging. "I loved Brennan because he was familiar and ever-present, but I'm not in love with him, never was. I think I couldn't live another second of my life trying to pretend that everything people said was true and that I was some emotionless, cold queen. So, I very literally quit. You mad?"

  She asked the last question hesitantly, brows raised as though she really didn't know what he was going to say.

[Eden Cobriana]

As she blew her nose, he turned for the little garbage pail he had beside his desk, which looked like it was really going to be put to use that night.  He felt slightly better about the madness that was this situation, without even knowing about her troubles with her husband, when she managed to laugh through her tears, but he was completely unprepared for the rest of it.  He wasn't sure if it made it harder or easier for him that he wasn't up to date on the political dealings of his people and hers, since he didn't have any idea what was supposed to have been going on with Brennan. 

Of course, he wasn't an idiot, so hearing that Brennan was away on business for awhile wouldn't have required a huge jump to, 'omg he's dead and we're not telling'.  Politics sucked.

"Whoa, what?" he asked, hesitating in sweeping the used tissues off of her lap and into the trash.  Brennan was dead, THAT he'd heard, and that was enough to make him pause, but she went on to say that he 'then he wasn't dead', which also made no sense, and the witch doctor reference?  Eden might not be up to date on avian and serpiente politics, but he knew who the witch doctor was.  Aristide was someone you didn't forget about, and thinking of what she'd said about him being dead and then not, he could understand the mention of that man.  He'd never heard of Aristide bringing people back form the dead, but he didn't make it a habit to do much business with him.  It was enough just getting that Mojo Juice of his into All Hallows, and Eden had still had to establish that it wouldn't have any effects other than drunkenness for the supernatural.  He didn't trust that man.

Even crazier?  She cut Brennan loose.  He'd caught that, and that she wasn't in love with that man, and that the only person she felt bad about happened to be right in front of her.  Eden was torn between being quietly ecstatic, wondering if Aristide had something to do with all of this and it was some trick, and thinking that there was no way he was getting it right.  That, or it wouldn't last.  How long would a former Avian Queen want to hang around him? 

"Mad?  No, no, I'm not mad.  I'd be mad if Lucien went and quit, but that's just because I don't want my parents any further up my ass than they try to be already," he told her, still reeling just a little about the whole thing.  It did occur to him that if Lucien had gone and done something like this, and thank GOD that he hadn't, Eden was the next in line.  His parents couldn't give it to their sister, and wouldn't want to hand it off to some cousin that they didn't give a shit about, so it would be Eden getting dragged back into that mess.  He actually needed to have a talk with Lucien after this, and assure his brother that he never wanted that to happen.  He didn't think it ever could, but who would have thought that Dania would go and do this?

Seriously, though, he SHOULD be mad.  She'd dropped him because her family said to, which hadn't exactly suggested that he was all that important to her.  He'd never admit it, even consciously to himself, but that had been the final straw for him.  He'd been pushed aside by his family so that they could put their efforts into Lucien, the Arami, and he'd still been second-best to everyone else who entered their household, everyone their age who was brought in for visiting, every girl who came through.  All except Dania.  She'd been the one who met them both and gravitated toward him, and she'd been the one to lift him out of that feeling of being unwanted.  It'd been her, all her, and even he'd seen how thrilled his parents were.  It wasn't as though they really thought that Eden was going to get anywhere with the Tuuli Thea's Heir, but the friendship was enough for them.  It meant that Eden was more pleasant on a regular basis, and it gave them room for control and manipulation, since Eden wanted something that they could take away.  Dania's presence had been so huge in his life, without even considering their own interactions.

He'd loved visiting with her.  He'd been on his best behavior, especially where her family could see, but he could really be himself without being angry or spiteful around her.  She'd liked him, even enough to finally allow them that kiss, and then everything had gone to hell.  Even worse, as much as he fought with his parents, and hers as far as he was able, she'd given up.  She'd been the final rejection, so yes, he should be mad, but he wasn't.  Not much, anyway.  Everything was much more prominent, especially straight disbelief that it was even happening.

