Olivia's room
Inside this room are several pieces of well-worn furniture, inherited from past occupants: a bed, a long, squat dresser with a slice of mirror hung above it, and a small desk and chair. The rest of the room is decorated in what can best be described as "controlled chaos." Canvases cover most of the wall space, on which have been glued odd assortments of buttons, twine, bits of colored cloth, autumn leaves, pebbles of varying sizes, etc. Some of this "art" represents recognizable figures but most are unlike anything ever seen before. Overflowing bags stuffed with cloth scraps sit near the doorway, while more cloth, bobbins of thread, yarn, and ribbons cover the surface of the desk. Located next the bed is something that might be a nightstand (judging from the trinkets resting on it), but it too is built from a mishmash of smaller elements, twisting around and around like a corkscrew and then widening and flattening at the top.

The past few days have been rather hectic for a certain mouse. The stress of dealing with a booby-trapped necromancer's lair, boyfriend-abducting bandits and now having to set up a potentially explosive (emotionally that is – no Wingnuts involved) meeting between Inaya and Natasha would probably have crushed a Skeek of lesser fortitude. But through it all, Olivia had one stress-free activity to fall back on and rebalance herself: making a dress for her friend Amelia's big dinner date. And now it's ready for a final fitting, once the Kadie arrives for it.

The Skeek is now clearing a space in her cluttered room, so that she and Amelia will have a place to move around in freely for the last fitting before the big dinner tonight. As Olivia works, she nervously eyes the dress that she has designed and sewn for her friend, which is hanging on a peg against one wall, opposite the door so that it will be the first thing Amelia sees upon entering. True to her original design, Olivia has taken some of the dark green silks that she was given by Inaya and transformed them into the skirt and part of the sleeves and bodice of the dress. The skirt is not full, but sleek and straight, meant to show off the Kadie girl's curves to their best advantage. The bodice is also fitted to lie close to Amy's torso, with a standing collar that should reach halfway up her neck. Per Liliana's idea, unique sleeves flow down from the shoulder seams and attach at the cuffs; they are not solid pieces of silk, but hang in embroidered strips which will allow glimpses of the Kadie's arms. As a final touch, Olivia has alternated silver silk pieces along with the green ones at the sleeves, put some in a ribbon around the waist, and has made the collar out of it, as well.

While Olivia finishes tidying up, a light rapping comes at the door.

Olivia stuffs a final span of cloth out of the way under her bed and straightens the pillows on its surface before going to the door and opening it. "Hello?"

Amelia is outside, tail twitching in excitement. "Hi Olivia! I came as soon as I could!" She leans to one side to peek around the Skeek.

Olivia smiles at her friend and leads her inside, so that she doesn't die of suspense. As she closes the door to her room, she waves one hand at the dress hanging on the wall and asks, "So… what do you think?"

"Oh… wow," Amy says, staring at the garment with wide eyes. Her tail slows to a stop, but only to be replaced by an incoherent chittering sound from the squirrel's mouth. "It's beautiful! And completely impractical! You can't fight in it, or work in it… it's perfect! No girl would have something like that!"

Olivia laughs at Amy's reaction, but she sounds quite relieved that the Kadie likes it, too. "True enough – about the only things you can do in this dress are walk, dance a little, and sit down to dinner. Which makes it perfect for your big event tonight!"

"I've been practicing my walk, like Lili showed me," Amelia babbles. "I didn't know sitting was something to do differently though! I mean, because the table would be in the way… "

Olivia grins and takes her friend by the shoulders. "Whoa, whoa, calm down! You're getting to be as bad as Gunther hyped up on sugar!" she teases. "You're going to be fine. You just have to relax and enjoy yourself. I mean, how many times in our lives do we get to parade around in impractical clothes, eat fancy food and knock our boyfriends out with the way we look?"

"Four?" Amelia guesses, not quite realizing the rhetorical nature of the question. "I have to make an impression on my dad too. This'll do that, right?"

Olivia nods as another, quite different smile creeps over her face. "It will certainly show him that you're all grown up now, as much as he might not like to admit it. So, are you ready to try it on?"

