Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was just an ordinary day in Elizabeth's Secrets. Yvette was reorganizing the various bins filled with undergarments that were on a special sale. She had been working at the store for over 2 years and she still couldn't truly get over the embarrassment of being in that kind of store. She was folding a stripe printed pair of underwear when a high pitched cheery voice chimed in.

"Hullofericerous*!"

Perhaps it was the fact the word (that sounded somewhat like a greeting) was so nonsensical that it easily caught her attention. Or perhaps it was the fact the voice itself sounded quite a bit on the young side. Either way, the clerk's attention was stolen away from her task. There standing next to her was a girl with silvery hair with the oddest colored streaks. The girl was smiling eagerly and holding out a brassiere in lacy white.

Yvette's cheeks were quite red within moments.

Despite the reaction from the clerk, the girl seemed completely unrattled. She shoved the undergarment closer to the clerk's face. "I was thinkamulating* if you have this style bra in all sizes? I couldn't find any that were larger than a C-cup! Do you have more in storage? I am looking to get some of all sizes up to Triple Ds if you've got it!"

The clerk's jaw went slack, dropping open to gawk at this girl. How could she be asking for such things so easily?! And why would she even need such garments in the first place?! This wasn't a shop for little kids to just buy frivolously!

"Um... uh... aren't you a little... young to be wearing these?" Yvette was pretty sure that the girl hadn't even physically matured enough yet to need such an undergarment.

The silver-haired girl didn't seem to notice the discomfort of the clerk. "Oh, these aren't for me, these are for my mom! We're running errands today and she needed more of these for work! She had to hit up the make-up counter, so we figured I could hit up over here for her. Save time!" With that she held the brassiere only a couple inches from the clerk's red-red face. "So... more of these in back... or do I need to go digging some more?"

The shy clerk's mind couldn't help but try and figure out what sort of business would require vast amounts of make-up and lingerie of all things! Her mind went to the worst sorts of industries possible, but she quickly tried to shoo such thoughts away, since what sort of mother would expose their daughter to such filth at such a young age?! She didn't want to think poorly of a stranger's mother, really, she didn't! "...h-how old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Eleven years old! How old are you?" she asked back immediately.

"Oh, um! I'm 21 years old now!" she flustered a bit, shoving the pair of underwear she had been holding into the bin finally.

"Oh, legal drinking age! Niftricular*! Anyways... about those bras...?"

The dark haired girl's eyes widened a bit as she realized how she had still not answered the girl's questions yet. "Oh, right! W-we have more in the back... you were looking for D, Double, and Triple Ds, r-right?"

The child nodded her head, but then asked something completely unrelated. "Why are you talking so quiet?"

"Oh... I... I um... it's... it'sjusthowInormallytalk... that'sall..."

The child blinked her golden touched eyes widely. "Do you also always stutter? Do you have a speech impediment?"

At this rate, poor Yvette was going to collapse from all the blood that was rushing to her face out of embarrassment. However, that was when a saving grace appeared in the form of a pale-haired woman with heavy make-up and relatively hip clothing stepped up beside the child and planted a hand firmly upon the child's head.

"Is Mystery giving you a hard time, Miss?"

"M-mystery?" the clerk repeated.

The child beamed, raising a hand and waving it at the girl with the proclamation "Hullofericerous!" Apparently that was the eleven year old's name. Eagerly the child turned to the woman and held the white lacy thing in the woman's face. "Look Mom! See, these ones are nice! She's going to go in the back and get more! Did you know she's legally able to drink?! I think she has a speech impediment!"

The woman thoughtfully put her fingers to her lips, contemplating the information genuinely as her daughter offered it. "That's interesting... very cool! Good to know she's legal too!" In a cool manner, she reached into her purse, pulling out from a side pocket what seemed to be a business card.

For a few seconds, Yvette's face felt like it was going to burst from embarrassment! Whatever shady business this woman was into, she was now giving Yvette a card for it now?!

However, when she actually read the words on the business card, some of the blood flow resumed the normal flow.

Wylde Photography Studios

With a knowing tone, the woman introduced herself. "I'm Carolynn... and we are in a specialty photography industry. I promise you, it isn't as scandalous... as I am guessing you are thinking it is!" Carolynn gave Yvette a look up and down. "...I honestly think you should set up an appointment with me... I think you'd look good at our set!"

