Makeover [2430-1-2 Wed 10:00 am]

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"Blow him off." She told Titus, tucking a stray strand of pink hair behind one ear, "Tell him you've got more important things to do, like taking care of your sister." Persephone knew nothing she said would change his decision, but she'd say them anyway. The man was slick as oil, evil in a real and tangible way. His smooth-talking act didn't fool Persephone and it never would.

Once again she looked at Skye's features and started trying to figure out if she had the right shades in her bag for Skye's skin. "We'll stay put like good girls." She finally said as she looked back at Titus. The unsaid 'for now' hovered between them.

[Skye Thompson]

Skye nodded as Titus spoke, though she knew everything he said was a lie. His father would have had no reason to know of her existence, and if he did it wouldn't have mattered. But it was all necessary, all part of the act. She knew they had to be careful, to let no one no the truth, so she nodded and smiled, as if she agreed with what he was saying. She continued to nod as Titus went on, though she was a bit apprehensive of staying in the apartment with Persephone. She didn't mind staying there alone, but she was afraid that with Titus gone, she wouldn't know how to act or what to say.

"Blow him off." Skye turned to stare at Persephone as she spoke. Then she looked at Titus, and slowly shook her head. "No, go. We don't want him to get upset, or suspicious." Digeo had already asserted himself a malignant figure in her mind, and she did not want to evoke his wrath. Skye hadn't seen much of the world, but she'd seen enough to know that there were certain people you had to keep happy if you wanted to stay alive. For now, Digeo d'Asola was one of those people.

[Titus Vere]

Titus just gave them both a little smile. He stood up, gathering the empty dishes and sliding them into the dishwasher. The leftover fruit went into the fridge, beside the quiche he'd made earlier that morning. "There's lunch in the fridge. If I'm not back in time, help yourselves. I'll call when I get out of the meeting."

He gave Skye's shoulder a squeeze, and kissed Persephone on the cheek. Titus fetched his coat from the closet and left the two women alone. Perse would take care of Skye. And Titus would play the part of the good son and keep Digeo's eyes on him and not the girl in his apartment.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

Persephone tolerated the kiss on the cheek, if only because it gave her a chance to smell his cologne. He was using the bottle she'd sent him for the holidays. Perse smiled a little, doing her best to hide it so Titus couldn't see. He left quickly, door locking shut behind him.

She slide off the stool and grabbed her makeup bag off the couch. "I wish he'd told me I was doing your makeup. I packed colours to compliment his skin, not a more generic selection. But we'll mix and make do. First things first, we'll take care of your hair."

[Skye Thompson]

A feeling of warmth and well being spread slowly through Skye from the point where Titus had touched her shoulder. It was a small, simple movement, but it was also a gesture of affection, passed from brother to sister. She wasn't quite sure whether it was a part of their act or not, but to a certain degree it didn't matter. Skye turned smiling to Persephone as she spoke.

She didn't quite understand everything Persephone was saying, but she nodded anyway. It was confusing the way Persephone spoke about Titus, as though she were both happy and angry with him. But Skye was anxious to learn from her, so she didn't press the matter. She touched her hair, feeling a bit self conscious. What exactly had Persephone meant, 'take care of' her hair? What exactly was wrong with it? It was clean, and she'd cut it fairly recently. Skye hoped she wouldn't have to dye her hair. It was a good look for Persephone but she wasn't so sure it would work for her. And she was very sure that she wasn't ready to stand out in the way that having pink hair tended to make one. In fact, she wasn't ready to stand out at all.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

Persephone dumped out the contents of her makeup bag on the islands, sorting the makeup into two piles: the appropriate, and the totally inappropriate. All the glitters and hyper-neons went over into the inappropriate pile, quickly followed by anything out too light or too dark for Skye's skin. When she finished, what was left was a mix of subdued colours, mostly pale pinks to put colour into the cheeks and some darker eyeliner to make those eyes of her pop. Skye's skin was surprisingly good considering where she'd come from, so Perse didn't have to worry about mixing a foundation for the girl.

The scissors came out last and Persephone set them aside, "Go stick your head under the tap and wet down your hair." At Skye's blank and confused look, Perse elaborated. If Skye didn't know not to stare at the sun, why would she know any of this? "We need to make sure it looks like an actual stylist did it, or people will ask questions. All of what we're doing is going to make sure that when Titus has guests over, or when you go out with him, you'll blend in so well that people won't even notice you're there at all."

