Speak Uneasy | PG-13 for now |

[Nat Koskorov]

Nat easily sensed Louise's distress, especially after she lifted the menu up like some sort of shield. Brow raised, she attempted to seek out the source of her discomfort and it did not take long at all. She didn't know any of the girls by name but she did vaguely recognize a few of them, particularly the one who had dragged Louise away from her on their first meeting. They all smelled heavily of alcohol, and it didn't take a sixth sense to realize that this was going to end badly.

After clearing her throat and giving them a small nod, she looked back over to Louise and muttered quietly.

"They look excited to see you."

Except that one.

[Louise Loving]

Louise gave Nat a look of long suffering and lowered her menu to the table in resignation. There were five of them tonight, a remarkably small number for their group. Accompanying Lily were Betty, Fanny, Daisy, and Frances. Fanny and Frances were milling around outside the door, Louise noticed, probably due to the fact that Daisy was inside.

Swallowing a lump of dread, Louise rose to her feet and put on a smile. "Betty!" she said, laughing a little. "Fancy meeting you girls here, huh?" At least Betty looked happy to see her. Daisy smirked and nodded, but she was too busy oggling Nat through half-lidded eyes. Lily was very pointedly not looking at any of them.

"Well Lily told us you got yourself a date, but we didn't figure you'd bring him down here!" Betty exclaimed, wrinkling her nose distastefully. And then Betty noticed the coat draped over a chair at Louise's table, her eyes widening and her painted lips forming a perfect "O" with a sharp intake of breath. "Oh my goooooooooooooooooooooood!"

Louise winced, grinning in spite of herself. "I know, isn't it just the berries?" She picked up the coat and held it aloft, but her heart wasn't really in it. She kept glancing up at Lily. The woman just had a way of radiating malice when she was upset, and tonight was no exception.

"So," Daisy drawled while Betty was catching her breath, making no indication that she was impressed with or had even seen the lavish fur coat, "where'd you guys go? Don't expect us to believe you took this big six to a dumpy little ice cream parlor after he bought you that baby." She sounded for all the world like that was exactly what she hoped had happened.

"Oh no," Louise replied quickly, her eyes narrowing just slightly, glad to prove Daisy wrong. "In fact, we went to this really ritzy joint uptown. The, uh..." Louise searched her memory for the name only to realize she had never learned it. "Oh! Nat, what was the name of that place again?"

[Lily Adler]

With every word that leaves one of her friends' mouths, Lily feels her anger bubbling up inside her like she's some kind of geyser ready to burst. She does all in her power to keep from doing so; fidget, grinding her teeth, chewing on the spoon from her recently acquired ice cream. It all proves too much to hold in, though, and after several moments of self restraint she interrupts the reunion with an almost bark-like sound.

"So what! It's just a stupid coat! And it ain't no secret he's that muttsky gang boss!"

Lily's naturally loud voice was amplified to a level that couldn't rightly be considered polite. The parlor fell mostly silent for a while after, most eyes turned to Nat in the corner as a result. Soon after the quiet murmur became its former roar again, but Lily remained unshaken, her glare on Louise ever present.

[Nat Koskorov]

Just as Nat opened her mouth to reply, that brunette opened hers and opened the flood gates of embarrassment. She wasn't ashamed of what she did for a living, but she had never been a fan of being the center of attention; especially not negative attention. She glared at Lily and silently mused over how she would take her outside and beat the hell out of her if she was a man. But she wasn't, so instead she had to silently glare for a while and then turn her attention back to her date.

"Blue Moon."

She spoke flatly, as if she were terribly bored. As if nothing had just happened.

[Louise Loving]

Louise's cheeks flushed scarlet, and she dropped the fur coat over the back of the chair before shooting Lily a baleful glare. Betty pretended to occupy herself with the window dressings. Daisy watched the exchange openly, looking perfectly delighted.

"Lily," Louise said, a patronizing tone edging into her voice. "That's no way to treat a gentleman, even if you are jealous." Maybe it had been a mistake bringing Nat to one of her usual haunts, but having Lily embarrass him like that was not something she was about to shrug off. Calling him a muttsky in front of all of these people... Really!

Meanwhile, Betty had slipped out the door, fetching Fanny and Frances in case things got really exciting.