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[beenoble]

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text; un: starfield, idk early december sometime

[aididitmyway]

ok so
i don't really think you're the kind of person to get super mad
but also don't be mad

[beenoble]

Oh? I am now withholding any of the coming anger that I am potentially meant to be feeling in a moment. It is anger that I strongly doubt I would be harboring for you to begin with. What is it, Ruby?

[aididitmyway]

i made a mistake and got dragged off to the slut center
sorry
especially after how everyone kept telling me to make quota

[beenoble]

Oh, Ruby... I could never be angry at you for that. However, I am upset that it happened. Are you all right? I have never been there before, but I have heard about what they do...

If you need someone to keep you company, I will be there.

[aididitmyway]

it was pretty scary
i already got stuff taken care of so don't worry about that part
but i wouldn't mind NOT being alone
especially since they waited until there was no one to stop them from grabbing me

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand is trying to piece together what exactly happened to her, but it's hard when he's getting so rankled and rattled by the very notion of others scaring and grabbing her, and he imagines much worse happened that she won't mention. His device is shaking.]

Tell me where to go and I will come immediately.

[aididitmyway]

i'm at catsanova right now
i'm letting them know why i missed a shift since i was gone almost a whole day
i... think
i can meet you here??

[Truth be told, she honestly couldn't tell Ferdinand what happened anyway past being drugged and then tossed out once she woke up. She's not sure what happened while she was out, though, and that's what bothers her most.]

[beenoble]

I know where that is. I will be there in no time at all.

[Sure enough, in scarcely a half hour, Ferdinand enters Catsanova, looking to find Ruby straight away. When he does, he comes to her with an urgency like the trouble that had already befallen her might yet still, face wrought with the consternation that had been squirming in his chest and battering his imagination the whole way there.]

Ruby! Here I am. It relieves me to see that you look uninjured, but... that is not really the issue, is it?

[They took her, drugged her, and made her more susceptible to completing her quota. This is all that he understands of the process, but it is harrowing... and all after Ruby had been so determined to make the choice herself. Did they make her fulfill quota in front of them like the cold-hearted perverts that they were?]

[aididitmyway]

[She's found near the bar, where some fellow Catsanova employees are working, so that... y'know, she's not alone. She looks fine, if a little tired, and like she's skipped the usual makeup routine she does now that she has a contract (and the ability to buy what she wants).

But she does jump up to throw her arms around Ferdinand in a hug.]

Ferdinand! No, I'm not hurt. Just... bothered, I guess.

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand reciprocates the hug, his arms tight around her with the wish to make everything better throbbing in his chest. Or, at least, the desire to shield her from anything more.]

I am sorry that they put you through that. I wish I had known that you needed help, but I can understand the reluctance to comply with what they demand of us. It must have been difficult to ask for.

[aididitmyway]

[She doesn't pull back just yet, so her voice might be a little muffled, but...]

It... was. I thought I had more time and then I didn't, and—I don't even know what happened after they drugged me.

[Which... is terrifying, actually, especially given how long she'd been out of it and stuck in the facility.]

... I should've said something sooner, I'm sorry. It's my fault, I—I knew better and I still messed up.

[beenoble]

[A little bit of the terror at the notion of losing sense and time while at the mercy of their captors flickers across Ferdinand.]

Please do not blame yourself so much. [He takes her by the shoulders and leverages her a solemn look that manages to convey both the sympathy he holds for her and the contempt for those who kidnapped her.] You are a victim of their crooked system, and they are the perpetrators. They never even stopped to consider the mercy of going easy on a young woman who has barely had much time to adjust to these norms. I condemn them, for this and much more.

[aididitmyway]

[Ruby glances away, though it's not like she's not considering what he says. She's quiet for a moment before she sighs, and nods. But it sure doesn't seem like others have had a hard time adjusting, especially in comparison to her, even though she knows that she's logically, likely, not the only one to have ever had this problem.]

I... guess. But still. A bunch of people offered and that should've made asking easier.

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand sighs, too, his own emotions heightened and needing regulation. He keeps his hold on her, but it softens and slides down her upper arms.]

I do not think that it is doing us much good to dwell on what we could have or should have done to avert this. Let us instead focus on the present: you are safe, now. I am here for you, in whatever way that you need me to be.

[aididitmyway]

... I'm not even sure what I need right now... aside from not being alone. I already spoke to Hubert, too, and he's making me check in with him every month now. But—you know him. He's already kind of bossy.

[Even though she knows he means well, and it's an effort to keep her out of trouble and safe.]

I just... thought you should know while I was telling everyone else too, especially since you'd offered to help. Just in case you needed another reason to hate this stupid place.

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand's smile emerges as she calls Hubert out on his bossiness, and it hangs around thereafter.]

I really appreciate that. [He lets her go fully.] Thank you for thinking to let me know about something like this.

[aididitmyway]

You deserved to know, you're a friend.

But since you bothered to even come here, I could treat you to something to eat? Or drink! Or... something. I was just gonna ask if we could hang out at your apartment for awhile, but since we're here...

[beenoble]

There is no need to treat me for something like that. But I would love to share a meal with you here. Come, let us find somewhere comfortable to sit.

[aididitmyway]

There's no need, but I want to! So if I catch you trying to pay, I'm gonna be mad.

[Though, it is at least said jokingly. Thankfully, there is a nice corner nearby, free from people dressed up as cats seducing other people and the people getting drunk at the bar. It's pretty quiet.]

So, get what you want.

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand smirks at her, the gleam in his eyes indicating a challenge.]

Ooh, we cannot have that. But what if I want to treat a friend because she has been through something horrible, and I want to express that I care and want to lift her up? Would you deny me that?

[aididitmyway]

Don't even try. You already cooked something for me, but I can't cook, so this is the next best thing! Don't you want to let your friend exercise her new right to purchase things??? Or even get it for a discount because she works there!

[She points at her eyes and points back, like bring it on you dumb boy.]

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand's eyes widen as he realizes that she makes an indubitably good point, one that any bit of persuasive ammunition he might have to contest against hers would never match or hope to defeat. The nature of his smile shifts from one of self-assuredness to affable compliance, his palms raising up above the table.]

All right. I concede to your extraordinarily compelling arguments. I would like to try the 'cat-purr-ese' salad.

[It's pretty much a caprese salad, just catpunned up because I have a compulsion I have to heed.]

[aididitmyway]

[When Ferdinand concedes, a smug smirk appears on her face before she calls someone over so they can order. A cat-purr-ese salad and a catsu curry, delicious food.]

I knew you'd give in and see it my way. A totally reasonable change of heart! I'll let you win next time, though, okay? We can trade.

[beenoble]

[Ferdinand huffs good-naturedly, crossing his arms.]

There is no satisfaction to be had in victory if it is just handed to you! But next time, I will definitely get one over you. For now, I will simply accept defeat and enjoy my salad, courtesy of you.

[aididitmyway]

What, so I should make it worthwhile? I think I can do that. I'll even pretend to lose horribly. People love that act on variety shows!

[But she does laugh, at least, good-naturedly. All things considered, she does seem somewhat happy, and is relaxing a ton now that someone familiar is around.]