Andraste was focused on looking about, and so was Ena. After circling Thomas' legs, the Pokemon finally went to sniff around and look at everything she could viably reach, which was quite a lot. "Just be careful. She can be a bit of a thief," Andraste admitted, feeling her cheeks flush a little out of embarrassment. "I've come home from many an event and she's usually stolen something or another. Mostly silverware. It's embarrassing, but she's almost made a set," Andraste snorted and then glanced at Thomas.

"I was stationed in Motostoke, at least initially," she said, "After that, I can't divulge," and then the quiet, secret smile. "That is between myself and the King," she shrugged her shoulders and then looked toward the kitchen. "Mind if I sit?" she asked, starting forward and settling herself at the table.

Reaching into her jacket pocket, she fished out her phone and turned it back on, starting to text someone. "Ah, good," she murmured after a moment, "She'll prepare something for me, and she's offering to bring it out here," Andraste said with a deep sigh. "She has her Tropius today," she murmured mostly to herself. "Where... is this, exactly?" and now she was watching Thomas again, feeling sheepish and appearing so as well.

Thomas Benoit

"Her name is Ena," Andraste said with a bit of a smile, watching her Espeon with an affectionate look. "I caught her as an Eevee four years ago," she murmured, "While I was serving," she added, brushing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. The ponytail wasn't really holding, and a few stray wisps of hair caught in the wind, blowing into her face a little. "I rather enjoy his name. Do you have plans of what you'd like Gene to evolve into?" she asked, figuring that starting a conversation would be the easiest way to start to feel truly comfortable here.

They walked together, and by now Andraste was starting to feel intensely exhausted. The wound in her abdomen ached and she let out a heavy breath. Still, the woman had had worse and she was not going to bow or break now. She opted to distract herself by listening to every word Thomas said with a keen interest. Where was this peace back in Kalos, when he'd been drinking himself into a stupor and clearly stewing over anger so strong that it had driven him straight from the League? Why had he even come to the gala if he had known that he was going to explode in the way that he had?

"It's beautiful. I hope that I'll have a chance to see all of it once my wounds have healed," Andraste admitted honestly, taking in the modern, almost minimalist decor of the main home. Trailing her fingers across the top of a table, she didn't even spot dust. He was fastidious, which she wouldn't have pictured a year before. The question of clothing brought Andraste pause, and she frowned a little, "I suppose I should have some fetched for me," she said, then paused, "Is there even service out here?" she asked, thinking back to her phone. She hadn't remembered seeing any bars on the screen. "Or am I going to be sending you for my overnight bags?"

Here, she couldn't help but smile. Would he even know what to grab? "If you have a phone, I can contact my maid and have her pack things for me."

Thomas Benoit

This... wasn't really happening. Was it? Was this happening? Arceus above, it was. Standing beside Antoine at the side of the ballroom, she had nothing to really cling to. No glass, no wine to sip at to pretend she wasn't entirely enthralled with the absolute gall of this man. Not Antoine, but Thomas fucking Benoit. Thomas Fucking Benoit who was her damn betrothed, though he didn't know it yet. Would he have held back if he had? If he had known that him doing anything like this would be absolutely fucking humiliating to his intended?

Andraste's gaze narrowed sharply, though it slid very slowly in Antoine's direction while Thomas continued his literal temper tantrum. Like a child. In the middle of a court function. She caught her mother's gaze, and her brother's. Both utterly horrified, it was Lachlan that seemed to school himself first before touching Catriona's arm. Her mother seemed to remember herself, and Andraste watched her mother and brother talk quietly between themselves before both of them looked to Andraste once more.

Was she okay?

No, she absolutely wasn't. There were many different ideas swirling through her mind, and setting Thomas Fucking Benoit on fire was at the very forefront. She wouldn't cause a scene here, however much she wanted to, she knew better. Andraste was the picture of poised and proper, if not a little rigid from her years in the Galarian military. Still, she could play coy like the best of them and simply reached aside of her to a waiter who was hesitantly trying to get back to work. This time, Andraste took up a glass of Galarian whiskey and took a slow, measured sip of it.

Thomas kept on, and each moment drew the lady closer and closer to cuffing the man up the back of the head. The soldier saw red and she had to take a second sip of her drink to calm those mounting feelings, those nerves. It was noticing her father's simmering anger from across the room that had Andraste straightening. 'Oh no,' she thought to herself, though he seemed to key in on Patrice Benoit instead of any of his family, casually pulling the other man into conversation as Thomas was escorted out of the room, the hall, the building. Hell, hopefully someone escorted him off the fucking planet for the stunt he had just pulled.