Amy nods enthusiastically, and gets out of her everyday clothes in record time.

Olivia turns the dress around on its peg so that she can unlace the back of it and also unfasten the buttons on the cuffs. "All right, this is a dress you step into, not pull over your head," she tells Amelia. "Once it's on you and laced, I'll button the sleeves and have a look at it, to see if anything needs to be taken in or let out." Then she takes the dress off its hanger and carefully hands it to the Kadie.

Taking the dress by the shoulders, Amelia needs a moment to figure out the whole 'stepping into it' part. But the back is open, after all, to show off the wings dyed into her fur. She finally steps into it, and gets her arms into the sleeves, moving with exaggerated caution for fear of damaging the dress.

Olivia nods her approval, then says, "All right, hold still and I'll lace you up." The Skeek takes up the second silver ribbon she has made for the dress and threads it through the loops in back, tightening as she goes and finally finishing off with a small bow. Then she comes around to Amelia's front and buttons the sleeve-cuffs. Afterwards, she steps back a few paces and takes in the view. Apparently, Olivia can't help but gape a little, too. "Goodness," she breathes, "you look… fantastic!"

"It feels… is fabric supposed to feel like this?" Amelia wonders, still afraid to move. "I guess this is why Zolk is so expensive… it's like… uh… dry water… hmmm. Have you worn this yourself?" she asks.

Olivia shakes herself out of her daze. "Hmm, what? Oh no, I haven't made myself any clothes out of the zolk yet, but after working with it for your dress, I think that 'dry water' is a pretty apt description. So go ahead and breathe normally, walk around in it a little. Does it feel too tight anywhere? Or too loose?"

Amelia tries walking – normally at first, and then trying the 'walk from the hips' method Lili taught her. "I can't believe Dr. Pike wears underwear made from this. No wonder she's so… Anyway, it doesn't feel too tight anywhere, but it's hard to tell. It's like wearing a breeze."

Olivia runs a practiced eye over the folds of cloth as Amelia moves. "It looks like it's hanging correctly," she mutters. Then she smiles at Amelia's assessment. "Well, if that's how it feels when it's on, then I made the dress properly! On to the next question – did Liliana ever pierce your ears for you?"

The Kadie reaches up to her ears, and rubs each between her forefingers and thumbs. "Pierce them? You mean, to wear a little clip like you do?"

Olivia nods again. "Yes, that's right. Did she ever do that for you? Because I thought it might be nice to have someone straighten your hair for the evening and put it up for you, to show off the collar of the dress. Then you could wear some nice drop earrings. I've got a pair that I bought at the capitol that you could borrow, but they are for pierced ears."

"Lili never did anything to my ears," Amelia admits. Then she asks, "Straighten? How can you do that? Do pierced ears heal in time?"

Olivia smiles at all the questions. "The little holes in your earswill close up again over time, if you don't want to keep them open. So if you don't like wearing earrings generally, you could just let them heal over. As for the hair straightening, that's pretty easy – all that's involved is a mixture you comb through wet, clean hair. Then you let your hair air-dry and it will stay straight until you wash the stuff out. I'll bet Lili could fix up your hair, too – she's really good at all this primping, girly stuff."

The Kadie ponders herself with straight hair. "It would certainly look grown-up. I guess the earrings and hair stuff are worth trying then! I just hope I don't scare Zahn's father."

Olivia laughs and says, "Somehow I don't think you'll scare him exactly, but he might not recognize you! Anyway, let me ask Fiona from next door to go to the gypsy camp and fetch Liliana. I can also borrow some of that hair-straightening solution from her, she uses it all the time when she goes out on dates. I'll be right back!" Then she slips out the door and in a few seconds, the Skeek can be heard talking to the apprentice who lives next to her.

Alone, Amelia wonders if Dr. Pike has any Zolk underthings that might fit her…

In a few more minutes, the Skeek returns with a large glass bottle filled with a pearly-white liquid. "Got it!" she exclaims happily. "And Fiona is on her way to get Liliana. She'll probably want to pierce your ears first and then do your hair. In any case, we need to get you out of that dress and back into your own clothes before she arrives – I don't want anything getting torn or wrinkled before the big event!"

