The pair of friends eventually left the beachfront sanctuary that was Rue and Hunyi’s camp, Alk firmly in tow. Back through the jungle he guided them and back to the city, at which point it was Elly who took the lead again, completely at home once more in civilization (even if that was a bit dramatic). Rue stuck close to her side, their arms looped, as they returned to the Sinchi Ring and its shopping and entertainment areas aplenty.
Mindful of her friend, the lawyer vigilante didn’t make for the malls she knew from Minnie were here, nor the department stores – though it did occur to her the boba they had in the former might be a nice new thing for Rue as it had been for her. Rather she elected to keep them to the open air markets so Rue would have openness and sunlight, which would hopefully keep him calmer despite the press of people.
“What now?” he asked her softly when she declared them ‘here.“
‘What now?’ was a very good question indeed. Elly had all the intentions of getting Rue an outfit or two, or at least some underwear, but she had no idea where to start.
“Hmmm… I think first we should figure out what kinds of clothes you like. You like warm and fuzzy things a lot, but is there anything else you’d like to try on? And remember, just because you try it on doesn’t mean we have to get it. You can try something on just to see what it looks like. It’s like… borrowing it for a quick moment.”
Saffron eyes flicked somewhat fearfully around the market as he processed this information. “Borrowing…what is this? Having but not having?”
“Kinda. When it comes to trying on clothes you ask politely if you can try it on, go somewhere private to put it on, and then look in a mirror to see if you like the way it looks on you and try to see if it feels comfortable. If you like it then I’ll buy it and you get to keep it. If you don’t like it then we give it back and move on”
“What is a mirror?” the hybrid inquired, digging out his notebook to write this down. “And where is Somewhere Private?”
“A mirror is a completely reflective surface that allows you to see a reflection of something, in this case we’ll be looking at a reflection of ourselves. And when it comes to clothing stores, most will have what’s called a changing room. It’s one of the few places one can be naked in public so you can try stuff on since it’s completely private and isolated from prying eyes .”
Rue nodded while he wrote, recognizing this. “The nudity laws like the beaches.” He finished a sentence, turned a page, wrote about mirrors, and then paused to look at her, biting his lip. “This one…does not know why a reflection makes it feel…nervous.”
“Reflections make me nervous too, don’t worry. You’re not alone.” She smiled softly “Which is okay. It’s just another thing we can work on together, yeah?”
That seemed to help immensely. The hybrid’s lip fell from his teeth, the holes bitten in it closing up with just a few beads of blood escaping. He suddenly hugged her.
“Okay,” he repeated.
She was certainly hoping that her assurance would be helpful, but she never expected it to be that helpful. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. After a moment she squeezed him a bit tighter to make sure he was nice and safe and with her.
Rue clung even tighter back, though he trembled like a leaf compared to Elly’s easy strength. After a moment of people going around them, he let go, trying to focus on doing well at the task at hand. Looking about quickly grew overwhelming though.
“This one does not know what clothing it likes.” He said it so piteously, clearly hoping for directions.
Her heart cracked ever so slightly as she felt the man hold onto her with what she assumed was all of his strength. How could she possibly not do everything she could for him. She made sure to release him the moment he let go so he didn’t feel trapped or forced into her and went right into trying to assure him once again.
“It’s a journey to say the least. It took me a long time to figure out what I like to wear, and even then it’s constantly changing. What you like today might not be what you like a year from now.” She took half a step away from him “Look at me.” Once Rue had turned to look at her, she motioned to her simple tee, cargo pants, and boots. “I wear all this because not only is it comfy but it kinda shows off my physique.” She didn’t want to get too far into how she wanted to look attractive to try and attract a potential partner, the simpler the better. “What we want to do for you is figure out what about clothes you like. Some people like clothes that cover most of their body up because they feel more comfortable showing as little skin as possible. Some people like wearing stuff that covers less, or have designs. All that fun stuff.”
It was as though she could see gears turning double time in Rue’s head. He made a thoughtful noise, brows permanantly furrowed, and nodded slowly.
