Nano 09 – Nov 5-7 – 6011 words (15 063 total)

08 Nov 2009 4 Comments

by Nikkiin writing Tags:

(I wrote pretty much all of this tonight.  Technically I wrote several thousand words on the 8th, but I count that as the 7th since I haven’t slept yet and I’m one of those people who writes better past midnight.  Actually, I’m not sure about that… suddenly this novel has devolved into (wet and) naked people, slutty clothes and glow in the dark alien boxers.)

“If you really wish to find out… be my guest,” Katryn gestured dramatically.  Carson froze.

“I’ll pass.  I developed a fear of dead bodies when I was five – alas, my poor grandmother never finished her morning coffee the morning after our sleepover.”

Katryn looked at him.  “I’m not certain if you’re making that up or not.”

The door flung open with a bang and Cassandra stormed out, shouting.  “I wish I was living with dad – he wouldn’t care that I went out into the city!”

“And that is why I got sole custody!” Lillian shouted back whilst following Cassandra out of the room, “And don’t walk away from me!”

Cassandra opened her mouth to give another heated response, but she was interrupted by another angry shout bouncing off the corridor’s walls.

“Viandir!” A large, middle aged woman with a glorious mass of dark shining curls stalked towards the group, “Not only do you tear me away from the grips of my muse, but you instructed me to report to an empty room!  What kind of cruel game are you playing with me?”

“Ah, Eilyn,” Viandir winced, “I’m terribly sorry about the confusion.  We were originally in the red room, but one of the Heroes decided to take a trip into the city and everything got thrown into chaos after that.”

“Good.  You need more spontaneity in your life, Viandir,” Eilyn was suddenly all smiles and dimples.  “Chaos is an agent of change and a necessary ingredient in overthrowing the Evil One.  Which one of these Heroes is the promising one?” The ‘Heroes’ looked at each other in confusion.

“You should be pleased, Eilyn.  The agent of chaos is your student, Cassandra,” Viandir said, ushering Cassandra forward.  “And now that the situation has been dealt with, we should go back to our training now.”

“Wonderful!  Cassandra, you absolutely must show up on time for all of our lessons.  Whilst chaos is necessary for life and growth, it must also be tempered with order,” Eilyn placed Cassandra’s arm through her own.  “Much like music – one cannot just create a glorious mass of noise (unless, of course, you are Xiaxilees – a brilliant man.  A bit insane, yes, but brilliant nonetheless) but you cannot have a song that consists of just a scale (though Hareah composed a lovely symphony piece consisting of just that).  A balance must be struck between chaos and order for life to succeed!  Tell me, Cassandra, what instruments do you play?”

Cassandra blinked, overwhelmed.  “Guitar, mostly.   Some piano and alto sax.”

“Excellent, excellent!  I am a pianist myself, but I do have a decent grasp at the guitar,” Eilyn laughed lyrically.

“You’re selling yourself too short again, Eilyn,” Viandir said fondly, “You have a preternatural gift at playing all instruments and your compositions aren’t too shoddy either.”

Eilyn giggled, “Oh Viandir, you flatterer.”

Viandir blushed furiously, “Ahem.  Lillian,” he said, changing the subject, “I have the results from your aptitude test.”

“So soon?” Lillian asked, surprised.

“Of course – they test is marked as soon as you sign your name at the bottom of the page,” Viandir said.

“I was under the impression that there were tests like thse in your world,” Jerin said, “Were they not makred instantaneously as well?”

“No,” Lillian replied, “They need to be fed into a machine and the machine marks the exams for you.  There is a delay for processing.”

“How inefficient,” Poehr said.

“Well, technically we have exams that are marked instantly,” Cassandra clarified, “They’re just written on the computer instead of on paper.”

“A computer?” Jerin asked.

“Yeah,” Cassandra replied.  “Big, boxy has a montiro to view stuff and a keyboard and a mouse to put stuff into it?”

The Reannians looked confused.

“Like the calculator,” Katryn explained, “But far more powerful.  Computers use basic math and logic statements to calculate incredibly complex equations, display images, transfer data, etcetera.”

“What sort of equations,” Poehr asked, curious.

“The big ones, the onse that nobody wants to do by hand.  Quantum mechanics is a big one to use the calucators for.  There’s a lot of tedious approximation and integrating,” Katryn explained.

