by S. E. Weir
As entertaining as those might be, you can just ask.
She opened the door to her residence and waited for him to enter before closing it. “I can, huh? Because that’s worked out great for me so far.”
The nerve! he yowled as his human went into the bedroom to change. Hey, I offered to help you earlier without being asked. Because I’m a magnificent and magnanimous being.
He waited for an answer but got only silence. He quickly trotted after her, passing a dark room with old heavy floral and fruit scents. His human always got in trouble when she was by herself. And silent. He didn’t have to know her better to know that. He found her in her room, holding her tablet. She glanced over as he changed his gait to slow and sleek. The ultimate predator on the prowl. Not in a hurry in the slightest.
“Well, training or tips or help is going to need to happen later. My best friend Alina wants me to come see her at work.”
She began pulling off her shirt and he hastily turned around then nonchalantly sat to groom himself. Nobody needed to see that. He shuddered. Human biology and habits were so strange. Then again, a trip out to see his human’s friends might be what he needed to understand her better. Where does your friend work?
“A boutique clothing store. She’s an assistant designer there.”
Sundancer shuddered again and shook his head. I’ll let you go on your own, then. I’m sure I will find something much more interesting to do.
Phina chuckled, then walked over and picked him up from behind. He let out a surprised yowl, then subsided and rubbed his head on her newly clothed chest. “A typical manly male, huh?”
He looked up at her with long-suffering eyes. If manly males think clothing is strange and unnecessary, I’ll gladly be one of those. You bipedal creatures have an unnatural obsession with clothing. He paused, then continued thoughtfully. Then again, perhaps you need all that clothing to cover your hideously deformed bodies.
His human rolled her eyes and chuckled as she put him down. He mewed in protest. He had rights, and one of those was to be carried and snuggled!
Phina quirked an eyebrow at him. “Did you change your mind about coming with me?”
Sundancer immediately stopped and looked up at her innocently. Hurry back with fish or liver. Or both. Now, liver, that’s an obsession worth having.
His human grinned and walked out, calling over her shoulder, “Don’t get lost or into trouble.”
He snorted delicately. Him? Into trouble? He was a Previdian, not a Sphinx.
A Previdian never got into trouble without being able to get out of it on his own.
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, White House Fashions
“You want me to do what?” Phina stared at her best friend in shock. She certainly hadn’t seen this coming, but knowing Alina, she should have.
“Oh, come on, Phina, it will look adorable on you! It’s the perfect dress!” Alina bounced and danced around her new backroom office as she spoke, her fingernails twinkling pink sparkles under the lights above when she moved the dress she held in her hands. The sparkles went along with the pink accents of the sharp accessories that gave some color to her black and white outfit.
Alina displayed one of her newer designs, an asymmetrical white skirt with a black top displaying an off-the-shoulder neckline and elbow-length sleeves. Black knee boots that came to just below the lower hem of the skirt completed the outfit. Mal, Alina’s boss, had recently promoted Alina to assistant designer, in part because of her new ideas to brand and advertise their clothing. If one were to examine Alina’s outfit closely, a pattern of tiny faint WH marks would be visible and embossed into the fabric of the clothing, a new White House Fashions exclusive trademark.
Not that Phina wanted to get that close to Alina at the moment. Especially since she bore a monstrosity of the highest order in her arms. Phina leaned back and tucked her hands behind her, not wanting to display any eagerness since she had zero available. She shook her head and widened her green eyes. “Adorable is not the word that comes to mind for that.”
“Oh?” Alina stopped and blinked at Phina, her face brightening even more if that was possible. “What word were you thinking of?”
“Hideous.”
Alina’s face and arms dropped, losing all animation for almost five seconds.
Phina blanched. Holy fudging crumbs. She should have known better.
Alina finally sucked in a breath before her eyes began bugging out of her face as she screeched, “Seraphina Grace Waters, you take that back right now! You know my clothes aren’t hideous so why would you say such a terrible thing?”
As Phina began opening her mouth to reply, ill-advised though it would have been, Alina’s tone changed to worry. “Unless it is hideous… It needs to be perfect.” She looked at the dress she had begun bunching in her hand and relaxed her hands to smooth it out.
Phina sighed and shook her head. “No, it's not hideous. It’s just…not to my taste.”
Alina turned toward Phina with a flat look and a raised eyebrow. “Stylish and sexy?”
Phina nodded. “Exactly.”
Alina rolled her eyes and shook her head before holding out her dress-laden arms. “I'm putting my foot down. You can't say anything else about it until you try it on.”
Phina sighed again and took the dress. “All right. That's fair.”
Alina made a face as she put her hands on her hips. “Forget what's fair. It's what's going to happen.”
Phina smiled weakly and nodded. “Of course.”
She went into the changing room in the corner of Alina’s office and put the dress on, moving slowly. Her fingers lingered on the fabric and she reluctantly admitted that it felt nice against her skin. It wasn't silk, but it was as close as a synthetic fiber could get. She should have trusted Alina and tried it on in the first place, even if she didn't feel comfortable with it.
