On Clothes and Cosmology

John led Kiera towards the door after both letting Vivian know they were on their way out and telling Brenda they were leaving. As he reached for the handle, Kiera placed a hand on his arm. Before John could question it, he felt a shock run through him and Kiera’s hair took on the same color as his.

“Guess being discrete isn’t a bad idea,” he muttered before giving Kiera a smile. “But, next time, could you give me a bit of a warning beforehand? Maybe just a little nod before doing the copying?”

Kiera looked at him, which felt somewhat odd given her changed hair color, and nodded slowly before looking away. It was hard to determine through her passive expression, but John felt as if she took his complaint as a rebuke. It was in the way she averted her gaze. It reminded him of how he’d avoid making eye contact with his bullies.

“Hey,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Just, someone might take it the wrong way if you start using your power on them without permission first. You get that, right?”

Kiera looked back at him for a long moment, nodding just before the eye contact became too awkward.

‘I guess she does kind of have the mind of a kid, doesn’t she?’ John remarked to Senka as he finally opened the door.

‘It is a strange state,’ the spirit agreed. ‘She’s able to dress and take care of her biological needs, but doesn’t have the restraint to not just use her ability on people.’

‘And she only started using it after we talked about how her hair color would stand out,’ John mused. ‘I suppose the brain is something hard to figure out when it’s working properly.’

‘I concur,’ Senka thought. ‘We are far from qualified to even fathom how the mind works, let alone theorize on how Kiera’s is right now. Best to focus on getting her to the people who might be able to help.’

He led Kiera outside and Vivian’s door popped open. A stocking clad leg peeked out, followed by its owner. Vivian looked every bit the business owner in her knee length gray skirt and wine colored blouse. She caught John’s appreciative gaze and pushed back the lock of hair that remained free from the high bun she had styled her hair into.

“I take it that I look the part?” Vivian asked, a slight shy tone to her voice.

“You look great,” John emphatically answered as he strode forward and pulled Vivian in for a kiss. She let out a pleased hum as the space between them vanished and their lips pressed against each other.

John heard Aeolia whistle from the inside of the car and he pulled away, admiring Vivian’s flushed face.

"You look good too. We should probably get moving," Vivian breathed out. “Beth said she and Lynn already headed out about ten minutes ago.”

"I suppose I can forgo getting my own kiss and appreciative stares for now," Aeolia said, her voice coming from the dashboard.

"I'll pay you back with interest," John remarked as he stepped past Vivian to open the door for Kiera.

As the disguised bluenette got into the car, Vivian asked, "Did she change her hair herself?"

"Well, by herself is a bit of a stretch, but yeah," John answered. He relayed her use of her powers as he got into the car. "I think, at least for now, she has to actively pull an attribute from someone to change her appearance. It doesn't seem to cause any damage, beyond a light shock."

"Think she could copy my wings?" a still invisible Aeolia asked as Vivian began to pull out of the driveway, delayed only by the passing of a beige sedan.

After looking back to Kiera to see if she was going to give any response, John answered, "She was able to copy that Harker guy's clothes, so I don't see why she couldn't do it with wings, but right now I doubt it."

"They likely wouldn't be usable anyway," Vivian gave her opinion. "A part of your ability to fly relies on you being able to subtly manipulate wind mana, something you do at a subconscious level. We have no indication she can copy anything besides physical things."

John caught Vivian checking the mirrors as they transitioned from the residential streets to the highway and the redhead said, "I think it'd be safe for you to drop the veil, Aeolia. We're moving too fast for anyone to get a good peek in."

"Which means I can finally show off," the winged woman remarked as she faded into view.

Gone was her feathered dress and in its place was one knit from black wool. It clung tightly to Aeolia’s curves and cut off just above her knees. She gave a short twirl, showing off both how the dress shaped her ass lovingly and that it left her upper back exposed, a need given her wings.

John whistled appreciatively and said, "You look amazing."

"Told you he'd think we looked good." Aeolia smirked at Vivian. "How about you, Sen?"

