Y.Z. Act IV [PG-16]

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"Ahh...so these are our guests?"

Though better lit than the rest of the sanctuary, the treatment room still had an air about it that could quite generously be described as 'chilly' and the voice intruding on it did little to help that sensation. Much like most of the sanctuary's residents, the man at its head was clad in a simple robe, though his was gray and both better shaped and maintained than those of the rest, the single, gilded chain with an Ophelian cross at the end that he wore being the only thing that marked him as higher ranked than the others, though the scrap of cloth over his eyes was certainly attention-drawing enough.

"I heard of your...unfortunate encounter, young lady." he added, moving a bit closer to Soren and nodding in acknowledgment, "My brothers tell me that you are on your way to recovery, and though I can not truthfully say that I see this," he gave a rueful chuckle, indicating the scrap of cloth over his eyes, "I shall take them at their word. Oh, but excuse my manners. Here I am, speaking like a visiting friend, and I have not even introduced myself." he gave another polite nod in the girls' direction, "I am Father Chutnik, the overseer of this sanctuary, though that is truly nothing but a formality. There are, after all, no ranks before Mother Ophelia. Now I imagine that you must still be tired from your ordeal, but there is a matter about your condition that we truly must discuss. If I may?"

Taking the silence for an answer, the priest strode over and propped himself down on a small barstool next to the bed Soren had been laid down on, "Your wound was quite deep, sister." he said gravely, "Too much so for Lionus to heal in so short a time. My brothers have done the best they can, but in order to make a full recovery, the wound must be administered regular treatments for an extended period of time. I do not mean to impose on private matters that are none of my concern, but out of duty to Ophelia and my oath to serve the well-being of her children, I must ask...will you have access to medical attention once you leave this sancutary's walls?"
 
Aertan was vaguely aware that ever since getting off that cursed funeral ship thing whatever Faewyn called it, every one of his sentences almost inevitably started with "I hate". He couldn't help it. He hated Tealia. It reminded him too much of Carn. He hated airships. In fact, he hated every place in the world other than Beta. He hated everything around him except for the one thing which he loved the most; the very reason why he was begrudgingly clamping his mouth shut about all his complaints and duly wandering through the quaint neighborhood with a sour expression on his face. His right and only hand was shoved into his pocket, with his olive green cargo jacket hanging from the nook between his wrist and waist. His left arm was held securely to the side of his torso, the end of the sleeve flowing freely so that if Aertan shook back the black cloth of his long sleeved v-neck, one could see the long smoothed scar of a missing hand. To his left, Haeont' carried his and Faewyn's things, leaving Aertan to concentrate on scrutinizing the different town houses to find the address of his unfortunate destination. And to his mild interest, two children sat outside the house he was looking for. Undoubtedly the children of Adela and Reid.

The boy, tawny haired and looking a little troubled, barely noticed Aertan until he'd crumpled the slip of paper that had a crude map upon it and tossed it into the air with his right hand. The son looked up when Geote burst out of his confinement and caught it in his gangly fingers. So Aertan wasn't exactly the kind of person you ran into on a daily basis. That much, Reid's son seemed to derive, as he pulled the girl Aertan assumed was his sister closer to him.

The action made Aertan's brow fall in frustration. Like father, like son. Well. Fine.

Aertan ignored the boy, shoving his hand into his pocket again and letting Geote stretch over to knock on the door, "We're not staying for long Faewyn, so-

"Faewyn?" The boy piped up, "Oh, my mom is expecting-"

The door wrenched open, Adela standing in the doorway looking very eager to see whoever it was behind the door. Her face broke out into a smile, and practically written across Aertan's face was: "Who is this person?" The Adela he knew was not nearly this…

"Hello!" She cried happily, leaving a baffled expression on Aertan's face and rushing over to Faewyn, "I'm so glad you're here, just seeing you is such a relief. I was so caught up with Reid being… well, you know, that I completely forgot to tell you that Pethalamine is here! Oh and I forgot to tell her that you were coming too... Well come in, come in! Reid isn't here right now, he's down at the station, but Pethalamine should be in his study right now."

Now if Aertan's jaw ever stopped working, it stopped working now. He gaped stupidly at Adela before glaring dangerous daggers at the doorframe. "You're kidding me. PETHALAMINE." He yelled threateningly, hoping very much that she had a very good reason to have not sent him word of her well-being.

Damn if she thought this was another one of her not-so-funny jokes.


-------------

"Oh." Dimitri stood up, letting his skyboard come off his shoulder as he contemplated what Reid meant. "I guess... we should go back then."
 
...Chutnik? Soren's inner child wanted to laugh out loud at that name. It was certainly... different in sound than most names in these parts. The man himself was pretty bone chilling, the atmosphere giving absolutely no leeway for the imagination to make him seem like less of a creeper. His chuckling was annoying, his mannerisms fishy, and the fact that he was being referred to as a 'sister' was really starting to set in negatively, like he had been trying to ignore the fact the entire time but was being constantly reminded. It was understandable what he asked next - it was natural to make sure that the patient had a reasonable means to deal with their wounds in the aftermath of the initial treatment, and there was a problem with what he was asked. There was no lionus nor a wation user in their group. "Well, no, there isn't anyone, but I'm sure I can check in at clinics every so often, could I not?" He spoke for the first time since being brought into the room. He really wanted to get out of the church, away from this guy. He wanted to go back to worrying about the next day, not the present.

OOC: REALLY short post before work to give AE something to work with. We need to get this done. XD
 
Though it may not have been most people's first choice for transportation, the Solemn Condolence had definitely proven to be the fastest route available. How he had done it she had not managed to get complete notes on, but somehow their rather peculiar 'captain' had managed to tweak the funeral barge's engines into providing far more thrust than they had originally been designed for - 'Airships are just like really clumsy fake wings' he had explained 'just got to know which places to tweak' - cutting down on their travel time considerably.

This fact had already put Faewyn in better spirits, the thought of soon meeting old friends enhancing it further, and as such she endured Aertan's grumpiness with her usual placid manner, latched onto his arm as they strolled through the Tealian suburbs. Such a nice-looking place this was, and how long it had been since she had actually gotten to visit someplace outside of business. For all his good traits, most of which he actively worked to conceal, Aertan was a very sedentary person by nature, making any family trip that extended beyond the borders of the town they had settled in tricky negotiation at best; anything outside of Beta was practically impossible. This, however, was not the moment to start bringing such things up, Faewyn reminded herself, the gloom pressing in a bit closer on her, her grip around Aertan's arm instinctively tightening a little. Family trips were not something you worried yourself over when the question of whether or not you could still be said to have a family was on the table. She spared an encouraging smile at the Davies' children, immediately recognizing them from the letters and occasional pictures that Adela had shared, but though coddling over children was certainly right up her alley, Adela's words immediately overrode the instinct.

"I was so caught up with Reid being… well, you know, that I completely forgot to tell you that Pethalamine is here!"

"Pethalamine is..?" Faewyn repeated, dumbstruck for a moment until her mind caught up with the good knews. Pethalamine wasn't just safe; she was here. She recited these words slowly for herself in her mind, over and over again, the happiness and relief bubbling up inside her until they had no choice but to burst, "Thank you!" acting on pure impulse, Faewyn caught her old friend in a surprise hug, though she relinquished it fairly quickly, dabbing away at the tears of joy that had escaped with her outburst, "I'm-I'm so relieved." she muttered, "I-it's a long story, and I'm not sure if she has told you the whole of it, but let's get to that later. It's...nice to see you again, Ade-"

"PETHALAMINE!"

