A
Arbitrated
188604
H-O-L-S-T-E-R-S---A-N-D---M-O-R-E
Bright neon lights illuminated the large lettering on the side of the freshly assembled warehouse. Holsters and More had just setup on 188604 after Uso had bought the company and had it moved...
The large warehouse itself was setup right at the edge of town, in areas that were usually sandblasted clean by the storms on the planet. While the locals wouldn't build structures in this area... USO didn't seem to have such a problem, as factories, starports, and more importantly the force field generators helping to tame the planet's storms had started sprawling out away from the center of the city.
Of course, this didn't seem to stop the locals from shopping there. Uso had mandated some very steep discounts, and the varous Arcmarcs starting to fill the market were letting the locals purchase some of those fancy space outfits.
Alex's U-1 was carrying the cargo module, making it a small shuttle in essence. He set the craft down near the enterance, sending up a plume of sand as he did.
"Alright, we're here!" he called back as he hopped out.
Uso frowned as she watched the external display, waiting for the muddy sand-cloud around the U-1 to dissipate before opening the rear hatch, zipping up her bodysuit completely and pulling her shemagh up over head head as she disembarked from the back of the U-1, "Fuck... The U-1 engines are like... right next to the doors of this pod...." Uso said, the engines still winding down as she stepped foot onto the dirt outside...
"You ever gone clothes shopping Birdie?"
"Hm, uhhhmm... No, not anyplace like this..." Mentally logging the new nickname down in her head, the blue-winged Elysian female slid out of the module and squatted once to regain some blood flow in her legs. Sure Alex is a good pilot and all but the winds did take a bit of a toll... Not like she had much to her name in clothing anyways. The stretched fabric of her shirt certainly didn't look to be in decent enough condition to prevent any accidental... Revelations. Her shorts were faring no better, halfway covering her thighs like some arrogant teen girl with a liberal attitude.
Corgan followed the girls out,. He wore his usual duster, red shirt, and urban camo pants. His face was clean shaven today. "That thing is cramped for people with ID-SOL DNA." He said while he stretched.
Alex mentally shut down the engines on the fighter, and walked back to the rest of the group. He was wearing a simple tee shirt and pants ensemble. His sense of fashion was, to say the least, unsophisticated.
"Is there anything I can help out with?"
"Come and grace us with your fashion sense," Uso said, heading towards the large twin doors of Holsters and more.
===
The inside of Holsters and more seemed surprisingly empty. Despite the locals constantly coming in and out of the store, there seemed to be more than enough employees between the actual handful of tailors on hand, and the floating AI assistants that helped guide the locals through the massive warehouse, the size alone letting the numerous locals get so far apart from one another they felt completely alone among a forest of clothing options they had never before seen.
Corgan looked around for the others, towering over the racks of clothes. He spotted the blue tip of a wing and headed that way, not wanting to be alone in the clothing store. After crossing a few aisles he found the group.
Alex just stuck with Araxie and Uso, unsure of the layout of the warehouse.
Uso seemed content with leading the nerds around. Arx just did her best to stay near as she stared between what seemed an endless option of clothing...
"There's got to be something you're drawn to?" Uso asked, taking the Shemagh down off her face and leaving the cloth hanging off her neck. "Maybe open-backed dresses? I mean... wings and all.... or do you uh?... Shirts? Those robe things?"
"Well, assuming some of these things can be modified to accomodate for, well, me, as long as it's light and comfortable it would work. Not a big fan of dresses though, although I guess I need one or two.
"Yeah, something formal, the classic little black, the 'I'm trying to look professional but I'm not going to wear a suit'... " Uso took a look at her for a moment, her eyes fixated on her face for a few seconds... then traveling to her wings. ".... and tactical. Shit, how did you birds ever fight wars with those huge wings? ... Luckily they have tailors here so... whatever you find I'm sure we can make work... "
Uso would walk around behind Arx, looking at where her wings met her back,
"Do your people have like... wing-sleeves? Wing-socks? ... I mean, you've got those stupid shower-cap things but I mean for like... sand and such?"
"Well, one, we can use our wings to fly. Yeah yeah big surprise, but people still seem to have issues with it. And.... I don't know what you mean by the second question." Aside from the visual obstruction of her shirt, the wings are actually rather securey in place onto Serai's back; large protrusions starting about 7 inches apart formed the base which then spread out at the 'top' of the wing, likely the larger bones keeping the whole thing together. "Also, the wings vary from Elysian to Elysian if you've ever bothered to look..." Comparable to a hummingbird in shape, Araxie's extra limbs did seem to convey a... Less commonly encountered style than others.
"Do you just cut slits in the back of regular shirts? Or do you need something to cover a bit of your wings? There has to be some kind of Elysian-specific clothing that we wouldn't be able to get off the rack here." Uso said, her vision trailing along Araxie's wings for a moment before going back to what was around them, "Ok, lets start with something practical and comfortable. You need clothing that will let you move around out here. Something breathable with enough of a thread count that you won't be drowning in sand when the wind picks up. Are you cold here often? Its kinda cool for normal people... but normies aren't as light weight with high surface area as you are. I figure you've got to be cold... which means something heavier?"
