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Aduain had done a pretty good job of not getting distracted on the way to the mall and more specifically the clothing store. But before entering the latter with the girls he couldn't help but try and look around for something vaguely big like he'd been hoping to find before coming. This brief frantic search had him looking up at a large light fixture. But from the looks of things it was going to take some intense acrobatics to even get up there to really see how big it was and he'd have to find someone from the mall willing to sell it to him if he liked it. While planning his route in front of the store's entrance he caught the attention of someone inside. Before he knew what was happening he heard an excited scream and was being dragged inside by the arm. Only once he came to a stop did he get a good luck at this person. But somehow looking at them didn't help the boy make sense of what was happening. Between their hair, clothes, and makeup there were altogether too many colors for Aduain to process and he was content to merely agree that this was a person and move on.

"You're perfect!" the voice squealed again, this time intelligibly. The hunter was having a hard time placing if this voice counted as feminine or not but that would have been true of a more conventional looking person.

"Perfect?" the bewildered fish asked in response. The person was holding their hands up in all sorts of different angles to frame Aduain's body against imaginary backdrops.

"I've never seen a body shape like this! And yours is just screaming 'paint me like one of your Pranan girls'. But seeing as we're in a clothing store that will have to do!" the person explained while reaching for several different articles of clothing. Aduain was confused but trying to be optimistic about the person's enthusiasm.

"You think? Well I guess that could be fu-" But before even finishing his sentence the hunter had sealed his fate. A cyclone of clothing struck, putting him in and taking him out of various outfits at breakneck speed with dozens of pictures being taken of the whole process. And perhaps if the whole affair had been any slower Aduain might have had a better time. But after the tenth or so outfit the fish boy was looking for an excuse to get out. The boy was halfway out of a dress and half way into a pair of jeans when he enacted his master plan. That of pointing in the opposite direction and fake gawking, "Wooooah look at them!"

The awe in his voice was enough that the fashion fiend followed the direction of the boy's finger, found a couple walking casually through the store and decided they must have been what he was talking about. A small squeal before realizing they looked fairly normal but as they turned back to their fish model he was no where to be sceen. Aduain was making a mad dash through the store to lose his new friend, the last few articles of clothing flapping wildly behind him and causing him to stumble here and there. Speed was important enough he didn't try to finish undressing. But the jeans were ultimately not a good fit even if he had had both legs on and the bottom of the leg he had on continued creeping down until it was under his foot. On a good day, Aduain's feet fins struggled to navigate land entirely smoothly so under the circumstances it shouldn't have surprised him when he tripped and started into a roll. But it still did surprise him and the rolling blue bundle found itself on a collision course with Morgan and the people she was helping, not that he could tell who specifically was in his way while rolling.

"Look out!" he tried shouting with his tone rising and falling as his stomach did flips over his head.

Edited by Doggo

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Fen continued to do her browsing of clothing, keeping an eye out for any stray parts of Morgan that might've been at risk of falling off. Much to her pleasure, there didn't seem to be anything like that happening, though the staff still seemed to be immensely distressed as the two other girls seemed willing to just cut the dress they were discussing in two. It seemed that even if the group from other worlds weren't here, Prana still had no shortage of oddballs. The girl noticed Melissa stepping out, presumably going to the dressing room as she had wanted to, and so Fen continued to both browse and act as a mall sentry on the zombie girl. 

A bit later Melissa had returned, though rather than next to Morgan she instead went to Fen. The young chef looked the girl up and down, with a slight "ooooh" coming out of her mouth as she saw the girl's dress. As Melissa asked about it, twirling to show it off, Fen smiled happily at the girl. "I think it looks really pretty on you, Melissa." The girl gave her comment, and then paused before feeling like she should add more to her compliment. It wasn't as though she was lying but just leaving it at that made her opinion feel a bit hollow. So, letting out a small chuckle she said, "sorry that, that's all I have to say. I'm not much of fashion expert but it does look like it just um, works? All of it, with you. Oh, maybe - I've been having some trouble figuring out some clothes for myself so maybe you could - " 

Before Fen could finish her statement, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. A blue bur had zoomed through the store. A crashing noise could be heard. The crash had occurred against her patchwork companion. Fen seemed to have completely halted her thought mid-sentence, her smile still on her face as she instead instinctually let out a, "oh no." Looking over to the accident site, Fen said, "I need to go make sure everything is alright over there." 

 

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Trevor

"Hey, watch it, you're gonna burn my shoes man!" One of the thugs said as he performed a bad tap-dance away from the flames that Trevor launched. Two others followed suit and backed away from the man. A few others were caught up in the ice and, not wearing shoes suitable for such conditions, they began to flail about and three of them grasped onto each other before tumbling into a single pile on the ground.

The leader, Seven, sneered and shook his head. "Nice part tricks, freak." he said and then he moved forward. Ignoring Trevor's warning about the balloon he swung his own pipe right at one and it popped. Moments later Seven was on his rear looking disoriented.

The thugs seemed to be more wary now. Looking like they could be easily startled. Though this seemed to be battling in their minds with their desire to look tough and they hesitated while still surrounding the mage.


Devin

After the man did his best to convince Devin how it would be in their best interest to take part, he led the shapeshifter over to where the competition was going down. Which seemed to be in an area right outside of a flashy-looking Arcade.

There was a long table with several people in suits that looked oddly like government agents, complete with sunglasses and ear-pieces, standing at either end. Behind the table on a tall chair, which stretched up over twenty feet and had a ladder to connected to the front of it, was a man wearing a jester hat with a megaphone. He was currently announcing that the competition, sponsored by the local television station, would be starting soon.

The rat-like man scurried over towards one of the suits, and Devin could see a rat tail swishing behind them, to tell them something.

Moments later the jester-announcer said "And it looks like we have a third competitor after all! Come on sit down and tell us a little about yourself!"

As he said this a spotlight hit the empty chair. Which was right in the middle of the table.

To the right there was a massive man. Twice the size of Devin's current form and with an impressive number of chins. The man looked incredibly nervous and kept glancing over to the other seat. Where a five foot tall frog-man was sitting cross-legged on his chair and glaring as Devin approached.

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As if he had anticipated the stupidity of these seven "Spike Brothers", the ones where the fire was poorly tap-danced away from it, while he noticed three of the seven fall in a comedic fashion along the ice. This did stifle a slight snicker from the young sorcerer...all that was left was the leader himself.

"Nice part tricks, freak."

Oh the poor soul... One swing from Seven at the balloons, and the next moment he was now sent careening backwards to be now looking up at the Prana sky. A quite fitting situation to say the least...but alas, these were simply civilians...a bunch of civilians that were rougher than many others, but he was not one to judge. Though at the moment, he did seem to see that they were slowly losing their bravado...an opportunity arose.

"Alas, you lot didn't heed my warnings...and even struck at me." Trevor spoke, still rubbing the back of his head. The Cabanomicon slowly began to flip through it's pages at an alarming rate. "I warned you...and now...I'm afraid I'll have to teach you not to mess with a sorcerer." They looked like they could scare easily...so what better way to do that...then by simply faking a summon? "I'll have to call forth a creature I've kept locked in this book...and perhaps, maybe I'll lock you all away in here as well." Was it best to threaten these people? ...was it wrong to call them people? Regardless, Trevor spoke these words with a strong tone, as his he shifted the grimoire slightly, not letting them notice the yellow gemmed ring start to glow.

Lightning started to spark around, as Trevor...for lack of a better term for this...began to make quite a few guttural noises and sounds. He wasn't sure how many other Summons would work in this world, but he figured that he'd at least run the tropes that Balthazar had generally spoke of when dealing with Magic users and sorcerers: people fear what they cannot understand...and with some, they figure a few guttural sounds would curse them if they weren't careful. Was that a bit specific of a trope to be told, yes...but it most likely would be helping him right now.

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"Look out!"

Morgan turned her attention to the incoming fish ball man. Before she had much time to think about such things as what Aduain's rush was, what colors he would look best in, or why he had a sudden interest in clothes as opposed to his general lack of the stuff yesterday, Morgan's adventurer instincts kicked in. The instincts of someone faced with an incoming rolling object. For most Hunters, this instinct would probably be to get out of the way, and hurry others out of the way as well. Morgan, however, was quite literally built different from most Hunters. Her instinct instead was to put herself between the incoming rolling ball of fish and cloth, and the twins and employees who had gathered at the scene.

