[FIN] The Devil is in the Details ( Taryn & Tset )

[alpha lyrae]

With the time for Prom looming.. much closer than she liked and a date (hopefully) in the wings, Tsetsiliya ventured into a place that she simultaneously thought she would have entered long ago or would not have entered at all.

The Maul was a very different sort of place than she was used to, full of eye-grabbing advertisements, mall shoppers milling to and fro, noise and chaos everywhere. Truthfully it was a little overwhelming; normally her clothes shopping was handled via mail order or personal tailor. Here among the other shoppers, she felt like a normal adolescent. Her parents (well, alright, namely her mother) couldn't dictate their opinions on what she was wearing, and everything was her own choice to make. Well.. her and the card her parents had given her for purchases, anyway. A short time spent wandering half-awed through the throngs brought her to the first of many teen-aimed clothing stores.

She had a mission in the Maul today. A dress was in order.

Unfortunately the first racks yielded nothing that seemed appealing enough - the color was off in some, the style in others. And as she tried one on and modeled it in front of the mirror in the changing room, another on different rack would beckon to her, and she liked what she wore less and less. It didn't help that her style of clothing was rather old-fashioned (thanks to her grandmother), and she had wanted to look a little more modern for the Prom, so to speak. Tsetsiliya had done enough deghoultant balls for a while and wanted away from the full-out ballgown look.

She frowned at the latest dress she was modeling in front of the mirror outside of the changing rooms. Turning this way and that, fussing with her hair, nothing seemed to make this one work. Oh, it had looked so pretty on the hanger! But that was the wonder of dresses, she supposed. This was an endless dance she had done with ballgowns before.

Oh well, onto the next dress.  

[bobaTJ]

So it was official. Prom was coming and Taryn had signed herself up, so come heck or high water she would show up for her date in a pretty dress. Although her parents did not quite approve, the chimera had procured limited funds for a gown; it was her very first dance, after all, and one beginning her coming years at Amityville Academy. Classes hadn't started for her yet, there was nothing to study for... you couldn't fight that with logic.

She wondered idly if she should have color-matched with her date, if that was what people really did, but what boil wanted to go shopping? All of the ones here at the Maul certainly seemed unhappy having to tote their ghoulfriends' bags around. Even slinking through the less populated areas, Taryn felt almost... normal. Ghouls went to the Maul and hung out all the time, why shoul she be any different? This was the start of an all-new her.

Of course, the store itself dampened the ghoul's determination. There were so many dresses, different colors and styles with sparkles and straps and big gaping spaces. Her very first pick was something knee-length and simple with a handful of sparkles. She slipped shyly into a changing stall and tried it on, feeling very vulnerable in such a revealing getup. She stepped out, though, and into the view of the mirrors.

Taryn almost immediately pulled a face. Look at those big, hairy digitigrade legs sticking out under her dress. Her knees weren't even in the right place for the length. Bah! This wasn't going to be fun at all.

Abigail waved lethargically back and forth beneath the fabric, unhappy at being covered and lifting Taryn's dress in the back, which the ghoul desperately tried to quell with her hands, scolding the snake softly.

"Stoppit...!"
 

[alpha lyrae]

Tsetsiliya had wandered back to another rack, ready to throw herself back into the search when a ghoul came out of one of the adjacent dressing rooms. The poludnica browsed a little through a few of the hanging dresses but couldn't help but chance a glance at the uncertain ghoul who was examining the dress she was wearing. The look on her face was enough to tell her that she wasn't pleased with the selection.

She cast an eye over the dresses her hands lingered over and pulled out the one she had just tried on - it was a short number, a pearly white in color with golden sparkles woven around the hem and bust. Even though she hated showing off her legs, it had looked so pretty that she couldn't ignore it - and besides, she knew it was silly to fret over something so minor. Her family's tailor had told her on a number of occasions (mostly while she was sticking her with needles) that a dress can be pretty, but not pretty on everyone. The poludnica had been in that position before - growing disappointed with each new dress she tried before they had even hired a seamstress for her deghoultant parties. Perhaps this new ghoul just needed a different style?

"I-If you are not minding me saying," Tsetsiliya began, dress folded over one of her arms and the next one she planned to try tucked beneath the other, "I-I am thinking this might look very much nice on you." She held up the recently-tried article for the ghoul to see, and also to mask her pinkening cheeks. Offering unsolicited advice, wasn't this a bit forward? It was nothing malicious, but merely one ghoul to another.. a bit of helpful advice that could go a long way. Her seamstress had helped her there.  

