The mall in Derrton, where there's lots to shop and buy.

As the quartet neared Derrton Mall, Ozzy grinned and said, "So, guys, what's the plan? Where're we starting this little party off?"

He'd never been shopping with teenage girls before, and was wondering whether or not he'd end up with the stereotypical 'big pile of stuff' in his arms by the end of the day.

  Clarissa giggled, and said "You and I start off in the dress boutique.  They start off in Victoria Secret, unless you want to see how hard all three of us can make you blush as we pick through the bras, panties, and worse?"

Ozzy chuckled, "Heh, no, the dress boutique sounds like the better plan. We do need to look for something for you to wear to that charity ball. Of course, if you wanted to  stop by Victoria's Secret later, I'm not exactly going to complain."

  That got another giggle, and she said "I thought you would like my plan better.  And I do, desperately, need a hand picking out something nice that won't look too tacky!"  She slid her arm through his elbow, possessively, as her cousins were already heading into the mall.

Ozzy smiled as they headed towards the dress boutique, putting an arm around her in return, "It's easy. Just don't pick something that's too busy. Details are good, but too many and it becomes less about you and more about the dress.  Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to find something you love. Looking good is a given, with you."

  She said thoughtfully "So, say, a peacock satin dress with a simple ribbon belt and lace sleeves would be good?  For an example?"  As she asked, then went in, and she headed for a dress rack that looked like a rainbow had been trapped in it.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea, I think. It gives the dress some 'pop', but not so much that it looks like the dress is wearing you, rather than the other way around. That's really what we've got to avoid, putting a pretty girl like you in something that looks like Lady Gaga designed it," he said, following her to the rack and looking for anything that she might look good in.

  She slowly flipped through the dresses, and pulled out a skirt that was of simple peacock satin, the color changing in the light from peacock to sapphire to deep amethyst, and then took it off the rack.  It had sleeves made of lace that matched, and a belt made of a peacock ribbon.  She held it up against her, and asked him "Would this look good?"

Ozzy nodded, "Yeah, I think that would work, and I've got something that'll go nicely with it. After all, black goes with everything, heheh. Seriously, though, I think it'll look good. Of course, you never really know until you try it on,"

  She nodded, and said "Zips up the back.  You or Crystal will need to give me a hand with that . . ."

  Crystal said helpfully "Ozzy should.  He has better reach."

Ozzy nodded, "Sure, not a problem. Let's find the changing rooms."

Once they'd found the privacy booths for trying on a garment, he smiled and said, "Here you go, just let me know when you need me."

  Clarissa giggled, and hung the dress, then slid out of her clothes, and into the dress.  She slid into it, and held it in place as she asked "Can you please zip me up, Ozzy?  I just can't get a good angle to do it myself . . "

Ozzy waited outside of the changing room, only going in when Clarissa was ready. He zipped the dress up for her speedily, being careful where he put his other hand to steady the zipper. While he'd seen it all, and she'd made it clear he had 'touching privileges', he wanted to respect her privacy and such. And, he really didn't think the staff would appreciate it if two teens started getting frisky in the fitting rooms.

"There you go, babe. All zipped up. How's it feel?" he asked once she was zipped into the dress.

  She turned, looking in the mirror, and smiled, then faced him and asked "Does it look good enough to go to the ball in it?   Will I look like Cinderella, or like her gaudy, mean stepsisters?"  Right now, he could clearly see Crystal rose, wings outstretched, and in 'Dragon Rampant' across her back like an exotic flower of a tattoo.

"Definitely like Cinderella. Though, Crystal Rose might have to find someplace else to 'perch' for that evening, unless you want everyone knowing that you have a tattoo. I wouldn't mind if you showed it, given that I'm the one who 'drew' it," said Ozzy, grinning as he wrapped his arms gently around Clarissa's midsection.

"Still, does it feel okay? You can move and everything, right? After all, there's not much point in getting a dress to go dancing in if you can't actually dance in it."

  She giggled as she wrapped her arms around him, and said "Show me how we'll be dancing so I know how I need to move . . . "

Ozzy grinned and said, "All righty. There's just enough room in here for a basic waltz, which will probably take up most of the night. It's one of those dances where, if you can walk and have any sense of rhythm, you can get through it without any disasters. Just follow my lead."