Amelia blinks, and then nods. She tries to twist and turn to get to the ties in back.

Olivia hurries to help Amelia unlace the back of the dress so that she can get it off again!

"I'll have to practice doing this myself," Amy says as she steps out of the dress, and reaches for her regular clothes. After wearing the Zolk, the normal fabric feels different to her now. "Hmmm, the dress felt like being fondled by ghosts. Regular clothes feel more like… otters… now."

A bit of time passes before there's a rapping on Olivia's door. "Ey, Olivia," comes the voice of Liliana from the other side. "I gots yer message. Kin I come in? No one is decent, I hope?" That's followed by an amused giggle.

"Sorry, Djivan's not here," Amy calls through the door, grinning at Olivia.

Olivia just shakes her head at Amelia as she goes to answer the door. "Sorry, Lili, but we're both dressed at the moment," she says, opening it to allow the Eee to slip inside. "Thanks for agreeing to do this!"

Liliana slips inside. She promptly sticks out her tongue to the Skeek, commenting, "Ya could have at least had the politeness t' undress before I gots here." The Eee then winks and peers at Amelia. So, dis is de victim? I've been vanting t' get me hands on her, vou know… "

"You already got to paint my back," Amelia reminds the Eeee. "And wouldn't you want to undress Olivia yourself anyway?"

Liliana's head slowly turns toward Olivia. A slow grin creeps over her muzzle, too. "Now dere's an idea… " she says.

Olivia, who was giggling at first when the Eee was teasing Amelia, now chokes and looks wide-eyed at the gypsy. "Don't you dare… " she mutters, glaring at Liliana.

"Don't worry, Olivia," Amy says with a wink. "It's not like she could figure out how to get real clothes off a person."

Liliana tries to pout. Doesn't quite work, though, as she ends up giggling partway through. "Vou are jus' no fun," she comments and settles herself down on the floor. To Amelia's comment, she waggles her claws at the Kadie and notes, "Sure I do. I just shreds em. Now, I need yas to sit down here facing away from me." She pats the spot immediately in front of her.

Amelia sits down, giving the Eee a face-full of tail before sweeping it aside.

Olivia snorts at this and comments, "Yeah, I've been told that before, but it's still not changing my mind!"

Liliana ackpthts and bats the tail away. Smirking, she scoots forward until she's pressed up against Amelia's back so she can get a good look at her ears. "So, I understand vou vant yer ears pierced," she comments. "How many? Vant me to do anyt'ing else? Mebbe a nice chain from nose to ear?" she says with an evil grin.

"I guess that means you and Lili and Djivan and Morgan haven't gotten together for a mutual snog-fest yet then," Amelia says. "Emmett will be heartbroken. He has money wagered on that."

"Just enough for some earrings Olivia has, Lili," the Kadie notes.

Olivia rolls her eyes heavenward and sighs deeply. "Of course he does," she grumbles, to no one in particular. "Can't trust that boy to keep his mind out of the gutter for two minutes… "

"Oh, she has several, so several per ear, then?" Liliana teases as she leans in to nose along Amelia's earridge. "And vou know, I haven' had dinner yet," she comments, her nosetip dipping down to brush the Kadie's neck. From Olivia's perspective, she can see the Eee wink to her playfully.

"I need all my blood tonight," Amelia warns. "And… uh… how many holes do I need, Olivia?"

"Really? So, does dat mean vou'll let me another night, den?" Liliana teases.

Olivia covers her mouth with her hand to hide her smile, then says, "Just one hole in each ear will be sufficient, Lili. Sorry!"

"Maybe if get a big bruise or something and don't want to use leeches," Amelia offers, grinning.

"How ordinary," Liliana says with a mock pout. The Eee then actually does get to business and lightly brushes the Kadie's hair away from her ears, then starts feeling along them carefully … with her lips. She releases and comments, "Good, vou don' have any large blood vessels."

