We can steer, we can near

Rather than go down to breakfast with the other girls, Dawn waited back in the lounge for a little while first. She wanted to make sure that Ella was going to be okay with the beach party today… and if she was going to stay as Ella.

She paced back and forth around the carpet, her ears twitching anxiously on top of her head.

This was the sort of thing Dawn wasn’t well-equipped to handle, unfortunately- time to spend with complicated thoughts.

Last time Dawn had thought she was being considerate of Ella’s feelings, the other girl expressed her belief that Dawn was patronizing her and treating her like a child.

Was she right? Was I just being disrespectful by acting like she couldn’t handle this on her own? I was just trying to look out for her to make sure she wouldn’t give in to Cinder and lose control of herself… but maybe that was the wrong thing to do? Maybe I was treating her more like Morgana than I should have.

Morgana had always appreciated Dawn looking out for her, in kind of an “older sister” capacity. But Ella didn’t seem to feel the same way.

Perhaps Dawn was subconsciously treating Ella like another Morgana because of those surface-level similarities, instead of actually getting to know the other girl? No, that couldn’t be… could it really?

She felt miserable. Which led to more pacing. At this rate, she was going to wear a big circle into the carpet!

Just when Dawn decided that she better cut her losses and just go get breakfast, the door to Ella’s room cracked open and the young latina tentatively stepped outside. She looked nice, wearing one of her frilly outfits, and the shy expression on her face signaled to Dawn that this really was Ella and not Cinder.

That should have been a relief. But still… Ella was Ella. And Dawn felt a little anxious about being around Ella, too, after what happened yesterday.

Then their eyes met, and she saw the way Ella’s face lit up.

“O-oh!” She rushed quickly over to Dawn. “Good morning! Um… I-I didn’t think anyone would be here at this hour…”

“Yeah, good morning to you, too,” Dawn said, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal or anything, and like she wasn’t lying in wait for the other girl. “You excited about later today?”

Ella stiffened up. Just one look at her could answer that question relatively quickly, and the answer was a pretty resounding “no”.

But Dawn didn’t lose faith. She could help get Ella excited for this, without making the other girl think that Dawn thought she couldn’t do it on her own… which was quite a mouthful of a sentence to think about, showing just how twisted-up this whole issue was.

“I’m a little nervous about my swimsuit,” Ella finally admitted sheepishly. She snapped the rubber-band on her wrist with a “THWAP!”

“Oh, you are?” Dawn winced. “I mean… I think it looks cuter than mine, anyway.”

“It does, I know,” Ella sighed. Then she gasped. “I mean… I wasn’t trying to knock your swimsuit or anything, I just…”

“No, it’s fine, I get it,” Dawn said with a laugh, waving her hand. “Come on, there’s no need to freak out about this stuff.”

Ella sighed in relief. “Well… if you say so,” she relented. “Still, sorry.”

She snapped her rubber-band a few more times to calm herself down, much to Dawn’s chagrin. She knew that it was a coping mechanism for the other girl, but at the same time, it was such a visceral one to deal with…

Is she really that close to falling off the edge?

Dawn didn’t even want to think about that possibility. As far as she was concerned, that possibility didn’t even exist in her world.

Ella was a nice girl. She was a little neurotic, but she had reason to be. She could be a bit short-tempered at times, but she had reason to be.

Dawn could understand all those things. She just wished that there was something she could do to make Ella feel better.

If only I’d done more research into dissociative identity disorder, I could have been able to help her, Dawn thought, biting her lip. Just because she was a genius who never forgot what she learned, that didn’t mean she knew everything.

She’d never been a big fan of psychiatry, and now, mentally, she was kicking herself for that fact.

If she had only done better!

Dawn was shaken out of her contemplative thoughts by the sign of Ella squirming anxiously out of the corner of her eye. She paled. “Is… is everything okay?” She asked, forcing a smile to her lips. “Ella? Do you need something?”

She really hoped this wasn’t Cinder about to break free.

