At the mall…
Wallflower and Sonata caught up with Trixie who had been posing dramatically in front of a mirror--bending over with one hand on her knee. She was wearing a skin-tight latex catsuit with cat ears and a tail.
“This makes Trixie look purr-fect,” she made cat-like noises while smiling like one. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“It makes you look like something alright,” Wallflower bit back her snickers and took a look around the costume store. Beautiful outfits of all shapes and sizes lined every rack in front of her. Monsters, princesses, pirates, robots--anything anyone could think of. “...we’ve got a lot of options,” she took a deep breath, “...whew. Almost too many options…”
Sonata would approach Wallflower and tried to ease her nerves. “It’s fine. You don’t have to force yourself to pick from everything. That’s what friends are for. I can help narrow the options down for you!”
“...You can?” Wallflower asked with a rather surprised tone, “I don’t really…go shopping for clothes all that so I don’t know how to make those kinda choices.”
“You don’t?” Sonata gasped with a shocked inflection, “But that’s…shopping is so…” But then she realized the kind of person that Wallflower was. “Ohhh…right. You prefer not to be around so many people at once. So lemme ask: How do you get all your shopping done?”
“Well I mostly shop online,” Wallflower admitted, which ultimately came as no surprise to Sonata who gave an understanding nod as the former continued. “It’s much easier than having to worry about…talking to people when I go buy stuff,” she explained in a hushed manner.
“Ah. I getcha now,” Sonata replied compassionately, “Don’t worry, we won’t force you to talk to anyone you don’t know. All we wanna do is get you into something sick. Something that’ll knock Micro’s rocks off!”
“...” Wallflower’s face turned a shade of red upon hearing Sonata explain that in such a way. “Erm…the expression is knock one’s ‘socks’ off, Sonata. When you say ‘rocks’ like that, it kinda implies--”
“Ooh!” Sonata cut her off and pointed in the direction of a nearby rack of clothes. “I found something that you’re totes gonna enjoy. You like carnivorous plants, don’t you?”
“I like all plants, but yeah. Those are great. Why?”
“A Venus Flytrap costume!” Sonata pulled her over to one of the racks and showed her an outfit that opened up from both sides to reveal multiple sets of fake teeth that would open and close if the wearer clapped their hands. “How do you like it?”
“Woah…it looks…awesome,” Wallflower muttered, “I think I’ll give this one a try. Thanks, Sonata.”
Sonata patted her on the back, “No probs. Now go on. I wanna see how it looks on you!”
With her costume picked out, Wallflower would go into one of the nearby dressing rooms. Meanwhile, Trixie could still be seen posing in her catsuit, much to the humor of the siren who couldn’t help but giggle at Trixie’s absurd mannerisms.
‘Humans never cease to amaze me,’ she thought to herself as she started looking for her own costume next.
Nearby…
On the other side of the mall, Skeedaddle and Coral Currents were busy picking out their costumes in a more kid-oriented store. It was a miracle for the latter to manage to get away from the house without her brother Sandbar watching over her.
Then again, he trusted Skeedaddle more than any other guy with her safety.
“I’m still shocked Sandbar let us come out here together,” he muttered while looking through a rack of costumes, “Are you sure he’s gonna be fine with us out here?”
“Don’t worry, Daddle,” she consoled him, “Sandbar knows how we feel about each other at this point and mom's just around the corner at the food court.” She put her fists on her hips in a proud stance. “Besides, it’s not like there’s dangerous magical malarkey just waiting to pounce on us from around the corner.”
“H-hey! Don’t jinx it!” Skeedaddle griped with a nervous shudder, “Y-you never know what could happen when it comes to magic. It’s all so random that it’s hard to keep track.”
Coral frowned and paused for a moment to hear him out. The asthmatic Skeedaddle had a rather frail body and she knew how bad things got for him when his anxiety took him over.
“I understand. But don’t worry. I’ve got a few things up my sleeve that’ll keep us safe should we ever need it. A hack or two that could give us a leg up,” she encouraged him with her words and a hug, “I’ve got your back, alright Daddle-Paddle?”
Her words eased his mind and allowed him to relax. “...Alright. Sorry, Coral. I think I was letting my mind get away from me for a bit. I want you to have a good time while we get ready for Halloween.”
“That’s the spirit,” she replied as she let him go. “Now, what are we going with…”
“I was honestly hoping to go as a legendary archer,” Skeedaddle mused, “Like Robin Hood…”
“Then Robin Hood is what you’re gonna be,” Coral replied supportively, “Come on. I got the perfect plan. Follow me.”
The store clerk had overheard them talking and sat back, wondering to herself. ‘...hacks? What is that kid talking about?’