"What am I going to wear?"
It wasn't something Arianna thought about very often, it only took her ten minutes to get dressed in the morning, but today she was going to meet the head of the Sohma family! Her sister, Katherine, had done her homework on finding information. She discovered, not only that they actually existed, but that three were known in respectable professions: novelist, doctor, and fashion designer. She also found that they owned a considerable amount of property. She hadn't learned much more of importance except that there were a couple of Sohma's enrolled in a school nearby and that one even had his own fan club. Well, they'd never met a student who had one before!
Useful though the facts may have been it only succeeded in increasing Arianna's uneasiness. It was an honor to be chosen for this particular mission and she wanted to help but she couldn't think of a more horrible choice than herself. Oh, sure she had a way with words but not with people she didn't know! What if she accidentally said something offensive? And of all the people to humiliate herself in front of, why did it have to be a leader of a wealthy and respectable family? Not only that but this meeting could be a crucial point in her family's life! Maybe he'd be understanding.
Now she was wasting time tearing apart her suitcase looking for something to wear. Selena wasn't much help. She shot down all of Arianna's choices which was limited because she didn't wear dresses very often and hadn't taken many with her.
"Why can't I just wear jeans and a nice blouse?" Arianna whined.
"Arianna, are you insane?" Selena asked with real seriousness. "That would be disrespectful!"
"Well, it's deceiving, too." Arianna said, smartly. "To appear so extremely unlike me." Selena just rolled her eyes.
"I've heard that one before. Remember you use that as an excuse to not thoroughly clean the house when company's company." She mimicked Arianna. "But if we clean they aren't really seeing how we live, it's a deception!"
"Well it is!" Arianna replied back, pouting. "Anyway you're no help." Just then they heard a knock on the door.
"Maybe that's help now." Selena shrugged and went to answer the door while Arianna, who was only wearing a white slip, hid behind a screen. Upon answering the door, Selena called out to Arianna, giving her an easy guess as to who was at the door. "Sorry, Arianna, it's just Satan at the door!" Arianna didn't catch the low response but peeking her head out from behind the screen she saw Erik enter the room like a black shadow, with Selena making faces behind him. Arianna slipped her hand out to wave to him but Selena snapped sourly at her:
"Careful Arianna, dear! You can't let him see too much skin or he'll rush you." To this, Erik turned his head and said dryly:
"Then it's a wonder that with the amount of flesh you reveal no one has molested you. Perhaps you're simply not attractive." He then turned back to Arianna. "I'm sorry to trouble you."
"You're not the only one!" Muttered Selena, taking a seat on the bed.
".but I heard that you were experiencing some difficulties and thought I could be of some use."
"Yeah, leave!" Selena muttered, scornfully. Erik sighed and turned sharply on his heels to face her.
"Would you please be so kind as to shut that gaping pit of hell that you call a mouth for just a moment? Or is that to difficult to do or comprehend?" Erik said sternly. He rose an eyebrow at hearing a muffled giggle behind him and turned to see Arianna holding a hand to her mouth. Selena opened her mouth in surprise.
"Thanks for supporting me, Arianna!" She sniped sarcastically. Arianna tried to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Selena. It's just the way he said it!" She laughed again but gained her composure and with that included her worry once more. She shyly addressed Erik now.
"I appreciate you wanting to help, Erik but I don't know how you'll be able to help me, unless you have something suitable to wear in that bag."
"However did you guess?" Came his reply and with that he reached into the paper bag and pulled out a simple but pretty long dark green dress and a white sweater. Even Selena couldn't ignore it.
"Oh, that's so cute! It would look great on you, Arianna!" She paused in her praise and slowly turned her gaze to Erik.
"Incidentally, where'd you get this? It's not yours is it?" She said, smiling. But Erik wouldn't let her get the upper hand.
"No, and incidentally, I hear the police wish to make an arrest and charge you with the mutilation of good humor."