The waistline was high with layers of skirt pieces attached like petals of a flower landing just below mid-thigh, along with a leotard insert. Butterfly sleeves draped from the shoulder. The outside layers of both sleeves and the skirt were varying shades of violet, while the inside layers were a golden-yellow. Alina had made a beautiful dress.
She pushed back out of the changing room to show Alina. “All right, fine. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.”
Alina grinned and waggled her fingers for Phina to come closer and turn around. “You should have learned by now to always trust me when it comes to clothes.”
Phina obliged and turned her head as she twirled to smile ruefully. “I know. I should have.”
When Phina turned around again, Alina stood looking at her sharply. “Phina, what’s wrong?”
Her shoulders sagged. She could never hide anything from Alina for long. Phina had only managed this long because her friend had been preoccupied with her wedding preparations. After glancing at the door to make sure it was shut so they had privacy, she told Alina everything that had happened as her friend fussed with the fit of the dress, adding a pin here and there.
By the time Phina had finished, the dress had been taken off, she had dressed again in her own clothes, and Alina had most of the alterations done.
Her best friend looked up and asked with concern, “Phina, are you doing okay with this? It’s a lot to take in. At least now you know why you had all those quirks that no one else had.”
Phina nodded, took a deep breath as she thought then nodded again. “I am. It helped to talk to Todd earlier and now you. For some reason talking it out a couple of times has helped me to put it into better perspective.”
Alina smiled slyly as she waggled her eyebrows. “Todd, huh?”
Phina rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Stop. We’re just friends.”
“Mmhmm,” Alina murmured as she finished the alterations. “He listens to you, spends time with you, and volunteered to help you out of his massively busy schedule. But sure... You’re just friends.”
“Well, we are,” Phina insisted. “There
’s nothing else happening.”
Alina paused and looked up to study Phina briefly before she resumed her sewing. “I see.”
“You see what?” Phina asked warily.
“You’re scared because you don’t know how to handle a relationship.” Her friend nodded knowingly.
“I know how to handle a relationship.” Phina insisted, purposely misinterpreting Alina’s comment. “We’ve been friends since before we could walk.”
Alina gave her a flat stare. “That’s not the same thing, and you know it.”
Phina shrugged halfheartedly but belligerently. “So?”
Returning her focus to her task, Alina shook her head. “One of these days, you won’t be able to ignore it. Or Todd will bring it up himself.”
“Until that day,” Phina insisted firmly, “I will keep my mouth shut and ignore it. I would hate to ruin our growing friendship if he doesn’t think about me that way.”
“Oh, he does,” Alina responded airily as she knotted the last thread. “He’s got that look in his eyes when he’s watching you.”
“Well, then he can eventually tell me himself, and if that day comes, maybe I’ll be able to think up an answer.”
Alina shook her head sadly. “When it comes to dating, you’re hopeless.”
Phina’s face brightened. “Just the way I like it.”
Chapter Fifteen
Etheric Empire, QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Open Court
Phina exited White House Fashions and joined the foot traffic heading to the inner station, which housed the resident apartment suites. As she walked through the crowds, Phina had to constantly remind herself not to stare at people as she passed, although she could hear most of the conversations in a wide radius around her.
Once she focused on her hearing, the conversations grew louder. She kept shaking her head and trying to adjust the volume. It moderately helped. Just before the turnoff, she heard cries in the distance from the direction of the shops.
“Has anyone seen my daughter? SofRey? SofRey, where are you?”
Frowning in concern, Phina pinged ADAM as she turned to the Open Court.
>>Yes, Phina?<<
ADAM, do you or Meredith know what’s happening in the Open Court Area with a lost child?
>>Yes. We’re backtracking the woman to see what happened to the Torcellan child.<<
Torcellan? Phina asked as she jogged around shoppers and visitors of varying species.
>>Yes. She’s somewhere in the vicinity of Kolen Clothing.<< ADAM replied, naming one of Mal’s competitors.
Phina scanned the crowd as she approached the area. She saw the frantic mother with alabaster skin, long white hair, and deep purple eyes talking with the security guards. Phina continued to scan as ADAM confirmed, >>The girl is not outside the clothing store. Cameras see her ducking into the store, then they lose her. She is short enough that she can sometimes disappear from view. She never reached the back of the store, so she must still be there.<<
ADAM, do you have a way to handle this?
>>Yes, Meredith has protocols, but whatever your way is would probably have a higher likelihood of success without upsetting the child further.<<
Leaving the mother to the guards, Phina entered Kolen Clothing. The employees and customers were either craning their necks to see what was happening or going about their business. At a glance, Kolen Clothing was shooting for a colored contrast to the white and black clothes that were core in the White House Fashions brand.
Phina set that tidbit aside for the moment, focusing on looking between the rows. Having failed to find the girl that way, Phina looked out to see the mom still calling out and the guards searching the area.
Sighing, Phina closed her eyes and attempted to open the shields on her mind just a little. An influx of information shot into her brain, and Phina slammed the shields shut. However, as she processed the thoughts and sensations, Phina knew the girl was close.