A bold manuever that she had performed many a time against boulders, giant snowballs, and at least one oversized cattle. Compared to those things, Aduain was but a beach ball on a fun summer's day. However, beach balls still had mass, and this particular beach ball sprung up at just the right time in its rolling to go up above Morgan's arms that she had planned to catch him with. While she did still catch him at the end of the day, it wound up being with her face instead, nearly knocking the zombie's head off, and very successfully dropping her to the floor.

"Ow..."

Everyone else seemed to be unharmed though. Phew! Getting back up to her feet, Morgan assessed the dress in her hands next. No tears or rips. What a relief! That just left herself. Head? Still attached. Two arms, two hands, eight fingers... everything seemed to be in order. That could have been real bad!

"Maybe  don't  buy  those," Morgan suggested, looking to her fellow Hunter. "Can't  go  tumbling  around  all  the  time,  right?"

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Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
-1 Peter 4:12-13


Melissa felt good, actually. Like, there were still those lingering feelings from before, feelings that would probably never truly go away, that would likely come back the moment she tried to go to sleep (or any other sort of rest), but in the moment? With the combined power of a new dress and Fen’s compliment? Yeah.

So of course it had to slowly fall apart. The first major problem was Fen looking away -- not that Melissa was vain enough to want all eyes on her all the time (in fact, she was generally the opposite) but Fen’s eyes’ swift move from her to somewhere just off to the side still did enough damage (like, maybe she’d scared her away somehow?) to get Melissa picking apart the compliment she’d just received. Hadn’t her little flourish meant she’d been fishing for compliments just then? Who could say that Fen’s response was genuine? After all, they’d only really known each other for a day-ish…

Then the actual action. In Melissa’s absence, the situation over that shirt had only gotten more chaotic. The employees had gone from begging that they not deface the merchandise pre-purchase to actively snatching at it when they could, sometimes even getting a few tugs in before Katherine and Kasey pulled it back again. At the very least, someone getting stabbed with a pair of dull scissors was inevitable, but that wasn’t what happened. “Look out!” Aduain said, just before he came barrelling into the assembled crowd in general and Morgan in specific.

Just after Fen’s “oh no” came one from Melissa as well. Was that her fault? Could that have been avoided if she’d been there to help smooth things out? Or what if she’d kept a closer eye on Aduain -- what had even led up to what just happened there from his perspective, where had he even been? “I need to go make sure everything is alright over there,” Fen said, and Melissa could only agree. Even if it wasn’t her fault -- a big if -- that didn’t mean she couldn’t help fix it.

Before she could actually turn and follow, though, she felt someone tugging at her wrist in the opposite direction, and she instinctively froze in place. “Excuse me,” they said. When Melissa finally turned back to face them she saw they had a camera and a flamboyant getup and though they were talking to her, their head was on a swivel looking all around. “I’m looking for a young man who looks like a fish on the outside but has the heart of a tiger, do you know who I’m talking about? You couldn’t miss them if you had, they have a perfect je nais se quois, you understand? And a wonderful eye! They saw something that even me with my camera could not find, and I simply must capture that.”

Um,” Melissa said. It was a lot to take in. It sounded like they were asking about Aduain, but it also sounded like Aduain didn’t exactly want to be found.

Before she could settle that particular dilemma though, their head finally stopped rotating and Melissa could feel their eyes zeroing in on her from behind their sunglasses. “Oh, excuse me, miss. I didn’t realize I was talking to such a beauty. You simply must model for me. Did you pick out that dress yourself? Do you have more on you? What am I saying, look at where we are! Come, miss! We must have the camera capture your outer beauty in addition to your inner!”

Um,” Melissa said again. No? No thank you? Yes she’d picked out more clothes but they were still in the dressing room, also she was kind of busy, and also also she hadn’t bought the one she was wearing yet? But she couldn’t bring herself to actually enunciate the words, and thus was dragged along as the artist went in search of more.

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Aduain was suddenly in Morgan's face. His body knew this before his brain registered it as the Hunter's nen stood out in the crowd of nen-less beings that occupied Prana. So despite the circumstances it was something of a happy moment for the boy purely by the familiarity of the sensation. Still, once he registered who it was that was under him, Aduain jumped up and off her in something of a panic, trying to help Morgan back to her feet. She didn't seem hurt, which only made sense. It would take a lot more than that to hurt a Hunter. But still, none of this was quite what he had wanted to happen. He shuffled out of the jeans and dress now that he had the moment and Morgan's figure to obstruct him from the view of the fashion fiend. Though maybe putting something on was the only way out of this safely. His brilliant blue scales would only shine as brightly as they had to get him into this mess in the first place.

"Yeah, not really my style huh?" He offered in something of a nervous laugh in response to Morgan's advice to not buy the things that now sat in a pile at his fins. A giant sigh of relief escaped the gills at the boy's sides as he saw Melissa getting caught up with his new acquaintance. Perhaps she would fare better under the onslaught of different outfits. A noble sacrifice she was, and one the boy would be sure to remember and honor. Fen was soon at the group's side to check up on everyone which was a convenient excuse of Aduain to try and get some more distance.

"Everything's fine!" He tried to say with genuine enthusiasm. "But we should totally move things uh... that-a-way don't ya think?" Aduain asked excitedly pointing at a random location in the store. As it happened the most immediately visible thing in the direction of his finger was a display for athletic gear talking about new patented weight loss technology.

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To the shapeshifter's eye rolling chagrin, the man offered... basically nothing of worth. Empty platitudes. Promise to get in with Mauvache. Anything that he thought the shifter might want to hear. But it didn't really matter, anyway. Might as well go along for the ride. They couldn't be poisoned, they could weasel out of any bad situation... And more food was good, maybe it would be something unique!

Instead, the shifter found themselves sandwiched between biggie and smalls, waiting for it to begin as the jester figure rattled off. The fat one seemed mostly concerned not about the shifter, but about the frog on the other side... who just glared at the shifter, earning a cocked brow.

"... got a problem?" they asked the frog man, only to be cut off by the jester asking them to introduce themselves. Clearing their throat, they began. "I'm Kyubaru. I like food. Not much else to say, yeah? A guy asked me to fill in cause he saw me shoveling it in at the food court, and I'm really not sure why I'm here... but if there's food in it for me, I'm your person. And let me tell ya, I've got a stomach of steel."

The shifter almost laughed as their stomach literally turned into one made of steel. Sure, no one else could tell, but... y'know, entertaining yourself was a plus. So much so, they didn't realize that they had forgotten all about the horrors of the day before.

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Trevor

"Aw heck naw!" one of the thugs said. They seemed to all be looking around wildly as if they didn't believe what was happening.

"Come on now are all of you freaks so....freaking freaky?" Seven said, seemingly more frustrated than frightened unlike the rest of the crew. However he seemed smart enough to realize that he wouldn't be able to rouse the rest into trying to attack him again.

"Listen here you freak, and this goes for your freaky friends too! One of these days you're gonna regret messing with us!"

"Seven we gotta get outta here!" Six cried out, though most of the group was already on their way out without Seven's say so.

"Yeah, yeah I know! Come on let's get goin, the card shop is havin a sale and I wanted to get my hands on some packs before we got caught up with this freak."

Unless Trevor did something to stop them the thugs would run off. What few people around that had been watching simply went back to whatever they were doing as if it hadn't been anything of note. And Trevor would be able to continue on his way to the Arena.

--

The mage would be able to reach the arena without any further hassle and when he got inside he saw that it looked to be not yet busy hours as there weren't many people around. The receptionist was sitting at his circular desk in the middle of the room. One elbow on the desk propping up his head as he stared off blankly to the side, deep in thought about something.

It wasn't until Trevor got his attention did he straighten up. Seemingly startled by Trevor's arrival. His ears twitching about he stammered out "A-a-ah." clearing his throat he spoke more normally. "Welcome to Mauvache's A- Oh, you're one of those Guardian people right? I don't remember any appointments..." he sat up straighter and started looking through a couple screens in front of him. Trevor could see that there were bags under his eyes and he seemed rather frazzled.


Devin

The frog-man croaked a few times in a row in what seemed to be laughter at Devin's words. Though it was unclear if it was that he found it humorous or was mocking the shifter. Especially as he followed it up with an over-acted feigned indifference.

