Private - Taking the next steps

_____Kaedé could not tell if this was going to be a good change or a bad one. Her fingers nervously weaved around one another as the girl sat on the wooden bench with a face as red as her hair and eyes. How else could one act when you had something heavy on your mind and heart and it was about to be spoken about. Needless to say Kaedé never had this fully happen to her before and here she was about to have to deal with it and there was no guide or practice manuals, no instructors or advice.

_____Standing back to her feet like so many times before she looked herself over again. After the rude brush with death, the eventful night with Harveste, the once false life of the girl was no longer wanted. She did not want to live a life that caused her so much pain and the reckless first step she chose was to change her character almost entirely. Crimson red eyes looked down at the bounty that was now her chest, no bandages to hide it or loose cloths to mislead others. Right hand nervously pulling scarlet locks of hair into view as the girl began to pace.

”What if she does not like how I look in game… Or the decision I made… What if she forgot me like all the NPCs had… What if I scare her away because how much the real me is different from the one she knew…”

_____Kaedé mumbled out her troubled thoughts as she paced the length of the bench, nobody was in earshot of the girl just yet to really hear her talking but that did not ease the nervousness that was riddling off the girl like heat from a turned on stove top or the chill of a freezer. She wanted to change but if she lost the person who made her want to be, the real her was it even worth it? Kaedé wanted to start living her own life, not the shadow cast from Athea or in the memory of the girl.

”Should I even stay around to try and face her… What if she does not even show up because she already could tell something was wrong…”
@Harveste

 

Kaede's message still had her worrying even as she neared their meeting place. It was a surprise to her that it was particularly to meet in game, but the location choice was what really had her heart on fire. No one, from her understanding, would ask to meet at 'the place they met' unless it was a major conversation to be had.

"Deep conversation isn't a bad thing," She told herself. Her words fell on her own deaf ears, not actually fixing her anxiety a single bit. That she was so close to their meeting spot and couldn't see the black-haired woman that messaged her only made her worry worse. "What's bad is when your date doesn't show up..."

It wasn't like she was the only one in Kaede's heart. Harveste, who had a similar tendency, knew well that was the case. She'd gotten to hear at least one or two stories of Kaede with other people. Though Kaede knew she'd be jealous, she also accepted it, and Kaede should've been aware of that as well.

Remembering that fact, she realized it wasn't likely a date keeping the woman away. While there was one person around in particular, it wasn't quite who she was looking for- though, the anxious tics she saw in the red face did mean they were likely seeking a similar situation.

That's when it hit her. "When I died in the cathedral...The spirit that saved me...Didn't she say I could restart or alter my character...?" Standing still, a mild daze kicking in and trying to clear, she rushed to the side of the red-haired woman.

There was no way it could be anything else, right?

"Kaede!" Her voice had a slight whine to it, eyes watering slightly as she held her head upon the girl's shoulder, clinging to her tightly. "What happened? How did you die?" Her original question from the moment she logged in was far from her mind at this point. While she'd come planning to ask why the girl was so strange sounding on the phone, now, she just wanted to know that the woman was okay. "I didn't even recognize you...I was scared you didn't come...Why didn't you tell me? I was really, really worried!"

 

_____Hearing Harveste caused Kaedé to almost jump out of her own skin, she was so worried and nervous she did not even notice the girl getting closer until she spoke. The few questions each caused Kaedé's head to lower slightly and her changed ears to seemingly match and fall down a bit. Reaching to try and tap the girl’s head only to stop herself, she had no right to comfort her after having worried her. Trying to muster her courage to speak to the girl took some time but after a while she managed to get her voice.

”Some girl attacked me one night while I was out in the woods drinking. And after everything that happened that night after we met in the real world I was still nervous about a lot of things… I wanted to clear the air… but every time I tried to contact you I lost my nerve and gave up…”

____Kaedé's voice told she was having trouble speaking up, it was not a filtered truth or some lie she came up with like most times when people worried about her. She wanted to start telling the truth, at least to Harveste as Kaedé moved to try and sit down holding her hands in a nervous fidget against each other, unable to look the girl in the eyes as she started to talk again.