With that, he reached around and took one of her hands in his own, before leading them in a basic waltz, tracing a little square around the changing room.

  She followed his lead, and as she got the hang of it, she leaned her head on his shoulder and said "Okay, I could do this all night with you.  I think we found a keeper.  I don't see why I shouldn't let Crystal be seen, after all, my parents can hardly say I got something illegal there!!  I wish they'd given me a little more spending money though."  She had just enough to cover the dress, and maybe a pair of shoes to match.  Maybe.

Ozzy sighed happily, enjoying this little private dance they were having in the changing room. "I know what you mean," he replied, "This is a lot more fun than it was with those random girls from the class my parents made me go to. I guess it's all in your dance partner. And I'm all for that. Heh, I'd go for a sleeveless tux if I thought I could get away with it. Maybe they make suits with see-through sleeves? Or maybe just a nice vest over a nice, short sleeved button-up shirt."


He then smiled and said, "That would be another reason I'm here. I wouldn't mind if you made a reasonable request or two. I may not have tons of money, but I don't mind sharing some of what I do have."

  She blushed, and said "Well, we might want to catch lunch later in the food court.  My cousins will stop by and drop off the parcels every so often, a lot of what they're doing is being seen.  Let's get this dress.  Want to find a nice tux that has matching accents to this one?  That way we're clearly a set."

"Sure, sounds like a plan. I didn't really want to dress in plain black anyway. That's reserved for when I go to some of the nifty goth clubs. I may be straight edge, but it's still a lot of fun, and nothing's more goth than a suit and tie," said Ozzy, grinning. He wondered if they even had men's suits like that in a mall like this. After all, most guys were afraid that anything more than a solid color would make them look like they were gay.

  She grinned, and hugged him fiercely.  Catching Tats in the middle, of course, even as he felt Rose give him a lick on the hand, and heard her say "He's definitely a keeper, Clarissa.  Don't let him get away!"

Ozzy grinned, giving Clarissa a quick kiss and gently stroking her back where Crystal Rose was. When he pulled away, he said, "Heh, 'getting away' implies that I was trying to go somewhere in the first place. Why would I want to make a boneheaded move like that?"

He then let her go and said, "Well, I'll let you get changed," before he stepped back out of the dressing room, still grinning blissfully.

  she got dressed, and then asked him "You ready to go tux-hunting?"

Ozzy grinned, "Yeah. Let's pay for the dress, first. I don't think dress shops have much in the way of menswear, after all. There's a J&R next door, though. They should have something."

Once the dress was bought and paid for, Ozzy took Clarissa's arm once again and headed for the tux shop, wondering if they'd manage to find anything that would go well with Clarissa's dress.

  She grinned, and once the dress was paid for, she presented him with the dress-box.  They actually put it in a box that let it lay flat, and was about three inches deep, so it was already a big armful.  This would be a long shopping trip.  She asked him "You sure you're going to be okay playing pack mule like your grandfather said?"

"Yeah. Besides, he'd know if I skipped out on it. He's a Seer, after all. So I'll carry it. It's not a big deal," said Ozzy, accepting the package.

"Of course, this does mean you'll need to help me shop. Not that I think you'll mind, anyway."

  She giggled, and said "Of COURSE I'll help you shop!!  I like that idea.  Besides, if I help you shop, I can make sure what you get accents your sexy self."

Ozzy grinned, "Heh, I figured you'd say that. We'd better get started, then, we've got our work cut out for us."

With that, he started helping to look through the suits and tuxedos as much as he could, with his arms full with the dress like they were.

  Clarissa giggled, and said "I'll be your hands.  Don't worry, we'll find you something.  If not here, we can sneak across the road to the row of specialty stores over there and check out the Tux.  THEY should have something."

"Heh, it'll be an adventure, that's for sure. I wonder what they'll say to two unaccompanied teenagers in their store. Heheheh," said Ozzy, grinning. He knew that a lot of service people would ignore those who didn't seem to have the money to actually afford anything that was in their store, and Ozzy wondered if that would hold true. Luckily, the salesperson in the dress shop hadn't been such a person.

He helped Clarissa look through the store's stock as best that he could, though he had to wonder if a mall-sized J&R clothing would really have the sorts of fancy tuxes like they were looking for.