"Eh. I've always liked the cooler temperatures, although I won't argue against nighttime in the desert. Generally that's when I'm going to be working so...." Her voice trailed off for a few moments, before continuing, "Typical Elyisian clothing has an opening in the back, yes. Occasionally we decorate our wings but that's pretty rare even for formalities. These feathers are for more than looks and flight, y'know!" Chuckling a little, the sweet-haired nerd didn't seem to have anything in particular catch her eye at the location they had chosen. "Additionally, I really don't like things tight. It's.... Weird, I guess is the best description."
"You should get over that." Uso said flatly, "No excess fabric, strong range of motion, little waste. There is a time and a place for those....." Uso waved her hands around out to her sides, trying to think of the right word, ".... piles... of fabric that you Elysians love to drape yourselves in. However you need something you can wear on the job site as it were... Some kinda boot for one. Some tough pants, a basic shirt... shit we can get it all in the same color if you like. How do you feel about tank-tops? Or do you like to hide those bird arms of yours?"
Arx looked at her arms for a breath, already rather visible in her current duds. "Eh. I mean... If it works, I guess it works. What do you think, Alex? You seem to be more attuned to this than I am..."
Alex froze in his tracks, completely unsure of what he was supposed to do.
"I... uhhh.... it... err..."
Corgan smirked. "The more skin showing the better in Nepleslia."
"Last I checked this organizations was independant...?" Relinquishing a confused, four-limbed shrug the dorky angel turned back the the person who actually seemed to know how fashion worked...
"So be independant of your clothing!" Uso added in.
"Yeah, yeah... Guess I should be. Certainly would be better than these!" Gesturing to her shirt resulted in a hard-to-ignore tearing sound, a rift in Arx's back becoming just about obvious but the shirt itself seemed... Still functional, for the time being at least. "...Okay change of plans I might need something sooner rather than later."
"TAILOR!" Uso shouted out, one of the small, hovering robots zipping over to their location, small mechanical arms dangling down as a glowing happy-face was projected infront of the bot,
"What can I..."
"Shirts, like, a dozen. For her. Similar pants, boots, and socks, loose fitting, Darkish blue, maybe one shade darker than her wings. Get those ready for her and we'll be in the formal section." Uso said, the robot zipping around Arx fairly quickly to get her measurements, and then flying off to another side of the store.
"That'll take a few momnets. We need something formal now. But not like, 'trying to impress' formal, Just... like... diplomatic formal...." Uso would stand up on her tip-toes and start looking around, "THIS WAY!"
She would end up taking the group over to a formal section of the warehouse... the simple shirts, long coats, and boots slowly giving way to suits, black dresses... and finally.
"Something like this? Loose, Blue, maybe change the trim color to silver?" Uso said, showing them a pile of backless dresses made in varying colors with busy, elaborate, patterns woven in.
"Hmmm.... Yeah, it's rather nice! Comfortable material, too..." Gently lifting the article and draping it across one arm, Araxie seemed content with something for once after entering the store!
"I... this stuff isn't really my thing... " Uso said, tapping her arm as she tried to point out the very straight forward color scheme of her deep blue bodysuit. "... but I think the busy pattern works for you. It matches the wings... which are already busy as it is... you know visually... I suppose jewlery would also work for you? Floppy... get caught on stuff... metal whatevers."
"Not really... too much shifting around to be comfortable. I guess I could make some snackrifices for an occasion, though. What with, formality... It's pretty unlikely I'd be flying in a dress, anyways. But...." Holding the dress to her side, "Yeah I can see it working incredibly well, at least with my wings. Perhaps add some gold trim? My hair only partially meshes with this dress as-is."
"They can make whatever alternations you need in the back... and how do you people even fly anyways? Flapping seems exhausting... and all that drag from those robes... always with the robes..." Uso critisized, "... maybe get something tactical? Do your people have body armor?..... I've never seen one of you wear it but thats probably because you all have been using Seraphs to do your dirty work for decades."
"I was a child during the wars. And regarding our flying capabilities... It varies. You've noticed we have different wing colors, and I don't know if you've yet noticed but we aren't cookie-cutter in shape, either. Some of us can't flap constantly, others are better off working even for just a glide. I'd give a demonstration but the situation here is... Let's say not very optimal." A moment passed, yet again. Following, "Besides, the robes are a Partician thing. they're the ones who actually have the position to wear outfits of such extravagance. You've never seen a Plebian slum, have you?" Arx cleared her throat, intending to change the subject.
Uso touched her chin for a moment, going deep in thought...
"Don't think I have. Normally elysians get exploded from orbit. I mean, I've seen Nepleslian slums and I assume they are the same thing more or less... just maybe with more area for flying around?
Do you guys even have slums anymore? I thought all your homeworlds got blown up?
... not like it matters. Wings, Flight... whatever, just need you to look good and not get killed if something goes down. I suppose I've relaxed the 'always wear power armor when you are outside' policy but it isn't perfectly safe around here either... can you fly ships? Or is your flight just a body thing?"
"Plebians never could fly. And until we finally started mass-producing psiomi, we were starving to death. ahem Yeah I can pilot. I can plot a route through space if need be, even accounting for hazards and n'ere-do-wells should that be needed. I've already had to fly a few loads around myself when some idiots skip their shifts, before they get fired. And-" She took a breath here, continuing, "-Power armor is uncomfortable. It messes up my hair and plumage and screws with my mobility too much, especially since I rarely do see combat on an... Infantry scale." The young Serai thought fora few more moments... "Look, if you're planning on sending me directly into a war zone to fight battles for you I sure as hell won't be doing it in the dirt with some flimsy power armor."
