Blake Jermyn bounced on his feet as he knocked a little rhythm on the door (no secret code or anything, just the idle wanderings of an antsy, bored young mind.) He had the energy of a hummingbird that day, all constant flitting motion; here he runs his fingers through his hair, there he begins to fiddle with the compass he'd stuck to his necklace. He even reaches up to adjust his glasses from time to time, but is careful never to let the smoked lenses shift too much let slip his true eye colour. Eventually he just, tries the knob, lets the door slip open a bit. "Ayooooooo, it's ya boi Blake..." He calls within, voice small and uncertain.
Dinah had been in her room, in her true form. this time of the day most of the staff were either busy shopping, cleaning, or otherwise sent out on the whims of the house. She heard the door knock...heard it open... and then heard the voice. She smirked a little and stepped out of her room, peering over the upper balcony without even attempting to disguise herself.
"Good morning, blake" At least her voice sounded the same even if she looked completely, utterly different. "you are out and about earlier this morning. Are you looking for Dorian?"
Blake Jermyn turned a cheerful wave and smile up the stairs, only to stop dead in his tracks. "Oh, hey there Dinah, how are you doing toDAMN!" He breathed the final word in an awed whisper, staring wide-eyed at the rather different Dinah that had greeted him today, before quickly remembering himself, coughing, looking away, polishing his glasses with one sleeve. "Uh, sorry, wasn't expecting this much awesome this early in the day, ha ha...." Smooth. Real smooth. "But, uhhh, yeah... I was actually coming by to see if you wanted to like, hang out for a bit... Was I supposed to send a letter for that? I haven't got the hang of this whole, post thing..."He could never get used to a life without texting; actually writing out and mailing a letter required far more foresight than he had on any given day.
Dinah laughed at the sudden change of tone and she headed towards the stairs. Slowly, though. she was still getting used to walking on the natural bone-spur heels and the tail.
"Me? well, that's surprising. but as you can see, I was not really expecting any guests today" she admitted with a grin. "I suppose there is no real need to send a letter for just coming around." she paused at the bottom of the stairs. "...but...hang out for a bit? did you have anything immediately to mind as to...hang out?"
Blake Jermyn couldn't help marveling as Dinah descended the stairs, in awe at what could only be a divine being. Though all the while a part of him began to wonder; would he look like that one day? It was hard enough hiding his new eye colour.... Once again, a nervous hand swept through his dark locks as Dinah asked just what the occasion was. "Well, uh, I was chillin' with Dorian the other day, and he mentioned there was a couple things I should probably ask you about... Like, uh, speaking of your whole, cool new look there...." Slowly, one hand reached up, removed his dark glasses, revealing a bright yellow gaze with blood-red starbursts ringing each pupil. "...This is normal, right? Dorian said this was normal..."
Dinah chuckled and she nodded again when he spoke of hanging around with Dorian, but she cocked her head to one side when he spoke of things that he'd need to speak to her about. She hummed and as he revealed his eyes, she beamed. Perhaps somewhat unsettlingly, considering her teeth were far, far sharper like this.
"here, let me see" she reached for his chin, careful not to catch him with her long, sharp claws. "You can see through them well? I wonder if you will see better at night. and you haven't had any more grow where they ought not be?" she released him and gestured back towards the sitting room.
"i did warn you at least that there was a risk of some mutations. This is in fact quite normal. to a degree of normal, of course."
Blake Jermyn couldn't help freezing for a moment as she came closer, her fingers brushing his chin. Like he was about to bolt. There was always the faint sense that he was about to bolt. "I, uh, yeah, I can see fine... Didn't notice any difference, but, maybe I just haven't been taking that many walks at night... Haven't noticed any more, either, at least on the outside. I once heard a story about a whole college of guys who grew eyes on the inside of their skulls, I guess I wouldn't notice if I had one in there...." He was talking a mile a minute, nerves clear in the pressure of his voice.
Following her into the sitting room, he nodded. "Yeah, that's another thing, I keep thinkin' about like, mutating into some kinda monster. And maybe I've just been reading too many crazy stories again, but like.... Am I gonna lose my mind, too? Like, if I do this too much, am I gonna turn into some, rabid zombie kinda thing? Or will I just, look different and be the same old Blake?" As he sat down, one leg began to bounce and jiggle, foot tapping on the floorboards below.