  She looked thoroughly, and made a noise, finally.  "Okay, we're going across the parking lot.  Tux has it all, they're bigger, and ALL they do is tuxedos.  So let's go find you one that matches.  Then we can come back and worry about shoes that match."

  Crystal said softly, so that Ozzy heard her, but not the clerk "They're in for it, they've made her shopping gene kick in."

Ozzy grinned as he followed Clarissa, chuckling at Crystal Rose's comment.

"I don't mind, really. Shopping can be fun, and I get to hang out with you two. Win-win! Besides, this stuff needs to get done," he replied.

  Clarissa giggled, and said "Some people would tell you to be very afraid.  I'm going to see if I can get you a nice tux picked out, and then you and I are going to do some heavy duty shopping.  Not necessarily BUYING, but shopping."

Ozzy smiled and said, "Y'know, you're really cute when you're all excited like this. I'm going to have to take you shopping more often. Even if I do end up being a packmule, it'll be worth it."

He continued to follow her towards this specialty Tux shop, switching between looking at her and looking ahead.

  Her blush was pretty, and she took hold of his elbow to make it easier for him to follow as she answered.  "The Tux is the biggest place in 50 miles to get a tuxedo.  They do all sorts of special tux rentals and everything.  If they don't have it, they will custom MAKE a tux to suit our needs.  And I'm glad you are liking, some people think I'm a freaking nut when I shop."

Ozzy grinned, "Maybe, but that's part of what I like about you. You're not afraid to be who you are. Besides, I don't trust people who aren't a little nutty. I figure if someone puts their flaws on display, then they're not hiding anything else from you. But if someone makes a big effort to seem like they're perfect, then they're probably hiding something really bad. Like, 'Oh, I'm secretly a serial killer who has seven people chopped up in my freezer."

  She laughed, and said "You know my man ias.  Shopping, skating, you."  The Tux was enormous, and there were clearly hundreds, if not thousands of tuxes.

Ozzy grinned, "Heh, it's a good thing we have those last two in common. I mean, I'm comfortable with shopping, but I wouldn't exactly call it a 'mania'. I'd have to say art for my third. I have broken the law for my art a time or ten, after all."

As they walked into The Tux, Ozzy whistled his approval.

"Daaaaang. This place is swanky. I wonder if this is where Grandpa gets his suits from?"

  Clarissa smiled, and said "We will do this the direct way.  Let's head over to the counter, and see if they have a match.  Now, do you want black with matching accent pieces, or do you want one in peacock satin that matches completely?"

Ozzy considered for a moment before deciding, "Why not go black with matching accents? We'd still obviously be a pair, but that way more of the attention is on you, where it should be. That, and I like the way I look in black."

  Clarissa smiled, and led him up to the counter.  She waited for a moment, then one of the clerks asked them both "How can I help you?  Need a Prom Tux?"

Ozzy nodded, "Yeah, more or less. We're looking for something in black with accents that match this dress,", before putting the box up on the counter and opening it up so they could see it.

"So, think you've got something like that?"

  The fellow looked at the dress, and smiled.  "So you need a black tux, with vest and tie in peacock satin.  We DO have that.  Do you want to purchase, or rent?  That dress should look lovely on the young lady there."

Ozzy grinned, "I'm gonna buy it. And I agree with you, the dress does look quite lovely on her. Part of why I want the peacock satin accents, so it's clear we're a pair. So what's the damage?"

  The clerk smiled, and said "Well, the tux in question is a special made one, but we'll have to alter it to fit you.  Now, since we have to alter it, and it was rented out several times, that knocks the price down.  So, two hundred dollars for the tux, and we have to have at least 24 hours to finish the alterations before you need it.  Can you handle that?"

  Clarissa grinned, and said "I hope you can get it.  That's a good price!!"

Ozzy shrugged, "Yeah, that is a pretty good deal. I'll take it. And twenty four hours is fine. Longer if you need it, though not too much longer. I don't need it until around Easter." said Ozzy, smiling. He then pulled out his wallet, laying two hundred dollars in cash out on the counter.

