Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM): Monster Academy - Chapter 2: Field trip

[SalmonMax]

Aria smiled her chilly little smile. She didn't mean to make them that way; she was genuinely amused. It just seemed to go with her personality. Her smiles always seemed a little sinister, even if she wasn't plotting anything at the moment.

"And they don't wear things like that unless they're for sale, one way or another. Besides, you don't have to show your body to be seductive. Mystery has an allure all its own."

She glanced at Kyra and nodded sympathetically. "If you grow tired of being ogled, come to me. There are other ways to dress and still pass for human."

"Now...are we ready?"

At Aria's feet was an overnight bag. It must have either already been ready to go, or Aria must be wicked fast (and invisible) when packing.

[Kyradathea]

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

"Awww!" Delilah cried sympathetically as she heard Kyra's admission. She left Kyohei's side and dashed over to the taller girl, giving her a surprisingly tight, empathetic hug that any boy would have died for. "I'll totally help you get dressed for the Mortal World! C'mon, let's go!"

The precocious succubus grabbed Kyra's hand then nabbed Aria's despite her room-mate's obvious reluctance and dragged them away with the sheer force of her exuberance. Delilah pulled her captive school-mates through the halls until they arrived... nowhere, since she had meant to head to Kyra's room first, but only realized after she didn't know where it was. After a chewed lip and a blushing admission, Kyra gave her directions.

When Delilah decided to drag her off, Kyra let her, the succubus did seem to know what was the appropriate thing to wear after all. She had no idea how ironic that particular thought was, or how many folks would have laughed at that thought, in a lot of ways, Kyra was still a young and fairly innocent dragon. In relating to matters involving boys and girls, sex, and proper human behavior, she was rather naive. She did like the hug though, even though she wasn't sure about what and why someone was hugged yet, she had seen the behavior from others. In this particular case, though, she wasn't about to ask questions, she would simply continue to watch.

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

Kyra walked into her room first, as was only right, but Delilah came in right on her heels and immediately helped herself and began rummaging through the Dragon-girl's wardrobe. Almost everything was silk, various dresses and long tunics, and... no underwear, not even granny-panties, let alone anything fun. No swimsuits either. And precious few shoes, only flat-bottomed, high-laced sandals

When they entered her room, filled with scattered treasure over the bed and the floor, as well as jewels here and there, Kyra watched Delilah like a hawk almost, clearly she was nervous about other folks being around her horde. Still, she allowed her thoughts a moment to grant her a measure of ease. Delilah was a friend, and a friend was a treasure, and a treasure was always a part of one's horde, and therefore she was part of the horde, which meant she could touch the treasures there without making the dragoness angry. The same was true for Aria as well, as she glanced over at the spider demon, then turned her attention back to Delilah. For a moment, though, the young dragon fought with an instinct to keep both of them entrenched within her horde, safe and protected, but then sense overtook her, and she acknowledged that living treasures had to be allowed to roam about.

Having no idea she'd been classed as Treasure in the young dragon's mind, Delilah went though Kyra's stuff, silk was the only clothing classed as treasure in Kyra's mind, which was why it was more or less the only clothing she had.

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

"Okay, you stuff is pretty nice, if a little plain, good for a night out or a first date, if you want to take things slow," Delilah told her new 'student', eying her tall form speculatively. "But it's not really good for just walking around and showing off, not if you want to look like a normal, hot, teen human girl. Here, get your purse, then we'll go back to my room and I'll lend you some things until you can buy your own stuff," she ordered.

"What is a 'purse'?" Kyra reluctantly asked, not liking to reveal her ignorance twice now.


"Oh, honey, you don't eve- No worries, I'll get you all set up, Kyra!" Delilah thrust a few acceptable bits of clothing into Kyra's arms, along with a few bits of jewelry from her hoard, then pulled the dragon-princess in her wake as she jiggled back to her room.

As Delilah grabbed stuff from her horde, she blinked a bit, and would have snapped at her about it, except the succubus thrust it into her hands. Then another question occurred to her. "What's a Date?"

"Honey, you have a lot to learn, don't worry, I'll teach you everything I know about dating." The succubus rolled her hips in a suggestive manner as she said it.

