Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Familiar Strangers in a Strangely Familiar Land

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia had a blast helping dress Cam, and after they were finished she turned to Yseult with a grin.

"Now that we've got him dressed, I think that means it's finally our turn, huh? I know I, for one, am not leaving this place without something to wear that isn't camo green - what about you?"

She turned to Livy and arched a brow at her.

"And you.. are you shopping for yourself today too - or just helping us out?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Dressing Cam had been fun, and a pleasure that Olivia had never really experienced. Sean had always had better fashion sense than her, Bill had gotten irritated when she'd tried, and she'd never had a chance with Vinny. Sean had tolerated her shopping with him, though he'd almost never purchased what she suggested. Of course, half the fun of this was normally getting to take it off later, not that this was an option with Cam. The thought did send the blood racing to her cheeks again; fortunately, Aradia's question distracted her from what was becoming a bad habit.

"I'm... looking for a nice dress," Olivia hedged. Aradia's eyebrow crept up a little higher and Olivia broke. "Yes, I'm looking for something a little... nicer than I have." When you were interested in dating, you needed more than one dress. Even if Vinny didn't work out, Olivia was determined to find what happiness she could. She was tired of being sad and alone. Enough, already - time to at least try to live.

[Yseult Sierra]

"I have changed very much since... well," Yseult voice drops to a whisper, and she sidles closer to Aradia. "Olivie can tell you how much, later."

She returns to a normal tone of voice, a beautific smile on her face. "I need... everything. Pants, skirts, shirts, dresses, a suit or two. Shoes, of course. A trip to Victoria's Secret will definitely be necessary."

As Aradia turns to Olivia, Yseult does so as well. "I may need your help, you two. My measurements have changed drastically, and so too has my colouring. I will need another opinion on what looks good on this." She gestures at herself, a slightly distasteful twist to her smile.

[Mr Fox]

Cam was much relieved to get his purchases paid for and escape with his dignity mostly intact. At the mention of it being the Girls turn he got a wicked grin, "Well, turnabout is fair play. You ladies get to model whatever you buy for us fellows!"

The thought of those very attractive ladies shopping at Victoria's Secret tried to leap to the fore front of his brain and he ruthlessly ripped out the thought and threw it to the ground crushing it beneath his heels and hoping it would not crawl right back up and enter his head again.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

A wicked thought entered Olivia's mind, and released a low, throaty chuckle. Aradia immediately knew they were in trouble, but before she could ask, Olivia said, "Yseult needs to most, so you're up first, girl. What did you want to start with? Pants, dresses? Suits? Where do we begin?"

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult's smile turned a little uneasy, but steadfastedly refused to leave. "That seems fair, Cam."

"Let's start with pants and skirts, and then tops. We can do dresses and suits last, before the shoes and Victoria's Secret."

The three women tore in the department like a whirlwind, the men barely able to keep up. With an intuitive facility, Yseult was able to find clothing to her taste. Usually elegantly simple, with clean lines and few flourishes. While commenting on colour and fit, the two younger women accompanying Yseult managed to inject a few ecletic and diversified touches to her choices. The saleslady with them talked her into tighter, more form-flattering fits, which Yseult had to reluctantly agree, looked amazing on her.

True her word, Yseult modeled nearly everything she chose for the men. And the group of men had grown, other patrons eyeing the trio of attractive women, to their wives and girlfriends annoyance. After a certain point, the embarrassment went away and Yseult began to enjoy herself, adding a cock to her hip or a coquettish tilt to her head.

Yseult had just finished choosing two new suits, one pant, the other skirt, and had settled on three new pairs of shoes (so far), when the attractive trio headed towards the dress section. Damien's hands were already getting full, yet Yseult didn't seem to be slowing down in her purchases yet.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia seemed to be enjoying herself as much with helping pick out clothes for Yseult as she had been for Cam. Her own tastes were quite eclectic, and a bit flamboyant sometimes for the elegant woman's taste. She seemed to be the go-to girl for colors though, and through the course of their shopping Yseult discovered that Aradia's past background was as a circus performer, which included a lot of practice with matching colors to outfits to horses to lighting. She practically forced several outfits on Yseult to try on that accented the turquoise in her eyes, playing with different shades of green and blue that seemed to draw her eyes towards one or the other, depending on what the outfit color was. She also had an almost obsessive compulsion towards accessories, finding several belts, scarves, and shoes that would help mix and match in order to help turn a couple outfits into several.