Ella quickly shook her head. “N-no, I’m fine!” She assured the other girl. “I just… I’m feeling a little hungry, so… if you’re here waiting for someone, do you mind if I go get breakfast?”

Dawn couldn’t really explain to Ella that she had been waiting here for her. That might just rehash all those past issues about not trusting Ella to be left to her own devices!

But now that she looked at the situation from the outside, it kind of made sense that the shy girl assumed she was waiting for someone, didn’t it?

So with no way out of this little predicament, all Dawn could do was pretend that meeting up with Ella was a pleasant little coincidence, and send the other girl on her way.

“Err… yes, go right ahead!” She nodded. “I’m just waiting for… Sylvia. Yeah, waiting for Sylvia to come out!”

One good thing about Dawn’s perfect memory was that it helped create excuses. Sylvia was one of the only girls she knew was still in her room.

“OH, okay,” Ella nodded, and Dawn didn’t miss the little sigh of relief she gave. She also caught the girl’s hand drifting away from her rubber-band, and recognized that she’d made the right choice.

I need to stop giving her special treatment and pretending like she’s an invalid, Dawn decided, gritting her teeth. She’s just a friend. I shouldn’t treat her any differently than I would any other friend, it’s for the best that way.

“I was actually kinda worried you were waiting for Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin,” Ella stammered, looking down.

That intrigued Dawn. “Eh? You were? Why?”

What business would she have with a woman who refused to even let her try and teach her how to read and write?

“Oh, just because she’s not in there,” Ella explained, nodding back towards her door. “She woke up really early this morning and headed out. I was still trying to get back to sleep when that happened… didn’t work though…”

She laughed sheepishly and scratched her head. Ella had mentioned at one point that she had trouble sleeping due to Cinder. Dawn could chalk that up to another item on the long list of issues Ella’s situation raised for her.

Of course, Dawn would never say that out loud. So she just explained that she didn’t have any business with Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, said her goodbyes, and let Ella head downstairs to go get breakfast.

Now she had to wait for Sylvia. Great.

Too proud to make a fool out of herself and head down to dinner alone, she went right back to pacing, questioning herself and analyzing the previous conversation from every angle to see if she said anything inappropriate or would rub Ella the wrong way.

Fortunately, that was a short-lived problem, because Sylvia walked out of her room a few minutes later with a big smile on her face.

“Ah… party time!” She chirped, skipping into the lounge. When she saw Dawn, she froze.

“Wait… Dawn!? What are you doing here?!” She sputtered. “I specifically waited a while to make sure everybody- err, I mean, I overslept!”

Dawn raised her eyebrow. She wasn’t about to let that little outburst slide. “Wait, you were stalling in your room? Why?”

Sylvia was the type of girl who loved being the center of attention. The idea that she was trying to hide from the crowd didn’t sound like her at all.

The other girl shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and looked away.

“W-well… I mean… it’s the beach party this afternoon, right?”

Dawn stared blankly at her, not sure what the other girl was saying.

“And, well… you know how it is!” Sylvia held her head high and put her hands on her hips, acting like that explained everything.

Dawn still had no idea what to make of it.

“…So you’re just nervous?” She took a stab in the dark. And Sylvia’s animated reaction and gigantic eyes answered the half-hearted guess better than she would have expected.

“Of… of course I’m nervous!” The blonde wailed. “I’m going to be wearing my swimsuit in front of Daddy! Why wouldn’t I be nervous?!”

Dawn glanced at the mesh top Sylvia wore over a bra that, while modest, still looked rather skeevy given it was the only covering she had for her breasts. The tight miniskirt certainly exposed a lot of skin, too.

“…Don’t you think that ship has sailed already?” Dawn asked, earning her a glare from the obnoxious faux-daughter and Sylvia sticking out her tongue.

“Sh-shove it!” She pouted. “I’m trying to make a good impression, you know! And Gina said she liked my swimsuit, so there!”

Ah, yes, if anyone knew what “respectable” looked like it was the woman who sometimes forgot to wear a bra because it was such a pain in the ass.

Dawn had nothing but high hopes for Sylvia after hearing about Gina’s glowing endorsement of her clothing choices.

