Since coming to the sanctuary a second time, Andrea had been shown a different side of the building. She had seen hide nor hair of the girl she still had nightmares of, nor her little pet skunk, but she had met a few friendly faces. The receptionist had been very kind to her, more so than Andrea had expected at first- being so new and all. People she had chatted with here and there seemed nice... if a little strange (in what way she couldn't exactly put her finger on), but for the most part she was beginning to feel at home.

..not that it kept the terrible loneliness away at night. The Greek had found herself shedding tears more in the last week than she had in all of her previous years. Her room wasn't like the room she had shared with Verdy... it was cold, and barren of warmth. She missed bumping into people she knew, and she missed terribly the loud voice of a man that she had grown so accustomed to- even his awful cursing. There was one soul that kept her from delving into a fully anti-social life style though... a teen who had taken it onto herself to break the Greeks awkward shell and force her to have fun- whether she liked it or not.

Allie was new to the sanctuary, and right from the get go she had shown those who had met her that her small frame just barely contained her massive personality. A personality that sometimes (more often than not) grated on the nerves of those who she was trying to interact with. The girl was a mutant only because she had sprouted small blue scales all down her arms, back, and legs. Even though she lacked proper powers to match her attitude, she had marched herself towards those that held the title of mutant, and pretty much refused to leave. Andrea had been enjoying a lazy, secluded nap before a pounding started up at her door and she was dragged from her semi sleep. She had been thrust into borrowed clothing, an attempt at makeup was made- but thankfully failed, and she was dragged from her room with a hurried and excited explanation of where they were going.

Before she knew it the smell of beer- she assumed- filled the air in the packed little corner bar that Allie had dragged them to. 'Them' being herself, Allie, and Lenna- who she had pretty much begged to come along, least Allie be the end of her. Andrea glanced around the bar, wishing with all of her might that the eighteen year old at her side would let them cross into the other section of the bar, where people were sitting and enjoying nice, quite meals. The little fake ID Allie had slipped her felt like it was burning a hole in the back pocket of her borrowed jeans. She knew it was against the law to have such a thing... especially when you were technically not supposed to be in the country... but it was relatively hard for her to say no to peer pressure... and Allie in general.

She turned her attention from trying not to look suspicious, to where Allie had plopped them down. At a table in the middle of a rambunctious room, where men and women were jumping around whooping and hollering in celebration over something... and worst of all, Allie had vanished somewhere without a word. "....Have we been.." What was the word kids were using these days...? "...Ditched?" She turned her eyes to her heaven sent companion, who had thus far enabled her to look less like a Snake-haired Kermit the Frog (props to shin!), and more like a normal person. She had hardly spoken to Lenna since they had been dragged out into the night, but since Allie had disappeared, she figured now was as good a time as any. Andrea plucked at the shirt she had been forced into... some red silky thing that dipped way to far in back, and frowned at the pink concoction she had been handed upon arrival. It was no doubt a mixed drink... but she was unsure of what to do with it. She had never touched alcohol before...

“You make me feel like daaaaaancing! I wanna dance the night away~~!”

Mat had no idea why that particular song was in his head. He wasn't even all that sure how the song actually went. But he knew the chorus, and that was enough.

“You make me feeeeeeeeeeeel like daaaaaancing! I wanna da--”

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” came the reply from the bloke sitting a few stools away. Judging by the angry look on his face, he clearly was no music aficionado. Mat turned to face him, a devil may care grin on his face.

“Whassamatter, sweet pea? You don't like my singing?” The sarcasm may have been uncalled for, but really, Mat couldn't have cared less.

“You can either shut up, or I'll shut you up. How's that?”

Mat bared his teeth, making his grin just that bit more menacing. “You can try mate, but no guarantees there.”

The bartender, who had been watching Mat's impromptu performance with a simple shaking of his head, decided that now was the time to step in. “You,” he said to the man, “keep your threats to yourself. And you,” he said to Mat, grabbing the empty glass on the bar and refilling it, “I'll give you this drink for free if you sit somewhere else.” Mat eyed the drink, made a show of weighing up his options, and took the peace offering.

“Sure, mate,” he said to the bartender, who only gave a weary nod, like he'd had to deal with this sort of thing before. Probably had. Mat took a deep sip of his beer, then raised the glass to the man who was still fuming. “Cheers, d**khead!” he toasted, in his most chipper voice. With that, he turned and pushed through the crowds, spilling beer over himself and others in the process.