“This one…doesn’t know,” he repeated, still a bit lost, but plucked at his sleeve, looked at it, looked at Elly. “But we can…find out…yes.” Another thoughtful hum. “This one feels nothing for showing its skin. This is normal. It is required to strip at any time for the Masters and all standard tests. However, being warm is…nice, yes. And. It. I. T-think? Think. That. Per-haps. Being covered. Is also nice. It is…confusing. To feel two things that seem mutually exclusive.”
“It’s okay to not know.” Those exact words were ones she shared often with her daughter, Sulla. She always felt bad when she would sometimes get frustrated by not knowing as much as her mama or the other kids since she was so far behind from all that had happened to her, and each time, she would reassure her that it was okay. Because, at the end of the day, it was.
Elly extended her hand to Rue once again.“Then lets see if they have any sweaters on a tropical planet like this”
Rue took the hand offered him happily, unsure what a sweater was but ready to find out. “Do tropical planets have different clothes?”
“They usually do, yeah. On planets like this, clothes are usually thinner and show more skin to keep people cooler so they don’t overheat and get sick. But on planets like Kasiya, you need to have thicker clothes because of how cold it is. But different species have different tolerances for temperatures so usually there’s still a good variety.”
The hybrid nodded rapidly at the end. “Yes, this is true. This one knows the homeostatic balance of many species. This planet is very ideal for reptilians and amphibians. It has been surprised to not see as many. This one is also quite resilient to temperature changes as it was designed to be, however Kasiya was quite cold. The coldest it has ever known. But the snow! It had never seen snow before. It was beautiful. Just…it would be very nice if one could see snow, and still have sunlight and hot sand.” His lip pushed out in a pout, but his eyes dutifully skimmed the stalls. There were a lot of patterns. Many looked like flowers, only botanically inaccurate. Many bright colors. He moved quickly past the reds. The greens reminded him of plants and that was nice, but only the muted ones. Some were too bright, unreal. He hesitated as they passed one place that was mostly muted colors, greens and browns and earthy smells from a basket on the counter with petals and wood shavings, glimmering rocks dangling from chains.
She had no idea where he would’ve gotten such a great knowledge on bodies and some of the other stuff he randomly spouted out but it was always nice and interesting to hear. Something she’d definitely ask about later.
Elly was paying as close attention as possible to the hybrid as they walked along, wanting to make sure he was not only calm and comfortable but to see if anything caught his eye. The slight hesitation he expressed was enough for Elly to stop in her tracks and try to find what he had seen. “See something you like, Rue?”
“It…I…” He hesitated again, then glanced at her shyly, swallowed, and nodded such a tiny nod it was almost imperceivable. “I l-like…greens. Like plants. Earthen. It is nice.”
“Green is a good color, a very good color.” She gave his hand a small squeeze and started to walk towards the stall with him in tow, not giving him much of a choice in the matter
Towed along, Rue didn’t resist at all, dutiful where he was lead. Once they were closer it seemed there was more to look at, and Elly had said things about trying on in private places.
When did that happen.
Did they try on all of it.
“What now?”
“Now we look at what’s here and choose what you like.” She released his hand and pointed out a green shirt with long sleeves and a more leafy pattern to it. “Something like this? Or something more plain?”
The hybrid made a little ooo noise, evidently mystified by leaves of fabric. He reached out before stopping short, looking to Elly for permission.
“Go ahead, touch. I promise it’s okay.” She gave an encouraging smile and waited for his reaction.
It was nice she seemed to know just what he’d been asking too. Permission granted and smile given, Rue reached out, shaking slightly, and touched the shirt.
Nothing happened. No yelling. No pain. No punishment. No upset. Everything kept moving around them, and the shirt was just a shirt that he was allowed to touch.
His eyes darted back to Elly again, seeking more approval, and at her smile and encouraging nod, he turned back with more confidence. Ran his hand down the shirt. Then touched the pattern.
“It is. Nice. But this is not as soft.” The pads of his fingers rubbed at the embroidery.