"Dating is good to know?" She spoke up reluctantly, she was feeling slightly vulnerable now, because a dragon was supposed to know whatever it was getting into.

"Very good, lots of fun stuff goes with dating." Her tone was almost dreamy as she considered the possibilities.

"It is good for you to teach me then."

She didn't notice the slightly amused glance she got from Aria as her attention was on Delilah.

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

Aria had taken the opportunity while Delilah was distracted to disappear unobtrusively in a corner, but the succubus hadn't seemed to notice she was short a school mate.

Delilah tore through her room, her messy side of it anyway, looking for clothes for both herself and Kyra. Without any trace of self-consciousness, and more than a trace of flaunting pride, Delilah stripped completely nude. She put on a hot-pink bikini that would have been almost modest on a girl with more modest curves. Over the pink triangles struggling to contain her abundant curves, she put on a brightly patterned shirt, knotted between her breasts and covered the thong-style bottoms with a pair of short-shorts that were very short indeed. Her buckled boots were exchanged for a pair of open-toed sandals with equally high wedge-heels.

Impatiently, Delilah waved for Kyra to strip too. "Go on, this goes on underneath. You don't have anything I don't Kyra." After a brief hesitation, Kyra complied and Delilah made no secret of giving her an admiring once-over. Then she handed the taller girl a bundle of golden-coloured string she claimed was a swimsuit. "Here, put this on. You can tie it tight so it will fit you."

It wasn't that she was body conscious, after all, as a dragon she didn't have a problem with nudity, it was simply that she had been told that clothing was what should be worn when she was human, it was inappropriate to walk around in her skin.

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

"How?" Kyra said, eying the bundle of string in her hand doubtfully.

"Oh! Let me," Delilah offered with a bright smile with a hint of a leer in it. Her hands slid over Kyra's lithely muscled body, sharp nails teasing her warm flesh, as she tied the bikini strings, then stepped back to admire the fit and the body it was fitted on. "There! Perfect. Now, cover them with these." Delilah handed her two small swathes of material that might have been able to fit a doll.

"These are much too small."

"No, no! They stretch, see?" Delilah demonstrated, stretching the spaghetti-strap top and brief skirt in her hands. After a moment considering the garments, Kyra put them on, then looked a question at her voluptuous benefactor.

"Is this okay? Do I look appropriate for the Human World?"

"You look great Kyra," Delilah claimed, licking her lips at the sight of Kyra's remarkably long legs clad in a very short skirt. "You just need a few things." Delilah handed her a pair of sunglasses and a purse, gesturing to show her how to put them on. "Perfect, one Human hottie, to order. Let me just fix your hair."

Again, she almost asked a question at that moment, sense she had no idea what a 'hottie' was supposed to be, but in the end she throttled the question and went with whatever Delilah told her. She had never worn a bunch of string before though. "Why am I wearing clothing under my clothing?"

"What? Oh, you mean the swimsuit? Cause it's sexy and fun, and we might visit a hot spring, though it's fun to go skinny dipping sometimes too."

"This is confusing." She held the jewelry from her horde up. "What about these?"

"Wear them with your clothing, put the ruby earrings in your ears, and the gold choker around your neck."

Kyra brightened up, wearing her treasure against her skin would feel good, much as the touch of Delilah on her skin had felt good.

Originally Posted By: Delilah Synn

Delilah tied Kyra's vivid red hair in a simple, flirty French-braid, telling Kyra 'French' meant sexy. Then she styled her own hair into a pair of naughtily innocent pig-tails before perching a pair of sunglasses on her head and slinging her purse over her shoulder, making sure she had her wallet - with credit cards - and her smartphone with her.

"We'll sneak into town after we get there and get you some new clothes and fun things to wear, I promise," Delilah said over a shoulder as she crammed two luggage bags full to overflowing for her and Kyra.

Aria had already been in the room when the others had arrived and witnessed Delilah's shenanigans while sitting quietly on her bed, a small, neatly packed bag next to her on her immaculately made up bed. Her and Kyra's packing done, Delilah turned to her room-mate with a disapproving frown, tapping a foot.