Much like Faewyn, Aertan had seemed overwhelmed by this insight at first and was no less moved by it, even if his way of expressing it was quite different, his threatening yell resonating loud and clear down the rooms and corridors of the Davies' house. The woman couldn't help smiling. Even after all these years, this was still Aertan's first and predominant way of expressing concern, and true to the usual pattern in their peculiar little relationship, Pethalamine eventually arrived at the scene, just before the man would have felt obligated to yell again yet never a second earlier than that, a heavy-looking treatise in her hand and that air of carefully calibrated calmness about her. The whole scene was so familiar, it felt almost unreal to Faewyn and as much as she wanted to rush forward and give her daughter a hug that would have made the one Adela had gotten look like mere child's play in comparison, she didn't want to break this particular scene and remained rooted.

Seemingly bound by the same peculiar spell, Pethalamine paused for a moment, her eyes travelling from one person to the next in turn, her lips slowly parting as she formed her response.

"You don't have to shout." she said flatly.

And with those simple words, the word had gone back to normal.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The priest shook his head at Soren's suggestion, a troubled look spreading across his features, "I'm afraid it's not that simple, sister." he replied, "Your bleeding now...it was a reopening, was it not? Oh, don't worry," he added to forestall any explanations, "I shall not press on why your friend saw fit to twist the truth like she did; the key point is the nature of your wound. It is large and consequently frail. The Linous wrap should hold in casual situations, but if you end up in a scuffle or over-extend your mahstion capabilities, you may well cause another rip...most likely with results similar to these. You will need a Lionus user or licensed physician that you can call on to administer aid at virtually any time to avoid complications. Seeing as you apparently have neither, I have...a proposal to make." the priest brought his fingertips together, looking thoughtful for a while, "I will not lie to you; I do see gain of sorts for me in this situation, though it will surely be just as beneficial for you. You see, I have faced a bit of a quandry with one of the young ones of my flock...Alderian, a promising young acolyte with a strong sense of justice. He is well-versed in healing arts, but he still needs to learn the ways of the world and to temper his manner with compassion, and so I was hoping...hoping that I could offer his services to you as in the capacity of a medical aide. He will administer any treatment or healing you wish, and in exchange, all I ask is that you provide him with basic housing and nourishment, possibly acquaint him with the outside world a little if you find it in your heart to do so. I realize that this may seem like quite an imposition..." he added apologetically, "...and I regret to come off as someone who would take advantage of you in your time of need, but the only other solution I can offer in good conscience is that you stay at this sanctuary - or a medical institution of your choice - until you have fully recovered, and I would truly not wish to curtail your freedom in such a way." the priest bowed his head a little in thought before promptly rising to his feet, "I have taken up enough of your time now, I think." he announced, "It is late and the streets are unsafe at this hour, so please...stay here for the night and think my offer over. There is no need to rush a decision, especially so soon after your recent ordeal. You can give word of your decision to the attending brother at any time and he shall pass it on and have the necessary arrangements made. Now then," he gave a last nod of acknowledgement to the two, "I wish you a swift recovery and a good night. Ophelia's blessings on you both." and with that, he turned around and left the room.
 
This was, indeed, a really difficult decision to make. His personal feelings aside, there were very large cons in either proposed solution. If he was admitted into a hospital of some sort, he'd be kept there and unable to aid with the operation the next day - not that he wanted to help his uncle kill his sister - but who knew what punishment he'd receive from Stahn for not participating. He was already in Natalija's body, and things would be a lot worse if he got trapped in it forever. On the other hand, if he allowed this Alderian person to come along, that would be involving civilians and leaking Stahn's secret. Again, who knew what punishment he'd receive for such an act. Was this it, though? Was this the trap? It was a possibility for sure, but he couldn't really prove it, nor did he have the energy to try. In the end, there was no choice but to choose the lesser of two evils. "Have this Alderian fellow meet us at 328 Rellian Boulevard around lunch tomorrow. We'll be taking our leave in the early morning." He had no intention of staying very long in the morning. This place didn't feel right, but with his wound he couldn't just get up and leave. "Is that okay with you?" He turned his head to look at Lyrum, whom had stayed quiet during the entirety of the stay. She seemed distracted.

"A-ah. Yes! It's okay with me!"

---

The night came and went, and it was a rough night indeed. Soren's condition worsened for a bit, giving him a slight fever, but thankfully he pulled through okay for the morning. He and Lyrum ended up leaving at 6am sharp, and it took them about an hour to get back to his Uncle's. Upon arrival, the found Reid asleep on the front doorstep. As they approached in order to enter the home, the man opened his eyes and sat up. "Er..." he didn't really have any real way to explain this without sounding bad.

"Did Aunt Adela make you sleep outside?" Soren sighed, not at all surprised by the concept.

It wasn't one hundred percent correct, as he had chosen to sleep outside. "Well, I went ahead and told her about you know," he made an effort to keep the information about Stahn quiet as Lyrum was innocent in regards to the situation with the man. "But I chose to sleep out here since we received some more guests - Pethalamine's parents, actually - while you were gone, and there really wasn't anywhere else to sleep." Pethalamine's parents? Soren couldn't even imagine what they were like, considering Pethalamine was in a world all her own. "So, what the heck were you doing out with that girl all night? Did you try something indecent with that girl's body?"

Soren lit up bright red. "HELL NO! Why would I!?" Lyrum was laughing. She had never thought of it like that, but the possibility was there.

"Well, you did go out alone with a girl for the entire not, so what am I supposed to assume?"

"What are you supposed to assume, Daddy?" Rosalynne peered from behind the front door, obviously having eavesdropped for some time now. "What was Soren doing with Miss Phoenix?"

"He was supposed to be playing games with me!" The Phoenix girl made her best lame attempt at covering up, though it just got a sweatdrop out of Reid and Soren.
 
Pethalamine slept peacefully that night, moreso than she had done in months, her dreams completely devoid of disembodied voices, ominous speeches and oppressive darkness. To the casual observer this would have seemed odd, given that the events of last eve had been anything but peaceful, but there had been something strangely...relieving about the shouting match she and Aertan had managed to get caught up in. As if she had gotten to take all the pent-up anger, hurt, and ire inside her and just let it out in one, fell swoop.

The girl couldn't help grinning in spite of herself as she rubbed her lightly sore throat with one hand, searching for her boots with the other, for once in her life, just for that small moment of stubborn glaring between them before Faewyn had broken the entire fight with a group hug, she thought she had caught a glimpse of what her mother had seen in the jerk.

Not that it changed the fact that he was a jerk, mind you.

Pethalamine gave a rueful sigh. This would have been such a perfect spot to put the 'happily ever after' on this whole story, but she knew that this wouldn't do. Stahn had seen to that, and now...now she would have to give the most difficult explanation of her life, as - between the little display of family drama and Faewyn's consequent interest in resolving the argument between Reid and Adela - the scholar doubted that the whole 'pawns of a mad scientist' thing had even been brought into discussion. She really, really wasn't looking forward to this.

As fortune would have it, however, there was currently an entirely different explanation going on.

"So, what the heck were you doing out with that girl all night? Did you try something indecent with that girl's body?"

Pethalamine paused for a moment, stunned by the mental picture this formed and - more specifically - the thought of how the real Natalija would have reacted to such a thing. She couldn't help a chuckle, in spite of herself, one that was joined in far more heartily from the other end of the Davies' quaint little garden.

"Oh come now, don't be so hard on him, Reid." Faewyn chided, beaming like the sun itself as she strode over to the group, "Youths should get to roam a little. And besides," she winked, "when you think about the things you were up to at his age."

"Umm...mother?" Pethalamine finally managed, weakly raising her hand.

"Oh, good morning, Pethalamine." Faewyn replied cheerfully, offering a small wave in return, "Your new friends must really be having a good influence on you; normally you wouldn't be up until-"

"Mother," the girl interrupted in a slightly more flustered tone, finally raising her finger to point out the rather eyecatching object slung over Faewyn's shoulder, "Why are you-?"