  Clarissa grinned, and asked him "You ready to leave this dress in my custody while they do your fitting so you can have it altered to fit right?  Or do we let them hide it behind the counter and I help make sure your Tux fits perfect?"

  The clerk laughed, and said "She's right, we need to do a fitting.  Now, you want her to help, or just us fellows?"

Ozzy smiled, "If you want to come back, Clarissa, I wouldn't mind. Of course, it's up to you."

Once the clerks were ready, Ozzy would head back with them to get this fitting done.

  Clarissa came back with him, and put her hands lightly on his hips when they asked him to step up onto the stool.  She grinned as she helped him stand steady, and dug her fingers lightly into his hips.  She said "It needs to be loose enough he can move any way he might need to, but still look good in it.  And he does martial arts, so he needs kick-room too."

  The clerks grinned, and said "We know JUST how to adjust it then.  Let's get all your measurements here . . . "

Ozzy grinned, blushing a bit at the feel of her hands on his hips. Still, he did his best to stand as still as was needed for the measuring and fitting.

"Sorry if it sounds like an unusual request, but it is something that needed to be thought about. After all, you don't really get to pick when trouble comes knocking, you know?" he said apologetically. Still, he was glad Clarissa had asked, he might not have thought to do so.

  Clarissa blushed, and smiled happily, glad she'd saved him some future headaches.  She said "Never know when you might need to go skating either."

  The clerk chuckled, taking his measurements as he did.  "Not to worry, a lot of bodyguards need  the special modifications.  We can do it easy."

Ozzy smiled, "Really? Awesome. Well now I know where to get my suits if the boss wants me to start dressing a little more professionally. On a related note, does that mean you guys do repairs? Like, if I get shot while I'm wearing this, can I bring it to you guys and pay you to fix it? Because that would be another valid concern."

  The clerk grinned, and said "Absolutely.  And since you're a para . . . . we'll let you in on a little secret.  The owner of Tux is a para.  But he's got a very specific, and very specialized power.  He can make, design, and alter or repair a tux for anyone."

Ozzy chuckled, "Heh, I guess my odd questions gave me away, huh? I am a little young to be asking about this kind of stuff, I guess. Still, good to know. I'd hate to lose a nice tux just because I had to go fight the good fight and didn't have time to change into something a little less expensive."

  Clarissa giggled, and kissed his hand as the clerk finished taking his measurements.  She said "You've been on TV, Ozzy.  You're listed as the newest member of Masks Inc on the web too."

  The clerk nodded, and said "And they have standing orders with us to provide all members with a classic black tux too.  So you'll get two tuxes."

Ozzy grinned, "Heh, wow. I didn't think I'd been on TV without my mask on. Eh, whatever. Not like I care. Heh, I just hope I don't get any stalkers. That would be creepy. And a horde of ravening fangirls like most famous teen boys seem to sprout would be downright annoying."

"Still, good to know that. You'll definitely be hearing from me again, then," he added, wondering if he'd need more than one black tux for his professional work.

  The clerk smiled, and said "We will look forward to that!!"

  Clarissa giggled, and when he stepped down, she gave him a hot kiss that was absolutely toe-curling.

Ozzy grinned, returning the kiss as best he could. When he pulled back, he smiled and waved to the clerks as they headed out, stopping to grab Clarissa's dress on the way.

"Heh, I should get fitted for a suit more often, if you're going to keep reacting like that," said Ozzy as they exited the store.

  She blushed, and said "What can I say?  I think you look hot, and knowing you're going to have a matching tux to my dress . . ."  She threaded her hand into his as they walked.  Crystal Rose said "Now you just have to get the right shoes and purse!"

Iris was out of the car before it fully stopped, having chatted non-stop the entire way to the mall about ice-cream and clothing. She ran around to the other side of the car and opened Penny's door, "They have some good clothes stores here, I think. But they have a severe lack of engineering equipment." she told the others, smiling. She tugged at Penny's arm while she waited for the others to get out of the car, "Hurry! There's icecream in there!"

  Penny looked a little alarmed, and said softly "I don't do fast, I'm sorry!  I run into things . . . "

Iris shook her head, "No, not you. Meg and Victoria. They're still in the car!"

  Meg laughed and slid out of the car, stretching.  She said "There will be ice cream all day.  And maybe I'll teach you how to MAKE Ice cream if you ask nice, Iris."