Aradia stopped her before the dress section though with a laugh, and grinned at Yseult's enthusiasm.

"Hey, maybe we'd better hit this in shifts - since we're already here, do you mind if a grab a few things before we move on? It'll save us some time, instead of hopping back and forth between departments. By the way.. who's carrying my stuff?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

While Aradia pushed Yseult one way, Olivia went the other, pointing out the frumpiest and most conservative of outfits. She also seemed surprised that people didn't like them more. It was a strange knack for selecting exactly what a woman twenty years her senior would pick.

"You can use Ryan, too," Olivia blithely offered, examining a few shirts on a nearby rack - shirts that Aradia immediately blocked with her body, shaking her head. "Don't even think about it, Livy," the former circus performer warned.

Olivia sighed and added, "I'm not getting too much - I don't mind the BDUs and I already have stuff. So Ryan's going to be underutilized unless you use him." She grinned at the big major, her smile teasing as she spoke. "And I don't mind sharing with you, Ari." The last was said with a wink.

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia nodded, and winked back playfully before she turned to Gwyn and Ryan both.

"Looks like Gwyn's my main then, and Ryan, I think you'll be taking care of dresses then."

She winked playfully at them both, and started rummaging through clothing racks herself. Aradia seemed to prefer clingy (with good reason), and she wasn't much of a dress or skirt girl. She picked out several pairs of jeans and leggings though, and lots of fun tank tops, t-shirts, and blouses in bright colors. She confessed to being used to shopping in vintage clothing shoppes, because you can find such a cool assortment there that you can't find anywhere else. In the end, she wound up with a couple skirts and dresses that Livy and Yseult talked her into, even though she swore she'd never really have a chance to wear any of them.

She wasn't as pretty as Yseult, and nowhere near the stunning beauty of either Kyria or most of the men that were accompanying them, ironically. But she seemed to have fun with it, and lack any real self-consciousness about showing off the outfits. Indeed, she did so with a flair and vivaciousness that was charming, if a bit aloof and not directed at any of the men in particular. She ignored looks from men browsing the store with their wives as if she were avoiding someone stricken by the plague.

She also tried her best to talk Livy into trying a couple things out that would brighten her up a bit, even if she tried to keep it more conservative. But she saved most of that for the dress section, where she knew they would be heading next. No doubt she could find some cute dresses to talk her friend into once they got there, since that's "what she needed anyway". After she had loaded Gwyn up with about three bags worth, she turned to the other women.

"Okay - I'm done here. But we do have to hit a jewelry and accessory shop too, okay? I have got to get some new earrings, or I'm going to die soon."

She motioned towards her bare ears, and upon closer examination she had about three holes in each one. She was a girl very used to her accessories.

[Rorx]

Gwyn sidled over to Cam after spotting him carefully looking ff to one side while Yseult was trying on one of her more revealing outfits. "I wouldn't worry about it too much in this crowd," he said to him quietly, "you have to learn to accept it, especially when Kyria joins us tonight. Not only is she hotter than Yseult, she is a telepath. So you either have to learn to accept that your thoughts are natural, and accept that she may see them, or spend the whole time uncomfortable and embarassed."

He grins at the obviously discomforted Colonel, "Admittedly I've had longer to get used to the idea, but I look forward to seeing how well you do."

Ari's bags were no trouble for Gwyn to carry, his most recent trick even saving his fingers from the usual 'cutting' that heavy bags usually inflict, so he was able to easily put them all in one hand. As they started to head towards the next section he reminded her of an earlier comment, "Ari, don't forget you wanted to check out a sports store for some leotards."

[Yseult Sierra]

"Oh yes Aradie, I fully agree. Most of my accessories are... not accessible now." Reflectively, Yseult's hand went to her chest. Through her new top, her fingers help tightly to the wedding ring on a simple gold chain that the other two women had seen in the changing room. It was actually three very intricately braided rings of yellow and white gold, that linked together.