"You're not coming in that are you?" Delilah demanded, fluttering her fingers at Aria's prim, almost-a-school-uniform outfit with disdain. "Human girls don't wear things like that unless they are imprisoned in a dull, girls only private school.

She wondered a moment about Delilah's words, when Aria responded with her words to Delilah and Kyra looked between them confused. She struggled for a moment with her dragon nature, and her need to know, and the need to know won out. "What is being ogled?" She was actually so far out of her depth right now, that she didn't even think about how many questions she was asking anymore, though each one was still hard to ask.

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei returned to his room and packed, praying the entire time. "Please don't let either of them be there. If any of my deeds have brought true balance, please don't let them be there."

Among his things was a small picture, showing three children in training outfits, and both seemed to be looking at the one in the middle, obviously Kyohei.

He carefully unwrapped the pendant he'd wrapped up that first night, and put it on, knowing that it would be his only saving grace, should the worst happen.

[SalmonMax]

"It's when someone is staring at you, sizing you up as a bedmate," Aria replies. "Watch how Delilah looks at people. That's ogling."

[Justin OOC]

There was a knock on Darrik's door, opening it revealed a perplexed yet curious Jezabel. "Not coming back to class Darrik?"

[Toby Lupin]

Flicker's grin, Darrik knew, even though he couldn't have seen it, could only have gotten wider now that Jezebelle was here. He opened the door a little more and smiled. "No. I got the afternoon off till 4. Why? Can't go anywhere without me?" Darrick mock-asked with a teasing grin. It was his turn to string her along now.

[Kyradathea]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"It's when someone is staring at you, sizing you up as a bedmate," Aria replies. "Watch how Delilah looks at people. That's ogling."

She considered that a moment, the looked at Delilah then back at Aria, and frowned. She hated having to ask a second question, but at the moment, she needed clarification to decide her reaction. "Is that a bad thing?"

[SalmonMax]

"That's up to you," Aria replied. "Sometimes it can be flattering. Sometimes you might return the interest yourself. But if you don't, it can be tiresome. That's my experience anyway."

[Justin OOC]

She looked at Darrik. "Another mission for the Newspaper club?"

She smiled. "Alright then, well stay safe." With that she turned and left, her deviltail poking out from her skirt, and then receding as she walked away.

[Toby Lupin]

"She's too perceptive..." Darrik groaned. "Fine," he sighed, "back to work." With that, he returned to his packing, and double-checking to make sure that he had everything he needed.

[Delilah Synn]

Delilah stuck her tongue out at PrimAria. "You're tiresome!" she retorted. "There's not a problem with just looking at long as they're not being complete perverts about it. And I'll have you know, I get ogled more than I do the ogling, thank-you very much!"

The succubus gave an affronted sniff then took a step back and gestured at Kyra. "Besides, look at her, Aria. Her legs are twice as long as mine and my boobs are twice as big as hers. My other clothes would never fit her. But we are gonna get her her own things when we get to the Human World."

Delilah squealed, bouncing on her toes, then grabbed Kyra's and Aria's hands. "Tokyo has great shopping! You'll love it, Kyra! And even Aria won't be all 'blah, blah, blah, that's tiresome,' and, 'only buy things when they're on sale.' I bet there's at least some fun hiding under you dull clothes. Here!"

Delilah dropped to the floor, reaching under the bed and pulled out a big stack of glossy catalogs, ranging everywhere from Hot Topic to the Gap to Prada and Dolce and Gabbana. She tucked them under her arm, pulled her luggage on its tiny wheels with her free hand and began leading her friends out of the room. "Let's head back to the Newspaper Club Room and we can start looking at things to try out. We'll find something that works just perfect for you, Kyra. Bring credit cards, er, money."

[SalmonMax]

Aria sighs and unzips her bag momentarily to peek inside, then nods in satisfaction and zips it up again. She hefts its strap over her shoulder and shrugs.

"I'm ready to go. If you two are packed, we should head over there."

[Kyradathea]

The stuff about ogling was somewhat confusing, but she took what both of them were telling her and tried to put it together in a manner that made sense. "So it's OK to be oggled, as long as you don't find it tiresome." She looked between Aria and Delilah for a moment. "It's like being admired then, but can be disrespectful.. so, as long as it's not disrespectful, I don't mind." She smiled slightly, pleased to have placed what oggling was was supposed to mean, somewhat, though from her words, she still didn't quite have it entirely. Dragons, being vain creatures, loved to be admired, but they also demanded a measure of respect.