Alex piped in, his voice indicating curiosity. "What is Elysia like?"
For his question, Alex got one directed towards him, "Do you want details on where visitors normally go, or would you rather the place i lived?"
"I'd like to know about where you lived. I've never been in any city aside from osman."
"Let's say it isn't the prettiest place to live, for one. Whole bunch of us crammed together in minimalist, run-down buildings... Assuming you had a house to live in. I guess I can count myself lucky for that one..." Her voice drifted off, as her head drooped downwards. Apparently she didn't seem to like talking much about her past... Or at least, her homeworld. She took a deep breath, and continued, "Aside from the plebians and some of the lower-end Caelisolan housings, the place is actually rather beautiful."
One of the floating tailor-bots would hover over, the small floating ball's arms holding a shopping bag full of the basic clothing Uso had requested earlier, "While you're here, we need like... four of these dresses... Did we decided on Gold and Blue?" Uso asked.
"With a bit of silver. Or, mostly silver actually. It works with the blue more than gold does... Wait, FOUR?" Serai stepped back in mild shock, "Why so many dresses?"
"Well, we don't exactly own a lot of washing machines here. Buy in bulk and prepare to lose a lot of what you get to wear and tear." Uso nodded sagely, "Don't worry about the cost, I'll cover it for now.... SILVER AND BLUE! NOT GOLD AND BLUE!" Uso's attention quickly shifting back to the robot and giving it a yell,
"Swimsuit and flight-suit then? We've got a few indoor pools and I'd really like to get this place resort-like at some point."
"Hm. I'm guessing that has something to do with the lack of water and electrical services amongst a lot of the planet. And... Swimming? I have to say, I've never actually learned. Barely touched water aside from the rain when it falls... or, drinking it obviously." The young one shook herself nervously, calming a few nerves that served no purpose.
"How do you live this long without learning to swim? Everyone needs to learn to swim its one of those basic survival things... We really need to have a remedial class in not-dieing for you nuggets." Her thought barely finished, Uso turned towards the swimsuit section of the warehouse, "Luckily, we already know your color, we just need to work on fit and... well... whatever with those wings... Do you Elysians have wing-wax or something?"
"...No, not that I can recall. Our oils do well for repelling rainwater, but being submerged is... Less than helpful." She followed Uso to the swimwear, looking at it with a passive sort of interest. "And about the swimming... I've never really found a situation where I needed to learn..."
"Come get me when you ladies are finished. You can join me Alex, if you want." Corgan said before he wandered off to look in the men's section. He got lost a couple times, but eventually found the men's clothing.
"Pft," Uso said, watching as Corgan wandered off, "Look, I can't really remember the last time I had to swim. I can't remember the last time I even needed to use my Zero G training, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn it.
... so... one piece? Or are you more adventurous than that?"
"Adventurous? What's so adventurous about swimwear, exactly?" The Elysian was indeed looking at a bikini, mostly with a passive interest that reflected onto her face. She seemed to at least know what it was, or at least some of its uses. She shifted the 'wrapping' of duplicate dresses to her dominant arm, as she started to meander aimlessly through all the swimwear.
"There is swim wear for swiming," Uso said, placing one hand on the Elysian's shoulder from behind, leaning in against her as she slid her fingers down the other woman's arm, "And there is swim wear for being seen in. Being in control means managing other's expectation through use... or not use, of clothing."
The young female shuddered. Something about that touch seemed... Scary in a way, although it couldn't be placed. "So you're saying, I need to dress to hold somebody's attention, by wearing one of these?" The silly girl picked up what could possibly be the skimpiest bikini in reach, just barely enough fabric to be considered more than a thread meant to be placed upon the body.There was a mixture of distaste and uncertaincy in those silver eyes...
"If you're wearing that you already have their attention." Uso replied, "... There is a certain amount of skin you want to show depending on who you're dealing with and what result you want. This string is... well... either you're trying too hard or you're just wearing it so a certain someone can take it off you."
"....Huh." Replacing the fabric, Araxie turned back to Uso. "So what should I wear then?"
"You seem conservative... Go with a one piece, and maybe a two-piece with a skirt. You want to be able to indicate when you're putting yourself out there." Uso replied.
"Alright, then, I guess..." Araxie circled around for a short time before settling on some...Conservative designs. she simply draped them on top of the dresses while she returned. For a girl from such a well-known species she really didn't seem all that experienced in the realm of presentation.
"I guess? Is this not something you inately understand? Do you feel attraction to people or things at all?" Uso asked.
"Well, yes but... I don't really understand what all this pomp and circumstance is about. Why would I wear a dress evey day? What is with the, the... The showing off of my body? Why are my looks so important in a job where I'm in the background anyways?"
"Its about having agency in your own life. If you want to be a back ground player then... you know.. whatever... but know how to be something else and how to interact with people. I mean... are you just going to wear some frumpy grey robe all your life? What if you want to do something besides just punching numbers into a computer?" Uso asked.
A simple, concise, naive answer: "I find a new contract. There's plenty of work in space; I've managed for months before coming here and I can manage for a long time if I needed to leave."
"Uugggh... birdy.... you're killing me here...." Uso said, slumping down, the weight of the Elysian's dumb answers to things weighing on her like the burden of having to teach someone something super-obvious, ".... You've got how many skills? like 5? Add a 6th skill. It takes nearly no time, is very easy, and will put you miles ahead of everyone else just like you who thinks they are too good to learn a thing like this.