'Care to ask Vivian if I can manifest, John?' the spirit asked, a question he dutifully relayed.

"Of course you can," Vivian answered, sounding slightly offended that the question even had to be asked.

"Kiera," John said, waiting to see the mute girl meet his gaze in the rearview mirror. "I'm about to summon Senka. She's going to manifest next to you. Do you understand?"

She nodded after the now customary long moment and went back to her sketching. A moment later, Senka appeared in the seat next to her, hands smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles on her clothes. She hadn’t changed her outfit much in terms of style, but had deepened the color of her kimono until it was almost black and changed her shash from subtle maroon to a more vibrant crimson.

“Not much of a change there,” Aeolia noted.

“I’ve already done a large change to my outfit recently,” Senka defended her minor alterations. “And I think it fits the professional theme just fine. And I’ll be in John’s head most of the time for convenience sake so no need to go through unneeded effort.”

“Wait, back up a second,” John cut in. “When did we decide you wouldn’t be right with us?”

Senka shrugged her shoulders. “It’s the logical play. No need for me to be about when I can remain hidden. It did provide us an advantage yesterday.”

“So what if it's ‘the logical’ way to do things?” Aeolia retorted. “We don’t want you to stay cooped up in John’s head. Right?”

“I feel like that’s an insult about me,” John joked. “But, yeah, just because it’s a tactical advantage to keep our real numbers hidden, you don’t have to sacrifice actually being out for it.”

“I’ll counter that assertion with the fact we have to sneak into this Kingdom,” Senka remarked. “Having me as an unseen backup might be needed. But, once we are sure that we’re in no danger of getting appended, I won’t remain hidden. Is that a satisfactory compromise?”

“Throw in a real outfit change and yeah,” Aeolia said.

“You are quite hung up on me changing my clothing,” Senka murmured before she leaned forward, pulling at her kimono to expose the top of her cleavage. “Is this not an appealing look?”

John could tell by her smirk she was joking with them and a glance at Aeolia gave him the impression she was playing along just to have the conversation.

“No, you look hot, but you’re kind of clashing with the rest of us,” the winged woman said with a smirk that said she thought she had issued the critical thrust of her argument.

Senka let out a hum and John felt her actually consider Aeolia’s point. The spirit directed her gaze towards Vivian and asked, “Would me switching to something more in line with the ‘office’ look make things easier for us when we get to our destination?”

Vivian let out a hum. “Lynn did say that looking like we’re office workers would be the best way to play the part.”

“And me moving about in a completely different style does create something that will attract more attention than needed,” Senka noted. “I suppose I’ll change.”

John felt a slight amusement from Senka and he had to wonder if she had planned this little discussion. Whatever the case may have been, Senka began to shift her attire. Her kimono darkened until it was only a black blob obscuring her pale skin. It roiled like a boiling sea as it spread over her, leaving only her head and hands visible.

The shadow peeled away, revealing that she had changed into a deep purple button up shirt and black pants. Simple suspenders held the slacks up and a crimson tie finished off the look. Senka toyed with her tie, adjusting its position over the swell of her breasts before addressing her lovers.

“How do I look?”

Aeolia let out a whistle while Vivian stole glances in the mirror. John felt her smugness and asked her mentally, ‘You planned this, didn’t you?’

‘Not exactly,’ the spirit replied. ‘If no one had a problem with my first outfit, I wouldn’t have done anything. I suppose I was just going along with things. It’s fun having the back and forth and Vivian is right. Lynn did give us the guidelines of what would be most acceptable.’

John frowned a bit. It sounded like Senka was feeling a bit left out being relegated to his head for a good portion of time, only able to reply to people through him.

‘I need to see if there’s some way to establish a psychic link between Senka and the others,’ John thought privately as the conversation between Aeolia, Senka and Vivian picked back up. ‘If we keep ending up in places she can’t be out in, it’s hardly fair for her to be stuck with just me for conversation.’

