The first thing Helen planned for Abigail was going out herself and buying a bunch of accessories and clothing while Abigail was doing beauty treatment at home.
The Bellossom was going to be out for an hour or two with how busy it was going to be. Even Abigail's suburban street had a decent amount going on outside with pokemon already preparing decorations.
It seemed a little excessive to her, but Helen told her to take a bath using the oils they had until she got back. After a while, she got so relaxed she nodded off lying on her back. It wasn't very long given how the water didn't get that much time to cool off before she heard Helen's voice call as she came back in.
When she woke up, the last of the steam from the water had just faded. The Bellossom went into the room with a bottle in hand.
"I have tons of stuff from friends, so all we need to do is finish up your fur and get your makeup and demeanor right," Helen said.
"Demeanor?" Abigail asked, "What's wrong with how I act?"
"Nothing, of course," Helen said hurriedly. "It's just, well... I want you to try to look cool... And stuff."
"Mmmmmk."
After giving her the bottle to use, the Bellossom went back to the first floor, leaving a towel on the rim for the Furret. After another few minutes, she stepped out and dried herself off and went down the ramp downstairs.
The Bellossom was waiting for her while looking out the window. When she turned, her face beamed with a smile.
"Ok, good start. I'll take care of the rest," she said.
"What rest?" the Furret asked.
"Don't worry about any of it. Just have a seat, and I'll take care of it."
The Furret just tiredly obeyed and sat up on the couch in front of the TV. The Bellossom brought a small bucket of different brushes.
"It's fine if you got some sleep, I got this," Helen said.
"O-k," Abigail answered.
Abigail wasn't sure how exactly she'd fall asleep with what Helen was doing, but she started to understand quickly. The brush was so relaxing on top of her head, she didn't even stay awake for a minute.
After a tiny bit of time, the Bellossom gently shook her awake. The Furret just sighed sleepily in reply while the Bellossom spoke.
"I remember you don't like makeup, right?" Helen asked.
"Yah, no makeup," Abigail said, "I'd rather not."
"It's fine, of course. Just trying to make final choices on what look I'm going for," Helen said.
"Wait, don't I have a say?" Abigail questioned.
"Don't worry, girl. I've got ya."
For some reason, Abigail didn't really feel offended by her insistence. The Bellossom just went around her in a circle while she sat on the couch and stared at her from different angles.
"Okay, I've got it," Helen announced, "I'll borrow from a few friends, and then I think we'll be all set."
"So I can actually get some sleep?" Abigail asked.
"Just give me a little longer, then you can sleep for the night."
The Bellossom kept brushing the Furret's fur for a few minutes before keeping up her promise. She would leave out a few minutes later, but Furret just went upstairs and slid back into her bed.
Abigail fell back to sleep extremely quickly, feeling like she barely woke up in the first place. She slept for a couple of hours until she finally felt normal again. When she woke up, she questioned why her fur was so much fluffier until she remembered what happened last night.
When the Abigail sat up from her bed, she went to a tiny, circular mirror she had on the sky blue wall. She'd never quite looked so soft before. It gave her a bit of a giddy smile for a short moment.
The Furret went down the ramp slowly and discovered she was the only pokemon in the house. A taped piece of paper on the door let her know that Helen was out doing various preparations.
Abigail didn't have or want a phone, so she decided to just stay in until she got back. There wasn't anything that she wanted to do besides just relax and read some romance novels. After eating, she went back to her room and read.
When she heard movement downstairs, it was accompanied by voices that confused her. There was lots of talking that almost made it sound like a crowd was walking inside of her house.
The Furret dropped her book on her bed and went back to the first floor. She saw five whole pairs of eyes staring back at her. A Breloom, Snubbull, Pancham, Salazzle, and the Bellossom were all looking at her at once after stopping mid-conversation. She just kept staring back, darting between their eyes randomly.
"I see it, yah. That's definitely the play. Good eye, Helen," the Breloom said.
"This could actually work," the Salazzle said, "like, really work. We have a shot."
After she awkwardly came into the room, the pokemon just slowly looked at her from different angles before she could say anything.
"Oh my gosh, you're right. We got this," the Snubbull smiled. Her bright eyes made Furret a bit nervous.
"In the bag," the Pancham nodded, "when do we get started?"