Still, she knew the issues Sylvia faced, and wanted to be nice to her. So she favored the other girl with a smile.

“Hey, you know, I’m sure Nick’s gonna love it,” she said. “You just gotta show him your best side, that’s all there is to it!”

Sylvia’s face lit up with joy. “Oh! Yeah, you get it, you totally get it!” She nodded rapidly. “Daddy’s gonna love me in this!”

Fortunately, it was easy to get Sylvia to come around on things. The girl had a very mercurial personality, but one that was easy to turn around.

Dawn just didn’t have the time to always be there to give her comfort.

“So we should probably get going to breakfast,” she mentioned. “You know, if we actually want to get anything to eat, I mean.”

Sylvia nodded. “Yeah, I’m starving! And it’s going to be a while until the barbecue!”

Ah yes, Mary’s little contribution to the beach party, the barbecue. While Dawn didn’t like heavier foods like burgers, she felt her mouth watering at the idea of sinking her teeth into one of the farmgirl’s sumptuous creations.

Maybe she should learn to cook better. She definitely didn’t disagree there. But if Mary was willing to do it, was there really a problem?

In Dawn’s opinion, not at all.

“So you excited for the party too?” Sylvia asked as the two of them walked over to the elevator. “I’d have thought you wouldn’t be that into it.”

“Oh? Why not?” Dawn’s tail swished back and forth as she **** herself to acknowledge Sylvia raised a valid point. After all, she had never been the kind of woman who would party with her friends on the beach in high school OR university.

…

Frankly, she had never been the kind of woman who would have friends to party with in the first place, if she was being honest.

But not even Sylvia was bitchy enough to insinuate something like that, right?

“Because you don’t have any boobs, so your swimsuit’s going to look kinda weird and creepy, right?” Sylvia pointed out.

…Turns out, she was bitchier.

Dawn’s eye twitched, and she **** herself not to lose her temper.

This is just Sylvia being Sylvia, she reminded herself. She doesn’t understand half of what she’s saying because she was created to be the host for this sex show. Of course she would think about things in that context, it’s what she does.

That didn’t stop Dawn from wanting to punch her teeth out, though.

Sylvia could tell that she’d rubbed Dawn the wrong way, so she quickly pivoted to damage control.

“But come on! It’s not so bad! Some guys like the whole ‘little girl’ look, you know? And Daddy’s probably one of ‘em! He liked you back when you were kids, and he still has sex with you now, right? So it’s fine!”

…Damage control wasn’t helping.

Dawn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sylvia… it’s okay. I’m not upset. Listen, when you grow up, you’re going to learn that there are things that matter more than the things you feel are important to you right now.”

Sylvia nodded. She could tell that was Dawn’s roundabout way of trying to soothe her own issues of self-loathing, but pointing that out would just make a bigger mess.

Nope, she could be the bigger person and agree with a smile on her face!

Fortunately, the hellish elevator ride came to a stop not long after that awkward turn in the conversation, and the girls reached the Banquet Hall quickly.

“Good morning, everyone!” Sylvia was quick to greet the harem with a wave.

Dawn stood back and smiled. Just as she’d figured, the former host really did do her best when she was around other people. Even if she was still infuriating.

Then she noticed something odd.

“Hey, hold on a second,” she said, looking around the kitchen. “Where’s Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin? Ella, I thought you said she came down to get breakfast early.”

“She did!” Ella said defensively, shrinking back for a moment. She didn’t appreciate Dawn’s insinuation that she was a liar. “At least… she left the room early…”

“Vivian’s not here either,” Kim pointed out. Dawn glanced over at her, and then did a double-take.

Kim looked completely different. …Well, not completely, but there was definitely a notable difference in her state of dress.

For one, she was actually wearing some color.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but it definitely wasn’t a schoolgirl uniform. Kim had on a bright lime green sleeveless shirt with a low collar and a pair of tiny jean shorts that came up way past the halfway point of her thigh. They were practically bikini bottoms!

The main takeaway though, was the fact she wasn’t wearing a schoolgirl uniform.

