driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[Lup turns at his shout, following his path as he pulls the dresses down off the rack, and her eyes immediately go wide, a hand clapping over her mouth. She scampers over to reach down and draw the fabric of the red one out, getting a feel for how it moves.]

What the fuck, those are gorgeous! We have to get 'em, no choice in the matter. They'll be murder on the dance floor!

[They'll need something to cover them up in the kitchen if these end up as the upcoming party selection, because there's no way she's risking ruining them during the catering gig, but daaaaamn.]

[And murder in the kitchen. All this flowing organza? That's just asking to get caught on fire. But she's right in that he can't just let them go either. They're too good. It would be a crime against fashion to let them-- yeesh. Taako pales a little when he sees the price tag on the two dresses.]

Ugh, good fashion never comes cheap, does it. I wonder if we can get a discount.

[Lup peers over and- oof.]

I mean, hella worth it, but... maybe if we buy enough. I don't wanna burn our bridges here, so cheating them out of it isn't gonna work. I'd like to come back here for more later.

[And she doesn't especially want to end up with a thief reputation entirely, as fun as it is to swindle. Living honestly can be good! Just not as, uh. Rich.]

[And that's the problem, isn't it? If he didn't have to worry about coming back to this city, he'd just rip 'em off and call it done. But he actually - dare he say it? - likes the people here. They're earnest and kind to a fault and just seem to be in the mood for celebrations. It'd be a shame to do them wrong.

Taako sighs and fingers the price tags. Can he afford even one of these dresses? Probably...but he'd need to either barter some things away or seriously dip into his savings. Then again....considering what he has in the works, maybe having savings here wasn't going to be necessary soon.]

Hey, why don't you go ahead and keep lookin' for stuff and I'll go smooth talk the shopkeep and see what kinda deal I can get set up?

[Lup quirks a brow at his expression- it's rare for him to give a shit about being deceptive, but it's known to happen. Just means that they've managed to dig themselves into his good graces enough for him to keep it that way.

She turns back to the dress, hiding a smile. Well, good. She likes this planet, too, and she wants to enjoy it here as much as she can.]

Sure thing. I'll see if anything else catches my eye- worst comes to worst, we can find something less expensive and come back once we've got more cash. With prices like this, I doubt they'll disappear overnight.

Oh fuck no, I'm not letting these babies escape us. If I have to, I'll Charm 'em.

[Aaand off he goes. High price or not, he is not going to let this leave his possession. He finds the shopkeeper and starts chatting them up, trying to figure out how best to wheedle for a deal. It's boring having to care about someone else's life, but after a few minutes, he manages to impress her with a few magic tricks. Prestidigitation and then a Minor Illusion, followed up with him turning an apple to an actual golden apple. The shopkeeper is delighted, but it doesn't seem to be convincing her.

Taako is about 2 seconds from just blasting her with Charm Person when he pulls out a ribbon he got from a local recently. He changes it so it has a holographic sheen on it and presents it to her. "A gift for a gift, right? Isn't that how this holiday of yours works?"

That seems to convince her, but she hems and haws over it, before accepting the ribbon and sliding two coupons over to him. Taako quickly snatches them off the counter and heads back to Lup. As he approaches, he holds one coupon out to her between two fingers.]

I haaaaaaaaate having to be nice. Remind me to never do that again.

[Lup laughs, accepting the offered coupon. Both dresses are draped over her arm so they don't accidentally lose track of them or have their sizes bought by someone else while they browse.]

Nah, I don't think I will. It's a good skill in case of emergency like this- you ought to have some practice with it!

[Practice your charisma and not just your intelligence, dingus.]

I think I can afford the dresses with this, but not much in the way of accessories. Hope you've got a few stashed away for it.

Nope, I'm already going to strike it from my character sheet. X that riiiight out.

[It was tiring having to care about people he'll never seen again. The only reason he did was because they wanted to come back here so he actually had to, for a short while at least. Once either his spell worked or they were leaving this system, he could give this magic planet a middle finger and do whatever he wanted.

Until then? Play nice.]

But of course I do - duh. Who do you think you're talking to? I stole a fuckton of them from that last dump. Not like anyone notices when you walk out wearing three or four more bangles than you walked in with.

[She sniggers and shakes her head, holding out towards him the dress that obviously suits him better.]

Yeah, same here. Well, if we're sold on these, we should at least see how they look on us, first. I'm gonna go try mine on.

[She can already assume that it's going to be stellar, judging by the shape of it, and alterations can be made too, but for this price? No way she's just going to trust her eyes. This ain't the garbage heist where they can steal first and work out the kinks later.]

[He takes the purple one and holds it up to himself. Even if he doesn't wear it to the wedding, he wants it in his closet. He'll just need to get it altered to fit a male form - dresses always needed to be altered for that. So annoying.]

We'll look fabulous, natch, but yeah, gotta get the sizing right, I guess.

[He scans the store and spots two dressing rooms open toward the back, then points them out to Lup.]

Change and come out on 3?

Hell yeah.

[She vanishes into the changing room, tugging off her bag and stripping down. Once she wriggles into the dress and gets it zipped up, there's a soft, gleeful noise from her booth as she spots her reflection in the mirror. It looks way better on a person than it did on the rack, and it already looked great. It's also absolutely meant for someone taller than she is, which means she has to lift the bottom up off the floor, even in her heels. Taako's not the only one due for some alterations.

Still, it's totally a choice look. As expected, Taako's always got an eye for good fashion.]

I am so ready to strut when you are!