She sighed slightly, treasure was something that was supposed to be horded, not spent. Still, her father had taught her a bit of the basics of money, sense money was often the basis of treasure, so she wasn't completely ignorant of what money was. She had after all, purchased things in the past, silk dresses with gold trim, for example.

"I don't like parting with any of my treasure, but I could bring some gold coins.. mom and dad did say something about studying finance and economics in the future. Though.. daddy did say dragons see money different then humans do."

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei had finished and was already waiting in the room with Ms. Nekomone. "I understand you're from this area aren't you?"

he looked at her. "Yes Ma'am, my family's been there a very long time."

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik walked with his medium-sized suitcase hoisted in one hand, dressed in khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt, slightly loose, but presenting an attractive appearance. White sneakers and socks were upon his feet, and he seemed rather prepared for blending into regular human society for a few days.

He came at a smooth pace, enough time to hear Kyohei speaking. "I think it's worth hearing about them on the bus." His voice projected a carefully inquisitive attitude, but frankly, he wanted to evaluate the risk factor that Kyohei's family would present. "Don't you think, Kyohei?"

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei's face darkened. "Not really, just a regular family at home. Fairly large to be sure, with four sisters and me."

[Delilah Synn]

Originally Posted By: Kyra

"... but I could bring some gold coins.. mom and dad did say something about studying finance and economics in the future. Though.. daddy did say dragons see money different then humans do."

"You only buy things with gold coins in the Human World in video games," Delilah giggled as she led the trio of school girls back to the Club room. "With real gold coins, you have to trade them for paper money or whatever money credit cards use so then you can buy stuff. Most places won't take gold coins. But don't worry, Mom makes sure my credit cards are good. I'll cover for you, Kyra, then you can trade me some gold coins or maybe some of your cute jewelry for it."

Walking into the class room, Delilah saw the hard expression on Kyohei's face, and felt his tight, roiling emotions roll over her in a turbulent wave. The impulsive succubus promptly dropped her bags then plopped herself down on Kyohei's lap and looped her arms around his neck.

"What's wrong, Kyo?" Delilah breathed in concern, burning purple eyes honest, her brobdingnagian breasts rising and falling in a most emphatic and distracting manner. "We're going to the Human World, to hot springs. Don't be all gloomy and stuff, I promise, you'll have fun. I'll make sure we all do."

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei offered her a weak smile. If he was lucky, they'd live through this.

"I have no doubt there will be fun to be had." They weren't all powerful types of monsters, but Kyra was a royal red dragon, that would draw them like magnets. Delilah if she was to be believed was a direct daughter of Lilith herself... Darrik probably descended from some Warlock ancestor of insane power.

As long as I don't have to use "It" We'll be alright.

He looked to the others and then to Miss Nekomone. "I think that's everyone. Anyone else have any needs to take care of before we go?"

[SalmonMax]

Aria coughed delicately, then said, "I should probably eat before we go. It will only take a moment, and it will save us the trouble of dealing with it in the human world until later...when I've had time to plan things out to avoid any unfortunate accidents."

With Nekomone's approval, she leaves the room. A minute or two later she returns, no different than before.

"I apologize for the delay. I'm ready now."

[Justin OOC]

"Anyone else?" Miss Nekomone smiled, knowing they'd find a way to manage in the human world.

[Justin OOC]

With no takers, She nodded, and led them all to the bus. "Remember, no staves, no revealing your true natures here at all,, unless your life is threatened." She sounded stearn, which was kinda hard for her.

Everyone nodded, and after the suprisingly short busride later, they arrived at the Kawamori Hotsprings.

Kyohei got out holding the door for the others, and insisted on carrying the bags for them all. An older woman greeted them at the door. "Welcome,welcome friends. please come in and make yourselves at home." She seemed nice enough, greeting them all as friends. Another woman, this one younger, though still older than them showed them all to their rooms, while the elder and Nekomone spoke.

"I trust they know the rules."