"Oh, this?" Faewyn asked, finally catching on as she cast a glance at the beast of a crossobw slung across her back and secured by a simple leather strap, it's bottom end nearly scraping the pavement while the horizontal part easily spanned her thin shoulders. Only her, Pethalamine couldn't help thinking as she saw the honest surprise in Faewyn's manner, only her mother could treat a weapon theoretically capable of punching through a solid steel wall as casually as most people would treat a sling bag, "I heard there was a talented artificier in town, so I decided to have this old thing checked up and recalibrated now that I had the chance to. You know how my regular supplier refused to do maintenance on this and-"

Yes indeed, after a misfire during the last maintenance had come an inch away from ripping his hand off. Pethalamine might even have seen fit to remark as much, but before she had the chance to do so, a polite cough interrupted the blossoming conversation.

"Ah...if I may interrupt?"

Pethalamine blinked...and stared. Now she was not usually one to stare and gape after boys - treating it as a childish and unitellectual passtime far better suited for the 'idiots her age' - but this particular male was something quite out of the ordinary. His body was...well, she supposed that it matched the sort of thing that ordinary twit girls liked to swoon over. Fit, certainly, but not bulgingly muscular, flawless skin, oh-so-soulful eyes, and all that rubbish, but Pethalamine's attention was far more focused on the hair. It was...silvery, like an old person's, yet with far more luster to it, and the combination created an absolutely bizarre end result that was only further enhanced by the rather severe combination of black trousers dark gray shirt, the thin golden colored trim around its collar and the flauntingly displayed gold necklace with the Ophelian symbol on it around his neck being the only spots of color in the gloom, a small knapsack of belongings clasped in his hands.

"Alderian Reis." the peculiar appartition introduced himself, bowing slightly, before elaborating at the blank looks he was receiving, "I'm not too late, I hope? The young lady," he indicated Soren at this point, "asked me to come to this address."

Pethalamine's glance turned slowly to the person currently occupying Natalija's body, "Soren..." she said evenly, "...when you said you didn't do anything inappropriate with that girl..."
 
Natalija stood opposite her now-disturbing reflection, having been doing so for a very long amount of time now, debating a very dire subject in her mind: Should she take a shower?

The fashion queen was sure that she would be unable to last an entire day in this body without being sure of its cleanliness at least once, but two problems stood in her way. One, she considered that Soren would probably not really appreciate the idea of her taking a shower in his body- though heaven knew he needed the shower, because more than fourteen hours without a proper shower was like sinning. Now, true to Natalija's indifferent and self-gratifying personality, she didn't really care much about the first issue. As far as she was concerned, Soren's opinion didn't really matter when compared to being hygienic. However, the second issue was what had kept her staring into Soren's face with troubled eyes for the past ten minutes. Natalija was certainly not shy- she had convinced herself of that within two seconds after wandering into the bathroom upon instinct. But she hadn't quite convinced herself that she herself would place showering over seeing parts of Soren that she wasn't really quite interested in. Underwear was one thing. This, however, was another. At her age, of course, it was probably a perfectly healthy, albeit preferably unmentioned notion. Still. Stahn could've picked a more handsome body, so that she wouldn't have to face this dilemma.

She sighed, pulling the wrinkled T-shirt she'd slept in up, revealing Soren's stomach. She made a face. He certainly had grade A abs. But she couldn't push the thought out of her head. These were Soren's abs. She heaved another sigh, wrinkling her brow together. She looked to her right, at the shower. Then her left, at the door, which was shut and locked tight.

"…" Soren's reflection in the mirror contorted as if he'd just eaten something extremely bitter. At this point, Natalija simply did not care. She wanted nothing to do with unwashed hair, and that was the priority that soared above any and all problems. "Too bad for him." She voiced, shrugging, shifting her attention off of the fact that it was not his discomfort that she'd been debating, "It's probably not even worth seeing."

--

Dimitri, however, was not quite so nonchalant about the matter. He'd been waiting irritably for whoever had decided to occupy the bathroom for such an unreasonable amount of time, before he heard the familiar voice. And Dimitri was not the fastest thinker, but it wasn't hard to figure out exactly what Natalija was referencing. All at once, any need to use the toilet left Dimitri's mind as he clamped his hands over his ears, turning a little red, a little purple, and a little green. He immediately found his way back to his room and decided he'd just go ahead and get dressed. He opened the box of earrings, and contemplated. He'd grown a little fond of these little buggers. One or two wouldn't hurt, or gather much attention, he reasoned. Besides, his lack of wings garnered more attention than earrings ever would. He slid two lip rings on, and immediately shut the box, pocketing it and resisting any temptation to complete his usual look. He looked up at the ceiling of Serge's room, before sighing. Today would be the day they'd have to do… whatever it was they wanted to do.

What a pain.

--

"Nothing I can recall." Aertan's chilly response came as Adela glared at him from over her mug of tea.

"It's called holding up your side of the conversation, old man." Adela shot.

Aertan took a sip of his coffee- black, simple, and bitter, turning the page of the newspaper from the week before last that he'd brought with him. "Excuse me if I'm not interested in recounting the wonderful, lovey-dovey days that I've spent the last twenty-five years with my lovely beloved Faewyn." He said, the words escaping his mouth only because they were directed in mocking sarcasm at what Adela had been somewhat expecting. "As enjoyable as they were, I don't dwell in the past, and am simply looking forward to the future."

"Profound." Adela's equally sarcastic remark came. She paused in her small argument with Aertan however, when she heard footsteps calmly descending. Looking over her shoulder, she immediately identified Terrance, who was actually Natalija. Confusing, but she hadn't asked, especially since they were obviously involved with Stahn, who would've found the swap amusing, most likely. Speaking of Stahn, the thought renewed Adela's grudge against her husband, and she immediately folded her arms tightly across her chest. Aertan couldn't suppress the urge to roll his eyes, and so he did. Thankfully, not catching Adela's attention when he did so.

Natalija strolled across the room, excusing herself distractedly as she shifted Pethalamine and, apparently, Pethalamine's mother, so that she could get through.

"Good morning." Natalija's cold, infuriated tone was released with Soren's voice, so that it was almost like a strangled growl. "I hope you enjoyed yourself last night." She glanced at the unfamiliar stranger for a full three seconds, letting an eyebrow shoot up in a "Ew, who is that?" sort of manner, before turning her angry attention back onto Soren. "And I seriously hope that you won't put it against me if I castrate you at this point. Have you seen yourself? You look terrible. Do you know what that means? That means that I look terrible. Would it be okay with you if I just went ahead and shaved off all your hair?" Natalija didn't wait for a response, "I didn't think so. While my body is in dirty, ripped clothing, I have gone to the trouble of getting you a new, clean set of clothes that are considerably more fashionable than your original choice. And then you run off with another girl for an entire night. You realize that you are in my body? I will be sure to harass-" Natalija searched her mind for another male, "Dimitri if I even catch wind that you were seen with her. I don't want to know what you did with her, but implications are more than enough. Now I don't care what you have to say, I don't care if you're grumpy, I don't care if you're tired. You. Bath. New clothes. Fixed hair. Now."

Natalija took swift advantage of her newfound strength in picking up her body, which she found satisfyingly light, and marching back through the door, up the stairs, and into the bathroom, ignoring any protest that Soren might have.

Because even if she seemed angry, it had taken a lot for Natalija not to simply faint from the shock of seeing her body.

And true to her nature.

Natalija hadn't even noticed that Yuki was gone.

But that wasn't important in the least. Natalija worked with speed and precision, deciding that she didn't trust Soren with picking the right amount of conditioner to balance out the amount of shampoo used, and thus she switched from shower to bath. She decidedly failed to realize that Soren might face the same dilemma as herself. And if the thought had ever crossed her mind, well, as far as she was concerned, he could close his eyes if it was really that big a deal. While waiting for the conditioner to absorb, Natalija bustled about, refolding the clothes she'd brought back into a neat little pile beside the sink. Selfish as she was, when it came to consideration when coordinating outfits, Natalija was unsurpassed. While she wasn't afraid of letting Soren catch a little chill, because that was a necessary sacrifice for style, she had pointedly picked out a pair of ballet flats, brown toed with white belting across the top to begin the transition to a rosy pink. Walking and fighting would be no problem. Then the outfit was loose; not too tight, thus leaving plenty of leeway. But there was enough fabric that he wouldn't die of the cold, and the rather exposed legs Natalija had remedied with a pair of black leggings threaded with bright pink. As she ordered Soren around, Natalija was adding last minute final touches to the outfit in her head, before finally sitting Soren down on the closed toilet lid and delicately drying off her long black hair, getting it as dry as she could with a towel before expertly brushing her hair straight down and twisting various damp pieces around the brush so that her hair wouldn't look unnaturally- and unstylishly, straight.