Dress the part is like, halfway to being good at the thing you're trying to do. Right tool for the right job and all that... so build up your wardrobe so you have the right tool when you need it."
"Hm." That was all she said, tiredly gazing towards her employer for a few moments before turning away. "So, what next? Even if I were to assemble a plethora of dresses and swimsuits, they aren't suited for daily activities. Or like, flying a ship around or driving a truck. You know, the sort of stuff where I wouldn't want to look prepared to greet some important person."
"That's what the generic chromatic shirts and pants are for. Unless you want to put forth some of your own style there. Daily activities are more about what you value... which.... is....." Uso trailed off...
"You could say I prefer comfort over looks. I'm typically working when people are asleep anyways, so what I'm wearing typically falls into an ambiguous realm of aesthetic viability. There's almost nobody to see, so there's no point dressing all fancy or whatever." The elysian's voice rolled in volume buch like the tide of a planet with a satellite, mostly due to the inevitable obstructions of clothing which dominated a large portion of the warehouse-like structure. "If I had to pin my preferred outfits somewhere, I'd say in the cool color range with darker shading. Little to no embroidering or patterns. If we're going for clothes that last upsizing by one factor would probably help a lot, without being too much of an obstruction to anything at all..."
"Electrostatically charged composite fabrics then!" Uso said, "... I get it, you're not a style girl. But ho-boy do you have a lot to learn when it comes to materials sciences.... Oh sec.."
Uso would turn to shout at one of the flying robots,
"ONE PIECE SWIM SUIT, DARK BLUE, WHITE TRIM. ALSO ONE TWO PIECE, SIMILAR STYLE, HER SIZE!"
She would point towards her elysian friend with both hands, gesturing wildly until she got confirmation from the robot itself, at which point her attention immidiately switched back,
"So Lets get you some like... pajama pants or whatever. Back in the day it used to be all about thread count or whatever... just you know.. walk around and put your hand on stuff until you get something that feels good against your skin. Nowdays patterning and you know... science stuff matters. They make this line of shirts and pants out of a fabric that's lightly charged... stuff lasts for quite a while too... it just kinda hovers a hair above your skin allowing airflow... the stuff is super comfortable..."
"Sounds interesting. Over this way, then?" The dorky birdie began to, after switching her holding arm again, navigate the small collection of visitors into an area focused around female sleepwear. Following Uso's suggestion, Serai took her time in the physical inspection of many articles, occasionally coming back to one or another. This lengthy and probably very boring ritual procured two full outfits designed for sleeping in, oe of which apparently designed for Elysian use-it seemed to open at the back, giving ample room for the feathery limbs to remain unrestricted. "Something like these, then... I couldn't find that uh, what was it... The charged stuff you talked about. Might not be in this section."
"Sure, whatever feels good on your skin. That's what's important when it comes to comfort... well.. that and a bunch of other things specific to the enviroment. I mean... just don't go outside if you can help it and you'll be fine... YOU KNOW!"
Uso quickly fumbled for her datapad, tossing it up in the air and then finally getting ahold of it, scrolling through some of the items, "We have a personal-scale shield generator for space-stuff. It'd totally keep the sand out of our hair right?"
"Perhaps, yeah. Assuming I kept it powered, at least. It's not like I'm supposed to be outside for most of my work anyways, only when I need to do something myself to cover for someone's screw-up or something." Arx just stared at Uso and Alex for a few moments, before continuing, "And at that point being fashionable isn't my biggest concern. What else do I need to stock up on while we're here..."
"UH... Holsters I guess? You know how to use a gun?" Uso said, pausing for a moment before adding, "And Hats! You should get something to cover your head because sunrays and all that burn you weak species... There's a Top Nep here somewhere... I mean, that's really all the 'More' in 'Holsters and More'."
"Yea, I know how to use a weapon. Considering you asked the question, thanks for trust me enough to not... Look through my stuff?" She coughed, then continued, "Not even a scan of any sort... Sure it's not with me but I even have my own pistol." Serai grimaced at the comment about her species. [/i]Damn nekos, and I thought she wasn't as bad as the Yammie ones...[/i] "Yeah, a hat would be nice." Her words veiled enough to not sound grumpy or rude, the angel continued to follow Uso around, occasionally pulling this or that off of the various racks, slowly becoming more and more liberal to a point. Most of what was chosen fit the young one's motif of darker colors and covering designs, but occasionally a light colored or low-coverage outfit was selected, the female only now starting to struggle slightly with her choices.
"So... you know... whatever hat you want..." Uso said, "I totally prefer the boonie-hat look though. Its light-weight and covers the whole head which is nice when you don't want the heat from the sun...
... baseball caps are a thing too I guess... the kids like 'em..."
The 'Top Nep' area of the store was filled with expensive looking hats, crisply pressed baseball caps, fashionable top-hats, exotic volumetrically controlled hats that floated slightly over the head itself... and a section with a grab-back of more utilitarian caps.
It took only a few minutes of near-silent prodding about before Madame Serai had added a couple of hats to her collection-no baseball caps, they screwed up her hair too much and never worked, those floating hats looked cool but just... No... Yup. She went with Uso's suggestion, taking the all-round coverage and slightly more forgiving frame.
"I think we're done here!" Uso declared, "ALEX! WHERE ARE YOU! WE NEED A RIDE BACK!"
