Elunara opened the door and blinked at Lydia. "Something wrong?"
"Can I hang out with you today?" She sighed.
"Oh, Honey, are they bothering you again?"
"The exact opposite." Lydia walked in and flopped down on the couch. "Now EVERYBODY wants to be my friend." She sighed. "I don't know what to DO."
"Well, first you've got to sort the old from the new. Who was kind to you before, who was mean to you before, and then you have to figure it out from there."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Come on. How about, instead of you hanging out with me, I hang out with you, and give you some pointers on dealing with people as they come."
"Really?"
"Let me get my board."
"First and foremost, give me a list of people that were your friends before you went to Draenor. Then, your friends in Draenor, followed by those who were your friends when you came back."
"Ok." Lydia scribbled on the sheet of paper.
"Then, you will give me a list of those who were directly mean to you, followed by the incidentals."
"Incidentals?"
"Include people who stood by, but didn't say anything; those who tried to get away, rather than participate. Anyone who looked coerced."
"I... didn't even think of that."
"These may not be your friend, but they're not your enemy. These people you can work with."
"Alright."
"If you can't think of their name, or didn't know it in the first place, write a description."
"Okay." She looked at the pages. "I can't think of any more."
Elunara took the pages and began to make marks. "First we cross reference. Who is where, who stayed, who left, etc. If they've never been nice to you, then they should be high on the list of "not going to happen". If they've always been nice, even if they were cowards when you were being attacked, they go on the list of potential friends. Of course, Bradly and Darguni top the list of "known friends"." Elunara winked.
Lydia giggled. "Yeah."
"Alright, let's walk."
"What you want to learn how to do; is to read people. There are three main points, the eyes, the face and the body. You can tell in the shifting of the eyes, where they look, how they look. There's a million tells in the face, the lips, muscle twitches, etc. The body itself is a pretty easy place to start, but there's a lot more moving parts. I'll do my best to explain as we go."
"Alright."
A little while later, with a crowd of girls following behind them, they were headed off by six girls. Elunara raised an eyebrow.
"Gingy, the center one, red hair, she said it."
"Her cohorts?"
"Her "inner circle". The elite of the elite, so to speak."
Elunara inwardly rolled her eyes. "Head up, my girl. You hold the power here. I want to watch you talk to them. Remember, Night Elf ears are very sensitive, I'll even tell you what they mutter under their breath."
Lydia nodded. Walking forward, she gave a bored sigh. "What is it Gingy?"
"I..." Gingy eyed the Night Elf. "I've... come to... apologize." She grit out.
"Apologize for what?" Lydia raised an eyebrow like she'd seen Elunara do.
Gingy took a deep cleansing breath, put on her best hostess smile, and opened her eyes. "For saying... that... to you. It was cruel of me. Please forgive me."
Lydia turned and walked back to Elunara.
"You know my policies on forced apologies."
"They're bullshit?"
"Exactly. That little bitch hates you, but she was told she better apologize, or else." Elunara tapped her board. "Now, how do I know this?"
Lydia considered. "Well, her eyes are mean, her face says hate, and she growled at me."
"She's not only crossing her arms, but she's doing it so tightly, she's losing blood circulation in her arms. She's gritting her teeth so hard; I can practically hear them cracking. When she went into "polite hostess" mode, her voice went to that sickly sweet annoyance." Elunara shook her head. "How do you intend to handle this?"
"I'm not accepting it."
"Good. Now, to refuse her, but still look like the better person, here is my suggestion."
Lydia watched Gingy glare at her, but when she turned to walk over, Gingy shifted, went back for polite hostess. "I refuse. I would rather you openly and honestly hate me, than falsely like me. While you offer your apologies, you are lying to my face. Stop it."
Gingy stared at her as if slapped. She glared at Elunara. "Did SHE tell you to say that?"
"Unlike some people, I do not need to be told what to say. Please, vacate my personal space, and stop wasting my time." Lydia pushed past her.
Gingy openly gawked.
Elunara grinned as she walked past the little snot, and fell into step with Lydia. "Nicely done, my girl."
"That felt, SO good."
"So, explain the little bitch to me."
"Well, her father is a decorated Admiral, since retired, and her mother is a noblewoman from a long line of them. Her uncle is a magistrate in the Keep, and her aunt is..."
"Wait, I think I know that guy. Short, fat, bushy, black mustache, tends to wear lots of green? Mother named Misty?"
"Yes, that's them."
"I know that whole family..." Elunara considered. "Well, that just explains every damned thing."
"What do you mean?"
"What you're dealing with, is a family that grew up in prestige and class, and probably didn't learn a damned thing about it. Gingy's mother is the type of woman, whose sole existence is to be pretty. If she lost everything, she'd probably starve to death. Some of the privileged upper class women are literally raised on how to snag an eligible and acceptable husband and keep his home. That is IT. It's really kind of sad. I, for one, have had dealings with her and her brother the magistrate." Elunara shrugged. "They do NOT like my dallying with the king, but they're not about to say it to my face."
"Oh."
"Ages before, Gingy's mother had the hots for Varian. Oh, man, you have NO idea how hard she tried. However, Varian has better taste. When we first... had dallyings, I learned real quick what kind of person she was. She tried to use "beauty" against me. As if it was a weapon, how she was the most beautiful among the women of Stormwind, how she had the better title, the better upbringing. She said all of this to me as if I gave a rat's ass. Varian and I used to giggle about her behind her back." Elunara sighed. "It's no wonder Gingy picks on you, because, even though you're stuck in her range, you will never be "her" kind of pretty." She stopped and brushed a hand over Lydia's cheek. "You are a very pretty girl, but you weren't "born" pretty. To someone like Gingy, this is a crime in and of itself."
Lydia bit her lip. "But, you fixed me."
"But, you can never BE perfect, because you WEREN'T. That is the mindset that these people have. I think you're just perfect." She put a hand on Lydia's head. "In fact, that reminds me." Elunara jerked her head, and Lydia fell in step beside her. "I never held much in the word perfect. There's no such thing. In fact, look at me... I dress in pants, I act manish, I talk manish, and that's how I like myself. Yet, I am the most desired woman in this whole damned city. You can put a pig in a dress, but it's still a pig. However, the pig LIKES being a pig, and can't figure out why the hell you just put a dress on him."
Lydia giggled.
"Then again, maybe the pig just wants to feel pretty, and who are we to judge his lifestyle?"
