Making A Comeback

"Alright then," Noct said, walking back to her car, "Who is coming with me?"

"I suppose I will, it can be the Dancing Dragon-mobile," Gabe said with a chuckle.

"Or the Noctis-mobile," Mortal added.

"Does that make your car the Mortal-mobile?" Gabe asked.

"Mortale-mobile," Mortal corrected.

{Caller Number 1? "Yeah, I just wanted to say that the Wolfbats are definitely stronger than a bunch of girls."}
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*The 2 cars eventually pull up outside of Tirea's place.*

*Eve glares a radio, feeling like she'd like to punch the caller*
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*Tirea runs outside, waving to her father*

Tirea:<Bye Dad!>

Noct parks the car outside, and Gabe steps out and waves Tirea over, "Hello Tirea."

*Once Tirea is in the car, they drive off to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Located on the northern edge of the city behind a gilded fence, it looks [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] only red, with a blue-black roof, & gold trim. And large. Easily 200 feet across. Also in the garden are flowering trees, dropping pink & white petals into the stream, which a fish will occasionally try to eat. Stationed at the gate are 2 Fire Nation soldiers. One looks increasingly frazzled as he keeps shooting puffs of flame into the air, blowing on a whistle, & yelling at the crowd gathered outside to keep the road clear. The other opens the gate for them as their cars approach.*
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<So, according to Caller 1, men beat women in athletics, always have, always will...Well, if no one wants to weigh in on that, we'll move on to our next topic.>

*Eve stares at the phone for a second, then realizes she knows nothing about sports, so she doesn't call in*
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*Tirea stares out the window*

<This place is beautiful!>

Noct frowned at the radio, "Sexist..." She gives a small shrug, and parks her car. She, along with Gabe gets out of the car. Gabe looks around in open amazement, but Noct is more relaxed.

Mortal is equally stunned by the sheer size of the place.

Dalia sat near a window and started eating her lunch.

*Ven walks around, looking at everything.*

V"This is one person's home?"

*Euryale heads up to the door & knocks, at which point a dude in a red robe opens it. He bows.*

<Follow me, Ladies...Miss Aurora has been waiting in her makeup room.>
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<Alright, our next topic: The election. Our listeners rate the candidates' chances of victory at 80/20 Tarrlok, 60/40 Noctis, 60/40 Saxeus, near 100% Tenzin, & for the position of fire, 70/30 for the Incumbent. Preference for Chairman is split between Tenzin & Tarrlok.>

"Lead the way," Noct said. They follow, assuming he leads the way.

*Tirea looks around as she follows*
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*Eve makes some tea then starts to drink*

*They are led from a marble foyer with a grand staircase & red carpeting, to a hallway with paintings of the Fire Lords & orange flamberge trim. He opens one of the doors, one of those sliding types, steps aside, & bows for them. The room inside is relatively small, about the size of Mortale's living room. It features a series of 7 blue-cushioned chairs in front of a wall length mirror, each with a small dresser beside it. The middle chair is a head taller than the others, & has ornate golden trimming. At the other end of the room is a shelf, with various perfumes, powders, lipsticks, etc. on display. Keter stands, examining this shelf, & wearing a relatively bell-shaped dress with red skirt & sleeves, but a blue torso. Her accessories--sticks in her hair, bangles, & a beaded belt--are a kind of silvery blue. She heads over to them.*

Keter<First things first, clothes make the woman.>

*She grabs the frill at Euryale's chest & stares down. Euryale looks kind of faint.*

Keter<Passable. Much better than I expected, in fact. Well done.>

*She lets go, as Euryale stammers out a "thank you."*
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<So the question on everyone's mind: Is Keter a public menace? Call in to tell us what YOU think!>

Mortal puts a hand on Euryale's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

Gabe is now incredibly self-conscious about what she is wearing.

*Tirea looks around*

<This is....wow.>
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*Eve grabs the phone and calls in*

*When Keter turns to Tirea, Euryale turns to Mortal.*

"(I'm fine...just a little starstruck, I guess....)"

