driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[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?]

S'what I was thinking. They can have some spice and such in their lives. Maybe some cured ham and melon wraps.

[He stands up a little taller to get a look at the skirt. Very cute and he nods his approval. He slides through the rack a few more times and then pulls out a dress for her.]

We should really find another color for you to wear other than red one day, you know.

Mouth's watering already.

[This is going to be one hell of a wedding dinner, that's for sure.

She tucks the skirt aside for now as a "maybe" and looks over the outfit Taako found, reaching out to brush a hand over the fabric. Oooh, it's soft.]

Hey, I can't help that I look baller as hell in red. Plus it fits my colour scheme when I'm setting shit on fire, which is - let's be real - all the time.

[He laughs at that and hands the dress over, then goes to look at the skirt. He'd want to thread a gold belt around it, but he can totally see how this would work.]

Yeah - but don't set shit on fire in my kitchen unless it's supposed to be. It does go with your whole [He motions absently at her everything as he inspects the skirt. The lace is pretty.] theme. That's true. Maybe we can get you to do entertainment and fire-dance or somethin'.

I can do that. Wanna see me swallow a flaming sword? I remember that being a popular trick at the carnivals.

[Probably at least half of the wacky tricks they got up to both in and out of battle was inspired by some weird performer in the caravans they used to travel with. Carnies are wild, they know this very well.]

[It's still weird to hear her talk about carnivals and remembering them like he was there. But he shrugs and nods.]

Why the fuck not? Might give them an awesome scare and a fun show. As long as the sword isn't silvered.

It's a magic sword, my dude, it can be whatever material I want it to be. Silver would probably be harder to make than regular steel, actually... though I can't say I've ever tried. Might make for a fun experiment, though.

[Could a Flame Blade be made out of sizzling food?]

...Ooh, performance flambé!

Performance flambe? Fuuuuuck yes! That would be amazing.

[Just not silver. The werewolves would flip their collective shit.]

Give a little fire-breath to sear the tops of the sushi, huh?

Sure, why not? Always better to keep people on their toes a little, it'll be fun!

[She holds the newfound outfit up against her body, checking the way the fabric moves, and- yeah, hmm.]

I'm gonna try this one on. You want the skirt, or should we keep looking?

This is going to be one hell of a party now.

[Never mind that it isn't his party and it's technically someone else's wedding. It's almost close to what he used to do out on the road, entertaining and cooking and--

Taako bites his lip suddenly, pushing that familiar rush of excitement at being on a stage again to the back of his mind. It's still too raw. There's too much attached to that in order to really enjoy it.

He blinks when she talks to him again and he nods absently, waving her off toward the dressing room.]

Huh? Oh, uh yeah, yeah, go for it. I'll take the skirt, natch. Even if I don't wear it to the wedding, it's a great skirt.

I'm gonna go ahead and call it our skirt, because I'm totally stealing it. ...Or is it even stealing if I pay for it? Eh, whatever.

[She vanishes into the room as she talks, her voice taking on a slight echo from behind the door. His tone was... telling, but it's probably not the time or place to pry about it. She does make a mental note to check on how he's doing before they get things really moving with the wedding prep, though.]

What kind of colours do you want for the wedding? Or are you just gonna see what sparkles?

You're buying it for me, so yes - it's still stealing, Lup.

[Or so he says. He doesn't actually care because he probably "borrows" and forgets to return something to her at least once a week. But he's also kind of glad she's moving away because once the door is closed, he shuts his eyes, trying to tamp down the immediate panic that the thought of the old traveling show still brings. He's been cooking here long enough that he knows no one has died because of it. He knows it wasn't even his fault.

But it still haunts him in small ways and he has to remember: it isn't his fault. He has someone else to blame now.

With a breath, he starts idly going through the racks again.]

And I dunno - I'm waiting on them to give me their color scheme, and then I'll plan the table settings around that. It's all very... [He hums] Chill, I guess? Something like that.

[There's something about his tone that still bothers her - subtle, carefully concealed as he so often does, but she's lived with him for her entire life so there's very little they can hide from one another - and it tells her that it still bothers him. So yeah, definitely checking in on that. She hates not knowing what happened, what's haunting him so terribly. She knows it has something to do with what was offered to him by June's chalice, but whatever vision he'd received, it'd all been in his head and therefore she'd been given only clues of the truth through his response and whatever explanations he'd given to others around him. It paints a sad but unfinished picture, and she's aching for the details, if only so she can help him through it.

There's very little she can do about it now, though, as frustrating as that is, so she huffs quietly to herself and vows to make this as perfect a cooking job as she possibly can. Nothing is allowed to go wrong at this godsdamned wedding. Absolutely nothing. And for the moment, she'll do her best to cheer him up.]

If I'm in red and you've got more cool colours, we'll have a nice contrast... good aesthetics.

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