“You have machines to calculate out numbers that your graphing calculator cannot handle,” Poehr looked surprised… and very envious.

“Yeah,” Katryn said, “It’s pretty awesome.”

“Somehow,” Poehr said, “I think that you may know more about physics than all of the sorcerers on this planet put together.”

Katryn blushed.  “I doubt that – I’m only a undergrad after all.  A lot of the stuff I know was actually discovered before computers, and even calculators, came into play.  They just make life easier for us, they don’t make us any smarter.”

“Even so.  With that graphing calculator, you have the potential to be the greatest sorcerer in this country, if not the entire world,” Poehr was awed and beginning to border on hero worship.  Honestly?  Katryn was a little freaked out by it and stunned into silence.

“Well then,” Lillian said, “How did I score?”

“Your scored the highest in accounting,” Viandir said.

“Ha!” Cassandra interrupted, “Pretty pathetic, mom, your highest aptitude is for the job you already hold.”

“How is that a surprise, Cassie?”  Lillian shot back, “I’d be pretty pissed if it wasn’t – I have been doing this for twenty years after all.”

“Mom!  Don’t call me that!” Cassandra whined.

Lillian ignored her.  “Somehow,” she said, “I doubt that accounting is going to help us very much on this quest.  What is the next highest?”

“The healing arts,” Viandir said with a smile, “A very useful talent for any group of adventurers.”

“Seriously?” Lillian asked, “I have no medical training whatsoever.”

“Ah, but you can make the most astute diagnosis ever, mom,” Cassandra smirked, “It is never lupus.”

The other four humans from earth snickered as the Reannians looked baffled.

“It’s from a show,” Rainier said, “Called House.  It’s about a miserable bastard of a doctor and his team of diagnosticians.  At some point in the show, they’ll always list off a bunch of possible disease the symptoms match and lupus is always thrown out there.  However, it is never lupus as House once pointed out.”

“I… see,” Viandir said, still mystified.

“It’s a really good show,” Lillian assured him.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Viandir said, “Do you wish to learn the healing arts?”

“Yeah, sure.   Sounds fine with me,” Lillian tried to shrug casually.  She failed.

“Oh, joys,” Silvanus said, “Does anybody in this group actually know something about the Role they are playing?”

“Yes, actually,” Katryn said.  “Though technically I’m not supposed to be in the group.  You’re better off with me than that crazy old drunk, though.  He makes my life a living hell at work.”

“…How many people came through the Portal?” Silvanus asked slowly.

“Six,” Viandir said, “But that’s all very hush hush – officially only five came through.”

“We’re so fucked.”

Chapter Something

And, thus, the Heroes trained.  It was a long and gruelling period for all of them – voices were raised, explosions were made and teachers stormed out in a huff (but shortly returned – everyone feared the Evil One more than they were willing to hold a grudge after all).

An hour later, Viandir called it quits for the night.  Carson’s questions about the strangest and minutest of details were driving him absolutely nuts.  In all honesty, that plan agreed with all of the Reannians except for Jerin.  Jerin was fascinated with the byplay and kept jumping from person to person quizzing them on the strangest details of their lives.  Eilyn, however, was ready to snap – her muse was calling to her and her nature demanded that she leave this instant to write.  Viandir, fearing for his safety, quickly let her go.

Poehr seemed to have quickly gotten over his hero worship of Katryn – her bossy and demanding nature was a sight to behold and her temper wasn’t something you wanted to be on the bad side of.  Unfortunately, Poehr rapidly attracted her wrath after he stopped her from exploding another vase and forced her to slow down on the spellcasting.

As for Weorn, it turns out that, despite his vast knowledge of weaponry, Rainier was a quick study and a much stronger man and was quickly able to force him into submission.  Later on, Rainier admitted that he took fencing lessons as a teenager and then, during the off season, he liked to perform historical renactments of tournaments at Renaissance fairs.

Lillian’s teacher, HealerName, was the odd one out – she was perfectly willing to stay for several more hours.  Lillian was an attentive student and ate up every word that she said.  Once again, it turns out that Lillian’s mathematical knowledge and incredible memory for the strangest of details was a major bonus in this world.  Despite only ever watching medical dramas for almost forty years and possessing no other medical knowledge, Lillian apparently made an outstanding healer and an avid student.  Her ability to memorize anatomy, even when factoring in the boosting powers of the memorization spell, was outstanding.

