Arc Two

Chapter Nine: The Invite

It was a long day. Everyone had their own set of strange, powerful, and tiring experiences that made them either excited, worried, scared or tired. Once Carol and Milla returned the battery to its rightfully belonged place, they were celebrated for returning a piece of Shang Tu's history. And Neera Li personally, and publicly gave Carol an apology for accusing her. Of course, being the sneaky wildcat she was, Carol had half a mind to milk the situation. But she didn't push it too far. However, the girls did go home with something special, much to their excitement.

The day was over. Night had fallen on this side of Avalice. It was a cold, almost windy night. The stars were out, some shooting across the night sky, cutting through the darkness like a knife through butter. At Lilac's treehouse, lanterns with kanji engraved in their sides had illuminated the area. This was so her friends could easily find their way home. And they were able to.

"Eeeeyoooo!" Carol practially kicked the door down, holding three envelopes in her hand. "Look who got premium invites!"

Not far behind, Milla scampered in after her, "Lilac! Lilac!"

Thump

The dragon girl was busy taking a nap on the couch, and fell onto the floor at her friend's sudden entry. She had finally changed her clothes into her clean set of pajamas: A white T shirt with-you guessed it-lilac colored pajama pants. "Ow..." She rubbed her eyes, standing up, "Oh, hey, you're back..."

Carol snickered, putting her hands on her knees as she leaned forward. "You look like you've seen a ghost, girl."

Milla couldn't help but take a few careful sniffs. The dragon scent was there along with a heavy essence of fatigue. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just been..." She remembered all of the chores she did when it was very much Carol's turn. Normally, she would've yelled at her for not doing it like she was asked. But she was too tired for that right now. "...Doing stuff."

Carol folded her arms. It was a no-brainer that Lilac was lying, but before she could make a move, she was interrupted by Milla.

"Is that pizza?!" The hound was at the table in a flash.

"Yeah..." Lilac grinned, "I didn't feel like cooking tonight. I almost threw my back out." Her grin turned to a full on laugh.

"Meatball?!" Milla's green eyes shone like one of her cubes. Pizza was great, but certain toppings turned her off. Meatball, however...

Before long, sounds of rabid munching were heard at the table, Milla was face deep in that pizza box. This prompted a giggle from the other girls. Then, Carol took her seat on the couch next to Lilac, stealing the remote.

"So what are we invited to?" Lilac asked.

"Oh yeah," Carol handed one of the envelopes to her friend. "We got them from the panda girl after we returned the battery."

"Neera Li," Lilac corrected, using her clawed nail to open the letter.

"Tomayto, tomahto."

Upon opening the letter, Lilac started to read over its contents. After a moment of quiet muttering, she blinked. "...Woah. This is a pretty big deal."

"Huh? What is?" Carol attemtped to lean over her friend's shoulder to read the letter, but Lilac blocked her, pushing her face back with her hand.

"Hey! Don't you have your own?" She laughed.

The wildcat stopped on a dime when she realized this. "Oh, right." She opened-tore the letter open, and started to read it.

Dear heroes...

On behalf of the three kingdoms, you three are invited to a royal summit. There we will be discussing the future of Shuigang and how Prince Dail attempts to rectify the threats placed on his-

"Ugh, booooooooooooooooring!" Carol faked a yawn, showing off her fangs. "What do they need us for? They're adults, we're kids. We don't need to be involved in-"

Lilac just started giggling.

"What's so funny?" Carol raised an eyebrow.

"Keeeep reading~"

"..."

(Carol's POV)

Blah blah blah blah blah political jazz

...and there will be plenty of food for you to taste from each culture of the three kingdoms as a way to perfectly seal our bonds within-

"I'm in!"

But there's more to-

"No way I'm gonna turn down a chance like this!"

"Uhhh, Carol?" Lilac poked her once, getting her attention. "You may wanna read the last line."

"..."

P.S. Black Tie/Dress is Mandatory.

"...Aaaaand I'm out!" Carol picked up the remote.

Lilac narrowed her eyes, nudging her with her elbow. "What about the foooood~"

Carol blushed, visibly twitching. "Nothing, and I mean no. thing will get me in a dress. It's too...bleh!"

"'Bleh'? Come on, Carol, have you tried it before?"

That's when she made a playful but defensive hiss. "I mean it! It feels so awkward to wear one. And then there's the awkward updraft that comes in. It's cold."

Lilac tried to reason with her, "What if Milla and I helped you pick something out? Would you prefer that?"

"Uh, no. Because I'm not wearing a dress," Carol repeated, "Not gonna happen. Not on your life or mine!" She hissed again, and got up. "Brb. Heading to the bathroom."

Lilac sighed as Carol left the room. Even after all she had done before, this wasn't exactly how she wanted the day to end between them. A nice little party while wearing a dress seemed...nice.

"Mmmm..." All the sudden, Milla looked up from her pizza. Cheese and meat dripping from her face, almost intoxicated from the sheer delicious taste. Eyes half open, tail wagging like crazy. It wasn't until she noticed Carol get up that she came to her senses. "Lilac? What's up?"

As Carol went to the bathroom, she stopped. A sniff or two and she could smell fresh...everything. "..Huh?" A look into the kitche and she could see that all of the dishes were washed. The trash was also taken out. And before she even realized, in her bedroom she could see her clothes all neatly stacked in piles on her bed. The floors were cleaned, windows cleaned, and even the bathroom was sparkling. A place that none of them every dared going to. "..."

Carol's ears drooped. She slipped silently into the bathroom and closed the door. Looking into the mirror, she felt pain inside of her heart. Lilac had done every single one of her chores and didn't get mad. She didn't yell, throw anything at her, or anything of the sort. But what really made her feel awful was how she openly refused to going to the meeting with her.

Still, the thought of being in a dress nerved her. But her friend was more important on any day of the week.

"...What to do..."