"Well it looks like our contestants are all ready to put their stomachs to the test! And for this contest we have something prepared by our other sponsor, the best and fastest food in the galaxy, DonMackles! No one knows cheap food like Don!"

A couple of haggard looking fast-food workers wheeled out a table with three large, covered, trays. The suited men grabbed them and placed each in front of the contestants.

They opened it up to reveal a pile of greasy burgers stacked precariously in a pyramid and covered in ketchup. The announcer spoke up again "You'll have seven minutes to eat as many burgers as you can! If you finish up one tray another will be brought by our fabulous totally volunteer workers from the DonMackles here in this mall! But there's a catch! Some of the burgers have hidden in their sauce an incredibly potent hot sauce! You'll all be provided a pitcher of water but only one! And of course if you hurl you're out automatically! The person who eats the most when the time ends wins and will receive a fabulous prize!"

The announcer then pulled out a tablet and, with a swipe, a hologram of a clock appeared above and in front of the contestants. "And....start!"

The large man dove in first. Scarfing down the burgers happily, going through them swiftly at first. And then he paused and his eyes widened. Steam shot from his ears and he grabbed the pitcher of water and chugged most of it down in one go. Afterwards he seemed more hesitant about eating more but, gulping, set about it again.

Meanwhile the frog opened his mouth incredibly wide and began to shovel the burgers into his mouth. Seemingly not even chewing before swallowing them. The whole time he kept shooting glares over at the other two.

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Fen hurried over to the disaster crash site of the fish and the zombie, looking around every which way to make sure that everything was alright. Initially she hadn't actually even looked at the two at all, instead looking around them to make sure nothing fleshy or rotten had gone flying away. As she didn't seem to notice anything the girl let out a sigh of relief as she saw Aduain hoist up Morgan from the floor, studying the zombie and confirming that she was all in one piece. With what little she knew of Morgan, she was a bit impressed actually, saying, "you're really sturdily put together, huh?" After that, she looked over to Aduain who seemed to be beaming about hurriedly going to check out new clothes. 

The girl looked at the clothes scattered at his feet and then back to him, realizing that he didn't seem to be wearing really anything prior to coming to this store. Yet now he seemed to be literally jumping out from one set into another. Perhaps there wasn't any clothes in the world he came from and seeing something new like this was what was giving him such a fit of excitement? Though, Morgan was also from the same world as him and seemed to be no stranger to clothing. Maybe it was a personal or racial creed against clothing and now that he was no longer bound by his own worlds rules he was seeing fit to break them? Fen understood such indulgences and thought they were fine in moderation, but going too overboard in one's excitement was never a good thing. Though...this was just clothing they were talking about. 

Looking over to where he was pointing, the girl then raised an even more confused eyebrow at it. Athletic clothing certainly seemed like a nice thing to have in their line of work, yet she wasn't sure if Aduain himself needed much slimming down. As far as she could see, there was nothing that would make her think that Aduain was in fact overweight, but she had never actually met someone of his species before so she didn't have much to compare it to. Unless it was a suggestion? She wasn't sure if zombies even could lose weight, at least in the normal way. And as for herself...well, she was aware that since relative peace had returned to Arbolia she hadn't been training as much as she used to, but that was hardly a reason to think she had gotten fat! Probably...And how rude to say suggest so otherwise.

All the same, Adauin seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it and so the girl politely said, "ah well, um, sure. I was still looking for more clothes anyway and uh..." Deciding that the weight loss was for him, Fen gave an assuring nod saying, "I'm sure you'll hit your goal in no time." 

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Whoever decided to follow along with Aduain and Fen to the athletic shop would find their way blocked right as they reached the entrance. By what at first appeared like a statue but turned out to be a man.

His skin looked like bronze and his muscles were so large to almost seem unreal. He was tall, as well, for a human. Being a few inches over six feet in height. He stood with his fists on his hips and looked to be flexing which strained his button-up white shirt to the point of near bursting. The man's shoulder length black hair appeared to flow in the nonexistent wind, though coming close they would realize it was the breeze from the store's air conditioning coming through the open doorway.

As he saw the group he let out a hearty laugh. "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Smiling down at them with bright white teeth he stated "Adonis sees you, small folk, and Adonis knows what you are here for. Surely you heard I was stopping by and came here to beg me to whip you into shape!" He shook his head and chuckled. "It would be an impossible task...for anyone but Adonis! I accept this challenge you who seek the glory of true fitness!"

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"Listen here you freak, and this goes for your freaky friends too! One of these days you're gonna regret messing with us!"

Like this, the Spike Brothers were gone running away with their tails between their legs. Trevor cooled the magic show for a while, exhaling slowly. He glanced over at the Cabanomicon before smirking at seeing what it said.

They actually bought that rubbish?

"Indeedly so. I'll have to make a note of that and definitely let Master Balthazar that these small tropes actually do work." Trevor stifled a laugh, still rubbing the back of his head before casting a quick Cure on himself. "Nevertheless, now that this little interruption is out of the way...let's continue to the Arena." he said, watching the grimoire now return to his side and the sorcerer continued onward...like nothing had happened.


The mage would be able to reach the arena without any further hassle and when he got inside he saw that it looked to be not yet busy hours as there weren't many people around. It was odd for him to see this place quite...empty. Well, empty...save for one lonely receptionist in the middle of the room. And oddly enough...it was one that was here the day before. He was attempting to greet them before they were automatically just brought before Mauvache.

"A-a-ah. Welcome to Mauvache's A- Oh, you're one of those Guardian people right? I don't remember any appointments..."

Appointments? Oh dear...that definitely put a damper on things. Trevor looked at the tired rabbit man before clearing his throat in response.

"Yes sir, I'm one of the ones that was here yesterday on behalf of Mauvache." he gave a pleasant smile. "Trevor Masters, at your service. However, I will say I don't have an appointment, alas. That was something I was unaware that needed to be set up, so you'll have to forgive my ignorance on that. That said, you seem quite exhausted..."

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“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
-1 Peter 3:3-4 (NIV)


“One and two and three and four and step and step and… Pose!” the photographer said.

Melissa still wasn’t sure what exactly was meant by “Pose!” Like, she understood the other instructions well enough, even if the numbers were where the actual walking was done and the “steps” were more like small hops (“pas de chat” they called them), but “Pose!” was entirely open-ended. “Express yourself, your true self. Put everything you have into the camera,” was the explanation, though no matter how Melissa did that it never seemed to satisfy them. She put her hands in various spots, she did the walkthrough again and again, but each time the artist simply said, “Yes, very good. Another!” or something to that effect. No matter what, though, Melissa could tell that they wouldn’t stop until they actually got something that could pass muster.

“Again!” they said. This time, on “Pose!” Melissa brought both hands up and gave the camera a couple of peace signs and even managed what she thought was a pretty genuine smile (pretty and genuine, even), and when the photographer went through the most recent set, they did seem a bit more pleased, but they still came back to Melissa wanting more. “It was good. You’re gorgeous. But I still want to dig a little deeper. I want something that’s you, you understand? I want you in this place, in this moment. Take a moment if you like, maybe change into something different?” They gestured over to the stack of clothes all neatly folded as they went over to the door. “I will be just outside when you are ready.”

The artist’s studio space was all the way up on the seventh floor, a floor half-dedicated to spaces just like theirs with the other half of the floor being one giant arcade/movie theater complex. Theirs was near the front, so Melissa was certainly aware of that particular aspect, what with the bass-boosted sound reverberating through the walls on a near-constant basis. If only photography required better soundproofing, Melissa thought. Maybe their darkroom was better-equipped, but Melissa didn’t dare go in there without the artist’s permission. Instead, she exhaled (she hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath) and did as instructed, going over to all the clothes.

If there was one good thing about being in a new and unfamiliar world, her not knowing exactly what her size was meant she was able to score a visit back to the changing room, which in turn meant she could recover all those clothes she had picked out already. Her inexperience also meant she could purchase her new dress while still wearing it -- that was apparently against store policy, though the employees seemed more eager to get her out of the store than to really enforce it (Melissa apologized profusely all the same). The clothes in the pile were a mixture of those she’d bought and those the photographer had bought for her. It was easy to tell which were which, though. If looking at it made her wonder why she had bought it, well, she hadn’t. They’d tried clothes in either category, though neither seemed to suit the photographer’s tastes.

What do you think?” she said aloud to the empty room.

