[Nexus] MagCave VII: Rest for the Wicked

[Felandria]

Marciano immediately counters, absolutely oozing charisma and cologne. Ahh, my apologies, darlin'. Your friend was bein' sorta rude to me. I don't really take well to such disrespectful statements from strangers. I haven't earned it yet, right? Heh. Now, I must say I rarely meet someone of your exotic stature and extreme beauty. May I? He'll attempt to reach for her hand and bring her hand to his... lips? Covered by the mask. Yes.

Felandria raises an eyebrow.

Surely Marciano realizes Felandria would recognize him, since Felandria worked in his casino as a bouncer.

Do you always hit on your former employees?

[BladeofObliviom]

[Monster Mash]

Cyrus lets loose a good-natured chuckle at the farcical family structure of his newest acquaintance. How could he not? It IS fairly funny.

The smiling and laughing stops dead as a less-fond acquaintance from some time ago deigns to approach-NO! DARES to INTRUDE UPON a conversation that was going oh-so-well before he showed his foolish face here!

"He does, actually. And usually their parents too, just for good measure. Hello, Marcy."

Most of this is spoken in Cyrus' usual good-natured, humorous tone. The italicized bit? Cold as ice, I'm afraid.

[Hattish Thing]

Felandria raises an eyebrow.

Surely Marciano realizes Felandria would recognize him, since Felandria worked in his casino as a bouncer.

Do you always hit on your former employees?

He nods and gives a bow. Nooo, only the pretty ones, sweetheart. You should be honored. The Casino went into NPC-Land. But, there's always a place for you there. And in my pants, heh.

Marciano Louv're turns to face Cyrus. Erm. You must have me confused, punkin. Try again. I am Mr. Ritz Mckane. Owner of the Ritzzz Casino and Club. Is she yours? My apologies if she is, I didn't know. Also.. lighten your tone.

[Reinholdt]

Mighty Morphing Magic Misha

What does Misha morph into? A cyborg Tobias? A Kyne with an Ermine tail? A fey'ri version of Reynard? Maybe Vel as imagined as a smurf? Callie with her fox ears poking out of a purple top hat? Himself? A pile of gold? A battle-scarred blue cyborg pirate kitsune lich?

None of the above, of course, though they all have their unique appeals. Nope. What most likely is there is but a simple cat. Well I shouldn't say that. She's a very pretty cat. I don't think I could properly express the importance of the tail size. Or correctly proportioned paws in relation to the nose. Or how the sheen of the fur should vary based on the length. Or how dreadfully all important the eyes are to changing a beautiful cat into a stunning one. But these are all things Rein knows, even if they tend to elude two-leggers.

Reina gives Misha a sad half smile, her eyes wandering over Misha's form. "She's beautiful," Reina whispers breathlessly.

That is to say if Misha doesn't get buried under the tablecloth. Entirely likely.

That is also to say if it works out at all. This is probably pretty esoteric, even by Misha's standards and I'm not sure if it is even a thing that could be done. Fur and water don't mix well. I suppose alternatively there will be some beautiful, generic, imperfect humanoid woman there that Reina certainly physically appreciates, maybe even drools over a bit, but invariably doesn't find lives up to the hype.

[Lord Magtok]

Misha, Misha, On the Wall, Who Is the Fairest Of Them All?

She. Reina said she. Why the hell does that bother you, Magtok? Leaving aside the fact that this is a female Reinholdt and you have every valid reason to want it dead and buried for all eternity, shouldn't you be past this kind of vanity and self-obsession by now? You've been parodying your own hubris for ages, so when definitive proof comes along that you are not some mentally ill feline's ideal for the beautiful, flawless, indisputably perfect mate, shouldn't that be good news? I mean, you never even built your image around physical appeal anyways, so it's not like someone's besting you in your own profession or anything.

"Can I turn around yet?"

Mag and Caelynn

"Actually, while we're talking about leaving, it's getting kinda late. Party should be wrapping up soon. Need someone to fly you back, in case Clegg's still hiding down the road?"

Sure, HALO might be underwater, and it'd be easier to just teleport in or something, but in Magtok's experience, just about everyone loves flying (except Valia ). It'd be simple enough to drop her off next to one of the shuttles, and then immediately get the hell out of there before someone from HALO sees him and remembers what happened the last time he visited their organization.