"We can stop on the way to Victoria's secret. I love this belt too, thank you Aradia. And there is are several sport stores too." Yseult fiddled with the rings on the belt Aradia had chosen for her. She was wearing a tight pair of black pants and a more-blue-than-green cable-knit turtleneck. Her new heels clacked sharply on the way to the dress section.

Yseult smiled indulgently as Aradia claimed she'd never wear a skirt or dress. "You will have a chance to wear a dress when we go out for dinner tonight, Aradie. It is a very nice place called the Warehouse. It has a dress code to uphold." Her smile widened at the miffed look on Aradia's face.

Her BDUs were tossed into bag. As she glanced at Damien, she realized that his hands were getting quite full. "Would one of you other gentlemen being able to help me with a few more bags? I don't think Damien is enough for me." Either she was completely unaware of how her last statement could be taken, or she had suddenly become very good a dissembling.

[Mr Fox]

Cam groaned at Gwyn's words. "You're evil, you know that? When someone tells you not to think of something, then that something is exactly what you are going to think about! There is no way I'm going to be able to keep my thoughts under control now." He gave a chuckle somewhere between amusement and embarrassment.

Speaking to the whole group, "I don't need jewelry, but I could use a decent watch, so lead the way to the jewelry store."

The group trekked to the closest Jewelry store which happened to be a Ben Bridge Jewelers. While the women pawed through the earrings and necklaces Cam checked out the watches. Skipping the expensive four and five thousand dollar Rolex and Tag Hauer's he instead picked up a Swiss Army Ground Forces watch. It was auto-winding and had a titanium case and was water resistant up to 300 meters. Given the environments he was likely to go into, if a $300 dollar watch got destroyed that would be much better than loosing a $3000 dollar one.

[Rorx]

Gwyn chipped in to Yseult request with a smile, "I believe Olivia designated Ryan as the overflow carrier earlier on."

[Adrian Moss]

"Oh, I'm good. I don't see my - ummph - heart going out this side of Victoria Secret," he adds with a wink. In his mind, he chalked this up to an bizarre endurance ritual with the added incentive of the female form.

Only once before had he been subjected to this kind of activity and that time he had paid for it ... in more than one way. Bitter relationships beside, this was an intriguing ritual that was meant to pull on a man's libido and serve as a distraction on even the most trained sense of awareness.

Eyes filled him with strange patterns as Yseult, Ari, and Livy's bodies would flare with warmth while they exhibited themselves to their mostly male audience. The ability to see things on a much smaller/more precise scale was something he didn't want to make too much use out of. If felt like peeping, which he was pretty sure it was. Instead, he focused on the visual medium offered by heightened normal sight, which was banquet enough.

True enough, they were no Kyria, but the three woman had a maturity and experience about them that was most appealing in its sumptuousness. Women over Girls and all that, best not let Kyria pick that up out of his mind though.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia laughed at Cam's good-natured embarrassment and took his arm again for a moment. "Let me know if it gets to be too much of a burden for you to bear - I have a technique for diverting anyone from their chosen chain of thoughts. I just tell them all about my doctoral thesis about the impact of the Muslim culture on the nomads of Northern Africa, and they're either in a coma within five minutes or completely occupied with how to get away from me politely. Or they've already, desperately changed the subject." She laughed at herself and let go of his arm. After checking to see that Ryan had the bag of stuff she had gotten so far - which didn't yet include a dress that she was comfortable with and that Ari would let her buy - before following.

She didn't look at much jewelry. She didn't often wear any, and when she did, it was a memento of something. She found herself looking at engagement rings, and missing Sean for the first time in more than a year. She might have been Mrs. Dermont, teaching history somewhere, had he not insisted that she seek professional help. She might even be considering motherhood, or pregnant already. Would she be happier?

Not a chance. But she still missed his calm, tender presence. She'd loved him, and she missed him.