Silvanus, disallowed from leaving Viandir’s sight, was bored shitless from the beginning.

So, after the five humans from Earth were shown to their rooms, and they were rather lavish rooms at that and Silvanus locked in the servants quarters, the six palace residents trooped off for their meeting with the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister was an incredibly gorgeous woman.  Her eyes were a luminescent blue and her hair fell in cascading waves past her shoulders and both shimmered at the six in the fading sunlight.

“So,” she said, “How are they?”  The six exchanged looks and then turned to Viandir.

“They are both better, and far worse, than we had ever hoped for,” Viandir admitted slowly.  “They come from a world without magic and none of them have any proper training in their chosen disciplines.”

“So, are we screwed or are we not screwed?” The Prime Minister asked, just as slowly as Viandir.

“That remains to be seen.  They are all quick learners and they do all have a background in their Roles, but they do not have any experience with the magical ends of things,” Viandir said, “And Cassandra found another problem – as there is no magic in their world, none of them have been tainted by the vampire mark.  They need protection from the vampires and the other beasts that prey on humans, which is why I requested the dossier on Silvanus of Whereever.”
“You want a thief to travel with them,” The Prime Minister asked bluntly.

“Yes,” Viandir said, “There are not many options available to us.  Silvanus is the only elven vampire within three hundred kilometres from here and, frankly, he is the best suited for this role.”

The Prime Minister sighed, “You are right, of course.  None of the others have the amount of force and charm to cow ordinary vampires into submission.”

“Indeed,” Viandir said, glancing at Eilyn, concerned, “Why doesn’t Eilyn update you on the status of her student first?”

Eilyn ceased her fidgety nervousness and replied shortly, “Cassandra has had plenty of formal training in music – she’s a supurb musician and is quickly adapting to the lute.  I think I’ll be able to judge her composition and improvation skills tomorrow.”

The Prime Minsiter eyed Eilyn carefully, also aware of the musician’s flighty nature, “Very well.  You may leave if you like, Eilyn.”

“Thank you ma’am,” Eilyn bowed elegantly and swiftly hurried out of the room.

“Now, the one you’re training for leadership, Viandir?”

“Carson has absolutely no interest in leadership,” Viandir bluntly stated.

The Prime Minister looked surprised and a little pleased, “No interest whatsoever?  Interesting.”
“Yes, he is far more interested in the history of Reann and our rhetoric.  He says that he’s an anthropologist – someone who studies other civilizations,” Viandir explained.

“But does he have leadership potential?” The Prime Minister asked.

“Honestly?  I’m not certain.  I think he might be the one to motivate people to move onwards simply because he wishes to explore the world, though,” Viandir said, “In battle, I suspect that it is Rainier who will take the lead.”

“I suppose that that will have to do,” The Prime Minister sighed and rubbed at her temples.  “I was hoping that there would be a clear leader type Hero.  It certainly simplifies things.”

“That it does, especially since Carson has no real skills to apply to the team in a fight,” Viandir said, disgusted.

“Actually,” Jerin interrupted, “I’m not so sure about that.  As someone who studies other cultures, I’m certain that he’d be a good summoner – half the battle is knowing what the creature you’re summoning wants.  At the very least, I sense a bit of the talent within him.”

“Train him in that,” The Prime Minister said instantly, “Even if he can only summon a bunny, the Heroes need every edge that they can get.”

“I will endeavour to do so,” Jerin nodded.

“The healer?” The Prime Minister prompted after a small pause.

“Strangely, for someone who knows nothing about the healing arts, Lillian is rather adept at memorisation and, as a mother of a rebellious teen, she certainly has the compassion to heal properly,” HealerName said, “She’ll never be a great healer, though.  Her talents lie more in numerology and mathematics.  Hopefully none of the Heroes die and require a resurrection.”

The Prime Minister frowned and rubbed at her temples harder, “So we have a bard who could possibly have a talent, a leader who may or may not lead and a healer who can perform basic tasks.  Thus so far, our Heroes are not shapping up to be like the ones in the Prophecy.”

“Well,” Peohr said, “Technically Katryn is at the level of Heroism that we would expect from the Chosen Ones.”