Sitting back when she was done, she sighed and put the ballet flats on the floor, giving one quick look at Soren's outfit. The main piece was a pale robins egg blue overall-like garment, cinched in at the waist, seperating two strips of fabric that were the straps of the overalls, and the shorts portion, which were loose and comfy. Underneath, was an extremely lowcut white 3/4 sleeved peasant shirt, the low collar remedied by a red-pink camisole underneath.

"Done." She breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction, clapping her hands together. It probably would've been cuter had she been in her own body. "Now don't lay on the hair weird, or let it get ruffled, or it'll dry weird. I guess we'll forgo the make-up. I don't want to have to deal with the amateur model issue of twitching eyes and stiff faces. You're free to go!"

Natalija was now in a very good mood. The only question was how long it would last.

ooc: Blitz'd it through the pretty-up-Soren scene. I have to go to bed.
 
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"N-n-NO! I didn't do anything!" Soren turned bright red as he was overcome by embarrassment. Perhaps allowing this Alderian fellow to come to the house was a little bit unintelligent. Though, he was not expecting things to turn out like this. "Lyrum will vouch for me! It's just my stomach wound reopened last night and I had no choice but to seek treatment! They made me stay the night there, and if I didn't agree to bring this guy along they were going to force me to stay in a hospital for a while!" His explanation was met by laughter from Reid, and confusion from Rosalynne, whom had lost track of the conversation a long time prior.

Reid found this extra hilarious. "Well, I can't really take the Phoenix girl's word at face value considering she'd obviously cover for you if you did what I think you did..." At the same time, he was a little less than pleased that his nephew had ended up adding a new face to their ranks. Even so, it worked out well. "I guess the boy can stay, considering we're now short an extra pair of hands. You guys will only be taking care of guards anyways. You might as well explain to him what's going on, Soren-"

Of course, there had to be some kind of interruption. Reid's life was always interrupted. Someone always had something to say that they thought was more important than what he was saying. In this case, it was Natalija. "And I seriously hope that you won't put it against me if I castrate you at this point. Have you seen yourself? You look terrible. Do you know what that means? That means that I look terrible. Would it be okay with you if I just went ahead and shaved off all your hair?" Natalija didn't wait for a response, "I didn't think so. While my body is in dirty, ripped clothing, I have gone to the trouble of getting you a new, clean set of clothes that are considerably more fashionable than your original choice. And then you run off with another girl for an entire night. You realize that you are in my body? I will be sure to harass-" Natalija searched her mind for another male, "Dimitri if I even catch wind that you were seen with her. I don't want to know what you did with her, but implications are more than enough. Now I don't care what you have to say, I don't care if you're grumpy, I don't care if you're tired. You. Bath. New clothes. Fixed hair. Now."

Soren's face turned pale as Natalija addressed him. This was probably not going to end well under any sort of plausible circumstance, and as she went on, he became more and more concerned for his own well being. He felt bad, of course, for being partially responsible, but for the most part it wasn't his fault! The girl-in-boy ended up picking Soren up - which made him turn bright red nonetheless - and began to carry him away. "WAIT! I can't go in the bath!" Somehow, he figured she didn't care.

Reid in the meantime, felt very ignored. He was in charge of everything, yet nobody was listening! "Pethalamine?" He called inside, having obviously lost the original person he was going to utilize. "Could you brief this Alderian fellow for me?" He rose to his feet after sitting on the steps for so long. "We'll be leaving soon on a surprise trip before tonight, so I was hoping we could get him caught up beforehand."

"Um... Mr. Reid? Where's Ellianne?" Lyrum inquired, not seeing the wyvern lady anywhere.

"She went out looking for an agent for you early this morning. She wanted us to bring you along for now, but just until this evening."

---

Soren in the meantime had been thrown into his own little hell. Natalija wasted no time throwing him into the bath and shower, completely naked, without even caring that he was uncomfortable, nor did she seem to care that he could see everything. His eyes were kept closed at first, but over time he had no choice but to keep them open in order to finish the remainder of the shower experience. When all was done in the shower, the girl dressed him like he was some sort of doll. The resulting outfit wasn't bad for moving in, but the fact that it was clearly designed for the fashionable girl. The strangest part of the outfit was the black leggings, which would take some getting used to considering it was not a normal piece of clothing you'd find a guy wearing. "This is... really cold..." He sighed as he crossed his arms in an attempt to warm himself up. It certainly allowed a draft with the open bottoms, and he was still having problems walking in the shoes he had been confined to.

After being set free, he murmured an ungrateful "Thanks..." and wandered into the living room, where everyone seemed to be gathering. At least, Reid, Lyrum and Rosalynne were there. "Aww, look at the cute Princess!" Reid chuckled as he sat up.

"DADDY! I thought you said I was your Princess!" Rosalynne butted in, not amused by the title Soren had just been given.

"You are, you are! But doesn't your big cousin Soren look pretty?"

"Yeah! Yeah! You look pretty, Soren!"

"Great..." Was the only response he could muster at this point. "By the way, where is Yuki?"

"Prison."

"Ah... wait, huh?"

"It's a long story, but it's why we need the extra hands. I'll tell you on the way to the party, Princess."

"...Party?"

"You'll see later." Somehow, it seemed like an awful day to go to a party, considerin what was going to conspire that evening.
 
Now Pethalamine was not usually one to laugh at other people's suffering, not in public and especially not while her mother was in earshot, but Soren's predicament was like something straight out of a sitcom. Just when her laughter was at its peak, however, Reid suddenly dropped the bombshell on her, requiring that she explain the entire mess to their newest dupe.

"Hey, just a minute!" Pethalamine protested, raising up both hands in objection to the notion as the man made his retreat, "I never said I'd-"

"Your assistance is much appreciated, madame Pethalamine." the strange boy remarked, homing in on her in turn with an apologetic smile, "I seem to have misspoken somehow."

Madame? The scholar's eyebrow twitched. Oh, he had misspoken alright, in more ways than he knew, but before she could tell him as much, her mother had already joined into the discussion.

"Situation?" Faewyn inquired, raising an eyebrow, "Taking care of guards? I think I'd better hear this explanation of yours too, Pethalamine."

"I-" Pethalamine took an instinctive step back, feeling very much cornered, but eventually gave a sigh of forfeit, "...alright, I wanted to talk with you about this anyway."

Brilliant. Just the explanation she had been hoping to avoid.

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​

Faewyn was...well, angry would probably have been an overstatement, but her mouth was currently pulled into a tight line quite uncharacteristic of her. A clear sign of disapproval that Pethalamine was not used to seeing.

"Well, Reid, I can't say I'm pleased with this." she finally announced from her spot in the room, having followed the conversation in silence thus far, "I'm maintaining the belief that you have good reasons for all of this, but right now that won't do. If my daughter is going to be involved in this...thing, however remotely, there are three things I want you to clarify for me at the very least." she took a deep breath, obviously not enjoying the process but clearly not about to back down, "Who precisely is this Stahn character? Why do you feel compelled to go to such lengths for him, and above all." she locked eyes with her old friend, her gaze hardening, "Do you swear...swear on your life that Pethalamine will not be harmed in this? I...know you like to keep your secrets, Reid." she said as evenly as she could, "And I've been trying to respect your reasons for doing so, but there are...there are secrets you can keep even from your friends and others that you just-" she forced her hand to unclench from the fist it had slowly curled up into, "-that you just don't."