Yvette was pretty sure that it was a ploy that the woman used on any young girl. Compliment them until they spend their money to take pictures. Carolynn couldn't be sincere about her compliments, the clerk knew it! "...I... should check on that stock for you..."

The photographer gestured loosely to what her daughter had already grabbed. "I don't need to check them out... go ahead and wrap them up... I'll buy all the sizes as Mystery had requested."

The child seemed to beam before she suddenly started to fuss with the bags her Mom got at the make-up counter. Yvette managed to find the various brassieres, and soon enough the woman and her child were on their way to their next errands.

The dark haired girl sighed before wandering into the back of the shop, setting the business card upon a filing cabinet.

"...I couldn't ever do something like that..." she murmured before abandoning the card and going back out front. She still had underwear to fold!

This place just looked too perfect.

It wasn't a bad thing, but it was enough to cause Yvette to be a bit on edge as she stood there at the sidewalk, overlooking the picture-perfect house. She wore one of her more simple jumpsuits as she held onto several things in her hands. In one hand she held onto clothing hangers covered in plastic. In the other hand, she held onto a gift certificate.



Her purse was hoisted over her shoulder. As she had been instructed, she also wore no makeup that day. Yvette might not have worn a lot of makeup, but her lack of eyeshadow made her feel a bit off.

I can't believe I am doing this... This was not the sort of thing that Yvette would sign up for normally. However, the certificate at hand was a reminder that this was a gift. The girl didn't want to look ungrateful, no matter how potentially embarrassing it would be. Heaving in a sigh, the girl began to walk toward the house, recalling how all of this came to be.

__________________________

The instance that had happened at the mall parking lot had caused a bit of a stir at Elizabeth's Secrets. Yvette had seen the worst luck it seemed, getting attacked not just one time, but a handful of times after she left work to go home. The customers would have never guessed it, but the employees had begun to gossip about the matter. Some of the less sensitive coworkers would make catty comments about how "shy little Yvette was really enticing the attacks," and the more sensitive coworkers would offer to go with Yvette to the bus stop to make sure she got home safely.

It had been a week before Mrs. Ortiga had called Yvette to her office. The girl was instantly reassured that she was not in trouble (for what other reason would someone get called to the office of the manager?). Eventually a white envelope was brought out and handed to the girl.

"I don't want you to think of this as a bribe," the woman clarified. "I originally was planning to get this for your birthday, but since this attack happened recently... I decided I wanted to get this for you as an apology. I am truly sorry you had to deal with this sort of thing again."

The girl opened up the envelope and found a crisp gift certificate with golden lettering on it.

"...Wylde Photography Studios?..."

The girl sounded uncertain, but eventually found a business card slipped in with the certificate as well. Her face instantly turned rosy-red. There were girls in their undergarments. They were gorgeous, but it was really suggestive.

Mrs. Ortiga noticed the blushing and couldn't help but giggle a bit. "You shouldn't be embarrassed of your goods, Yvette!" The woman reached over to turn the business card over to a girl that was more tastefully clothed. "It's a Vintage photo shoot. Some women like to be more daring in front of a camera, some don't. Miss Wylde is a pretty good customer here, and I think what she does is fantastic!" Sneaking behind the still red-faced girl, the woman placed her fingers upon her employee's shoulders.

"I can't wait to see what she does with you!"

__________________________

"...I know she's going to want to see the pictures after..." the girl uttered at the porch.

However, there was an answer to her subtle comment that she was not expecting.

"Why wouldn't she want to see your pictures? You are Beautimous*!"

The dark haired girl let out a squeak as she turned too quickly, almost slipping on her heels. However, there was a wide eyed girl wearing a sunhat and a lovely purple dress.

"....Beauti...what?" she asked cautiously.

"Beautimous*!" the girl repeated without hesitation. With barely a pause, she asked "Are you Yvette Weaver? I mean, you look like you are ready for an appointment... people don't usually just bring clothes on hangers in plastic unless they are going to have a photo session with us!" With a beaming smile, the child caught Yvette's hand that had the certificate in it and tugged her along.

With a hint of panic, the girl squeaked out "I-i know I am early... a-are you sure it's okay to j-just go barging in?!"