Selena opened her mouth to say something but could think of nothing to say. Arianna, meanwhile, was growing a bit impatient with their quarreling. She didn't want to be late, after all. She reached her hand out as far as she could but only was able to brush her fingers against the fabric of the dress. Erik, noticing her pathetic attempt carefully handed her the dress and continued to exchange words with Selena. While dressing behind the screen, it took all her will power to keep from laughing at their dry remarks. She had almost completely forgotten the pressure she was under. Almost.
When she was finished, she stepped out and both Erik and Selena had to agree she looked very nice. She started to put on her socks and shoes. Selena sat behind her and brushed out her hair while Erik started to go over what she should do.
".be kind and respectful. Don't speak unless spoken too, yes, that sounds about right. Any questions?"
"Yes. How do I get out of it?" Arianna moaned, putting her face in her hands.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Selena said, patting her cousin on the head. "Now, how does that look?" But before Arianna could look in the mirror, Erik offered his complaint.
"She looks like a child."
"Well, what do you expect? She's only fifteen! Well, what? Do ya think you can do better, you insignificant speck!" The lion challenged. Erik, never able to resist a challenge said he could, causing Selena to roar with laughter. In the middle of her laughter Erik 'accidentally' pushed her off the bed and took her place behind Arianna, running the brush through her curls, straitening and separating the strands. When he'd finished Arianna felt glued to the mirror. Her hair was in an exotic series of braids that made her look better than she ever thought she looked.
"I always knew you were queer." Came from Selena, glowering in the corner.
"I beg your pardon?" Erik responded in a tone dripping with poison.
"Why don't you come out of the closet, already? You carry a change purse, you dress fashionably, and wear jewelry and you keep dresses up you sleeves and know how to dress hair. You're so in denial. Admit you prefer boys to girls."
"I hate men." He replied shortly.
"Transvestite, then?" Selena offered.
"Not possible, I'm not bitchy enough to be a woman."
"Well what are you then?" She demanded getting angrier by the minute.
"I'm bloody sick and tired of hearing your mouth running all the time!" He practically yelled at her but his tone soon became quieter, which sounded more frightening. "I'm also tired of people throwing insults at me. But this can be settled amicably, I think. I have something for you."
He reached for something out of his bag but Arianna couldn't see what it was. The next thing she knew he rushed towards Selena and pinned her to the floor. Arianna went over to try to get him off her but it wasn't necessary. He soon got up and Arianna caught a glimpse of what he had; it was shiny and silver. As Selena rose up from the floor she saw clearly what it had been.
Selena had duct tape over her mouth and wrapped completely around her head. Arianna didn't know whether to be appalled or to laugh. Selena's face was completely quickly turning red and she mumbled something incoherently through the tape.
"What?" Asked Arianna, trying to make out what she was saying.
"Oh, I'd guess she said something like 'I wish Tidus had killed you.' Or something like that." Erik answered her.
"That wasn't very nice, Erik." Arianna scolded lightly.
"Neither were her comments.' Erik responded indifferently. He paused and looked himself over in the mirror. "You don't think there's something odd about me do you, my dear?"
"No. I mean, you're one to stand out, certainly, but I never thought you were." she trailed off leaving it unsaid. "What I mean is I always thought you just knew how to dress nicely. But where did you learn how to braid so nicely?" And she too looked in the mirror. Was it imagination or did she see sadness flash in his eyes?
"I braid rope often." He murmured, somewhat uncomfortably.
'You can go out and play after you've braided the rope.'
That's what they'd said but when he met the end of it all he got was the rope. Around his wrists and his neck.
"Look at the time." He said, changing the subject. "You must be off and so must I."
"Where are you going?"
"Electra wishes to keep a protective watch over me until you come back safely." The scorpion murmured, taking his bag and making for the door. "Good luck.' He called back to her over his shoulder and left leaving Arianna to try and remove the tape from Selena's mouth.
