The rest of the day after the battle went by slowly. James sent General Pepper a report before he, Peppy, and Slippy left. Falco chose to stay and spent the rest of the day testing Fara in the simulation room. Fox and Krystal spent time in their room cleaning their staffs.
Krystal finished cleaning her staff first, which left her with a little free time. Looking at Fox, she wondered about Lylatian courtship. How complicated was it? What were all the rules? She figured the "fancy dinner" Fara taught her about was a part of it, given the different rules for the male and female. What were the other parts?
Fox finished cleaning her staff and put it away.
"What's on your mind?" Fox asked, "You seem a little lost in thought."
"I'm just wondering about Lylatian courtship." Krystal told her, "Cerinian courtship is fairly simple. One makes their interest known and, if the other reciprocates the feeling or is willing to try, they live and do things together to determine compatability. We've already done that, mostly because I was obligated to house and train you by my superior. As long as I'm learning Lylatian ways, I might as well try the local courtship rituals."
"I'll help you learn all about Lylatian courtship." Fox assured her.
"Starting today?"
"Starting today." Fox told her.
"Great." Krystal said as she opened up their closet, "I just have a favor to ask you."
Meanwhile, Falco and Fara had finished the latter's training session.
"I'm impressed." Falco told Fara as she climbed out of the simulator, "You even did better than Peppy, though you're still far from rivaling me or the McClouds."
"Thanks. Your team inspired me to fly in the Cornerian military with the hopes of one day being good enough to join the legendary team."
"You're on your way." Falco assured her, "You've proven yourself on the ground and in the simulator. All that's left is officially testing your skills in a real Arwing. I'll talk to Fox about setting up a test in the asteroid field."
"Thank you. I know I'll make your team proud if I'm allowed to become a full member."
Fara had walked to the recreation room to find Krystal and Fox wearing Krystal's dresses and heels.
"Why were you so insistant?" Fox asked.
"I'm told it's what the females wear." Krystal explained, "And it's no longer a secret that you are female."
"But Falco's still on board." Fox argued.
"Looking good, Fox." Fara told Fox.
"Either kill me or kill Falco before he sees me." Fox told her.
"Stop being so dramatic." Krystal told Fox, "Fara's right. You do look good."
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of Falco's camera.
"Looking good, Foxy." the bird said laughingly, "Red is definitely your color."
"And he took a picture." Fox said, "He didn't just see me, he took a picture."
Falco took a few more pictures.
"When are you leaving again?" Fox asked Falco.
"Katt's friends are looking for me again." Falco explained, "I think it's best I lay low here."
"This never leaves the Great Fox." Fox told the others.
"And if a certain rumor were to spread?" asked Falco.
"Krystal still has a third dress with matching heels." Fox threatened, "It'd be a tight fit, but I'd have a picture to guarantee your silence on the matter. That or Katt's friends have something to talk about the next time they run into a certain bird that hadn't kept his beak shut."
"Someone needs to learn to accept compliments." Falco grumbled.
"I have a favor to ask you." Krystal told Fara, "Could you teach me Lylatian female 'make-up'? I'm interested in looking 'fancy' for my dinner with Fox."
"Yeah, I can teach you." Fara told her, "It's not that complicated. Come to my room and I'll show you."
"Thank you." Krystal said as she stood up and grabbed Fox's hand, pulling her along as Krystal followed Fara. They entered Fara's room and shut the door.
"Why did you drag me here?" Fox asked, annoyed.
"A priestess and warrior such as myself can't leave a job half-done." Krystal explained, "I wanted us to get fancy for our dinner and we are going to get fancy."
"But why was I dragged here?"
"Because I wanted to learn about make-up." Krystal told her, "And what better way than to personally watch it being applied on someone else?"
Fox sighed. What could it hurt? Besides, she knew Krystal would not stop insisting and it was better to get it over with.
"Go ahead." Fox told Fara, knowing she'd likely regret it. Fara opened up her make-up kit.
"This jar is for lashes." Fara explained as she twisted and pulled the lid off, "You use the brush to apply it to your lashes, making them look fuller."
Fara applied the makeup to Fox's eye lashes. She then pulled out a different container.
"This is for the eye lids." Fara continued, "You take the brush and use it to apply the makeup to your eye lids, making your eyes stand out."