They were already at the door when the girl reassured "Oh yeah, we're fine! Mom didn't have any appointments this morning, so it isn't a problem at all!" There was a pause after the door had already been opened. "You are Yvette Weaver, right? I go by Mystery... but I want to make sure you are who I am thinking I am supposed to be getting..."

"Y-yes..." Yvette murmured before her arm was yanked on again. Apparently that was all the girl needed to know to invite a complete stranger into the house.

It was almost surreal walking through that doorway. The outside of the house looked like something straight out of the 1950s, and the inside had such a similar feel. The walls by the doorway were covered in a gorgeous red and black Fleur de Lis patterning. Yet the wallpaper only lasted for a small stretch before it turned starkly into a new set of neutral paper.

"Come on, we can go wait in the living room!" Mystery announced as she tugged again.

Yvette wasn't sure if her arm could handle such abuse for too long. However, she didn't say anything other than "O-okay!"

As their feet clacked down the hardwood floor, the child easily asked "Do you suffer from a stutter, Yvette? It would be horrendublar* if you did! I'd be terribly sorry if that was the case... I heard having a stutter isn't a walk in the park!"

Yvette didn't answer but the child wasn't past pointing out "Wow your face turns red so fast!"

Yvette's eyes fell to the floor after that observation. When the child tugged on her arm in one particular direction, the young lady turned obediently.

"Here we are! Just mind the fur rug, since it is white... maybe take off your shoes for now!" The child released the girl's hand, and gave a quick rundown of the procedure from here.

"Feel free to put your things down on the couch... if you don't want any cat hair, feel free to hang the clothes hangers on the curtain railing. Go ahead and just take a look around if you want... but again... no shoes on that rug! I'll go get mom!" With the quick trotting sound of the child's feet running out of the room, the girl finally looked up from the hard wood floor.

"Oh.... my...."

Yvette stood there, wide-eyed as she took in the one wall before her. There were so many albums of old records just plastered there, making for a gorgeous collage of vintage music. A wooden cabinet stood just a bit away from the record wall, with an old fashioned record player peeking out.

Momentarily pausing long enough to set her things down as instructed, the girl stepped forward to the wall, admiring each piece of art on each album.

There were no words to describe the awe she felt. She could feel her fingers twitch almost childishly wanting to touch the wall. Her more adult instincts told her not to do such a thing, and she obediently listened to adult-self, but her child-self still wanted to touch the album art so badly.

So absorbed with the admiration of the wall, Yvette had failed to notice the sound of steps coming down the hallway. She also failed to hear the sound of the two voices chattering away. It was only when an older voice called out "So you must be Yvette," that the girl jerked back to reality and spun around on her toes to face the voice.

The child had taken off her sunhat, but standing beside her was a woman who seemed vaguely familiar. It probably had something to do with the fact she was a customer at Elizabeth's Secrets. She had pale curled hair, brilliant blue eyes, and was made up in a perfectly flattering way to accentuate her eyes. Yvette couldn't help but notice the choice of a black lace choker as well.

When Yvette managed to get her wits about her (and stop gawking like a fish), she nodded her head. "Yes, and you must be Miss Wylde, right?"

The woman laughed in such a warm infectious manner that Yvette couldn't help but giggle a little too afterward. "You don't need to be so formal with me, sweetie! You can call me Carolynn!"

"Oh... okay Carolynn!"

The photographer idly lowered a hand to stroke the child's hair, lightly touching beneath the upward curl. "...Alright, Mystery... could you go get my makeup kit set up for me... I'll go ahead and explain a few things to Yvette."

With a beaming smile, the child ran off, the excitement evident in the sounds of her feet against the floor.

Once the child had seemingly vanished for a bit, the woman immediately gestured for the girl to follow after her. Yvette scooted along after the woman.

"I see you brought your own outfit for the shoot! What colors are you going with, sweetie?"

Yvette's eyes were not upon the wood paneling this time (since she wasn't outright embarrassed), so her words probably came out a bit louder than usual. "Well... after Mrs. Ortiga explained what it is you do here, I sewed up something with purples, pinks, with a hint of yellows and blues..."

The woman perked up a bit at the mention of sewing. "Ah, I knew you worked at Elizabeth's Secrets, but I didn't know you were a seamstress! Do you sew a lot, or just when you have spare time?"