---

The drive passed with little issue and pleasant conversation. However, as they neared their designated rendezvous point, a heavy weight of nervousness settled upon the occupants.

“We really are heading out to the middle of nowhere, huh,” John remarked as he took in the patchwork of open space and tightly packed woods framing the highway.

“I wonder if this isn’t just to be as unseen as possible,” Vivian said. “It’s possible there’s something where we are meeting that makes this whole thing possible.”

“Like there’s some kind of overlay in the area they can exploit?” Senka mused, prompting the redhead to nod.

“I did do a bit of research while we waited for the call to go,” Vivian informed them. “Basically, it depends on whether the Kingdom has a stable relation to Earth or an erratic one. A stable link here means there are only a few ways in as the boundary of the Kingdom isn’t likely to interact with the Earth.”

“So since we’re sneaking in, that means Detreye is an erratic Kingdom, right?” John asked.

Vivian nodded. “Or at least, that’s my presumption based on reading up on it. And this was a very cursory glance so there very well be something I missed that would indicate someone could make their own way into a fixed position Kingdom.”

“Guess we won’t know until we can ask these smugglers,” Aeolia chimed in. “How much longer, anyway?”

“We’re coming up to the exit in a bit,” Vivian replied. “After we get off the highway, it’s only about a few miles until we turn off onto a road into woods.”

“This is starting to sound like the start of a horror movie,” Senka pointed out. “Perhaps my idea of being the hidden ace isn’t so far-fetched of a notion.”

“A bit of security isn’t unwarranted,” Vivian agreed. “If we’re going to do so, I’d say it might be smart for you to go back into John’s head a few minutes before we reach the rendezvous point.”

“I see you get my point,” Senka said smugly. “It will be a pity I won’t get to comment on Beth’s choice in attire, nor her mine, but I will survive.”

“We might want to keep things about us on the down low,” John remarked, finding the words bitter on his tongue. “We’re already on Lynn’s shit list for just getting Beth involved with the Abyss. I think her finding out about Beth sleeping with all of us might make things harder than they already are.”

“I doubt she’d go too crazy if we dropped that bomb on her,” Aeolia commented. “She needs to get us to her science guy so he can pull that other guy out of Kiera’s head and see if there’s anything he can get from us after yesterday’s fight. We could all waltz right up to Beth and kiss her senseless and she’d still have to take us to the gnome.”

“For the duration of this trip, yeah,” John said. “But what about after? She could whisk Beth away. Hell, she might still try that.”

“Like we’d let her,” Aeolia shot back before she snorted. “Like Beth would let her. She’d raise hell if Lynn tried that.”

“I’d rather avoid the drama for now,” John said, eyes glancing back at Kiera. She had remained quiet throughout the drive. Vivian and Aeolia caught where his eyes were and both let the subject of revealing their full relationship with Beth fall silent.

The silence persisted as they left the main highway and drove down a less occupied county road for a bit.

"Last turn coming up," Vivian announced as she checked her GPS.

"I suppose that's my cue to vanish," Senka remarked in a lighthearted tone.

"Not sure if I like you using that word for it," Aeolia muttered. "Doesn't even really fit. You're not leaving."

"Fine, it's my cue to play your unseen guardian," Senka amended her statement. "Not as pithy a line, but I suppose it fits the bill better."

Aeolia stuck her tongue out at Senka, prompting the spirit to laugh.

"I think there are better uses for that tongue," Senka said. "A pity we don't have the space or time for them."

"We'll have to take a rain check for them then." Aeolia smirked as Senka's form faded away.

"We should probably lay off the flirting, if we're going to keep everything quiet," Vivian said after a moment. "Doesn't paint us in the most professional light if people think we can't go a few minutes without thinking about sex."

"I can keep my game face on," Aeolia remarked. "Even with so many nice distractions."

Vivian leveled a glare at Aeolia, which prompted her to say, "That'll be the last one. I promise."

The redhead nodded then glanced at John.