"We Kadies use our tails to keep cool, not our ears, so that makes sense," Amy comments.

"Y' have to be careful with Eee ears an Eee wing edges. Though with the right jewelry, it looks quite fetching on an Eee to have wing rings. Seen a few guys in me travels that looked amazing wit' dose," Liliana comments absently. "Now, dis vill hurt a bit, o' course so be ready an don't jerk away or I might tear. An I'll need the earrings t' insert."

"Okay," Amy agrees, looking to Olivia for confirmation of the 'this will hurt' part.

Olivia goes over to her chest of drawers and pulls a fancy pair of drop earrings out of a top drawer. To form the earrings, thin black ribbons have been braided into elaborate patterns with clear stones attached at one end and the posts attached to the other. "These weren't expensive or anything, but I thought they were pretty," the Skeek says, handing them over. "And don't worry, Amelia, it only hurts for a few seconds. That's the way it was with me, anyhow!"

Liliana takes the earrings and inspects them. "These vill do," she says approvingly, "So, jus hold still." The Eee then leans back in. Her hands come around to take the Kadie's hands in hers for reassurance as her mouth lightly closes on one ear, just one set of fangs pressing lightly near the earbase. She lets the anesthetic effect of bat saliva work for a few seconds, then closes down firmly, fangs going through the ear-ridge cleanly. It's a spark of pain, but certainly nothing serious at all. More like being pinched. Liliana holds her moth closed for a bit, letting Amelia react if she's going to before letting go.

There's a slight wince on Amy's part, but she doesn't jerk or move otherwise.

Olivia looks into Amelia's face to see how she's taking all this. "You okay?" she asks. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

"Not too bad," Amy says. "I've had worse from stabbing myself accidentally… "

Olivia blinks for a second, then mutters, "Never mind, I don't want to know… "

Liliana continues to hold Amelia's ear in her mouth for longer that likely necessary. But eventually she does carefully release it and slips the post of the earring through the new hole. That's a rather bizarre feeling, really … something cold sliding though her ear. The Eee then clasps the post shut and grins, "Nothin' like a little ear nibblin'. Ready fer the other one? An vou sure vou don vant de nose?" She winks to Olivia.

"Of course I want my nose!" Amy says, wiggling her pierced ear experimentally to see how it feels with the earring dangling. "You bite off noses? I haven't seen anyone with their nose bitten off. Morgan's okay, right?"

"No off, jus' a hole righ' through de left nostril, fer a cute leetle chain t' yer ear," Liliana teases as she shifts a bit so she can get to Amelia's other ear. The wiggling ear feels a bit odd since there's extra weight that keeps swaying after the Kadie stops.

As Liliana works, Olivia teases, "You know, I've noticed that you're not washing Amy's ears in cold water first before biting them, like you did with mine. Kadies must have tastier ears than Skeeks!"

"She don' have large blood vessels in her ears, I checked," Liliana points out to Olivia, grinning. "I dun need to make em constrict!"

"Ewww, don't taste my ears!" Amy protests. "And no nose biting. I don't want any chains."

Olivia ohs at this. "Okay, so I guess the water was more for that. But you told me that it helped to take away the ear taste, too!"

"Too late, already tasted yer ear," the Eee teases as she brushes back the Kadie's hair. "Next one," she says, then leans in and repeats the procedure. As she's now fastening the second earring closed, she says to Olivia, "Smaller ear, less vax, too."

Olivia hmms and reaches up to rub one of her own ears. "I guess I need to clean them out more, then… "

"That's a myth," Amy says. "I know Igor's ears aren't bigger than Olivia's… well, maybe one is… and he can make enough wax for candles."

Finished with her ears, Liliana drapes her arms over Amelia's shoulders and rests her chin atop the Kadie's head. "So, vhat else? Kin I dress 'er?" she asks, grinning widely.

"I thought you were going to style my hair?" Amelia asks.

