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Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2019 17:34:59 GMT -6
The Dragon Court had surprisingly agreed to a meeting with not Johnson, but the two specialists and the now dethroned prince. After all what was a court without its political manuverings and manipulations? The vampires were second to none in the type of warfare they could forge against an enemy if they so desired, and while some similarities had been drawn between them and the Unseelie Courts, the vampires were willing to wait whereas the fae quickly became impatient.
The invitation had come written on fine parchment in the blackest of inks, carefully folded and sealed with scarlett wax. The invitation with its elegant writing and gold embossed seal with stylized dragon clearly spoke volumes of how this new court would be handling things.
"The Court of the Dragon hereby summons and requires the presences of Lt. Bóyuán Liánhuā Xiàoliǎn, Sgt. Marguerite Alice Bronson, and al-amir Khuenre of the Court of the Sun to the gala of All Hallows Eve..."
"Well... looks like we got what we wanted." Xiaolian said to the other two. This wasn't exactly what they had hoped for, but with an audience they had a 50/50 chance of not dying. The odds weren't bad, but they weren't good either.
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Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2019 18:01:01 GMT -6
"Ugh no. How did they even find out my legal name?" That was gross. Molly was not pleased. "This...looks super formal too. How are we supposed to dress for it?" How was she supposed to stay mobile enough to fight, if it was needed? Formal always meant gowns and Molly didn't even want to think of that. "Think our dress uniform would be good? Mine is....stashed somewhere." It was rarely used, so rarely saw the light of day.
On second thought, it was sized for her glamour. She'd need to get a new one.
Tyrus looked the invitation over. "Well, it looks like I'm still a prince at least. I thought they'd strip me of that given the murder attempt." He was rather surprised that they hadn't. Still, it looked like this was going to be a formal event. "I'll be sure to wear a suit." And some of his regalia. He was apparently still a prince after all, and it wouldn't do for him to be under dressed. Avoiding the accessories would be under dressed.
The fact that every piece of jewelry was also a weapon would also be useful.
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Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2019 18:57:45 GMT -6
Xiaolian shrugged, "I'm sure some of this is a matter of public record.. or they bribed someone." She herself was surprised that they had even managed to figure out her whole name. Tyrus's was really a matter of record within the courts, though hers and Molly's weren't exactly public knowledge. It worried her that they had full names, which was close as close to true names as one could get these days.
"Dress uniform? Seriously? Just wear a nice suit." Xiaolian added scrunching her face up. Even she wasn't sure that she had the appropriate clothing herself, most of her time was spent at work and outside that continued training to keep her skills sharp. A day off meant another day where someone else had the time to get the upper hand. "The last time we had to wear those awful things was academy graduation... I'd rather not relive that."
"But yeah, looks like they're of the stupid logic where if you didn't die you're worth keeping."
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Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2019 19:02:31 GMT -6
"Mine's too big for me anyway." Molly admitted cheerfully. A suit was a much better option as far as she was concerned. It would still be too constricting to be able to properly move in, but it would be better than her dress uniform. Plus she didn't need to dig it out of somewhere. She smiled and say back. "I hate dressing up. Hopefully a suit will be enough." She didn't want to imagine anything more than that.
Tyrus offered them both an unimpressed smile. "Oh no. The two of you are not going to a gala in off rack suits. You are supposed to dress formally and you both know that a suit does not count." And he wasn't about to deal with them in suits of all things. He had seen them in suits. It would not pass muster at all. "I really don't want to risk offending them by dressing down." And it could cause ridiculous offense. Vampires were picky about clothes.
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Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2019 19:09:45 GMT -6
"Then what exactly do you propose Tyrus? Not like either us are trust fund babies here." Xiaolian commented tersely. Her parents had been immigrants, and not exactly well off. Part of her own salary went to them as she continued to try to play the ever dutiful daughter, despite their opinions about her career choice. In recent months they hadn't made it easy and some of her letters had been returned unopened, marked return to sender or no such name at this address. But like most things about home, she just buried it in the back of her mind and went on with life as if it hadn't happened. Compartmentalizing could be a dangerous technique to abuse, and Xiaolian had done so in spades.
"I don't know about Bronson here, but most of my salary goes to my bills. So if you've got a cheap suggestion, let's hear it."
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Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2019 19:19:49 GMT -6
"A dress. Simple, a-line, the skirt will be loose enough for running and you can wear biker shorts underneath if there's a need for kicking. I'll buy it." And probably just note it down as a needed expense for work. "There's not enough time to actually get them custom made, so I suppose we can try a clothing store and then getting that tailored to fit." He had no doubt that the hems at least, would need to be brought up. Molly and Xiaolian were not exactly tall people. "I have a seamstress who can make quick adjustments as needed." And if he paid a little extra they'd get moved to the front of the line for those quick fittings.
Molly wrinkled her nose. "Okay but picture this. Me in a suit. With a tie. Because I don't know if you've noticed, but I am not the size of a human adult. I am the size of a human middle schooler. They do not make dressed for adults that you can run in and that fit me." She refused to look like a child. Getting her in a dress would be a fight in and of itself. He had to be joking with the idea of either of them in a dress. The suits would do just fine.
