Thea becomes a nudist

"We'll say you've chosen to experiment with naturism," Moira said. "It's not entirely out of character, and it explains your, ahem, state last night, so..."

"What?!" Thea said.

"Would you rather face **** charges?" Moira snapped.

Thea faltered. She had a point there, but it wasn't exactly a great alternative.

"Of course you'll need to keep up the lie for a bit, so it's convincing," Moira said. "That should limit the awkward questions."

"Huh?!"

"Take the robe off Thea, you won't be needing it," Moira said.

"Huh?!"

"You heard me," Moira said. "Unless you can think of any other way to explain why you were running through the grounds stark naked that isn't going to drag our name through the mud or land you in court."

Thea hesitated. Her mother couldn't be serious, could she? She could barely believe what she was hearing.

Moira still looked at her expectantly. Thea swallowed. Maybe she was. Nervously, Thea started to undo her robe, not taking it off just yet.

"It should prevent a few people from pushing too hard," Moira said. "And it should count as enough of a punishment to dissuade a few of my friends from bringing it up again. Well, Thea?"

"You want me to be naked," Thea said flatly. Her voice came out in a squeak, still not quite believing it.

"Until the fuss dies down," Moira said. "Whether you want to keep up your normal... social life is your choice. So long as people see a token effort, the cover story should be enough."

"What about the house?! We have staff!" Thea squealed. "They'll see!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided to streak through the gardens," Moira said.

Thea swallowed. Was she seriously in that position? Be a nudist for a while, or face consequences for the Vertigo use? She didn't particularly like the idea of either.

Nervously, Thea slipped the robe off. She clutched her arms in front of herself, this time moderately more successful at covering the important parts from her mother's view, even if it felt like it was too late.

And then she shrieked at the sound of footsteps coming up behind her. Oliver approached, and did a double-take.

"Er, mom, why is Thea naked?" he said.

"It's a long story," Moira said wearily. "Ask her to explain it to you. It'll be this way for a while."

Thea blushed.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to resume doing damage control," Moira said. "I may need you again Thea, depending on what they need, don't go anywhere today."

Thea whimpered. Like she was going to leave the house like this.