Elly grinned as he began to touch the shirt, running his hand across it to discover what the fabric felt like and the different textures and properties of it. “That’s just from how the pattern made.” She reached over to the shirt and pulled the bottom open “Feel the inside”
Mrw, Rue went in curiosity, and followed her lead, sticking his hand in the shirt. Indeed, it was softer, with less of the pattern feeling; though he could still detect it. It was scratchy. Was that okay. He didn’t know. “We could…try it?” he asked.
“Of course.” She looked to the owner of the stall and asked if there was a way for him to try it on and they motioned to a curtain for customers to enter through.
“Right through there, Rue.” Elly pointed the changing room out to her friendo “Try it on and come on out so I can see.”
The hybrid shrunk back a bit as Elly spoke to the owner, almost hiding behind her, but at her gesturing and direction, he scurried into the small space. It didn’t occur to him to close the curtain behind him, and so as he used his tail to hold the new shirt, he pulled off his current two one-handed over his head, hair balling up in it.
The end result was his torso on display for Elly and passersby to see, and the bright Selenian daylight did nothing but highlight how emaciated he was, skeletal, nor the silvery brands on his chest. Rue of course thought nothing of it all, merely dropping his things to the ground and wriggling into the new shirt. The half empty sleeve fell straight like his others did. It seemed a bit off fit overall, simultaneously big on him around the shoulders but short on his stomach. Elly could sympathize with such problems.
Elly followed Rue to the dressing room to stand guard outside the curtain to make sure he was safe. She didn’t know if it would help make him feel safe but it was nice for her so she did it anyway. But when he didn’t close the curtain, she made an effort to close it before he removed his shirt but was one second too late.
The sight of his torso was enough to make Elly fume and cry all at once. She wanted so badly to get some form of retribution for the hybrid but her heart also broke for him and all he had to go through. It was too late to close the curtain so she just let him change and waited patiently.
“That’ll happen a lot. We’re pretty tall so most clothes will end up being short on us.” She chose not to comment on his body. Now wasn’t the place or the time
“… Interesting,” Rue commented. “This is a new thing.” He had never had clothes too short before. “Is that wrong?”
She spoke like it was not right, but it seemed a fine shirt.
“It’s not wrong. Some people actually like having shirts that show off a little bit of their tummy like mine does sometimes, but some people prefer when their shirts are long enough to cover their whole torso. It’s something that comes down to you at the end of the day.”
Rue tilted his head, unconsciously moving slightly to try and feel a difference. “It is…draftier.” His hair brushed his lower back, and he twisted around, shifting again. Elly got a peak at his tail, poking through a hole cut roughly in the rear of his pants. Each knob and knot of his lower spine was visible, and his hip bones were sharp crests that jutted out from where the pants rode low, a belt tied twice around them.
Rue made a low noise, then shook his head.
“No, I think…covering is better. This one makes others distressed and sad and angry when they see it. It keeps happening. I do not want it to.”
Just as she had been. She kicked herself mentally for making things potentially worse for Rue emotionally and forced a smile instead. “Okay, let’s go with something longer then. You can change back into your clothes.” She reached for the curtain and closed it. The clothes he wore were all so big and unfitted, everything looking like it didn’t belong. She was rather excited to get the chance to give him something that would truly be for him
The hybrid watched the light dim as he was closed more in, knowing she was on the other side and knowing he’d upset her, too. He could hear the uptick of her heartbeat, the clench of her jaw, smell the sadness. But she hadn’t cried like Mikhail, or gotten angry like Kerissa. She seemed happy still.
It was nice.
She was so nice.
He shook himself, trying to focus back down from the noise of the crowds, and redressed. It was…more difficult to get out of the shirt than get into it. He feared he was stuck at one point, but some more twisting and a pop yielding success.
Once he had both shirts back on, he crept up and poked his head around the curtain, searching for Elly.
