7855/Dress Emergency

Dress Emergency
Date of Scene:	16 September 2021
Location:	Clarice Ferguson's Quarters
Synopsis:	Clarice and Rahne go shopping! Clarice is kicked out, and dresses are acquired.
Cast of Characters:	Clarice Ferguson, Rahne Sinclair

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Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    With Lydia home - Clarice has actually been quite busy. Mystique and Lydia were enjoying one another's company after their time apart - that left Clarice with the Brotherhood to run, which mean struggling with her limited reading skills as she goes over reports, and manages the day-to-day conflicts that come up when you've got a bunch of mutants with short tempers under your command.
    With the time of the party approaching, however, she forwards incoming messages to her phone, and makes her way into bedroom, snuggling in against Rahne. "We should get ready for the party," she murmurs. "Do you need help with your dress?"

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne squirms around, kissing Clarice on the lips. She takes her time with it, then murmurs, "What party?" with that smile on her face that just cries out I'm so kidding. She didn't forget, but she wants to tease a little. She had this awesome massage later and wants to make it up to Clarice in the best way she knows how.

Then she kisses again, on the girl's jaw, and murmurs, "Ah'm jus' gonnae skip. Dinnae have a dress." Then she lays her head on Clarice's shoulder, making little noises like a happy puppy.

That did not sound like she was kidding, that time.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "You don't have a dress?" Clarice says in surprise.
    This shouldn't really be a surprise. Clarice didn't have a dress until Lydia and Mystique forced her to go dress shopping - not that long ago.
    "No, no, no - you have to go. Rahne..." She lets out a sigh, though she's happy enough to have her gathered up into her arms. Damnit. Why didn't she think of this? "...We'll... well. We'll just have to go get you one. Yeah? Hop down to a dress shop. But you have to come - we're going to have so much fun! Dinner, and dancing, and a show. I've never been to a show before, I want you to come, too."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Of course, Rahne argues. "Ah dinnae want t' look like a frump," she says into Clarice's shoulder. "Ye cannae dress me up an' make et look good, when ye be takin' from th' little miss racks, Clary."

She pushes off, then stands up and poses. "Ah've tried," she says, with her arms up and her head held instead of hair. "Oh, mister president. Ah come up to yer knees, make me pretty." Then she spreads her arms and falls backwards, still hitting the bed. Pouf.

She clearly wants to be convinced, though.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "We'll find something," Clarice insists. "You'll look gorgeous. I just wish we had more time to look..." Why didn't Rahne //tell// her?! "Besides. Don't you want to dance with //me// in //my// pretty dress?" she asks in a wheddling tone.
    "Besides. Raven already went to the trouble of making you an ID for the club - so you can drink with us. So really, you don't have any choice." That's how that works, right? Leaning forward, she looks down at the Rahne poufed out in front of her.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne falls off the bed.

She reappears, head and arms, and looks at Clarice. "Ye want tae dance, wi' me?" She answered a question with a question! That's how words are worded, right? "Well, yeah," she adds, without waiting for an answer. "I mean, yeah!"

Honestly it sounds like she needs to work herself up for the idea of dancing. Wait, can Rahne dance?

She bites her lip, then she stands up and extends her hand to Clarice. "Guess we be shoppin'. Or, y'know, mum might hae somethin'."

Moira MacTaggert? Have a dress for her lovely daughter, all set up and ready to be worn when she finally decides to grow up? Do mothers do that kind of thing?

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I want to dance all night with you," Clarice answers, climbing off the bed and taking the extended hand, pulling Rahne in towards her. "And you can call her and ask - but we could go down to the shop where Lydia and Raven took me. I mean - you're not bright magenta. It shouldn't be too hard to find things that make you looks amazing - even //more// amazing - yeah?" she offers with a grin.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
"Well, ye'd look good nake...d." Rahne actually says that, meaning it as a compliment, but not really thinking it through. She winces, then squeezes Clarice's hand. "Y'know let's just go before ah say anythin' else." She pauses, then says something else. "Should tell someone we be goin' maybe."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Probably - yeah." Clarice pulls out her phone - and after letting it ring twice, she says into it without preamble, "Rahne doesn't have a dress!" There's a momentary pause for a response, before she adds, "Yeah, I'm taking her now. But I think the boys need help with their ties, and I don't know how to do them anyways, can you check in on them?" Another pause. "Okay thanks."
    Back to Rahne she adds, "And of course I look good naked," before she strides to the door of her room to open it. "Rahne and I have to dash out for a bit! Raven's going to help with your ties!"
    She only knows about the tie trouble because she caught Theo repeatedly watching a video - and struggling to figure it out.
    Turning back to Rahne, she holds out her hand - and once the woman takes it, they both blink out, reappearing in the alley near a red brick building, where the little dress shop Lydia had taken her to is located. She draws Rahne by her hand towards it, a smile on her features. "We'll find something perfect - I promise!"
    They better. It's not like they have the time for alterations if they don't...