"Mother..." Pethalamine mumbled, finding it hard to come to terms with this new side of Faewyn.

"I don't know exactly what you are talking about," Alderian conceeded, anxiously toying with his necklace, "But this...doesn't sit very well with me either." he shook his head slowly, "However, if-if these guards are wicked men then I suppose this is justice of a sort." he stared transfixed at the cross, "Isn't that right...Ophelia?"
 
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Aertan frowned. It was not your average frown. Nor was it the deep, angry expression that he normally would've shown in this situation. It a very calm, disapproving look that he directed to Reid, very calmly observing both Adela and Reid. Now, normally in situations like this, he would burst out in adamant protest, snarling something about not dragging other people and families into his stupid adventures. But Aertan felt fear. He was not ashamed to admit that he was not about to place himself in the line of fire between Faewyn and Reid at the moment, as he quietly sipped his coffee, trying his best to be a wallflower in this conversation. He didn't approve of Reid dragging his family into this. If anything, he should just drag his son in place of Pethalamine. The boy didn't really look like a fighter, though. But that didn't justify bringing the brat along instead. This Stahn person must've been from Reid's little journey after he and Faewyn and Alicel had stepped out of the limelight. He glanced at Adela, who was stubbornly trying to make a grocery list without saying a word to anyone, though she wanted to hear what this whole business was about at the same time.

"If it doesn't sit well with you," Natalija spat bitterly at Alderian, her eyes flashing dangerously, "Then why are you even here? Nobody asked you to come." She faltered in her irritation at the man and threw her glare at Soren with the most venomous gaze she'd given him since she'd met him, "Right?"

Dimitri sighed, looking very tired of the entire business, and trying to divert Natalija's accusing attention off of Soren.

"Aren't we going to a party or something?" He said, his head sunk into his palm as he tried his very best to keep listening, "I mean, we'll probably be late at this rate, or something like that."
 
He had been expecting this. A full out tag team attack by the entire group. What could possibly make Reid Davies act like the dog of Stahn Evalice, a clearly psychotic man? He glanced around nervously, noticing two people he needed out of the room before he could say anything. "Serge, can you take Rosalynne outside until we're finished in here?" He waited for his kids to leave, before leaning forward in his couch seat. "First of all, I better explain the situation. Princess Evaline is being held captive by her guards - more specifically her head guard, Ailia Davies. Evaline is just being used as a figurehead. Any decisions made for Tealia are not made by her. For whatever reason, my little sister seems to be going along with Carn's little plan, and I need to... get rid of her. Stahn sent me who he did as backup in case I couldn't do it myself." He grit his teeth before taking a sip of coffee from the nearby table. He figured everyone would need a second to digest this new information. "The reason I can't say no is because he's blackmailing me. 'If you don't comply, then let's just say Armon and Sanako will be making a reappearance. Think of how your kids would react to that.' That's what he wrote in the letter."

"Huh? What's that mean? Who are Armon and Sanako?" Soren inquired, having heard the names before but not exactly remembering who they were.

"Armon is Adela's male form, and Sanako is my female form. Stahn cursed us into those forms back when we trained with him years and years ago." Soren wanted to burst out laughing, but at the same time it was serious. If there was any such ridiculous thing in the world that could have dangerous consequences, this was it.

"So genderbending seems to be one of his hobbies." Soren murmured to himself, the story becoming more familiar. Perhaps he had been told when he was young? "That explains this ridiculous situation..." He made reference to his form as he ran a hand over one of the leggings, which he found to be more and more bizarre. He was ignoring Natalija, who tried to dismiss Alderian.

"But, anyways! We're going to a party of a friend of mine! She's really rich, and she promised us outfits for the afternoon as well! We'll get them when we get there. So until tonight, let's just enjoy ourselves!" It wasn't a very subtle topic change, but he tried.
 
"Well, as a matter of fact." Alderian replied, his voice betraying nothing but polite confusion over Natalija's rather openly hostile matter, "She did make a request that I arrive at this address. Oh, but I assure you, I am only here in the capacity of charity work for my church to look after her wound, so if you are the young lady's boyfriend-"

It was at this point that a carefully aimed kick to the shin cut the priest's explanation short, a warning look meeting his before he managed to protest, "Don't." Pethalamine mouthed, "Say. That. Word. Ever." an order which Alderian very prudently chose to heed.

Faewyn's mouth, meanwhile, remained firmly pulled into its uncharacteristic state of disapproval, "You'll have to excuse me if I'm not exactly in a party mood right now." she said as evenly as she could, "And you still didn't answer my question." noting her old friend's evasion attempts, she took a small, non-threatening step forwards and forced their gazes to meet again, "Do you promise that you will do all you can to keep my daughter safe? Because if you can't, then..." she took a deep breath, obviously not liking the words that were about to follow, "...then you and I have nothing more to say to each other."
 
Adela's eyes flashed, and Natalija, sensing a fellow queen's sudden rise to power, decided to let Alderian have his day, albeit he treaded on a very fine sheet of ice as it were. (And she was resisting the urge to tell Soren to stop feeling her up, but she bit her tongue on that subject too.) Getting to her feet with a loud clatter, Adela's eyes blazed with anger, as she resisted the urge to yell at Reid in front of other people again, her hands clenched into tight fists, her lips pulled into a stern frown. "And you didn't think it wasn't important to tell me something like that until the last minute. No, it's not important to let me know that any misstep from you, and I could wake up sometime this week as the wrong gender. I don't know about you Reid, but the way Stahn works, he might as well turn us into those stupid forms right here right now, because he doesn't hold his word and you know that. He gets bored, and the bastard does what he wants to, but you think it's better to just bottle it all up and let me think that you're just having a FINE time without me. Faewyn," Adela bit into Faewyn's dialogue, her stance obviously showing that she was not concerned in the least towards Faewyn's change in attitude, "I understand your concern, and I'm sure if it's Reid, then he'll do everything in his power to keep Pethalamine safe. And if not him, then you have all these-" Adela threw her hands and indicated towards the theoretical strangers in her living room, "You have all these other people who know about the situation who will certainly help as well." Adela glared at Reid, "You go on your little adventure. You go save the world again, and you go get yourself mixed up with Evaline and her brother. It doesn't have anything to do with me."

Adela gave one sweeping glance across the room before untying her apron and setting it on the dining table, "If you need me, I'll be at Levi's." She swept out of the door, and Dimitri was very close to seeing if the butter knife from Aertan's unfinished toast would cut the tension. Natalija's face registered a mix between annoyance at being outdone, and anxiety at what would come next. If she was brash and never made the situation better, she was at least sensitive enough to know that she was the negative, and just now, everything had just dived off the deep end. Anything that came out of her pretty lips- or at least, if they were actually her lips, they'd be pretty- anything she dared to say, would not help, being one of the so called strangers who had been in on the whole operations.

Aertan's jaw had long ceased to function, and any of his manners regarding "Not staring like a stupid mule" had flown right out of his head. He knew Adela was a spoiled, bratty girl, and that she had probably become a grumpy old lady, but she now had an eloquent way of doing it; not just eloquent, but a nice, stabbing gracefulness that almost made him feel like he'd been backed into a corner. Not only that, she'd challenged a furious Faewyn at the same time, something that he himself couldn't even imagine. And then there was the nagging question that didn't nearly pique his concern as much as Faewyn's reaction to Adela's furious outbreak: Who was Levi?