When the man was gone, Andraste finally looked to Antoine, "You were saying you had a handle on your cousin, earlier. This does not look like the situation being handled," the lady pointed out to the lord, taking the rest of her whiskey in one whole gulp before she placed it very hard onto a pretty little side table to just the left of them. "Insulting this Gala's benefactors, for one. Insulting my family, for two. Presenting himself in an uncouth manner, for three. You best hope that your father can save face, for the Benoit's sake. Excuse me, Lord Antoine," Andraste said, giving him a proper curtsy before she left him on the other side of the ballroom and exited after Thomas and the guards.

On her way, she grabbed her coat and her clutch and was stepping out onto the street where she continued to watch the situation between Thomas and the security guards. Reaching into her clutch, she pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and began her watch. Making sure that her betrothed didn't fuck himself over more on the way to his respite for the night. Then the security guards cleared out, Andraste cleared her throat and spoke up, "Do you have a safe way home, Lord Benoit?" she asked, looking at the screen of her phone for the time, "Or will I be yelled out of my own car while I transport you to your lodgings?" Andraste asked.

Thomas Benoit

'Inconsiderate of him.'

Andraste hung onto those words and resisted the urge to let her tongue grow sharper. Nothing about being noble was considerate. People like them couldn't afford to take feelings into consideration. Andraste desperately wanted another glass of wine, mostly because Lord Antoine had done a damn good job of making her feel both incompetent and, frankly, inferior. It was really a double-edged sword, because he was seemingly attempting to also talk her up at the same time.

"Of course," Andraste said, letting out a deep breath and allowing herself to feel deflated in the moment. She still didn't let that defeat play out on her features, though. This had been a good match and when it had been posed to her, Andraste had not rejected it. She liked socializing with suitors, but she had always had the quiet expectation that her father would match her. After all, he was the man that knew her best, and knew what she could and could not handle. He also had the connections that would set her up with someone who could handle her and her needs. Her own mother and father had been matched and they were perfectly in love, so it was weird to think that there would be resistance at all.

That said, she didn't want to voice those thoughts to Antoine. He seemed keen on taking the talk directly to his father, but the commotion behind them started, and she found herself turning her gaze back to Thomas once again. What... was he doing? Ena, her Espeon, had been socializing with a few other loose Pokemon, and returned to her mistress' feet, hackles raised a bit.

The woman did her best not to seem wildly insulted, or even embarrassed by what was happening between them. Her glass was empty, and truthfully, she couldn't keep her gaze off of it in order to look at Antoine. She had faced insurmountable odds, battles, fights of all types, and had a number of military accolades under her belt. But she'd never felt so anxious as she did now.

"That feels like a petty reason to arrange a marriage for someone who wouldn't appreciate it," Andraste finally said, taking in a deep breath and passing her empty glass onto a tray that was passing by. "But I'm almost flattered that your father sees me as a good match. I doubt that Thomas is going to feel the same, however," and here, her gaze went back to the man once more. She bit down on her bottom lip and then stopped, schooling her features once more so that no one would see her sweat.

"If you figure it out, please do enlighten me. I am still fairly shocked myself," Andraste murmured.

Andraste had to refrain from choking on the sip of wine she had taken. Clearing her throat, the woman lifted her head and stared hard at Antoine as if he had something entirely outlandish. Never mind that Thomas would take an explosive stance if told about the arrangement, but that he had a girlfriend already. Bringing her fingers to her lips, she tore her gaze away from Antoine as if she were feeling embarrassed.

She was. Terribly so. If this was to work, then how was she to compare to someone he already loved? What was her father thinking? What was Lord Benoit thinking?

"No," Andraste said, finishing her glass of wine in a single gulp, "I'll admit that I wasn't aware of that. I am not usually one to question the decisions my father makes for me," she continued, "Though I find myself now wondering what your father is playing at. Is he aiming to humiliate me for some reason, Lord Antoine?" she asked, turning her full attention onto the other man. "Because this is going a long way to do so."

Antoine Benoit

Ah. So Antoine was avoiding a blow up, then. Why had his father set up the arrangement if Thomas was such a loose canon? An unpredictable force in all of this? Tilting her head, she eyed Antoine and brought her wine to her lips, taking a delicate sip before bringing her glass down, clasped between both of her hands. Her gaze drifted toward Thomas one last time before she was lead away from the other man by his cousin.

Keeping her features calm so that no one would recognize that they were speaking about something too sensitive, Andraste sighed softly. "No one has told him, then," she said slowly, watching a few people dance together toward the center of the gala floor. The music was delicate but lively and Andraste found herself enjoying it for just a few moments while she tried to gather her thoughts. "And I'm guessing that you're worried my approaching him might set him off?" she asked, shifting a little. The beading in her dress caught the light.