"Yes, though I believe they'll be able to figure out what's going on, I have alot of faith in them."

She nodded to Kyohei. "And that one?"

"He's new, but pretty good. Nobody's figured him out yet, and his file's sealed by the Headmaster. He must be important."

"I can only imagine so."

He carried in all the luggage, and nodded. "He looks familiar."

He's from around here."

"I see."

Inside, everyone found their rooms well appointed, Kyra shared a room with Nekomone, Darrik and Kyohei had one, and Aria was once again paired with Delilah.

They found casual Kimono in their rooms, provided by the Hotsprings to denote their status as guests. Suprisingly, they all fit perfectly.

Kyohei brought everyone their things, and nodded. Miss Nekomone gave them abit to unpack, then She gathered them together, leading them on tour of the grounds. There were separate mens and women's baths, a co-ed bath, saunas, and a number of large dining rooms and a half dozen smaller more private ones. Over fifty rooms were on the other side, and there were perhaps twenty five people present aside the staff.

"Okay you guys. I'm going to turn you all loose. You can do as you like, but you need to stay on the grounds.

[SalmonMax]

Aria nodded at Ms Nekomone and asked, "When will our investigation begin? We aren't here to sightsee after all. We'll need some kind of case file with the known facts so far, along with lists of people to interview. Employees, potential witnesses, and so on."

She had changed into her kimono, though for all anyone knew she could well still be wearing her school uniform under it. She managed to keep the flowing garment tight and closed at all times.

[Justin OOC]

She nodded. "I figured I'd let you all settle in and eat first Aria. I can give the files to you know though if you'd like."

[Delilah Synn]

Unlike what some might have speculated about what Aria wore beneath her kimono, she could attest that Delilah wore absolutely nothing beneath the silken garment, which seemed to hug her perky, exaggerated figure far more than it should have and revealed an abundance of enticing cleavage. Delilah was surprised they had something that fit her overly developed measurements and quite pleased.

Delilah blew a raspberry Aria's way. "You want to do homework already? We just got here!" she protested before turning to Ms. Nekomone, one hand on her hip, and shaking a finger at the professor with the other. "You hold onto those files, Ms. Nekomone. We..." An intense, purple-eyed glance indicated 'we' meant her, Kyra, and Aria. "... are going to explore first. We don't want any... uh, preconceived notions on the nature of... of what...? We going to explore, first. Let's go, girls."

Before they could protest, Kyra and Aria once more found themselves dragged into Delilah's delectably undulating wake. Once out of ear-shot of Ms. Nekomone, Delilah flashed them a wide smile. "Now, to find us a ride into the city. Kimonos are nice, but we'll need something fun for later and Kyra, you need, like, everything."

Despite Delilah's best intentions however, when she saw the sign noting the Co-Ed Baths, she unconsciously altered they course in that direction instead.

[Kyradathea]

Having dressed in the lovely Kimono, which was a nice scarlet and then gold, she was actually quite pleased with it, it fit her perfectly, and it was nice clothing too. She decided that she was going to add well made Kimono's to things that she would put in her horde. It was difficult to tell what she was wearing under it, she might have still been wearing the bikini, or might not, but she certainly wasn't wearing anything else under it, considering the way it moved on her body.

Kyra listened to Aria and was about to speak up, when Delilah jumped in with her own thoughts and ideas. The dragoness didn't even make a protest when she was dragged off, after all, this was part of why she was here, to learn human behaviors.

However, as Delilah moved them to the bath's, she frowned slightly. "Human's don't sell clothing in bathing rooms." That much she at least knew.

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei looked at the girls and shrugged. "If you want to go somewhere else, I can lead you there. I know my way around here."

[Delilah Synn]

"Huh? I wasn't looking for cloth - Oh! Oh, right!" Delilah giggled and turned around with excessively jiggling anatomy, giving Kyohei a wide grin and a quick, ardent kiss. "Will you? That's great, Kyo! You can help us pick out outfits. Let's go girls!"

The teen succubus linked one arm with Kyohei and the other with Kyra and though both of them were half a foot taller and more than her, the voluptuous schoolgirl was the one who drew the most eyes, theirs included.