Dinah pulled her tail around her waist as she took a seat, nodding a little. "If you had extra, you would have noticed them already. I suspect you are fine" she said thoughtfully "if you had eyes on the inside of your skull I strongly suspect you would know. the additional eyes CAN see, after all" she gestured with the hand...with the eye in the back...to the eye in her sternum. At his visible nerves, she pulled a face and stood again, pouring a large glass of brandy and offering it out towards him.
"I have to admit, I have had those same thoughts. Many times. Look at me, It is quite an easy fear to gain" she chuckled quietly as she returned to her chair. "But it is entirely likely that of all of us, you will not. you are blood with the old ones. your changes are likely to be far more stable than mine would, because mine is not meant to be there." she conceded. "losing your mind is.. whilst not a guarantee, it is always a risk but that same risk comes from many interactions with many different things beyond the mundane mortal normality. If anything, with our involvement it is likely to be quite the contrary and you will become incredibly, cripplingly sane"
Blake Jermyn happily reached for the brandy as she poured, eager to begin drowning his sorrows and fears. "Thanks man, you're a lifesaver... Good to know, about the eyes I mean. Guess I don't need to keep too much of an... Eye out... Oh fuck that was bad...." His palm slapped into his forehead, and he let loose a stream of giggles. "So, right, yeah. I guess that means I'm just, garden variety crazy then, not great old one crazy, huh... I don't know if that's a relief or not, but like, anyway, moving on..." A sweeping gesture, as if to brush everything he'd just said under the rug.
"That's the other thing I wanted to ask you about." Squirm. Bounce. Drink. "Dorian said you went to, visit my-..." It felt so strange to say it now, after so long of only sweetheart, baby, Frizzle, so many little pet and nicknames in order to obfuscate the truth, "...Dad." Blake's eyes went wide, imploring, and for a moment it was easy to see just how young he really was. "...Did he look like he was, in bad pain?"
Dinah chuckled and rested her hands on the arms of the chair after a brief, vague 'dont worry about it' gesture. She did give a groan and a flat look at the pun, but she laughed again.
"I will say... if you have not come into contact with any more....mutagens like my blood, you are unlikely to change again unless you do. normally the changes are swift after ingestion. That's not to say that i'd not be amenable to sharing again if you were interested" she offered, smiling again. "Blake, darling. you are worrying the exact right amount for someone that has had quite a change. I had several centuries to come to terms with my changes and even then it is only very recently i have become more comfortable with them enough to not think myself a monster. Even so... the concern of losing yourself is a valid one. I have the same worries sometimes. The boys know what to do should it happen"
Her smile softened at the talk of the Vessel, almost reverent, and she nodded slowly.
"yes. I visited him. And no, he didn't seem to be in pain. He seemed to be resting. I didn't speak to him directly. When I offered my blood by touching the glass, he was strong. Niles had to take my arm off otherwise he might have consumed me totally" she tittered
Blake Jermyn sighed again, scratched his head, drained the brandy. "Yeah, actually, I was gonna ask... If you don't mind another hit? I just, I dunno, kept thinkin' about what you said about how, sometimes human bodies can't quite keep souls that, aren't, inside 'em okay. Wears 'em down, or something. And... I can't let that happen when I got this much to live for." Fear giving way to steely determination. "But, uh, yeah. Glad ya think so. It's... A lot to take in, ya know? You spend your whole life thinking you're just another face in the crowd, one more human jackass in a sea of human jackasses, and then it all hits at once, ya know? Yeah, I guess maybe it'll take me a couple centuries to get used to it too.... Hell, takes a lot to get used to the idea that I've even got centuries...." A low whistle, a shake of his head.
"Resting, huh? Well that's pretty rare... I can count the amount of times I've actually seen the guy asleep one-handed..." His awe only increased as she went on. "Wait, really? He's not really the type to eat people alive, at least, not like that... Was it through the uh," here a gesture of wiggly fingers, "worm nerves?"
Dinah tittered and she nodded, standing up to join him on the couch and offering her hand. "of course I don't mind. just be aware of more potential mutations, dear" she said gently, but she hummed, tilting her head at his words.
"I suppose that makes sense. but in most of the old tales of grand heroes and the like, generally, it is the ones who are ignorant of their value that rise the highest. You are descendant of the Gate, dear heart. In the very least I believe you would make a splendid priest" she grinned, tail returning to wind around her waist.