[bobaTJ]

There was some kind of sacred aura in the the changing room. Every ghoul felt it. An odd feeling of sisterly obligation allowed for all kinds of sudden advice, so long as it was worded kindly. Tsetsiliya certainly hadn't broken the Code in addressing Taryn, although the ghoul did turn quite suddenly with her brows raised. There was a moment of disbelief as she did a little turn, trying to see if the pale ghoul was speaking to a friend of hers, but there was nobody else. Abigail peeped up as Taryn turned around, her body twisting as well so she could keep her serpent's eyes on this new intrusion.

Taryn turned toward the dress, by now used to her tail taking interest in others, and tilted her head slightly. It was a little strange to be offered wardrobe advice, but maybe this was what ghouls did. She'd never had it before, but she'd also never gone clothes shopping where her more talkative peers frequented. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, holding her head somewhat bowed in shyness, and finally spoke.

"Yeah?" she asked, voice sheepish. She glanced once to the other ghoul, trying to discern if she was teasing or not. In the end, Taryn halfheartedly reached out for the garment. This other ghoul, she was very elegant, old-fashioned but well-dressed. She looked like she'd know fashion.
 

[alpha lyrae]

Tsetsiliya's gaze edged towards the ghoul's snake tail, which was eyeing her rather intently. She managed a timid smile, hoping to placate the snake's stare, but rather than see the effect, she turned back towards the ghoul at hand. She had seemed rather shy as she took the dress apprehensively, but Tsetsiliya could see why. A complete stranger had just offered advice and shoved a dress in her direction - for it all, the ghoul was taking it in stride pretty well.

"Y-yes." Her timid smile became one a little gentler, and she nodded with her response. Cheeks still pooling with color as she started to go on, not really enjoying the stale silences that came after first meeting new people (especially if both parties seemed a little timid), she clutched the dress she had picked to try next in ever-moving fingers. Her nerves came back in full swing as well. "T-that is, I am thinking it would look very much nicely with your hair. N-Not that I am being an expert, really, b-but I have been to many parties... n-nothing, though, like this." The dress that Tsetsiliya had intended next was blue in coloration, and looked a bit snug around the hips (even for her), and she toyed with the material as she spoke. "I-I am only speaking from deghoultant experience.. I am not knowing how similar it is being to a Prom."

Her eyes met the snake's again and she felt its gaze. Was she really making that much of a fool of herself?  

[bobaTJ]

The more the pale ghoul spoke, the more obvious it was that she wasn't from around here. Where, Taryn wondered, that she had such a strong accent? She was curious, but not about to ask a complete stranger such a private question. The chimera nodded as the ghoul continued, and then perked. Prom?!

"You have prom too?!" she asked, and she would admit some excitement in her tone. Was it really possible? "What school do you go to?" Taryn managed a confident smile up at the other ghoul as she accepted the dress and slipped into a booth. The pale ghoul seemed just as awkward, and when she felt awkward it was terrible to be stuck in a situation. She left an opening as she closed the curtain, the other ghoul could keep on chatting, or disappear into the store.

Once safely hidden from all eyes, Taryn began disrobing again to try this new dress.  

[alpha lyrae]

The ghoul's smile and excited tone did much to encourage Tsetsiliya to relax. Her nervous smile eased and she nodded to the question about Prom. She was momentarily startled by her sudden disappearance into the dressing room and she wondered if she had done something wrong, but when the curtain left a small opening, she took that as her invitation to keep talking. With her own dress in hand, she went into the changing room next door and also left a sliver of space in the curtain opening, letting her voice carry through it to her neighbor.

"Y-yes, I am being a student at Amityville, and their Prom is fast approaching.. are you also attending there?" So many new students arrived at different intervals during the year - exciting and yet at the same time somewhat confusing. Her headscarf caught on her horns and she grunted quietly, tugging it free. She changed rather quickly and smoothed out the material as much as she good. A brief glance into the mirror turned her small smile into a frown, and as she moved back into the common area to get a better look, it only deepened. Moving around in a dress this tight around the hips was a nightmare. It actually made her miss the corsets of her old deghoultant gowns.

"How is the dress fitting for you?" the poludnica called to her neighbor as she glanced over her shoulder at the curtain.  

[bobaTJ]

"I am!" Taryn replied excitedly, more or less peeping the word. This ghoul was the first Amityville student she had truly met, and it was exciting to find her not only equally awkward, but kind as well. To have a potential friend straight into school would make the transition much, much less painful. Of course, there was more to lean now. "What's your name? Are you a first-year?"

Amidst all the chatting, the chimera ghoul was slipping into the dress she had been given... or more so struggling. While it fit well at her waist, she was having trouble in the... chestal region. She had never been comfortable in her humanoid body, and this particular dress certainly wasn't helping.