H-O-L-S-T-E-R-S---A-N-D---M-O-R-E
Bright neon lights illuminated the large lettering on the side of the freshly assembled warehouse. Holsters and More had just setup on 188604 after Uso had bought the company and had it moved...
The large warehouse itself was setup right at the edge of town, in areas that were usually sandblasted clean by the storms on the planet. While the locals wouldn't build structures in this area... USO didn't seem to have such a problem, as factories, starports, and more importantly the force field generators helping to tame the planet's storms had started sprawling out away from the center of the city.
Of course, this didn't seem to stop the locals from shopping there. Uso had mandated some very steep discounts, and the varous Arcmarcs starting to fill the market were letting the locals purchase some of those fancy space outfits.
Alex's U-1 was carrying the cargo module, making it a small shuttle in essence. He set the craft down near the enterance, sending up a plume of sand as he did.
"Alright, we're here!" he called back as he hopped out.
Uso frowned as she watched the external display, waiting for the muddy sand-cloud around the U-1 to dissipate before opening the rear hatch, zipping up her bodysuit completely and pulling her shemagh up over head head as she disembarked from the back of the U-1, "Fuck... The U-1 engines are like... right next to the doors of this pod...." Uso said, the engines still winding down as she stepped foot onto the dirt outside...
"You ever gone clothes shopping Birdie?"
"Hm, uhhhmm... No, not anyplace like this..." Mentally logging the new nickname down in her head, the blue-winged Elysian female slid out of the module and squatted once to regain some blood flow in her legs. Sure Alex is a good pilot and all but the winds did take a bit of a toll... Not like she had much to her name in clothing anyways. The stretched fabric of her shirt certainly didn't look to be in decent enough condition to prevent any accidental... Revelations. Her shorts were faring no better, halfway covering her thighs like some arrogant teen girl with a liberal attitude.
Corgan followed the girls out,. He wore his usual duster, red shirt, and urban camo pants. His face was clean shaven today. "That thing is cramped for people with ID-SOL DNA." He said while he stretched.
Alex mentally shut down the engines on the fighter, and walked back to the rest of the group. He was wearing a simple tee shirt and pants ensemble. His sense of fashion was, to say the least, unsophisticated.
"Is there anything I can help out with?"
"Come and grace us with your fashion sense," Uso said, heading towards the large twin doors of Holsters and more.
===
The inside of Holsters and more seemed surprisingly empty. Despite the locals constantly coming in and out of the store, there seemed to be more than enough employees between the actual handful of tailors on hand, and the floating AI assistants that helped guide the locals through the massive warehouse, the size alone letting the numerous locals get so far apart from one another they felt completely alone among a forest of clothing options they had never before seen.
Corgan looked around for the others, towering over the racks of clothes. He spotted the blue tip of a wing and headed that way, not wanting to be alone in the clothing store. After crossing a few aisles he found the group.
Alex just stuck with Araxie and Uso, unsure of the layout of the warehouse.
Uso seemed content with leading the nerds around. Arx just did her best to stay near as she stared between what seemed an endless option of clothing...
"There's got to be something you're drawn to?" Uso asked, taking the Shemagh down off her face and leaving the cloth hanging off her neck. "Maybe open-backed dresses? I mean... wings and all.... or do you uh?... Shirts? Those robe things?"
"Well, assuming some of these things can be modified to accomodate for, well, me, as long as it's light and comfortable it would work. Not a big fan of dresses though, although I guess I need one or two.
"Yeah, something formal, the classic little black, the 'I'm trying to look professional but I'm not going to wear a suit'... " Uso took a look at her for a moment, her eyes fixated on her face for a few seconds... then traveling to her wings. ".... and tactical. Shit, how did you birds ever fight wars with those huge wings? ... Luckily they have tailors here so... whatever you find I'm sure we can make work... "
Uso would walk around behind Arx, looking at where her wings met her back,
"Do your people have like... wing-sleeves? Wing-socks? ... I mean, you've got those stupid shower-cap things but I mean for like... sand and such?"
"Well, one, we can use our wings to fly. Yeah yeah big surprise, but people still seem to have issues with it. And.... I don't know what you mean by the second question." Aside from the visual obstruction of her shirt, the wings are actually rather securey in place onto Serai's back; large protrusions starting about 7 inches apart formed the base which then spread out at the 'top' of the wing, likely the larger bones keeping the whole thing together. "Also, the wings vary from Elysian to Elysian if you've ever bothered to look..." Comparable to a hummingbird in shape, Araxie's extra limbs did seem to convey a... Less commonly encountered style than others.
"Do you just cut slits in the back of regular shirts? Or do you need something to cover a bit of your wings? There has to be some kind of Elysian-specific clothing that we wouldn't be able to get off the rack here." Uso said, her vision trailing along Araxie's wings for a moment before going back to what was around them, "Ok, lets start with something practical and comfortable. You need clothing that will let you move around out here. Something breathable with enough of a thread count that you won't be drowning in sand when the wind picks up. Are you cold here often? Its kinda cool for normal people... but normies aren't as light weight with high surface area as you are. I figure you've got to be cold... which means something heavier?"