Olivia folds her arms across her chest and says, "That's right, we have to work on her hair next. Do you want to wash it for her, Lili? I can get a basin and some soap and water… "

"Sure. I kin vash it," Liliana agrees. "On or off 'er head?" she asks after a bit of thought.

"What do you mean?" Amy asks, turning to look up at Lili.

"Vell, I kin cut vour hair off, den vash it," Liliana suggests, trying to keep a straight face.

"No cutting!" Amy snaps. "I need it a certain length or else the knives fall out."

"You kin vear knives at a fancy dress dinner," Liliana points out. The Eee then carefully starts going through her hair, looking for said knives.

Sure enough, there are two stilettos embedded in the curls midway between the ears and the top of the scalp, one on either side. "I don't need them for the dinner party," Amy says. "And I'm only carrying two today because Olivia's place is usually safe, when she's alone."

"Vhat, vou t'ink Djivan is dangerous?" Liliana asks as she carefully extracts the knives and sets them to the side. Amelia can't see it, but Liliana does the usual waving of her hand to indicate rolling of her eyes.

While all this is going on, Olivia takes the pitcher and basin off the surface of her dresser and puts the basin within Lili's reach. Then she goes out for a minute and comes back again with the pitcher full of warm water from the kitchens. She has also brought along a packet of powdered hair soap, too, all of which she places at the Eee's elbow.

"Axel stays here sometimes, and he explodes," Amelia notes.

"So does vour boyfriend," Liliana points out. The Eee scoots back and sets the basin in her lap. Once positioned, the Eee pulls Amelia back so she's practically resting her head in the bat's lap. She leans over and looks Amelia in the eyes … upsidedownlike.

"I carry knives around the dam too," Amy points out.

Liliana does her best 'mwahahaha' of evil and starts to work on Amelia's hair. "Y'should close yer eyes so I don get soap in dem," she notes as she starts wetting down the Kadie's hair.

Amy gives the bad a suspicious look, but then closes her eyes.

Olivia, who is watching all of this from a safe distance, says to Amelia, "Don't worry, I'll make sure she doesn't try to molest you while washing your hair… well, I'll do my best, anyway!" Then she gives her own wink to the bat.

Liliana looks like she wants to sneak-snog Amelia … but actually behaves and gets to work on her hair. She's pretty sparing with the soap, as she doesn't want to make too much of a mess. "Vou haf somt'ing t' straighten it, righ?" she asks Olivia.

Olivia goes to get the bottle of pearly-white liquid again and holds it up for the bat to see. "We just comb this through her wet hair and let it dry. That will straighten it."

"Will it smell funny?" Amy asks, keeping her eyes closed still.

"A'right," Liliana says as she works. The Eee is actually very careful as she works and doesn't once scratch the Kadie's scalp too hard. "It smell clean," the Eee notes, grinning, "Vhich I guess to vou might smell funny as it probably rare… "

Amelia hmphs. "I comb my hair out every day, you know. No twigs or leaves in it at all."

Olivia rolls her eyes heavenward and says, "I think she means the hair-straightener, Lili! No, it should smell nice… it's flower-scented, I think."

"Dat doesn' get de dirt out," Liliana points out.

"Zahn washes it for me sometimes too," Amy adds. "Flowers… hmm, flowers are nice, yeah. Thanks, Olivia."

"Y'got yer boyfrien' vashing vour hair? Trained 'im vell, den," Liliana says with a grin. Soaping done, the Eee carefully rinses the soap away. To try and keep it from her eyes, Liliana uses her free hand as a dam along the Kadie's forehead.

"Trained?" Amy asks. "No, just started learning about that. He suggested the washing. He's a good groomer. Lots of self-control."

Just to test this theory, Olivia takes a little of the liquid out of the bottle and rubs it on her fingers, then sniffs it. "Yeah, it smells like honeysuckle to me. This way, you won't need to wear any perfume. Does Zahn like flowered scents? By the way, he is the one taking you to this dinner, right?"

"Well, not taking me so much, since it's at my house," Amelia reasons. "I… guess he'll like the smell. He likes how I smell normally I think."