"He was resting in a glass pod. It was the worms, yes. Went in through my hand through the glass and all the way up my arm. But..." she paused, perhaps for dramatic effect with another impish smile. "Niles said it worked. Whilst not rejuvenating him as it would you or i.. it stabilized him." she said softly. "No more degeneration. we will be continuing the treatments. though not directly from myself. Just to be safe"
Blake Jermyn gulped and steeled himself, then held out one (rather battered and frostbitten) hand. "Alright, in it to win it, I guess.... I hope I get cool claws next, that'd be the bomb." An awkward, shaky grin, which faded further at mention of those great heroes. "I dunno if I'm really, a priest kinda guy," he admitted. "No cap? I kinda liked blending in with the crowd, never really thought the spotlight was, for me... But maybe that's another thing I can just, get used to, like cool mutations and stuff..." Another dismissive little gesture, as if to sweep soil over these newly exposed parts of himself.
"Oh, he was in a tank? Yeah, he had one of those in the basement we lived in, seems like it's pretty good at keepin' a guy alive when he ain't in great shape. He seemed to hover on the precipice of concerned and relieved, until Dinah spoke again. "Wait, for real? It's working? Thank fuck, thank all my lucky stars and elder gods I only just learned existed...." A huge, heavy sigh of relief, his face breaking out into a beaming smile. "Maybe we will get to all be, one big happy eldritch family...."
Dinah paused at the sight of his hand and she frowned, the first thing that happened as she took his hand being the pulse of icy healing magic sweeping through her before her skin adhered to his. She wriggled her fingers a little and she chuckled. "well. When i first started to change, it was the darkness in my skin first. then i got very pale.. then my eyes changed. so your alterations have already stepped out of the same path as I have" she said curiously "then again, you will be more stable than mine. And my patrons were different" she settled back against the sofa, then frowned as the crystals in her back pushed against the leathher and she sat up again.
"Holy rites for the elder gods are not quite as staid as they are in a regular church. Not unless you want to join the rituals too. The old ones are different in their worship. Predominantly it mostly involves making yourself better in one way or another. Be it physical or spiritual. That, and forgoing mortal morality conventions" she patted the back of his hand.
"Mmm. a tank in a specially contained area. I must confess... it did strange things to hunter. he's seemed a little more bloodthirsty since I took him up there. He almost forgot himself." she conceded. "It's my own fault. I baby him so much I forget he is a creature beyond us, and a hunter at that. he is doing better now though, there is no need to fret about him"
Blake Jermyn smiled as he felt that icy brush, the cold seeming to bring him some kind of comfort. "Hey, thanks man... Though if this ends up anything like the last time, all this'll be gone by the time I wake up tomorrow." He gestured at his hand, at several more injuries which had been hiding beneath his clothes, before wincing as he felt their blood vessels connect. "Hah, maybe we could take bets on what changes next... I want cool claws, or maybe a tail, a tail would be awesome... Though, shit, that might be a lot harder to hide than the eyes." He gulped.
"...Man, these are some gods I can actually get behind," he said with a grin as she went on. "Fuck the police and be your best self? I guess I'm already doing it right..." Bright, clear, ringing laughter filled the room, before his face clouded over with concern. "Hunter got all bloodthirsty too? Hmmm...Maybe there's some more ingredients in that tank than the one in our basement..." he wouldn't put it past ol' Roes to slip some sort of mind control rage virus in the tank, but he didn't dare speak this thought aloud to Dinah, not while she still trusted Roesler. "I should probably go check up on him anyway though, like, we're brothers, we should hang out and stuff."
Dinah gave another laugh and she smiled, shaking her head "the tail was an additional piece. I had Niles make that for me. I gave myself these-" she lifted a foot to show the clawed, spurred heels "And because of my hair being so much more heavy...thanks to your father for that mutation...then I was finding it harder to move than before" she admitted. "Claws are easy. I could give you claws if you wanted. I am learning fleshcrafting but obviously I am not as talented as Niles yet." she settled herself into a more comfortable pose as their heartbeats began pulsing her blood into him.
"fuck everyone and be your best self, whatever that best self is" she agreed. "did you say though that you were struggling to hide your eyes?" she added, but she chuckled and shook her head.
