Guidance Ad-Dress-ed

Outside of the Lupecyll-Atlon home, evening.

Bitterly cold and bitterly dark, the winter weather that's blanketed Alexandria on this Eliday evening is less than ideal for many. The Sunguard Andelena is certainly making her opinion of it known as she marches through the snow, her cloak drawn tightly around her.

"... motherfucking chillier than a snowman's dick," she chatters through her teeth as she approaches the front door of the Lupecyll-Atlon residence. "I really fucking hope I got the right address or this is going to be more awkward than anything."

She stops at the front door and knocks, perhaps a little louder than she normally would, but... it's cold and she wants in a warm house.

Inside, a small orange head pops up from a pile of blankets on the sofa. "Lord Lupecyll-Atlon, someone is knocking," Jyndei trills out. "Shall I get it, or--?"

"I've got it, Jyndei." Telamon comes bustling out of the study -- with Lana off with her cousin having a girl's night out, Tel has been devoting some time to his studies. Looking good is one thing, but it helps to be able to back it up. Dressed in a long-sleeved linen tunic in forest green over brown wool trousers and slippers, he walks briskly to the door. "I wonder who it is."

He unlocks the door, opening it a little bit before swinging it wide. "Andelena! Come in, come in -- it's colder than a frost giant's drawers out there." He beckons her inside, dark eyes glittering with stars and good humor.

"You're not fucking kidding, it's /cold/ out there," Andelena says. "Lemme in there. Do you have tea? I hope you have tea."

She walks inside and undoes her cloak, sighing deeply as she hangs it up somewhere to dry. Naturally, she's wearing a tunic and breeches that Telamon's likely seen Dolan wear before, given her bad habit of stealing whatever clothes she spots first. "I wish I brought something over, but it was so cold and dark out there that I focused on just marching my happy ass over here," Andelena explains. "Anyway. I'm here for a reason."

Telamon directs Andelena to the coathooks, where a couple of cloaks and a frostrider coat hang. "Tea is on, yes. Come on out to the living room, we'll sit down and talk. Is Dolan doing all right? Last time I saw him he was improving, but he may have a ways to go."

The cheerful half-elf leads Andie into the house -- the decor that strange blend of elven and human influences, all softened by potted plants and flowering vines that make the place feel comforting if unusual. The fire is stoked and blazing, banishing any winter chill, as Tel goes past into the kitchen to check the kettle.

The pile of blankets on the sofa is no longer occupied, though. Perched on the back of one of the chairs, Jyndei regards Andelena with interest, his large eyes reflecting the firelight and his tailtip flicking gently. Then he speaks in a high-pitched voice, "Greetings, and welcome to the house of the Lord and Lady Lupecyll-Atlon."

Andelena walks into the living room and stops dead in her tracks as she looks at Jyndei. Her mouth hangs open for a moment... and then she closes it. "You know, I shouldn't question half the shit I see anymore, especially when it comes to your... hah, 'Lord' Lupecyll-Atlon. What's your name? I'm Andelena, but you can call me Andie."

She takes a seat on the couch. "Dolan's doing okay. He's gonna be out for a while yet. I'm... gonna have to take over on everything he was doing. The camp with the totems, the trip to the Vast--stuff like that. But I think we'll be fine in the end."

Andelena sighs. "Just a shame he's gonna miss Verna and Auranar's wedding. Well, I'm gonna go in his stead. Which means..."

She stares at Telamon. "I'm gonna say this once and only once. What kind of dress should I wear? Preferably one that lets me put my muscles on display."

Telamon has his back to Andelena, and he's really too good to let anything slip, but his eyebrows twitch at her remark about 'missing the wedding'. Deftly, though, he collects a tray with cups, and gestures -- and the unseen servant picks up the kettle and follows him back out.

The little orange dragon flexes his butterfly wings, and replies in that same piping voice, "I am Jyndei, Lady Andie. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Tel comes out with a couple of cups, the kettle following along, and he deftly pours tea for the two of them. "A dress," he says contemplatively. "Well, you'll want something that'll match your coloring. Show off your muscles?" Telamon raises an eyebrow and grins, as he sits down opposite Andie. "Hmmm. You might opt for something with short, or even no sleeves. We'll probably need to talk to a specialist to nail down the details, but we can start sketching in broad strokes here. How do you feel about something in green?"