"Not so well, I don't think," came another murmured response from the next booth. Taryn crept out nervously, twirling a lock of hair, and stared at her form in the mirrors. She looked bent for her goat's legs, and they were hairy to boot and almost entirely exposed. Her chest was squished in and up as well, and the poor ghoul was feeling constricted. "I need something long," she decided, "and... less fitted."

Her eyes shifted then to her dress-buddy and she tilted her head.

"You look very nice..."
 

[alpha lyrae]

"T-Thank you, but I am not quite liking it.. it is also being, as you say, too fitted." Tsetsiliya smiled back at the ghoul when she came back out, but was a little saddened to see that the dress she had lent had indeed not flattered her very much. At the very least, the poludnica knew ballgowns, and finding something longer would not be a problem for her. The issue was finding a fit that worked for her companion. The ghoul turned back around, flicking through dress after dress, but maneuvering between the racks was a little difficult in the mermaid cut dress - she wasn't fond of something that clung so tightly to her thighs. She found a light shade of green, floor length, with sheer sleeves that hung off the shoulders. Holding it up, she turned around and offered it timidly to her companion.

"Here, perhaps this?" The poludnica suddenly remembered that the ghoul had started introductions, and she gasped. "O-oh, so sorry! You are doing introductions earlier! My apologies!" Her white cheeks were turning an astonishing shade of red. How could she be so rude? "I am Tsetsiliya," she replied, but upon the realization of her name being so awkward and long, she waved a hand and added quickly, "b-but it is being a long name so you are calling me whatever nickname is comfortable for you. Many are just using 'Tset.'" She smiled to assure the ghoul that this was something she enjoyed, the nickname. "I am being a first year, yes. What is your name?"  

[bobaTJ]

Taryn, having never done this before, could only follow her new companion sheepishly and admire a sleeve here and a line of gems there. She struck out and lifted a dress from the rack, only to find it painfully short and garishly decorated. So much for that! Perhaps the shopping was better left to the professionals. She smiled as she took the dress offered to her, holding it so it draped down her back and she continued to shuffle through the racks.

"It's nice to meet you, Tset," she said, speaking over a row of gowns, "I'm Taryn. It doesn't get much shorter than that..." There was a brief pause as she held a lavender dress up to compare to Tset's skin and hair color. Too pale. She'd look drawn. At least that narrowed it down some. It was all color theory.

"Me too," she responded finally, looking to her companion and giving a light nod before her attention turned again to the hangers,"I actually just started, have you been going long? How is it?" Granted it would be hard to qualify Halloween's best school in such simple terms. It had to be amazing, right? Stimulating educationally and socially, producing the world's best scarers...

Oh, right. Prom dresses.

"What do you like?" Taryn asked suddenly, fingering a red dress and trying to mentally add the color to Tset. No, no, even worse. She needed a cool color, something not purple... "Lace? Diamonds? How about sleeves? Length?" She felt useful when she tried to help, and even if she ended up choosing the world's most disgusting selection, she had at least tried.  

[alpha lyrae]

"I am not having been here for long, but I am still learning my way," Tsetsiliya replied. Christof had been the first student she had met on campus, and he too had been lost. "I-If you are ever needing a guide, you are being welcome to find me. The school is being nice though, the classes are interesting, but I am not taking very many yet. I am being certain you are finding something you like!" Idle fingers pulled at fabrics before her head would shake and they would get stuffed back into the racks. Some of these dresses popular nowadays were so unflattering, really now!

"I am liking lace, sometimes.. b-but to be quite honest, I am trying for something different." She flicked past a few ballgown-style dresses onto ones that were a little shorter, which she looked at with a doubtful expression. Pausing for only a moment, she returned to the ballgowns. Taryn did say she wanted something longer. "I am often wearing ballgowns and it is being what my mother is wanting." A smile found its way back onto her lips. "Although I am generally liking longer, I am thinking this time.. something shorter. B-but not too short, of course." Her adventure at the Scarentines auction still left a bad taste in her mouth when she thought of it.

"I am thinking we are trying ballgowns for you, though, since you are saying you like longer?" Tsetsiliya offered another one, this one in sky blue with white lace trim. Blues would stand out nicely on her coloring, she thought. "Many ballgowns are being sleeveless.. are you preferring sleeves or.. ?" It was such an odd thing for her, to be asking these questions. These were things normally decided for her. So getting a chance to help somebody else out on fashion, of all things..

Well, it was very flattering. And, dare she say, fun.  