[Arkhosia]

Misha, Misha, On the Wall, Who Is the Fairest Of Them All?

She. Reina said she. Why the hell does that bother you, Magtok? Leaving aside the fact that this is a female Reinholdt and you have every valid reason to want it dead and buried for all eternity, shouldn't you be past this kind of vanity and self-obsession by now? You've been parodying your own hubris for ages, so when definitive proof comes along that you are not some mentally ill feline's ideal for the beautiful, flawless, indisputably perfect mate, shouldn't that be good news? I mean, you never even built your image around physical appeal anyways, so it's not like someone's besting you in your own profession or anything.

"Can I turn around yet?"

Mag and Caelynn

"Actually, while we're talking about leaving, it's getting kinda late. Party should be wrapping up soon. Need someone to fly you back, in case Clegg's still hiding down the road?"

Sure, HALO might be underwater, and it'd be easier to just teleport in or something, but in Magtok's experience, just about everyone loves flying (except Valia ). It'd be simple enough to drop her off next to one of the shuttles, and then immediately get the hell out of there before someone from HALO sees him and remembers what happened the last time he visited their organization.

The cat Faunus nods.
That would be nice. I have an apartment in Inside. I would teleport over, but... Teleporting long distances is extremely tiring for me mentally.

[Shadowcaller]

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

"Yeah, I'm sure they are." Angie says sounding just the tiniest bit flustered. While Angie hasn't been oggling the shirtless boy in front of her she definitly gave him a good looking over when they first came over. She isn't entierly sure if Astrana is trying to tease Valente or her.

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

Considering Valente's reaction, it's likely Valente was the target of her teasing. His face goes red yet again and he shuffles his feet. Does she really think other women have been looking at him? When Angie speaks up he's not sure what to say. "Well, um, thanks. I only really care that one girl is looking at me, though." Valente slips his arm around Astrana's waist and chuckles a bit awkwardly.

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

Astrana chuckles lightly. "I'm not worried Val so relax and just enjoy the attention." She isn't done teasing just yet though apparently. "Though the costumes were a bit daring, don't you think Angie?" She asks, gesturing down at herself.

Spoiler: Ghar actually made an Avatar out of it.

Show

[McBish]

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

Angie gives a little nod pointedly not looking Astrana over again for fear of her face going flush. "Yes just a bit daring. Though this is the Nexus so not quite to the point of shocking." Angie has never really adapted to the way many women in the Nexus dress to show off their bodies. Here she is wearing a dress where you can see her shoulders and all of her arms, for her that is daring as she mostly wears clothes that cover her from neck to toe. Someone who didn't know her could probably guess that looking at her pale arms. "Though you guys definitly pull off those costumes."

[Gullara]

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

((Of course you had to link that picture. ))

"Well thanks. We put a lot of work into them." It was a fun project for them to do together! "Daring is what we were going for, though I gotta say, it's a bit more awkward actually wearing this out in public." He can deal with that, though.

[Darkcomet]

[Some Other Time, Maybe, A Call]

Ringringring. Assuming Magtok has something along those lines.

Caller ID is...

An Evolution Industries number? Why do they suddenly think they're on talking terms?

[Slii Arhem]

Mighty Morphing Magic Misha

What does Misha morph into? A cyborg Tobias? A Kyne with an Ermine tail? A fey'ri version of Reynard? Maybe Vel as imagined as a smurf? Callie with her fox ears poking out of a purple top hat? Himself? A pile of gold? A battle-scarred blue cyborg pirate kitsune lich?

None of the above, of course, though they all have their unique appeals. Nope. What most likely is there is but a simple cat. Well I shouldn't say that. She's a very pretty cat. I don't think I could properly express the importance of the tail size. Or correctly proportioned paws in relation to the nose. Or how the sheen of the fur should vary based on the length. Or how dreadfully all important the eyes are to changing a beautiful cat into a stunning one. But these are all things Rein knows, even if they tend to elude two-leggers.

Reina gives Misha a sad half smile, her eyes wandering over Misha's form. "She's beautiful," Reina whispers breathlessly.

That is to say if Misha doesn't get buried under the tablecloth. Entirely likely.