"Eh. I've always liked the cooler temperatures, although I won't argue against nighttime in the desert. Generally that's when I'm going to be working so...." Her voice trailed off for a few moments, before continuing, "Typical Elyisian clothing has an opening in the back, yes. Occasionally we decorate our wings but that's pretty rare even for formalities. These feathers are for more than looks and flight, y'know!" Chuckling a little, the sweet-haired nerd didn't seem to have anything in particular catch her eye at the location they had chosen. "Additionally, I really don't like things tight. It's.... Weird, I guess is the best description."
"You should get over that." Uso said flatly, "No excess fabric, strong range of motion, little waste. There is a time and a place for those....." Uso waved her hands around out to her sides, trying to think of the right word, ".... piles... of fabric that you Elysians love to drape yourselves in. However you need something you can wear on the job site as it were... Some kinda boot for one. Some tough pants, a basic shirt... shit we can get it all in the same color if you like. How do you feel about tank-tops? Or do you like to hide those bird arms of yours?"
Arx looked at her arms for a breath, already rather visible in her current duds. "Eh. I mean... If it works, I guess it works. What do you think, Alex? You seem to be more attuned to this than I am..."
Alex froze in his tracks, completely unsure of what he was supposed to do.
"I... uhhh.... it... err..."
Corgan smirked. "The more skin showing the better in Nepleslia."
"Last I checked this organizations was independant...?" Relinquishing a confused, four-limbed shrug the dorky angel turned back the the person who actually seemed to know how fashion worked...
"So be independant of your clothing!" Uso added in.
"Yeah, yeah... Guess I should be. Certainly would be better than these!" Gesturing to her shirt resulted in a hard-to-ignore tearing sound, a rift in Arx's back becoming just about obvious but the shirt itself seemed... Still functional, for the time being at least. "...Okay change of plans I might need something sooner rather than later."
"TAILOR!" Uso shouted out, one of the small, hovering robots zipping over to their location, small mechanical arms dangling down as a glowing happy-face was projected infront of the bot,
"What can I..."
"Shirts, like, a dozen. For her. Similar pants, boots, and socks, loose fitting, Darkish blue, maybe one shade darker than her wings. Get those ready for her and we'll be in the formal section." Uso said, the robot zipping around Arx fairly quickly to get her measurements, and then flying off to another side of the store.
"That'll take a few momnets. We need something formal now. But not like, 'trying to impress' formal, Just... like... diplomatic formal...." Uso would stand up on her tip-toes and start looking around, "THIS WAY!"
She would end up taking the group over to a formal section of the warehouse... the simple shirts, long coats, and boots slowly giving way to suits, black dresses... and finally.
"Something like this? Loose, Blue, maybe change the trim color to silver?" Uso said, showing them a pile of backless dresses made in varying colors with busy, elaborate, patterns woven in.
"Hmmm.... Yeah, it's rather nice! Comfortable material, too..." Gently lifting the article and draping it across one arm, Araxie seemed content with something for once after entering the store!
"I... this stuff isn't really my thing... " Uso said, tapping her arm as she tried to point out the very straight forward color scheme of her deep blue bodysuit. "... but I think the busy pattern works for you. It matches the wings... which are already busy as it is... you know visually... I suppose jewlery would also work for you? Floppy... get caught on stuff... metal whatevers."
"Not really... too much shifting around to be comfortable. I guess I could make some snackrifices for an occasion, though. What with, formality... It's pretty unlikely I'd be flying in a dress, anyways. But...." Holding the dress to her side, "Yeah I can see it working incredibly well, at least with my wings. Perhaps add some gold trim? My hair only partially meshes with this dress as-is."
"They can make whatever alternations you need in the back... and how do you people even fly anyways? Flapping seems exhausting... and all that drag from those robes... always with the robes..." Uso critisized, "... maybe get something tactical? Do your people have body armor?..... I've never seen one of you wear it but thats probably because you all have been using Seraphs to do your dirty work for decades."
"I was a child during the wars. And regarding our flying capabilities... It varies. You've noticed we have different wing colors, and I don't know if you've yet noticed but we aren't cookie-cutter in shape, either. Some of us can't flap constantly, others are better off working even for just a glide. I'd give a demonstration but the situation here is... Let's say not very optimal." A moment passed, yet again. Following, "Besides, the robes are a Partician thing. they're the ones who actually have the position to wear outfits of such extravagance. You've never seen a Plebian slum, have you?" Arx cleared her throat, intending to change the subject.
Uso touched her chin for a moment, going deep in thought...
"Don't think I have. Normally elysians get exploded from orbit. I mean, I've seen Nepleslian slums and I assume they are the same thing more or less... just maybe with more area for flying around?
Do you guys even have slums anymore? I thought all your homeworlds got blown up?
... not like it matters. Wings, Flight... whatever, just need you to look good and not get killed if something goes down. I suppose I've relaxed the 'always wear power armor when you are outside' policy but it isn't perfectly safe around here either... can you fly ships? Or is your flight just a body thing?"
"Plebians never could fly. And until we finally started mass-producing psiomi, we were starving to death. ahem Yeah I can pilot. I can plot a route through space if need be, even accounting for hazards and n'ere-do-wells should that be needed. I've already had to fly a few loads around myself when some idiots skip their shifts, before they get fired. And-" She took a breath here, continuing, "-Power armor is uncomfortable. It messes up my hair and plumage and screws with my mobility too much, especially since I rarely do see combat on an... Infantry scale." The young Serai thought fora few more moments... "Look, if you're planning on sending me directly into a war zone to fight battles for you I sure as hell won't be doing it in the dirt with some flimsy power armor."