After squeezing out as much water as she can, Liliana eases the Kadie back upright and digs out one of her many combs. She starts going through Amelia's hair, starting at the end and working upward to release any tangles. "Put some of dat stuff on another comb fer me, Olivia?" she asks the Skeek while she works.

Since she's back upright, Amy risks opening her eyes again. "Doesn't Djivan comb your hair for you, Olivia?" she asks.

Olivia nods and says, "Sure!" Then she takes one of her own combs from the bedside table and picks out any stray hairs of her own. After covering it with a fair amount of the hair-straightener, she hands the comb to Liliana. "Actually, he massages my arms and my hands for me," she admits. "That really helps to keep my muscles in shape for all the work I do. Plus, it feels really nice."

"Oh, massages are nice," Amy agrees. "I bet he rubbed Lili's legs then when they were going out, since she dances."

"Pity vou don' haf vings. He kin do a great ving massage," Liliana quips as she accepts the brush. Tangles gone, she starts brushing the cream into the Kadie's curly hair. After a few moments, the curls start to relax and the hair straighten.

Olivia inspects the Eee's work over her shoulder. "It seems to be working!" she tells Amy in a pleased voice.

"I don't remember the last time I had straight hair," Amy admits. "How can it be styled?"

"I bet Igor could give ya vings," Liliana says teasingly to Olivia, then winks. "Styled? Vell, dat depends on de outfit o'course. Dey gots to match."

"But… the dress is mostly green," Amelia notes.

"I was thinking Amy could wear it up in a twist or a looped braid, or perhaps part of it could be put up and some hair left to hang down?" Olivia suggests. "The dress has a high-standing collar, that's why I thought having it up would look nicer."

"Oh, right… the collar," Amelia says quietly, having not understood what was meant by 'matching' apparently.

"Coul' dye vour hair green," Liliana teases. The Eeee then nods to Olivia, saying, "Dat coul' vork. Still, she need t'put de dress on before I try anyt'ing." The Eeee continues the careful brushing and in a few minutes, the hair has straightened reasonably well. When straight, Amelia's hair is rather long, nearly halfway down the Kadie's back.

"Which means she's going to have to watch you undress and dress again, Amy," Olivia says, grinning.

"Up would be best then," Amy says, feeling the length of the hair. "Otherwise it'll cover up the wings."

The Kadie gets up and sheds her clothes, then steps into the gown again – a bit faster this time since she knows what to do! "She's seen me do that before anyway," she notes to Olivia.

Releasing the Kadie, Liliana sits back and grins. "So, gots any snacks fer the dressing show?" she says playfully, watching Amelia.

Olivia clucks her tongue at the Eee reprovingly as she laces up the back of the gown again for Amelia. "Behave yourself," she growls in mock-warning.

"Snacks?" Amy asks.

"Oh, righ' she is de snack," Liliana says and winks to Olivia. "An behave? Vhy, do I ever misbehave?"

"Yes," says the Skeek simply.

As the two finish dressing, Liliana seems a bit lost in thought. She taps her chin, then nods, "Ah, I gots an idea. Should vork an' vou get t'keep vour knives."

"Oh?" Amy asks, holding the tail of her hair in one hand, over her shoulder, just to see what it feels like straight.

Liliana stands and walks over to the Kadie. "Sit dere," she instructs and points to a nearby chair. "I be needing a few ribbon strips," she tells Olivia.

Amelia sits down, although her tail fidgets a bit. "Ribbons and knives? What sort of style is this gonna be?"

"In a green color, I assume?" the Skeek asks. "Or silver?"

"Hm, silver," Liliana notes. The Eee then gets to work. She separates two large sections of hair she probably intends to braid, leaving a small bit of the long hair free to flow and sweep along the Kadie's back, but not enough to cover the wings. Whistling, the Eee starts working on one braid.

Despite herself, Amy starts to relax. It's just like grooming, after all…

Olivia rummages around in one of the overflowing scrap cloth bags lying on the floor. Eventually, she comes up with several lengths of silver ribbon that match the silver in the dress fairly closely. She hands these over to the Eee.