“Ah, yes.  Katryn.  The sixth person to come through the portal,” The Prime Minister rolled her eyes, “Someone that isn’t even supposed to be here is Hero material.”

“It does seem to be that way,” Jerin said with a shrug, “But at least we have an incredibly powerful war sorcerer – Katryn could almost carry the entire team throughout most of their travels, especially since she can run the calculations so much faster than our sorcerers.”

“And Rainier is decent enough with the broadsword to fend off any attackers whilst Katryn is calculating,” Weorn put in.

“How decent?” The Prime Minister asked sharply.

Weorn made a face, “With Lillian supplying buffering spells and constantly healing him, he should be able to hold everything back just long enough for Katryn to take them out.”

“And throughout all of this, Carson, Cassandra and Silvanus will be just sitting on their asses,” The Prime Minister sighed.

“I’m not sure about Cassandra,” Viandir said, “She’s sneaky, as her trip into the city proved.  She could probably make a decent rogue.”

Jerin grinned, “And Silvanus will jump at the chance to train her.”  Everyone looked at him, curious, “What?  You’ve seen how he looks at her – Silvanus is dying to get his teeth into Cassandra and he’ll do anything to attain that goal.”

The Prime Minister shot a sharp look at Viandir.

“No, I did not notice,” Viandir said, annoyed, “Besides, with Cassandra’s mother there, nothing will happen.  I suspect that Lillian will quickly discover the effects of healing magic on vampires.”

The Prime Minister sighed again.  “This all would be hilarious…” She trailed off.

“Yeah,” Jerin said, “If it wasn’t for the fact that our lives are on the line.”

“You’re all dismissed,” The Prime Minister waved an arm absently, “Get some rest.”

“You too, PrimeName,” Weorn paused in the doorway, looking back.  The others had already left.

“I wish I could, Weorn,” PrimeName pushed her hair out of her face with a fine boned hand, “But I have a speech to write and it seems like I’m going to have to write rather… creatively.”

“Good night then,” Weorn nodded and left, closing the door softly behind him.

–

When Katryn woke up the next morning, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.  The bed didn’t feel quite like her own, but she was desperately hoping that yesterday was just a sick dream.  As fascinating as it was to literally apply basic physics principles to the real world, she was just not interested in questing across the countryside.  She just wasn’t the adventuresome sort and, to make matters worse, she really did hate science fiction and fantasy.  And, yet, here she was.  Stuck in a world in which vampires (and elves) actually existed.

Maybe being on a crazy drug trip really would be the preferable situation.

Sighing, Katryn realised that she was just delaying the inevitable and slowly opened one eye and then the other.

The walls were a deep, dark red.

No go then – Katryn’s apartment had the same sterilely white walls as every other apartment in existence.

Katryn sighed and rolled over.  While the red was preferable to the white she normally woke up to, she still thought that it was hokey that the redhead gets to stay in the red room.  She burrowed under the covers and closed her eyes again.

Five minutes later she was out of the bed and wandering in her borrowed nightgown.  She was never good at sleeping in.  Katryn started opening drawers and doors in an attempt to find the en suite.  Her hair was a greasy mass and her (borrowed) nightgown was clinging to her skin – the Reann’s slept with the rooms at a much higher temperature than what Katryn was used to.

After discovering that the room had one closet and a second bedroom attached (Katryn thought that they might be servants quarters or something), Katryn found that the third time was indeed the charm as she walked into the en suite.

Wow, was Katryn’s only thought, I take it back – I never want to go back to earth.

The en suite was incredibly lavish – there was a massive and deep tub (pool, practically) sunk into the ground, already full of steaming hot water.  There was a shower off to the side but Katryn’s eyes were fixed on the tub.  It looked like absolute heaven.

Entirely forgetting that she spent a hot and sticky night in bed, Katryn eagerly stripped out of clothes and slowly sunk into the tub.  Katryn sighed happily as the water nearly scalded her.  Perfect.  Absolutely perfect.

Taking in a deep breath, Katryn sunk down beneath the surface and powerfully pushed her way to the centre of the tub.  Smiling in pure bliss, Katryn held herself under the water until her lungs were screaming for air.  With a massive rush of water, Katryn flung herself upwards and sucked in a huge gulp of air.  Gasping happily, she shook her hair out of her face leaned back into the water to float on her back.