Yvette's cheeks turned rosy for a bit. "Well... I don't really consider myself a seamstress... I mean, I tend to sew my own clothing... but that's all... I actually prefer designing clothing over the actual sewing process... but they both kind of go hand-in-hand!"

Carolynn turned back with a smile. "Truth be told, I can't sew! I am envious of those who are able to sew and make it look like something you can wear! I end up having to buy all of the pieces for the photo sessions, and it can get hefty in price after a while." With such convenient timing, they pair walked through a corridor, and soon enough were surrounded by racks of clothing.

"I mean, I don't mind doing it, since what I am doing is art... but as you can see... all of this would cost quite a bit!" With an easy laugh, the photographer reached out to a particular rack with some silky little robes that only seemed to go up to the thighs. A pink flowery one was selected and handed over to the girl.

"So you need to strip down to your undergarments, then put this over so we can get you started with makeup."

There was another pause. "My daughter mentioned you blush easily... she wasn't kidding!" With the same infectious laugh, she pointed to a space at the wall covered in a bead curtain. "I didn't mean in front of me! Go ahead in there and you can get yourself situated. I just don't want to get makeup on your day clothes is all!"

Yvette was redder now that the photographer had pointed out her blushing problem. Carefully taking up the skimpy little excuse of a robe, she uttered "Oh, okay!" and slipped into the bathroom to change.

__________________________

Scooting out past the beaded curtain, Yvette couldn't help but tug at the top of the little silk robe. It was a nice cloth, but it was so skimpy. Tugging at the top to cover up her cleavage meant she was hiking up the bottom and revealing more of her legs. Tugging down at the bottom to cover up her legs meant she was revealing her chest more. It was a true Catch-22.

Carolynn seemed to sense Yvette's frustrations and stepped closer with a smile. "You don't need to worry, Yvette. There aren't any boys... and you don't have anything that neither me or Mystery haven't seen before."

"I... I guess you're right..." Yvette smiled gently, but she still couldn't help but tug a bit at the top of her robe again.

With a wink, the photographer led the way back to the main room. "Not to mention, if you have the goods, you should show them off!"

Yvette's face grew rosy again. It was almost like dealing with Mrs. Ortiga at times, who frequently complimented the girl's bust size. She knew it was for boosting confidence that the shy girl was clearly lacking in, but it frequently just made her feel uncomfortable.

They returned back to the first room, and there was Mystery practically bouncing around the room as she waited. She had pulled out a table and set out a huge spread of makeup. A tall black chair was set up nearby, as well as a stool.

"Welcome back!" the child squealed before scurrying back to her Mom's side.

The woman once more affectionately touched the child's hair. "Alright Yvette, you go ahead and take a seat here, and we will get started. I don't know how much Mrs. Ortiga discussed with you ahead of time, but she actually signed you up for a special appointment. Normally, I would be the one doing your makeup and hair. However, today, Mystery will do your makeup while I do your hair. I will be here to supervise my daughter's work, so you don't need to worry at all."

The child scoffed slightly, turning away a bit. "Mom! You don't need to make it sound like I'm a kid! I can do makeup just fine!"

The woman smiled and patted her child again. "Yes, lovely... but it doesn't mean I can't explain things to the customer. You will need to remember to do that if you go into this sort of business later! It is keeping things professional!"

Yvette couldn't help but smile as she slipped into the chair. "I am sure you will do a lovely job, Mystery..." She allow her finger to drift into her straight hair as she glanced towards the pair. "Does that mean that you want to become a photographer like your Mom?"

Solidly the girl stepped up onto her stool in front of the client. A firm nod confirmed Yvette's suspicions. "My mom is fabracular*! I can only hope to be as trendibular* as her someday!"

Yvette's mouth pursed up a bit to ask about certain words, but Carolynn stood behind the girl, just signaling silently for her to not inquire. Apparently there was a story to this which couldn't be discussed now. "Well, I am sure with enough practice, you will be able to continue on the legacy!" With a gentle smile, she settled in.

Carolynn moved from her spot behind her daughter, meandering over to the dress in the plastic. "Now... do you mind if I take a peek at the dress you have in here? You mentioned you sewed it yourself, but I am more curious about the colors... you know... to help with makeup colors."

"Oh... um... sure!! Ifyouthinkitwillhelp?"

The child blinked. "...breathe? Space out your words?"