And Elly was right there waiting for him, facing away from the small stall and looking out for any sort of commotion. With how long he had taken, she was half tempted to ask him if he needed any help to get out of a simple shirt, but he did only have one arm after all. When she heard the curtain shuffle she looked behind to see Rue poking out “Whatcha doin’ there?” She asked playfully
He smiled shyly at her tone, relieved to see her right there. “Looking for you,” he whispered back conspiratorially, tail flicking behind him. “There you are.”
He eased out, glancing around, then offered the shirt. “We are done…borrowing?”
Rue earned a grin and a giggle from Elly as he joked around with her. It was nice to see that even though he was constantly hurting, he still had room for some joy and fun in his life.
She took the shirt and brought it back to the stall “Done borrowing that one, until we see something else you would like to borrow and feel. What about that shirt did you like and what didn’t you like?”
Rue chewed on his lip as he followed her, thinking very seriously.
“I liked…the color most of all. And the smoothness. Soft. Sleeves. But not the tightness. And I did not like…the scratchy pattern. It felt on the inside also. Being covered is better also.” A few seconds’ pause, and he nodded, as if assuring he was done, and then another tiny, hopeful smile at Elly. “Is that…correct? For the liking clothes?”
Elly nodded approvingly “It’s correct for how you like clothes, which is all that matters right now. I’m thinking we look for something a bit bigger then so it feels roomier for you and then maybe we can find something made out of a finer material so it feels better along your skin. Does that sound good?”
“Yes,” Rue chirped, both obediently and also because it did sound good, things feeling nice on the skin.
Elly chuffed, satisfied with his answer. Nice and simple and easy, no fuss no muss. And it almost seemed as if he was happy with the progression of events so far which brought her plenty of joy.
“See anything else at this stall or should we keep looking around?”
He looked around as instructed, and moved for a long cream dress with long sleeves too. It was very thin, gauzy and layered at the skirt, a breezy sort of beach thing, Elly could imagine Minnie describing. He touched it, and mrr’d.
“This has texture.” He kept fiddling with the skirt, flapping it and watching it float back down a bit.
“It sure does,” Elly agreed, following him to his next choice. She reached out to feel it as well, softly thumbing the material.
“Would you like to try it on?” She asked
A thoughtful pause ensued before Rue nodded, this time taking the initiative to take the garment and scurry off behind the curtain, now that he knew the Correct Process. He even closed the curtain this time as had been demonstrated.
When the hybrid once again poked out from the sheet, it was a little more easily, since he knew Elly would be there. He stepped out carefully, and it was obvious to Elly he still wore his pants and boots underneath, as if it were a very long shirt. The gauzy sleeve didn’t entirely obscure his frame, hinting at his missing limb and his colorful skin, but it hid enough with the layers that it didn’t cling to his bones. And there wasn’t any tummy exposure, and the cut of the skirt made it hard to judge if it was short on him or fine, thanks to the layering and shape.
Elly smiled when Rue moved to the dressing room of his own volition, this time closing the curtain as he should’ve initially. He was a quick learner, and it almost seemed as if he was beginning to enjoy himself. She followed him to the room and stood guard once again until Rue popped out.
She took a step back and looked Rue up and down, holding back a chuckle when she noticed he was still wearing his pants. “It looks good on you, Rue. How does it feel?” She tried to consider the length if Rue was to wear something less baggy underneath, wondering if it would be passable as a dress or just a shirt. She could always bring it to someone to be hemmed to something more comfortable in length for him as well.
The man moved around a little bit more experimentally outside the small changing space as he had with the shirt. His lips kept twitcthing like he was almost smiling, and he lifted his shoulder so that he could rub his cheek on the sleeve not unlike a tooka. It seemed that even someone who had never seen such done in a movie or in life before had a natural inclination to sway in something that was swishy, as Rue did then, stepping side to side and turning his hips, looking down at how the light fabric flared and giggling.
“It has texture,” he repeated. “Scratchy. But still soft? Not hard scratchy like the other pattern. I…like it.” He petted down the bodice and sleeve, still swishing.
Elly brought a hand to her mouth and bit down on her knuckle. The scene unfolding before her was beyond adorable. It was like watching Sulla swirl around in her dresses except Rue was much bigger, but somehow just as innocent. She had to make sure that happy look on his face stayed for as long as it could.