[Mr Fox]

Cam laughed with Olivia and squeezed her arm. "Thanks. That just might help later, and actually it does give me an idea for defending against telepathy. Don't know if it would work but maybe I can try sometime with this Kyria." Spying a shoe store just up the way he pointed to where he was planning to go. Grab me when you guys are done. I just need some tennis shoes. I'll have to find the boots later, no mall is going to have a good selection of boots.

Ten minutes later Cam was back with another bag in hand and some new shoes on his feet. He happily announced to the others that he had found a pair of sneakers and a pair of dress shoes to go with the suit. "So only one thing left for me and that's a pair of sunglasses."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia had fun looking at some of the jewelry at the real jewelry store, but bypassed purchasing any of it. She did, briefly, direct them into something that was not necessarily a jewelry store, but that carried quite a selection of jewelry, belts, hair accessories, and the like. There weren't really any pieces that cost more than a hundred dollars, and most of them were significantly cheaper, in the ten to forty dollar range. There were lots of pendants and big, dangly earrings and hoops of thick, clunky bracelets in all different shades of metal and glass. It was kind of like an adult step up from a Claire's, and probably best described as "costume" jewelry.. but Aradia was a "costume jewelry" kind of girl. Though they were smaller, the guys were pretty sure that she technically bought more there than all her other purchases so far combined.

After lacking any success in the dress department of the Macy's, Aradia dragged the other two women to a nicer dress shop in the mall that specialized in more "designer" clothes. After all, if she had to wear a dress, then she was at least going to help Livy find something that didn't make her look fifty years old. And they couldn't go shoe shopping without knowing what dresses they were getting anyway.

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult enjoyed jewelry, it highlighted her sedate, refined taste in clothing, but she never wore any to work. Ben Bridges was a fine place indeed, full of some very nice pieces. She wouldn't be able to replensish her stock of accessories here, but she wouldn't feel guilty acquiring a piece or three.

After looking at various pieces, Yseult had settled on a gold and turquoise ring that matched her eyes exactly, a set of silver bracelets, two for each arm, and two modest pairs of earrings. She had noticed that she had two piercings in each ear, so had chosen a pair of hoops and a pair of studs.

Yseult studied Aradia pore over the selection of fine jewelry. She didn't seem inclined to purchase anything however, sighing morosely over a particularly nice pendant, all convoluted twists with a mottled pearl in the middle. The younger woman's exuberance and ease of self reminded her greatly of her younger sister Gisèle. Odd to think, Gisèle is six years younger than me, but now I would look about six years younger than her, Yseult thought sadly. When Aradia wasn't looking, Yseult bought the pendant, and with a little slight of hand and a distracting brush of a breast, snuck it into one of Aradia's bags that Gwyn was carrying.

She saw Olivia contemplating the engagement rings wistfully, and had to bite a lip to hold back the tears at the flood of memories that flashed through her.

As Cam mentioned needing a pair of sunglasses, Yseult shook her head to suppress her melancholy. "Cam, there is a sunglasses kiosk near the Victoria's Secret."

When Aradia suggested another accessories shop, Yseult readily agreed. She managed to find several more rings, bracelets, and pairs of earrings, for the most part, silver and polished steel.

At the specialty dress shop that Yseult had pointed out, and Aradia had dragged them to, she found several more dresses. Including one that was entirely too revealing to her way of thinking, but that Aradia insisted upon. Besides, the varying shades of blue and green were very fetching, though looking down, she wasn't sure if any man would notice.

[Mr Fox]

"Well, I guess we'd better head there then." Cam wanted to add a comment about needing the sunglasses to disguise his eyes bugging out in the lingerie shop, but these women might end up directly in his change of command soon and that could present issues. He settled for a sigh and followed the rest with his arms full of bags. He seriously considered finding a Sears just to buy one of those gardening wagons to pile all the bags in. The men were plenty strong enough, but the sure volume was beginning to be cumbersome. Damn good thing they'd brought the big van.