”I wanted to start… I wanted to stop with all the false things and start being true… I wanted to stop living in the shadow of Athea and try to be myself… to stop beating myself up and hiding things… even if it is only from you I want to start changing and becoming my own person… I wanted to say this in person but getting the nerve to do that was next to impossible…”

_____Kaedé was taking everything she had to fully say everything she had on her mind as her own words. It be clear as day this was not something Kaedé had done before and it was entirely destroying her with trying to do it with even the smallest ounce of her being all as one.
@Harveste

 

Now that she knew why Kaede looked so different, she was just relieved she was there. It was still Kaede- her heart could tell her that easily, even without the ability to use words to do so.

"I can understand that I suppose. I've been pretty nervous since then too. To be honest, I'm really bad with phones, but I kept telling myself to call you...But then the phone would stare me in the face like a predator, it felt like."

What she understood, mostly, was the anxiety- but she only understood the concept of it, not the reason. She knew that all too well. "I don't know why someone attacked you, but even more so...I don't know why you seem like you're breaking just trying to speak. I'm not that scary, you know. You don't have to be afraid of me."

It wasn't until after she said that she gained awareness of what really was scaring Kaede. It wasn't Harveste that scared her, or so it sounded. It was her, but indirectly. What Kaede was scared of was something many people, the faerin included, feared. It was change. Kaede was changing.

Taking a seat next to the girl with crimson hair, she made sure to sit as closely as possible without actually overlapping her- her leg touched the other's, but wasn't atop it. Just close enough to feel her warmth. Leaning against her so her shoulder was against the woman's arm, she felt her own violet locks trying to tie themselves around the other. Instead of speaking her thoughts, however, she sang.

"Once there was I
The world passing by
A flame far out of my reach.
Shivering scared,
I was not prepared
But still, me it did teach-

The world, it spins
With or without,
Whether quiet or shout.
It still moves about
And so, I sit right here
Near the flames that I feared
Shedding my tears, not alone.
And just the same, the flame is home."​

Her song over, sung whimsically and random, she took a peek through her bangs up at her personal audience. With luck, Kaede would understand as the one that taught her to sing from her heart: while she was afraid of people, just like that flame she hid from, she wasn't afraid of this one. Kaede wasn't something she feared, but rather treasured. However, that song was all that she could use to express it, her lips not once quivering open once it ended, only watching for a response with eyes glazed from the tears she'd sung of.

 

_____Kaedé wished she could show her emotions as well as Harveste seemed to be doing. All Kaedé could do was try to wrap her arm around the girl and unable to find any words to reply to the song or fully understand every bit of it. Resting her head slightly over the girl’s as Kaedé tried her best to speak more from the heart and much harder to bring herself to speak of the largest weight on her mind, giving the girl the full story of what happen to Athea. Without much else she figured the only way to get to the point was to start talking.

”I wanted to give you the full story… about the only other person I fully felt close to... “

_____Kaedé felt she would regret it even before she started talking about the past, her mind already drawing the memories back up to cause Kaedé pain as she moved away slowly, she seemed to need the space as she took a deep breath and looked to the girl with sadness in her eyes. She never told the story fully to anyone and as much as she wanted to her voice kept backing out as Kaedé opened her mouth but never seemed to speak up.

”Four, almost five years ago me and Athea had planned to go out on a real date for the first time, had everything planned and both of us looked forward to it… Sadly nature and fate was not so happy as it was storming the entire time and the plan was to be outside the entire time…”

_____Kaedé's eyes seemed amiss, reliving the past as she tried to tell the story. It was not something she thought would happen, mind adrift while in a game, but here she was lost in the memory and talking it out.

