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She'd secured a dance with Man-and-Wife, one a piece, which was her crown jewel accomplishment for the night. It was all smooth sailing from here, she was pretty sure. Clerise smiled, watching the hunters in their finery and dress whites danced and wined (and occasionally dined), relaxing against a wall.

But a Clerise not in perpetual motion was wrong, and the universe agreed with that fact. From inside her pocket, the redhead felt her phone buzz. Quickly retrieving it, she frowned as the words sunk in.

It could have been family, it could have been Coyote, or perhaps it had been both. Either way, she wasn't one to turn down the Prodigy: not in this world or any other.



She made her way along the edges of the room, looking out for his tell-tale mop of hair.

Clerise descended upon him in a flurry of silk, braided red hair, and cravat, and firmly pulled him into a squeezing hug.

"Hey there, Otto," she said, finally, releasing him enough so he could, you know, breathe. "Do you want to go find a quiet place?" she asked, and offered him her arm to take if he was so inclined.

"You said it, short stuff." Being tall and in heels had its benefits, and it was easier to peek above the crowd to see less crowded areas. She made her way towards the front foyer, sliding behind a heavy curtain that revealed a window and a window seat, pulling the red cloth behind them.

It didn't eliminate the sound, not entirely, but it dampened the crowd from something overwhelming to a dull roar. The window revealed the front gardens, still decorated with lights, in front of a backdrop of starry night sky.

"Is it just the throngs of hungry animals that got you down, or something else?" she asked, keeping her tone light. He would talk if he wanted to: Clerise had no intention of trying to yank out his metaphorical teeth. He always said what he meant, given a little bit of time.

Sprawling out on the window seat, Clerise pat the space next to her before settling into the cushions. They looked nice, but were a little on the lumpy side. Ah, well. She'd make do.

The glasses were an option, but right now, Clerise was pretty sure right now he just wanted a friend.

"Well," she said, keeping her very distinct opinion of Otto's helicopter mom to herself, "you've got so many obligations wrapped around you it's probably pretty hard to avoid disobeying them sometimes." Clerise abided by most harmless rule-breaking, and it wasn't as though Otto was some rabid punk. He was just...a normal teenager. A nice one, too.

"I dunno, a paper bag is pretty harsh. It probably feels pretty bad though, doesn't it, whatever it is? Are you kind of fixating on everything that went wrong, and what you could have done differently?"

Hanging out with Otto was a constant war to resist crushing him into hugs. Some were acceptable, but she was pretty sure she'd carry him everywhere if given half a choice. He was precious.

Instead, Clerise did what she did best these days: she listened.

"Taym saw you," she said, after he was done, resting a hand on his back, lightly rubbing between his shoulder blades. "Sucking face with Maebe, I mean. He said that you needed saving, as if you weren't a capable young man, ready to make your own decisions, good or bad."

Her hand drifted upwards to pat his head, smoothing his hair idly as she talked. "Running around getting make-outs isn't some huge sin, dude. She caught your interest and initiated: it's pretty attractive when people are capable of confidence, whether it's real or just for show. I don't think you were stupid or desperate, Otto. She used you, and that was lame. The fact that he came back and used you to make a petty power play-- likely to try and reassert his dominance due to his own feelings of inadequacy-- well. To dig at you like that? It smacks of immature jealousy and lashing out."

She didn't know Alistaire, not really, but she knew the type. Maebe's, too.

"Some people choose to be in relationships that are toxic, for one reason or another: misery loves company, you know. But that doesn't change the fact that...For a moment, after shared intimacy, you saw something vulnerable, in her. You're an upstanding guy, and she likely exists in a perpetual state of sad and scared behind that shell of hers. She might even hate that underbelly enough to keep it covered at all costs. To acknowledge that sort of exposed weakness is admitting it exists."

Clerise pressed a kiss to Otto's temple, as was her habit to do. "So, I guess, my point is, christ I talk a lot, is uh. Well, most of my life has been filled with mistakes and happy and not so happy accidents. They help shape us, and what you do in response to your antagonists are a big part of that. That, and I can't fault you for treating her like a human being, and expecting to be treated the same."

Clerise grinned. Giving advice and her take on the situation never stopped being difficult, but it never stopped being one of the most fulfilling things in the world. It was better than food.

"No problem, Prodigy," she replied, leaning to the side and nudging his shoulder with her own. "We are crafted from our flaws, they define us. Also, yeah, your mother is crazy. I get to say that now, because I was a nice person, but holy s**t, dude. Helicopta momma checking in."

She hummed. "At some point, you're probably going to have to tell her that, you know that right? That you need to experience the world for what it is, rather than the censored version she tries to present to you for your own good?"

"She's really, really forceful. Beneath everything, though, she's just afraid. Afraid that you'll be taken from her, afraid that you'll grow distant, afraid that your life will be less than what it could be, because of a bad decision you make. But, just because her concerns are understandable, doesn't mean they're right."

Clerise scoffed. "You'd think. But Mist has the dirty jobs, when s**t goes bad. It can be pretty demanding, to be well balanced enough to rock the Mist Kasbah-- but that's your decision to make, not hers. I think we've come full circle again. The world is yours, my tiny friend. The trick is realising you can do whatever the <******** you want and saying to hell with the consequences. If it really matters, you'll do it, probably knocking the naysayers off their feet with your successes to boot."