At the sunglass hut it only took cam a few minutes to find a decent pair of raybans that would work well shielding his eyes on missions. He made sure to get them polarized and with a UV coating. Who knew what kind of light or radiation they would encounter on alien worlds. Once he had paid he added the sunglasses to the running total in his mind and was surprised to find that he'd spent less than six thousand dollars. He still had the better part of 45K in the bank. Maybe he should pick up a motorcycle? With that kind of money he could afford anything he wanted. On the other hand there several guns he would like to have. Or maybe a really nice computer system? Hell with 45K he could afford all of that without completely running out. Nah, the motorcycle was overkill. The computer system on the other hand and some entertainment equipment and a few guns... that sounded like a nice wakeup present for coming out of his six plus month coma.

[Rorx]

Gwyn had picked up a number of things of his own while the ladies were mainly distracted by Cam and their own purchases, but had the foresight to snag a cheap backpack in Macy's to carry his own stuff. A variety of basic clothes had been joined by a couple of pairs of trainers, a couple of pairs of sunglasses and a two watches.

While the ladies ohh'd and ahh'd over the jewelry he snuck a few doors down to get a decent set of clothes for the evening at the Warehouse, returning in time to join the group as they headed towards Vitoria's.

[Yseult Sierra]

At the sunglass hut, Yseult bought a new pair of Pradas, similar to her last pair, but with more reflective lenses and a lighter frame.

The Specialists lined up in front of Victoria's Secret, the men bundled down with bags like sherpas; poor Damien could barely see pass the mass of packages he was carrying.

Somehow, Victoria's Secret had become the central goal of this excursion, though it was in no way the most crucial. Each of the Specialists took a deep breath before entering this sanctum to feminine splendor.

[Adrian Moss]

Caine gave the models and types of jewelry he liked, and/or that he thought looked good on the women (mainly Yseult), some sort of smile, nod, or laugh. It was fun to watch people have fun, especially when they were people he liked, or hoped soon to be close to (platonically).

Damien had discovered he had an advanced knack for telling what was fashionable for a particular person and what didn't work. It was strange to see this kind of magic work, though he knew he had it in him. It was another aspect of his 'hyper-mind' coming forth - a stylistic sense for women. Who knew?

Victoria's would definitely be interesting and perhaps show a more adventurous side for Olivia.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

At the boutique, Olivia finally found something nice enough. It would serve as a decent date dress, and she'd found it when she finally tried to pick the absolute last thing she'd willingly wear. Aradia had immediately dialed her back from "whore" to "sexy" and Olivia was able to get a dress she could live with.

But it was at Victoria's Secrets that she finally found the dress she really liked - and that she got up the courage try an experiment. On her way to the fitting room with a floor-length summer dress in a flattering color, she brushed by Damien. A quick brush of her arm on his - followed by a muttered, "Thanks" and she had what she needed to borrow.

She got herself in the room and closed the door. Steeling herself, she looked in the mirror - and nearly had a heart attack. The woman gazing back was beautiful, sultry and exotic. She could have played Cleopatra in a movie; even her slanted eyes only added to her exotic appeal. Olivia gasped, and the woman gasped, her full lips falling open and her large eyes widening.

"Wow," she muttered, then quickly got into the dress. This wouldn't last forever. Too bad she wouldn't be able to remember it without effort, but she'd still enjoy this. The dress only added to the effect, the warm orange adding warmth and color to her perfect skin tone. She repeated, "Wow" then remembered that this didn't last forever. Tense with anticipation, Olivia opened the door to the fitting room and moved to where the guys could see her. "What do you think?" she asked, doing a little spin. Her gaze fell on them coyly, trying to see all their reactions at once. But there was an odd steel and determination in her gaze, too. It was familiar to anyone who had spent much time with Damien.

Click to reveal..

The dress:

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia was a pain at the boutique, seeming to not care for any of the dresses she really saw there. She swore she could wear a nice, dressy pantsuit that she had found at Macy's, and they eventually caved because she didn't seem all that fond of the idea of a dress. She bought three different pairs of sunglasses at the Sunglass Hut as well. She didn't really notice the brand name or seem to care, focusing instead on how they looked. She picked out a black pair that looked kind of like cat's eye glasses that were kind of Gwen Stefani-ish, and a pair of tan and white ones in different styles, so she'd "have a pair to match", no matter what.