”Athea refused to change the plans, most of it she had to drag me around as I asked her to just this once change her plans because how close the lightning was to the park we had been at… But she refused and soon enough we tried to cross a street and lightning struck the ground near a car causing the driver to swerve…”

_____Kaedé's hand gripped at the air, recalling the moment her grip locking her to Athea was lost in that brief moment of time. The sound of tires screeching and rain pouring down.

”Neither of us got out exactly unharmed but Athea took the blunt of the crash and pushed me away… I can sometimes hear the sirens still in my ears but from that I don’t recall anything until the hospital and my parents telling me Athea was gone…”

_____Kaedé's face began to be covered with tears like that day, how she rushed to the other rooms of the hospital trying to find her friend with no luck. The only other thing she felt was anger and sadness at the time and to be honest her reaction like was not the best choice either.

”I ran from the hospital… Used my own private account and anything I could to get away from home… I could not go back to anywhere Athea had been… Since that day I have tried to live as Athea would have and never talked to my parents… Just sent flowers for them to leave at the grave I made while I got my passport and the minimal things I needed…”

_____Kaedé would look up to the sky overhead as she let more tears fall. All this time she kept that from everyone and found some new or different lie to tell to keep it hidden. She wanted to say it for so long but felt every chance would likely curse someone else she cared for to end up dead. Kaedé did not want to lose anyone, much less lose Harveste but she wanted the girl to know just who Kaedé was.

”All the perverted things I have done… I’m not even sure my feelings towards you can be called my own or the fake Athea I tried to become to make sure or feel like I was the one who died that day and not her..”
@Harveste

 

"To be totally honest, I kind of felt at least a bit of that the moment we met," The girl replied abruptly once the story was at it's end. She didn't move closer, not wanting to stress the woman beside her. Instead, she stayed fairly still, hands clasped in her lap, eyes falling against them as she tried to explain the reasoning of her words.

Where could she begin herself? To 'relate' wasn't the same as to 'understand'. "While I know as much as anyone, I can't read your mind. I'm no mind reader, and never will be. I've been to enough therapists and facilities to know you can't ever fully 'understand' how someone feels or has felt. But...I think we can always have a sense of similarity if there's a vague concept we share in common. I felt that with you pretty quickly. After all...We're both pretty self-loathing people."

She hopped out of her seat again, spinning and twirling as she pranced not too far from the bench, but enough to have a better view face to face with the girl at her side. "When I was little, my mom had a saying...And as much as I hated her, this saying never stopped being true to me. 'We're all born for a reason and for someone.' To be honest, the first time I'd heard it, I'd already found I failed the reason she gave birth to me. I blamed myself for her bad health, for her leaving. And she was just the first of many to betray my trust..."

Eyes turning towards the sky herself, she felt her hands move behind her back, her small body stretching forward as her neck began to hurt, causing her to stop the movement and laugh a timid laugh. Even if she was stronger in the game physically, even if she had more energy in the game, she was still herself.

"I told you from the beginning, didn't I? My ability to trust people is warped. But...That includes trusting myself, as well. You trusted me far more than I ever did, Kaede. I've never liked myself, because I failed from birth. I didn't actually fail...It's not like it was something I had control over...But to me, I failed. Being born didn't stop my mother's health problems like she'd hoped."

Smiling sadly, she felt off. Now she felt like crying. Why was it? "Being born didn't make anything special happen. But...Even as scared as I am of people...I'm not afraid of you. Whether it's the you you were yesterday or the you you are today. I can't tell you what parts were you and what parts were a lie. As much as I hate lies, I'm actually pretty dense to them. But...There are some things that just don't lie. There are some memories that aren't able to hide themselves. I can still feel your heartbeat near my ear, just by trying to focus in. I can feel the warmth of your touch in my mind, see that sad smile that slowly warmed itself as you ate something tasty." The memory actually left her giggling for a moment before she continued to ramble.