"Hunter is a carnivore. As sweet as he is, he came through to this world feeding on my blood. Being closer to someone that reminded him of his true nature just reignited that hunger. He has been behaving so much, the poor dear. Just be careful, mm? Just in case he starts to have a funny turn. but I daresay he will be fine"
Blake Jermyn's jaw dropped at that. "No WAY. You can just, give yourself a whole tail? That's NUTS...." His eyes glittered for a moment, then he withdrew a bit, enthusiasm giving way to concern. "I dunno if I want Roesler messing around with my insides, though... Or anyone, for that matter," he swiftly added. "..Wait, my dad gave you the cool hair? Do you have the worms?" His head cocked, curious, almost hopeful, before a shudder wracked his body, Dinah's veins growing into his own once more, sharp and painful.
"Yeah, those are fuckin' words to live by alright... I like this, never thought religion was for me, but this? This is really somethin' I can get behind. Gods that don't care and aren't all up in your business, doin' what you love and not giving a damn what anyone thinks... Yeah, yeah I think this is the one." He beamed. "But... Yeah. Like there ain't no way to pass these peepers off as normal, so I just, been wearin' shades whenever I go out. But eventually people are gonna start askin' why I'm wearing shades even at night..." A nervous little wriggle, though he seemed nonplussed at Hunter's more... Carnivorous, nature. "I mean, people say that about my dad, too, but he's always been nothin' but sweet to me. Maybe that's just, how the family is." More light, airy giggles. "Besides, it's good to be a bit dangerous, means people won't fuck with you."
Dinah smiled and shrugged a shoulder, nodding again "fleshcrafting is a beautiful, if messy art form. Niles had to pull part of my spine out and elongate it. Your father actually helped too, I believe. a gift, of the knowledge from a time in the future, or another time, when I already had the tail. It helped me just...'know' how to use it" she wagged the tail with amusement. "Whenever I cast particularly potent magic of the Faith, there is a chance of it affecting me. With the connection and having to regenerate an arm, it sparked another change in me. So he didn't give it to me directly but.. inspired it" she flexed her fingers again.
"The path of the old ones is predominantly about knowledge and preparation. understanding your position in the world." she explained thoughtfully, but she nodded. "Before we leave, I will try to teach you how to disguise them. You will have at least some capacity for magic now, even if you didn't have it before. and i am not too worried about Hunter. If anything else... I can take him out hunting."
Blake Jermyn seemed like he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to shudder or delight in the details of the fleshcrafting, visions of Cronenberg films from his old lifetime dancing through his head. But the mention of his father's help had him beaming again, the love pouring from his face like radiant sunbeams. "Yeah, that's my old man alright, always bein' helpful and there for ya, even if he ain't even awake for it... He's good people, even if he didn't super seem like it in the tank. Usually takes him a while to warm up to new friends, but once you're in, he's great. Just... So great." A soft and wistful sigh as Dinah's blood rushed through his veins, lit his cheeks pink.
"Yeah, I could use the help, though... Do they need to be blue again?" Slight shifting in his seat, as if he dreaded the notion. "Even if I can't exactly show it to people, I, kinda like the new color. Maybe I could at least make 'em like, a green or something. Green's pretty nice, better than boring old blue." A strange descriptor; his former striking pale blue eye colour was anything but boring.
Dinah turned their joined hands over, examining where they joined and she smiled again, nodding.
"one day i would like to meet him truly. not just my blood" she mused with a soft smile of her own. "I have never met someone so close to the gods." she sighed in clear admiration, but she grinned again.
"they do not need to be blue. It can be easier to try and do the colours you are used to. To keep them consistent but it is easy enough to do. A lot of visualisation.. things like that. It's easy once you have the knack of it. easier if you just need to get your eyes covered" she stood up, hand still connected, and she tried to tug him towards the stairs again.
"here, I will show you. it is easier with a mirror. Let me know when you are done with the blood, by the way. I can keep it up all day."
Blake Jermyn nodded, sighing softly once more. "Yeah, I hope I get to introduce ya to him... Might not be what you're really expecting though, he also likes to think of himself as just another ordinary guy, not like, a god or nothin. Hell, he doesn't even really like talking out loud so much... But if you write to him he's the best pen pal you'll ever have." A delighted little giggle, thinking back to the chalkboard they'd scratch out messages to one another on, whole conversations spoken without uttering a single sound.
"But, uh, yeah. Maybe I'll try for a nice, spring green, like when the leaves first start coming out again..." He trotted after her as she tugged him towards the mirror, not exactly having a choice in the matter, after all. "Oh, right, guess I need my hand back..." A gentle tug, too nervous to pull any harder.