Finishing up the first braid, she ties off the end with the silver ribbon, then wraps the remaining bits of it up along the braid. The other section of hair gets a similar braiding; tight black braid wrapped in silver trim. The Eee then takes the two braids and starts looping them together lightly, until they hang loosely in several loops. She holds the ends of the braids at Amelia's crown and then carefully slips one of the stilettos in to pin up one of the braids. She uses the other stiletto to pin the second braid. The end result leaves the Kadie with what almost looks like a draping crown of silver and black rings with a flowing wispy black veil attached to it. She steps back and looks at it critically. "Vhat do vou t'ink, Olivia?" she asks.

Olivia walks all around Amelia's chair, running a careful eye over the hairstyle and noting how it looks with the dress. "It's really elegant, Lili!" she says finally and smiles. "If you want to have a look, Amy, go over to the mirror hanging above my chest of drawers."

"Right!" the Kadie says, and hops to her feet. She nearly trips on the way to the mirror, and stands before it for some time, turning her head back and forth. "Wow, is that me?"

"Nope! Ve sucked vour brain out an put it in another Kadie!" Liliana quips. Then with a playful swat, she adds, "O'course dat is vou. Vou a looker if vou try."

"Zahn is really going to be knocked out by how wonderful you look," Olivia notes. "You'd better be prepared to catch him if he drops into a dead faint!"

Stepping back further, Amy tries to see as much of the dress on herself as possible while turning around. "Maybe I'll wait until he's sitting down first before arriving then… "

Olivia's whiskers twitch mischievously. "I think that's a good plan."

"Or vou jus' valk up an snog him. Shock him into no' fainting," Liliana suggests.

Liliana raises a finger. "Oh, right, I forgots something!" she declares.

"Fainting wouldn't be good… what did you forget?" Amelia asks.

Liliana saunters over. Quickly, she slips a hand behind the Kadie's neck. She gently pulls Amelia forward while she leans in. Then without warning, she kisses Amelia … on the lips. "M' kiss from de beautiful girl, o'course," she says when she lets go, grinning evilly. "If vou afraid o' Zahn fainting, vou coul' take me to de dinner… "

Amelia blinks in confusion several times, then says, "But… Erik invited him… " Coming to her senses, she grins at the bat, and says, "Well, I guess I don't have to thank you now for doing up my hair and ears."

"Nope! Dat vas it," the Eeee says with a grin. She tilts her head towards Olivia and says, "Vanna thank me too?" Her ears wiggle playfully.

Olivia steps back a few paces and waves a warning finger at the Eee. "Not that way I don't!" she says in alarm.

Liliana snaps her fingers. "Darn," she says.

Gathering her things now, the Eee says, "Vell, I guess my vork here be done. I should gets back. Got dance lessons t'give this eveing t' the Rath'ani girls. Needs to show dem how to use dat striped tail to mesmerize de vatchers."

Amy waves to Lili, saying, "Thanks Lili. You should do something with Morgan's hair too!"

"It all worked out beautifully, Lili!" Olivia says, going to open the door for the bat. "Thanks so much!"

"I do! But he von' vear it out in public," the Eee notes. She waves bye with a wiggle of her fingers, says, "Knock em dead!", then slips out the door to make her way home.

"So, how should I repay you now, Olivia?" Amelia asks her friend. "Still need someplace private for your date with Djivan?"

Olivia hmms at this and looks at the Kadie thoughtfully. "Now there's a good idea," she says. "Got a private, romantic spot in mind?"

"That depends," Amy says. "Are either of you afraid of heights?"

Olivia shakes her head, raising one eyebrow at her friend. "We're not… but now you have me wondering as to where this could be!"

"Someplace special I know about," Amelia says, looking secretive. "There might be some danger though… if you go in the evening, you'll need to spend the night in order to avoid trolls."

Olivia looks shocked for a moment, then starts to laugh. "Oh, so this would be a danger-dinner-date, then," she quips. "With our luck, we might just get interrupted by the trolls and not have a date at all!"