Luan Moretti

Daria ran her fingers through the younger submissive’s hair, tugging at the ends lightly as she compared the lengths.  “You cut it yourself you said?” she clarified knowing that she would be demanding money back if it had been done at an actual hairdressers.  “You could try this shampoo and……this conditioner will make it less fly away,” she explained as she ran her finger along the shelf to find the one she was thinking of.  It was on the tip of her tongue to offer to sort the girl’s hair but she knew she wouldn’t have time to finish it properly that afternoon along with her errands before Riccardo came home.  “It’s not to hard to fix, it just needs some straightening but it would be really hard to do yourself, even for someone with training.  Do you have someone who could trim it for you?”

Luan could tell from the way the other woman touched her hair that she knew what she was doing, or at least knew far more than Luan herself did.  “Mmhmmm.  I ummm... I d-didn’t really think about it I just... just d-did it.  It ummm... it w-was a lot longer before.”  She picked up the shampoo and conditioner that had been indicated, giving the labels a quick read but they revealed nothing to her really so she trusted the recommendation.  “Th-thank you, I ahh I’ll let you know how they w-work,” she murmured shyly but offered a grateful smile.  The shy girl shook her head in response to the question.  “I... I d-don’t have anyone.  I ummm... I know they a-ask questions and... and I won’t know the answers so... s-so I don’t see anyone.  Do ahh you know s-someone who could m-make it easier for me?”  She knew it was an extremely long shot but the stranger had helped with the shampoo so she thought she would try her luck.

Diana kept hold of Luan’s hand as they started to walk back to her house. But she was almost ridicuously pleased at the giggle and the personal comment as that was so much more than Luan would have done even a few months ago. “She is a very smart cat with impeccable taste. Which means I’m sure she’ll love you.”

Luan’s therapist had been encouraging her to be honest with herself and to embrace who she was and what she liked rather than being afraid and trying to hide all the time.  Having her hand held was one of the best ways for her to feel comforted and supported and though Diana wouldn’t have known that Luan offered her a grateful smile despite the sadness still hanging over her and gave the other woman’s hand a little squeeze with her own.  “Well ummm... m-maybe if she sits still long enough I could d-draw her but ahhh... that would mean not cuddling her any more s-so maybe I’ll save that for next time.”

Elle looked down at the drawing and felt her smile grow as she took in what she was seeing. The drawing looked remarkably like her. “That’s beautiful… You have an incredible talent.” Elle had always loved attention and was flattered by the sketch. “It’s so realistic.” She could only wish she had an artistic skill like the submissive. 

Luan’s face split into a huge, proud grin as the drawing was praised.  It was so rare for someone to see her art that receiving compliments for it were a rarity too.  “Well ummm... you’re really pretty M-Miss, so... so it’s easy to make it b-beautiful,” she admitted, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of pink.  “Would ahh... w-would you like it?  When it’s finished I m-mean.  I... I could give it to you if you like?”

“No darling, just whenever you find it will be fine.  If I’m not in you can leave it with my assistant and I will get it from them.”  Her tone was more clipped than she intended and she let out a long breath before she allowed herself to speak again.  “Do not worry about it though darling, there is no immediate rush. I have until next week to complete it.”

Luan nodded and finally gave up looking through her bag for the form.  She knew it was important but she kept forgetting to get it to Martina to finish off and send in.  “A-As soon as I find it I’ll b-bring it to you M-Miss, I ummm... I’m s-sorry I keep forgetting.  I... I want to work again a-and I want t-to help the family s-somehow.  I... I know it’s important.”

Bella nodded her head, slipping her arms around Luan’s waist. She was far more concerned with Luan not hurting herself. She hoped to take her outside for a bit of fresh air to help clear her mind. “Thank you.” She took the bottle in her hand, just wanting to keep it far from her at the moment. “May I ask why you hate Halloween? Are you not enjoying the party?”

