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The moment he heard the door bang open, Jove was once again reminded he needed to lock that thing even while present. What sort of person just walked right into someone else's room? The pup didn't need to turn around to know exactly what sort of person. Ren did this all the time, and always at the most inopportune moments too! It was like he had this... awkward moment radar. Like when Jove was enjoying his rawhide, or back when he was first practicing the older, more mature form he currently wore, any vulnerable moment was the right time for his brother to come visiting.

But at least this time he was decent. The pup's ears flattened and he turned to scowl at Ren, wearing mostly... himself. The only real article of clothing was the fancy overcoat clutched in one fist, held stiffly at his side. He was getting much better at forming clothes from his own essence, although he could not manage the sheer complexity of his usual attire. And today that was what he was trying to improve on.

Sadly though, the pale, not-fabric shirt and shorts had an awful tendency to wisp away at the edges, and embellishments like ribbons and ruffles just disappeared into nothingness when he stopped focusing and moved onto something else. And even worse, the dark colour of his bruises seemed to bleed into the clothing he formed, painting an odd and slightly macabre tie-dye effect across his left side.

Ren's exclamation was simply adding insult to injury, and it earned the gryphon a stare that could put even a medusa to shame.

The child-turned-teen scowled more, sending out invisible tendrils to pull the door closed with a slam. And knock Ren inside. What was that gryphon thinking, anyone could just walk by! And as far as Jove's modesty was concerned, practicing his shapeshifting was on par with being completely naked. Since sometimes he did end up... completely naked.

With an irritable huff the little ghost turned back to his work. As he focused, the wisps became more clothes-like, forming what was more or less shorts and a long coat. Much like his normal clothes, but not quite right in places. It didn't flow right, and parts of it rippled and wisped away in a manner that was unnatural for real cloth.

Suddenly a large part of the pale 'coat' turned dark purple, the colour of his bruises showing up like ink bleeding through fabric. It made the pup growl. He barely had anything to wear in this form, how was he supposed to do anything in this new and taller form until he got this whole clothing thing figured out?

Jove huffed again, a sullen affirmation. He didn't like how Ren said it, but yes, that was about how things stood. Clothing had always been hard. And it was harder still when he was already maintaining the shape of a larger body.

The pup slumped in defeat, and watched the foxfires skittering around his room in an excited rush. They were always happy when Ren came to visit. And then tossing around that blanket had sent them into a flurry of fluffy activity. Even Hairless was bouncing around, his mostly naked little tail wagging happily where it curled up over his back. If only Jove were that... immodest. Clothing wouldn't be a problem.

At Ren's suggestion, Jove perked up visibly. Some new clothes would help his current predicament, and he still had some pocket money his caretaker had given him. The pup rarely spent any money at all, but this would be a good use of those little silver seeds.

With a happy tail wag he reached for his jacket, and then paused. And frowned. No, this wouldn't work. How was he supposed to go shopping if he couldn't actually GO there in his older form? It would be too hard finding the right size if he wasn't right sized to begin with!

He let out another huff and strode across the room, skirting the closet and instead throwing open the doors to a wardrobe near his bed. It took a lot of rooting before he found what he was looking for. It appeared to be a plain white shirt, possibly something Ren had left there at some point, and a pair of shorts. Had they been the old pair he had borrowed when he first visited Ren's home?

After a minute of examining those, they were tossed aside and a pair of dark grey slacks were pulled out. Those would have to do...

The pup glanced over his shoulder at Ren. And then grumbled.

As Jove walked with Ren to the maul, barefoot and wearing only simple hand-me-downs, it occurred to him how odd it felt to be wearing clothes that did not fit him well. It never crossed his mind when he was still learning how to be a student, but most of the clothes he wore out were well-sewn garments that fit just right. Some of them had been tailored for just that purpose, something his caretaker insisted was important for a gentleman.

Sure he still wore his old sweaters in his room, and when he lounged about in Ren's room or snuck out at night, but some days it felt much like wearing his nightshirt to class might have. It just wasn't something that felt right.

The pup snorted wryly, the closest he got to a laugh. He must have looked like a stray dog, what with his baggy clothes, long-ish hair, and bare feet. By the time they arrived at the maul, he felt like maybe he should obey the "no pets" sign and stay out.