This is the second time you have asked that, the angels said.

Well, yeah, but it’s different this time,” Melissa said. “I’m not seeking your approval or anything, I’m asking how to give them what they want. They said they want a true expression of me, and yeah, maybe strutting and giving peace signs isn’t that, but, like, I don’t know. Official school photographers were very strict with their framing and I avoided all the yearbook ones as best I could.

Is there something that you are hiding? Some part of you that they might be searching for?

I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t really want to be here but I do want to help.” She started sifting through all the clothes looking for something new. “Like, I was hesitant obviously back in the store since there was all that stuff going on but now that we’re here, I don’t think there’s any reason not to do my best.

At the bottom of the pile was her nun outfit, easily distinguishable from everything else in the stack by how well-worn it was in comparison to the other clothes straight off the rack. Seeing it gave Melissa pause. “I don’t think they’ve seen this, does that count?” she said. No answer came, but she hadn’t really been expecting one that time. “It probably won’t look great -- this thing has been through a lot -- but it’s certainly what I’m comfortable with if they’re looking for that.

She unfolded everything and held the costume up, examining it a bit more closely. Yeah, just because she liked all the other clothes she’d bought didn’t make her nun outfit any less special. Perhaps old habits really did die hard. Melissa hoped this worked. There wasn’t much more she could put on camera unless… Unless…

Wait, do you think we could…

A few moments later she opened the door and invited the photographer back into the studio. Their first impressions were cold, as they strode around her in a perfect circle getting a look at her from every angle their face was unreadable, though after two circumnavigations it finally softened into a grin. “Yes, just beautiful as everything else. I will trust you and my camera will trust you, and I am certain that we will reach the true you-ness. Are you ready?” When they saw Melissa nod, they said, “Then let us begin.”

“One and two and three and four and step and step and… Pose!”


As soon as the photographer says the word, she bows her head, clasps her hands together, braces herself, just managing to remain on her feet as her consciousness leaves her body. In just the same moment, Sandalphon the ophan erupts from her back, manifesting behind her as the camera shutter starts to click. It is smaller than it was the day before, appearing just larger than her frame as though it is meant to provide a backdrop to the pictures, giving the additional context the photographer so desires. Just as the photographer lowers their camera back down, it disappears.


The stunt left the photographer speechless -- a silence that Melissa rather appreciated after everything that came before. Even the walls seemed to stop shaking a little bit. Still, it went a bit longer than comfortable, even for someone like Melissa, and, eventually, she had to break it first. “I hope that was okay,” she said.

“I- yes! I do not even have to look at them, yes!” they said. “Perfect! Wonderful! Magnificent! Extraordinary! How many other adjectives can I use? Young miss, I will get to developing these right away and you will see these pictures everywhere, I can assure you of that. Thank you for this, I am sorry for taking up so much of your time. you may leave with the close you came in with and return to going about your day. Do not worry about the rest, I will find a use for them. They opened the door back out of the studio. “Farewell, miss, though I am sure we will see each other again!”

Melissa smiled as the photographer left the studio again, partly out of happiness but mostly out of relief for having been finished, and took a moment to change back into the floral dress she’d come in on, reflecting on the experience all the while. Maybe the dress she was wearing wasn’t entirely her yet, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t like it, right? And besides, once it had been worn even a noticeable fraction of the times she’d donned her nun outfit, it would probably become “her” just as much.

The photographer stopped her on the way out one final time. “If you do see that fish boy I asked you about, make sure to send him my way, would you?” they said.

Though she wasn’t sure that even if she did say something to Aduain he would agree to participate, nor was she really sure how hard she would try to make him change his mind, Melissa still nodded. With that, she hefted her bags of clothes and started making her way back down the mall’s many floors in search of everyone else.

Edited by radio414

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Unlike the others, the shifter took their time at first, observing the other two... small eyes, almost invisible to the naked eye, opening on either side of their face to watch. Slowly chewing their first burger, they saw the fat man begin to freak out and chug his water after pigging out, while the frog just shoveled it in and kept shooting looks that could kill. With that in mind, the shifter finished their first burger with a smirk, then slammed their head into the pile, eating through them like a ravenous animal.

To an onlooker, nothing would be out of the ordinary... But if the only issue was a hot sauce, then they just had to have their mouth nice and ready for it. In fact, it began to secrete acid within their cheeks, similar to stomach acid but a biiit more potent. Just enough to stave off the heat as they chowed down, only taking a single gulp from the water as another tray was placed in front of them. They ran their arm across their mouth dramatically, with a satisfied "ahhh", before digging in once again on the second tray, happy as a clam. The food wasn't exactly what they would have called good, but sometimes shitty food was nice, too. Though, they may have to take a break from burgers for a while...

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Trevor

"Trevor Masters, at your service. However, I will say I don't have an appointment, alas. That was something I was unaware that needed to be set up, so you'll have to forgive my ignorance on that. That said, you seem quite exhausted..."

Benjamin blinked up at Trevor, eyes bleary, a few times. The mage could practically hear gears grinding as Benjamin's overtired mind worked through what Trevor had just said. "Ah. So you didn't get one." He frowned and looked blankly at his screen a moment before smiling up at Trevor again. "Don't you worry about me just" he stifled a yawn, "just gotta work hard you know. Bills to pay. Parents to take care of, how it goes right, ahaha..." there was a silence and Benjamin's mind seemed to wander a moment before he snapped back to it.

"Right, sorry, you wanted, um, you wanted...to see the boss right?" He looked back at the screen and slowly said "Well, she's a busy woman, um....but you folk do have some special...hrm." he furrowed his brow and his ears dropped as he looked at the screen.

He jumped as a buzzing noise went off and he hurriedly picked up a phone "Y-yes? Oh, oh really? Well that's great then I'll tell him!" He smiled at Trevor as he hung up. "Miss Mauvache says she'll see you. Don't know how she knew you were here but that's the boss for you." He smiled widely at Trevor and tried to hide another yawn.

Spoiler

You can just go up via elevator to Mauvache's office if you'd like, unless you want to talk to Benjamin about something, left it open for you. If you want to do both and/or want lines that's always an option too.


Melissa

As the girl made it to the next floor on her journey back to where she had left the rest she would notice that the crowd was getting larger. More people and less room to move through the throngs. Most of them seemed unconcerned about this but as Melissa looked on they noticed a few people make annoyed grunts and stumble to the side. As though something was pushing through them. However they seemed to take a look at whatever it was that bumped into them and either smiled or shrugged and continued on their way.

She soon would see that whatever it was was making their way towards her. And soon the source of it would be revealed. A girl with unusual looking arms stood in front of her.

The girl was short, more than six inches shorter than Melissa herself, and was looking up at Melissa with a sparkle in her eyes. "Hi!" she declared, raising one of her arms up. "I'm Dora! I don't know who you are but I get the feeling you're like me! Well. You're not a Quagsire. You're..." her face scrunched up as she tried to remember, "a hooomin. So not like me like that. But that's okay! Some of my best friends are hoomin! But you're still like me I can tell!" She smiled up at Melissa and blinked a few times. She seemed to have lost track of what she came up to say and then, suddenly, jumped.

"Oh! Fishsicles! I'm looking for them! I was told to find the food cour...court! The nice lady with the hat told me I had to go down some floors so I've been going up and down for an hour but they haven't appeared yet! Did you see any fishsicles where you came from? Where DID you come from?"

She paused a moment and then repeated "I'm Dora!"


Devin

As the competition went on the eating grew more intense and noisy as the contestants picked up speed. However after going through a second tray the large man, having long since emptied his water, was red-faced and had tears streaming down. He shoveled a few more burgers in his mouth, seemingly hoping they'd cool off his burning tongue, but it seemed he was unfortunate enough to have gotten another spicy burger in the process.

Suddenly he jumped up to his feet and ran off. Presumably to find some source of water to drown himself in.

"And then there were two! Contestant three couldn't take the heat but the other two are going strong!"

As the announcer said the frog-man was still going at the same pace. Practically neck and neck with Devin. However even he, after several trays, started to slow a bit. Having to take small, and then larger, drinks of water as the spice got to him. Still he pushed on, eating more and more, only speeding up as though challenging the hot sauce to try and stop him.

But even he, eventually, ran out of water and, after a few more burgers, realized he wouldn't be able to handle more without more water.

With a grunt he pushed away from the table and rose his hands, announcing his surrender.

