Some Years Earlier
Aller & Traynor was a chain of popular, higher-end fashion boutiques, with several locations all across Macbeth. Along with a number of competing chains, Aller & Traynor was the place for Macbeth residents to go to for fine clothing, jewelry, accessories, and other products. Women –and some men– who felt like indulging themselves with the latest trends or timeless classics could be found at these stores, browsing, shopping, and purchasing these valued items of high-fashion.
Maya Kaido worked at one of these Aller and Traynor stores in the Downtown Wayland as a sales associate. Her keen perceptiveness, outgoing personality and upbeat demeanor made her naturally gifted at sales. At the same time though, she was also taking formal courses in Business and Retail Management at the local university. Though she may have started her career doing fashion sales, she had other, much higher ambitions.
Though Maya may have been a shrewd, enterprising woman with high aspirations, she would always make time for Sasha whenever the husky was on leave from her training at Easthold. Sasha was free so little, and for so short a time that the two of them had to make the most of it whenever they could. One of their more cherished activities together was the simple act of shopping, almost always at the same Aller & Traynor store where Maya worked. These little shopping excursions were one of the few, highly valued times when Sasha was able to let down her hair, to shed her ever-hardening shell of military rigidity, and indulge her so often unfulfilled femininity.
This was a time for Sasha to set aside the soldier for a while, and be a woman. Having a resourceful, fashion-savvy friend like Maya Kaido to help her through it was an absolute boon to boot.
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The Soldier and the Saleswoman
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Maya and Sasha left the busy streets of downtown Wayland outside, and entered into the welcoming atmosphere of the Aller & Traynor store. Maya wore a close-fitting jacket, low-cut, with a matching skirt down to her knees. Sasha however came in simply wearing an Easthold Academy sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Hopefully this would change by the end of their shopping escapade.
Tracks of pop music played quietly through the background, with a mix of scents and fragrances lingering in the air, probably from the perfume section. The space was a fairly compact, medium-sized, comfortably roomy and intimate, without being overwhelmingly large like a department store. The store was filled with an assortment of clothing racks, display cases, poised mannequins, and shelves stocked full of all sorts of fashionable items: purses handbags, shoes, jewelry, accessories, and more. There were also many beauty products, scents, high-end soaps and shampoos. Everything a woman could want to pamper and treat herself to a little elegance was to be found within the walls of this Aller & Traynor boutique.
The two friends wasted little time ogling, and delved straight into their busy browsing, continuing the same bantering conversation they had when they walked in.
"I'm sorry Maya, but you would not last a single term of Easthold's officer training program, I know it!" Sasha insisted as they sifted through a rack of dresses.
It was somewhat glaring, how sorely Sasha Zura stuck out in the store. In her dull Easthold sweatshirt, she was an image of solid military conformity, in a writhing sea of bold, unadulterated choices. It was a bit overwhelming, but not distressingly so: these bold and varied choices were choices she wanted to make, badly.
"Are you kidding me?" Maya retorted with a scoffing laugh. "Boot camp would be a picnic compared to this cut-throat crossroads of fashion and business that I work in! Give me a rifle and obstacle course any day."
Maya pulled a deep-violet strapless dress from the rack, one in a shimmering satin. She held it up to Sasha, comparing the fabric color to her fur tone.
"Oh sure, it's boot camp, like all the enlisted soldiers go through," Sasha began with a nonchalant shrug, "But... on top of boot camp, the cadets also go through the same undergraduate schooling of a regular university, only we're held to even higher standards. So maybe you can make it through boot-camp, but once you're off the obstacle course, all tired and sweaty, can you still go to class, focus on the material, and study your eyeballs out?"
"Okay, you got me there Sash..." Maya finally conceded, while the two continued through the store, checking other items. "Still, I've got to watch my back at other crucial points, like my boss for example."
"What's wrong with your boss?" Sasha asked.
"The store manager has been getting suspicious of me lately, nervous about how well I've been handling things here. He's insecure now, nervous about looking bad, and being replaced, by me of all people!" the dark feline exclaimed with a sassy, almost sarcastic laugh, "I know for a fact that he is a hairsbreadth away from firing me, all so he can keep his position safe from the supposed threat I present to him."