What had started off as a few quiet drinks in a small little corner pub had soon turned into a few more quiet drinks when Mat realised that he had nothing else to do and nowhere else to go. He still hadn't been back to the mansion since the incident with Kealey and Agnes. Had no desire to go back to all that preaching. And his night at the secret rave he had stumbled across several nights ago had rekindled a hedonistic and rebellious streak in Mat that had been semi-dormant since Melbourne. Cash was somewhat of an issue. He had managed to sell a few sculptures at ridiculously marked up prices, but the customers weren't biting quite as he hoped. Still, that didn't mean his sculptures hadn't helped him acquire some income. After all, they made great distractions for dragging shopkeepers away from their cash registers. Mat had to admit to himself, it wasn't often that he resorted to outright robbery, but that voice that occasionally warned him off such actions had been silent.

And silence, as we know, can be interpreted as acquiescence.

Since he had arrived, the place had gathered quite a crowd. Quite a rowdy crowd, in fact. Very vocal, and very excitable. They were gathering for something, but Mat couldn't be bothered trying to find out what. All he knew is that a loose crowd meant an excuse to get loose himself. Not that he needed the encouragement of others to indulge himself tonight. He bumped into a passing girl, and turned to apologise, but she had already moved on. Mat could swear he had seen a glimpse of blue scaling on her arms...

Now in the midst of the crowd, away from the bar and the killjoy sitting there, Mat figured he might find a more receptive audience amongst the rowdier patrons. So sculling his drink, Mat let out a belch and took a deep breath. Time to cast the line and see who bites. With the most absurd song he could think of. Not to mention the hand motions that went with it.

“Incy wincy spider, climbed up the waterspout~~”

The things he did to keep himself amused...

"Ditched?" Lenna looked at Andrea. She arched an eyebrow. "Wasn't it you who was worried she'd drag you off to your bloody demise? Isn't this less for you to worry about?" Her eyes dropped to the drink. "How about we ditch the candy and go for something better, to celebrate?"

What was better than candy? Rum, rum, rumrum rum! Lenna turned to the bartender and held up two fingers. "Captain Morgan's. Two." She ordered up without consulting with Andrea. The girl would thank her. And if not, what business did she have drinking?

Andrea'd been worried a lot lately. She hadn't seemed happy, from what Lenna had seen. The girl needed to cut loose. This was a prime opportunity for that. To put it bluntly, she needed a man to help her forget about her problems.

As Lenna glanced over her shoulder towards the crowd, one singing voice stood out. Nobody else was singing that badly. Nobody else was singing at all. He was kind of cute, too. Not too pretty for Andrea.

"How about him?" She nudged Andrea's side with her elbow, urging her to turn around. She pointed a finger towards the guy with dark hair and dark splotches on his shirt. And his pants.

"Wasn't it you who was worried she'd drag you off to your bloody demise? Isn't this less for you to worry about?

The twenty three year old was struck. Lenna... had a point. She had been so caught up with whatever nefarious plan Allie had conjured, that she couldn't think about anything else. With the scaled girl gone, to who knew where, she was off the hook... right? "..You are, correct." She started, poking at the drink in question. She chuckled, "..Sorry for being so uptight."

"Captain Morgan's. Two."

Two whats? She had never heard of that drink before... Which, worried her a little. (but then again, she didn't know the names of most drinks these days) She watched as the bartender filled two short glasses with a caramel colored liqueur, some garnishes, then set them down before the two women. She blinked at the drink, reaching out with a gloved hand to pick it up, then turned to see what others in the bar were drinking- and how.

Some downed the contents of their cups with a quick jerk of their heads, others had little straws and merely sipped at their drinks. Andrea felt pretty out of the loop.. so she resolved herself to simply copy whatever Lenna did. While Lenna was looking around, Andrea sniffed at her drink, then took a generous gulp.

...it did not taste like caramel. It tasted like burning.

It took everything within her, every ounce of control and power to swallow the mouthful, instead of spitting it across the counter. "..Oh... this is... strong." Her voice was almost a wheeze. She coughed, and set her cup down for a moment. "How about him?" Blinking, she glanced over, enjoying life without sunglasses on, and searched for whoever Lenna was pointing to. "Huh? ...Him who?"... and further more, why was there suddenly a him involved? Blue eyes caught sight of the stained shirt and pants, and her ears picked up the singing. She recognized him almost instantly.

"...Oh! That's Mat. Wait- Mat?... what's he doing here?!... oh no..."

She suddenly felt rather naked without her coat on... and there was a draft somewhere running icy fingers up her bare back. Andrea turned back toward the bar and tried to hunch over and hide herself. Damn Allie and her skimpy choice in clothing! Her naive mind was still a whirl trying to pinpoint exactly why Lenna had picked mat out of the crowd, and her drink was sitting right there in front of her. Hell, she was going to try and loosen up tonight, right? She may as well start by finishing her drink.