Dimitri swallowed a lump in his throat, looking around and lacing his fingers. He couldn't help Mr. Davies with his situation with his wife. He didn't know anything about either of them. But as far as Pethalamine and her mother and… Dimitri was having a hard time deciding if the man at the table who was now trying his best to refocus himself on a week-old newspaper was her father. But regardless, he knew Pethalamine well enough to make a call on it. Mr. Davies had a lot of problems to solve, and a lot of pills to swallow. "Excuse me," He spoke up, "I'm not sure if it helps- ma'am," He couldn't find in all his impeccable memory for faces and names the proper way to address Pethalamine's mother, "I can make that promise. Er, the promise to make sure that she'll be safe, that is. B-Between myself and Pethalamine's own abilities, there shouldn't be any cause to worry…"

Natalija was being considerate, but not considerate enough to conceal the utter disbelief in Dimitri's implications that he had any abilities to speak of at all. As far as she was concerned, Pethalamine would end up doing all the protecting in the end if she was unfortunate enough to get stuck with that stuffed animal. He certainly hadn't displayed anything more than average skills in the last battle. In fact, she found it hard to recall if he'd even participated at all. Dimitri himself was starting to regret voicing his opinion as well. He wasn't good at distinguishing ally from foe, so when it came to battle, it was like a free-for-all for him. Certainly not a trait that went well with protecting people. And then there was the problem that Pethalamine's mother had never actually seen his skills in action. His, er, mentionable skills. His shoulders sank in embarrassment, "But I guess I'm getting a little impertinent."
 
Pethalamine was not an easily rattled person and her mask of polite indifference was very hard to break when she put her mind to maintaining it, but even she couldn't help an incredulous expression at Dimitri's words, though she quickly corrected herself. Him...protecting her? She knew that it was bad to look down at someone extending such a selfless gesture, but when it came to protectors...well, she could think of quite a few she would have preferred over the skyboarder. Not to mention that these words, coming from the generally non-comittal Dimitri, probably weren't intended the way that Faewyn would take them. In spite of this, Pethalamine knew that this was precisely the sort of thing her mother needed to get her peace of mind, and so she was quick to wipe the incredulous expression off her face.

Faewyn blinked, observing Dimitri through teary eyes before abruptly lashing out, catching him in a hug, "Thank...thank you." she managed, making an obvious effort to calm herself as she released the youth from her grip, "It's...a relief to know that Pethalamine has made good friends like you." she dabbed a bit at the tears forming around her eyes, "I'll-I'll take your word for it then, young man. I don't know what your skills are precisely, but please just bring my daughter back safe. That is all I ask."

She took a deep breath, slowly normalizing, "I...think you need to give Adela her space right now, Reid." she remarked, "And a proper apology when she's calmed down a little. Explaining motives is all well and good, but sometimes...sometimes the sentiment is more important than the words. You really do need to open up to people more." she shook her head, "I...think I'll have to go and lie down for a moment. This has been a lot to take in at once and I need to sort out my thoughts." she paused by the exit of the room for a moment, offering a friendly smile to the younger occupants of the room, "I'm sorry if I made things overly awkward for you."

"Mother."

"Take care then, Pethalamine. And...try to have fun at that party."
 
Lyrum was having the worst time trying to follow what was going on. Stahn? Genderbending? Miss Ellianne had told her that she had been on many strange adventures before coming to Flazure, and since she knew Reid as well, had something similar happened to her? She became even more lost as her attention was drawn to the conversation about the Dimitri fellow protecting the oddly dressed girl. It was, to her anyways, a cute thing to say. Was there maybe something between them? The line seemed so cheesy though, and Soren suppressed a little laugh at how cheesy the whole thing was. Reid would have laughed as well, but he had suffered from speaking similar lines in the past, especially around the time he once thought he was going to die.

Speaking of Reid, depression was the state he was left in after Adela stormed out. He had, of course, forgotten to mention something of extreme importance when he gave his explanation - the fact that if he had said anything before, the transformation would have occurred had not reached Adela's ears. If he had been given any room to add that, perhaps things wouldn't have ended up so terribly. Of course, his wife was never one to say stupid things, and her analysis was spot on as always. There was no guarantee that Stahn would hold up his end of the bargain, but it was better than not doing anything and letting the man do it anyways. If only Melody still had some form of control, this probably would never have happened. The man's depression quickly turned into confusion at Faewyn's words in regards to the protection comment. If it had been Rosalynne, his own daughter, he would never have let her go out to battle with some random guy whom he didn't know, where he knew there was the chance she wouldn't come back. He just wouldn't be able to do it. Reid smiled slightly as Faewyn addressed him. "I'll keep my secrets if it keeps my family safe, but I understand what you're saying. Maybe if I need to protect my family, I should at least tell them the secrets too."

What his Uncle said, Soren thought was kind of stupid. If anyone ever overheard that that wanted to cause the man any harm, his family would be an easy target. When Faeywn brought the topic of the party back up, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander without enthusiasm over to meet Natalija. "You're… going to dress me up again when we get there, aren't you?"

--

In the end, they were picked up by a bus and taken to the Blanc Estate. Soren gathered it was the Blanc that was a friend of Reid's. He used to work with his Aunt, so chances were Reid had also decided to go there with the intent of asking about Ailia. When the entered the massive ballroom, they were quickly met with stares. Everyone was dressed up, and even Soren felt out of place. It wasn't long until they were ushered off to the side by some of the servants, who led them to what appeared to be two gigantic closets. One for guys, and one for girls. Soren groaned. "Do we really need to dress up?"
 
Dimitri flushed, keeping a polite smile on his face as he stammered an awkward, "N-No problem." It didn't help that he'd never been hugged, as far as he could remember. This was a new experience, and as he tried to recover from it, he oddly realized that with her enthusiasm, she was probably expecting him to actually end up doing something. Errr…. Dimitri looked over at Pethalamine, very quickly drowning in his own confusion. But he quickly brushed it off with a shrug, giving a smile that probably had more to do with the chummy feeling from being hugged for the first time than actually letting the subject go. Pethalamine probably hadn't been expecting much more from him than Natalija was, and that was just fine with him. He might have to put a little more effort in, but it was nothing big. Besides, he needed his wings back, too, so it was kind of like a win-win situation. Dimitri's loved it when there were no cons to a plan. (No cons that he noticed, anyway.) And then, Pethalamine's mother went and tried to ease the situation between Mr. Davies and his wife. She did a much grander job of it than Dimitri would've, much to his relief.

Aertan folded his paper back into its original shape, glancing over at Pethalamine with a blank expression. He was half expecting a bratty response, but he balanced his chin on his right hand anyway, speaking clearly, "Don't cause any unnecessary trouble for Mr. Davies you brat-" Aertan cleared his throat quickly and corrected himself, "Pethalamine. I expect you to bear a better attitude than you do with me." He picked the paper up again, turning it over to the back and reading a new article with half-hearted interest. "I assume that while you're gone, it would only be fair of me and Faewyn to watch your children while you go off and make trouble for the world again."

"Cheesy." Natalija stated bluntly to Reid, sticking her nose in the air afterwards in defense. But her eyebrow flew up when Soren asked if she'd be dressing him up. "Are you serious? Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" She asked, rolling her eyes at the stupid question, "You better get used to walking in heels before anyone sees you stumble, just so you know. Because flats do not go with fancy dresses."

--------------------------------

"Now, I'm just getting all sorts of surprising guests tonight, aren't I?"

"Shut up."

Levi shut his mouth, staring warily as Adela marched past his threshold without invitation. He was not one to stand in the way of a grouchy housewife, because frankly, those were the types of women that he hated the most. Naggy, whiny, and not cute at all, in all the worst ways. Putting his hands in his pockets as she folded her arms, standing in the middle of the front hall imperiously he ventured for a casual question, "What brings you here?"

"Reid is being stupid again." Adela sniffed, putting her arms by her sides again. Levi sighed, looking up at the chandelier. Fidgety women were never a good sign. He hated fidgety women too.

"So let me guess," Levi replied, "You're crashing at my place tonight?"

"I hate it when you put it like that, but I suppose."

"Fine with me, I love guests. But I got a party to attend tonight, and you're a little… old to be my partner." Levi scratched the back of his head, raising an eyebrow. He froze for a second, remembering a very important fact before snapping his fingers, "You can go with Lazarus? He's comin' too and he's even older than you are!"