Focusing on that mind, she cracked the shields open a sliver. Phina turned in that direction and opened her eyes. Two large racks of floor-length dresses stood in front of her. Phina slid by a customer asking about alterations and quietly stepped in between the racks. She inclined her head, listening, and heard a light scuffle to her right.
Phina thought about the best way to get the girl to come out when she didn’t know why the Torcellan child was there. She thought back to her own childhood and considered the little she’d gotten from the child’s mind. Finally, she crouched down as if about to sit. After waving off a concerned saleswoman, Phina began talking in Torcellan as if to herself.
“I was thinking about ice cream. Maybe that could be the next stop, to get a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or maybe a nice cone with chocolate. Or maybe that one with the cookie pieces. What was that called again? Cookies and something.” She watched the clothing rack carefully from the corner of her eye. “But, you know... It’s too bad I don’t have anyone to go get ice cream with. It’s much more fun that way. My friend Alina and I used to go every week to get ice cream from the shop.”
A deep purple eye peeked out from between two dresses. A small hesitant voice spoke, muffled by the clothing. “I like ice cream.”
“You do?” Phina turned with a smile, hoping it looked encouraging.
The little girl nodded solemnly and crawled out. “I like the cake one.”
Phina exaggerated her surprise. “They have cake ice cream? I don’t know about that. Maybe it doesn’t taste as good as the cookie kind.”
“No,” SofRey protested, popping her whole head out. “It’s the best one!”
Phina slowly nodded as she looked at the disheveled girl about the size of a human four-year-old. She looked like a mini version of her mother. “I see. Well, if it’s the best one, I’ll have to get a big bowl of it. Would you want to help me eat it?”
Purple eyes widened in excitement. “Yes! I love ice cream.” Her face fell a moment later. “I need to find Momma. She will be looking for me. I’ve been hiding a long time.”
Phina nodded. “We should talk to your mom first. What made you decide to hide?”
Her face grew concerned, purple eyes wide as she looked toward the entrance. “I saw a scary man. Momma told me to hide if I see scary ones. Is he still there?”
Phina thought through her scan of the mall outside and didn’t see anyone who looked scary to her. But, she also wasn’t a small Torcellan child. She didn’t know what SofRey may have been taught aside from the Torcellan custom of abstaining from violence. She cracked open her shields again and searched for anyone with bad intentions, but she couldn’t sense anything.
“I didn’t see him, but you can help me look when you leave.” Phina leaned forward with a small smile. “Do you want to know a secret?”
SofRey quickly nodded her head.
“I have friends who watch everyone in the station here all the time to make sure that the only scary guys here are the ones who chase the bad guys away. When people come to the station, they are watched all the time to make sure they behave. The bad ones are taken away where they can’t scare anyone anymore. What do you think?”
SofRey glanced outside, biting her lip. “There are lots of people. What if they miss a scary bad guy?”
Phina smiled reassuringly. “It doesn’t happen very often. But if it does, my friends shut the doors down so the bad ones can’t leave the area and immediately tell the security team so the guards can take care of them. It’s pretty quick.”
“Does anyone get hurt?” the child asked anxiously as she clutched the clothes she hid behind.
“You know, that’s a good question,” Phina said approvingly. “Let me ask my friend.”
She spoke over the implant. ADAM? Any injuries that would concern our friend here?
>>I checked as soon as I heard you ask. There were small injuries to bystanders or security, but the only major injuries happen to the people they’ve subdued.<<
I’m assuming you scanned for her scary man?
Ah. Thank you, ADAM.
>>You’re welcome, Phina.<<
Phina nodded and relayed the information to SofRey. The little girl looked relieved, then her mouth formed a small pout. “I didn’t see you talking. You made that up. I’m not a baby. Mommy says to tell the truth.”
Holding up a hand, Phina told the girl somberly, “I solemnly swear I won’t ever lie to you, SofRey. You just couldn’t hear him.”
From her pocket, ADAM’s voice came out of her tablet. “Hello, SofRey.”
SofRey’s purple eyes grew wide.
SofRey dashed over to her mother while holding Phina’s hand and pulling her behind. “Momma, Momma!”
“SofRey!” The woman gathered up her daughter and hugged her tightly, glancing at Phina questioningly. She was visibly relieved. Light applause broke out among those watching before they moved on. “Where were you?”
SofRey pulled back and looked up at her mom. “I saw a scary man, so I went to hide. ’member, you said to hide when scary men come? Phina found me and told me the scary guy was gone and we could go get ice cream. Please, please, please, can we have ice cream? Phina said we would get a big bowl of the cake one.”
As Phina watched SofRey negotiate with her mother, she realized that as much as she struggled with her new abilities at times, they weren’t all bad. In fact, they could be pretty useful. She just needed to get training so that she wasn’t overwhelmed so much of the time, and training meant more time with Sundancer. Time to find out the kitty-cat’s story.
As they walked up to the ice cream shop, Phina snickered to herself as she imagined hearing Sundancer yowl at her again that he wasn’t a cat.
Hmm... Maybe Link’s penchant for poking buttons was rubbing off.
After waving goodbye to SofRey and promising another ice cream outing when she could manage it, Phina headed home again.