When she finally made it back home, after a day of considering what to do about the problem that Shara had been having since she hadnt really wanted to give up on it, but she also hadnt wanted to waste a lot of clothes on experiments that might not work Cassie had thought that she had something that might work. She would even be able to find the materials that she had decided to use in the garage at home.

That only made her all the more eager to gather all the needed materials so she could meet up with Shara to tell the other girl about her plans.

Greeting her parents the way she always did, Cassie stopped for a quick meal, then waited until both her mom and dad had left to prepare a meal for Slade and Shara, and some snacks for Shara in case she needed them. Heading for the barn, Cassie checked to make sure that she wasnt being followed or watched. As much as she hated the paranoia and suspicion that had crept into every part of her life, Cassie knew that it was important for her own survival and by extension that of the Animorphs that she keep it up.

Once she had made it into the barn, Cassie smoothly made her way up the ladder and over to the stack of hay-bales that the two siblings took shelter behind for most of the day. And most of the night, she thought with a twinge of guilt; it seemed like the only time Slade and Shara were able to leave the barn was when the Animorphs had a mission.

Still, it wasnt as if either of them had a real home to go back to anymore; nothing that Slade remembered, and if Shara remembered anything more than he did she wasnt saying anything.

Once the two of them had finished their food, Cassie tapped Shara on the shoulder and made a come with me gesture, not wanting to disturb Slade when he was obviously settling back down for a nap. For whatever reason, Slade seemed to need a lot more sleep than Shara. Cassie didnt really know what the reasons behind that were, but it probably had something to do with what the Radam had done to them; Cassie had decided a couple days ago that she would simply be grateful for small favors and leave it at that.

It was pretty obvious that she wasnt going to find those kinds of things out, not for awhile, and maybe not at all.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Cassie?" Shara asked, keeping her voice low.

"Well, Ive been doing some thinking, about that problem youve been having with your clothes," she said, also keeping her voice low; she knew now just how hard it was on the two of them, to be almost constantly bombarded by a wall of sound.

Sound that the average human being which, for all their strangeness, most of the Animorphs still were would have been either completely unaware of, or for the most part not bothered by.

"Whatve you come up with?" she asked, sounding interested.

"Well, I thought that, since we dont want to keep wasting clothes from the Give Away box on experiments," well, she didnt, but it was clear from the look on her face that Shara agreed. "I thought we could try something different."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I was thinking that," she paused for a moment, gathering herself. Now that she was actually talking about it, the idea sounded kind of silly, but it was really the only option that they had right now; the only one she could agree to using. "I could tie some ribbons around your waist, or your neck, or maybe your arms, and then you could practice transforming with those on."

"You really think that would work?"

"I think it might help you to get used to transforming while youre wearing something."

"How many ribbons do you have?" Shara asked, seeming mildly dubious, but looking as if she was at least willing to give the plan a shot. "I mean, suppose I dont get the hang of the transformation before you run out of ribbons?"

"I dont think thats going to be an issue," she said, smiling to reassure Shara about the plan that shed been working out while shed had free moments at school. "My mom keeps a lot of ribbons, from Christmas and birthdays and stuff like that. Im sure well have enough to get you used to transforming while youre wearing something, at least."

"So youre planning to wrap me up in Christmas ribbons?" Shara asked, with a soft giggle. "Are you going to try slapping a bow on my head, too?"

She laughed softly. "Only if you want me to." They both laughed a bit at that. "But for now, I think we should get started."

"Yes, I think youre right," Shara said, beginning to un-tuck her shirt.

Turning away, to give the other girl some semblance of privacy while she stripped, Cassie took out the spools of ribbon that she had collected from the box in the hall closet. It might not have been the most normal plan in the world, but she was fairly confidant that it would work. If not, then she would just have to think of something else.

When Cassie turned away, she began to remove the clothes that the other girl had given her. That plan of hers was a strange one, but it was also the only one they had. She certainly didnt know what to do about getting herself new clothes after shed destroyed them in an attempt at transforming.

Carefully hanging her clothes on the top of the partition, Shara turned back to Cassie. "All right," she said, uncrossing her arms and lowering them to her sides. "Im all ready for you, Cassie."

There was really no reason for her to be so embarrassed around Cassie; they were both girls, and Cassie had never given her any reasons to mistrust her. Cassie had given her every reason to trust her, in fact: taking her and Slade in even when shed known basically nothing about them, feeding and sheltering them, and even keeping them a secret from her own parents. It was clear from all of those actions that she could fully trust the other girl.

Some habits were just hard to break, that was all.

When Cassie came over to her, looking like she was trying to focus exclusively on the ribbon she was working with, Shara knew that she wasnt the only one feeling that way. Perversely, she found that fact kind of made her relax a bit. Taking a breath to steady herself, Shara wondered briefly if Cassie would ask for her help during this next part.

Though, as she felt Cassie winding the ribbon around her body, in a pattern that felt like a crude approximation of her old morphing outfit, she began to doubt that that would end up being the case. Once Cassie had finished tying the ribbon at the back of her neck, then flipped her hair back the way it had originally been, Shara breathed more easily.

None of the knots that Cassie had tied made the ribbon tight enough to be uncomfortable, so that was one more worry off her shoulders.

"All right, Shara," Cassie said softly, facing the partition but clearly speaking to her. "Youre all ready for your first try."

"Yeah," she chuckled softly. "I hope its my last, too."

Concentrating on her transformation, Shara felt the energy inside her body begin to build. When she could feel the power burning in her skin, she knew that the change had been completed. Opening her eyes, she looked over at Cassie; the other girl was staring at the armor covering her body from head to toe.

Taking a deep though unnecessary breath, Shara concentrated and let the transformation fade. Once she was back in her normal form, she looked down. Then she swore, softly, but creatively and at some length.

"It didnt work?" Cassie asked, facing the partition again.

"No, it didnt," she said with a sigh. "I dont even know what Im doing wrong," she groused.

"Well, no sense beating yourself about something you have no control over," Cassie said kindly, walking back over with the spool of ribbon.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed, as Cassie started tying the next length of ribbon around her; a length that was probably going to end up disintegrating just like the other one.

Just like all those clothes shed been wearing during her initial transformations; it was annoying, but it was probably no less true for all that.