It seemed strange, that Maya would discuss such a precarious employment situation in a casual, matter-of-fact tone like she was. Wasn't she taking the risk seriously? Sasha needed to know more, and mentioned as such. "You don't seem all that worried about it, though."
"That's because I've already jumped up the next wrung of the ladder, to the Aller & Traynor regional manager," Maya explained, a sly, knowing look coming across her feline features. "A couple months back, the store was getting hit with some losses pretty bad, so bad that the regional manager stepped in. She asked for possible recommendations, met with each store employee individually to get their story and insights. Long story short: the regional manager liked my ideas, had them implemented for the store, and we're back up and profiting again. Now, I've got that little nugget to back me up. If my boss so much as threatens to discharge me without a good reason, he'll have some hell to pay with his boss."
"Sound's like you've got everything buttoned up with that," Sasha said, exhaling a deep sigh of relief, glad that her good friend was going to be okay.
"You'd think so, but no..." Maya said, shaking her head, but still surprisingly cheery and lighthearted about it all, "The store manager is still paranoid over me, constantly on my back now, watching, looking for any 'legitimate' excuse to get rid of me. It's all under control though, he's on defense now. The only thing I have to do is show him up, prove his manufactured suspicions wrong at every turn, and beat him to the punch whenever he tries something underhanded."
Maya had a devious, playful look about her when she talked business like that. She seemed almost like a hunter, stalking the prey, toying with her opposition, even. There was no doubt in Sasha's mind at that point that her friend would go into business. She was so well-suited to play these little games, to manipulate her way through internal obstacles, and still provide exemplary external service.
"But that's enough about that," Maya dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand. "Today is for you, Sasha. It's a time to get you out of that stuffy uniform, and into something that will show off the gorgeous girl I know is in there." the cat gave her a sincere smile, not the sales smile, the real one.
Sasha felt herself go flush at that moment, to hear her friend, her secret crush, tell her that. Sasha knew she was right, but she was self-conscious about it sometimes. All that time in her younger high-school years, isolated from her estranged peers. Easthold was a step up –at least she was tolerated there– but the cadets were so laser-focused on completing their training, so dedicated to their goals that they didn't have much else on their mind. Sasha knew this for a fact, that's how she felt when she was there. There was little time or use for such superficial niceties in the military.
With Maya though, it was different. The 'superficial niceties' meant something, they carried an unseen weight and meaning. One's beauty became an artistic design statement, which could be exhibited and appreciated wherever one went, and which also was deeply personal, individual. It was also something Sasha hadn't paid much attention to in recent years, which was why she was very glad to have Maya Kaido at her side helping her navigate through it all. The husky might've been able do the shopping thing on her own, but it would've been lonely, empty, and aimless. Without someone to guide her through, someone she could trust to bounce ideas and opinions off of, Sasha would've been flying blind, overwhelmed by so many choices, without the knowledge or experience to know poor choices from good ones.
After about an hour or so spent gathering many items and articles of fine clothing, the time came to try them out. All the new clothes would be nice, but there was more to it than just that. The prospect of her and Maya, alone in the store's changing rooms, together; it excited Sasha. Maybe today would be the day she could finally tell Maya how she felt about her, how she ached to be far more than just friends–
No. Not yet, not while Maya's boss was hounding her for weakness, for 'flaws' to exploit against her. Even if Maya would've been fine with Sasha being into girls, with knowing the truth, Sasha wouldn't risk even the hint of it compromising her friend in her ongoing battle with management. The pent-up feelings may have waited years, but if it meant the difference between Maya being successful or out of a job, then Sasha's feelings could wait a little longer.
For the time being however, there were armfuls of dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, shirts, all manner of shoes and other outfits to try out.
It was difficult to know for sure how long Sasha and Maya spent in the dressing rooms of the Aller & Traynor store, trying on and assessing so many different and varied outfits. It was exciting for Sasha, being able to see so many possible looks that she could present. It was also a kind of experiment, a trial-and-error process of elimination to narrow down which styles, colors, and materials best complimented Sasha, and which ones simply didn't work with her.
