The first thing she said was "You answer the door looking like that?" followed closely by "What in Jack's name are you wearing?"

His morning, quite obviously, was not starting off very well at all. Ren stood there, mouth slightly agape and clad only in a pair of loose pajama bottoms tied at his hips, holding the door handle. For a moment he just opened his mouth, and then when nothing came out, he snapped it shut sullenly, gritting his barely elongated teeth together.

"Mother," Ren finally said, once he got over the shock and had moved onto a much more negative emotion - irritation. "WHAT are you DOING here?"

Amantine was not a small person. Tall and slender, with a well toned body and a flawless face, her spun gold hair was pulled back into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She could have passed more as Ren's sister, rather than his mother, but either way he was not exactly pleased to see her.

She was glaring at him, amber colored eyes narrowing. "That is not the sort of greeting I would expect from my son," she said. Ren scowled.

"Your 'appearing' out of nowhere, with no warning, isn't the kind of greeting I would want," he retorted, leaning one arm against the door frame, half because he felt the need to just rest against something and partially because he was attempting to block her from coming into his room. "It's something I expect, though, since none of you would give me the respect of actually calling before arriving."

"Would you have answered the phone if I had called?" Amantine said airily, pushing past her son and stepping into the room. Ren glowered at her from behind, folding his arms across his chest and pressing his bare back against the door frame.

"No," he answered.

"I thought as much." Sitting down in his desk chair, teetering on the very edge as though touching too much would contaminate her, Amantine folded her arms in her lap and looked up at her son.

"So," she said primly. "Where's your ghoulfriend?"

Ren lifted an eyebrow. "Nowhere you're going to see," he said mildly.

His mother did not look pleased. "You have a lady of significant means," she said, voice growing steadily more firm. "I insist that I meet her."

Ren let out a derisive snort. "Not going to happen. Go home, Mother. There's nothing for you here."

Amantine rose to her feet, stepping closer, her face a mask of anger. "You know, I have put up with a whole lot of crap from you over the years," she snapped. "I have raised you from a cub, and spent time and effort making sure that you were held in high esteem by those around you, that you had a good life - "

"I never asked for you to do that!" Ren burst out, a swell of frustration coursing through him. She wasn't listening, had never listened - how he had expected his mother to understand was beyond him. "Since when have I ever cared about being held in 'high esteem?' All I know is the life I've been forced to live, forced into all this Jacking s**t - "

Slap.

Silence. Then -

"You are a foolish, stupid child," Amantine hissed, her hand still raised. "How dare you speak to me like that? After everything I have done for you, Renaissance, how dare you?"

Ren kept his face to the side for a moment, his cheek still smarting. It was probably bright red now, the feeling of his mother's hand against his his skin hot and burning. He didn't speak for a beat, then turned his head slowly, meeting his mother's eyes. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet and calm.

"I never once needed anything you gave to me."

Amantine stared at him for a moment, then straightened, as if composing herself again. She reached up, pressing perfectly manicured fingers to her hair briefly.

"When you come home next week," she said, her tone like ice. "Expect to not come back to Amittyville ever again."

Without another word, Amantine swept from the room, slamming the door behind her. The loud crack made Ren jump slightly, flinching. For a long few minutes he just stood there, breathing slowly, and then turned, flung open the door, and disappeared out into the hallway.