Welcome to Gaia! ::

Who: LuLu and Laurel
When: Afternoon
Where: LuLu's residence
Weather: Pleasantly warm

LuLu and Laurel had kept in fairly close touch since they had met. They were texting daily and had maintained near weekly meetings at the park to visit their puppy playmate - who now was looking a lot less like a puppy. It had been a bit challenging explaining to him why she had missed the last few months of their meetings, and the rabbit was still pretty heartbroken over how Samuel had convinced her distance herself from her loved ones. Well, there would be no more of that! LuLu was more determined than ever to build her network of friends.

At one point or another in their hundreds of conversations, the cheetah had mentioned wanting to get new clothes but not knowing what to get. LuLu had the idea of Laurel coming over to rifle through some of her old outfits. The two had been born with a similar style, and she thought he would appreciate some of the items she had in storage. She did not think the boy would mind all that much that they would be hand-me-downs, too. However, at that time, the girl was still barred from returning home by Samuel.

Now she was comfortably safe and sound back at Josh's apartment, the text to Laurel for him to come over had been near instantaneous. It was time to play a little dress up!!

Josh nearly beat LuLu to answering the door, but the raevan quickly waved him away so she could take all the glory of greeting her guest. She opened the door wide and exclaimed, "Welcome!!" The rabbit's ears perked up at Laurel. She launched herself at him so she could give her friend a proper welcome. "I am glad you could come." Her arms wrapped tightly around him in a hug.

She then waved the young frei into her home. Josh, her guardian, was waiting just past the threshold. He had not met Laurel yet, but he was delighted to see that LuLu was meeting new people on her own without his prompting. The girl had been shyer in her younger years, but she had really come into her own as she matured. The brunette introduced himself, "Name's Joshua. Pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand.

LuLu feigned being unaware, "Oh, really? What do you think it is?" The rabbit twirled in place to show off the new shorts and slippers combo she was currently sporting. Then, she stood by while Laurel tried to pick up on what 'exactly' was different about her. Despite her patient waiting, the valsaros could not help the sly grin slowly forming on her face.

Josh started to explain to the young frei, "Well, Lu has her le-"

The rabbit immediately shot him a withering glare.

Her guardian paused and recollected himself. "I will go get you both some snacks." He padded off towards the kitchen with a smile. He did not want to ruin their fun, after all.

LuLu could not help but giggle brightly at Laurel's first response. She cooed softly to him, "You are getting warmer." She clapped excitedly when he, finally, hit the nail on the head. "Yes! It was about a week ago! They look cool, huh?" Whether she was referring to her legs or her shoes was uncertain. Both were pretty novel to her.

Laurel's overjoyed expression made him look like a kid in a candy shop. It warmed the rabbit's heart. She wanted to cup his cheeks, too! Instead, she settled with sneaking another hug and leading him further into her home. They both settled into the small living room of the apartment.

LuLu started to address his questions going slowly so she did not miss any of them. She counted them off on her fingers. "It feels more solid. I like being on the ground, though." The girl sat down on the couch and kicked out her feet idly towards the frei. "Shoes are ok. I actually like being barefoot, too. I... have not tried picking things up." The girl then followed the redhead's wandering attention.

As timely as ever, Joshua poked his head out of the kitchen. "No worries! I did not wander far." The boy hauled up a small plate of desserts. "I bought some snacks from the bakery down the road earlier today." He set down the plate on the coffee table and went back to retrieve some cups of tea for the two raevan. The boy seemed very content playing host for them. He exclaimed, "There is plenty more. Just ask if you run out of anything." His eyes leveled with LuLu and he gave her a teasing wink. He knew the sweets would not last long in front of her.

Joshua smirked as the frei praised him. Well, apparently he had demonstrated his expert ability at picking out decent bakeries. "Well, I did not make them but I'll accept the compliment!" The boy chuckled. He noticed that LuLu also seemed impressed.

The rabbit had already snagged a cookie from the tray and taken a decent sized bite out of it. She spoke around the mouthful to answer her companion. "They are sort of like hands. I can feel hot and cold and wet." She finished off the treat and licked idly at her fingertips. "They get really hot when I sleep." She exclaimed, "I always have to stick one out from under my blanket!"

LuLu's eyes widened as realization dawned on her, too. "You are right!" She stood up from the couch and nearly toppled the cheetah boy over. "I have so many outfits planned for you. We should get started!" The valsaros then claimed one more snack 'for the road' before they broke away to her room.

LuLu's feet padded against the floor in a quick tempo as she made her way over to her room. She flung the door open and invited the frei in. "You can sit wherever." Though, in reality, the boy's options were limited: a chair in front of her vanity or a spot on the neatly made covers of her bed.

The girl made quick work of digging a few outfits from her closet. She threw aside a some worn comforters she had stored for the winter, and carried an armful of her clothing to her companion.

The rabbit's eyes glimmered with barely contained excitement. "I am sad you will not get to try on any bottoms. I have plenty of tops and accessories though!" She selected the first shirt of many. It was a neon colored monstrosity that was cropped short and was riddled with stylish holes - a 'lived in' aesthetic some would say. LuLu also held up an equally bright ballcap. "What do you think?"

LuLu hummed softly, noncommittal. As an afterthought she grabbed a pair of leggings to hand to the boy, too. Not to try on - for obvious reasons. Instead, the girl wanted him to have a feel for what they were like. She commented, "These look tight. They have a lot of stretch though. So you can still move! They are pretty nice." To emphasize her point, she tugged at the waistband and then allowed it to spring back.

As she passed over the items she ad picked out, she saved the ball cap for last. The rabbit poked her fingers through one of two holes in the top of the hat. It had been adjusted and re-sewn to handle her own fluffy ears. "I have it covered!" LuLu looked almost smug as she showed off the modifications.

LuLu could not help but quirk her ears as the boy explored the elastic woven fabric, just as curious for his reaction as he was about the article of clothing. He did not seem all that impressed by the leggings, much to the girl's dismay. Maybe he would learn to have an appreciation for them once he had his own pair of legs to slip them over. Rather than trying them on goofily with a single arm.

LuLu could not help but giggle. Once he was finished, she took the leggings from him and tossed them back into the dark chasm of her closet... maybe to be seen again one day? One could only hope.

The rabbit barely contained a delighted squeak when Laurel put on the remaining clothes. "Almost perfect! One second." LuLu fled to her vanity to pluck a few varying necklaces and bracelets from the drawers - even a clip on earring, if the boy would allow it. She returned to the frei's side and helped him put everything on. Once finished, she took a step back to admire her work.

She threaded her fingers over her mouth to hold back even more energetic laughter. To anyone else, she would look like a child playing dress up with their favorite doll. "Amazing!"