Iris shook her head, the laurels bobbing some, "Sure, but that doesn't mean that we need to sit in the car all day. After all, Penny likes butterflies and those do fly away."

Victoria soon exited the car.

"Ready when you guys are..." she replied. Adri would probably be facepalming if she saw what she was doing right now.

Iris cheered and began carefully leading Penny into the store, "Lots of butterflies, or just one?" She probed as she led the way, "Do you like rainbow clothes? Or just one color? You can't depend on my taste 'cause I like rainbows. Except today. Today I'm Pothos."

  Penny said "Any sort of butterflies.  They're all I can remember, from before.  Jack usually matches my clothes for me, so I don't look absurd.  He says I look good in denim, green, dark blue, red, emerald, amethyst, and black, but he's also worried that guys will try and hit on me too."

Iris made a face, "Boys are ick. I don't know how you put up with having Jack around all the time. I mean, I like Chuck, but we aren't together all of the time or I'd probably bop him on the head sometimes for being... a boy." She made a face over her shoulder at Meg and Tori.

  Penny gave her a slightly sad smile, and said "Jack will keep me safe.  I can trust him."  She dropped her head, clearly dropping her gaze too "I feel afraid and vulnerable when Jack isn't here.  He promised to protect me forever."

"Aw, come on Penny." Iris said encouragingly, "You're with three superheroes! More or less. You couldn't be more safe if you were flanked with Spartans. As a bonus, we smell better. Besides, Jack'll be fine and you'll be back together with him tonight. It's okay to enjoy the time apart." Iris hesitated, then asked carefully, "Why is it that Jack's afraid of boys hitting on you? I mean, I'm not really the age to know about that, but isn't that the eventual goal?" She looked to the others for support, "To be hit on, right, and then to be married? Not to Chuck. That'd be weird. But maybe to Meg's younger cousin. He was cute and he has a dimple when he smiles. I mean, you probably don't want to marry Meg's younger cousin. You could if you wanted, though. She's got a lot."

Iris grinned.

   Penny sighed, and opened up her telepathy to make sure there weren't a lot of other people close, then said VERY quietly "Because the Builder and his goons were . . . doing adult things that aren't meant for a girl my age, or even your age, to be done.  Meg's old enough.  Vic is old enough.  But I'm not, and you're not.  And it . . . steals away all sense of safety."

Victoria couldn't help but chuckle at the explanation of "boys."

"All right....so now that we've dispensed with the formalities, let's take Penny shopping. The world is your oyster, Penny.."

Iris led the way inside and to the nearest properly butterfly-laden clothing store, leading Penny carefully so as to not run her into anything, "This one... well, I think it's for old ladies. Let's go to the next. This one's a shoe store. Ah, this one!" Iris sounded triumphant and waved her free arm, then sounded defeated, "Sells fancy underwear. Okay, lets see what this one is. Ah, it looks about right. Doesn't it?"

She looked over her shoulder to Tori and Meg, "Sequins are okay, right?"

Ozzy grinned, doing his best to hold on to the dress box while also holding Clarissa's hand.

"Nifty. I hope your cousins won't have too much more to add to the pile when we next see them. Still, a hunting we will go!" he said, looking around the mall for any stores that sold shoes or purses, of which there were probably quite a few. Of course, anywhere Clarissa wanted to go and look, he'd follow her in to help her look.

  Clarissa giggled, and moved her hand to his elbow, so that she could lead him along without him having trouble packhorsing.  She said "Finding a matching purse could be hard, so I'm thinking a basic black one should do for it."

Ozzy smiled, "Good. That'll probably be a heck of a lot easier to find. So a black purse... you thinking an over-the shoulder bag? Or just a clutch or something? Gotta know what to keep my eyes peeled for, after all."

  "I was thinking a little black clutch-purse that I could also use with a shoulder strap.  But a small one."  She paused as she spotted her cousins coming, piles of stuff in their arms.

"That sounds good. And there's your cousins now, with... wow. That's a lot of stuff. This is going to get ridiculous, isn't it?" he asked, looking particularly 'enthused'. However, he did hold his arms out to let them load him up with their newly purchased stuff.

"So, any bites yet?" he asked as they got closer.