"Even the blade you drew when we met still keeps my mind abuzz sometimes. I mean, normally, I would've been terrified! But...It was at that moment I knew it was you for sure, you know. You showed me both strength and your weakness in one simple motion. I felt terrified, but I felt safe at the same time, because I knew right then it was you. Whoever 'you' are, you don't have to find it alone. You told me to sing from my heart, right? I want to be able, someday, to sing along with yours. It will be a special song for us two."

 

_____Kaedé did not know when but her tears got replaced by a very bad blush and her ears sunk down a bit after hearing Harveste talk about a song only the two sang. Sure she wanted to ask the girl if maybe they could go steady or restart considering Kaedé wanted to not just be known for her perverted past but hearing the girl say it only made wanting to ask all the more flustering to Kaedé. Moving her fingers nervously as she focused on her dear friend.

”I don’t know how else to say this… I want to try and restart… To not just rush you into a bedroom…”

_____Kaedé would nervously look around trying to not think or focus on anything too much. She was asking a lot in her book, to expect someone to just restart with her so she could try to form a real relationship with the girl. Sure she knew and even she herself would likely not forget the nights they spent together so far but she wanted to rebuild that on more of a foundation, to be able to fully call Harveste someone dear to her and feel she fully meant it.

”I also want to ask for your patience… It’s been some time since I tried to be myself… I don’t even know who I am without acting like Athea… So likely I’m going to be very random as I try to find what suits me the best…”

_____Kaedé would move her focus back to Harveste as she rose to her feet and reached a hand out for the girl. A small smile forming with her blush and lowered ears as she spoke.

”I’m Kaedé Hoshi… Pleasure to re-meet you…”
@Harveste

 

Smiling gently upon seeing the flush upon Kaede's face, Harveste moved to let a hand rest on her cheek as she drew closer, kissing the woman's forehead in an attempt to avoid her true instincts. Just as Kaede'd decided she wanted not to rush her into things of adult nature, the faerin felt strongly about wanting to keep this woman safe and dear in her heart.

"And I shall be doing my best not to rush you, either. Not just to keep from rushing you into my arms, but also into finding your way. My only request should be quite simple. May I ask it of you, though, my Kaede?"

Calling her 'my' was likely silly, but in reality, Harveste was already aware of her tendency to be a bit possessive of those she adored. Moving her hand from Kaede's cheek to her chest, she smiled gently as her other hand joined it, clasped like a prayer. "I have a song I'd like to sing for you. It's a song that's always had a special place in my heart, like you...This song, it says what I wish to say the most right now, I think...I hope it does, at least..."

With a soft breath that filled her belly, she began to sing in a gentle tone, a slow melody that felt far too familiar to her. It was a song from one of her earliest loves of anime, a song that had guided her many times in her life, that she used for many purposes.

It was a song of sadness, and of wanting to be closer at the same time. A song of the border, of the boundary. It was her way of showing she wanted to lower both their walls.

"Shine bright morning light
Now in the air the spring is coming
Sweet blowing wind
Singing down the hills and valleys
Keep your eyes on me
Now we're on the edge of hell
Dear my love, sweet morning light
Wait for me, you've gone much farther, too far"​

The song's end led her to smile a bit more warmly. She kept her praying position, finally feeling able to make her wish. "Don't go somewhere far away anymore, Kaede....I want you to stay close to me, even when on the edge of despair. I want you to remember, no matter what the case...I love you, Kaede. I want to walk alongside you on the path you've chosen...May I stay beside you?"

Taking the hand when Kaede opted to reintroduce herself, after giving her plea with a slight set of tears in her large, longing eyes, Harveste pulled the hand to her lips, as if using an old tradition instead of a proper handshake made this much more special to her. "It's my honor to re-meet you, Kaede Hoshi. To re-meet, and re-kindle the love that burns inside me. I, Harveste, am grateful for this privilege. I promise to work hard to truly earn it."