That is also to say if it works out at all. This is probably pretty esoteric, even by Misha's standards and I'm not sure if it is even a thing that could be done. Fur and water don't mix well. I suppose alternatively there will be some beautiful, generic, imperfect humanoid woman there that Reina certainly physically appreciates, maybe even drools over a bit, but invariably doesn't find lives up to the hype.

Misha, Misha, On the Wall, Who Is the Fairest Of Them All?

She. Reina said she. Why the hell does that bother you, Magtok? Leaving aside the fact that this is a female Reinholdt and you have every valid reason to want it dead and buried for all eternity, shouldn't you be past this kind of vanity and self-obsession by now? You've been parodying your own hubris for ages, so when definitive proof comes along that you are not some mentally ill feline's ideal for the beautiful, flawless, indisputably perfect mate, shouldn't that be good news? I mean, you never even built your image around physical appeal anyways, so it's not like someone's besting you in your own profession or anything.

"Can I turn around yet?"

Mag and Caelynn

"Actually, while we're talking about leaving, it's getting kinda late. Party should be wrapping up soon. Need someone to fly you back, in case Clegg's still hiding down the road?"

Sure, HALO might be underwater, and it'd be easier to just teleport in or something, but in Magtok's experience, just about everyone loves flying (except Valia ). It'd be simple enough to drop her off next to one of the shuttles, and then immediately get the hell out of there before someone from HALO sees him and remembers what happened the last time he visited their organization.

There should be a Clever Title Here, but Instead Misha

Thankfully, and more than a bit sadly, Misha does have enough cat DNA in her system to work with Reina's fantasies. It seems throughout history more than a few felines were drowned in her pool by sadistic or simply capricious beings. One thing to note though, is that the sudden loss of mass is too great for simply compressing herself to compensate for, and so the cat winds up standing under a soaked tablecloth as she sheds mass to shrink herself down enough.

"Mew?" The cat struggles out of its covering, pitiful and confused as she twitches her whiskers and flicks her tail back and forth. She... did not expect that the woman would find a cat the most beautiful thing in the Nexus, but I guess that's life. After a few moments of considering it and ultimately dismissing her confusion since she's not aware of the circumstances behind it, Misha parades in a figure eight between Reina's legs, rubbing her scent through her calves before crawling back under the tablecloth and poking her head up through the hole so she can change back to normal. The transition isn't perfect, soaking up all the water in the clothes, cloth, and on the floor in order to build herself up again, but the minute loss of height and weight isn't easy to tell simply by looking at her.

"Alright, you're fine Magtok." She bends over to pick up her bikini pieces again, holding the front of her makeshift cloak closed with one hand.

[Felandria]

He nods and gives a bow. Nooo, only the pretty ones, sweetheart. You should be honored. The Casino went into NPC-Land. But, there's always a place for you there. And in my pants, heh.

Felandria smirks.

For one thing, I wouldn't fit in your pants.

Whereas I could fit you in one leg of mine.

Secondly, I appreciate the flattery but there's no need to be hostile towards these nice people.

[Arkhosia]

Monster Mash

I'm just going to go.
I know when I'm not wanted.
Aurelia says, drawing her shadowy wings around her as she backs away into the crowd.

[Felandria]

Monster Mash

I'm just going to go.
I know when I'm not wanted.
Aurelia says, drawing her shadowy wings around her as she backs away into the crowd.

No, wait.......

Come back.......

[Arkhosia]

No, wait.......

Come back.......

Too late!
Aurelia has already retreated into the corner of the party area.
She's pretty easy to spot though due to a stunning lack of NPCs, so Fel shouldn't have any trouble locating her.

[BladeofObliviom]

Spoiler

Show

Marciano Louv're turns to face Cyrus. Erm. You must have me confused, punkin. Try again. I am Mr. Ritz Mckane. Owner of the Ritzzz Casino and Club. Is she yours? My apologies if she is, I didn't know. Also.. lighten your tone.

[Monster Mash - Drinks Table]

Cyrus frowns much more distinctly. I mean really! It's not like Marcy's really fooling anyone. They even use the same text color!

"Riiiiight. Well, I am entirely too sober to be dealing with this right now, and one of my new friends just slipped away into the crowd thanks to your presence, so I'm going to go make sure she doesn't go break down somewhere thanks to far too much alcohol and a terminal dose of sleaze.