“I’m glad you like it. Would you like to keep it?”
A smile lit his features, starting to flush with the faintest shimmer of gold. He opened his mouth like he mightt say yes, then paused again, still touching the fabric. As she watched his expression grew more resigned. Still happy, but in a slightly sad way, like the last bite of a dessert or saying goodbye.
“Yes,” Rue answered. “But Miss Elly had a logical argument about the wearing and the tearing of the clothes, and that my robe is ‘stained’. This is very thin. Like skin, insect wings, bird shells. It could tear. And stain. I do not want to ruin it.”
“It could tear, and that’s okay. We’ll fix it. And if we can’t fix it, we’ll turn it into something new, and I’ll buy you a new one.” She smiled. “This is the type of garment you wear out in public when you’re doing calm things, not while playing or anything like that. You relax in a dress like this.”
“A ‘dress?’” he echoed, seeming to take stock of her words. “And dressi are for…calm things? Not playing in? There are clothes for some activities and not others?”
The lawyer cringed internally as Rue began to question her words. She had just opened up yet another can of worms. “Well… it’s complicated. There are different kinds of dresses for different things. Just as there are different shirts or pants or shoes. It’s… It’s definitely a little complicated and a lot to explain.” A quick thought came to mind “I’ll buy you a book on it.”
Rue perked at the word book. “Oh! So I can read about clothes at the library? This is excellent news!” He shimmied in place, possibly just because of the swishy, possibly with the energy of reading. “Yes. Good, good. Yes. But this…is a ‘dress’ and ‘for calm things’. Correct?”
“Yes. The material isn’t meant for much more than lounging and more mundane activities like shopping or going to the library.” She hoped she was making sense to the hybrid, because she was barely making sense to herself.
“This one sees. Yes. Alright!” His expression grew with some confidence for getting it right as he smiled at her. “So we can wear this…now, for shopping, and at the library, for the reading,” he surmised. “Then…yes. I would like…k-like to keep it. If. May?”
“That’s exactly it!” Elly was happy that he was getting it, but even happier that he wanted to keep it instead of giving it back. She knew it would be a bit of a battle to get him to accept things but to think he had accepted a gift this quickly was leaps and bounds easier than what she had been preparing for.
She walked over to the proprietor of the stand and handed over the credits required to purchase the dress before walking on back “And now it’s yours, no take backsies.”
“What is ‘take backsies?’” Rue parroted, noting that it was disallowed. Even as he asked though, he was still swishing the dress, marveling and once again caught up by the idea of things being his. He looked between his shirts on the ground, which his tail scooped up, and down at himself, to Elly. “Can I…wear them all? Or is that wrong?” She and Mikhail had both seemed concerned about his wearing all his clothes in the sun, but he did not feel in danger of heat stroke.
“I’ll have Sulla explain when you meet her. She knows better than I do.” She walked over to him and lightly took his other shirts and held them under her arm “Just wear the dress as it is. It’ll be nice to feel the breeze, and if you put too many shirts over it you won’t be able to watch it swoosh around.”
While he didn’t know what swoosh was, it somehow still made sense. He let her take his things freely, and nodded to her declaration. “Okay.” The hybrid was practically vibrating with excitement again at mention of the promised meeting with Sulla. “I will be sure to write down asking her of take backing!”
“That sounds like a great idea, Rue. I’m really proud of you for doing all this with me.” She smiled at him before putting a hand on his bicep “Do you want to keep shopping or do you feel like you’re good for now?”
The hybrid took a deep breath, as though bracing. “Miss said underpants were required, which we have not gotten yet. So, there is more to do, still. And if this dress is not for playing, but more clothes are needed, then logically it follows more clothes are still needed, because Alk needs playing on a daily basis.”
“True. But we don’t have to do all that now. If you’re getting overwhelmed and would like to stop, I can buy you some underpants quick and then we can come back a different day to get new clothes to play in.”
