This, this whole trip is one of Kell's, miraculously rare recently, I hate my life moments. The murder cave was of course nothing pleasant. In fact, it was full on horror that he still hasn't recovered from. But this is different kind of dread. A more familiar one. It's nothing life threatening, no. It just brings back memories, words, impressions, and the all-to-well-recognized feeling of near suffocating behind a fake smile. Nothing feels like home as this does.

It's also the first time since return to Thorne that he strayed from company. First time deciding to venture somewhere completely on his own. This is a different city so he hoped he'll be fine. Largely he is, but then there's the task at hand. He must somehow figure out how to look presentable at the Gala. Without Rhy's help, since he had declared he can do it on his own.

Which only ended with him standing just a bit to the side of a clothing shop entrance - a tailor's? - looking utterly clueless. The easy choice would be to go for royal red as he did back home on similar occasions, but he can't. He can't imagine he'd last the whole evening without collapsing into a sad pile of misery, and probably taking Rhy with him. He's rarely ever homesick here, but this could easily cross the line.