Andelena takes the teacup once it's poured and sighs in relief, sitting down on the sofa next to Jyndei. "Nice to meet you, Jyndei," she says, before she looks at Telamon. "No sleeves, sure. Green, sure. I ain't picky about colors so long as it's not shit brown."

Then her steel-grey eyes flicker down to Jyndei. "Forgot to warn the little guy. I've got an awful, awful mouth. Hope you don't mind. I'm sure not much cussing goes on in this house. With how... prim and proper and..."

She lifts a brow as she spots a vine curling on one of the furniture. "... Plants? You got plants growing in here? In the dead of winter?"

Jyndei seems unperturbed. "Oh no, it is entirely tolerable. There is a culture in the Courts of the Fey where profanity is elevated to art form. Indeed, the Baron of the Blazing Heart once received accolades for a twenty minute diatribe in which he did not change rhythm, shift expression, or repeat himself. It started with--"

"Perhaps another time, Jyndei," Telamon says with a grin. "We've business to attend to here. But, yes. Usually green, white, or blue seems to work best. I know some people suggest purple or red, but I personally don't think either of those complement a redhead." He settles back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "Any designs or patterns? I would suggest a golden-thread trim, perhaps with the symbols of Daeus embroidered on it."

He chuckles at the 'prim and proper' comment. "Andelena -- Andie -- this is a house where fey visit. Yes, there's some polish and propriety. But there's a time for such, and then there's a time to get down in the ditches. Don't worry about it." At her inquiry, he nods. "Garden pixies. They're sacked out at the moment -- we were examining the backyard all day today, planning for spring. And Lily of course got wind of Verna and Aura's wedding and is over the moon -- again."

Andelena just sips her tea for a long, long moment, as she tries to get her head around the concept that her friend Telamon has garden pixies that apparently grow plants inside of their home and help with the backyard--

"Tel, the only experience I have with that fey... bullshit, is the time we all went to Quelynos and met that creepy-looking motherfucker who had the little lady we needed to go find. Don't tell me you're like, a fey king or fey lord now, too." Andelena says it in good humor, clearly kidding.

"I kind of like the green, to be honest with you. I'm thinking... No sleeves whatsoever. And I want the skirt to be *open*. Like... You know how some skirts have a really, really high slit up the sides. That. I want that." Andelena's going bold.

Telamon takes a sip from his tea to marshall his thoughts. "No. At least, I don't think I am. I receive the honorifics from lesser fey -- no offense, Jyndei -- because of my marriage to Lana, who can trace her lineage back to a fey lord. But... titles aren't everything. Lana and I could've come from the most common stock you'd think of and we'd still love each other. It wasn't a marriage between 'the child of the Feathered One' and 'the scion of the Atlon family'. It was between Telamon and Cor'lana... just like it'll be between Andelena and Brydion."

Tel chuckles softly. "But to return to the issue at hand... hm. Well, it'll be -striking-. Hang on." He fixes Andie with a careful, measuring stare, before intoning, "Emegar gete," while placing his hands together. When he draws them apart, there's a soft blur of light, that slowly resolves into an image of Andelena, about two feet high. The dress the image is wearing is a brilliant green, the color of spring leaves, with off-the-shoulder straps and a fairly modest bodice, trimmed in gold thread with the emblem of Daeus over the heart. A seam on one side of the dress opens, slitting it up to mid-thigh, and Tel finally says, "Something like this?"

Andelena watches the image form, and she's clearly /incredibly/ impressed as she watches the ideas take form on her illusory miniature. "That!" she says. "That's excellent. Damn, Tel, you have a knack for this shit."

She practically downs the rest of her teacup. "Gods, I strut out in that and Brydion's jaw is gonna be hanging all the way down to the /floor/. Question is, who can make this in short order? You know a guy?"

Telamon grins. "I know a couple guys. Although I think Aryia might be better for this. Jovani's good, but he's getting orders for the spring debutantes already." He tilts his head at Andelena. "Stockings?" A twitch of a finger, and the illusory Andelena's bare leg is suddenly covered in a sheer green stocking. Without changing expression, Telamon continues, "Also, you might consider matching undergarments. Lana got some very nice ones from this little place in the upper trades."

There's a -tiny- bit of color in Tel's cheeks at his comments, but he still grins. "I mean, if you're going to do this, go big or go home. Which reminds me -- do you know how to walk in heels? Or rather, remember how?"