Hmmm, she thought, the mirrors on the ceiling were very overkill and rather tasteless.  She studied her body critically – the heat of the water was turning her normally pale skin a rather unattractive lobster red colour.

It was then, she noticed, that there was someone standing in the doorway of the bathroom.

Katryn shrieked in anger and ducked below the water, desperately trying to cover up.  “What the flying fuck are you doing in here, Carson?!”

“I, uh, I was told to come wake you up so I knocked on the door but there was no answer and then you weren’t in the bed but this door was open and I heard noises and then I looked inside and oh my god I’m so sorry!”  Carson cried out, covering his eyes.

“Then why the hell did you stay and not say anything!” Katryn yelled, Carson cringed.  “Oh for Christ’s sake, get the fuck out of the bathroom!  And close the door behind you!”

Carson complied, whimpering.  Surprisingly, he went a step further and left the rooms entirely.

He was still standing there, red faced, and a bit shell shocked but with a small smile upon his lips when Lillian strode by on a direct path to Cassandra’s rooms.  She paused, however, and looked at Carson.

“What’s with you?  Did you get Katryn up?” She asked, frowning.

“It, uh, turns out that she was already up,” Carson said, embarrassed.

Lillian raised an eyebrow, “And?”

“Ummm, she was already washing up,” Carson hedged.

Lillian snickered and rolled her eyes, “In the giant bathtub, right?”

Carson just nodded slightly.

Lillian’s smile grew, “And you got yourself a good look, didn’t you?”

Carson nodded again.

Lillian snickered, “And then she gave you holy hell, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” Katryn said, poking her head out of her door, “I did.  Lillian, when you have a moment, could you come see me?”

“Of course dear,” Lillian said, “Just give me a minute to attempt to wake up Cassandra.”

“Try telling her that Silvanus is up and ready to take on the day,” Katryn smirked.

“Oh, trust me, I’m not encouraging that one,” Lillian sighed, “And she always said that the werewolf in those books was the hot one.  I’ll be back in a few.  Carson, you should go get properly dressed.”

Carson rolled his eyes, “Yes mom.”  Lillian thwapped him upside of the head.

“Don’t give me lip, boy!”  She sashayed her way into Cassandra’s room and closed the door with an overly loud slam.

Carson grinned and turned to back to Katryn, “So, Katryn, wha –”

And that was as far as he got before Katryn closed the door on his face.

Katryn grinned evilly to herself.  Carson was going to pay for that move!

Well, he would pay for it once she figured out if there were any decent clothes in the closet.  She had already gone through it once and the entire contents of wardrobe were nearly impossible to decipher.  She had seen Peohr and a few others wandering around in a ridiculous robe getup but she never thought that she’d be forced to wear the costume.  Or that it would be so hard to figure out how it went together.

Fortunately, the undergarments were easy to figure out, though, in the case of the corset, hard to put on.  Katryn, upon seeing the ridiculous contraption, had immediately thrown it aside and put on her bra.  Nothing, absolutely nothing was going to get her into a corset.

Katryn was still staring at the clothes, having at least sorted them into what was most likely proper outfits, in confusion when she heard a soft knock on her door.

“Lillian?” Katryn called out.

“Yes?”  Lilian’s muffled voice came through the door.

“Come in – the door’s unlocked!” Katryn shouted.  Lillian opened the door and slipped in quietly.

“Unlocked?  I would have expected you to lock it after your surprise visit this morning,” Lillian said.

“No point – I can’t see Rainier as a peeping tom and Carson already got a free show and likely isn’t coming back for more,” Katryn shrugged, “Anyway, I was wondering if I could have some help with these… clothes.”

Lillian walked over to stand beside Katryn and surveyed them critically for a few moments.  “First things first,” she said, “Lose the bra.”

“What?” Katryn sucked in a breath, “I am most certainly not going to wear that corset if that is what you are implying!”

“You are – the entire outfit seems to hook up to it,” Lillian said, “So, what colour do you wish to wear?”

“I am not wearing a corset,” Katryn said adamantly.

“Hmmm, with your colouring I think we should go with the icy blue and black outfit,” Lillian said, ignoring Katryn entirely.  “Take off the bra or I’ll take it off for you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Katryn huffed.