It wasn't something Arianna thought about very often, it only took her ten minutes to get dressed in the morning, but today she was going to meet the head of the Sohma family! Her sister, Katherine, had done her homework on finding information. She discovered, not only that they actually existed, but that three were known in respectable professions: novelist, doctor, and fashion designer. She also found that they owned a considerable amount of property. She hadn't learned much more of importance except that there were a couple of Sohma's enrolled in a school nearby and that one even had his own fan club. Well, they'd never met a student who had one before!
Useful though the facts may have been it only succeeded in increasing Arianna's uneasiness. It was an honor to be chosen for this particular mission and she wanted to help but she couldn't think of a more horrible choice than herself. Oh, sure she had a way with words but not with people she didn't know! What if she accidentally said something offensive? And of all the people to humiliate herself in front of, why did it have to be a leader of a wealthy and respectable family? Not only that but this meeting could be a crucial point in her family's life! Maybe he'd be understanding.
Now she was wasting time tearing apart her suitcase looking for something to wear. Selena wasn't much help. She shot down all of Arianna's choices which was limited because she didn't wear dresses very often and hadn't taken many with her.
"Why can't I just wear jeans and a nice blouse?" Arianna whined.
"Arianna, are you insane?" Selena asked with real seriousness. "That would be disrespectful!"
"Well, it's deceiving, too." Arianna said, smartly. "To appear so extremely unlike me." Selena just rolled her eyes.
"I've heard that one before. Remember you use that as an excuse to not thoroughly clean the house when company's company." She mimicked Arianna. "But if we clean they aren't really seeing how we live, it's a deception!"
"Well it is!" Arianna replied back, pouting. "Anyway you're no help." Just then they heard a knock on the door.
"Maybe that's help now." Selena shrugged and went to answer the door while Arianna, who was only wearing a white slip, hid behind a screen. Upon answering the door, Selena called out to Arianna, giving her an easy guess as to who was at the door. "Sorry, Arianna, it's just Satan at the door!" Arianna didn't catch the low response but peeking her head out from behind the screen she saw Erik enter the room like a black shadow, with Selena making faces behind him. Arianna slipped her hand out to wave to him but Selena snapped sourly at her:
"Careful Arianna, dear! You can't let him see too much skin or he'll rush you." To this, Erik turned his head and said dryly:
"Then it's a wonder that with the amount of flesh you reveal no one has molested you. Perhaps you're simply not attractive." He then turned back to Arianna. "I'm sorry to trouble you."
"You're not the only one!" Muttered Selena, taking a seat on the bed.
".but I heard that you were experiencing some difficulties and thought I could be of some use."
"Yeah, leave!" Selena muttered, scornfully. Erik sighed and turned sharply on his heels to face her.
"Would you please be so kind as to shut that gaping pit of hell that you call a mouth for just a moment? Or is that to difficult to do or comprehend?" Erik said sternly. He rose an eyebrow at hearing a muffled giggle behind him and turned to see Arianna holding a hand to her mouth. Selena opened her mouth in surprise.
"Thanks for supporting me, Arianna!" She sniped sarcastically. Arianna tried to apologize.
"I'm sorry, Selena. It's just the way he said it!" She laughed again but gained her composure and with that included her worry once more. She shyly addressed Erik now.
"I appreciate you wanting to help, Erik but I don't know how you'll be able to help me, unless you have something suitable to wear in that bag."
"However did you guess?" Came his reply and with that he reached into the paper bag and pulled out a simple but pretty long dark green dress and a white sweater. Even Selena couldn't ignore it.
"Oh, that's so cute! It would look great on you, Arianna!" She paused in her praise and slowly turned her gaze to Erik.
"Incidentally, where'd you get this? It's not yours is it?" She said, smiling. But Erik wouldn't let her get the upper hand.
"No, and incidentally, I hear the police wish to make an arrest and charge you with the mutilation of good humor."
