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She's twenty-three, and this is Audrey's first visit to the Rose Bowers. A two week stay, complimentary through her government job on Arcbright. She's alone.
She's heard stories of the Rose Bowers, of the unrestrained hedonism that's its stock in trade, and its matchmaking, which is reputed to be excellent.
She comes in with trepidation in her heart. Her suitcase rattles as it bumps over the threshold.
Audrey flops over into bed.
Well, that... went far better than she'd expected and yet still not well enough. She'd hoped to make a friend, not just get banged admittedly very well. She feels like she just got dropped like a hot potato. What was wrong with her? Not the right hair color? Didn't moan cutely enough?
Well, there's no sense in speculating. She has another number for hookups now, at least. And that's an achievement. She wanted to fuck her, she got to fuck her. She should count her blessings.
Now what? Well, she could call Hannah or Aurica or even Kumi or Clematis. She could call Ishaza. She could go out to the Coze Club and see if she could pick up another random. She could stay in and read.
... none of that really works for her. Hannah isn't taking her calls, Aurica is too much her, she doesn't want a professional and she doesn't want to just find another random person to... vent at. And she wants company, she doesn't want to be alone.
She could maybe get out a tenta-pet, but they're not real people. And too sex-focused.
Maybe she should go speed-dating. Or try a blind-date service. But - that's not what she's after either, not really. It's not that she wants to be romanced, she just doesn't want to feel like it's... transactional.
For lack of anything to do, she calls Hannah.
Alright, if Hannah doesn't pick up then maybe her girlfriend will. She's not a random, she's not herself, she's not a professional. So what if she hates her?
Audrey blinks. She.. hadn't expected that to actually work.
"It's Audrey, remember me? From with Hannah. I... wanted to reach out and learn more about you, because clearly Hannah sees something in you and I don't get it. So... if you could indulge my curiosity?"
Rose snorts. "I'll give you credit for being honest. What your dear friend Hannah sees in me is that I'm a sadist. Not, like, a whips-and-spankings sadist, those are a dime a dozen. I'm more of a knives-and-brands sadist. I specialize in body art. Painful, painful body art."
"I'm here with my girlfriend Cytherea for a month. Scythe traded me for one of Hannah's partners. I'm basically fine with that, we have a 24/7 relationship. And that's why Hannah gets me whenever she wants."
"Thinking about whether you have a chance, huh? No. I'm pretty much an obligate sadist, it's a devil thing. Anything else you'd like to ask?"
She considers the merits of leaving her room naked, decides against it, throws on her scarlet dress with the single brooch, and heads back to Club Coze.
"I'm on my way down right now," she says.
"Alright!"
She sits at the table where the Kitsune couple were sitting before. The club is quiet; the only other occupant is a silver-haired woman reading alone.
"You place tiles and you put meeples on tiles and you try to complete things to get your meeples back, except for farms, farms you score at the end of the game but they're worth a lot."
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