[SalmonMax]

Aria stepped back, allowing Delilah to prance off with the others in tow. She sometimes wondered at moments like these if she'd actually been forgotten, or if Delilah simply assumed that she was following in her wake like some lost, forlorn little puppy.

In the end, it didn't matter. Although she was still young, Aria thought she had some idea of the difficulties involved with bringing students into the Human World...even under supervision. She suspected collusion between the Headmaster and the Newspaper Club, though not even her spying eyes had seen anything definitive yet. What she wasn't sure of was why. The motive for this was unclear. If it was to investigate, why not bring actual investigators, rather than schoolboys and girls?

Aria had her suspicions, but the only way to be sure would be to play this through to the end. And for that, she needed the file. So once she was sure the other girls, and Kyohei, had departed, she backtracked to Ms Nekomone and bowed.

"I would like the case file after all. It will give me something to read while they shop. Thank you, sensei."

[Justin OOC]

Miss Nekomone smiled and nodded. "I thought you might."

She handed over the file and smiled. "Don't lose it, I don't have another copy of those."

Elsewhere Kyohei led them out into the small village-like area that surrounded the resort. It was fairly quiet, with only about twenty people out and about. the trio drew some looks, but Kyohei led them to a little shop that was the only clothing store he knew here that wasn't rediculous.

"Here, you can get some clothes here."

He smiled to them, but something was bothering him.

[Toby Lupin]

"You mind if I look with you?" Apparently, Darrik too had not gone off with the girls, since he suspected Delilah's rambling explanation was hiding something that he'd best not get involved in, lest he wind up in trouble. He had been taking a moment to think about what he would do when Aria's words offered an answer.

"But don't get too wound up about this investigation, Aria. We're supposed to be students on a trip. Asking about disappearances in passing, that's fine. But persistently and in the way you make it sound? That might raise eyebrows, and close doors in the process."

[SalmonMax]

"Thank you, Darrik," Aria said mildy as she paged through the files. "Since I so bad at finding things out, it is a relief to have someone as qualified to give advice as you along. Please enjoy your shopping."

As always, her poker face was impenetrable.

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik scowled annoyed, "Well excuse me for thinking you sounded a little too eager and ahead of yourself. Anyway, why would I go shopping with-" Something occurred to him, and he paused. "There's no gift shops here..." Darrik immediately scowled and groaned. "Delilah never listens, does she?"

[Delilah Synn]

Originally Posted By: Kyohei

"Here, you can get some clothes here."

"I guess..." Delilah muttered, her high spirits fading. She had been hoping for 'City', not 'Place aspiring to Hamlet', regardless of how nice the Hotsprings are. But this was Kyra's first time shopping and despite his smile, she could sense Kyohei's feelings of foreboding, so she wasn't going to let the limited selection deter her.

"Okay, let's get started, Kyra," Delilah said cheerfully. "This wasn't where I wanted to start, but we'll make do. Let's start over here, with the basics. At least they should have underwear that will fit you..."

Kyra soon found herself being indoctrinated into the arcane, female art of shopping. At first, the dragoness found it incredibly tedious, needlessly changing into one piece of clothing after another, but after a certain point, surprisingly, it came rather fun adorning herself in the pretty garments. Somehow, Kyohei's appraising eye, which Delilah roped him into, added to the fun.

And despite Aria's comments, Delilah actually did have good taste in clothes, picking items for Kyra that flattered her tall, lean figure, without being overly flamboyant or crass. It was just, anything she tried on for herself seemed more revealing or form fitting than it should.

After giving Kyohei a brief fashion show of their (Delilah's) choices, hoping to raise his spirits, the girls redressed in their complimentary kimonos. "We don't want to be too obvious in front of Ms. Nekomone, when we go back," Delilah explained. When they went to pay for their selections, Delilah placed a restraining hand on Kyra's wrist as she reached in her purse for some of her gold coins. The teenaged succubus gave her a surreptitious shake of the head before giving the clerk a broad smile. "No worries, Kyra, I got this one."

[SalmonMax]

Aria just smiled at Darrick, not unkindly, as she'd also experienced the imperviousness of Hurricane Delilah to comment or question once she was on a roll. She picked out a chair in the store where she could watch the proceedings with one eye and read the case file with the other...which sounds tricky to anyone who hasn't learned to coordinate eight eyes at a time.