Selena opened her mouth to say something but could think of nothing to say. Arianna, meanwhile, was growing a bit impatient with their quarreling. She didn't want to be late, after all. She reached her hand out as far as she could but only was able to brush her fingers against the fabric of the dress. Erik, noticing her pathetic attempt carefully handed her the dress and continued to exchange words with Selena. While dressing behind the screen, it took all her will power to keep from laughing at their dry remarks. She had almost completely forgotten the pressure she was under. Almost.
When she was finished, she stepped out and both Erik and Selena had to agree she looked very nice. She started to put on her socks and shoes. Selena sat behind her and brushed out her hair while Erik started to go over what she should do.
".be kind and respectful. Don't speak unless spoken too, yes, that sounds about right. Any questions?"
"Yes. How do I get out of it?" Arianna moaned, putting her face in her hands.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Selena said, patting her cousin on the head. "Now, how does that look?" But before Arianna could look in the mirror, Erik offered his complaint.
"She looks like a child."
"Well, what do you expect? She's only fifteen! Well, what? Do ya think you can do better, you insignificant speck!" The lion challenged. Erik, never able to resist a challenge said he could, causing Selena to roar with laughter. In the middle of her laughter Erik 'accidentally' pushed her off the bed and took her place behind Arianna, running the brush through her curls, straitening and separating the strands. When he'd finished Arianna felt glued to the mirror. Her hair was in an exotic series of braids that made her look better than she ever thought she looked.
"I always knew you were queer." Came from Selena, glowering in the corner.
"I beg your pardon?" Erik responded in a tone dripping with poison.
"Why don't you come out of the closet, already? You carry a change purse, you dress fashionably, and wear jewelry and you keep dresses up you sleeves and know how to dress hair. You're so in denial. Admit you prefer boys to girls."
"I hate men." He replied shortly.
"Transvestite, then?" Selena offered.
"Not possible, I'm not bitchy enough to be a woman."
"Well what are you then?" She demanded getting angrier by the minute.
"I'm bloody sick and tired of hearing your mouth running all the time!" He practically yelled at her but his tone soon became quieter, which sounded more frightening. "I'm also tired of people throwing insults at me. But this can be settled amicably, I think. I have something for you."
He reached for something out of his bag but Arianna couldn't see what it was. The next thing she knew he rushed towards Selena and pinned her to the floor. Arianna went over to try to get him off her but it wasn't necessary. He soon got up and Arianna caught a glimpse of what he had; it was shiny and silver. As Selena rose up from the floor she saw clearly what it had been.
Selena had duct tape over her mouth and wrapped completely around her head. Arianna didn't know whether to be appalled or to laugh. Selena's face was completely quickly turning red and she mumbled something incoherently through the tape.
"What?" Asked Arianna, trying to make out what she was saying.
"Oh, I'd guess she said something like 'I wish Tidus had killed you.' Or something like that." Erik answered her.
"That wasn't very nice, Erik." Arianna scolded lightly.
"Neither were her comments.' Erik responded indifferently. He paused and looked himself over in the mirror. "You don't think there's something odd about me do you, my dear?"
"No. I mean, you're one to stand out, certainly, but I never thought you were." she trailed off leaving it unsaid. "What I mean is I always thought you just knew how to dress nicely. But where did you learn how to braid so nicely?" And she too looked in the mirror. Was it imagination or did she see sadness flash in his eyes?
"I braid rope often." He murmured, somewhat uncomfortably.
'You can go out and play after you've braided the rope.'
That's what they'd said but when he met the end of it all he got was the rope. Around his wrists and his neck.
"Look at the time." He said, changing the subject. "You must be off and so must I."
"Where are you going?"
"Electra wishes to keep a protective watch over me until you come back safely." The scorpion murmured, taking his bag and making for the door. "Good luck.' He called back to her over his shoulder and left leaving Arianna to try and remove the tape from Selena's mouth.