[bobaTJ]

Taryn's hands searched the racks herself, and the first dress she pulled was an emerald green sort of color, dazzled with silver glitter at the bosom. It was short in terms of the chimera's standards, just about knee-length, and rather modern as prom dresses went. It could look nice against Tset's hair, perhaps? She offered it out with one arm as she continued leaning over to look through the hangers. She nearly grabbed a mermaid-style gown, but remembered her companion's comment on fitted hips and felt rather proud of herself.

"Which dorms are you in?" Taryn asked then, her brow knotted in concentration. Were it any other time, she might have thought it was a racist question and left it out. To find Tset's room, though, she'd have to know where to start looking, right? Giggling, she offered out a metallic silver dress that was most likely to be horrible. All for fun. "Sleeves... um. I think I'd like... SOME kind of sleeve. Or strap. I... don't like going strapless." It was the 'cooler' way of saying she never had. The 'mother's preference' comment fled her mind for a lack of anything polite to lead into it with. Instead, she added: "My parents would kill me if they knew I was going to the prom."  

[alpha lyrae]

"I am being in the demon dorms," Tsetsiliya replied, not particularly making anything of the comment. Besides, she was used to not being noted as a demon - her demeanor was partially to blame for that, as was the head scarf she wore, which normally covered up the tell-tale horns. "Thank you," she replied as Taryn held the dress out for her. The ghoul held it up to her front for a quick examination and nodded in approval - this one was a possibility.

Taking note of Taryn's preferences, the poludnica riffled through a new rack where most of the longer gowns seemed to be collected. She saw a lovely purple one with a spray of rhinestones at the hem, sheer sleeves attached just below the bustline for an off-the-shoulder look. Her gaze shifted back and forth between ghoul and dress - the purple was very nice, she would offer that up next.

At the comment about her parents, Tsetsiliya glanced up from the rack with a concerned and slightly confused expression. She was about to say something that would ask why, but it occurred to her that not all parents were like hers. Her mother and father paraded her around at balls regularly, under the guise of socializing, when really it was another game of "My Child Is Better Than Yours." Still, they encouraged her to go to any social function she was allowed to, and she had obeyed their wishes for the most part. But here was Taryn, whose parents had forbidden her from something like prom, and immediately Tsetsiliya felt a surge of sympathy for her. She didn't have the guts to disobey her parents, but her new friend was out dress shopping and planning to go anyway. The poludnica had to admire that.

Instead of prying too heavily into her question, which she thought was the polite thing to do, she instead offered a smile to convey encouragement instead, as well as offering the dusky purple dress she had set aside. "This one is having off-the-shoulder sleeves. I am thinking purple is looking nice on you."  

[bobaTJ]

A demon! Imagine, a demon selflessly assisting a silly little monster like her! If Tset and her mother bought prom gowns, they must be pretty well-off as well. Well... good for her, right? Taryn smiled to herself and looked down at the dress she was offered.

"Really?" she asked. Purple had never really been high on her list of colors to wear, partially because it deviated so far from her natural color scheme. Well, her companion had to know more about fashion then her. The color was nice, at least. "Okay." This was enough for her to take in with her, but what of Tset? She was being an awful shopper again, wasn't she?

"How about, um... how about these?" A mannequin wore a dress with a relatively indeterminate length. The front was shorter than the back, and they were strapless but not fitted, sparkly but lacy as well. It wasn't something she would even dream about wearing, but considering her attractive new friend...  

[alpha lyrae]

"Oh my..." Tsetsiliya looked the dress Taryn pointed out up and down. Yes, it was certainly different than what she normally wore. Since she was so tired of ballgowns but not ready to jump to something short all around (memories of Scarentines haunted her), this seemed like the happy medium. She reached up to feel the fabric on the mannequin's dress. "This is being nice.." Turning towards the rack next to it, she browsed quickly to find her size and tucked the dress over her arm. It was a lovely dress, but things sometimes did not look as good on a real person as they did on the rack (or in this case, the mannequin).

"Shall we try them?" The poludnica turned back towards Taryn with a smile and patted the dress in her arms. Another glance at the dress she planned to try on had her comparing the color against her new friend. Something in a shade of aqua like this would look nice on her as well. She decided after she tried on this dress, she might browse for similar colors in a style her friend might like. "This color is looking nice on you too, I am thinking," she added as she slipped back into the dressing room, sliding the curtain shut. The same wedge between the curtain and gateway remained open to keep the conversation flowing.

Once again, the normal clothing came off and she donned the dress, but she was surprised at the ease that came with putting this one on. Probably due to the material being so light and flowy. As she tugged it up and adjusted it in various places, she glanced into the mirror in the stall.

Oh yes, she liked this dress.