Fox closed her eyes as Fara applied the eye shadow. When she was done, she put the eye shadow away and pulled out one last cosmetic.
"This is lipstick." Fara explained as she took the lid off, "You use it to paint your lips, making them stand out." Fara then applied the lipstick to Fox's lips.
"So, what do you think of Lylatian makeup?" Fara asked Krystal, "That only covered some of the basics, but it's enough for a nice dinner."
Krystal was at a loss for words. She didn't expect Fox to look so beautiful.
"The next step, I guess, is to walk you through the process of applying the cosmetics on yourself." Fara told Krystal.
"I'm going to step out." Fox told the other vixens.
"You better not remove that makeup." Krystal warned, "It stays on until it's time for sleep."
Fox grumbled as she walked out the door, only to be greeted by Falco, who began taking pictures again.
"Take one more picture and see what happens." Fox warned. Falco took another picture, calling what he assumed was Fox's bluff.
"You now have two options." Fox told Falco, "You can dress up like me, complete with makeup, have a few pictures taken, and 'enjoy' dinner with us or the friends of a certain cat will find out where a certain blue bird is hiding."
Falco gulped, sensing Fox's seriousness.
"You have five minutes to either wait in my room or go to your Arwing before I hide Fara elsewhere and call Katt's friends."
"You wouldn't."
"I would." Fox warned, "Now go before I make the dress your new uniform."
Fox watched as Falco walked down the hall. She knew what Falco would choose. Moments later, Krystal walked out of the room.
"You look great." Fox complimented.
"Thanks."
"Let's head to our room." Fox suggested, "And maybe borrow the makeup from Fara."
"What do you need the makeup for?" Krystal asked.
"I just need it to assert my authority." Fox told her, "I'll wait for you in our room."
Krystal returned to Fara's room while Fox sped-walked to her room. She was surprised how well she was adapting to the heels. Soon, she made it to her room.
Inside, Falco was sitting on the bed.
"You're not seriously going through with this, are you?" Falco asked nervously.
"I warned you and I always follow through with my warnings." Fox told him as she pulled out a dress, "Now either undress down to your boxers and cooperate with me and Krystal or prepare to hang out with Katt's friends."
Krystal soon walked in with the makeup.
"I may need help dressing a bird." Fox told Krystal as she handed Falco the dress. The now-semi-naked bird slipped his legs into the garment and pulled it up. Falco sucked in his gut while Fox pulled the dress up and pulled the zipper. It was an extremely tight fit, but the zipper eventually reached the top. Fox then stepped back to look at Falco. While the dress would have almost reached the floor on Fox or Krystal, it left half of Falco's calves exposed. Fox then pulled out the heels.
"I may need some help here." Fox told Krystal. Falco lifted up his foot and Fox began slipping the heel onto it. She struggled to slip the shoe on, but could tell it would eventually 'fit'. Seeing Fox's struggle, Krystal began assisting. Eventually, they managed to force Falco's foot into the shoe, securing it with the strap. A few minutes later, they had the other heel on Falco's other foot.
"Finally, the cosmetics are applied." Fox told Krystal, "Would you please demonstrate on Falco what you learned?"
Krystal applied the makeup to Falco. When Falco stood up and tried to walk, Fox began taking pictures.
"I must admit you don't look bad." Fox told Falco, "I'm serious. Change the voice and you could pass yourself off as female."
"I'm just glad this is just for today." Falco grumbled.
"You never know when we might need a fourth girl for a ' girl's night out'." Fox pointed out teasingly, "Now leave and go about your day or I will make this your uniform."
Falco walked unsteadly out the door. He just hoped Fara didn't catch him in the dress.
"Do I even want to know?"
Falco turned around to find himself face-to-face with the fennec.
"Fox's orders." Falco explained.
"Hey, it's none of my business how you live your life." Fara told him, "Was it Fox's orders, though, or was it your choice?"
"It was my choice not to have Fox call Katt's friends over." Falco said as he walked toward the recreation room.
"Your new look looks good!" Fara told Falco before he was out of earshot, "Why don't I get dressed up too?"
Fara returned to her room. Opening a chest, she looked through her clothes until she came across a pink dress with matching heels.
"Why not?" she asked herself, "Even Falco's dressed pretty."