Dinah laughed quietly and she smiled, looking almost bashful herself "I am not generally very good at making friends. penpals often works better for me. Dorian and Drystan are...far better at making friends than i am" she paused in her kite-style pulling to retract the veins back into her own hand, releasing his hand for a moment to flex her fingers, before reaching to take his hand again and lead him upstairs and towards her room.
Dinah's room didn't look at least half as spooky as it perhaps ought, except for frame after frame of taxidermied butterflies over all the walls. Everything else was flowery or pastel coloured, and she led him towards the vanity scattered with makeup. "The easiest way to do it that I find is to use 'hiding' sigils. Concealments." she rummaged through the makeup to find a little painbrush and a pot of silvery ink. "What you need to do is find yourself a mirror. When you settle yourself in front of it, you draw on the mirror where your third eye would be" she gestured to her own.
"Draw the sign. Then focus on visualizing the changes you want to make. how you want to look." she carefully painted the mark onto the glass of the mirror.
Blake Jermyn laughed at that. "Well, you seem plenty good to me, but, maybe that's because we're family, makes it easier. But that just means you an' the old man will get along swimmingly, writin' to each other instead of talkin', that's perfect." As they entered Dinah's room, Blake couldn't help looking around, eyes immediately alighting on the butterflies and glittering with delight. "Dude, cool bugs... But, uh, yeah." Right. the task at hand. His easygoing expression took on a sharp edge of concentration, carefully observing everything Dinah did, copying the sigil she drew onto the back of his hand with one finger, again and again until he thought he had it down.
"So you do that and then just, imagine what you think you oughta look like, got it," he said, nodding, even as he continued to carefully watch, his brows creasing in a look of concentration.
Dinah hummed and she shrugged a shoulder awkwardly "I can try to be. but normally if theyre a man, dorian objects before i get to actually befriend them, and if theyre a woman...most of the time they only befriend me to get to them" she leaned closer to the mirror and concentrated, her reflection in the mirror slowly spreading the look of her glamoured shape from where the sigil started until it had covered her reflection, and she touched it lightly until it seeped through the glass and up through her. "Just like that"
she turned to smile towards him again, smiling when he complimented the bugs.
"I like butterflies. always have. You try now?"
Blake Jermyn couldn't help grinning at that. "Oh, I know exactly who you need to hang out with, then, gay dudes. Dorian won't think they're tryin' to steal you, and maybe they might try to get with one of your brothers, but as far as I know Dorian don't swing that way and Drystan's about to be married, so you should be in the clear. I mean, I'm surprised Dorian didn't get worried that we're hangin' out alone, but like, he knows me, of course he's gonna know I'm in my gay era. So, no reason to worry, ya dig? I dunno if they got gay bars here, but, they were a thing in some places I went. You could find gay dudes to be friends with there!" He grinned, encouraging.
But all the while as he chattered cheerfully on, he was watching with a keen eye, seeing the transformation settle over Dinah as she looked deep into the mirror, wrought her will on the image of her flesh. His eyes went wide as the reflection seeped up from the mirror and into her, but then he nodded. "Hah, neat... Alright, here goes nothin'..." He plopped down before the mirror, drew a rather shaky, but sound copy of the sigil, and began to focus. His goldcrimson eyes wavered in the mirror, shifting from fresh spring green to icy blue and back again, until the two colours began to merge to one. "Butterflies are pretty neat, yeah. Sometimes I find a wing on the ground, glue it onto somethin'. Looks neat...." Blue shifted to green and back again, potion swirling in a cauldron, until at last he sighed, gave up, accepted the mixture of both and reached out a hand to touch the mirror, look up at Dinah as the new colour crept over his real eyes. "Did that work?"
Dinah folded her arms, amusement on her face "I dont know if that would work. The concept is sound but... i think because dorian thinks the world of me that he would think everyone else does... As often as I tell him that Niles has never made any such overtures on me, his suspicion is still high" she watched the symbol be drawn and she nodded, quietening as she studied him
"There we go. for a first attempt, that was very clean. Look again, once you've touched the reflection, what it shows is what you can see." she gestured to the mirror. "after a little more practice, you can do basically whatever you please. It'll last until you go to sleep and wake again so if you nap somewhere, keep a compact mirror on your person. or in the least, something reflective." she beamed, pleased. "I'm proud of you. that was splendid work for a first attempt"
Blake Jermyn's expression soured at the mention of Roesler's name, though he tried not to let it show too much. "Yeah... I mean, I kinda get it. Roesler... Sometimes he says one thing, and means another, so I can see why your bro would be on his guard." A soft sigh, glaring at the mirror as his new reflection took hold. "Yeah... Yeah this ain't bad. Not exactly what I was trying for, but... Not bad at all for a first shot." He couldn't help beaming at Dinah's praise for a moment, but then he withdrew, bashful. "Awww, thanks. Guess it's somethin' I'm gonna get used to doing, huh? Gonna go find a cool pocket mirror in the dump." He grinned, gave her two thumbs up.