[Skye Thompson]

It was somewhat fascinating, watching Persephone sort all the different brightly colored powders and creams onto the counter. Skye was almost shocked at how much seemed to be in the make-up bag, an infinite number of little containers who's uses were mysterious to her. It was hard to believe all this stuff was supposed to be used just to make someone look a certain way.

She looked up at the sound of Persephone's voice, then nodded as she explained. "That makes sense. I did a lot of blending in in the Below, so it shouldn't be to hard..." Yeah, except for the fact that I know absolutely positively nothing about how to act in the Top. I may as well be trying to blend in with a bunch of vampires. Feeling slightly disturbed by that thought, Skye walked over to the kitchen sink, turned on the water, and started to rinse off her hair. It felt good to have the water running through her hair, a reminder that in the days to come she would have better tools than the rain to keep it clean. She lifted her head up and rung the water out of her hair. Then Skye shut off the faucet and looked at Persephone, waiting to find out what she should do next.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

She picked up a comb and the scissors, and headed over to Skye. It was best to do this where they could sweep it up later. One of Titus' dishtowels went over Skye's shoulders to catch the hair. and Persephone went to work, combing out the hair and cutting. It was clear that Skye had done her best to take care of her hair in the Below, but that wouldn't be enough. Her hair needed layers, and a style that was popular.

While she worked, Persephone struck up a conversation. "Which area did you live in? My dad owns the big smelters down near the Chewan district, way north of here, and I used to go live with him when I was a little girl. He used to make me wear a gas mask when I went out in public because the smoke from the smelters got stuck in the corners and cracks of the buildings, and he was worried I'd get the black lung."

[Skye Thompson]

It was hard to hold still as Persephone began to cut her hair, but Skye made herself stand straight and tried not to move a muscle. Having someone else cut her hair made her feel like a little girl again, after all she'd been trimming her own since the age of six. She was happy that Persephone tried to make conversation, but she wasn't quite sure how to reply. She had to be careful when talking about her family. However, this might be a good way to practice getting her story straight. She took a deep breath.

"I lived farther southeast of the Chewan district, pretty close to here, except a lot farther, well... down. My step-father owns this bar, I've lived with him most of my life... He said my mom left me to him after I was born because she didn't want me." That felt right. In fact it was almost true. Her mother had left because she didn't love them, didn't want them anymore. That was what Adrian had told her anyway. And Adrian had been right about everything.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

"Your step-father sounds like a jackass." Perse didn't bother sugar coating her opinions. Skye had probably heard a lot worse anyway. What sort of guy told his kid that her mom hadn't wanted her? The kind of guy who deserved to be left. "He probably had a chip on his shoulder because you weren't really his kid. Men are like that."

Skye's hair was already starting to look more stylish. She'd be able to pass herself off in public, and from now on, she could just go down to the salon and get someone else to cut her hair for her. Titus had more money than he knew what to do with, and a few hundred-dollar haircuts wouldn't put even a slight dent into it.

[Skye Thompson]

"Yeah," Skye muttered, fingering a scar on her hand, "Yeah, he was. Is. He's still alive, I suppose..." She liked the way Persephone had gotten right to the point, the way she seemed to just understand things. It reminded her once again of Adrian. He'd always been honest with her, even if the truth was painful. And suddenly, she wanted to tell Persephone everything. But she couldn't, she couldn't say anything, this was her cover story and she couldn't let it go wrong. She could work some of the things she wanted to say into the story, but it was so much more complicated if she did. It was better just to keep quiet. But she couldn't keep quiet. She had kept quite to long, through everything her father had done to her, and she could no longer fight the urge to tell someone, anyone, what had happen. Just to say it, just to know that she wasn't alone with it anymore.

"My... my step-dad, I suppose he might have been angry about me not being his kid, he never really seemed to like me much, but he was never around me much either. He'd always be off by himself, or serving costumers, and he was always drunk..." He voice was rising, the words pouring out of her mouth faster than she could stop them, "Sometimes, I'd go to the door of his bedroom at night, and I'd hear him crying for my mother, cursing her for leaving us. And then, after I turned eleven, he went sort of crazy. He thought I was my mother. He called me by her name, and said he'd never heard of anyone named Skye."