  Clarissa winced as they heaped him with enough parcels already to make him half-disappear.  One of them said "Better than usual!  Got several numbers and an invitation to a party.  Good job!"

  Clarissa giggled, and said "I TOLD you it would be good if I brought my boyfriend with me . . . "

Ozzy steadied himself, shifting a bit to bear the added weight of all the extra packages. Still, he stood firm, and nodded when they were done loading him up.

"All right, I can handle this. And good. Heh, maybe I'll have some help next time," said Ozzy, smiling. He wondered silently how much more he could handle, and how much more before he'd have to use Tats to see.

  One of her cousins handed her the keys, and said "Here, you two go stuff those in the car, then come back for more shopping.  Don't want your packmule to get TOO overloaded all at once.  He's vanishing already!"

  Clarissa took the keys, and then gently located a spot on poor Ozzy she could lead him as she said "Man, tell them someone's gioing to carry the packages, and they go hog wild.  I promise I will NOT be THIS bad.  Two, maybe three bags at most, from me.  I'm NOT the hardcore money-blower that those two are."

Ozzy chuckled as he and Clarissa headed out to the car, away from her cousins, "I know. I pity the poor fool who's bankrolling this little expedition. And if they don't get jobs of their own, whoever they end up marrying. Talk about being a shopaholic! I'm so glad you're not like that, Clarissa. Even with a job like mine, I couldn't afford this."

  She blushed, and said "Well, I have a major thing for window shopping, but that really doesn't produce a whole slew of bags and stuff, you know?  So normally I buy very little, and do tons and tons of browsing.  Which, yeah, will kill hours on end, but I think you can tolerate that, right?  After all, any budget can cover window shopping."

Ozzy chuckled and said, "Yeah, that I can handle. I mean, window shopping can be great. I just don't like those who have a 'see it, kinda like it, buy it' mentality. That sort of thing gets really expensive, really fast."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "I only do that if it's in a pawnshop or a yard sale.  Because you never know if it will be there next time.  At stores, I go for the 'look it over, think hard, if it REALLY appeals, get it' and anything that doesn't just make my little heart go pitter patter when I look at it in the mirror, goes back on the rack."  She unlocked the trunk of the car, and said "Need a hand stuffing those in?"

"Nah," replied Ozzy, as he began putting the packages in the trunk, doing his best to make sure that Clarissa's dress wound up on top. Once it was done, he closed the trunk with a satisfactory nod, before turning to Clarissa.

"Awesome. Free hands again, more or less. Now then, before I was so suddenly loaded down, I believe we were holding hands," he said, as he took her hand into his, intertwining her fingers with his.

  She ducked under his arm, so that he was holding her hand, with his arm wrapped around her.  And she leaned against him, smiling.  "We were indeed.  Now, can I steal a kiss, or will you give me one for the asking?"

Ozzy chuckled and replied, "Since when have I denied you a kiss, Clarissa? C'mere..."

With that, he leaned in and kissed her, giving her a tender, gentle kiss that she would be free to intensify if she so chose.

  She took it, and deepened it into a toe-curling hot kiss that said crystal clear she was VERY pleased with him, and was making DARN sure he knew it too.  She tasted good too.

In reply to Iris (msg #75):

"Sequins are fine, Iris," Victoria replied smiling. "Now...let's see what else we can get Penny."

She turned to Meg. "Being 'Protector Of The Realm' doesn't afford me a lot of shopping savvy. Do you have any suggestions, Meg?"

  Meg chuckled, and said "Yes.  Mom taught me proper fashion.  And NOT just what she learned as a girl.  Let's start with jeans.  Girls need proper jeans to run around, relax, and do as they please in.  So we start there."

Victoria nodded.

"Well...I don't know about you girls...but The Gap may be a good place to start for jeans."

"I know proper fashion!" Iris protested, getting several odd looks from passers-by. She was wearing what - to an untrained eye - could be called a Halloween costume in the middle of Winter. It was almost as bad as if she had said that sentance while dressed the way she normally dressed, "Well, there's the Gap anyway." She started to run off, then remembered that she was holding onto Penny's hand and pulled herself back again, "It's to the left."