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
"We're nae going to find..ah mean, sizing!" Rahne isn't certain that this excursion is going to work out, but given that they're on their way she's not going to make a break for it or anything. And the idea of dancing in a nice dress is something she's dreamed of.

"Ah mean, we can TRY," she admits, as the door to the shop opens before her and Clarice, and the world of dresses surrounds them. Long, swoopy lace. Trains. Short dresses that look like they were meant to be torn off of someone, and probably were.

She looks so out of place, as she reaches out for a green brocade.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "We'll find something," Clarice insists. "I mean, you're not //that// much shorter than me, Rahne. They'll have something." She also glances around - still feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sight of all the dresses herself. This was only her second time in a dress shop but- well. They'd figure this out.
    "Should be plenty of colors that'll look nice on you, though," she murmurs - picking up a blue dress with a ruffled neckline and eyeing it curiously, before giving Rahne a questioning look.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne hopes she's right. She doesn't know how to start, but luckily that's when a lady with a nametag spots them.

"'allo! Comment vas tu ce matin? Avez-vous tous les deux besoin de quelque chose?"

Which goes over like a lead balloon for Rahne. "English?"

"Oh! Of course. Welcome, please, how can we help you this morning?"

Rahne pauses to rub her eyes, not really certain how to respond.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Rahne needs a dress. For tonight," Clarice says immediately, with a hint of urgency. "I didn't know she didn't have a dress!" she adds, with an unstated undercurrent of 'this is not my fault!' "We're going to have dinner, and see a play, and go dancing - so, we're all dressing pretty... fancy. You know?" She's still holding the dress she'd plucked off one of the racks as a possibility, as her gaze starts to scan the room looking for more options. It's a glut of choices - thought her gaze seems to keep moving back towards a little grouping of mannequins...

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
And that's when Rahne gets kidnapped. Not in the bad way, but in the way that a group of seamstresses who're bored and happy to do their job are when presented with a challenge, and they put Rahne in front of a mirror and start holding fabrics against her skin.

"Green," says one. "Not Magenta," another. The dress that Clarice is holding is claimed, then Rahne is put into it without much in the way of warning. She doesn't quite fit, but another option is presented, and awhirl, Rahne is clearly lost.

"Royal blue," says one, which makes the other frown. "Try it." Hm. They seem uncertain. "Do you like blue, Rahne?"

Rahne is firmly convinced now that she will probably be fine in jeans, honestly.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Not magenta," Clarice aggrees firmly. The last thing she wants to see Rahne wearing is magenta. "And, umm, I think the star of the party is going to be wearing green. A deep, foresty, emerald green." So maybe it's better to avoid that color?
    She bites her lip for a moment, then pointing a finger towards the trio of mannequins she was eyeing earlier says, "What about that one? The one with all the blues."
    Something in her eyes says 'please, please, pretty please?' She's just not sure what //Rahne// will make of it.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
"It won't fit on her hips,"
"We could pin it.."

"STOP."

That was Rahne. She's had combat training, she knows how to project. She just normally chooses not to do so. She steps from in front of the mirror, then puts her hand into Clarice's. She smiles, and nods.

Then.

"Tha' one. An' tha' one, an...tha' one." She points to three very specific dresses. One, that Clarice just chose. One, a shoulderless strapless blue that fades to a pale moonlight colour as it reaches the floor, and the last, a tiny black slip that she clearly chose for reasons.

"can ye do et? Clary, come back an' get me when et be time."

She squeezes Clarice's hand, then turns her and firmly pushes her toward the door. "They'll do et. Or ah'll call mum."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I- yeah, sure," Clarice promises. "I'll go check on how the boys are getting on. And, well, maybe get mine on. Yeah?" She squeezes Rahne's hands back before leaning in to give the shorter woman a brief kiss, aware of the eyes of the shop assistants on them.
    "Give me a call when you're ready, okay?" she adds - before taking a step back. She gives the employees a brief, polite nod before she disappears with a quiet 'bliiiink' in a flash of her usual purple energy, reappearing back in her room.

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Which is when the first text arrives.