Andrea picked up her glass, and copied a man she had seen earlier by trying to down the whole thing in one gulp. A girl and her boy friend sitting just down from her stared as she coughed, and slammed her glass down- newly emptied. Rum ravaged the back of her throat, and numbed her tongue, and the fumes made her nose wrinkle. "Alright... I can-.. I can do this." She wasn't green, her snakes were for the most part hidden by her hair... she could do this! "..I... will be right back." Now, if she could just keep her voice from cracking she'd be just great!

She turned, and noticed that Mat had made his way closer. He was dancing and singing. Slipping from her seat she dodged other people that were dancing, and headed his way. "...M-..mat?" She wasn't sure if he had heard her... so she stepped closer and tried again. "Mat...?"

“...out came the sunshine, and dried up all the rain. Sooo~~”

“Itsy bitsy spider, climbed up the spout again!”

Luckily for Mat, several people in this crowd were just as drunk and foolish as him. Probably as easily amused too, because several of them had taken up the song Mat was singing, joining in with the hand gestures and singing along. A cacophony of slurred warbling.

The silly things people will join in on...

With his newfound small, but committed audience, Mat decided to take this show on tour. By tour, he meant the small proximity around where he was currently dancing around. Several tables were filled with various patrons, all staring at his antics with a mixed assortment of annoyance and amusement. Joy was filling Mat's chest, the happiness that comes with cheering people up by making a fool of oneself. Tonight wasn't about being serious. Tonight was about fun.

“And again! Incy wincy spider...~~”

>>> “Mat..?”

He barely heard the voice over his own racket and the general noise of patrons hooting and hollering at whatever was drawing their attention. A sporting event, Mat guessed. The voice caught his attention and Mat turned to see who it was emanating from.

“Whoa!” A girl was standing close. Closer than Mat was anticipating, startling him and causing to stagger back a step or two. Gathering himself, he grinned and stepped forward once more. “Sorry love, you caught me off guard there.” She had referred to Mat by name, but now that he was looking at her, he couldn't recall ever meeting her. She was very easy on the eyes, though, in her silky red dress and thick white scarf. Especially with those gorgeous blue peepers of hers. And yet, there was something familiar about her. He racked his grog-addled memory, and found he still wasn't able to place her.

Only one way to find out.

“Er...have we met? Mat realised how rude that may have sounded, the alcohol making him a touch more blunt than intended, and gave a confident grin to cover his mistake. “Because I'm sure I'd remember a face as beautiful as yours.”

When in doubt, flattery.

Andrea was darn right she was right. "No need to apologize," Lenna commented. "Just loosen up." With what? Ruuuuuuum~~! Lenna ordered. Then, she turned her attention to further ways she could get the snake lady to let down her hair.

She hardly heard Andrea's complaint about her drink. That singing was LOUD. And not good. And has she mentioned bad? And... Andrea knew him.

"Mat?" Lenna looked to Andrea curiously. The girl knew him? How well? Judging from the way she tried hunching down to avoid his attention, pretty damn well. Lenna opened her mouth to make a comment on the subject, but... "Are you okay?" Andrea nearly lost the majority of her drink in a coughing spasm. Her brow furrowed slightly in worry.

Andrea gathered her resolve. She got up and left her. She could do... what? "Atta girl." Lenna watched her go. She watched her go and try and pick up a manboy. At least, that's what she thought she saw.

“Sorry love, you caught me off guard there.”

Her cheeks tinted pink, and she smiled sheepishly. She had kind of sneaked up on him, hadn't she? "Sorry... you were just in the middle of such a rousing rendition of the Itsy Bitsy Spider, that I was afraid to interrupt..." She shifted awkwardly, clasping her hands behind her back, and nervously shifted her eyes away from him to the crowd of people who were carrying on with the nursery song.

“Er...have we met?""Because I'm sure I'd remember a face as beautiful as yours.”

The color in her cheeks darkened to red, and she brought a hand to her lips. Surely... he had to recognize her... a little? Maybe it was the obvious changes to her person, she doubted he would ever expect to see her in pink flesh tones.

or maybe it was the drink... "You, sir, are drunk." She coupled the statement with a polite laugh, and wondered why she felt suddenly lighter on her feet. Or maybe it was that her head felt a little more empty, what had she been about to say again? Turning, she glanced over her shoulder in a panic to where Lenna still sat and chewed on one of her nails, then suddenly remembered that she had left the woman alone.