A minute later Lillian had Katryn pinned to the bed on her stomach, her bra nowhere to be seen.

“Corset.  Now.” Lillian snapped.

“…Yes ma’am,” Katryn muttered and Lillian got off her back.  Scowling, Katryn put on the corset and squirmed a bit as Lillian began to tighten it.  “Holy god woman, that is tight enough!” Katryn gasped, “I can barely breathe!”

“You may not be able to breathe,” Lillian said with a grunt, lacing it shut tighter, “But do you really want the corset to fall off?”

“Can’t I have both?” Katryn gasped.

“Oh quit your whining,” Lillian said, “You’re going to look absolutely fantastic in this thing.”

“Yes, I’ll look absolutely ravishing whilst lying unconscious on the floor from not getting enough oxygen into my system,” Katryn winced as the corset tightened further.

“Hush,” Lillian said, “I’m done.  Time for the stockings and garters.”

“Yeah, can I skip that bit?”  Katryn asked, “Nobody is going to see it under that skirt.”

Lillian just held up the skirt and twisted it, revealing a slit that went up to mid thigh.

“Or perhaps they will see everything,” Katryn said dryly, “Including the garter belt.  Is there a less sluttastic one?”

“Do you want to go through the corset thing again,” Lillian raised an eyebrow.

“For preserving my modesty?  Certainly,” Katryn crossed her arms and looked defiant, though the effect was ruined due to the fact that she was standing there barefooted in nothing but her underwear.

“Fine,” Lillian rolled her eyes, “The least revealing outfit appears to be this pink and purple one.”

Katryn frowned.  “I look hideous in pink and purple.”

“Yes,” Lillian said, “You would.  Will you put on the stockings now?”  Katryn sighed and snatched them out of Lillian’s hands.

After the garter fiasco came the equally daunting skirt fiasco.  While Katryn had no problems with the skirt itself (well, other than the absolutely obnoxious split, but even that was better than standing around in her under things), Lillian had a horrible time trying to figure out how it fit together with the corset.  It took several attempts but the skirt was finally attached in all of its buckle-y glory.

The skirt was actually very ridiculous.  It had at least a dozen straps that did absolutely nothing and another half dozen belts that seemed to be there just for the looks.  And Katryn was right – the slit did go all the way up her thighs and high enough to reveal the black lace of the garter.

Katryn looked in a floor length mirror and rolled her eyes.  “I feel like I’m getting ready for a Hallowe’en party.”

“It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?” Lillian said with a smile, “It’ll be interesting to see what everyone else is going to be wearing.”

“Yours does not seem too bad,” Katryn said, glancing at Lillian’s high necked long sleeved shirt and thick, tight fitting pants.

“Perhaps not now,” Lillian said wryly, “But this is only the bottom layer.  I suppose I should just be happy that I don’t have to wear one of those giant white nurses’ hats.”

“Or a corset,” Katryn said petulantly.  Lillian rolled her eyes.

“Or a corset.  Come on, there’s jewellery to wear with this outfit too,” Lillian ushered Katryn over to the dresser.

“There’s jewellery too?” Katryn exclaimed, “How do you figure?”

“There was a jewellery box on the dresser painted in the same colours as the outfit,” Lillian shrugged and started passing Katryn various items.  On went a black lace choker, a heavy silver and highly ornate cross, a pair of lace opera gloves and wristbands overtop of that.

“Seriously,” Katryn said, “Don’t you think that this is overkill?”

“Probably,” Lillian said, “But we may as well go all out, right?  Last item.”  Lillian handed Katryn a handful of black and blue lace.

“Um,” Katryn said, “what is this for?”

“I think it is for your hair,” Lillian said and then manhandled Katryn into a chair, “Sit.  Stay.”

“I’m not a dog person,” Katryn said, “Just so you know.”

Lillian ignored her and started threading the laces through Katryn’s hair and tying it up as she went along.  Katryn winced as a bobby pin dug into her skull.

“Ow!  Seriously!” Katryn yelped, “I do not put up my hair for a reason!”

“Oh hush, you’re looking marvellous,” Lillian clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth, “Almost done….”

“Really?” Katryn asked.

“With your hair,” Lillian clarified.  “I’ve still got to do your makeup.”

“No,” Katryn said, “Absolutely not.”