In reply to Clarissa Clemmons (msg #91):

Ozzy thoroughly enjoyed the kiss, the way Clarissa felt in his arms, the way she tasted... he was addicted to her as she was to him. When he finally pulled back, he just grinned and said, "And here I thought that being 'chaperoned' would mean that we wouldn't get a chance to do stuff like this. I guess it's a good thing your cousins are like the worst chaperones ever."

  She giggled, and said softly "See, they're my chaperones, and I'm theirs.  But the three of us have an understanding.  I'm not interested in their college boys, and they're not interested in you.  I'll ignore whatever they do, if they're willing to do the same for me.  So as long as we don't do something flagrantly dumb, we can do as much heavy petting as we like."  Then she kissed him again, a hot, deep kiss.

Ozzy returned the kiss, wrapping Clarissa tightly in his arms as he did so. That was probably the most enjoyable part of his 'job' here today, making sure that the college guys that Clarissa's cousins were after knew that Clarissa wasn't an option. And he could certainly understand why they might go for her instead of her cousins. While her cousins might've been more 'traditionally pretty', that seemed to be all they had to offer a guy. Clarissa, on the other hand, was much more than just a pretty face.

  She held tightly to him, that kiss a sizzling one that just kept lasting, until Crystal Rose peeked over her shoulder and licked him on the cheek.

Ozzy chuckled, reluctantly pulling away as Crystal Rose licked him on the cheek. He reached up with one hand and started lightly stroking her head as he leaned in to kiss Clarissa again.

  Clarissa gladly picked that kiss back up, and as he stroked Crystal Rose, Clarissa pressed her body against his own until he knew, without doubt, what EVERY ONE of her curves felt like pressed against him.

Ozzy enjoyed the sensation before a few moments more before he pulled away, looking quite happy but also a bit embarassed.

"Babe, I think that's enough for now now. Besides, don't we need to go get you that purse?" he said quietly. If she had to wonder why he was looking a bit embarrassed, that question would likely be answered when she realized that she could feel something poking her.

In reply to Iris (msg #95):

Victoria led the way for the other girls to the Gap.

"OK..let's start with some jeans and tops...then we can move on to maybe some sundresses...and then...shoes.."

Iris nodded energetically, her eyes scanning the racks in front of her, "Sensible flats, remember. It's hard enough to walk when you're blind without dealing with heals, too. Right?" She prompted Penny, then frowned, "This store has a serious lack of butterflies."

Iris considered, then began to pull clothing apparently at random from shelves and handing it to the others for consideration, jabbering descriptions of the clothing for Penny exuberantly, ”Here's some nice jeans – they're dark blue with big legs and soft – feel! And here's a light pair with those square front pockets and wear down the front like all the teenagers are wearing – oh and an even lighter pair! This one's sturdy-feeling.” Having apparently decided that she had fully explored the good jeans in the store, Iris moved on to other types of leg-wear, ”Here's a nice pair of shorts – I've got one just like these. They've got gray and green; I think you'd look good in either. And they have those pockets that are so good for gadgets and stuff. And some of those short pants – what are they, capris? You'll have to feel these. And some cloth trousers. Black is always a good color for those because it can look fancy if you wear the right shirt with it, right? But I like this blue one, too. And you have to have a pair of khakis 'cause everybody does nowadays. This pair looks the most like you could wear it without being a contortionist or drowning in fabric.” Having exhausted the trouser section, Iris moved onto shirts, ”It doesn't have butterflies, but I think this ruffle'd be a nice frame for you. And it's long enough that it doesn't look too bad, don't you think? They've only got it in this silver color; that's a shame. But Dr. W used to say that basic shirts are always a must unless you want to look silly all the time. I don't mind looking silly, but I suppose that it's not that great an idea for you. Oh, here's one with sequins! It's a pretty pink, too. Still no butterflies, and no sleeves, either, but the neckline is very modest. You should at least try it on; I think it'd look sweet. And this green one – or maybe this grey one? I don't know. It'd make you look a bit more grown-up with the black pants, but still be incredibly comfortable. And how soft! Wow, I think I want one of these. It's a shame they don't have it in white or I'd tye-dye it. Here's a cute little one! It's like a white polka-dot baby dress that you wear as a shirt. Adorable! I think I saw some girls at high-school in this. I don't like the feel so much, though. Too itchy for me.”