"Oh! How rude of me... I have a table, with a friend.. would you, erm, care to join us... Mat?"

She idly wondered how long it would take him to realize who she was... she decided to try and tip-toe around spelling it out for him- though she couldn't really figure out why that thought amused her so much all of the sudden. Taking a step back, she bumped into a patron behind her and nearly toppled over, before catching herself on a chair. She was starting to feel a little scatter brained. "Ah, sorry!" Shooting another lopsided smile Mat's way, she reached out for his hand- eager to make it back to her seat and have another drink... maybe... probably. (totally)

The strange girl blushed at Mat's words, her face flushing crimson. Fingers lifted to her lips, giving her a shy, demure demeanour. All that after one cheesy line. Mat couldn't help but laugh to himself and admire the woman in front of him.

>>> “You, sir, are drunk.”

“I am, but that's beside the point,” he grinned back.

Mat racked his brain, trying to place this mystery woman who knew his name. Still no clue. No hints or inklings, no hunches or gut feelings. Even though he had said it as a cheap, throwaway line, Mat honestly felt that he would remember a face like hers. She was gorgeous, after all. A unique beauty, a one of a kind type of beauty. Not the skanky, shallow attractiveness of many of the women here. There was something charming about her, about her bashfulness.

>>> "Oh! How rude of me... I have a table, with a friend.. would you, erm, care to join us... Mat?"

Mat glanced over to where the woman had looked. He spied another attractive woman, a little blondie. Nice looking and all, but his eyes drifted back towards the girl in front of him. He could swear that he heard a trace of an accent in her voice. Before he could answer her though, she had stumbled back into someone and nearly lost the battle against gravity. Luckily, she caught herself before the inevitable tumble.

“You, madam, are also drunk,” Mat teased.

She reached for his hand, and Mat, having no objections whatsoever, took her delicate appendage in his own. This action, this one simple gesture set Mat's heart racing. This one simple gesture reminded of someone he hadn't though of in some time. The last girl he had gotten close to. Shy and timid, and oh so adorable. This girl in front of him, Mat knew why she seemed familiar now. She reminded him of...

No way...

“Andrea?”

He stared at her a moment, peering through his drunk-hazed vision, trying to make sense of his sudden epiphany. Now that he had had his realisation, it was obvious. Her delicate features. The accent. The white scarf which, upon closer inspection, had scales. The blushing! It was her alright. Except...

“Andrea, what happened to you? You're pink!”

Lenna watched as the two of them flirted... clumsily. And nearly fell on their backsides. She arched an eyebrow. How easy was it for that girl to get drunk? It was a good thing the man had been there, in case she'd fallen harder.

It seemed said man finally realized who the girl was... apparently, he hadn't, before then. Because he was drunk.

Again, Lenna watched how it all played out, only a stone's throw away from Andrea in case the drunk girl needed her help.

She tugged him toward where Lenna sat, a goofy smile converging on her lips. Oh yes, the drink was setting in, veeery quickly now. She paid little attention to the others around her, her mind fixed on ordering another drink once she was back to the table and what she wanted to talk to Mat about, while still remaining aloof enough that mat wouldn't see though her peachy disguise.

"To clarefy.." She started, her accent kicking in harder than she intended. "I am nyther drunk, nor sober... but a plesunt in-behtween." She giggled, turning to peek over her shoulder at him for a moment. It looked like he was thinking...

"Andrea?"

Blast! The jig was up, he had figured it out. “Andrea, what happened to you? You're pink!”

"You caught me!"

Grinning in response, she withheld an explanation until she was back at the bar and sitting. "Oh, that is jus tempurary... Maht, This is Lennah, Lennah- Maht. She is teaching me to- one secont... ahnother of these!" She didn't remember what it was called, but the bar tender seemed to recall well enough. Swiveling on her bar stool, she threw a grin at both of her companions and clasped her hands in her lap. "Lennah is teaching me to cohm out of my shell!" She swiveled back around as her drink was set down behind her, and giggled again. "eet's nice, ...blunding in whall doing so."

her nose wrinkled in annoyance. Okay, so maybe she had let a little too much accent slip past. Her words were starting to blend into each other... Before she took a sip of the burning, intoxicating drink, she speared her male friend with a pale blue eyed look, chock full of curiosity. "Do I reahlly look that deefrant?" She blinked at him, before turning the same questioning gaze Lenna's way. Then, with a grin she raise her glass in salute and took a careful gulp. It was an off feeling... each sip brought warmth to her face, and made her stomach tingle in a pleasant, chilly sort of way.

...She was beginning to like this drink, more than she cared to admit.