Meena fidgeted in her stupid dress with her stupid heels and bemoaned her past self. Mr. Moon was having some party for some milestone of the new theater. One month anniversary? Who knows. She stopped listening after party because he was talking about fancy-clothes-small-talk-suffocating party, not pizza-and-friends, and she was obviously not going. Right?
Wrong. Mr. Moon had even said "Attendance isn't mandatory, come if you want." He practically handed her a way out of showing up, but when he went around to see who was going, her voice said "I'll go." before her brain could catch up. Everyone looked at her, stunned. Even Mike was too shocked to mouth off. "O-Ok." Moon stuttered, and moved on. At the time, it just made her more determined. She was getting over this nervousness thing. She practically owned the stage when she preformed. This would be easy.
It was only later on that she was picking out her outfit that it hit her. There would be no stage. No singing. No performance. Singing was a sprint. One or two songs, three max. Then you're done. This party would go on for hours. It would be a marathon. But she wasn't backing out now. She had told the Theater Family that she would be there, and be there she would. A sliver of determination found it's way into her heart, and she clung to it desperately. She'd need every iota she could get.
She got to the party, and everything was in full swing. The band was playing (poorly, in her opinion, but her standards were high), people were chatting, and alcohol she couldn't drink was flowing. She made it halfway across the room before she got noticed. And when it hit, it hit hard. She was (arguably) the biggest hit at their Show in the Rubble. She near-literally brought the house down. So when everyone saw the elephant with the voice that could make angels cry, they had to meet her. All at once. In one big freaking swarm.
"Meena! Meena! Can I get an autograph?"
"Meena! What's in the works for your next song?"
"Meena! How do you keep your voice in such good condition?"
"Meena over here!"
"Meena!"
"Meena!"
It took every shred of her willpower not to turn and bolt for the door. As it was, she was pretty sure she was hunching over and stuttering. There were just too many voices.
"OW!" "Aie! Hey, watch it!" "Ouch! Jeez, those are sharp."
Meena looked up from the floor (when did she start looking at the floor?) to see all the people clearing out a hole in the crowd. And at the head, parting them like the Red Sea, was Ash. Using her quills as a deterrent, she poked, pricked, and jabbed her way to Meena. In a loud, commanding voice Ash announced "Hey Meena, can you come help me in the practice boxes? I think Johnny left some stuff I need on a shelf I can't reach." Her eyes dared someone to challenge her blatant lie. No one rose to it though, and the crowd dispersed as Ash led Meena backstage.
"Is there some way I can hug you without hurting myself?"
"Hang on a second." Ash replied. With some effort, her quills seemed to fold down, becoming closer to a smooth surface*. Meena took the opportunity, picking up the porcupine and hugging her close.
"Meen-ah! Too ah tight!"
"Sorry!" Meena gasped, putting Ash back down gently. "I guess I'm only used to hugging other elephants."
"It's no problem. I can handle a little squishing. Just maybe not that much squishing next time." Ash laughed a little, and hopped up onto a box. Smiling at Meena, she patted the spot next to her. The box looked sturdy enough, so Meena took the spot. "Thanks for saving me out there too. I guess I kinda froze up."
"Don't worry about it. I've got you. I wish I could tell you that won't happen a lot, but you made a big name for yourself at the Rubble. You were the best performance there-"
"Arguable."
"By who?"
"Mike."
"Ha! Mike will take it to his grave, but he was impressed by your performance. I could see it in his eyes."
"He'd still say his was better."
"Yeah, but it's Mike. He'll say he's a better heart surgeon than a practicing doctor. Anyway, you attracted a lot of attention with your voice. People are gonna mob you a lot."
Meena only nodded. She knew it was true. But she really didn't want it to be.
"You're so self confident Ash."
"Huh?"
"It's true. You are. You don't let anyone push you around. If Mike hands you some kind of underhanded compliment or arrogant insult, you don't just sigh like the rest of us. You hit him right back. You even left your jerk of a boyfriend. That was awesome!"
Meena thought she heard Ash mutter "another reason", but the rocker spoke up too quickly for her to ask. "It kinda comes with the genre Meen."
"Can you teach me?"
"What?"
"Can you teach me how to be self-confident?"
"Uh, I don't know if it's something you can teach."
"Well can you help me look for it then?"
Ash stared at her for a few seconds, and Meena began to worry that she had overstepped their friendship.
"Of course I can."
"Thank you! Oh thank you Ash!"
Ash's smiles were small, but still genuine.
Meena sighed and looked back to the door. "I bet it's not going to happen in the next five minutes though, is it?"
"Nope." Ash answered. Hopping down off the box, she looked back at Meena. "Ready?"
"Probably not, but let's go."
Ash and Meena were inseparable for the rest of the evening, and Ash glared a Death Glare at anyone who wasn't Theater Family who got within ten feet of Meena. Except for Mike. Remembering what Mike had said about Meena when they were all starting out, he was on permanent Death-Glare status until further notice.
Ash said she had Meena's back, and she sure as Hell wasn't gonna let her down.