"Get started?" Abigail questioned. "Hey, I thought you said we were done!"
"We got done with part one out of six," Helen said. Her guilty undertone made Abigail realize she was still insistent.
"She's a bit buffer than you described, even. That's pretty incredible," the Breloom said.
"How is that a good thing?" Abigail asked, "Aren't I supposed to look dainty?"
"That's just waaaaaay too normie," Pancham said. "Of course not. You give us a way better option."
"Why do you guys keep saying us...?"
Furret looked towards Bellossom for answers.
"These are just some of my friends from high school," Helen explained. "We're a little too old for this now, but we want to make you a winner."
"And a winner is what I see," the Salazzle said, "so, let's get our roles. Helen?"
"Right," the Bellessom nodded, "Eleanor, you handle the perfume of course."
"Already planning," the Salazzle said.
"Maria, go over what you know and teach her a few easy tricks after we're done."
The Snubbull smiled and nodded towards her.
"Anne, help me with her fur. I got a good starting point," Helen said.
"Copy that," the Breloom said.
"Mary, while they're busy help me with the details of our wardrobe," Helen said. "Alright, let's get started."
The Pancham followed the Bellossom up into the Furret's room. The Breloom walked her forward and had her sit in front of the couch on a small mat. She studied Furret's fur while circling around her while the Snubbull and Salazzle brought over various brushes.
"Okay, I know what to do," Anne said, "I know how to go about this. I just have to make sure I don't fluff up your fur too much to avoid covering up your muscles."
"Wait, you think that's a good thing?" Abigail asked.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
Abigail didn't reply to the question. She was curious why they were so confident, but didn't have any confidence herself. Every magazine and book description of a beautiful girl never talked about how strong she was. Living in the countryside, she never gave it much thought.
The Breloom was strangely being very precise in how she worked, but was done in only a few minutes. The Salazzle was working in the kitchen, using the stove as a table for a variety of bottles. As soon as the Breloom set the brushes aside, the Snubbull came in front of the Furret.
"Okay, there are a few things to know about what you'll look like to boys," Maria said. "You'll be a little intimidating at first, so it's important that you keep your face loose. No scowling. Move smoothly. You don't need to pretend that you aren't strong, but don't hurt their pride by showing you're stronger repeatedly."
"O-k," Abigail nodded.
"There are a few tricks for eye contact depending on what you want to do or show. Us pokemon are very sensitive to eye contact, so if you want to look at someone without making direct eye contact, focus in on their noise or another aspect of their face to make them feel more comfortable."
"I've never really tried anything like this before," Abigail said.
"It's quite useful," Maria smiled, "even when you're walking, just look in the direction you want to go and you can avoid awkward situations when you and a pokemon are walking in opposite directions, and neither of you know whether to go left or right."
"Where did you learn stuff like this?" the Furret asked.
"Just some reading," Snubbull said causally, " and I still have one more trick for you. When making direct eye contact, you can occasionally focus on one eye and switch to focusing on the other to make it look like your eyes are sparkling. It expresses interest. Easy to remember?"
"Yah," Abigail said.
"I only have a couple things to add," Salazzle called out, "unless you want to explain for me."
"She's going to give you some perfume. Very good for attracting boys, but the key is also how you use it. She's going to focus it around your tail, so you use it as a fan and waft it around gently when it's best."
"Is there anything else?" Abigail asked. Her voice just barely hinted at being irritated, but it wasn't enough for them to seem to notice.
"Other than wardrobe, you're all set," Maria said.
"Then we can go out and enjoy ourselves till it starts," Salazzle suggested, "And you'll finally realize just how much you've got going on."
"I'm not sure I'm really in the mood to go out when it's so busy," Abigail said lightly.
"Oh, please. You're going to look just perfect," Breloom said, "meaning there's no reason to be worried at all."
"That's not what I said," Abigail huffed.
Something about Abigail's shaky tone made the room go quiet. The Bellossom's footsteps sounded like quick drums from above, signaling her run down to the first floor.
With no hesitation, the Bellossom threw herself onto the Furret for a hug. She hugged back tightly.
"You're okay. Be here," Helen said.
"I know, I know. I'm fine."
Abigail's voice was recovering from being shaky. She rubbed her eyes, but the others in the room were already visibly concerned. Halen slowly released her from the hug with a gentle face.