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Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2019 19:30:07 GMT -6
"A dress..." Xiaolian sighed, trying to remember the last time she wore one. As soon as she had joined with MCU it had been servicable outfits that would be no big loss if ruined. They had made that explicitly clear in training, that this was not a glamorous job and that you got dirty sometimes. But to be asked to wear a dress was almost unheard of, and usually reserved for occasions that were few and far between. Even then those occasions didn't exactly warrant dresses like what Tyrus was asking for, instead they were things that were culturally important to the occasion; something that Xiaolian was reluctant to even speak about. Home wasn't a thing that needed to be mentioned ever, that much she knew.
"That's because you are a middle schooler who thinks she's an adult." She muttered under her breath in response to Molly's remark. "Fine, I'll wear the gods be damned dress."
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Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2019 19:39:50 GMT -6
"I heard that. And I'll have you know that I am of age." Barely. It was a matter of contention. She was only technically of age by human standards. Fae definitely still considered her a child. "These better be dresses we can move in Tyrus." Molly was firm on that. Dresses. She didn't even wear dresses when she was back home. She just wore Pwyll's old clothes and dared them to try and get her in a dress.
Tyrus beamed at them both. "Excellent. I'll drive. I know just the place that will suit both of you." And wouldn't make them look like children, though he was not exactly going to let Molly dressed like she was a full adult. She could stick to the teenage section as far as he was concerned. Flattering, yes, but nothing overly so. It would be an interesting balance to strike for both of them.
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Post by Circe on Oct 23, 2019 15:08:56 GMT -6
"You? Drive? This better not be like Bronson over here driving." Xiaolian was loathe to relinquish the role of driver to anyone. But it also hadn't ever occured to her that Tyrus might even possess a vehicle, since a large number of individuals used the mirror system.
"And that's suspect Molly, very suspect."
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 15:44:00 GMT -6
"Unlike her, I actually have license." He pointed out and ignored Molly shout of 'hey!' "But it you want to drive, you can have the address. Since we're getting them tailored as needed, a lower-end place is fine." His definition of lower end was their definition of upper end. He was firmly ignoring this fact. Tyrus looked them over and smiled. "They have a decent petite section. Since you'll both need it." And both of them were on the petite side of petite.
Molly huffed and crossed her arms. "By human standards, I am an adult." She pointed out. "I'm basically, what. Twenty? Close to that." It was closer to 18 than it was to 20. She was the equivalent of a nineteen year old and a month or two. She was choosing to round up. "Legal adult, regardless." Even if not quite old enough to drink in the human realm which was frankly ridiculous.
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Post by Circe on Oct 23, 2019 16:24:38 GMT -6
Xiaolian snickered at Molly's reaction to Tyrus's barb. "It's true you know."
As far as she was concerned, Molly was a kid playing at being a cop. Granted she had gotten a bit better over the last few months, but there were still periods that left Xiaolian wondering how she'd even gotten through the academy.
"Okay lower end, that's a department store or something like that." She replied to Tyrus before grabbing her keys.
The things they got mixed up with sometimes made little sense to her, and made her wish she was still in Hong Kong working on cases there.
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 17:04:51 GMT -6
"It's a small boutique." He didn't think he had set foot in a department store since he had initially ran off from his parents. Madeline had taken him shopping there for 'normal people clothes' and he had never wanted to repeat the experience. "It's mundane, but they have an excellent selection of women's formal wear." He had gone shopping for women's formal wear before. He knew what a good selection looked like. With a smile, he stood.
"It's in downtown. I took Madeline last time I was able to pull her from her pack."
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Post by Circe on Oct 23, 2019 18:30:43 GMT -6
"Who?" Xiaolian asked confused as to who this person was. She hadn't yet figured out all the intricacies of the politics related to Dallas. Most days she kept her head down and her mouth shut; something she wished Molly would do.
"And you would know women's formal wear how? Is there something else you need to tell us?"
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Post by demikara on Oct 23, 2019 18:33:13 GMT -6
"She's not from Dallas. You wouldn't know her." He waved it off entirely. Madeline and he took turns vacationing at the others place. It mostly worked out for them. "And I was a part of court. Mother took me shopping with them from time to time." When Mother wanted to shop among humans, that was, usually in winter time when the sun set early. He smiled at them both. "Besides, there's a lot of options. They must have good things there."
Or so he assumed. He wasn't actually sure at all.
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Post by Circe on Oct 24, 2019 17:18:20 GMT -6
"Well some of us didn't grow up with silver spoons in our mouths." Xiaolian grumbled. Her parents had already lost any amount of wealth they might have ever possessed by the time they had reached the US. Some of her earliest memories were of the five of them, parents, sister, and brother in the small apartment so many years ago.
It was hard not to resent people like Tyrus, if only because the grass always seemed greener on the other side.
Thirty minutes and several stops later, the trio arrived at the boutique that they had been given directions to.
"Terry fucking Costa? Tyrus are you insane?" Xiaolian asked eyeing the mage suspiciously. She had a feeling that this was fixing to cost her a significant portion or all of any bonus she got in the next year.
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