Luan automatically moved in closer when she felt Bella’s arm slip around her waste, she felt better now she was with someone she knew.  “Thish -hic- and those is not fun or funny for me,” she explained as she pointed out a coffin which had been added for decoration, a particularly bloody looking zombie and a very elaborate costume where someone had created a realistic looking headwound.  Luan wished she could appreciate the artistry behind it but instead she felt the urge to cry start to rise once again.  “This is what I shee in -hic- nightmares,” she slurred, “I don’t like it being real... again.”

Listening to her speak, and watching her carefully, Carlo could tell that the alcohol she’d been drinking had definitely made an effect. Honestly, he would give just about anything to be in the same state she was in. It would dull his disappointment. That thought only made him feel even more pathetic at the fact that he had never really experienced things not particularly going his way and it had left him wholly unprepared to handle a failed attempted relationship, and watching another person he had interest in being in an arranged claim with his cousin. Yeah, he was definitely pathetic, and he definitely needed alcohol. A lot of it.

“Well, for someone who isn’t usually a party goer… heads up, this is usually what happens at a party.” Carlo gestured to her in her current state, but his comment was said in a friendly tone. Her reason for not liking Halloween left him feeling a bit sympathetic, and extremely curious, but he wasn’t the sort of person to pry. “Well, if you’re not a fan of costumes…” Carlo pulled his mask off, and shrugged, “Halloween is kind of a shit holiday anyway… is it even really a holiday? And I should’ve stayed home as well, but unfortunately it’s a family party and I don’t think they would be too happy if I didn’t show up. What’s your name?”

“I -hic- guesh I’ve been doing parties wrong since I started going to them then,” Luan replied with a shrug as she swayed slightly from side to side.  She had actually only started attending parties once she’d been accepted into the Montague family so her experiences were extremely limited.  She always seemed to hear about them at the last minute or after they had passed and direct invitations to events were extremely rare despite doing her best to ‘get out there’.  The shy girl smiled when he removed his mask, her own was dangling from her fingers having been removed when she had gone for her cry but being able to clearly see his face made her feel less apprehensive.

“Ish not a holiday, ish an excuse to scare people and eat too mush sugar.”  Luan’s head tilted to the side in a more exaggerated manner than it normally would, she knew what it was like to feel obligated to attend family events, though they had become far less frequent recently.  “I’m Lu- Luan.”  She held the bottle out towards the man before her.  “It’sh horrible but mu- made me feel better,” she explained with a small giggle and a hiccough.  “I got kissed by two Domme’s lasht Halloween.  That was my favourite,” she blurted out, her drunken state making her overshare horribly.  “But -hic- they’re both gone now.”

Keeping a wary eye on the goings on, Bella stuck to the edge of the room. While she longed to go and have fun, something more was going on. There had to be a reason as to why the Romanos invited the two most powerful families in Verona to their party. Hearing the drunken slurring, Bella turned her attention to the woman entering the room. “Luan dear, may I have the bottle please? I would like a sip.” The woman clearly had already had more than enough.

Luan was pleased to hear Bella’s voice as the masks everyone had been wearing had made it difficult to know who was around and the Domme was the first person she knew that she had encountered.  “Ish not very nice Miss,” she explained as she moved the bottle towards Bella far more wildly than she would have normally.  “But the bubbles are fi- fi- funny,” she added with a giggle and a hiccough.

Puck didn’t really know what had possessed him to go to the Halloween party. After all, he didn’t really know the hosts, and it was likely that he’d run into at least one of his patients there. Fortunately, the anonymity of the masks did somewhat help. But his ridiculous height, per usual, did him no favors.

He had just excused himself for a walk in one of the more quiet areas but had barely gotten out of the main crowd when he caught sight of a smaller woman who had clearly been drinking. That much could be determined from her speech before the bottle was even spotted. He gave her a gentle expression—as much as could be detected from under his mask—before reaching up to pull it off completely. “Why’s that?” He asked her gently.

Even in her rather drunken state Luan found there was something unnerving about the masks everyone was wearing, she didn’t like that she couldn’t tell who anyone was so when the man before her removed his she offered him a grateful smile.  “I don’t like the outfish... outfish... out-fits,” she replied and just as she was speaking a zombie with a realistic looking headwound came into her field of view.  Luan’s eyes became unfocused and incredibly distant as she swayed slightly on the spot.  “There’s sho much blood.  Ish everywhere.  It doesn’t go away.”  Her tone was as distant as her gaze which made it clear she wasn’t actually talking about costumes at the party.