"We just want you to have fun today," Helen said, "that's why we're here. And if you don't even want to go out today, that's fine."
Abigail huffed and looked around in different directions thinking. She should make herself. She wasn't planning on staying in Valor much longer.
"I'll go," Furret said, "just... Okay."
The Pancham followed the Bellossom's path, covered with a brown cloth. She set it down on the floor in front of the Furret.
It wasn't anything like Abigail was expecting. It was overall extremely basic. It was a shorter brown cape with a hood and a simple gold chain necklace.
"Aren't capes kind of out of style?" Abigail asked.
"'Out of style' just means classic," Mary said. "Here. Try it on."
The Pancham went around Furret and politely helped her put it on. It felt a bit like her brown cloak, but more open and not nearly as ragged. The necklace was lightweight, and hung in a way so it was visible just below where the cloth went around her neck.
"Why'd you choose this necklace?" Abigail asked.
"It draws attention to your hazel eyes," Mary explained, "it will work very well. Take a look."
The Pancham gestured towards Bellossom, who gave a small mirror to Furret. She liked the outfit, but was completely taken back for the fur on her head. It was bushy and wild, and definitely seen more often for boys. She always thought she looked more masculine, but they were somehow trying to bring out those traits.
She felt weird. It wasn't that she looked like a boy, but had a strong aura to her look.
The other pokemon were all gathered around reading the Furret's expression very bluntly. They were all smiling when her surprise was followed by a bit of excitement bleeding through. The Bellossom managed to signal for them to calm down and talked face-to-face with Furret.
"So, Abigail. Would you like to go hang out with us for a few hours?" Helen asked.
"Yah. Okay."
"Then let's go have some fun!" Helen announced.
While the pokemon split apart to get things ready, Furret just went up to her room and back to grab her small, brown shoulder bag. When she got back, everyone was already waiting for her by the door with looks on their faces that let her know it was up to her.
"I'm ready," Abigail said.
"Okay, just making sure," Helen said.
"Oh, you're perfume," Salazzle said, "I left it on the couch for you."
The Furret went back over in front of the TV and quickly put it on, focusing more on her tail. Salazzle simply nodded back as they all went out the door.
Abigail wasn't sure if it was completely on purpose, but right from out the door she was in the center of their walking formation. The only decorations pokemon added to the scenery was banners, but seeing the banners of all three kingdoms on the continent felt a little surreal. It was a first.
The Furret absentmindedly kept in step with the other pokemon. They clearly had a plan in mind, discussing between two different restaurants she wasn't familiar with. They were walking on the sides of the street more than usual, with electric carriages carrying hefty loads passing by.
Abigail felt a little odd in the group. She was the tallest pokemon, psychically sticking out. For her own sake, she forced herself to keep her hood down. She would always be introverted, but there was no point in being shy.
When they reached areas with buildings that grew to have more floors, there wasn't much room to walk. The pokemon walking with her surrounded Furret on all of her sides, definitely on purpose.
Luckily, they weren't outside for too long. The entrance to the small restaurant was designed with thick bricks to give the feeling of a grill restaurant. Unlike other restaurants, it didn't have a line that extended all the way outside.
The inside was dimly lit, and had wood tables and booths separated by brick walls. The Furret let the others handle talking to the Snivy that guided them to their area. They went a long booth with black cushions in the corner that was almost completely surrounded by the walls.
She sat by the wall next to the Bellossom with the Breloom on Bellossom's side. The Salazzle, Pancham, and Snubbull sat opposite of them. After the Snivy jotted down to get six waters, the Furret looked through the menu looking for something new. After she found a few things, she listed them out loud.
"I've never tried pizza, onion rings, french fries, or burgers before."
The pokemon around her all made different movements with their heads. The Bellossom's was the most subtle, but she still couldn't help but glance.
"Okay, guess we're ordering all of those," the Breloom smiled.
"Yup," the Pancham agreed, "and since I know the portions, I'll order for us."
After the Snivy came back, the Pancham handled all of the ordering at a quick pace. Once it was over, the peaceful silence didn't last very long.
"What did you eat where you're from?" the Snubbull asked.
"Well, it varied a ton. I found most of my meals randomly," Abigail said. "Even are a bear once. That was weird."