Care to come along, Miss Felandria?"

On a side note, he does chuckle a little bit when Fel refers to him as nice.

[Felandria]

[Monster Mash - Drinks Table]

Cyrus frowns much more distinctly. I mean really! It's not like Marcy's really fooling anyone. They even use the same text color!

"Riiiiight. Well, I am entirely too sober to be dealing with this right now, and one of my new friends just slipped away into the crowd thanks to your presence, so I'm going to go make sure she doesn't go break down somewhere thanks to far too much alcohol and a terminal dose of sleaze.

Care to come along, Miss Felandria?"

On a side note, he does chuckle a little bit when Fel refers to him as nice.

Gladly.

Fel gets to her feel and joins Cyrus in checking on Aurelia.

[Hattish Thing]

Felandria smirks.

For one thing, I wouldn't fit in your pants.

Whereas I could fit you in one leg of mine.

Secondly, I appreciate the flattery but there's no need to be hostile towards these nice people.

He laughs a bit and replies. Ehh, true. But there are potions for that sorta thing ya know. I know a guy that could supply both of us enough body augmentation potions to try any fetish known to man. Which is impressive, to say the least. How've ya been, darling? He ignores her criticism.

[Monster Mash - Drinks Table]

Cyrus frowns much more distinctly. I mean really! It's not like Marcy's really fooling anyone. They even use the same text color!

"Riiiiight. Well, I am entirely too sober to be dealing with this right now, and one of my new friends just slipped away into the crowd thanks to your presence, so I'm going to go make sure she doesn't go break down somewhere thanks to far too much alcohol and a terminal dose of sleaze.

Care to come along, Miss Felandria?"

On a side note, he does chuckle a little bit when Fel refers to him as nice.

Marcy just grins all the more at Cyrus's reaction. You must be confusing me with someone else, Cyrus. I mean, last time I checked Marcy wasn't 5.9 and sexy all hell. I mean, just look! He undoes his mask to reveal an extremely pretty male face. Definitely not Marciano's. No need to be rude, hun. I guess I'll have to come apologize to her. Lead the way, ladies.

[Arkhosia]

[Monster Mash - Drinks Table]

Cyrus frowns much more distinctly. I mean really! It's not like Marcy's really fooling anyone. They even use the same text color!

"Riiiiight. Well, I am entirely too sober to be dealing with this right now, and one of my new friends just slipped away into the crowd thanks to your presence, so I'm going to go make sure she doesn't go break down somewhere thanks to far too much alcohol and a terminal dose of sleaze.

Care to come along, Miss Felandria?"

On a side note, he does chuckle a little bit when Fel refers to him as nice.

Gladly.

Fel gets to her feel and joins Cyrus in checking on Aurelia.

They'll find her in the corner with her shadow-wings drawn around her, as well as her tail.
She doesn't notice their approach.

[Reinholdt]

Misha Meows

Reina bends down to give Misha cat a few scritches. "Such a good kitty."

She sighs wistfully and straightens as Misha returns to her tablecloth and reforms. Even this cat, perfectly sculpted as she was, couldn't talk. It'd be a terrible conversation partner. I mean sure, there's cat talk and then there's cat talk. But still. All the same, this is probably the closest Reina will get to something remotely along those lines.

Ah well. She'd be more upset about it if it weren't her own bed of roses. She really just tries to avoid thinking about it most of the time. "It's all over Magtok. You can stop hiding now."

[Shadowcaller]

[Monster Mash - Valente, Astrana, and Angie]

"Yeah, I usually wear more conservative clothes. I'm not exactly the most unabashed of individuals, but it's fun dressing up in something more revealing for a while and I did feel that the moment called for it." Astrana explains. "And Val as I said earlier, is a boy scout." She grins at her boyfriend.

[BladeofObliviom]

Spoiler

Show

Gladly.

Fel gets to her feel and joins Cyrus in checking on Aurelia.

He laughs a bit and replies. Ehh, true. But there are potions for that sorta thing ya know. I know a guy that could supply both of us enough body augmentation potions to try any fetish known to man. Which is impressive, to say the least. How've ya been, darling? He ignores her criticism.