"You're /fucking/ right," Andelena decrees with an unexpected glint of zeal in her eyes. "Matching undergarments. I want to show up to Dolan's room later looking like an absolute knockout. Stockings ain't a half-bad idea, either. I mean, it is gonna be cold, so I might as well not freeze my ass off in the process."

She looks contemplative. "Heels. Maybe. I dunno. I'm already tall as it is and I don't wanna steal the show at someone else's wedding, you know?"

"Precisely. And you'll want to wear a cloak over the dress anyways, since it's still winter." Telamon tilts his head again, eyes going a little distant, before he smiles. "Maybe something modest for shoes. Remember, you have to stand in them for a bit, and dance too." He traces in a simple set of matching shoes with low heels. "Thankfully, the 'heeled boots' fad never caught on in Ylvaliel. I think I'd have fallen over and broken my neck trying to walk in those stupid things."

Tel looks at Andie a bit sympathetically. "A good viewpoint, hence why my suggestions are for you to wow Dolan, not everyone else. I'm not sure who else is attending, but I'm -pretty- sure that unless Verna and Aura have some jotunn or makari friends, you -will- be the tallest person there." He chuckles softly, before looking to Jyndei. "Any thoughts, Jyn?"

The faerie dragon hops off the chairback and glides over to perch on the table, inspecting Telamon's image. "If the Lady does not wish to 'steal the show', I recommend small or understated jewelry." Jyndei sits up on his haunches, peering, before looking at Andelena again. "A ring, earrings perhaps. No more."

"They don't have makari or jotun friends that I know of, no, so I'll be the tallest there for certain," Andelena says. "I don't /own/ much in the way of jewelry. Dolan's ring is all I've got, and I'll proudly wear that all day." She smiles warmly at the notion.

She goes to try and fill her teacup again, clearly eager for more warm tea. "I think that... just about covers that part of business, honestly. Now all I have to chew on is to find a tailor for that... And then figure out what I'm doing about that camp that's still filled with totems, and the Vast. I owe it to Bry to make sure something's done about them both."

Telamon goes ahead with refilling his teacup once Andie's done. "I feel the same way about the ring Lana gave me," he says with a knowing smile. "I'd sacrifice every other thing I had before I gave that up. Even if," he looks at the curuchuil on the back of his hand, "I'd still have this as well."

He shifts gears mentally, at the mention of more serious business. "Indeed. We've much to deal with in that regard. I am, of course, at your service in that endeavour. Yours and Dolan's. I won't deny it scares the hells out of me, but if you want a better world, you have to be willing to fight for it."

"Fear's a natural thing to have," Andelena replies. "I won't lie. Scares the shit out of me, too. But... It's gotta get done. I gotta talk to Verna about it."

She smiles at Telamon. "But, you have your wife, and I have Bry--we're supposed to make this world a better place for them to live in, too, y'know. Not to mention... the future generations who might live in it. Bry and I have talked about kids, but the world is way too damn scary of a place right now to even attempt it. We gotta make it a better place for them to live in."

Finally, the Sunguard drains her teacup in one full sitting, and she stands back up. "Now, I won't trouble you too much further. I gotta go home and feed the cats, and then I'll probably hit the hay. Been a day. A good day, though."

"Perhaps. I won't deny the fear's there. But... the love is there too, like you said. A better world." Telamon finishes his cup of tea, and stands as well to walk Andelena to the door. "Cats, eh? Lana and I considered a cat, but considering the sheer number of creatures already resident..."

Jyndei makes a fairly rude, nonverbal sound. Tel rolls his eyes and grins. "...said cat might be a little disturbed. Though Lana was quite taken with our neighbor's puppy when he visited."

The half-elven sorcerer smiles. "I'll head over to Jovani's tomorrow morning, and pass along your thoughts. If he can't take the order, I'll chase down Aryia. I can bribe her with a bottle of wine for a rush order." Tel smiles up at Andie. "After all, what're friends for?"

"Yeah, they're calico kittens--one of them's a bit older than the other, but they're my babies. I love 'em to death." Andelena grins. "You, on the other hand, my friend, have your hands full. Garden pixies, I swear."

She waves both to him and to little Jyndei on the sofa. "Both you and Telamon stay nice and cozy. It's warm in here and it's awful out there, unfortunately for my sorry ass. Have a good night, both of you."

The Sunguard walks out, grabbing and throwing her cloak about herself as she leaves.