She quickly ducked the girls as they finished browsing sunglasses - the others were choosier than her, especially Yseult when it came to the glasses, though she understood why. She promised to meet them at Victoria's Secret, and made her way to one of the more varied sports shops in the mall. She purchased a couple different leotards, as well as some other things she might need for practice. She showed up at the store just in time to see the beautiful dress Olivia had picked out for herself. She sighed wistfully, and stepped up with the guys, looking her over.

"Girl, you look fantastic. Absolutely fantastic."

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult was picking out various bits of lingerie and a few more dresses, surpisingly racy for a woman with her understated taste in clothes. Her husband had always liked it, and it made her feel sexy and, truthfully, a little naughty. She was in the process of trying a red push-up bra when she heard a collective groan from the men. She dashed out of the changing room, her turtleneck dropping from nerveless fingers

Mon Dieu! Is that what a woman with enhanced beauty looks like? Yseult's heart hammered, the emotion running through her undefinable. Was it envy, awe, or something else? She didn't know, except it was overwhelming.

[Adrian Moss]

The brush off was a bit curious when it suddenly became understandable. As she walked away everything about her walk changed, escalating in its sexuality and poise.

So that's what it's like.

Livy changed into the dress giving him a chance to put his eyes back in his head and tongue into non-pant mode. Then she walked out and pulled out all the stops and jaws dropped all over the store and out into the mallway. This was Kyria if Kyria tried to sway hearts, minds, and nether regions.

For Damien the spell was broken by the gentle float of Yseult's turtleneck drifting past her midrift. Bare naked flesh registered in his mind and he began to move before he was really sure what he was going to do.

Caine swept the packages down, caught the turtleneck, and handed it right back into the perfect chest of the French-Canadian beauty.

"I think you dropped this," he said calmly, eyes meeting hers as if they were discussing how much cream was to be in her coffee. Diligently, he didn't let his eyes roam south.

[Mr Fox]

Cam dropped one of the bags he was precariously balancing just before Olivia came out of the dressing room so he was distracted when he heard the other men's sudden intake of breath. He looked up to see what an 'enhanced' woman looked like. Olivia had been stunning before; now she was beyond stunning, beyond anything he'd ever seen before. He knelt there the bag he was retrieving suddenly forgotten. "Wow."

Then while he was still trying to recover from the shock Yseult came running out of the dressing room to see what the commotion was, and dropped her shirt, unintentionally modeling a nice red bra. He knew it was an accident on her part so he turned his head quickly out of respect but with a photographic memory it didn't matter if he stared at her for one second or one day, he'd never lose that image. This was not going to make dinner with a telepath easy...

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult looked up into the eyes the incomparable Damien Caine, lips parted, her own eyes going wider by the moment. A bright flush swept all the way to her chest, as vivid as her bra. You cannot think those thoughts, Yseult, you still have a husband.

She fled back into the changing room. In record time she switched back to her utilarian bra and put her turtleneck back on. She could see a faint sheen of sweat on her brow in the mirror, and her pupils were dilated. Okay Yseult, it's not your fault. There must be some sort of physiological manipulation involved in such beauty, perhaps more potent pheromones.

Tears welled in her eyes as she focused her thoughts on memories of her husband, François. Only little more than month without him, and already, she was afraid she was drifting away from him. She trembled with her shame, and choked back a sob. Her reflection in mirror on the changing room door shattered, crazy, jagged lines radiating in from the edges.

She gave herself a few more moments to collect herself, wiped the sweat and tears away, and put on her new Prada glasses. Then she exited the change room with all the poise she could muster, only a faint redness to her cheeks.

"This one didn't fit."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan played the part of sherpa well. I calmly added what he thought was good to the mix, but his fashion sense was limited. he was more of a function over form guy. He smiled and accpeted whatever he was given to carry and when they finally made it to Victoria's Secret he managed to keep his wits about him.

Then Olivia emerged from the Dressing room looking far more stunning than she ever had before. "Ryan smiled, "Very nice. A man seen out with you in that dress would be the envy of those around him."