Alex piped in, his voice indicating curiosity. "What is Elysia like?"
For his question, Alex got one directed towards him, "Do you want details on where visitors normally go, or would you rather the place i lived?"
"I'd like to know about where you lived. I've never been in any city aside from osman."
"Let's say it isn't the prettiest place to live, for one. Whole bunch of us crammed together in minimalist, run-down buildings... Assuming you had a house to live in. I guess I can count myself lucky for that one..." Her voice drifted off, as her head drooped downwards. Apparently she didn't seem to like talking much about her past... Or at least, her homeworld. She took a deep breath, and continued, "Aside from the plebians and some of the lower-end Caelisolan housings, the place is actually rather beautiful."
One of the floating tailor-bots would hover over, the small floating ball's arms holding a shopping bag full of the basic clothing Uso had requested earlier, "While you're here, we need like... four of these dresses... Did we decided on Gold and Blue?" Uso asked.
"With a bit of silver. Or, mostly silver actually. It works with the blue more than gold does... Wait, FOUR?" Serai stepped back in mild shock, "Why so many dresses?"
"Well, we don't exactly own a lot of washing machines here. Buy in bulk and prepare to lose a lot of what you get to wear and tear." Uso nodded sagely, "Don't worry about the cost, I'll cover it for now.... SILVER AND BLUE! NOT GOLD AND BLUE!" Uso's attention quickly shifting back to the robot and giving it a yell,
"Swimsuit and flight-suit then? We've got a few indoor pools and I'd really like to get this place resort-like at some point."
"Hm. I'm guessing that has something to do with the lack of water and electrical services amongst a lot of the planet. And... Swimming? I have to say, I've never actually learned. Barely touched water aside from the rain when it falls... or, drinking it obviously." The young one shook herself nervously, calming a few nerves that served no purpose.
"How do you live this long without learning to swim? Everyone needs to learn to swim its one of those basic survival things... We really need to have a remedial class in not-dieing for you nuggets." Her thought barely finished, Uso turned towards the swimsuit section of the warehouse, "Luckily, we already know your color, we just need to work on fit and... well... whatever with those wings... Do you Elysians have wing-wax or something?"
"...No, not that I can recall. Our oils do well for repelling rainwater, but being submerged is... Less than helpful." She followed Uso to the swimwear, looking at it with a passive sort of interest. "And about the swimming... I've never really found a situation where I needed to learn..."
"Come get me when you ladies are finished. You can join me Alex, if you want." Corgan said before he wandered off to look in the men's section. He got lost a couple times, but eventually found the men's clothing.
"Pft," Uso said, watching as Corgan wandered off, "Look, I can't really remember the last time I had to swim. I can't remember the last time I even needed to use my Zero G training, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn it.
... so... one piece? Or are you more adventurous than that?"
"Adventurous? What's so adventurous about swimwear, exactly?" The Elysian was indeed looking at a bikini, mostly with a passive interest that reflected onto her face. She seemed to at least know what it was, or at least some of its uses. She shifted the 'wrapping' of duplicate dresses to her dominant arm, as she started to meander aimlessly through all the swimwear.
"There is swim wear for swiming," Uso said, placing one hand on the Elysian's shoulder from behind, leaning in against her as she slid her fingers down the other woman's arm, "And there is swim wear for being seen in. Being in control means managing other's expectation through use... or not use, of clothing."
The young female shuddered. Something about that touch seemed... Scary in a way, although it couldn't be placed. "So you're saying, I need to dress to hold somebody's attention, by wearing one of these?" The silly girl picked up what could possibly be the skimpiest bikini in reach, just barely enough fabric to be considered more than a thread meant to be placed upon the body.There was a mixture of distaste and uncertaincy in those silver eyes...
"If you're wearing that you already have their attention." Uso replied, "... There is a certain amount of skin you want to show depending on who you're dealing with and what result you want. This string is... well... either you're trying too hard or you're just wearing it so a certain someone can take it off you."
"....Huh." Replacing the fabric, Araxie turned back to Uso. "So what should I wear then?"
"You seem conservative... Go with a one piece, and maybe a two-piece with a skirt. You want to be able to indicate when you're putting yourself out there." Uso replied.
"Alright, then, I guess..." Araxie circled around for a short time before settling on some...Conservative designs. she simply draped them on top of the dresses while she returned. For a girl from such a well-known species she really didn't seem all that experienced in the realm of presentation.
"I guess? Is this not something you inately understand? Do you feel attraction to people or things at all?" Uso asked.
"Well, yes but... I don't really understand what all this pomp and circumstance is about. Why would I wear a dress evey day? What is with the, the... The showing off of my body? Why are my looks so important in a job where I'm in the background anyways?"
"Its about having agency in your own life. If you want to be a back ground player then... you know.. whatever... but know how to be something else and how to interact with people. I mean... are you just going to wear some frumpy grey robe all your life? What if you want to do something besides just punching numbers into a computer?" Uso asked.
A simple, concise, naive answer: "I find a new contract. There's plenty of work in space; I've managed for months before coming here and I can manage for a long time if I needed to leave."
"Uugggh... birdy.... you're killing me here...." Uso said, slumping down, the weight of the Elysian's dumb answers to things weighing on her like the burden of having to teach someone something super-obvious, ".... You've got how many skills? like 5? Add a 6th skill. It takes nearly no time, is very easy, and will put you miles ahead of everyone else just like you who thinks they are too good to learn a thing like this.