 

”You can stay by me… as long as you want to…”

_____Kaedé struggled to speak loud enough to be heard and the kiss on her hand only caused the girl to almost black out from how embarrassed she was by it. Sure she and Harveste had done thing FAR more intimate and thinking about them caused Kaedé to only get more nervous about it all. Moving her hands to cover her face as she sat back down and her ears fell as far down as they could as the girl mumbled to herself trying to calm down and stop getting so flustered.

”An… Anyways… How has your day been going…?“

_____Kaedé slapped her head in her own mind, she went and pulled THAT card. Of all things she could have asked it was one of the most simple things that was more for people that knew each other and she already asked to start over from the beginning. A random stranger asking you about your day was just weird and only made Kaedé feel more embarrassed losing all progress she had made to stop that emotion from showing so much. Moving to wave her hands to try and dismiss the question before Harveste could reply.

”Wrong question… How… err… What brings you to this area?”

_____Another slap to her head in her mind, Kaedé was terrible at this and every attempt she made was just blasting back in her face so far. Kaedé was the reason the girl had been out here and asking was pointless since she already knew the reason and once more waved her hands at the air trying to stop the girl from replying to her stupid and failed questions. Kaedé was still blushing but looked shy and almost entirely resembling a mess as her mind tried to tinker something together.

”So… Care to accompany me for a small walk… Mostly so we are doing something else while I try to think of what to say…”
@Harveste

 

Multiple questions came and went unanswered as Kaede struggled more with making the conversation move than the faerin ever did (and she did quite a bit!). The deep red of the woman's face, her consistent mumbling and awkwardly moving her arm to blow away her questions- it was all so adorably anxious.

Without a thought or a word for asking consent, she wrapped her arms around the flower of a woman, before taking a few steps away again to sing. This time, it was a short song. A song that lead to a spider lily growing in nearby soil, which she then plucked off the ground. Kaede'd asked to take a walk, so Harveste would turn this day of discovery into an in-game date. She held out the plant with a goofy grin.

"A flower for my flower. A walk will be lovely with you at my side." If and when the flower was taken from her, she would be swift to try to take Kaede by the hand. "Is it okay if I hold on while we walk? I get caught in crowds easily, you know...So it'd be trouble if we got separated, or at least for me....That is..."

It was strange, but even she was a bit embarrassed by her actions. The idea of holding hands seemed familiar, yet distant. To know Kaede's warmth once more with such a simple touch would be a pleasure- but it could also be a devastating blow if Kaede was made uneasy. Would she mind it? Insecurities abound, but she opted to ignore their noisy cries. "Where would you like to go?"

 

_____The hug was something Kaedé welcomed, even if she was nervous about it she returned the gesture and tried to stay composed about it. Her mind clicking gears of the past and giving her countless ideas she should be doing over a simple hug but fighting each off as best she could Kaedé refused to lose so soon after starting this challenge of hers. Harveste’s comment got Kaedé to nervously reach out to take the flower with both hands, watching with a slight shock as one was taken hold of by the fearin before the words slightly explained the reason. Giving herself a small break Kaedé would pull the girl closer and move one hand lower to the girl’s thigh as she leaned down to whisper.

”If you keep pushing my sweet spots I’ll be forced back into my perverted nature and will have to punish tease you for making this hard little spider lily…~”

_____The old Kaedé returning for a few moments as she allowed her hand to lightly trace the calf before moving it away and going to simply holding Harveste’s hand with a relaxed smile. The small break of being someone else seemed to be enough to help Kaedé out and relaxed the girl as a added bonus. Moving slowly Kaedé did not exactly have any ideas on where the two could go, the moment that reached her focus she started to get flustered a bit before taking a few breaths and trying to stay composed as possible.

”I say we just walk around town until we find something to do or focus on.No reason to plan and risk missing out on other things along the way.~”

_____With a smile on her face and a light hold of her friend’s hand she took the lead. If it was with Harveste by her side Kaedé felt just maybe she could find her own self again, or whatever person she wanted to be herself.