He'd barely finished speaking when Yesult emerged in her bright red bra. That's an image I can't unsee, not that I'd want to.

He said nothing to his new subordinate, grateful that Damien had been so quick on the uptake.

He nodded to Yesult when she reemerged. "It happens sometimes. I'll get shirts that are the size I wear, and they simply don't fit right, or like others I have."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia let Olivia be admired, and took the opportunity to slip away from the boys and pick out a few changes of underclothes. Unlike Yseult - and in a far cry from her normal flamboyant (thought, if anyone had paid any real attention, not all that low-cut or cleavage baring) clothing selections, the undergarments she picked out were fairly simple and low-key. Not frumpy, but just basic.. white, black, and nude colored bras and panties that would blend properly if she wore something that ended up showing a hint of pantyline or a bra strap on accident.

She made her selections quickly, hoping to mostly avoid detection while the other, more well-rounded women were demonstrating assets Aradia didn't possess all that much of.

Stop sulking, if you were that top-heavy, you couldn't flip around on a trapeze anyway - at least not nearly as well. Your career.. well, your old one.. would have been over before it even got off the ground. Not that it's anything more than a hobby or an occasionally useful skill now anyway, most likely...

She plucked the last size "B" bra that she wanted off the rack, and headed in the direction of the register, hoping neither of the other girls intercepted her, or that none of the boys spotted her simple, somewhat dowdy selections. After all, why spend a lot of money on something no one was ever going to see anyway?

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia enjoyed her moment - for just a moment. Then Yseult upstaged her by coming out of the dressing room in her bra. No matter how pretty, men were easily distracted by the sight of so much skin, and Olivia felt their admiration slip away. Even Yseult's obvious dismay and poor reaction to Caine didn't comfort Olivia; whether Yseult had meant to do it or not, she'd taken something from Olivia, something she'd just found.

Still, there were other things to do, and deflated, Olivia made her way to her dressing room. There she released Caine's 'magic'. One moment, she was fuming at Yseult; the next, she was struggling to remember why she was angry.

Olivia sighed, recognizing that something must have happened while she was riding Damien's appearance. With effort, she tried to remember, but came up blank. Shaking her head, she decided she'd work on it later, assuming she could recover the memory.

Stepping out of the dressing room, she caught sight of Aradia with her purchases. "Hey, aren't you going to buy anything fun?" she asked, then grinned. "And don't check out yet. You're wearing a dress to my dinner tonight. Tut, tut! No objections - it's for my birthday, so you can't say no."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia sighed slightly, her cheeks turning a faint pink. She shrugged a bit, and allowed herself to be led back over to the clothes shopping area. She left the purchases on the counter so that none of the guys spotted what she had been getting ready to buy.

"Livy, I seriously don't think I've ever worn a dress - I wouldn't even known what to pick out.. or what would look good. If you really want me to wear a dress, you're going to have to help. And I don't really know what I need any of the other stuff for - you know I don't date."

[Yseult Sierra]

Yseult returned the devilish red bra back to rack, and found a sinfully-black teddy with matching garters to replace it. As she went to pay for them she over heard Olivia speaking to Aradia.

"It's your birthday, Olivie? I didn't know, I will have to get you something." She looked at Olivia, and not seeing any amusement or pity in her dark eyes, took a big breath of relief.

Noticing what Aradia was buying, Yseult was surprised that such flamboyant dresser would wear such tame undergarments, but she kept her feelings to herself. She gave Aradia a mock, disapproving scowl. "Olivie is right Aradie, you must wear a dress, since it is her birthday. Black always looks good Aradie, simple and elegant, just add colour with a scarf or shawl. If you are worried about movement, you can get one cut to here." Yseult's hand wasn't much lower than her firm behind. "Or slit to here." She raised her hand a couple of inches. Her smile was fiendish, but her bright turquoise eyes twinkled with laughter.

[Ryan Hawke]

while the women were all away Ryan looks to the other men in the group. "So did everyone get what they came for?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Actually, yesterday was the birthday," Olivia chuckled, "but I was waking up a sleeping pr- er, Airman, which is a really cool way to spend the day. I'm still getting used to it being in October." At the startled looks she got, she pseudo-explained, "Uh, classified bit of time travel. Can't really discuss it."