Dress the part is like, halfway to being good at the thing you're trying to do. Right tool for the right job and all that... so build up your wardrobe so you have the right tool when you need it."
"Hm." That was all she said, tiredly gazing towards her employer for a few moments before turning away. "So, what next? Even if I were to assemble a plethora of dresses and swimsuits, they aren't suited for daily activities. Or like, flying a ship around or driving a truck. You know, the sort of stuff where I wouldn't want to look prepared to greet some important person."
"That's what the generic chromatic shirts and pants are for. Unless you want to put forth some of your own style there. Daily activities are more about what you value... which.... is....." Uso trailed off...
"You could say I prefer comfort over looks. I'm typically working when people are asleep anyways, so what I'm wearing typically falls into an ambiguous realm of aesthetic viability. There's almost nobody to see, so there's no point dressing all fancy or whatever." The elysian's voice rolled in volume buch like the tide of a planet with a satellite, mostly due to the inevitable obstructions of clothing which dominated a large portion of the warehouse-like structure. "If I had to pin my preferred outfits somewhere, I'd say in the cool color range with darker shading. Little to no embroidering or patterns. If we're going for clothes that last upsizing by one factor would probably help a lot, without being too much of an obstruction to anything at all..."
"Electrostatically charged composite fabrics then!" Uso said, "... I get it, you're not a style girl. But ho-boy do you have a lot to learn when it comes to materials sciences.... Oh sec.."
Uso would turn to shout at one of the flying robots,
"ONE PIECE SWIM SUIT, DARK BLUE, WHITE TRIM. ALSO ONE TWO PIECE, SIMILAR STYLE, HER SIZE!"
She would point towards her elysian friend with both hands, gesturing wildly until she got confirmation from the robot itself, at which point her attention immidiately switched back,
"So Lets get you some like... pajama pants or whatever. Back in the day it used to be all about thread count or whatever... just you know.. walk around and put your hand on stuff until you get something that feels good against your skin. Nowdays patterning and you know... science stuff matters. They make this line of shirts and pants out of a fabric that's lightly charged... stuff lasts for quite a while too... it just kinda hovers a hair above your skin allowing airflow... the stuff is super comfortable..."
"Sounds interesting. Over this way, then?" The dorky birdie began to, after switching her holding arm again, navigate the small collection of visitors into an area focused around female sleepwear. Following Uso's suggestion, Serai took her time in the physical inspection of many articles, occasionally coming back to one or another. This lengthy and probably very boring ritual procured two full outfits designed for sleeping in, oe of which apparently designed for Elysian use-it seemed to open at the back, giving ample room for the feathery limbs to remain unrestricted. "Something like these, then... I couldn't find that uh, what was it... The charged stuff you talked about. Might not be in this section."
"Sure, whatever feels good on your skin. That's what's important when it comes to comfort... well.. that and a bunch of other things specific to the enviroment. I mean... just don't go outside if you can help it and you'll be fine... YOU KNOW!"
Uso quickly fumbled for her datapad, tossing it up in the air and then finally getting ahold of it, scrolling through some of the items, "We have a personal-scale shield generator for space-stuff. It'd totally keep the sand out of our hair right?"
"Perhaps, yeah. Assuming I kept it powered, at least. It's not like I'm supposed to be outside for most of my work anyways, only when I need to do something myself to cover for someone's screw-up or something." Arx just stared at Uso and Alex for a few moments, before continuing, "And at that point being fashionable isn't my biggest concern. What else do I need to stock up on while we're here..."
"UH... Holsters I guess? You know how to use a gun?" Uso said, pausing for a moment before adding, "And Hats! You should get something to cover your head because sunrays and all that burn you weak species... There's a Top Nep here somewhere... I mean, that's really all the 'More' in 'Holsters and More'."
"Yea, I know how to use a weapon. Considering you asked the question, thanks for trust me enough to not... Look through my stuff?" She coughed, then continued, "Not even a scan of any sort... Sure it's not with me but I even have my own pistol." Serai grimaced at the comment about her species. [/i]Damn nekos, and I thought she wasn't as bad as the Yammie ones...[/i] "Yeah, a hat would be nice." Her words veiled enough to not sound grumpy or rude, the angel continued to follow Uso around, occasionally pulling this or that off of the various racks, slowly becoming more and more liberal to a point. Most of what was chosen fit the young one's motif of darker colors and covering designs, but occasionally a light colored or low-coverage outfit was selected, the female only now starting to struggle slightly with her choices.
"So... you know... whatever hat you want..." Uso said, "I totally prefer the boonie-hat look though. Its light-weight and covers the whole head which is nice when you don't want the heat from the sun...
... baseball caps are a thing too I guess... the kids like 'em..."
The 'Top Nep' area of the store was filled with expensive looking hats, crisply pressed baseball caps, fashionable top-hats, exotic volumetrically controlled hats that floated slightly over the head itself... and a section with a grab-back of more utilitarian caps.
It took only a few minutes of near-silent prodding about before Madame Serai had added a couple of hats to her collection-no baseball caps, they screwed up her hair too much and never worked, those floating hats looked cool but just... No... Yup. She went with Uso's suggestion, taking the all-round coverage and slightly more forgiving frame.
"I think we're done here!" Uso declared, "ALEX! WHERE ARE YOU! WE NEED A RIDE BACK!"