He considered. “For now is… alright.” That said, he did reach to hold her hand again, an anchor for the crowds.
She lightly grasped his hand, giving it a small, supportive squeeze. “Let’s get some underwear next, okay? And then, if you want to keep going, we can look for something nice and warm for you. Does that sound like a good plan?”
“Yes,” Rue chirped, squeezing back.
And so, Elly pulled the hybrid along through the stalls once again in search of underwear for him. It didn’t take too long for them to find a stand holding plenty of undergarments for every type of person. “Ah, here we go.”
The hybrid stood boggling at the selection. “There are very many underpants,” he said, obviously lost at metaphorical sea.
“There are,” she chuckled. A thought came to mind. How were either of them supposed to know what style Rue would prefer? Of course she wanted him to be comfortable but there were so many options that it made it a little overwhelming, even for her.
“Do you…” She had no idea how to phrase anything “What’s comfortable for you when it comes to clothes?”
Rue blinked at that, backtracking to clothes and not underpants. “Soft, warm,” he answered, knowing those at least now. “Are there rules for underpants?” His head tilted as he curiously mrrd at mannequins with shell-shaped things covering the mammary area. “Are these also shirts?”
“Well… do you want something tight or loose? Underpants are meant to be hygenic but also… secure your parts?” She felt hella awkward trying to explain all this to a grown man. When he pointed out the bras though, she was a bit more in here wheelhouse. “That’s called a bra. It’s a different kind of undergarment meant for those who have breasts. It’s a way to support them so they don’t move around too much.” She refrained from talking about how some wear them to enhance their looks and all that.
“Oh.” Something of a sadness passed over his face, but he nodded. “That seems sensible. So a bra helps Elly and Kerissa but not Hunyi. Perhaps this one should see if she would like a ‘bra.’ Her pectorals are quite large.”
He spent a moment looking at all the things before realizing he had not answered part of her questions and jumped.
“This one is sorry! Miss– ahem, Elly, ah…it does not know…‘tight or loose?’ All its anatomy is securely attached.”
“A Wookie with a bra…” Elly chuckled to herself at the though “I’m sure she’d appreciate the sentiment but Hunyi probably wouldn’t wear it.
"Why are you apologizing?” She asked, very confused.
“For not answering the question right away,” he explained, unsure why Hunyi wouldn’t, unless it was something Wookiee he did not know that Elly did.
“You don’t have to apologize for not answering right away. It’s okay to talk about multiple things at once and for conversations to get off track”
Rue looked unsure of that, but nodded hesitantly. “Alright. This one will try to remember this.”
“And it’s okay if you forget.” She smiled softly. “Now. Let’s move past this and focus on underpants. Does anything catch your eye?”
Indeed many things did, because they were so brightly colored or strange or confusing. Rue looked around and tilted his head again at things that seemed like they would not be ‘secure.’
“For what purpose…” he murmured, tail lifting to pull at a ribbon on an underpants that should have undone the whole thing. It just pulled, though, like it wasn’t actually tied.
He moved on to things that looked like the ones Hunyi had gotten him. That seemed safe and logical.
“This is alike.”
In short enough order they seemed to agree things like what he had were fine, and Elly bought a couple more pairs. Rue already understood hygiene perfectly well, and Elly’s insistence of having more things just to have and so that he didn’t have to wash his only set every day, of convenience and wear and tear, were sound ones.
Soon they moved on, and Rue confirmed he was alright with braving a little bit longer, following Elly’s lead to another store. As they walked, tucked close to her, he asked, “What does Elly like for clothes?”
Elly had gone and purchased a cheap bag from a stall to haul Rue’s shirts and new underwear in and had it slung over her arm as they walked along. She made sure he was close and secure so he couldn’t wander off or be knocked away.
“What do I like?” She parroted his question, sounding pensive. “Well, it really depends on the day I suppose. I love my suits and will always enjoy wearing them to work and parties and stuff but when I’m out like this, being able to wear a shirt like this or a sweater is nice. The things I always buy are tight because I like how it helps me feel secure and safe in a way. And because tight things look good on me”
The lawyer almost hip checked the hybrid but had to remind herself that she wasn’t out shopping with Minnie, this was about Rue and education more than anything else.