"It appears as if he is well on the way to that without me," she observed, lifting an eyebrow at Antoine, "His behavior here will reflect on both of our families. I'm sure you realize. Do you have a handle on your cousin, Lord Antoine?"

Antoine Benoit

A beautiful gala, really. One of those events that truly enjoyed for the social aspect of things. With her mother, father, and her brother off mingling with their own groups of people, Andraste stood off to the side, taking a delicate sip of her Kalosian wine. A favorite of hers. A rich, dry red that she always gravitated to for the sheer enjoyment of it. Tonight, it wasn't something to enjoy, it was something to cling to. Her violet gaze had been following Thomas Benoit around the room, the news of her engagement still extremely fresh to her. Silently, she wondered if he knew about it at all, or if he was still blissfully unaware.

Uneasy about the news, Andraste was still tossing the idea about. They had been children the last time they had talked. Thomas' bullies had gotten their asses handed to them in a scuffle. Andraste had helped to patch up some of his scrapes. She, thinking he had been brave to stand up to those giving him intense trouble, had kissed him on the cheek. A sweet gesture with no romance behind it. She had been thirteen, after all.

Now, it seemed that he had changed more. Currently, she was watching the man take his next drink of multiple he had already thrown back. This would be an issue, and she wondered silently if her father had done any research into her betrothed's background, aside from the fact that he was already entangled with another. Dating someone else, and now officially engaged to herself, Andraste was unsure of what she was seeing. Truthfully, she was debating heading him off before he could grow more... intense than he already was.

With glass in hand, and her dark, delicate gown hissing across the floor, Andraste started to approach him, only to find herself headed off by Antoine Benoit. "Good evening, my Lord," she said softly, pressing a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, "Is there something that I can help you with?" she asked, though her gaze slid past him to Thomas.

Antoine Benoit , Thomas Benoit

"Thank you, Thomas," Andraste said in a sincere tone as they started toward the door together. He was a little sluggish on her feet, but Ena walked beside her, leaning heavily on her hip to give her some support. A little larger than a normal Espeon, the Pokemon's tail sat straight up while she eyed the approaching Eevee. Not at all distrusting, but seemingly comfortable with her previous form, Ena actually trailed around Andraste's legs to look up at Thomas and the Eevee he was snuggling against.

Smiling a little, Andraste put her fingers on Ena's head, watching Thomas show affection to his Pokemon. "Gene is a clever name," she suggested, starting to feel more relaxed now that she didn't really have to face the stress of the last few days. The only thing that reminded her of it was the lingering pain in her abdomen, but the Audinos had done a stellar job there.

"So... this is your place?" she asked, looking around with her brows furrowed. "It's... huge," she murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "And big enough to have guest bedrooms..." she shook her head, "You've done well for yourself, then," Andraste murmured and found herself reaching out to pat his shoulder.

Admittedly, she had been vastly irritated after the Livestream happened. One moment the deal between her father and his uncle was set, and the next, it was broken. Her father hadn't exactly forgiven Patrice Benoit, but what her father did not know right this moment, would not hurt him. He would have lost it if she knew that he was here.

Thomas Benoit

Andraste didn't know if it was the pain in her side or just her nerves, but asking to interview her was something of a big ask. That meant facing her grief and anger and putting it into words instead of the intense rage that she had been feeling for months. Glancing back at Thomas, she didn't hesitate in giving him a bit of an intense look, her dark brows furrowing.

"In truth, I don't think I'm ready for that yet," she said, "We don't exactly know one another well enough for me to confide any of that information in you. We were children, Thomas," Andy said simply, closing her eyes and letting out a heavy breath, "That is the last time that I saw you," she then reminded him, "I'm not saying no, but I am saying I'll come to you when I'm ready. There is quite a bit that I have not faced on my own about it all," she said, "Let alone put into words of any sort," she murmured and rubbed at her forehead.

In short, she needed time. She needed time and a moment to think about it because the night before she had been sure that she was dead until that masked persona had stepped up and ensured that she wasn't. It left a bitter taste in her mouth that she couldn't thank him or even ask him questions about why he had also been out there that night.

After a few long moments, Andraste turned to Thomas, her brows furrowing slightly, "I don't want to seem ungrateful for you taking me in and giving me a place where I can recover, but I'm not ready," her tone had shifted to something much softer and she felt the deep bite of emotion clogging her throat and pricking her eyes. Andy cleared her throat and wiped at her eyes with both hands in a big of a frantic manner. "Is that tour still on the table?" she asked as a way to distract herself.

Thomas Benoit

Gifting Elisabeth Fiorelli a Gacha Venusaur!