Page 17Dressing up

The clothing store that had attracted my reflection was actually interesting enough to explore. I was completely unsure if I wanted to wear color, white or even dark clothes. Well, I actually wanted to step away from white. I was no longer innocent and shouldn't pretend to be. Maybe if I had found myself again I would dare to wear white clothes again. Dark clothes might be useful as it would allow me to stalk the night and rooftops more easily. But did I want to be a stalker?

Hmm... Yes, I kind of did, actually. I wanted to walk the world my way.

There were two women in the store, talking to each-other until they noticed me. One of them stayed behind the register while the other headed straight towards me. She was quite a bit older than me, but had a kind face. The store was almost empty, another girl was browsing the lingerie area with her back towards us and didn't want to he helped, I thought.

"Can I help you?" The woman spoke pleasantly.

"Eh, yes, you can. I'm searching for a new look."

She blinked but smiled. "Any idea what you want to go for?"

"I don't know, something that looks good on me, allows me to run and jump freely and doesn't attract too much attention."

She woman giggled. "You climb trees, don't you?"

I blushed. "Eh... Maybe?"

She smiled. "I'm sorry, I've got a daughter, maybe a year or two younger but she loves trees, even with the lack of good climbable trees here."

"I eh..." I really was dumbfounded for a moment. Yes, it's tempting to make me look better, but it was just so bizarre.

"Okay, do you prefer colors or something darker and durable?"

I hadn't quite decided yet. "Let's start with durable."

The woman walked with me to the rack with pants, there were faded dark blue jeans that had stitching on the back. It was a sort of mix between tribal and flowers and looked quite good. The stitching was a little lighter than the rest of the jeans, but they felt strong. She showed me a few of them, mostly the same in different sizes. To my shame I realized I'd completely forgotten about what size I was and just let her take measurements and pick three of them that came the closest.

While I tried them on, she found some shirts as well. It was summer and even the evening was fairly warm, so she didn't look for anything better. She'd picked the size quite neatly though. When I tried to fit the shirts, she'd apparently looked past the curtain into the changing room.

"Eh, miss?"

With the shirt in front of me, keeping the curtain open with my other hand, I turned around and looked at her. "Yes?"

"I didn't intentionally look, but you appear to need a new bra as well, that one is cutting into your skin."

I blushed a little. "I guess."

She smiled. "May I take your measurements there?"

I nodded.

She took her time and measured it neatly. Undoing my bra but not removing it. She was very patient with me and it was nice of her to do so. She returned minutes later with a small selection of bras. I noticed she'd chosen the more sporty variants rather than frilly, knowing I'd prefer them. Good insight. Which is why she was working here.

Well, after I went back and changed the bra as well, she asked me to step out and smile.

"Wow, that really suits you, look in the mirror!"

Now, while I realize I must be starting to sound very keen on my looks by now. But this really was a revelation. I'd been soft and light before, visible and plain.

But this...

It's that the shoes were horribly unmatched, but I looked like a dark stalker. Like Muriel should look instead of the old leather she was wearing. Slim dark-blue jeans with light-blue stitching in subtle shapes, a sports-bra that was covered by a black shirt with silver shapes on it. I wasn't quite sure what the shapes were meant to be, but the subtle lines had a gentle elegance to them.

The woman helped me find some other things as well. Matching underwear, socks and an extra pair of pants and shirts. It was a little more expensive than I thought, but it wasn't like it was my money anyway. I still had over three hundred floryns left when I left the store. Fifty floryns and a second store later I'd found good leather shoes to match as well, shoes I could run, climb and jump on. It now felt horrible to walk in my current clothes, the faded jeans, the slightly torn shirt, and I wanted to change as fast as I could.

Maybe the roofs.

From light to normal to dark. But which one looks best on her? The dark clothing does make her pale-ish complexion all the clearer, but that's forgivable.