 

It was hard not to give a giggle from Kaede's words, let alone the slight squeak she let out when she found her calf being toyed with. To think, that hadn't even been one of the places she was usually sensitive. Just what could have been causing that strange tingle?

"All I did was hug you and request to hold your hand, you know~ There's nothing dirty about that." Her lips were curled upward, though she seemed to keep her gaze on her feet. "Though...By what you said...I suppose some of those thoughts in your mind have always been your own, then, haven't they?"

Not that it mattered all too much where the words had come from- to Harveste, what mattered was simply she was being allowed to stay beside the person she adored. Whether or not Kaede saw it herself, the faerin was beginning to see that some things Kaede saw as a facade had either always been part of her or just happened to be relentlessly tied to her now.

Though, there were other things she had thought to say. Things she wouldn't until it was the right time, which she was sure wasn't now. "To wander without a whisper of destination...This does fit the concept of the journey being what matters, then, don't you think? Though what matters to me more than the journey is who I'm journeying with." Happily taking the hand in her own, she merely smiled while wandering along the road at Kaede's side.

 

_____Thinking things over Kaede did not exactly know much about Harveste or what the girl liked, much less what she herself exactly liked anymore after all these years acting as Athea would have. She did know one thing as her gaze passed over some knights on horseback, to avoid them. Kaede’s face turning pale as one of the horses decided to move to get a better look at her face and she looked ready to scream, animals did not always like Kaede over the years and as such she developed a fear of them in return and no fears larger than that towards horses and the worst towards snakes.

_____Kaede’s grip on Harveste’s hand would begin to tighten as the girl tried to stand perfectly still, the knights not exactly taking notice to how terrified kaede was by the situation for a few moments before moving along and allowing kaede to rapiding exhale and tremble. Slowly moving after another few moments her pale complexion not fully leaving and her pace much slower, hand trembling from the encounter with the animals as Kaede tried her best to find something else to get her mind off things. Bad luck once more riddling Kaede as a cat hissed at the girl causing her to fall backwards and freaking out a bit.

”...Every time I swear… I can’t go one day without some animal or another hating me or getting to close for comfort… Not fun at all…”

_____After the cat ran off Kaede would try to get back on her own feet and dusted herself off before offering her hand to Harveste once more. Needless to say the girl was getting to know Kaede a lot better now that she was not focused on one set thing but as Kaede slowed down and looked into a small alchemy shop with clothing also inside she seemed to smile, slowly pulling Harveste into the store as the bell over the door would chime and a girl with a monocle would poke her head up and smile happily at the girls.

”Well I’ll be damned, seems some of your antics got you killed little mouse. Oh and you decided to bring your spider lily into my shop this time? Could it be your here for more of the seeds, I do have some new versions growing out back also.”

_____The girl would smile as she moved more into view holding a half made dress in her hands. Kaede would wave before leaning to whisper to Harveste. ”This is Diabloa the woman who made the seeds we used on the beach that night. If you couldn't already tell by her admitting it.~” Kaede would move to look around to see if anything new was added to the clothing section. Most the area did not seem to be for kids as the potions mostly had poison marks or some mature effects to them, and the clothing the store had was mostly real world items or custom suits with tags to who they belong to. The woman would move at some point to reach a hand out to Harveste with a pleased grin and slight motion of her monocle.
@Harveste

 

The tightening grip from Kaede's fear spoke volumes, and the girl was quick to try to help with a return of the pressure. Fully able to relate to having fears so strong, she tried her best to calm Kaede down by hugging her arm lightly. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment the cat had come out and ruined her plan, startling Kaede until she was flat on the ground.

Of course, what scared her heroine wasn't known until it was said. Somehow, Harveste was actually a bit surprised by the fear of animals, since it didn't seem to be all that specific. But, instead of noting this, she smiled instead, keeping her hand out to offer to help her up. It wasn't taken until she was already on her feet, however.