"A little, but I'm not going to yell at you while you're upset, if that's what you're worried about," he told her honestly, and really, he hadn't planned on yelling at her, anyway.  He was tempted to ask her if she was alright, just out of reflex where upset women were concerned, but he didn't really think it was necessary.  Of course she wasn't alright.  She'd given up everything.  That still blew his mind.

He pulled a tissue from the box, tilting her head so that he could wipe at her cheeks a little better.  It seemed surreal, seeing the dignified, lovely vision of a Tuuli Thea that her mother had been molding since he'd last seen her sitting in his office red-eyed and puffy-faced because she'd just exploded into hysterics.  Her mother would lose her shit, and somehow, that made it all the more fantastic.  He'd always loved when Dania showed how she really felt. 

"You're welcome here for as long as you like, I promise," he told her, and it suddenly occurred to him that the situation was even more surreal because it was a strip club.  Not only had she given it all up, but she'd gone to a strip club, where none of her people would follow her.  Had that been intentional?  "I do also have a penthouse that would suit your tastes better than the club, if you're worried."

Just throwing that out there.

[Dania Shardae]

"No!" Dania near-shouted at his invitation to the penthouse. "No, no," she repeated, her voice softening as her wide-eyed expression went away. "It isn't that I don't appreciate it, but they won't come here for me. I need to stay here for a while, as... inconvenient as it might be. I just - I know they're going to try something stupid," she hissed.

  She looked up at Eden, her golden eyes still road-mapped but no less vibrant. "I told them not to follow me, and I bet they did anyways. I need to give it a while before I go anywhere and then when I do, it needs to be quietly and privately," she explained. She knew Eden wasn't planning a fanfare on her exit, but he would need to understand that Dania's hiding for a few hours was critical if she were going to pull this off.

  "That isn't the only reason I came here, though, so please don't think that," she added, wringing her fingers together. "I needed to come to the one place I could be myself - if I even can be. I don't even know who I am, these days, but I thought maybe if I saw you, I'd remember. Does that sound stupid?" she asked, making a face.

  "And anyways, I intend to speak to Lucien in a few days about this, so I wouldn't worry about that end. I'm positive that he's gotten some very backwards version of what is going on, so I'll have to fill him in on what really happened. Not that he cares, I'm sure, but I'd rather him not think I was crazy because my mother made up stories," she admitted. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, Eden, but just... not right now. It's not quite sunken in yet."

[Eden Cobriana]

He flinched when she suddenly busted out with her 'no', more than a little surprised that she had such a loud, aggressive refusal to going to his place.  It occurred to him that maybe inviting her back to his home hadn't been a good idea, since it suggested things, but he'd thought she'd have preferred that to the club any day.  Apparently not, and he found out why a moment later.  She was using him, and his place of business, as a shield to keep her people away.  He suddenly felt very naive to have expected much more than that.  It wasn't as though he really believed that she didn't like him, or didn't value the friendship they'd had, but he saw the practicality of her decision, and he didn't prefer that be the reason.  At this point, he'd have preferred stupid and emotional to logical, despite his lack of respect for anything stupid.  At least it would have meant something, and he'd have put out the effort to keep them from her if it was what she'd wanted.

Of course she continued, assuring him that practicality wasn't the only reason she'd come to him, and it was good to hear it from her, even if it only partially worked.  He was cynical by nature, so he would have to work on that over time. 

"No, it doesn't sound stupid.  I can have one of the rooms here made to suit you better, but you do need to keep in mind that this place is nothing like what you're used to.  If you change your mind, I can arrange it with Marius to have you discreetly moved to the penthouse," he offered, just in case.  In the meantime, he was going to try his best to keep her from being totally traumatized.  It was crazy enough that she'd given up her title and left home and husband, but expecting her to become comfortable in a strip club was really just asking too much, and he knew it.  "Lucien seemed...concerned.  For once, I wouldn't worry about him thinking something stupid."

That was saying something, coming from Eden, but he also wasn't going to be an ass about Lucien while she was upset.  His issues could wait until later.