"Stop stressing old, Levi, it's not like I look like a fifty year old grandma."

"Hmm, that would be in the eye of the behold-"

A light chuckle came, and Adela turned a less angry gaze on Lazarus, who was smiling at Levi in amusement, "I'd stop there, if I were you. For a bachelor as old as you, you're sure bad at handling your older women. I'm sure the party should help take your mind off of Reid, so why don't you come along Adela?" Lazarus adjusted the dark navy blue tie around his neck, "You can just accompany us, if you'd like. I'm sure Liza would appreciate having some female company." He blinked at Adela's bluntly inquiring expression and shrugged, "Liza is Levi's little sister. She's busy getting ready right now. Why don't you go meet her now?"

Adela sized up the respectable scientist and remembered that Reid was also attending a party. How many people in town could be throwing a party all at the same time? She smiled pleasantly, "I would love to meet Liza." It had been far too long since she'd last dressed up, and she wasn't about to stay in someone else's house all by herself without the host present.

"Ah, and for tonight, it's not "Levi"," Levi called after Adela as Lazarus stepped back to the doorway he came from to direct Adela to Liza's dressing room, "It's 'Ivel'!"

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Perfect. A smirk crossed Natalija's face as she switched into "Control Everything" mode. She loved closets that were bigger than her own, especially if she could pick freely from them. It was the one thing she was willing to lose out on. She had a perfect understanding of how different designs of dresses fit on her body, so she ruled out any dresses that relied on full figures upon walking into the girl's closet, ignoring protests with a, "I'll do it myself," as she flicked the hangers past her eyes with expert speed. It wasn't long before Natalija triumphantly pulled a dark yellow green dress from the racks, a strapless taffeta ball gown held up in the air. Tone-on-tone stripes cascaded up and down the body of the dress, the empire sash done into an off-center bow, a rhinestone brooch in place of the bow's knot. The torso was fitted through the bust and hips becoming a pick-up skirt accented with a bubble hemline. Natalija quickly launched into a spin on why the dress was perfect, though she was sure Soren didn't care. "The chest isn't too full, perfect for a flat chested girl. Lucky for me, too, since I don't have a chest. The puffy stuff on the bottom; a bubble hemline, will hide the fact that you probably can't walk in heels at all." Natalija handed the dress to Soren, looking over at the shoes with sparkles in her eyes.

Dimitri sweatdropped as he watched Nataija's antics, before being ushered into the men's closet by a servant, "Uh- I- uhh, I don't-" He began, stammering and very keen on staying out of the closet, "I don't really do f-formal clothes, I really-"

"Quiet, I'll deal with you later." Natalija snapped at Dimitri, who looked at Soren, as though asking him to convince her otherwise.

"Alright well I have to pick my outfit and Dimitri's too; since I don't trust that guy with fashion, and…" Natalija turned her criticizing eye on Pethalamine, "Miss Fashion Faux-Pas is already wearing her formal gear, so I don't need to deal with her. Here, these are your shoes," She shoved a pair of peep-toe sling-back metallic black shoes, "They have thicker heels, so they're easier to walk in. You better not stumble- it's only 3 inches tall. I'm being considerate." She quickly made her way into the closet next door, waving off a servant again and unabashedly pulling Dimitri's shirt up and examining his torso, much to his chagrin.

"You're coming on a little strong." Dimitri said sarcastically, rather pleased with his joke though knowing that he'd earn a glare from Nataljia, who quickly discerned his size and pulled his shirt back down with the expected expression on her face.

"You wish." She replied irritably, handing him a dark crimson fullback vest, "You'd probably look like a zoo exhibit with a coat…" She mused, looking at the selection, "So this should be fine." She handed him a black tie and said, "Find the rest yourself."

Punishment for the jab, Dimitri concluded. Still, he was rather glad he hadn't gotten the complete package. Natalija spent considerably more time on her own attire than his, though she immediately pulled out a pinstriped black blazer and a royal blue dress shirt to go underneath. A white tie, and she was finished. Fast. Dimitri was still trying to figure out the shirts.

"Tuxedo's are boring." She sighed, fixing her knotted silver cuff links, before automatically making Dimitri her next doll, "Dresses are so much more interesting." She rambled off about how there was nothing special about men's formal wear as she briefly interjected with reasons as to what she was picking, for example, the black dress shirt, which would prevent him from looking as if he just weren't wearing his jacket. And then she tore the black tie out of Dimitri's grasp and replaced it with a metallic silver one, tying it into the proper knot before pulling it looser. "Perfect. You look just like an unsuccessful businessman." She smirked at Dimitri's confused face. Her work was done in terms of him, and she silently pointed to the rack with rows of pants, and then to a pair of shoes with heavy treads.
 
Pethalamine merely scoffed at Natalija's remark, glaring at the girl-in-boy's-body from the corner of her eye until she had left the room. Though she had obviously meant to insult, the nail-obsessing little witch had actually been more accurate than she had known. Totally out of norm though her dress may have been for casual occasions, it was - in fact - only slightly out of norm as formal wear went. Besides, a quick look at the selection of dresses confirmed what she had feared from the start.

"Don't any of these things cover your arms?" the scholar moaned, regretting her remark the moment it had slipped. For a moment, she had almost forgotten that Garm's tattoo was a secret as far as the rest as the group was concerned, though fortunately the only one currently sharing the room with her was Soren, who was probably too shocked by the clothes he had been saddled with to pay attention to such details, "Guess there's no helping it, then." the girl continued rather hastily, determinedly shutting the closet and commencing a number of adjustment operations with the various strings on her outfit, allowing the sleeves and hem to descend into their full, impractical glory, "This will have to do." she announced, smoothing out the newly extended parts of her attire to get rid of the worst wrinkling that their captivity had caused, before stopping for a sympathetic look at Soren and his little ordeal, "Think you'll manage with those?"

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Alderian was...well, not a party person. Parties were sinful, extravagant occasions where all manner of indecencies and shameless acts were committed and the thought did not sit well with him. Even so, he kept reminding himself, he would have to endure this trial for the greater good that his mission would bring. It was a sacrifice, a sacrifice to restore peace of mind for Ophelia. He also had an oligation to see to that girl's continued health, and he would not shirk from it.

'You are sure...this is fine?' he stared at the mirror, observing the plain but - Kisei had assured him - servicable combination of white dress shirt, black tuxedo, black trousers, and black bow tie, 'The others seem to be...'

"The others are here for entertainment." the negafael replied offhandedly, "You are here for work. This is completely in accordance with formal requirements."

The priest nodded, straightening his tie one last time before slowly turning to the other two, obviously waiting for someone else to make the first move.
 
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Soren felt more and more uncomfortable the longer he allowed Natalija to look through the closet as she pleased. He was praying she would have some consideration, praying that she would keep in mind that he did not want to go gallivanting around looking like some sort of peacock, praying she wouldn't pick something ridiculous, and praying that he wouldn't have to be dolled up. Ophelia wasn't listening today. His heart rate - or rather the heart rate of the body he was inhabiting, raised and fell as Natalija went past some utterly ridiculous outfits. Above all else, he did not want to attract the attention of any guys at this party, because God forbid he wouldn't punch them in the face for trying. Then again, it wouldn't really be uncharacteristic of Natalija to do such a thing, would it?

Natalija finally picked an outfit after a long time of Soren following her and twiddling his thumbs. If he was a little more inclined to do so, he probably would have cried. The skirt portion of this yellow-green dress... why was it so... big? Girls actually wore that kind of stuff? He could tell just from one glance, that this was going to be an experience he was soon going to force himself to forget. Oddly, he was rather put down by the chest comment, despite the fact that Natalija was basically insulting herself. After shoving some equally painful looking shoes in his hands, despite saying she was being generous, the girl stormed off to the guy's change room to dress the other gentleman of their group, which came off as rather disturbing. Soren sank into depression, as he trudged over into the corner of the changeroom. He had yet to change himself in this body, and he still had a lot of doubts about it. "This thing doesn't even have straps..." He whimpered as he held the dress up after setting the shoes down beside him. "And why is the bottom so..." It was then that he saw Pethalamine in the corner of his eye, though he quickly looked away as she was adjusting her dress. He had completely forgotten she was there, and with Lyrum unable to attend the party because of her wings, that made her the only other girl in the room. "H-hey... Peth?" He had noticed something when he had looked over before, while she was adjusting her dress. On her arm, was that a tattoo? Maybe he'd ask about it later. "D-do you think you could... help me get dressed? I don't think I can manage getting changed into this thing, let alone walking around in it..." He blushed sincerely, really not sure what went where. Natalija would probably kill him if she saw it, though.