Keter<I see you have good taste. Your dress is also acceptable, though you could use this....>

*She heads over to the shelf, grabbing a necklace of varying length slabs of silver displayed on a bust of herself. Heading back, reaches around Tirea's shoulders to put it on her.*
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<Caller Number 1, you're on the air.>

*Tirea grins, and lets the necklace be put around her neck*

<Thanks!>
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{I would disagree with the statement that Keter is a public menace. Even though of a few of her actions have had negative effects, she seemed to have a good reason for doing them.}

Gabe is now actively fretting over what she is wearing.

Mortal nods, "Oh, okay." She makes a mental note that Euryale probably has a thing for firebenders.

Noct ran a hand through her hair before saying, "I didn't know you invited Tarrlok as well."

*Seeing Gabe's anxiousness, Keter looks over.*

<That's not really formal enough for the occasion. You may have one of my dresses.>

*She then turns her head sharply when she hears Noctis.*

<What?>

E"Uh, he's outside. In the, er, hall. I guess he figured he shouldn't come in, in case you were...getting changed...or...something...."

*You'd think Keter was a Waterbender with how icy her stare is. Euryale fidgets, & tries to make herself look smaller.*
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{And what do you say to the people who point out that she caused the faceless spirit to emerge?}

{Well, she was doing it to save someone, and I'm sure burning the tree was unintentional.}
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*Tirea looks from herself to Gabe, wondering how she got a pass and Gabe didn't*

Gabe let out a sigh of relief, for some reason expecting a much worse critique. She began looking for a dress rack when Noct brought up Tarrlok, "Yes, he just kind of showed up at my door. I called in, and left a message with one of your assistants to let you know of his arrival. He didn't raise any objections, so I assumed everything would be fine."

"Should I tell him he isn't invited?" Noct asked, "Then again, he is up in the polls. Might be able to use that to your advantage, assuming he fully supports you."

Mortal takes a step between Euryale and Keter, putting an arm around her lady friend.

Dalia ate food and listened to the radio.

*Keter tilts her head back, staring down her nose at Mortal for her confrontational gesture. At first, she doesn't answer, instead motioning to Ven to follow her before walking over to the opposite wall & sliding part of it away to reveal a closet full of many colored dresses. She roots through it until she finds one the color of Gabe's shirt, & hands it to her.*

Keter<She may feel free to look for something to wear with it. Here's one for you. But I suggest you use my bath before putting it on.>

*She also pulls out a long beige dress with elbow-length sleeves, & darker brown waist tie.*

Keter<...Just ignore Tarrlok.>
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{We've got another caller on the other line, Caller 2? <Yeah, my son was one of the ones who went missing because Keter couldn't control what she was burning. My family never fully recovered from the grief, & guilt of his disappearance. My husband & I split, & I'm struggling with an eating disorder. My child has nightmares every night, & won't be left alone, fearing that the faceless man is still following him. So that's about how "helpful" Keter is.>}

Gabe walks over and takes the dress from Ven, "Uh, thanks." She then looks for something to go along with it, rummaging through the closet.

Since Mortal is taller than Keter she has to stifle a laugh at someone trying to look down their nose at her. "Wait, won't Tarrlok want to... uh... be on camera or something?" She asked, "How can you just ignore him?"

*Assuming you can respond to other callers, since I have no idea*

{Although Keter could of practiced more control with her blasts, it was a hard situation to do such a thing. I'm sure she will learn from her mistake, and be much more careful in the future.}
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*Tirea watches*

Keter<We'll let him park himself in front of the camera. Just respond to his statements as little as possible. Mortal, your dress is too short, & I'm not sure I'm really big on the stripes, either. Red would be a good color for you. It would contrast with Euryale's dress, and keep with the theme.>

*Meanwhile, Keter slides away another portion of the wall, revealing a large room with a pool-like tub built into the floor. Ven shuffles into the room, looking scared & confused.*
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{<Maybe it won't be too late for someone.> *Sound of a phone clicking.* "A little emotionally charged there. If nothing else, we can agree that Keter has a LOT of improvement to make, if she wants to win the election tonight. Not sure how she can do that."}
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*Meanwhile, Roatha knocks on Astarte's door.*