"Animals tend to like me...So I'll keep that in mind. But y'know, with my naturamancy, I can get some of the animals to stay away from you. It lets me get into their heads pretty literally. I only figured out how recently, though." Her interest was sincerely to help her, but even then, would her words show that hope to be of help? Would they come off as boastful, the opposite of her intention? She couldn't help but worry about these silly little things.

That said, a fear of animals wouldn't be easy to fight offline. "And here I've been trying to figure out what kind of pet I can get...Like you know, I can't really smell anything. That's a luxury I only get here. But...It's kind of dangerous to live alone when you can't tell if something's going bad or if there's a gas leak...What animals scare you less? I'll aim for one of them, if I get one. It'd stink if you couldn't come play at my place too sometimes, right?"

Letting go of the conversation as she followed Kaede's careful lead, she was rather surprised upon entering what she would later deem 'the apothecary'. A store full of various wares, clothes and unusual potions she couldn't quite recognize? What would this kind of shop really be considered.

Jolting when the woman called her the name she'd been given by Kaede, the faerin struggled not to frown. While it felt nice when Kaede called her it, Harveste wasn't intending to be called it by others. It was special that way. Though, on the other hand, that meant Kaede had spoken of her didn't it? That was enough to keep her from frowning, though her face did turn a bit scarlet instead.

"Er, uh, nice to meet you!" So much for being careful about her anxiety herself. While Kaede had explained who it was, it didn't seem to help her timidity much. If anything, knowing how this woman knew of her even a bit was particularly embarrassing. Though, just as bad were her manners, she realized. "M-My name is Harveste. It's nice to meet you, Ma'am..."

Shaking the stranger's hand, Harveste kept herself close to the one that led her there, peaking up at her tall partner. "Why are you called 'little mouse', Kaede?" It was a curious nickname, as curious as the seeds or why this store had earned the woman's interest. Whatever they were there for, though, she'd find out soon enough. Surely, she'd be told.

 

”I’ve managed to go this far with my bad luck bringing them around me, no reason to go out of your way to help me out with this one… Harveste… As for the nickname…” - ”I turned her into a mouse when she snuck into my shop to try and surprise me. Well i say that but rather there is a curse set on the shop that any who enter when I’m not here turn to mice.”

_____Kaede turned a pale red as Diabloa told the story behind the nickname before Kaede could. Moving her focus to a dress as kaede took it from the rack and looked over the black design with slightly happy expression. Moving her way into the changing room quickly Kaede wanted to test it out, and for a moment she seemed like a little kid, but that would leave Harveste with Diabloa as the odd girl sat on her counter and kept working on the dress she had started before the two arrived.

”I assure you harveste calling you that nickname was on a whim, wanted to see your reaction. If there is anything you like in the store you can have it, my treat for so rudely calling you the special name little mouse gave you. I also must ask, on a scale of one to ten how would you rate Kaede?”

_____Diabloa would smile happily as her hands seemed to move in a blur assembling the dress in the small time it took Kaede to change, and the time it would take for Harveste to likely reply. The dress she finished was a match to the one Kaede decided to take as the girl nervously walked out of the changing room with a heavy blush and hands pulling down the bottom of the dress that did not fully pass her knees.

_____Diabloa hopping off the counter and pulling her threads along behind her as she moved to kneel beside Kaede and started adding the needed length as Kaede spun slowly. On the back would be a small tag with Kaede’s name on it but out of a small nervous fluster Kaede would try to cover it so Harveste would not see it. As the spin finished the dress was slightly past Kaede’s knee and Diabloa looked with a smile on her face before setting the new dress down.

”You sure I can just have these things Diabloa?” - ”If you did not give me those sketches of all these outfits my shop would be under by now my dear, this is the least I can do to repay you and since Harveste and you are a item, well she gets the same treatment. Not to mention you used to love testing some of my alchemical creations despite some of the side effects.~”

_____Kaede would blush at the spoiled treatment before turning to Harveste and holding the dress up a bit. ”Does it suit me…?
@Harveste