Marcy just grins all the more at Cyrus's reaction. You must be confusing me with someone else, Cyrus. I mean, last time I checked Marcy wasn't 5.9 and sexy all hell. I mean, just look! He undoes his mask to reveal an extremely pretty male face. Definitely not Marciano's. No need to be rude, hun. I guess I'll have to come apologize to her. Lead the way, ladies.

They'll find her in the corner with her shadow-wings drawn around her, as well as her tail.
She doesn't notice their approach.

(...You know, I think I misread somewhere, or just didn't get the memo that Marcy doesn't really look much like he used to. I suppose there are more than enough hilariously blatant clues for him to piece it together himself, though. He sort of is supposed to be fairly intelligent, if not quite at lolsupergenius levels.)

[Monster Mash]

Cyrus physically stifles a giggle as Marciano continues to deny who he truly is! He's not exactly convinced though, given the vocal similarity, mention of access to body modification techniques, the fact that he just knows Cyrus' name without being told beforehand since this is supposedly their first meeting, a host of other things, and his terrible sense of fashion.

Still, while he finds the guy distasteful, at least "Ritzy" decided to bathe for once. Thus, the sorcerer doesn't stop him from following along (though he still shoots the ex-Halfling a glare). Or maybe he just knows he can't do much here because he's an astral projection right now.

The trio approaches Aurelia then, I suppose. Insert Dawn of War 2 joke here.

"You alright there, lass?"

[Hattish Thing]

(...You know, I think I misread somewhere, or just didn't get the memo that Marcy doesn't really look much like he used to. I suppose there are more than enough hilariously blatant clues for him to piece it together himself, though. He sort of is supposed to be fairly intelligent, if not quite at lolsupergenius levels.)

[Monster Mash]

Cyrus physically stifles a giggle as Marciano continues to deny who he truly is! He's not exactly convinced though, given the vocal similarity, mention of access to body modification techniques, the fact that he just knows Cyrus' name without being told beforehand since this is supposedly their first meeting, a host of other things, and his terrible sense of fashion.

Still, while he finds the guy distasteful, at least "Ritzy" decided to bathe for once. Thus, the sorcerer doesn't stop him from following along (though he still shoots the ex-Halfling a glare). Or maybe he just knows he can't do much here because he's an astral projection right now.

The trio approaches Aurelia then, I suppose. Insert Dawn of War 2 joke here.

"You alright there, lass?"

((Yup! He had himself changed. I mean, it was from a time where just about everyone wanted to kill him. He has the same voice though, and the same sleaztastic personality. Seeing as Cyrus knows Marcy the best, I'd say Cyrus could recognize him. Especially seeing as Marcy just purposely said his name to confirm it while appearing innocent to most everyone else. ))

Mr. Ritz has indeed bathed. In fact, he smells absolutely wonderful. He's wearing a whole heap of vanilla cologne. He just winks at Cyrus when he glares, and continues to follow Felandria, mostly watching her rear as she moves. Oh lighten up, buddy. You're at a party, and there's beautiful gals around. You should pay me a visit sometime. Have some drinks, spend time with some gals, maybe discuss the weather, kay?

[Arkhosia]

Aurelia's Walls

Aurelia peers over the wings of shadow in front of her.
I'm fine.
And then she notices Marcy Ritzy.
Okay, now I'm not.

[Hattish Thing]

Aurelia's Walls

Aurelia peers over the wings of shadow in front of her.
I'm fine.
And then she notices Marcy Ritzy.
Okay, now I'm not.

Marciano frowns a bit before speaking to her. Hey there, hun. I think you took my words a tad too close to heart. Just a tad. I have absolutely no clue who you are, but hey, you're Fel's friend. So you must be good. Or her concubine. Either way, heh. To show I mean ya no harm, here. It's a Gift Card to the Ritz. Very nice. True to his word, he pulls out a golden card, which he'll offer to her.

[Arkhosia]

Marciano frowns a bit before speaking to her. Hey there, hun. I think you took my words a tad too close to heart. Just a tad. I have absolutely no clue who you are, but hey, you're Fel's friend. So you must be good. Or her concubine. Either way, heh. To show I mean ya no harm, here. It's a Gift Card to the Ritz. Very nice. True to his word, he pulls out a golden card, which he'll offer to her.

Aurelia Duskflame.
Aurelia tentatively takes the card.