Her voice wavered and tears began to run down her cheeks. She wanted to stop. She didn't want to go on. She wanted to stop now and talk about something else. But somehow, for some reason, she went on anyway. "He threw stuff at me, and he yelled at me and told me I was a horrible person for leaving him, and he called me all sorts of names and, he..." Skye stopped. She couldn't say it. She couldn't. Her darkest secret, the one she wouldn't even have told Adrian, she couldn't say it to this woman she barely knew. If she kept the secret, she would be alone with it forever, never rid of it. Yet still, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

[Persephone Ruspoli]

The words poured out of Skye like water out of a broken dam. Persephone let them wash over her, the horror and terror of them threatening to drown her. Her fingers clutched the scissors tightly as all the awful rotten pain gushed from Skye, as those tears came down her face. Perse had heard a lot of awful things, but to hear what had happened to Titus' sister, to see her crying face-

If that step-father had been within reach, Persephone would have stabbed those scissors straight into his neck without a second thought. And the world would be a little better for having that monster gone.

She put aside her rage because that wasn't what Skye need. The scissors were dropped on the floor, and Perse hugged Skye as tightly as she could. "It's okay. You're okay now." She rubbed Skye's back. "You're safe here. That son of a bitch will never be able to hurt you again. Never."

[Skye Thompson]

Persephone's scissors clanged to the floor. The sound was clamorous, harsh and unforgiving. But the hug was just the opposite. Persephone's embrace was strong and warm, like a cocoon, and Skye felt protected, safe, just as Persephone said she would be. Such an act of kindness left Skye feeling weak, shocked, but also filled with gratitude. And it was from the shock, and from the gratitude, but also from the sadness and the fear, that she cried even harder than she had before.

For a long time she couldn't stop. Tears ran in torrents down her face, tears that she had kept locked away for so long now came pouring out of her. Her body shook with the force of them, emotions running wildly through her mind, anger, fear, guilt, sorrow.

Finally, after what seemed an age, the tears stopped. Skye pulled away from Persephone, whipping her eyes on her sleeve. "Thank you." She murmured, her voice shaking. She wished she could say more. Since she had arrived in the Top, Skye felt she'd already used the phrase hundreds of times. It just didn't feel right. It wasn't enough to tell Persephone how deeply, truly grateful she was. But what else could she say? In all her sixteen years of life, she could not remember ever being held like that, being comforted so softly and so kindly, not even by Adrian. "Thanks." She said again, giving Persephone a weak smile, "You know, you and Titus are the two nicest people I've ever met. I only wish I had something else to say to you besides 'thank you'."

[Persephone Ruspoli]

Persephone held onto Skye as she cried, rocking the girl back and forth. The torrent of emotion washed over the both of them, and it was only by the barest of strings that Perse didn't join her in crying. This wasn't her moment for misery, even though her heart ached for Skye. This was Skye's moment, and after years and years of miserable silence, she deserved every last second of it.

When the worst of it was over, they drew back and Persephone watched Skye dry her face. She did not laugh when she called her and Titus nice, but her heart did hurt to know that her life had been so awful that somehow they had become kind.

"You don't have to say anything, not anymore. You deserve this. And you deserve every good thing that happens to you." She didn't feel like cutting hair or putting make-up on Skye anymore. What she wanted to do was make sure Skye understood that she deserved wonderful things, and that she was free forever. But she'd promised they'd stay put, and she really didn't want Digeo coming anywhere near Skye, not after what she'd just heard.

"Come on." She took Skye's hand, "Let's go sit out on the balcony. We can worry about dolling you up later. It's a nice sunny day and we're wasting it in the kitchen."

[Skye Thompson]

Even though she smiled as if she agreed, Skye found it hard to believe that she deserved all this, that she belonged here. After all, it was only chance that had saved her from spending the rest of her life wandering the streets of the Below. But then, it was only chance that had taken her brother from her. Did she then deserve this life? But there were others, so many others who deserved it just as much she. So why had this gift come to her? Because of chance.

Life, she decided, was not determined by who deserved and didn't deserve. It was determined by chance, by what had happen, rather than what should have happened. This was what had happened to her, both the good and the bad. And this is good. She thought, so I might as well enjoy it.

She followed Persephone out onto the balcony, letting the sunlight wash over her like a warm wave. Skye tilted her head back and stared up into the infinite expanse of blue. She had never dreamed it would be so beautiful, and so big, bigger than anything she had ever seen or imagined. She felt as if she were drowning in the wonders of this strange new world, drowning in the fierce joy one feels when all their dreams come true. She turned to Persephone, smiling, her eyes expressing the words she had said to often, and yet, still felt she needed to say. Thank you. Thank you for understanding, thank you for helping, and most of all, thank you for listening.