[When she disappears into the stall, he goes into his. It takes him a little longer to strip down just by virtue of how much stuff he always wears on him. It isn't hard to get the dress on, but he can already tell he's going to need to get some things fixed. It's the right height and size, but he doesn't have the curves a woman does, and the waist sits differently on him than it would on a woman.

He'll need it taken in at certain points, and he's going to need different shoes - definitely - but? She calls out that she's ready and he grins and calls back to her.]

Three, two, one!!!!

[He bursts out of the dressing room and strikes a pose, spinning on his heel.]

[She's out of her own room at the same time, perfectly synchronized, arms spread dramatically, poised to let the dress show off her curves just so. She gives them a moment to cheese it, then casts her gaze up and down his form, considering it carefully... then she droops, shoulders falling, ears low, a look of misery crossing her expression.]

Oh, Taako... we can't possibly wear these things. It's just not right at all...

[Whoa whoa, wait what? Taako's ears twitch up at her disappointment and he looks down at the dresses. They look great though? Sure he's going to need to accessorize since his shoulders are bare and it's fucking cold as shit outside, but???]

Huh, wait why?

[She shakes her head, lifting a hand to press against her brow.]

It's just... we look too good! If we wear these to someone else's wedding, we'll overshadow the whole damn thing and get our asses kicked right out of the party! They can't possibly handle us being this stellar on their special day.

[It's tragic... truly tragic! The woes of being too beautiful for anyone to handle.]

[Taako stares at her for a moment and then his ears twitch back as he bites his lip, trying not to laugh. It breaks through anyway and he doubles over, laughing. She's right, honestly. They'll look like fucking beauty queens at a Victorian wedding, but it's not like Taako cares about showing people up.

His laughter peters out and he wipes his eye, shaking his head.]

No, you're right. We'd look better than the grooms and I'm gettin' paid for this so I probably shouldn't show them up. Not that I wouldn't love to get kicked out of a party for being too fly, but I wouldn't love not getting paid.

[What a damn tragedy.]

But we're still getting these. There's no doubt about that, right?

[Her lips curve into a swift smirk as he starts laughing. Hell yeah, mission accomplished.]

Babe, I am being 1000% honest when I say I would rather set this whole store on fire than walk out of here without buying these dresses. We have to take them and wear them somewhere. It'd be criminal not to.

[Somewhere in the back, the shopkeeper is sweating bullets right now.

Taako nods in agreement and takes another spin in the dress, enjoying the way it swishes around his legs.

He's going to need a coat with this though because, holy Candlenights, he's going to freeze his cute little ass off in this thing.]

Done-zo. We're buying these. I've got accessories that'll work for both of us.

[He smirks and then realizes something, putting a hand over his face.]

Aaaand now we're back at square one for what to wear to the wedding.

[shit.]

Fuuuuuck.

[Apparently they win even as they lose. Lup sets a hand on her hip, heeled foot tapping as she casts her gaze around the shop. There are plenty of other options, it's just a matter of finding something they can still buy on top of these expensive dresses.]

I think we should be able to find something a bit more conventional for kitchen work and just accessorize enough to fancy 'em up. Something we don't care about getting a bit of flour on if we need to make something fresh in a hurry.

[Another reason not to use these- they're way too pretty to risk that, and she doesn't want to spend the whole party changing in and out of it.]

[He makes a pained face at the idea of "conventional" wear, but acquiesces. She's right, of course, and he'd already been thinking it - he just doesn't like having it articulated.]

I already picked up some kitchen aprons that should keep any splashes or spills off, but nnnngh, you're right. Conventional it is then.

[With the cold, he might actually want pants anyway. Taako and cold didn't mix very well. He sighs and slips back into the dressing room to change.]

They're kinda old-fashioned too, so I have no idea how they'd feel about us coming in like a fashion storm from this century.

Seriously? They better not expect a corset from me unless we find one real swanky.

[She never learned how to lace those things properly, always just ended up choking and abandoning the whole concept before the shindig it was for was over.]

If they're old-fashioned, they're not gonna have a problem with us, are they? Er, if you wear a dress?

[Taako's voice is muffled as he changes, but his entire lack of giving a shit still shines through.]

I'm prepping a plated dinner service for them, so they better not have a problem. And if they do, I'll overcharge them for services rendered or some shit.

[Lup is back in the change room herself, though it'll take her significantly less time to get changed since she has less reassembling to do. The hard part is getting clothes around her hair without pulling loose any pins.

Once she's done, she'll get right back to work checking racks for an outfit more suitable for a work-wedding.]

Sounds fair. You said two grooms though, right? So it'll proooobably be fine.

[Two guys getting hitched - even if they're old-fashioned - is bound to be more chill than your usual man-and-wife biz.]

[He comes out long after she does, still adjusting the charms around his belt and putting his hat back on at just the right angle. He checks himself in the mirror, then slings the dress on its hanger over his shoulder.]

Yeah, two werewolf grooms. I gotta figure out how to do raw meat and do it well - no basil, no silver, not so many spices as to hide the flavor of the, yanno, bloody meat because they're wolves. Thinking of doing a seared roast, blue in the middle for one and lightly braised whitefish for the other.

[He starts on the other side of the same rack so they can still chat while looking.]

Gotta make something completely different for the rest of the guests though. Most of 'em aren't of the ghoul variety.

Hmm, raw meat... sounds like a good excuse for sushi platter appetizers.

[Which, given the right ingredients, can be both easy to prepare and very intricate-looking. Good variety of options for those who prefer their meat cooked, too.

She peeks her head out from around the rack and holds out a skirt for him to see, brow lifted. Cute, yeah?]

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