“You’ve already tried that,” Lillian hummed, “And did it work?  No.  I recommend that you just give up and go with the flow already.”

Katryn sulked but stayed in her seat as Lillian ran to get the makeup from the en suite.

“Can you at least put on as little as possible?” Katryn whined.

“Of course, dear,” Lillian murmured, carefully brushing medium brown eye shadow on Katryn’s eyelids.  She carefully accented it with a hint of fiery red and dark red eyeliner.  Black mascara was quickly applied and Katryn started to get up to flee.  Lillian shoved her back into the seat with a glare.  Katryn glared back and Lillian sighed.  “Just a little colour on your lips, okay?”

Katryn rolled her eyes, “Fine.”

“See?  That’s the spirit!” Lillian said gleefully and got out the lipstick and painted Katryn’s lips a dark red.

“Are you trying to make me look goth?” Katryn grumbled.

“Of course not,” Lillian chided, “If I were, I would have put you in the black and red ensemble and given you black lipstick.”

“Encouraging.  Am I done yet?” Katryn sighed.

“Almost,” Lillian assured her.  “Just the boots and the jacket left.”

“Boots?” Katryn asked nervously.

“Yes, they are hooker boots,” Lillian said, correctly interpreting Katryn’s look.  Katryn groaned.  And then the boots came into her sight and she groaned again.  And boggled.

“Do those belts even do anything?” Katryn stared.

“Honestly?  I don’t think so,” Lillian said.

“Okay, the fashion designer seriously needs to be shot,” Katryn said.  “How does this make sense at all?”

“Does Earth fashion make any more sense?” Lillian asked.  Katryn pondered that one for a moment and then remembered the eighties.

“Yeah,” she said, “Good point.”

“Great.  Now put on the damned boots,” Lillian said.  Katryn complied.

“What’s next?” Katryn asked.  Lillian grinned.

“You’re going to love this one,” Lillian pulled her arms behind her back and then flicked the leather open with a snap.  Katryn stared again.

“There are zippers,” She said.

“Yes, yes there is,” Lillian agreed with a smile.

“There are about fifty zippers,” Katryn said.

“Probably,” Lillian nodded.

“Do I even want to know the metal to leather ratio of this thing?” Katryn asked.

“Probably not,” Lillian said.

“Do the zippers go anywhere?” Katryn asked.

“Some of them,” Lillian said.

“The ones that normally open up pockets?” Katryn asked.

“Pretty much,” Lillain grinned.

“What is wrong with these people?” Katryn cried out as Lillian swung the jacket over Katryn’s shoulders.  “Jesus this thing is heavy!”

“Leather and metal tend to be,” Lillian said sagely and stepped back to view her masterpiece.  She smiled warmly.  “You do look wonderful, Katryn.”

Katryn’s standoffish stance melted and she looked up at Lillian through her eyelashes, “You think so?”

“Yes, I do think so,” Lillian smiled.  “Go knock ‘em dead.  I’m going to go wake up Cassie and get dressed myself.”

With that, Lillian slipped out of the room just as quietly as she came.  Katryn slowly, nervously went to stand in front of the full length mirror.  Lillian was right, Katryn supposed, she did look… different.  Wonderful might be stretching it, but the makeup did wonders for her eyes and her pulling her hair back like that complemented her face.  Katryn spun a bit and frowned.  The slit up the skirt was certain to gain the approval of the men at least.  And quite possibly a few women too.

Oh well, Katryn thought, it’s time to face the music, I guess.

And, with that pep talk, Katryn strode towards the door (and only almost tripped once) and swung it open dramatically.

There was no one in the hallway.  Katryn shrugged, a little disappointed but mostly a lot relieved.  She carefully closed the door behind her and took a seat on small chaise lounge outside of her door.  She started to slouch but was quite put out to realise that the corset quite effectively prevented her from doing so.  Katryn jogged her foot for a few minutes, quickly got bored and darted back into her room for her spell book.

A few rooms down, Carson was having just as many problems as Katryn with his outfit but, sadly, he had no one to encourage him to wear it.  Equally sadly was the fact that the outfit consisted of far fewer layers than Katryn’s, as well as far less straps and decorations.

There was, however, a small problem with Carson’s outfit.

It was a dress.

Well, they were robes (technically) but Carson just looked at them and saw that a dress.  Even if his mind did supply that they were (technically) robes.

