One Hot Mess (Dendra Tess)

[Molly Black]

Encumbered by an armful of shopping bags, Molly Black departed a storefront boasting the sign: 'Beauty Products from Around the Galaxy!' Not really concerned with budgeting now that she had turned things in her favor, she had treated herself to a shopping trip. Just the essentials. And...whatever had been on clearance. And.. a few other things.

Shifting the weighty bags, Molly reached for the lift's call button, layers of silvery bracelets jingling as she did. As usual, there were other people milling about in the area. Waiting on other people, or just nowhere to go, she could neither say, nor care.

While she waited, Molly's gaze did happen to set upon a peculiar sight for the upper levels of the city. A young woman who had quite obviously fallen on hard times, or the galaxies crappiest day. Her formerly professionally hued locks were a nondescript gray-green, matted and rather dusty looking. As was the rest of her.

Curious. Molly looked up and around cautiously, as though a poorly managed vent might release the same grime upon her. Nothing though.

"So..umm. You doing ok there, love?"

[Dendra Tess]

The 'peculiar sight' was currently situated in front of an advertisement sign, cerulean eyes focused intently upon the finely adorned woman displayed there; her hair perfectly done, her willowy limbs draped with gold and gems, and her expression joyful. Dendra Tess clearly couldn't relate on even the most basic level at this current point in her life. Having just stowed away on whatever freighter was headed furthest away from her captor, her physical and emotional states both reflected the harrowing journey she had been on both before and after her escape from him. The culmination of sounds that floated on the air around her seemed to not pierce her intense perusal of the fortunate model on the screen before her. Not until the faint tinkling of silver bangles tugged her out of her envious trance and wheeled her attention around to the equally beautiful woman speaking nearby. Not to someone else. Her. She was talking to her.

Her pierced brow furrowed and she glanced once more at the advertisement, the intensity of her expression deflating into a look of pure misery. "I.... look like a sea creature..." She murmured forlornly, having caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glossy panel and thus revealing the sad subject of her attention. Truthfully, she had never sunk, an appropriate word given her apt description, to such a low in all her days. That horrible, devil-spawn had truly debased her beyond recognition. She wouldn't cry, she wasn't the crying sort. No, no! Why was her face wet! Gods be DAMNED. "Oh, this is horrible!" She wailed, half tempted to put her fist through the advertisement so she wouldn't be subjected to her own reflection any longer.

[Molly Black]

"Unfortunately, yes. That is true." Molly, helpful as ever, confirmed. The girl looked like something a sea creature had spat out half digested, which then had been tossed around a sandy beach, and then dropped onto her present bench. But there was no need to elaborate!

Obviously the state she was in had finally caught up with the girl, who was now dripping in tears. Happily though, they were washing away some of the grime, revealing clear pale skin beneath. Maybe she could help them. Molly leaned in an gave a discreet sniff. "You smell like one too."

As expected the blubbering only increased. It was doing wonders, actually. When enough tears had fallen, Molly searched for something to wipe the girl's face with. A napkin left over from her lunch was the best she could find. She stuck it at her. "There, there.. I'm sure it's a good story though, am I right?"

The lift chimed. She was supposed to be going in. Molly chewed her lip in indecision.

"Oh, come on. What's one more piece of chaos in my life at this point, I ask? Honestly! Let's go, I'll get you fixed up and you can enlighten me, or not."

[Dendra Tess]

The woman's confirmation didn't help matters. She suddenly had the urge to slam her fist through the advertisement sign and reduce the model, sprawled languidly across it, into the same shattered mess that she was. Dendra's hysterics intensified abruptly with an indignant huff, her azure gaze swiveling to the woman who leaned in and gave her a sniff. Oh great, she smelled horrible too. This was a disaster.

The formerly blue-haired woman looked over her tormentor's shoulder as the lift binged. Then, the invitation. Not a tormentor then but a possible savior dripping in shopping bags? Dendra collected what remained of her dignity and shuffled into the lift ahead of the woman.

"Dendra Tess." She introduced miserably. "As you may have guessed, I don't usually look like this. It's just been a rough.." Hellish. "..couple of months."

[Molly Black]

Dendra "Helluvamess" Tess it would forever be, no going back now.

"So I see. I'm Molly by the way." Said the girl meant to be going by Temperance Minock. Damn, she had been Molly Black long enough now that being anyone else was weird.

"I've been on a bit of a rough patch myself. I've had some help getting back on my feet, let me pay it forward and do the same for you? For goodness sake let me wash your hair..", Molly eyed the mass suspiciously, from the opposite side of the lift.

The apartment that Molly was currently in was decidedly not in the upper districts. The lift descended for some time, then there were two trams, and a walk ahead but at least some of the smell might blow away with the dust..

"Let me guess. A man was involved."