For each prospective outfit, the procedure was pretty much the same: take the outfit into the privacy of the changing boot, change into it, exit the changing booth to examine the results in the mirrors, and ask for the expert opinion of Maya Kaido herself. Some outfits Sasha liked, some she didn't, and some just seemed a little awkward or garish. It wasn't always as cut-and-dried as that though, a lot of this was also an experiment of subjectivity, for Sasha to decide what she liked seeing on her. Nonetheless, after rotating through countless outfits, some patterns began to emerge. Darker colors tended to compliment Sasha's pale gold and cream fur tone best, along with certain bright, vivid colors as well. Whites and pale colors were generally tricky to make work on Sasha, but there were a few items where they could fit.
Among her personal tastes, Sasha found a particular liking of intricate patterns, especially lace. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in stockings and hosiery, where the dark, interweaving patterns of the lacy stockings could play on the pale golden sheen of her shapely legs. Seeing this on her made her feel... special, somehow; valuable, precious even. Combine this with a tasteful skirt or dress, a good pair of shoes, and at least in Sasha's mind, it made the basis of an ideal outfit to suit her.
This was one such outfit Sasha was wearing now to show off to Maya. She came out of the changing booth wearing a not-quite-knee-length dark blue and green plaid patterned skirt with a floral lace trimming, over a a pair of sheer stockings and close-fitting heel-boots, and had a white sleeveless blouse for her top. All that was needed was a few accessories –a big belt, a couple bracelets, perhaps something for her neck– and the look would be one of Sasha's absolute favorites that she'd tried so far.
Maya liked the outfit too, and praised it, but there seemed to be something else on the cat's mind. What could it be? Was there something truly wrong that she wasn't telling Sasha?
In a moment, these doubts were dispelled.
"I've got something very special for you this time..." and with that sly smile of hers, Maya held out a black lacy bra and a matching lace thong for Sasha. "Here, try these."
"Here?" the husky asked, stunned, "Now?"
Suddenly nervous, and more than a little embarrassed, Sasha accepted the provocative lingerie, and examined them more closely. The thong-style panties were startlingly revealing, and would just barely cover the parts, down to less than a centimeter-wide strip in the back. The bra was just as provocative, with only the nipples covered completely, and everywhere else on the little triangles dominated by the lace pattern. Sasha had never worn anything quite as openly risqué in her life, especially not in front of Maya...
"Why not?" Maya asked with a little giggle, amused by her suddenly flustered friend, "What have you got to be embarrassed about? It's just me here, and I want you to see your sexy side."
And with that, the dark feline held onto Sasha's shoulders, eliciting a sudden shiver through the husky, and Maya led her back to the changing booth. When they were both there, Maya's words took on a tone of concern, and understanding, "It's okay if you don't want to do it Sasha, I won't force you–"
"No," Sasha interrupted, drawing on some sudden conviction, "I'll do it."
If Sasha Zura could conquer the relentless rigors of military training, the pain and utter exhaustion, the endless self-doubt, who was she to be intimidated by such meager things as racy lingerie? It was only fabric: a little, dainty, object.
"Okay," Maya replied with a nod and understanding smile, then gently closed the changing booth door.
Sasha was alone in the little booth now, and she could not have possibly felt any more nervous.
Sure, the lingerie was just fabric, but beyond that –in the realm of fashion– such a 'little dainty object' was a powerful statement. It said, 'I'm hot, I'm sexy, and I'm not afraid to show it off.' It was the richest, most succulent kind of eye-candy one could indulge in short of complete nudity. It exposed the wearer entirely, revealing that which lay beneath...
Sasha found herself short of breath, her heart pounding. It was because Maya was out there. It was because of the hidden feelings she'd been holding back for so long. This shouldn't have been as huge a concern for Sasha as she was making it. Maya was straight: she shouldn't be aroused or made nervous by Sasha in provocative lingerie like Sasha would be seeing Maya that way. She was just experimenting, showing off, seeing how such a racy, sexy look would work for her, nothing more.