Once Devin ate more than the frog had the announcer called it. "And we have a wiiiinner! Congratulations to....Kyubaru!"

After a bit of fanfare one of the suited men came out with a much smaller, covered, tray. He opened it up in front of Devin. Revealing a silver pin in the shape of a D on a purple cushion. As he held it out for Devin the announcer spoke up again "And you've won...a lifetime pass to DonMackles! All the burgers you can eat! Conditionsapplylimitedamountdailydonmacklesisnotliableforanyillnessesorinjuriesthatmayoccurasaresultofeatingattherestaurantnotactuallyallyoucaneatdrinksnotincluded. Everyone give our big eater a big hand!"

However it seemed that the frog was growing more agitated by the second. Finally he jumped up on the table in front of Devin. Taking a deep breath their body looked to swell in size and the glowered at the shapeshifter. "You cheated! No way you didn't feel that spice at all! This was rigged wasn't it?" One of the suited men went up to try and bring him down and the frog hit him with a backwards kick and sent them flying into one of the cameras. "You did some sort of trick didn't you!?"

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iU8EggM.png

"Don't you worry about me just" he stifled a yawn, "just gotta work hard you know. Bills to pay. Parents to take care of, how it goes right, ahaha..."

"Ah I understand. However, I would say that getting the proper sleep and making sure your sleep schedule is in working order would benefit you. Remember, while you can take care of others, it's also necessary that you take care of yourself." Trevor gave a smile towards the rabbit man.

Benjamin gave a weak smile "Yeah." he agreed, though his tone implied that he was just saying that. About this time, he apparently got word from Mauvache that he could see the boss. "Miss Mauvache says she'll see you. Don't know how she knew you were here but that's the boss for you."

Hmmm, perhaps this one's influence here is a lot different than I originally thought...if she was able to know I was here before they even informed her I was here. Trevor thought, nodding slightly. With a nod, he planned to walk past the secretary, but immediately casted a small Cure spell on the rabbit man. "I hope that does help you out some. Keep up the good work." he flashed a smile and thumbs up before making his way towards the elevator. Once on the elevator, Trevor watched the doors close and immediately pulled his grimoire out. "Now, you are to be on your best behavior...nothing like the situation with Morgan, are we clear?"

Ah but of course, Masters. What do you take me for? An uncivilized piece of literature that will squander a chance with someone like our benefactor?

"...that's EXACTLY what I think." Trevor sighed, putting the grimoire back on his side. The elevator sprung to life, but at second glance, Trevor noticed something...this was taking him to an unmarked floor...there was no button for it on the panel. One could suppose, that this meant the only way to see here was if she wanted to see you. Perhaps he could count his lucky stars that this was such a moment.

BGM

Nevertheless, the elevator finally stopped and presented Trevor with a room, in which he saw Mauvache sitting there in quite the extravagant chair. The moment the young sorcerer entered the room, he could feel cold and clammy...or at least, the room itself did. It was there for a moment, and then it lifted and was gone. He exhaled slowly before adjusting his tie slightly...had to look presentable.

She seemed to have been waiting and gestures for a, much less extravagant than her own, chair in front of the desk. "Go on, sit, sit, I was just enjoying a cup of coffee."

"Apologies if I was interrupting anything, Miss Mauvache." Trevor gave a smile, sitting down in the less extravagant chair. "Further apologies are being made in not scheduling an appointment with you. Had I known about that, I would've penciled in an appointment with you post haste on our first meeting. Alas, I suppose there was no time then...but regardless, I do thank you for meeting with me."

Her eyebrow raised a moment before she took a sip of her coffee. Setting the cup down and sitting up right herself, she proved that even sitting down she's clearly got a tall and commanding presence. "I take it you did not come here just to say hello? As you imagine I often deal with people...with concerns about all this. I'm sure whatever ails you will be something I've figured out already."

"As perceptive as you are a fantastic judge of hats." Trevor tipped his own, making a light joke. "What ails me happens to be something in which you said the day prior, my dear. In which greeted those of us you called 'Guardians' to this world of yours...and made it clear of the worlds outside of this one." The young sorcerer also began to sit up straight in his chair, staring at Mauvache. "What I wish to know is, why give confirmation and credence of this? There's a World Order that should be upheld...one should not let others know that they're from another world...lest this leads into the possible destruction of another. The balance of separation of worlds must be upheld. However...this is a ruling within my own...I suppose universe or multiverse would be the proper term." He paused, now crossing his one leg over the other. "That said, I wish to know...is if the rules of the World Order that I was dealing with on my side of things, if it actually applies here. If not, then this is quite an interesting discovery to hear."

As he finished, Trevor immediately noticed a sharp look in Mauvache's eyes that faded away after a few moments. She took another, slow, sip of her drink and then once again sat it aside. Placing her elbows on her desk and interlocking her fingers the woman stared at Trevor for a couple seconds. "Why would I not? You all were brought here without warning the least I could do is be honest." A smirk on her face is quickly hidden behind her collar and she continued. "I can assure you no such rule exists here. And the only one who needs to worry about any....balance, is myself."

"I see...so my hypothesis was correct." Trevor nodded, his hand being brought up to his chin. "So the rule that was bound within my own world and the worlds surrounding it, don't apply to Rama-Indri...this is truly fascinating indeed." He snapped his fingers and his grimoire sprung to life, a pen immediately conjuring up beside it. "Do make a note of that..." While the grimoire wrote this down, Trevor gave a light smile towards Mauvache. "This was truly the reason I sought an audience with you. As someone who was tasked to keep the worlds separated and to make sure none would realize there were other worlds, I had to know the inner workings of this world itself. However, seems that this has been a weight lifted off my shoulders in a way."

She shook her head with a smile. "As I said you don't have to worry about that; all you should concern yourself is the job I asked of you...and when you're not doing that you just have to relax and enjoy yourself." She thought a moment, before following up with something else. "By the way, you should let me see those notes of yours some day. I'm something of a lover of knowledge myself."

"You wish to view the Cabanomicon?" Trevor asked, looking at the book who seemed to suddenly become bashful. This caused the sorcerer to chuckle lightly. "Well, my dear, I don't see why not. As long as nothing gets used in any evil schemes." He laughed a bit more, waving this off. "I jest... either way, Cabanomicon, if you will." Thus, the grimoire floated towards Mauvache, it's chain slightly assisting the book make a bowing motion. "That book is a culmination of the knowledge of my master's master, the great wizard Merlin. Within its pages are the magic I perform, along with my general notes thus far. Though it's ever changing and growing, learning more and more...it's a special tome that Merlin had great use of. There may even be more and more magic and spells that will reveal themselves to me when the time comes."

She laughed as well. "Perish the thought." She reached for it and paused. She looked at the book for a moment with furrowed brow. "On second thought, perhaps another day, I wouldn't want to rush through it and I really do not have time to do this properly." As she pulled her hand away, however, Trevor would and surely did notice a small spark of electricity connecting her hand with the book for a moment.

"Ah you are correct. After all, you did say you are quite the busy one." Trevor smirked, snapping his fingers as the grimoire returned to him and at his side. He noticed the electricity connecting her hand with the book, which was the reason he smirked, but he chose not to say anything else. "I suppose, with that in mind...we'll most likely have another chance at a private meeting. I will say, out of all those in other worlds, you are by far the most interesting individual I've had the pleasure of coming across."

She chuckled. "You're bold, young man, but I assure you there are many interesting things and people to see here."

"With my adventures before this...the boldness came with it." he simply tipped his hat once again. "But I trust your word on meeting and witnessing many other interesting things. Let's pray that they are able to catch and keep my attention." With a wink, Trevor stood up and bowed slightly. "Alas, I believe I've taken up enough of your time, my dear. I thank you for the audience you provided me with today." With that, the sorcerer's apprentice took his leave of the room and exited from the elevator in which he came. However, while now this issue of the World Order was off his mind, now came a new one... What was that spark of electricity that connected her hand and the grimoire? Furthermore...that sharpness in her eyes...there may be more than I'm realizing at face value...perhaps the rest will be revealed in due time. he thought, now lost in his thoughts.

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Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
-1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)


Melissa’s plan to just take one of those elevators (the ones that were really only moving platforms) down to the first floor and look for everyone starting where she’d left them was a good one in theory, but she hadn’t accounted for just how crowded the elevators could get, especially after a movie had just finished and everyone was streaming out. She had to wait just to get on one! And when she did, it was packed to the brim and she found her back pressed up against the force field keeping everything contained and that was like every nightmare she’d ever had. She managed two floors before stumbling back out and deciding to look for the stairs.