"Speaking of which, I probably should head out soon, they're gonna be putting out the post lunch rush in the bins soon and I gotta fight the raccoons for the pizza." A laugh. "But, listen, I'll keep in touch, alright? Maybe get the hang of writing like, actual letters, since ya said you're better with pen pals anyway. Can't thank ya enough for all you've done for me, for my dad, so if there's anything you need just, drop me a line, ok? You can use Mr. Berkshire's address, it'll find its way to me eventually." A blushy little grin. "Or just, come find me directly. If it's somethin' I can help with, I'll be on it, guaranteed. That's what family's for, right?"
Dinah smiled again though she chuckled, bowing her head "I know you and dorian are not fans of his. But he has always been nothing but a gentleman to me" she paused in some distress when he said he was going to get both a mirror..and his food...from a dump.
"oh no. absolutely not. this will not do" she dragged open the drawer to her vanity and scooped up a compact mirror, shoving it at him with one hand and a little money purse with the other. "I do not tend to carry cash but there should at least be enough in there for something for lunch."
she nodded once more and she smiled "I would always appreciate more penpals. You have no need to thank me... your father is a vessel of one of my patron gods. anything I can do to help is a gift to me as much as you both" It was her turn to look distasteful at the mention of Berkshires name, but she nodded even as her nose wrinkled.
"I am not...fond of that one. I find him terribly rude. When he visited this house he refused all hospitality, didn't even sit when i asked him, and equated me the same as the maid. Dreadful manners. But I will let you know if I have a need for anything, certainly. Let me know if you have any sort of changes pop up, mmm?"
Blake Jermyn couldn't help looking a little worried. "Yeah, I ain't sayin' don't be friends with him or nothin', just.... Be careful, ya know? Take everythin' he says with a grain of salt. Some people real good at lookin' the perfect gentleman until they got ya in a situation it's too late to back out of easy, and then... They stop." A gulp, a sigh, a shake of his head. "But... Yeah. Probably don't need to worry about it too much," he said, with the tone of someone who's lost hope of ever being heard.
"Oh, shit dude.. You don't gotta do that..." He laughed, shaking his head as she handed him the mirror, the coin purse. "I got money, I just... I don't like seein' perfectly good things goin' to waste, that's all. If you actually look in a dump, it's usually got more treasure than a pirate hideout..." Though if she pushed, he gladly took them both, depositing them into a coat pocket. "Hey, tha-... Oh, right, you just said not to thank you. Well, I'mma do it anyway," he said with an impish giggle, sticking out his tongue, only for his expression to darken when she made her feelings on Berkshire known. "Hey, listen. Mr. B's good people. He's just.... He's been through some shit in his life, and sometimes that gives ya weird habits. I'm sure he didn't mean nothin' by it, just... Don't really know how else to be." He seemed to be speaking from the heart, especially given the way he'd tense up, c ount the exits in every room, even here where he was safe.
"But anyway, I'll get outta your hair, alright? I'm sure you've got shit to do, and now I guess I'mma actually order somethin' rather than seein' what I can steal from the raccoons." A laugh. "See ya around, buddy!" And with that, he was gone.... Out the window. The second story window. When there was a perfectly usable door, right there.
Dinah nodded, a smile touching her lips again. "I was incredibly drunk, on my own, and he had part of my spine in his hands. I think if there were ever a time i would have been more vulnerable, it would have been then, but still. I appreciate your concern, however" she pulled a face and she frowned at his protests to her offer and she huffed.
"well it'd stay in my dresser and so it'd be wasted there, yes? so make sure that it goes to good use." she looked away to check her reflection, make sure all her crystals wer covered.
"I don't know a single person that hasn't been through weirdness and troubles, dear. I know most of them spend their time at least pretending to be polite. there are certain protocols that come with being of a particular social strata." she clicked her tongue once more and she looked back up, smiling....then looked baffled as he went through the window instead.
"do take care of yourself, dear. be watchful of changes!"