This was enough self-reassurance for Sasha, and she began to remove the outfit she was wearing. Piece by piece, the husky began to strip away the layers; blouse, shoes, skirt and hosiery until she was down to her plain, utilitarian underwear. These too came off now, and left Sasha completely nude.
There was a mirror in the booth, and the husky took a moment to look up and check herself in it. Seeing herself naked was certainly not new to Sasha, but taking time to examine and really scrutinize herself was. There simply wasn't the time or need to do so during academy life, but now...
The girl Sasha in the mirror looked so closed-off, so vulnerable. She was nervous, frightened, hunched over in a shrunken, shy stance. Her arms were holding herself, and her legs pressed together. There was more to this girl however. Her legs and arms had impressive muscle tone to them now, they were strong, powerful, but not alarmingly so. This girl was no longer the skinny, weak thing she was before military training, she was becoming something else entirely.
Sasha took a deep breath, and forced herself open, into a more self-assured pose, planting her feet firmly on the ground and bracing her hands on her hips. The husky's core was trim and well-defined, her hips had a sturdy, vigorous shape to them. Her chest had filled out considerably, mostly due to the underlying muscles that gave her bosom a boost. However, what Sasha saw more than anything else inside that girl in the mirror –not girl, Woman– was Confidence.
Seeing this, seeing her own strength reflected in that mirror, Sasha felt more of that confidence feed itself inside her, washing away those previous anxieties. There was a truly strong woman here, not simply a vain or shallowly prideful one. This was someone who need-not be afraid of anything; not her enemies, not the opinions of detractors, not even the implications of provocative risqué lingerie.
Feeling more empowered than ever before, Sasha slipped herself into the lacy black thong, and secured the matching bra over her breasts. When that was done, she evaluated the results in the mirror in front of her, and found she looked all the more stunning for it. The dark, fine patterns of the lace stood out and complimented her soft, pale golden fur, all while showcasing Sasha's toned, confident body. The look was provocative, yet still playful. It teased, indulged, but held back just enough to leave the viewer wanting more, and it still respected what was shown.
Sasha absolutely loved it...
With a self-assured swagger to her step, the husky sauntered her way out of the changing booth, where Maya was waiting for her.
The cat was stunned by the sight of Sasha, her expression locked in slack-jawed awe at what she saw. The scantily-clad husky gave Maya a playful smile and wink, and struck a sexy pose for her friend. Part of Sasha was proud that she could amaze her friend –her longtime secret crush– into a catatonic stupor like this, and with only her looks. It made her feel a certain sense of power; that she was, at least for the moment, the one on the dominant side of this relationship. It felt good.
"Well?" Sasha asked, her voice dripping with suggestive undertones. "What do you think?"
"Oh... wow... I..." Maya finally stammered out, shifting uncomfortably, fumbling something with her hands. Was she flustered at seeing her good friend Sasha exposed like this, and that she was relishing in it? Sasha hoped so. It was so cute and endearing to see Maya put on defense for once, "You have such an amazing physique, Sasha. I... I never knew!"
"What can I say?" the husky responded with a fun giggle, the put herself in a mock-flexing pose, "Easthold's physical fitness regimen has some benefits, I guess."
"Yeah, no kidding." Maya agreed, getting a better hold of herself now, "Seriously though, you need to show this off more, and get out of that stuffy uniform more often."
If things went well for Sasha, someday she would show off more for Maya, and more... much more. Until that time came however, Sasha would have to restrict herself to this kind of playful 'mock teasing'. Though she enjoyed it, playing at sexiness for Maya, it was secretly painful, to deny her true feelings, to make a falseness out of it.
Sasha was strong enough to endure it though, she would have to be.
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Author notes:
Aaaaaaaand this is what I was cooking up as the "replacement chapter." After some consideration, I decided that adding a kind of interim chapter, showcasing Sasha and Maya's past friendship, would be helpful and insightful. I hope it has, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
Let me know what you guys and gals think! because as always, your feedback is most welcome here.