But the fifth floor was packed too! It was packed for a different reason -- this was apparently the floor with a giant combination meatball factory and furniture store, so anyone who was anyone would be there, of course -- but that didn’t mean Melissa wasn’t constantly dodging elbows or avoiding eye contact with anyone who deigned to approach. Despite all that, she still heard the occasional annoyed grunt, and each one certainly did a number on her. She must have apologized at least a dozen times.

Keeping her head down, though, meant that she didn’t see Dora walk up to her until she was practically in her face. Dora’s “You’re like me!” proclamation very nearly bowled Melissa over, and it was really only then that Melissa noticed Dora’s very-much-not-like-hers arms. “Well, you’re not a Quagsire,” was Dora’s follow-up, as if that was supposed to explain things, but Dora didn’t really look like a Quagsire either. Like, Melissa wasn’t really into Pokémon but she knew what a Quagsire looked like and Dora didn’t look like that.

It was right around “You’re a hoomin!” that Melissa started to piece things together. She was still hung up on how Dora was able to pick her out of a crowd like that but all the other questions she had started to get answered. it was at “Fishsicles!” that Melissa became increasingly aware that not only had she not spoken in response to any of this, she was also staring with what was definitely a dumbfounded expression on her face, so first impressions were off to a great start.

Still, Dora eventually let up and gave Melissa a bit of room to breathe and take her turn speaking. “You got it, I’m Melissa the human,” she said as she offered her hand to shake (and immediately wondered if a handshake was even the proper greeting). “Um, I’m from- I’d have to show you on a map where I live since I’m still a bit new and don’t know all the neighborhood names yet, but before that, I lived in a place called Ambrosia, though I’m sure you haven’t heard of it. I don’t know if we had fishsicles, but I think the food court is on the lowest lowest level so if we just keep going down, I think we can find it and you can show me what they are then.

Each sentence came out kind of stilted and she wasn’t really sure she wanted to get too sidetracked, especially since she still remembered the situation they’d been in when she left, but yeah, guess that was happening then if her ramblings hadn’t scared Dora off. “What else was on your world that you should tell me about?” she asked, trying to focus the conversation back Dora’s way.
 

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"Yeah, not really my style huh?"

Morgan simply shook her head in agreement. As Aduain relieved himself of the finely-sewn prison he'd found himself in, Morgan was met with another question. From that Fen girl!

"You're really sturdily put together, huh?"

"Of  course," Morgan answered, with a sufficiently smug expression on her face. "I  was  put  together  by  the  very  best,  so  I'm  much  harder  to  break  than  the  living." It wasn't always the case that she was incredibly hard to break, but that was owing more to herself than her creator. In hindsight, how did she even function when she first set out into the great big world out there? It was a good thing she figured herself out quickly, or else she probably wouldn't have "lived" long enough to go off on another great adventure like this one.

"Everything's fine! But we should totally move things uh... that-a-way don't ya think?"

Casting her gaze over to where Aduain had pointed, Morgan saw that the fish had developed a sudden interest in athletic clothing. Despite his apparent eagerness to get out of everything else. Maybe that was just his style? Come to think of it, something like that would be really helpful! It wasn't like Morgan needed exercise, but she certainly didn't want to wear this nice dress she was going to buy out on dangerous work! It was as the old Hunter saying went, "A Hunter dressed to kill is dressed to be killed."

Or maybe that was just something her partner from early in her career said. Either way, the lesson was very clear, and very pragmatic! Trotting over to the athletic gear after confirming the dress was still in good shape, Morgan perused the sportsy clothes on display. It was probably a good idea to buy two sets. That way if one got ripped she could fix it and wear the other set instead. Very smart! For simplicity's sake, Morgan chose two of the same set of clothes; a faded white basketball shirt with a blue trim, and a matching pair of shorts. Upon further observation, the shirts had some kind of orange planet on the front. Must have been merchandise for some team or another.

"Ah well, um, sure. I was still looking for more clothes anyway and uh... I'm sure you'll hit your goal in no time."

"You've  got  this," Morgan reassured, turning and giving Aduain a thumbs-up of encouragement. "Whatever  it  is." Procuring a third shirt from the wall in front of her, Morgan held the clothing out for Aduain. "This  is  my  size,  so  it  should  be  pretty  big  on  you.  Plenty  of  breathing  room  for  your  gills  or  however  you  breathe." And made of a breathable material, too!

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The competition actually ended a bit earlier than the shifter had expected. It seemed like standard fare overall, though the D was a bit... gaudy, even by their standards. But whatever, free shitty food was free shitty food! Humming a little for their amusement, they moved to stand up, only to be caught off guard by froggy. Maybe they should have become a giant cat, instead...

"You cheated! No way you didn't feel that spice at all! This was rigged wasn't it?" The shifter smirked as the frog stood his ground, even against the suited man. He was freaking out, sure, but... "You did some sort of trick didn't you!?"

"Well, I gotta say... if you're freaking out this much, you probably need it more than me." The large man handed the D up to the frog, flashing a toothy grin. "So take it. I just joined cause I thought it sounded like a nice way to kill time, hahaha!"

The frog quivers and seems to be struggling to speak out of anger, finally speaking out with a series of barely connected words "You...I...better than me...do you? Laughing...big....cheating...gah!"

Suddenly, one of the froggy legs was headed right for the shifter... Who took it right to the face, staring straight forward at the frog, their expression now flat. Instead of feeling his foot hit flesh, the shifter's skin had taken a texture similar to rubber, absorbing the shock. With a sigh, the shifter stood up.

"I didn't cheat. If you using your tongue to scoop more burgers in isn't cheating, how is using my body?" with teeth grit, the shifter lifted the silver emblem up... and pushed it into their mouth, swallowing it whole with a visible gulp, "And I guess you don't need that after all."

With a grumble, the shifter turned away. This had been fun, but people like that ruined everything.

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Aduain, Morgan, and Fen had begun moving to the athletic section of the clothing store. The fish was still a touch confused at Fen's mention of his goal and Morgan's encouragement. But he didn't want to delay their moving further away from the photographer so he chose not to question it much more than that. Aduain was curious to see what Prana felt athletic equipment should look and feel like. A lot of it was stretchy but most all of it felt like it would slow him down in the water so he wasn't immediately keen on buying anything. Morgan seemed to be enjoying herself anyway as she held a shirt out toward him. She was right, it definitely would be big on him. But that could be fun in its own way and like she said, enough room his gills wouldn't be obstructed.

"Mouth's for eating, sides' for breathing." The hunter succinctly summarized Morgan's open pondering about how he breathed. The flaps of his gills even lifted up for a moment as he took a big breath to show her before taking hold of the shirt. He held the article of clothing up to himself to try and see just how big it would be on him. It was going to be long more than anything that was for sure. As it happened this section of the store didn't have much of a wall as it bled back out into rest of the mall. And the group had caught the attention of a man just across from them. Adonis' laugh pierced the air as he stood in their path just as they were moving in the general direction of his store. Aduain had been looking over his shoulder half the time since they had moved and continued to do so now. The fish hadn't entirely registered everything the muscular human had said but an excuse to go into a different store altogether was perfect.

"Yeah yeah, sounds great let's go-" Aduain cut himself off as he finally got a good look at Adonis. "Wow that sure is some shape." he said in awe of the physique before him.

"Yes, it is indeed quite majestic isn't it?" Adonis said as he tossed his hair and admired himself in the nearest window. "I'm sure even one as small as you could look, well, something like me if you tried." Aduain had to try not to laugh at the idea of his body looking anything like what he saw before him. It was funny enough he almost wanted to take the deal purely to see what it would be like.

"Hmm... seems like that might slow me down. I know! A demonstration! I wanna see what muscles like that can do!" Aduain said as he began looking around for the heaviest object he could find in the mall. If he was going to look ridiculous like Adonis he had to be sure there were benefits. The body builder instead offered an arm to the fish to grab onto which Aduain did gigling all the while. The man then looked to Fen and said "Excuse me, little lady" as he proceeded to lift her off the ground and into the air along with Aduain.