[Lord Magtok]

Cyborgs, Cats, and Crushes

"I wasn't hiding!" Judgetok exclaims indignantly, as if anyone would ever believe that. "I just...I already gave my explanation!"

The mewing and mentioning of kitty does a little to make that weird feeling in Magtok's ego go away. Reina's a cat, moron. You insist on calling her Cat all the time, just to hammer home the differences between you and her, to claim a sort of speciesist superiority. Of course her dream lover is a cat, now get over yourself, sheesh.


Flying Catgirls and Caustic Phonecalls!

Spoiler: DC and Arkh's Posts

Show

[Some Other Time, Maybe, A Call]

Ringringring. Assuming Magtok has something along those lines.

Caller ID is...

An Evolution Industries number? Why do they suddenly think they're on talking terms?

The cat Faunus nods.
That would be nice. I have an apartment in Inside. I would teleport over, but... Teleporting long distances is extremely tiring for me mentally.

Magtok leads her outside, at which point his wrist suddenly starts playing music. A rather embarrassing excerpt from Queen's Fat-Bottomed Girls, to be precise. Looks like DC's calling.

"Hang on, I've got to take this."

Caelynn might want to take 'hang on' literally, because the disco ball-headed MagClone suddenly starts floating up off the ground, pulling her up along with him as he does so, as his wrist switches to speakerphone.

"Hi DC! Bad timing, I'm afraid. Yeah, see, I was right in the middle of flirting with this cute catgirl from HALO at the Halloween party. Hm? Oh, I dunno, maybe an eight, nine out of ten? Score would be higher, but she was nervous around Clegg, and I usually only go for the ones who look like they could break my arm in twelve places, y'know? Oh! Speaking of, is KR still with Wendy? Still?! Shoot. Also, yeah, somehow party's still going on even though it's November outside. Nexus time, am I right?

Anyways, none of the other Magtoks wanted to take the call, so I'm stuck with it. I don't know what made you think we were on speaking terms, buuuuut...you have all of one minute to convince me not to hang up on you, starting from the first syllable of your first word, kay? Kay. Also, I have a computer in my head, so don't think I won't know exactly when your time is up. Go."

[Darkcomet]

[Phonecalls]

"Cat," comes the most immediate reply. The voice sounds a bit artificial, like it's been run through a few voice filters or something. But it certainly sounds close to how DC normally does and not distinctly higher-pitched at all. And the rather unpleasant tone there makes it pretty clear what cat the guy's talking about.

"I need a DNA sample from him for a project aimed at dealing with the problem. You probably have one, so I thought I'd ask."

[BladeofObliviom]

(Alright, cool beans. Just wanted to make sure I didn't completely ruin your intention. )

[Monster Mash]

Cyrus ignores Marcy's attempt to extend an invitation. Unfortunately for the ex-Halfling, that bridge burned down with Louv're Tower. Even if the mage was the one who started it. "Ritzy" also gets a sharp look when Aurelia demonstrates extreme discomfort at his continued presence.

Somehow the sorcerer saw it coming, really. Still, in a surprising twist, Marciano actually apologizes for something! Okay, not really. But he kind of tried, at least in his own strange sleazy way, which is still very unusual! This, of course, does not stop Cyrus from making the universal "I'm not with him" gesture.

"Right, well I suppose it's good to hear that you're all right. This way I don't have to drag you outside for a cooldown break, which would be rather hard anyway given my current state."

[Felandria]

(Alright, cool beans. Just wanted to make sure I didn't completely ruin your intention. )

[Monster Mash]

Cyrus ignores Marcy's attempt to extend an invitation. Unfortunately for the ex-Halfling, that bridge burned down with Louv're Tower. Even if the mage was the one who started it. "Ritzy" also gets a sharp look when Aurelia demonstrates extreme discomfort at his continued presence.

Somehow the sorcerer saw it coming, really. Still, in a surprising twist, Marciano actually apologizes for something! Okay, not really. But he kind of tried, at least in his own strange sleazy way, which is still very unusual! This, of course, does not stop Cyrus from making the universal "I'm not with him" gesture.

"Right, well I suppose it's good to hear that you're all right. This way I don't have to drag you outside for a cooldown break, which would be rather hard anyway given my current state."

Fel kneels down and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Yeah, and don't you ever let anyone tell you you aren't awesome.