>>
|
8483cf.jpg
Prince Dream Rose
8483cf
Apricot and Autumn are in a marketplace, so now isn’t really the best time for me to swoop in and claim trophies. All I have to do is wait for the neck strap on Apricot’s top to fray just a hair further… and there it goes!
Apricot lets out a squawk as her top slips down, its strings completely undone. She quickly clutches it to her chest, making sure not to squeeze Autumn too tight as she does. Unfortunately for her, this means she’s got to be very careful with how tight she holds that top.
“What’s wrong?” Autumn asks, her voice muffled from the napkin and concealing feathers.
“My top!” Apricot whispers. “Autumn, help! You’ve gotta tie it back up!”
“I’m sorry, I… I can’t!” Autumn says. “Not here! I just can’t!”
Apricot’s wings are tense, and it looks like she wants to take flight insitinctively. She fights the urge and instead jogs into a secluded alleyway nearby. It’s dark and smelly, but the trash heaps can conceal her from the marketplace at both ends. There’s a slight wind blowing from one end to the other, so the stench isn’t too bad.
I flutter after them and watch as Autumn hops out of Apricot’s grasp, who lets her top fall atop a dirty wooden crate.
“You have to stop picking at your strings,” Autumn says, barely keeping the disappointment from her voice.
“I wasn’t! I swear!” Apricot says, her voice jumping a pitch higher.
“I’m not sure I can tie this back together very tight,” Autumn says. “I’m really sorry… I’m not used to working without my magic. I feel so… so heavy. Um… maybe if I use my belt to secure the frayed part of neck strap together a bit, right around the knot, it’ll hold for just a little longer.”
Autumn reaches for her belt and finds that the leaves and tight vine have dried up and crinkled into a weak, dry mess. “Oh, no,” she whispers, looking down at her crinkling leaf dress. “Apricot, we’ve got to hurry back to our room!”
“I’ll hurry once I have a top that works!” Apricot says. “Can’t you fly behind me and hold it up?”
“I could if I had plenty of magic, but no, not now,” Autumn says. “I’m sorry! I just can’t lift anything. I can barely even fly. The best I can do is… well, I could try using my stockings instead of my belt to tie your strap back together as tight as I can.”
“Do that!”
This is the best chance I have! I have two options:
1. Stay stealthy and get some trophies. I bet a really, really good gust of wind will send everything on Autumn’s wooden crate flying, and maybe even blow her dress into pieces. I’ll be able to grab Apricot’s top, and have to choose one selection from this list:
-Leaves from Autumn’s dress, and either a stocking or a shoe
-Both of Autumn’s stockings
-Both of Autumn’s shoes
-One stocking, one shoe
2. Swoop in and steal everything I can! Autumn and Apricot will get a good look at me, but I’ll get Apricot’s top, my choice of her legwear/shoes (but not all of it), and get a chance to pluck some underwear right off Autumn if she’s wearing anything under her dress, if I want to. It’s not stealthy at all, but it’s doable!
3. Or I could play the hero and help them out. I wonder what I’d get if I helped hold up Apricot’s top, or gave Autumn a mana potion I “borrowed”? This would let them both cover up, and they’d be very grateful.
|