Rahne, in a bra and panties, neither of which she owned five minutes ago. She got Clarice out so she could do some other shopping, it seems. And what she's wearing is not her usual. For starters, they actually match. And aren't athletic wear.

Then another text, with her trying on the blue one that Clarice chose. It so does not fit, but the design of the dress insists that no such underthings are present. The seamstresses are in the background, it must be a mirror shot.

Then she goes quiet.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice hadn't expected the texts. She shimmies into her own dress - white with black lace, and black embroidered decorations. It's short in the front - longer in the back, and swirls around her as she moves. She stops studying herself in the mirror so she can take the texts - no one there to see the way she both blushes and grins.
    She adds some jewelry - a necklace of silver and diamonds and emeralds, with matching earrings, and a bracelet - though the catseye bracelet still stays in place on her other wrist. Her hair she eyes with some puzzlement. She'll just... leave it down. Right?

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne is quiet for a while. No more sexy texts for Theo to hack out of the asteroid database, no unflattering pictures either. No updates at all actually, until a 'okay, now' message out of nowhere roughly when Clarice is starting to panic. Because it's Clarice, and panic is like her default.

Rahne, on the other end, looks at the women. She holds her bags, and grins. "Good job, ladies." Then she turns, and waits.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice reappears in a corner of the show - now that she's reminded herself of the dimensions of the shop and the placement of everything in it. She smiles a bit awkwardly as she shows off her own dress - turning a full circle for Rahne to admire - before she'll make her way towards the red-head. "All set? I could cover the bill if you want... I mean, Lydia bought my dresses for me, so..."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne is there, wearing a shawl that covers her body. She's holding bags, and the shawl is gorgeous, silk, and shows a lot of leg under its seafoam coloration. She's wearing shoes, flats made to look like heels, but she's not forgotten what the voice in her head slipped in.

Not that the nice ladies helping wouldn't have reminded her.

She has three bags, one on the left and two on the right, and a blush on her cheeks that's tearing her up. From behind, the girls say, "Honey, if you ever want a career in modelling...we have connections."

But Rahne only has eyes for Clarice. Which dress is she wearing? It's hard to say. The shawl is covering her still.

"Hey.."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Hey," Clarice greets Rahne as she moves closer - holding out a hand to take some of the bags. Since everything is already packed up - she must have already paid? "Thank you so much for your help," she says to the girls warmly, before returning her gaze to Rahne.
    "Happy?" she asks quietly. "You found things you like, right?" Because honestly - that was the most important thing, even if Clarice did have her own ideas of what //she// likes.
    "Should we head back up?"

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne nods, kissing Clarice quickly, then says "Ah still need tae get dressed though." She looks Clarice right in the eyes, then says, "Well, ah couldnae choose!" She looks happy. Embarrased. Thrilled. Broken. Embarrased. Wait, what?

"Ah didn't actually.." she says, then trails off, as she leans in at the door, and shows Clarice what's in her bags. One bag, her old clothes and the black dress. One, with the long blue. One, with the dress that Clarice chose. They're all in the bags, and the ladies behind are politely not paying attention.

"So, how much time do we hae before th' party?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice takes this all in, her mind sorting through all this. Is Rahne honestly- well. "Let's go back up," she remarks. "We hae a little bit more time, I think." But she still needs to make sure the boys are ready and- well. It'll all work out. "Com'on."
    Reaching out, she takes Rahne by the arm, and after another nod to the women, the pair blinks away, to reappear in Clarice's room.
    "Are you just in your underthings - under the shawl?" she finally asks in bafflement once they're safely in her room. "Rahne, you'll look beautiful no matter which dress you choose, I'm sure of it."

Rahne Sinclair has posed:
Rahne sighs, then she rolls her eyes. "Clary, ye've no idea how ta run a railroad," she says. Then she leans over and kisses Clarice on the cheek, and proceeds to slip into the short dress that Clarice chose.

"That was supposed tae be sexy an' junk," she says, wiggling her way into it. She was in next to nothing, expecting things to go differently, but she takes it with a laugh. But she pulls the dress down, adjusts, then poses. Tight, and she slips the bra strap down to hide it.

"Let's go dancin'."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I- oh," Clarice says - blushing with embarrassment. "I mean. I- ...oh." Yes, she can be a bit clueless sometimes.
    She studies Rahne for a moment, though, before murmuring, "You're gorgeous, you know," and indulging them both in a deep, heartfelt kiss.
    "Let's see if the boys are ready," she remarks, taking Rahne by the arm and heading out into the living room.