---

"You sure you're okay going out like that?" Reid inquired to the seemingly young violet haired woman, dressed in a simple, black dress. Her hair fell all the way down her back, although two black bows separated it into pieces in the back. Her eyes, the same shade of violet as her hair, shone back at the man. It was hard for Reid to believe that Auricia was actually only twenty eight physically. She looked so young, so vibrant, in comparison to himself, who was nearing forty. It was hard to believe he had fought alongside her twenty years before.

Auricia pulled on a pair of black heels before clicking her feet onto the ground. "I need to get out of that little body once in a while, right? Besides, since Ellianne is waiting with Lyrum in one of the guest rooms, she asked me to see if perhaps Lazarus was here. If I don't recognize him, hopefully he'll recognize me..." She stepped out onto the floor of the hall, where people where dancing and others drinking merrily around the room, with a determination that would have been uncharacteristic of her years ago when she was reliant on Ashton. How had she felt when she lost him, Reid wondered? With that question on his mind, he went to look for the host. Hopefully Blanc could help. If not, Ilya was probably around somewhere...
 
Pethalamine blinked at Soren's request, taking a few moments to get over the shock of a genuine blush on that face before her mind snapped back to the reality of who was occupying the body. This really was going to take some getting used to.

"Alright." she replied, unable to resist a small chuckle, despite her best attempts at muffling it as she grasped the hapless boy by the arm and led him in behind one of the screens that had been set up in the room precisely for this purposes. Oh, she knew that that wasn't the real Natalija, but even so, the memory of that helpless expression on the face of someone she disliked so much was definitely worth treasuring, "Lucky for you, I used to do a bit of part-time work with precisely this sort of thing. Now then, start by removing your flats, if you please. I'm sure you'll find this less awkward than making me have to do it."

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Pethalamine was no stranger to demanding clothing. On the contrary, her rather unusual fashion sense made encounters with it a near daily occurrence, but getting dressed was a quite different matter than dressing someone up, and Soren could hardly boast the same kind of experience. Nonetheless, after a number of more or less well executed instructions and the occasional manual correction on Pethalamine's part, she eventually managed to fit Soren into his formal wear, making a last-minute adjustment on the sash before taking a step back to inspect her handiwork, slowly nodding in approval.

"You have the clothes." she conceded, "Now you need the manner. Chin up, no blushing or trying to look inconspicuous - you'll only look awkward - no jumping or other sudden movements that could cause..." she let her glance travel to the top of the garment before concluding diplomatically, "...things that you wouldn't want happening. Mind the hemline too, so it doesn't get stuck any place awkward and lead to equally undesirable situations. You'll have to change your stride too. Your steps are so wide you'll be liable to trip on your own dress if you don't sprain something with your heels first. Try moving with shorter steps and in a more dignified manner. Like this." she gave a quick demonstration of the walk, "Your movements will be slower, but it's better than wobbling or tripping over. Now, if you go ahead and practice that for a moment I'll go ahead and send a servant for...ahem, the boys, shall I? I'm sure Natalija will have taught you more than you ever wanted to know about dresses and walking in heels before the evening is through."
 
Liza Jaquez was nothing like her older brother, save for their matching, vibrant olive eyes. Her long cornsilk blonde hair cascaded in elegant waves down to her back, and Adela could've bet money that Liza was a skill manipulating her appearance, the woman looked so young. She was in an electric blue mermaid dress, scattered with small sparkling rhinestones. And the biggest difference between herself and Levi? Adela identified it with much relief and satisfaction. Liza's manners were impeccable. She had smiled with a sweet innocence throughout Lazarus' introduction, her smile growing brighter as Adela was identified as one of her dearest older brother's old acquaintances, though Lazarus stretched it to include "friends". Adela felt like a pauper in Liza's refined presence, the unassuming woman the perfect princess in every manner. However, the housewife quickly swept the feeling under the carpet, because Adela was not the type to stay feeling inferior for long. The other woman's meek personality would be her downfall, Adela assured herself, feeling much better about her own, defiant one. As such, Adela had not accepted either Liza or Lazarus' assistance in constructing her attire for the evening. After finding herself in a very large closet full of dresses that could no longer be worn by Levi's late mother due to the fact that they had been worn once already, and after giving up on the idea of looking through all of them upon contemplating, Adela had found herself a dress acceptable for her age; and generally flawless skin. A beaded strapless gown with attached satin belt about the empire waist was held in place by a diamond brooch, an A-line skirt reaching her knees. A matching navy bolero jacket with 3/4 sleeves hid the fact that the dress was strapless, quite unbefitting of a woman her age unless accompanied by a scarf of some sort, which Adela was not keen on. It had been a long time since she'd last worn high heels, but after a moments stroll, she picked up the old tricks, and was quite satisfied with herself.

But she quickly remembered that she hated parties upon arriving. Levi was effectively dragging his three accomplices around with him in his socializing antics, and Adela was getting tired of the chatter, fast. Lazarus tried his best to keep her mood pleasant by trying to point out some people, but it was really impossible. Levi was all smiles in his silver sports jacket and teal dress shirt. Adela had severely disapproved of his loose black tie, the knot laying on the very middle of his chest as though he'd just finished with a party, not as if he were attending one. Though he seemed casually dressed compared to some other attendants, nobody seemed particularly phased by it, which didn't surprise the pristine woman in navy, simply earned more of her disapproval.

Adela refused a glass of champagne, wanting her keep her head clear throughout the chaos around her. It wasn't really chaos per say, but any party, to Adela, was just doomed to be a disorganized mess. Liza excused herself at one point, briefly introducing her husband before leaving with him. And then at another point, Adela refused to keep following 'Ivel' around like a servant, choosing to stand a fair distance from the dance floor and sitting down at one of the small tables. "I don't know why you deal with him."

Lazarus smiled wryly, "He's good at lifting a gloomy mood. Isn't that why you're here too?"

Adela folded her arms, "No." She answered without hesitation, "I'm here because I can yell and be cranky at him all I want and he doesn't hold it against me."

"Well, that too." Lazarus laughed.

"So, you're here because…?"

"I heard about Alta, and I thought I needed to go someplace where it wasn't a big deal. Levi doesn't like keeping up with current events, so it's nice to block out the fact that Alta's gone if he never brings it up. Liza is nice enough not to mention it either, but she's only been around lately because Roman has had business in Beta, and she doesn't like the cold." Lazarus shrugged, "I think I'm going to go back to Gregar soon though."

"Because Ellianne's here?"

Lazarus' elbow slipped off the table in surprise, but he quickly caught himself as he shook his head adamantly, "It's not like I don't want to see her, if you're thinking the way Levi is. I just don't think it's absolutely essential that I do. It's just not… important anymore." He shrugged, looking a little dissatisfied with his answer, but unable to conjure up a more accurate description.

"What isn't important anymore?" Levi asked, pulling a seat over and plopping down in it, "Whatcha guys talkin' bout?"

"Nothing." Lazarus replied with a pleasant smile, "Done with greetings?"

Levi moved one shoulder up and let it drop, "If not, then they can come look for me. Can't find that Blanc guy for the life of me, but since when did I ever say hello and goodbye to the host anyway? Haven't seen him in person for awhile anyway. Maybe I said hi to him and never realized it was him?"
 
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