“Back on Kasiya I had to wear a lot of sweaters but now that I’m loving here on Selen I can wear clothes that show off more of my body, like how this shirt lets people see my arms and part of my bicep.” She explained. “Sorry, that was a lot.”
“It’s okay to talk about multiple things at once,” Rue parroted her right back, and smiled, crinkling his eyes. “It brings this one joy to know more about Elly. That you like to feel secure and safe with tightness. And to show off your body. And that you like suits. Whatever those are.”
“I’m glad it brings you joy,” Elly said, not really knowing how or why it brought him joy, but happy it did all the same. “I’ll show you one of my suits when you come to visit, okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed. Then, “Can this one ask Sulla what clothes she likes, then?”
“You certainly can, once you meet her.” Elly assured. “She’ll love to share about it”
That brightened his smile even more. He made a happy noise and had a little more spring in his step, which carried them to another stall that also ‘caught his eye.’ Specifically the earthen tones again. Permitted, he touched many of the shirts and the pants, though many of them seemed at a glance to Elly like they may run the same problems Hunyi had evidently run into: anything long enough for him was going to fall off his shoulders or waist, and anything tight enough was far too short if it could get on him at all. But there was some middle ground.
Elly was very familiar with this issue, often having to spend hours looking for just a few options, so she was accustomed to finding options that just didn’t end up working out.
“Shirts like mine come with long sleeves we well if you’d like to give one a try? Simple shirts like this are common so it’ll be a bit easier to maybe find something that fits”
“Okay,” Rue agreed, thinking Elly’s shirt seemed perfectly fine.
And so, Elly dug around for a shirt similar to her own, finding one that might work after a couple experimental glances. She pulled it out and handed it over to Rue, it was a nice sage green. “Try this”
That happy sound came again at the color, and he accepted it quickly and obediently, going to change.
Of course when he came out, he had it on over the dress over his pants, but that was fine for now; or forever, if that was the style he ended up finding. And it fit him, so bonuses all around.
With Elly’s help, the hybrid became the (more dubious than proud) owner (how strange) of one dress, three more shirts, two pants, and some shoes that he could poke his toes and heel out of and feel the ground, which got many happy noises. Elly obviously worried about his foot protection and the cold, especially after he’d cried at the thought of warm ears with hats, but it seemed this was one area he preferred exposure on.
And that reminded her, to find a hat.
Unfortunately, a day market on a tropical planet didn’t have a lot of winter ware like soft beanies around. Just lots of sunhats. But that was okay. It meant she had something to get him in the future.
Before they parted at the beach, Rue threw his arm(s) around her in another hug, his skirt swishing.
“Thank you, Miss,” he whispered, and then, barely audible, “Did…d-did this on– we…do good?”
Elly was all smiles and laughs as they tried multiple things on the man, happy that he was finding some things that he liked and was willing to take. But it couldn’t last forever
As they were parting ways, Elly was hesitant to go at first. She didn’t like the idea of leaving Rue on his own out in the wild, but he had survived thusfar.
She wrapped her arms around Rue and held him nice and close “We did very good. You did very good.”
A sniffle came from the man, quickly stifled, but there nonetheless. He hugged harder, shaking from the effort, before drawing back as Alk went to sleep again.
“I am so very glad.” He wiped his eyes. “Blessed night, Elly. May you and Sulla and Lektra dream sweet and the Moon Maiden watch over you. I, ahem…your number is for emergencies only so…so you can find this one here or at the library! When we can do the meeting.”
She gave him one final squeeze before they released each other. She gave him a bittersweet smile as he began to tear up “Thank you, Rue. I hope you have a good night too. And don’t worry about messaging me, you can reach out whenever you want. Whether it’s an emergency or not”
He perked at that. “Okay! Then I shall!”
And so they said goodnight, having successfully achieved underpants and maybe more.