"Oh, girl... you don't wear the pretty undies for the guys," Olivia laughed. "Guys don't care if your underwear and bra match or are pretty, so long as they're clean and aren't hard to get off. No, pretty undies are for us, hon. They make us feel sexy." Olivia took her by the arm and steered her to the dresses. "Dress first."

After some trial and error, Olivia had found a white dress. "Here, this one," she insisted. "Go try this one and the black one Yseult found. Right, Yseult? You won't need a bra with the white - couldn't wear on with it anyway. But we'll still get you a sexy bra to go with whatever underwear you get."

[Yseult Sierra]

"Oh, Oui! The white is very you Aradie, très magnifique. A pair of garters and the right heels, and you will knock them down." Yseult smiled pensively, as she started sorting through bra sets for Aradia, more competently than she had for herself. "Olivie is quite right about the undies... Though the right man will definitely appreciate them."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia looked the dress over skeptically, but went ahead and took it from her, draping the garment over her arm. She walked over to Gwyn and plucked the two small jewelry bags from his hands, then disappeared into the fitting room. If she was going to try it on, she might as well see if she could make it more her style.

She undressed down to her panties in the fitting room and gave herself a critical look before dressing. When she saw herself, the first thing she always noticed was the machine. She was thin.. she'd be rail-thin, if it weren't for all the physical activity. She didn't really see the toned curve of her calves as attractive, she saw them as strong, and remembered the burn of muscles as she learned to ride balanced, standing barefoot on the back of the horse as it jogged around the performance circle. She didn't think of the curve of stomach muscles as sexy, she saw them as capable of lifting her own body weight up into the air, and knew that they helped her hold a difficult position for seconds longer than most acrobats could. Her arms were her best feature, reflecting the same strength and agility as the rest of her, but what she saw was if they were strong enough to keep her lifting herself up, and keeping up her momentum.

So it wasn't with any real confidence that Aradia slipped on the lovely white dress over her head, and fastened the tie around her neck. Being used to picking out bright colors to dress in, to draw attention to her performances, she didn't realize how flattering the crisp whiteness was against her well-tanned skin and dark hair, and how well the dress cinched around her waist to accent the figure she was so afraid was lacking. She didn't have any shoes yet to match, so she left her feet bare, but she managed to rummage around in the bags and pulled out several thick and thin silver and white bangles, some with little faux-diamond chips on them, and slipped them onto each wrist. She hooked a pair of silver chandelier earrings into the main, lowest holes of her ears. And with a final glance in the mirror, she forced herself to shift just a little, turning the previously bright red streaks by her face into smaller, platinum and silver streaks running through her hair. They were too precise to look like aging, and instead showed up like more silver and white accents to match the rest of the outfit.

She took a deep breath, and reluctantly stepped outside, knowing her appearance would be significantly less striking than Livy or Yseult's had been. She mainly just hoped the boys had wandered away, so she could get an honest opinion from the other two women.

Click to reveal..

(The Dress:)

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I was right!" Olivia laughed, throwing her hands in the air as if announcing a touchdown. It was a habit from Sean; his one 'uncivilized vice' had been football, and he'd often used two arms thrust in the air as a sign of victory. She'd gotten into the habit too, and it came out now as she saw how pretty her friend looked. "Perfect!"

Yseult nodded in agreement. "It is very flattering. I used to have such a figure, though I was not in nearly such good shape, or as tall. Quite striking, Aradie."

[Ryan Hawke]

Ryan hadn't wandered away, and whnAradia came out he smiled. "I woud have to agree. That dress suits you well Aradia." His eyes were looking everywhere, noticing the curve and tone of her arms and legs, and he easily pegged her as someone who kept in excellent shape. A gymnast perhaps.

He smiled. "It suits you well indeed."

[Aradia McConnell]

Aradia turned away from them for a minute, glancing in the three-way mirror and studying herself critically.

"Are you sure? I feel awfully boring in all this white. Maybe I should add some color.. I dunno, a scarf or some brighter jewelry or something?"