"Not bad big guy!" the hunter cheered, enjoying the display. "But I ain't the biggest fish in the sea, let's see you go all out!" Adonis laughed and moved to pick up Morgan as well. But upon closer inspection of her he decided against it.

"This was just child's play of course! The great Adonis can lift more than you can even imagine." Adonis declared as he motioned for a staff member to join him outside the store. Without warning they too were lifted. Aduain could only laugh. Without nen, at least he assumed this was without nen he couldn't tell if Adonis had any like most of the Pranans, this was fairly impressive.

"Not just for show!" The hunter said as he let go and hopped to the ground. "If you can really lift more than I can imagine then... what'd people call it again? Oh yeah! We should arm wrestle!" he said, bouncing from foot to foot at the idea. Adonis busted into laughter for some several seconds before settling with a look of surprise.

"O-oh, you're serious! Well, I suppose Adonis does not mind but I wouldn't want to hurt you little man." the buff man said.

"No problem! I'm tough as they come! Even a couple giant squids can't hold me down" Aduain boasted in an attempt to assure he was up to the task.

"Giant...squids...Well, alright if you say so just don't feel bad about losing!" Adonis returned with confidence.

Adonis escorted Aduain, and either of the girls who wished to follow, into the athletic store across the way. At his word staff set a table and two chairs down in the middle of the room which caught the attention of any shoppers in the area. Surrounded by workout equipment and other buff, though perhaps not Adonis level, people, Aduain seemed even smaller than he already was but his excitement was bigger than any of them. A small crowd was forming around the table, knowing Adonis must have been issued a challenge. Several cheers were already sounding from some fans of the man. Though he seemed conflicted as though there should have been more people clamoring to see him all the time.

Disbelief shot through the crowd as Aduain stepped up to his seat. Several concerns could be heard among the whispers of the still growing spectators. Surely he was out of his mind to challenge Adonis. He was so small. What was this fish person doing here? Would his arm survive even grasping Adonis'? Where were his pants? Endless angles to the same conclusion: Adonis was sure to win before it even got exciting.

The two contestants shook hands first then transitioned smoothly into the standard positions, each elbow on the table with fists above. Though the size difference made the posture somewhat difficult. Aduain readied himself and visible only to Morgan his nen was very calm and stable at the moment. Adonis offered him one last chance to back down which Aduain assured wasn't necessary. At a staff member's call the two began pushing against the other. Despite the talk it was clear neither was pushing all that hard against the other yet. Smirks were exchanged and the hunter obliged and began pushing as Adonis' hand began moving.

"Good, good that's the way! But the great Adonis will not be beaten!" the man shouted. Cheers erupted from his fans while others turned away, not wanting to see how badly the fish's arm would be crushed once Adonis finally exerted himself. With his ever present flair for the dramatic the man let his hand come nearly to the table before the veins in his arm began visibly popping out as he forced Aduain's hand over and nearly to the opposite side of the table. But to everyone's alarm, none more so than Adonis himself, the fish's hand did not go all the way. The nen in the hunter's arm was flowing faster now and was the cause of the deceptive strength. Adonis exerted more and more of himself trying to push the fin hand the final inch yet it wouldn't budge. Aduain's smirk grew all the bigger as new murmurs went through the crowd. Finally someone shouted for Adonis to stop messing around. The moments seemed like eternities for the body builder at this unflinching tiny hand. For Aduain this was a light warm up.

"Pretty sure I can imagine this big guy." Aduain mocked as his nen began really surging. Slowly Adonis' hand was moving back. Up and through the middle, back down close to the other side of the table. Visible panic set in to Adonis' face at the prospect of losing to one less than half his size. The crowd now was souring as his defeat hung over them. How could he be losing to someone so much smaller than him? Were they wrong to have believed in him? Aduain, who had been ready to beat the man and show the error in judging strength purely by muscle size, took note of the crowd and saw the pain on the man's face. These people meant a lot to him. Their respect and admiration obviously kept him going. And as a guardian of this place... well Aduain didn't feel it right to take that from him. So he completely relaxed his nen, his arm taking on the strength one might expect of such an untoned limb.

Adonis felt the unbearable strength leave his opponent and he looked deeply into the fish's eyes and found only understanding. With a genuine smile and a nod Aduain told him silently to do what he had to. A single manly tear fell down the body builder's face as he slammed Aduain's fist into the opposite side of the table in one motion. The Great Adonis had triumphed. Renewed cheers sounded, faith was restored in his fans.

"That was a dirty trick letting me think I'd won!" Aduain cried out in feigned bitterness.

"There, there. Prana wasn't built in a day! And neither were the muscles of the Great Adonis!" The man cheered with another of his hearty laughs. The store joined him and even Aduain couldn't help but try it out himself.

Edited by Doggo

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Fen had walked alongside Morgan and Aduain to the athletic section of the clothing store, only for Fen to stop in her tracks briefly as soon as they saw the statue of the man named Adonis. Or perhaps it was better to say the man himself was like a statue, as he began to extoll praises to himself and seeming to think they were here to learn from him. Fen was indeed impressed by the man's physique, more so in how he had managed to reach such a state, even if she didn't exactly seek the same results for herself. She was fine with her figure as it was and the idea of being a hulking woman of muscle moving around the kitchen and doing delicate work with such bulky arms didn't appeal to her. Though, it would probably help when it came to using iron. As the girl continued to think about the pros and cons of having such muscles in the work place she realized she was suddenly being reached for by the man, who was already holding Aduain as it was. 

"Eh?" She wondered what exactly was happening but was suddenly hoisted into the air, resting on the man's arm as he seemed to effortlessly be lifting just about everyone who was in the immediate area. The girl let out an, "oooh," impressed at the man's display of herculean strength, noting that the muscles he had here were also not just for show. She wasn't really sure what went into getting this level overhead lift, but she let out a small applause as the man's show came to an end. After the display, the Aduain had then seemed to want to challenge the man to a duel of pure physical strength. The girl wasn't particularly sure why, wondering if he was like some of her more combative and fight happy guild members. All the same, she joined the rest of the audience as the arm wrestling match began. 

Fen had already known how strong Aduain was, seeing the force he could strike and jump with. But she hadn't realized that it was more than just explosive power that he could generate. Watching the match carefully, she had been impressed with how the fish man had been able to match and start to overtake Adonis in this contest. As the crowd had been cheering for Adonis earlier as well, Fen couldn't help but let out a, "go! fight, Aduain!" Though, her voice was much softer and singular compared to the roar of the crowd. As the match seemed to be resolving, though, Adonis's hand nearly hitting the table something happened. Aduain suddenly seemed to lose all strength in his arm, and the body builder came out the victor. As the crowd roared back to life, celebrating the man's victory, Fen thought about what had just happened. She wasn't sure how his power actually worked, but he didn't seem to particularly be in pain or exhausted so it didn't seem like he ran out of...whatever magic he was using. He didn't seem particularly upset about losing either. But, as Adonis had let out a hearty laugh and the whole crowd, including her teammate, had joined in the girl couldn't help but smile along. 

Walking over to the fish, going to pat him in consolation but realizing that both his shoulders and back were blocked by his head, reached out a hand to do so but ended up pulling it back a bit confused. All the same, she said, "well, that was a great effort there Aduain, unfortunate how things ended but," the girl gave a small chuckle before simply giving the fish man a thumbs up for a job well done. Looking back to Adonis, she gave a small bow saying, "good job to you too Adonis. I've seen what you can do but well, uh, I'd rather keep myself how I am now. Oh but, really, I do hope things go well for you on your muscle building uh...journey." 

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Trevor

As the master magician left the Arena he would suddenly find the man from the other day, who Mauvache had introduced as Nezar, standing before him. He hadn't been there before but in a moment he was standing there with a blank expression on his face. "I was asked to lead you to the library." Nezar said and, without waiting for confirmation from Trevor, started to head off down the street. He was moving at a quick pace and seemed to want to get this job over with as soon as he could.

Once they arrived at the building Nezar would nod at it and say "There it is." And, within a few moments later, he turned, took a couple steps, and had vanished.

Leaving Trevor standing in front of a towering building. If he were to count the windows it would seem to be forty floors high but each floor looked to be taller than most.

As he entered he would find that the ceiling on the first floor was twenty feet high. There were stairs off to one end but also in the middle of the room was a large freight elevator that, as he watched, someone exited and walked out the door.