[Kyradathea]

The young dragoness at first didn't know entirely how to act, and she was a bit hesitant at first. Explaining how it was done, she frowned a bit, but Delilah's exuberance was catching, and soon enough she was changing from one outfit to another, modeling them for the others.

Tedious at first, soon enough it began to feel a little like playing with some of the pieces of her horde. While changing from one outfit or another, though, she found it strange to keep going to the dressing room.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and she had to ask.. quietly, just enough that Kyohei and Delilah could hear. "Why do humans have rooms just to put on clothing?"

[Justin OOC]

"For privacy. Changing publicly is generally frowned upon." He looked at Delilah. "When people are very comfortable with each other, they can sometimes share. Or like in gym, where everyone changes in the locker rooms."

He'd really enjoyed the show, and was slowly starting to relax.

At the springs, Aria noticed a trend, all the people who'd disappeared were tourists, generally from areas outside of Japan (Mind Check, First at DC 12, if passed, second at DC 18)

[SalmonMax]

(OOC - Damn skippy! Passed them both!)

In the peace of the hot springs, secure in the knowledge that she would have privacy, Aria relaxed in the hot water and leafed through the folder she'd gotten from their teacher. She didn't usually take baths...showers were much preferable. Even in human form, it was hard for her to forget how easily she could drown. Star swimmer she would never be.

But today, with a good mystery to distract her mind, she could appeciate how good it felt.

Non-Japanese tourists. Race crime, perhaps? Or maybe it was something that Japanese would know to be wary of, but that non-Japanese had no warnings about.

Strange...

Abruptly she saw it, and in that instant she couldn't believe how she hadn't seen it before, not to mention everyone else who'd looked at this case. A pair of details that, taken together, had an effect similar to gargling nitroglycerine.

It blew the top right off the case.

She needed Kyohei for this. Careful not to splash the file, Aria got out of the spring and dried and dressed...then grabbed the case file again and hurried towards the town, hoping to catch the others before they got too far.

(Rolls, Mind bonus is +7, not included in rolls: (23:37:49) ChatBot: (SalmonMax) rolls 2d6 and gets 4,5.

(23:38:02) ChatBot: (SalmonMax) rolls 2d6 and gets 6,5. )

[Toby Lupin]

Miffed at Aria, Darrik decided to take a more quiet fact-finding trip walking around the grounds. But he wasn't going to ask questions. As he did this, he opened up his senses to magic, studying, searching and pouring over the mystical qualities in this area.

And boy did he get it. What he felt shocked him, and given the specifics involved, scared him as to the implications.

He quickly figured out that Aria was probably around the hot spring baths, and caught her coming out, case file in hand. "There you are. We need to compare notes, as I found something, and I don't like what I see." His worried face wasn't lying.

Click to reveal..

Occult roll #1: DC 12 - 2d6+9= 15, Passed

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2797522/

Occult roll #2: DC 16 - 2d6+9= 17, Passed

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2797523/

[Delilah Synn]

Originally Posted By: Kyra

"Why do humans have rooms just to put on clothing?"

"Because humans are weird and ashamed of what they look like," Delilah said with breezy confidence as she preened in the mirror, then tossed Kyohei a teasing grin. "Which is just silly! Behind closed doors, humans watch naked people all the time. Mom's a pornstar, so I know all about these things." With a satisfied and eye-catching flounce, Delilah spun around, giving the saleswoman a wave then hooking her arms with Kyohei and Kyra. "I don't get the big deal myself - it's totally okay to look at naked people, as long as they're hot.

As Delilah began urging the others outside, maybe to initiate Kyra with the wonders of ice cream, a puzzled furrow appeared between her crimson brows. "Hey! Where's Aria? She was right behind us!" The shapely succubus gave an annoyed huff, her cleavage baring kimono gaping wider. "She got away with not coming with us to get some fun clothing, but I'm gonna get her next time. Let's go!"

[Justin OOC]

Kyohei nodded. "There are reasons for it, trust mee led them out carrying their bags, looking at the horizon. "We should be getting back, it will be dark soon."