He knows the sneers that creep on to faces at the mention of his pet cause — what he'd adopted from his mother in some manner — but try as he might, Blake himself can't bring himself to step aside and separate himself from the rest of the people in the Aerie; despite the class differences, it's hard to think that anyone deserves to suffer.

"I'm not intimidated by trying," Blake points out, although it's likely obvious in how he makes and loses social capital that it's mostly worthless to him.

Sipping his own drink, his dark eyes trace across the room and he turns his attention back to Ellie more focused than before and ready to change the subject.

"That song. I'm really impressed," he says. The promise of Ellie's performance to Blake has always been a guarantee of a successful party and he's starting to feel a little superstitious about her presence, like without her involvement things just won't resonate quite the same.