Off to the side opposite the spiral staircase was a desk where dozens of screens circled it. In the middle, on a floating chair, sat an extremely old looking woman who was hunched over and staring intently at one of the screens. She looked over at Trevor and glowered at him, "shh." she hissed, despite that he wasn't making noise, before going back to looking at the screens.


Melissa

Dora looked at Melissa's hand for a while before leaning down and bopping it with her head. Then she pulled back and giggled. "Oh, yeah, I forgot I have arms now!" she then grabbed Melissa's hand in both of hers and roughly shook it up and down for a while.

I lived in a place called Ambrosia, though I’m sure you haven’t heard of it. I don’t know if we had fishsicles, but I think the food court is on the lowest lowest level so if we just keep going down, I think we can find it and you can show me what they are then.

"Ambrosia...Ambrosia..." Dora said, as though trying to remember it. "Wait, is that your name?" She blinked and then gasped. "Fishicles! That's what I'm looking for! You know where they are but don't know what they are? Are you a Psychic-type?" Dora asked excitedly but didn't give Melissa much time to answer before saying "Fishicles are fishicles, silly!"

What else was on your world that you should tell me about?

"My world?" Dora tilted her head to the side. "Well there's Brooke, and Denku, and mom, and dad, and lots of water and also not water and some people trying to end the world OH AND FISHICLES!" she nodded happily. "We should get some they're at the food court. Someone said they're down some floors I think...That's this way!" she grabbed onto Melissa and, giggling, pulled her along through the crowd without any notice of anyone in her way as they made their way down to where the fabled food court was.

Eventually, after Dora several times tried to go back up floors, they reached the food court and Dora looked around in shock at all the various stalls. "It's a festival!" she declared. Then, turning to Melissa, said "What did you wanna get here anyway?"


Devin

The frog looked disturbed and panicked as his foot sank into Devin's face. As Devin stood up he looked at his own foot as though he couldn't believe that was what had resulted from the kick. He still seemed angry about the whole thing but, as Devin walked away, when he called out "Hey! You stop!" and started towards the shifter the brief pause gave the suits enough time to tackle the frog to the ground. As Devin walked away he heard the frog say "I'll get you back next time rubber person!"

There had been a hefty amount of people watching on and talking about the situation but, now that the action was over, they seemed to lose interest startlingly fast and Devin found themself mostly ignored as they moved away from the scene.

Out of the corner of their eye they could see the man who had talked him into this in discussion with a couple of rather rough looking men. They seemed to be doing some sort of business involving the competition as the man kept gesturing over towards the table.

They would also, in a moment, see Melissa wandering towards the food stalls. Accompanied by a rather small blue haired stranger.


Adonis

Despite his laughing, Adonis couldn't quite keep his expression fully at ease. When he thought back to the match his brow momentarily furrowed and his eyes would dart over to Aduain as though he wasn't fully certain what had happened. Clearing his throat he called out to the crowd "Now, you best be going, as much as I'd like to let you admire me to your heart's content we wouldn't want to make trouble for the workers here! You can always come find me at the sports stadium if you want an autograph!"

"good job to you too Adonis. I've seen what you can do but well, uh, I'd rather keep myself how I am now. Oh but, really, I do hope things go well for you on your muscle building uh...journey." 

"Ah, a shame, but it is for the best I suppose! I wouldn't want to break your delicate arms after all!" He laughed, only for it to peter out after a moment. Then he looked to Aduain "And I, er, think it best you stick to whatever fitness program you have yourself. It was silly of me to think that anyone could handle Adonis's program after all!"

He stood there, oddly ill at ease, looking as though he was trying to come to a conclusion about what had happened that satisfied him. "As for, er, what happened, I should tell you that I had some bad seafood early this week and I've been feeling a bit off! Yes, off indeed...Well! I suppose I must be going! Many places deserve the great Adonis's presence! Many places indeed!"

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This wasn’t the first time Melissa had experienced an introduction involving a confusing and awkward head pat, though the last time she could remember she was on the receiving end and also very small. Really, Melissa couldn’t tell which was more awkward, the way Dora bent down to butt her head against Melissa’s hand or the double-grab vigorous handshake not dissimilar to the one of an up-and-coming businessperson trying to assert dominance -- even if Dora didn’t mean it that way, that was certainly what it felt like.

Still, Melissa nodded along to Dora’s follow-up, though she had to pause when Dora got to asking about typing. She certainly didn’t feel like a psychic-type (and she didn’t quite get Dora’s rationale either), if anything, she’d rather be like a ghost or maybe a fairy (a ghost-fairy?), but before she could respond, Dora had already moved on. “Fishsicles are fishsicles, silly!” she said. Melissa wasn’t sure what she’d expected.

Melissa did start to get a sense of how to handle the Quagsire-yet-not-a-Quagsire in front of her, though. Dora’s rambling exposition was starting to make sense. Dora actually reminded her of someone else from her world, now that she thought about it, and if handling her was any similar she just had to go along for the ride, so when Dora restated her destination and pulled Melissa towards the stairs, she happily came just behind.


Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
-Genesis 1:29 (NIV)

It took a bit longer than expected -- Dora apparently thought if they went up floors there “were more lower levels to choose from, she said the lower level was where the fishsicles were and I just want to make sure we find them” and Melissa had to pull Dora back down the stairs those times (at least they took the stairs instead of those wretched elevators again!) -- but they made it! Like everywhere else in the mall, the food court was pretty crowded, but at least here it made sense. There was just so much to choose from, how could anyone not just stand back in awe at the sheer variety. There was everything, from chain fast food (or Melissa assumed they were chains from the style of their branding, she didn’t actually recognize anything) to the single-stall one-item menu type stuff. When Dora asked what she wanted to get, all Melissa could really respond with was, “Um…

The only way she was able to choose was by closing her eyes and just saying the first thing that she saw when she opened them. She landed on a medium-sized booth with a SKIES OVER SICILY sign above it. “Pasta?” she said. “But you were going to get something else, I thought.” 

She froze. She didn’t really want to leave the one familiar face in the whole crowd, even if it was still barely familiar, but now she was committed, wasn’t she? She’d already said the thing. She couldn’t take it back when she didn’t have a better option in mind. The signs were starting to be a bit overwhelming, too. And the noise. And the people. And the-

Wait, no.” She came upon the solution just in time. It was a bit obvious, but it would work considering the circumstances. “We were supposed to be getting fishsicles, right? We still need to look for those. They have to be here somewhere.

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Fen chuckled along with Adonis for the moment that he did, but didn't say much more as he made his exit, giving a small wave to him as he left. Looking over to Aduain the girl said, "but that was pretty cool Aduain. I knew you could jump and move fast, but I didn't know you were also super strong..." Putting a hand to her chin, curious, the girl asked, "normally with magic, from where I'm from each person only gets one kind and that's it. Does your uh, Nen stuff work differently?" She looked to Morgan as well, as if inviting her to join in on the question too, though also curious about how Nen worked in the zombie girl as well.

After the question was finished, Fen was ready to buy the clothing she had gotten and move on to whatever else there was to view in this impressively massive building. However, she had noticed that there was something off about the group. Well, she had figured something wasn't quite right from the get go but the excitement of the arm wrestle had distracted her slightly from it. Turning and looking around for a brief moment, Fen looked to the others, curious once again. "Where's Melissa?" 

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As the shifter walked off in a huff, they noticed the rat-like man weaseling off, and wondered if they should follow after... But something else caught their eye as well, causing them to freeze up. There she was in the middle of the food court, the source... Well, no, the victim of the maelstrom. She looked a little lost alongside a... was that a Quagsire? Aduain was one thing, but a literal P*kem*n? Huh. Wonders never ceased here. 

We were supposed to be getting fishsicles, right? We still need to look for those. They have to be here somewhere.

The voice hit the shifter's attuned ears, causing their stomach to sink a bit. She seemed okay... Was she really okay? Other than looking for those things. No one looking for those had to be okay, if their taste test had anything to say about it. But... 

"Well, if yer looking for fishsicles, they're right over there," The hulking "Kyubaru" walked up to the duo, scratching their neck and trying not to make eye contact, "I don't know why anyone would want one, but... Y'know, different strokes for different folks, I guess. Er, sorry, guess ya don't want a random stranger butting in, even if it's helpful, haha. Name's Kyubaru. I consider myself something of a foodie, so I can tell ya what places ARE worth eating at."

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