"I'll be good," the Gamer professed.

'And I'll refrain from commenting in ways that would test your resolve,' Senka thought his way.

'Thanks. Don't want to ruin anything by getting a boner at random times.'

'With your Libido, that might happen regardless,' Senka jibed.

'Thanks for the anxiety,' John shot back. 'Lets hope these smugglers are of the Han Solo variety. Don't need any more temptation.'

Senka let out a peel of laughter before falling silent. Vivian turned the car down a rather worn road, the pavement riddled with potholes.

"I wonder if the road condition is supposed to act as a deterrent?" John mused as they drove down the uneven street. "We're meeting somewhere on this road?"

"Just off it actually," Vivian answered. "Lynn was told there's going to be a small dirt path we can turn down which will hide the cars behind the trees. Then we have to walk into the woods a bit."

"I'm beginning to see the wisdom in Senka's plan to be our ace in the hole," Aeolia remarked. "Be a pretty good place for an ambush."

"Got to agree with that," John said as he spotted the turn into the forest. "That us?"

Vivian nodded and took the turn. Somehow, the dirt and gravel made for a smoother ride and the redhead guided the car into the woods. The path turned sharply less than a quarter mile in and shortly after terminated in a clearing just big enough for about three cars. And one was already there.

As they stopped, the other car’s driver side door opened. Lynn was the first one out, her attire unchanged.

“Took you long enough,” the blonde complained as soon as Vivian turned off the car and John opened his door.

“Do you have to complain right off the bat?” Beth asked as she pulled herself out of Lynn’s car. She looked completely different, dressed not in her usual comfy clothes or hoodie, but a light green blouse with a frilled neckline with a yellow sweater vest layered over it and a pair of striped slacks with a muted color palette of reds and browns, which made her top pop more.

“Time isn’t something we should be wasting,” Lynn chided Beth, who ignored her as the short girl’s eyes traveled over to John, Vivian and Aeolia. John guessed they were taking in Beth’s cleaned up appearance as much as he was as the parkour enthusiast blushed and broke eye contact.

‘You’re really regretting that decision to hide our relationship now, aren’t you?’ Senka remarked in an amused tone.

‘Yeah,’ John groaned internally. ‘But we’re on the clock. We can tackle that later.’

“We came as quick as we could,” Vivian diplomatically tried to assuage Lynn’s complaint. “And it seems we beat our contact, so there’s no real harm, is there?”

Lynn let out a sigh, “No. And they strongly advised me to not contact them. If Martius wasn’t vouching for them, I wouldn’t have abided by that request.”

“So we just have to wait,” Aeolia remarked. Flying off John’s shoulder, she flew to Beth’s. “You’ve cleaned up nicely.”

Beth cracked a smile. “Right back at you.”

“Has Martius given you any more info on these smugglers?” Vivian asked Lynn and John watched as Aeolia whispered something into Beth’s ear. Something that John guessed was the decision to keep their relationship quiet for the time being given how Beth’s face twisted into a frown.

“No,” Lynn answered, crossing her arms over her chest. “Just that he trusts them to be professional and get us to Detreye.”

Then she looked over the assembled group with a critical eye.

“Where’s that eyepatch chick?” she asked.

‘Let her know I’m in your head,’ Senka said. ‘I think her knowing that I’m a hidden dagger will help. She seems uneasy with putting so much trust in these smugglers. Being upfront with it will cast us in a more favorable light.’

John nodded slightly and spoke up, pointing to his head, “She’s in my head. She’s…”

“Ah, an elemental, got it,” Lynn cut him off as she began to pace about. “Probably a good idea to keep her hidden for now.”

John felt a flash of anger from Senka over being called an elemental, but the spirit cooled herself quickly. The sound of approaching tires prevented any correction from being issued as a SUV turned into the clearing. Its breaks squeaked as it came to a stop and a woman with a bob of white hair with two long bangs poked her head out the window, a teasing smirk on her face.

“You the guys looking for a way into a far off place?”

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.