Carson, standing there in his boxers, reached a tentative hand towards the robes (dress) and almost, almost touched the material.  He wussed out at the last minute, however, and ended up half way across the room.

There was no way – no way he was going to wear that dress (robes)!  Katryn would laugh at him for hours!  And, even though she had a lovely laugh and a brilliant smile, Carson preferred her to be laughing with him rather than at him.

There had to be an outfit with pants in the closet, there had to be.

Turns out that there wasn’t.  Something that Carson had discovered the last five times he had looked but, well, he was hoping that the closet would learn from his frequent inquiries and create a new outfit for him.

Apparently it was not that sort of closet.

Depressing.

And, so, Carson sat in a chair and scowled at his outfit.  He was still sitting there and staring when his door flew off its hinges and smashed into the wall next to him.  Carson stared.

“Um,” Katryn’s voice said, “Whoops?”  She poked her head around and looked into Carson’s room.  “I’d say that I can fix that but, well, I don’t think that I can.  Nice boxers by the way.  Cute aliens.”

Carson flushed bright red.  “Yeah, well, better the boxers than the outfit.”

“Can’t be any worse than mine,” Katryn shrugged.

“Somehow I doubt that,” Carson said wryly.

“Oh yeah?”  Katryn stepped fully into the doorway and extended a leg to give Carson a full view of the ridiculous slit in the skirt.  “You think you can top this?”

Carson stared.  “Wow,” he said.  Sure, he had just seen her naked (and wet!  Wet and naked!) but it was an entirely different sort of sexy to see Katryn with her hair done up and with clothes on.  Clothes that revealed a tantalisingly large amount of flesh.  “Is that a garter belt?” Carson asked stupidly.

“Yes, yes it is.  Like I said, top that,” Katryn smirked.  Carson just got up and held up his clothing.  “Uh, is that a…?”

“Dress?  Yes.  Well, technically they’re robes,” Carson said forlornly.

“I take it back.  You’ve got it worse,” Katryn said with a big grin, “Sucker!”

“I’m not wearing it,” Carson said.

“So you’re going to walk around in glow in the dark alien boxers?” Katryn raised an eyebrow.

“Nah, I figure I can wear my jeans from yesterday.  The shirt is a write off but, well, I’m a guy.  I can go topless.” Carson said stubbornly.

“Somehow, I don’t think that will fly,” Katryn grinned.  “C’mon Carson, at least try it on?  I mean, I had to wear this get up!”

“Absolutely not!” Carson said.

“Please?” Katryn pouted and looked up at Carson with big blue eyes.  “For me?”

“I… uhh…” Carson stumbled.

Katryn stepped closer to Carson and opened her eyes wider, “You owe me.”

“I… fine!  Fine, I’ll put on the damned dress!” Carson said.

“Robes,” Katryn corrected.

“Whatever,” Carson muttered and shrugged the black under robes on.  They reached the floor and swished magnificently as he reached for the dark green over robes – these were smaller, sleeveless and more ornate.  Carson then pulled on his sturdy, sensible boots which Katryn envied and desperately desired.  He yanked on fingerless leather gloves, threw on a green and black hooded cloak and then was finished.  Carson struck a ridiculous pose that sent Katryn into gales of laughter.

“Well, I certainly win for how long it took to get this bloody thing on,” Katryn said disgustedly after she stopped laughing.

“But at least you’re a girl in a dress!” Carson proclaimed.

“A dress with a slit a few centimetres shy of reaching my crotch!” Katryn shot back.

“I’m a man,” Carson said, “In a dress.  How is that not wrong?!”

“Cross dressers do it all the time,” Rainier said.  Katryn and Carson whirled around, completely surprised to see him there.

“Awww, why does he get pants?” Carson whined.  Rainier was wearing tight leather pants and a loose white linen shirt.

“Because it is hard to fight in a dress,” Rainier stated practically, “Come on.  They’re waiting for you.”

“Even Cassandra?” Katryn asked.

“Even Cassandra.” Rainier nodded.

“Wait, wait!” Carson yelped as Rainier and Katryn turned to leave, “Let me get out of this thing!”

“Sorry,” Rainier said, “No time.”  And, with that, he grabbed Carson by the back of his robes and dragged him out of the door.

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