With the crinkle of plastic, a dress came into light. With an adoring squeal, the grown woman exclaimed "CUUUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!"

By Yvette's side, the child clapped her hands together in delight. "Perfecalution*!! That is soooo pretty! You sewed that dress up, Yvette? How long did it take you? It such a pretty set of colors!" For a moment it almost seemed as if personal space didn't exist as the child leaned in closer, eyes looking intently into Yvette's.

As Carolynn pressed the dress up to her own body and twirled a bit, Yvette carefully answered what questions she could answer. "Um... yes... I put together the pattern and sewed it up last week after Mrs. Ortiga told me about the appointment. I mean, I had to check around for styles... but it took a few days in total. I had some pretty cloth I had gotten a while back too... so... um... yeah..." She shyly wrapped a single strand of hair around her pinky, her cheeks turning pink after the explanation.

Once Carolynn seemed to be done fawning over the dress, she set it back to hanging off the curtain railing. "Yvette... if you don't mind me asking... what is your own history with art? As in, what sorts of classes have you taken? What skills do you think you have? What mediums have you played around with?"

"Oh... um..." The girl brought her hands back down as she considered the question.

With the brief silence, Mystery took a moment to signal for Yvette to close her eyes. With a big fluffy makeup brush at hand, it seemed as if she was ready to start applying some of the makeup.

"...is it okay to talk while you do this?"

"Oh, of course! It's only if I am doing lip stuff that you can't really talk!"

With a gentle smile, she then responded to Carolynn's prompts. "Well... I took a lot of classes in high school for art... so I have played around with plenty of mediums. Paints, charcoals, pastels, water colors, traditional pencil and color pencil... and of course sewing too!" She could feel the fluffy brush against her skin as she talked, and hands pushing her bangs up to get makeup on the skin beneath the hair. "I do have to still draw in order to do outfit designs... but I prefer pastels for that. However, sewing the designs is more gratifying... seeing the designs come to life..."

The girl's eyes were closed, so all she had to work off of for now was the voices of the girl and the photographer.

"You seem to be passionate about your designs, Yvette."

The girl smiled a bit. "Yes... I guess you could say that..."

"Hmmmm?" There was a pause before the brush began to dust her face again. There was a muffled giggle, but that was all she could get.

"Now... I know this might come across as... out of nowhere... but... would you potentially like a job with me... here..."

The client's eyes popped open as a gasp caught itself in her throat. Rather than the face of the child who had started out on her makeup, there was the woman's face, smiling as she dusted a bit of blush on her cheeks.

"I... I... oh my god... I don't know... oh my god..."

Mystery giggled a bit. "It's a good thing we didn't get too far... you would have made a mess if I had started with the eye makeup!"

The girl's fingers touched the edge of her cheeks as a couple happy tears rolled down.

"Well... since... I haven't even told you what you'd be doing... let me actually explain. You know... this isn't a sleezy sort of job or anything. It's just... I think I could mold you into an excellent makeup artist... you have a passion that I like... even if... you seem to be quiet. Plus... I think I could also commission you to make some really cute dresses."

Mystery's cheeks puffed up, almost in a jealous manner. "...but Mom! Two makeup artists?!"

The woman patted the child's hair again. "Well... if you and if Yvette are okay with it... maybe she can keep you company too..."

Mystery's cheeks puffed up even more, but before the child could say anything, the mother clarified "Not a babysitter, Mystery. Just someone around the house." There was a pause before she mentioned "Maybe think of it as a housekeeper position with training in makeup?"

Yvette blinked away her happy tears. She had no legitimate reason to just trust this woman. Yes, Mrs. Ortiga was perhaps a trustworthy enough as a reference, but there was nothing else to go off of. It was a leap of faith. Something she could only dream of. It was just there, within her grasps.

"Y-yes... I-i... I just need to give Mrs. Ortiga two weeks notice... but... yes... I... I would like this..."

With a kind smile, the photographer handed the brush back to her daughter. With a clap of her hands, she replied "Alright! Let's make you gorgeous!"

Slowly, Yvette closed her eyes once more. Just a while ago, she had been doubting this whole appointment. However, now the appointment had taken on a new form. Now, this appointment was just a preview of what her life from this point forward would be like.

With everything that had been happening lately, from the attack at the mall, to Topher's return to Destiny City, Yvette's new life just seemed like a dream come true.