At first, Dawn was at a loss for words. After all, didn’t Vivian say that she was going to use her New Style transformation to veto Mary’s transformation, and not Kim’s? So then how did she…

Oh, right. It’s her Sick Day transformation. She can get out of her responsibility that way.

Using Sick Day came with a cost, though, and that cost was a punishment transformation. But Kim didn’t look that different. Dawn expected the tomboy would receive massive breasts or a huge ass, or something along those lines. Maybe even talking like a bimbo or a sharp IQ drop. But Kim looked and acted exactly the same as usual. …Except, maybe she was a little shinier? Did that even happen?

Kim cleared her throat. “…Not like I don’t appreciate the attention, Dawn, but can I help you with something?” She asked.

Dawn blushed and squirmed a little. “S-sorry, I just… I was lost in thought. You look good, Kim.”

“Oh!” Kim blushed a little and preened like she was Rose. “…Well, thank you.”

“I helped her pick out her outfit,” Dani hopped into the conversation. “After her transformation, I wanted to pick out something that would show off a bit of skin.”

Dawn squinted. Was it an exhibitionist transformation, then?

Her assumption must have been obvious on her face, because Kim’s response was to give Dani a dirty look.

“Hey, don’t phrase it like that,” she snapped. “I told you, I wanted something that wouldn’t make me sweat as much, you make it sound like I’m some kind of stripper!”

Dawn’s ears twitched and she tilted her head to the side. “Wait, sweating?”

Kim blushed and looked away. “W-well… look, it’s my punishment transformation, okay? It’s not that big of a deal, it’s just, well…”

She sighed and pulled up the transformation.

• Knees Weak, Palms Sweaty: It’s a hot day outside, and it’s hot and steamy inside, too! For the duration of the transformation, Kim will find that her body perspires significantly easier, and in greater volume. The sweat she produces will be tasteless and odorless, but will make her skin very smooth and shiny like tanning oil. She’ll still feel the physical symptoms that come with sweating considerably, prolonged strenuous activity should not be encouraged, unless one wants to deal with soaked bedsheets and clothing. (Punishment)

It took a moment for everyone to look over the transformation. Carly and Marley came over to take a look, too, and so did Morgana. Ella was content to mind her own business, though.

“Wait, so you’re gonna be sweating a lot?” Gina cracked a lopsided grin. “Oh, that’s just great! Hah! What a hilarious transformation!”

“It’s not funny!” Kim hissed, her face turning scarlet. “It’s not the worst transformation in the world, but take a look!”

She held up her bare arm, revealing a sheen of sweat coating her skin.

“That’s just from the last ten minutes,” she groaned, wiping the sweat off with a napkin. “Thankfully, Dani found clothes that would minimize the amount of sweat stains I’d get. That stuff’s just nasty.”

She gestured to her exposed shoulders. The last thing she needed was for pit stains at the beach party.

“I guess that would be kind of gross, yeah,” Carly said with a nod. Considering she was wearing tight jeans and a bikini top, she didn’t care much for Kim’s own state of dress. “Especially with how hot it’s going to get out on the beach.”

Although Kim would be wearing a bathing suit there. The one she’d picked out with Dani was pretty nice, though she was a little shy about showing it.

“Interesting, Dani,” Sylvia said, glancing at the tomboy with a sly smile. “What are your thoughts on Kim sweating so much?”

Dani blinked, not sure what Sylvia was getting at. Then she remembered the interviews they’d done as promos for the show, and the content of one of her answers.

She turned red.

“Sylvia…”

“Hey, come on guys, let’s not fight about this,” Kim said, rolling her eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just a little sweaty, that’s all. It’s just a little annoying.”

“Yeah, imagine secreting a bunch of moisture at all hours and getting your clothes soaked and stained. What a tragedy. How will you ever survive?” Marley asked sarcastically.

Dawn chuckled. But while she was laughing, she realized that they hadn’t actually talked about what Kim had mentioned before.

Where was Vivian? And Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin, for that matter? Something told her that they should think deeper about this.