50th Trial of Zi'da, Arc 717
Vega was locked in the en-suite bathroom in the Knights Rest Inn where she and Arlo were staying. She'd locked herself in there, in fairness, because they were Going Out On A Date, which made her nervous in ways she had trouble putting into words and she had to Get Ready. Vega had faced down all sorts of terrifying creatures, met Immortals, been kissed by an Immortal, weathered storms at sea and all sorts and nothing, nothing had made her more afraid than the prospect of Getting Ready. It had been just fine, yestertrial, when she and Callie had been together. But on her own? Well, that was just terrifying and Vega finished laying out all the cosmetics she had bought and looked at the dress which now hung on the hook on the wall and the pile of strange and largely unknown to her until yestertrial, other items of clothing she had to do things with or put on. Then, she pulled the last thing from the bag and placed it right in front of her, directly where she could see.
"A'right, Bert," she said to the small stuffed bear she had put down just to the left of the mirror, "we are gonna do this, an' it's gonna be fine. Now, remember 'ow Callie told us, yeah? Good. Right." Everything was laid out and Vega looked at it and grumbled. "Five men. I grew up on a ship with five men an' a stuffed bear. How in the name of Xiur's butt cheek am I supposed to know what to do with all this?" But there was no point getting worked up, so she did what she had been told to do.
Putting on the actual dress, as far as Vega could tell, was the least of it. The things which had caused her problems yestertrial were threefold. Getting on the underwear, which was unlike any underwear Vega had ever seen or heard of, putting on the make up and doing her hair. Callie had explained that, since the dress was strapless and since she'd need to have these... things... which held up the stockings, Vega would need to wear this corset-like basque-thing. That was fine, she didn't mind in the slightest it was that item in particular which, as she had so delicately put it the trial before, pulled her in and pushed her up in all the right places. However, getting it on was something of a struggle. Still, Callie had shown her a trick, and that was what she did now. Do most of it up with it on back to front, then twist it around and finish off. That was fine, but even when mostly done up it was tight, so for reasons she could not explain, every time she held the offending item and twisted it to the left Vega jumped into the air and turned to the right.
Callie had told her the trial before, it didn't help, but the redhead didn't care. It felt like it did. It didn't occur to her that the sound of her jumping, twisting, landing and giving a slight "oof" each time might sound odd. She was far too in the moment - especially when, with a last heave to the left, she got it in place. Some adjustments around the front and she was then able to pull the ribbons tight in the back tie it loosely to keep it in place and then tighten it up as tight as she could. Callie had managed it tighter, Vega thought, but then being able to breathe was no bad thing and it very much did the job.
"Alright. Now you two." Vega glared at the stockings and did as Callie had told her. Keep them rolled up, then slide them over the foot, slowly and evenly unraveling up the leg. That was fine, but then there were these strange stretchy ribbon-like bits hanging down from the first item she'd put on and Vega had to attach them. The clasp at the front was fairly straightforward, but as she stretched the stocking at the back. hoping that the two would meet, the ribbon-thing snapped out of her hand with a loud ping and she let out an "OW!" as it snapped against her. That stung and she let out a stream of Rakahi at the feeling. But, once she had managed to tie the white satin ribbons appropriately and finally slipped on the matching satin briefs, she breathed out.
"A'right. Come on, Bert, does it look a'right?"
Bert, she thought, seemed remarkably unimpressed. Frankly, after that struggle, she could do with a lie down.
"A'right, Bert," she said to the small stuffed bear she had put down just to the left of the mirror, "we are gonna do this, an' it's gonna be fine. Now, remember 'ow Callie told us, yeah? Good. Right." Everything was laid out and Vega looked at it and grumbled. "Five men. I grew up on a ship with five men an' a stuffed bear. How in the name of Xiur's butt cheek am I supposed to know what to do with all this?" But there was no point getting worked up, so she did what she had been told to do.
Putting on the actual dress, as far as Vega could tell, was the least of it. The things which had caused her problems yestertrial were threefold. Getting on the underwear, which was unlike any underwear Vega had ever seen or heard of, putting on the make up and doing her hair. Callie had explained that, since the dress was strapless and since she'd need to have these... things... which held up the stockings, Vega would need to wear this corset-like basque-thing. That was fine, she didn't mind in the slightest it was that item in particular which, as she had so delicately put it the trial before, pulled her in and pushed her up in all the right places. However, getting it on was something of a struggle. Still, Callie had shown her a trick, and that was what she did now. Do most of it up with it on back to front, then twist it around and finish off. That was fine, but even when mostly done up it was tight, so for reasons she could not explain, every time she held the offending item and twisted it to the left Vega jumped into the air and turned to the right.
Callie had told her the trial before, it didn't help, but the redhead didn't care. It felt like it did. It didn't occur to her that the sound of her jumping, twisting, landing and giving a slight "oof" each time might sound odd. She was far too in the moment - especially when, with a last heave to the left, she got it in place. Some adjustments around the front and she was then able to pull the ribbons tight in the back tie it loosely to keep it in place and then tighten it up as tight as she could. Callie had managed it tighter, Vega thought, but then being able to breathe was no bad thing and it very much did the job.
"Alright. Now you two." Vega glared at the stockings and did as Callie had told her. Keep them rolled up, then slide them over the foot, slowly and evenly unraveling up the leg. That was fine, but then there were these strange stretchy ribbon-like bits hanging down from the first item she'd put on and Vega had to attach them. The clasp at the front was fairly straightforward, but as she stretched the stocking at the back. hoping that the two would meet, the ribbon-thing snapped out of her hand with a loud ping and she let out an "OW!" as it snapped against her. That stung and she let out a stream of Rakahi at the feeling. But, once she had managed to tie the white satin ribbons appropriately and finally slipped on the matching satin briefs, she breathed out.
"A'right. Come on, Bert, does it look a'right?"
Bert, she thought, seemed remarkably unimpressed. Frankly, after that struggle, she could do with a lie down.
mostly cause of the conversations with Bert the bear