"A bear?" the Bellossom repeated. "How did that happen?"
"Got too close to the cows," Abigail said casually, "and it was good combat practice back then."
"Combat practice?"
Abigail mentally slapped herself after the Bellossom asked that question. Besides her old teachers, no one knew that she was trained for that at all. Because the conversation directly went to her parents, she always avoided it.
"Not anything major," Abigail said, "I used to be better."
"What'd it taste like?" the Pancham asked.
"Like beef jerky if it was made out of chicken," Furret responded.
"Reminds me of someone," Salazzle said.
This time, the whole table looked at the Salazzle strangely. She only shrugged in response.
"Maybe that's how you got so buff," Pancham said. "I'll try eating a bunch of different stuff now. Makes sense to me."
"Maybe after fried cookies tonight..." Bellossom smiled.
"Yah, exactly," Pancham said.
"Yah, I've never tried a cookie either. Just cake," Furret said.
"I'll make sure to show you all the sweets that will be there," Bellossom said, "and it's quite a lot."
Abigail was mostly listening to the following conversations about desserts. She knew most of the ingredients they were talking about, but every single one of them was new to her. When the food came, she tried everything immediately while the others were already eating casually. She enjoyed everything, but found she couldn't eat quite as much as the others.
The same conversation continued at a slower pace, and they were all finished by the time the conversation ended. The Snubbull took the bill by herself, and judging from her face, with ease. Furret sat up with the rest of the pokemon and left out with them, not sure where they were going.
Just as they were leaving out, the Bellossom addressed Furret.
"Any place you'd like to go, Abigail?" Helen asked.
"Not particularly. Maybe knowing a bit more about the Royal Parade?"
"That's true, I need to get you ready in case," Helen said, "so how about we split up for now? I'll take Abigail and get her ready and you guys and text us when you find a good spot?"
"Sounds good," the Pancham said, "see you."
Furret only followed the Bellossom on the way back home. With the crowds being heavy, there wasn't much opportunity for her to speak until they reached her street again. While walking with the house in sight, Furret stopped and stretched out her back before jogging back up to her.
The walk there and back was more social interaction than in her average week. Abigail felt relieved to get back home, even though it hadn't been long. Helen's comment was still lingering in the air.
As the Bellossom set her stuff down, she met Furret's eyes while she was still standing near the door.
"Do you know about that old Veritan tradition? The Spirit Song?" the Bellossom asked.
"I don't remember too much," Furret said.
"It's one of the oldest traditions that's known and practiced. I mean, you had to have learned about it when you were younger..."
"I was too young when I learned about it," Abigail explained, "and it wasn't really relevant where I was."
"Oh, sorry. It's fine." Helen said. "It's a spiritual tradition where a pokemon kind of puts their life on display in a way. They have to be open to it, and when it works the performer can sing a song based on their energy to give a glimpse of a pokemon's life."
"So, they use it in the parade?" Abigail asked.
"They use a much more... Extreme thing. They're combining different practices from all across the continent to amplify it to be much more than a short song," Helen said.
"What could it have to do with me?"
"Well, during the parade they choose pokemon to potentially marry as a way to start them off. That's why everyone is dressing up and things. After the parade and they choose different pokemon, they would have to go through it to actually have permission to date them."
"So, what is this process?" Abigail asked.
"Well, it's hard to describe. But using psychic techniques, Maroonian technology, and the Veritan's skills at reading a pokemon's energy at the same time can let you know a lot about them," Helen explained. "It allows large amounts of pokemon to view important memories like a movie. Everyone will know your important history, goals... It's really invasive."
"But that's only if they pick you, right?" Abigail asked. "My odds have to be low for that."
"I wouldn't be so sure to rush and say that quite yet," Helen smiled.
"Mmmm."
The Furret just laughed off the Bellossom's smile. Although she persisted, Furret wasn't really affected.
"If there's anything you'd like to do before they find a spot to watch the parade, then go ahead and get it done," Bellossom said.
"I don't think I really have anything. And how do we know the parade's route?" Abigail asked.
"In the inner city it goes around to hit almost every street. Most pokemon pick spots and wait for a couple of hours till it arrives, so that's what they're doing. It starts at six, so we have two and a half hours. I'm just going to get ready myself."
"I think I want a nap."
"I'll get you when it's time," Helen said.