[Dania Shardae]

 She held her hands up, tired of people trying to handle her like she was going to break. "It's fine, Eden. I know this place is a lot different, it's what I wanted. I'm sick of all of that bullshit that they put me through, that I let myself BE put through. If I have to see a few half-naked and beautiful women wandering around, oh well, it won't be the end of the world. There's no reason for me to ask you to rearrange on my behalf. I'm a guest here, now, not the other way around," she reminded him, though she was sure she hadn't needed to do that.

"Listen. If I'm uncomfortable, I'll just hide out. But honestly, the way they've forbidden the entire idea of what this place is, I'm kind of curious to see it for myself," she admitted with a shrug. "Maybe I'll freak out, maybe not. You have to understand, the way I thought when I met you only changed enough to keep them off my back. I was young, then. They convinced me that I was doing the right thing. Maybe it's easier for you to tell your parents to eat shit, but it wasn't for me - not at first, anyways. Mom... mom makes it easy to be crass," she nodded, a hint of a bitter laugh to her voice.

  "When I found myself trying to drag Brennan back into our lie, it really just suddenly occurred to me how stupid I was, and had been for some time. I hope you understand, Eden. I'm not trying to use you for cover. I feel like I'm going to keep saying that, but I'm really not." She pursed her lips briefly, and then raised her brows.

  "Besides, I heard you have stuff here to get shifters drunk." That ought to make him laugh.

[Eden Cobriana]

She didn't react quite like he expected, and he felt stupid for it.  He was treating her like an avian queen, not like his friend.  He was treating her the way his family had tried to force him to treat her before, like she might break if he said the wrong thing, and he was doing it because they were different people.  At least, he'd been worried that they were.  Now, he was thinking that it might not be as bad as he thought.  She was opening up in his presence more than he would have thought possible after the years she'd spent locked in her reserve.

"You are a guest, and a personal guest of mine.  As such, you get the best we have to offer," he reminded her, but he would lay off some, and the smile he offered at her willingness to try things out only increased itself as she talked.  It was the mention of something to get shifters drunk that made him laugh out loud, and he was that much more reassured in her ability to get along in the club.  She was a lady, always would be, but that she was so willing to accept this place said volumes about her.  He would do everything he could to help make her comfortable.

"I do, actually," he responded, grinning more openly than he ever usually did anymore.  He hadn't realized until now just how much he was missing her.  She'd been his last true friend, with no ulterior motives.  "I will do whatever you need to help you satisfy your curiosity without making you uncomfortable.  While I'll not hover and let you do whatever you please, I'll promise not to go far, if you need company."

There, compromise.  He would also be letting Marius, Drake and Nikki know that she was to be watched.  He didn't want drunk customers harassing her.  "I don't usually drink the Mojo Juice myself, but we'll have to try some tonight, so that you can see if you like it," he offered.  He just didn't like being drunk at work, and wasn't the sort to drink alone.  In the privacy of his office, with Dania for company?  Hell, yeah.

[Dania Shardae]

 She had never realized how much she'd missed his laugh until right then, when the tension broke between them for real. She felt herself relaxing more in his presence, and she felt her smile grow more broad, more sincere, until it met her warm, golden-brown eyes fully. It wasn't that it had been insincere before, you see, but that Avian Reserve often made it hard for Dania to truly smile. Eden had always been able to provoke a real grin from her, however, and this was yet another example of his ability to do so.

"I've sampled a variety of wines before," she confessed, making herself comfortable in a cushioned chair. Leave it to a Serpiente to have scads of pillows around even a room such as an office. She plucked a particularly soft one and held it in her hands, positioning it over her lap where her elbows finally came to rest upon it. "And I can assure you, they were utterly disgusting. If you have the ability to make it taste better than an aged, heavy and overpriced red wine, I will be sure to sample it without bias," she promised him.

"Maybe after a few drinks I can even venture out into the club with less apprehension," she added. She didn't relish the idea of staying in a private room until they closed; she had been cooped up so long.