Rafe had been on his best behavior for the evening. He greeted as many people as possible with Adelaide on his arm. She was proving to be the perfect companion. He excused himself from her presence to grab a drink. He headed toward the bar and almost ran into a woman who seemed…upset. “You do? You seem to be enjoying the open bar plenty.” He mused with a smirk on his face. 

Luan’s meandering path took her somehow to the bar which she hadn’t seen before due to her very hasty earlier exit.  Now that she wasn’t so panicked or overwhelmed she was able to appreciate the artistry that had gone into the bar decorations.  It took her a moment to realise someone was talking to her and then another few moments of puzzlement before she realised he was talking about the bottle in her hands.  “Oh thish?  It was an accident, ish not very nice but I feel better,” she explained and not wanting to get into trouble she continued, “I can pay for it if you like?”

Carlo was wondering when he had become the sort of person to hide away from the rest of the crowds at parties. Lately, it seemed as though he tried to make himself scarce. In truth, he hadn’t found very many things to celebrate. Originally, he’d thought that the party was a good idea, especially after the riots. Now that it had come, and he found himself alone, and not in the scenario that he’d imagined he would be in. Carlo had found a quiet corner, where he could watch the party, and not be noticed.

That was when a female appeared not too far from him, and he watched as she drank the bottle that was in her hand. Now, she’s got the right fucking idea, Carlo thought to himself. Why he hadn’t considered drinking an entire bottle of alcohol so he could find a way to forget all his stupid troubles, he didn’t know. He gave the unknown female an amused expression as she staggered past him, towards the party. “Do you really? I wouldn’t have guessed from how hard you’re partying now,” he commented, although she hadn’t particularly been speaking to him. “What do you hate about it, exactly?”

Luan was only vaguely aware of where she was and where she was going as she staggered forward but a sense of calm and taken over and it was only the slight spinning sensation that was getting to her now.  She swigged from her bottle and scowled at some bat decorations she spotted but continued on her way.  She stopped when a voice addressed her and she turned towards its owner, blinking a couple of times so her vision would focus.

The normally incredibly shy submissive didn’t feel the rush of anxiousness that always filled her when talking to a stranger and instead she responded straight away.  “Is thish what a party looks like?”  Her arms moved up and down wildly to indicate herself.  “I don’t know, I’m not ushually a party -hic- goer.”  His follow up question did make some of her usual anxiousness rise and she combated it by taking another swig from the bottle.  “Ish the costumes,” she slurred, “they remind me of... stuff.  That I don’t want to think about.  I’ve alwaysh hated it.  It’s horrible.  I should have stayed at home like lasht year.”

The bottle went untouched at first and when Luan finally decided to try it she thought the contents tasted horrible.  The bubbles gave her a strange tickling sensation though which distracted her from her dark thoughts.  As the contents of the bottle disappeared Luan felt her bravery increasing and soon found herself staggering back towards the party.  “I -hic- hate Halloween,” she said to the bottle before taking another swig from it.

Daria was looking for her usual shampoo but different store and a different way of organising everything meant she couldn’t just grab and go as she usually did.  Pausing to let the younger woman get what she wanted Daria’s trained eye ran over the ends of the woman’s hair and she frowned at the fact it didn’t seem even at all.  “Can I take a quick look at your hair?  Would you mind?” she asked suddenly.  “I might be able to advise you on the best product.”

The question caught Luan by surprise and she turned to look at the other woman with a very puzzled expression on her face for a moment.  She would be grateful for any help though as she had been struggling so she managed to offer a shy smile and a nod.  “O-ok but... b-but I know it’s a mess.  It was long and... and I cut it and n-now it... it doesn’t s-stay any more.  I ummm... I think I did it wrong.  I ahhh I’ll try anything if y-you think it’ll help.”