Now, Iris had decided that their shirt selection was too plain and moved on to other sections, ”Here's a nice sweater. They've got a couple colors – this purpleish, blueish, and orangeish. Kinda tame, but it looks warm and would look nice over some of the other shirts. Here, what do you think? Oooohh! Look at this skirt! Wouldn't it look cute with this top? You could wear it on a date, don't you think? It's white, so I hope it's not see-through. I've only been able to tell when I put it on, though. Feel the stitching; isn't that neat? And a jean skirt. I don't have one, but all the girls at school seem to have like a million and one of them. It seems like an oxymoron to me – the sturdy fabric with the most frivolous clothing design – but then I'm a scientist. It always look good. Oh! Look at this dress! It's camo! Is that in right now? What do you think; it's very light and good for summer, but probably not right now. You'd want to wear a sweater with it – hey that gray one would be cute, wouldn't it? And this one; it's a serious-looking dress for when you want to look like a grown-up. Very professional. Unless professional looks are different out here than they were at the Facility when they told everyone to dress professionally. Those were the days that I had to wear the ugly jumpsuit with the big symbols all over it, but this isn't like that at all. It's like what Dr. Young wore on those days; she was the nice lady who worked at the bioengineering lab. This dress would probably look really spiffy with a scientist's coat. I've got one at home if you want to borrow it.”

Iris realized that she'd gone on a trip down memory lane on that last dress and frowned, then shook her head, ”Nah, you don't strike me as the labcoat sort. You strike me as this sort. It's a bit shorter than a labcoat and open at the front, but it feels like it'd be warm and it has a hood. It's not very colorful either. Really, Tori, we ought to go to another store with more colors! There's no butterflies here at all! But sometimes sensibility is good for blending in, and this'd definitely help with that. It's olive drab, like the military guys who took me from the Facility wore only without the patches and bars.”

Iris moved on to the shoe section, picking only two pairs of shoes. They were indeed sensible and flat, ”What do you think? These are black, so they'll be good with most anything. Simple, small, but elegant and they feel sturdy. Good for dressing up, right? And these are boots. Not real mud-slogging boots like mine, but those fancy ones that girls wear. They have straps that look absolutely useless and a zipper up the sides. Good ankle-support, though. Feel! They're suede.”

I went to gap.com and looked around some. They're really a tame store, color-wise, aren't they? The clothing Iris picked out, in order, were the following:
1969 curvy jeans (saturated dark wash) $69.95
1969 mid-weight slim trouser jeans (light blue wash) (martinique) $58.47
1969 mid-weight long & lean jeans (light blue wash) (lucia) $45.47
Skinny cargo pants (dark graphite gray, greenway) $39.96
Broken-in skimmer (pavement, khaki) $24.99
Perfect trouser pants (true black) $59.95
Modern boot pants (basic navy) $59.95
khaki pants (celestial taupe) $49.95
Jersey Drawstring top (silverlake) $21.99
Pima sequin tank (iced purple) $17.99
Pure body V-neck tunic (electric jade, nine iron) $29.95
Gathered dot top (blue dots) $44.99
Seed stitch open cardigan (purple basil, heather gray, raffia) $41.96
Embroidered peasant skirt (white sail) $44.99
1969 raw-hem denim skirt (fiji) $49.95
Camo ruffle maxi dress (camo) $69.99
1969 wrap dress (smoke) $69.95
Cinch-waist parka (military olive) $102.40
Tie-back ballet flats (black) $39.95
Short moto boots (taupe) $89.95

I've never actually been in a Gap, so I simplified things for myself.

  Clarissa smiled, and said softly "Yeah.  I was just enjoying that.  Very much.  Want to snag ice creams too, while we're shopping?"

Ozzy chuckled, "Heh. Me too, which is kind of the problem. And yeah, ice cream sounds good."

He walked hand in hand with her back to the Mall, wondering when the next drop-off from her cousins would be, and if it would be quite as much as it had been that time.

In reply to Iris (msg #104):

  Penny already looked a little overwhelmed, and she said "Umm.  I can try seeing what fits?  I think?"

"Go ahead," Victoria replied smiling, indicating to the clerk present that they would need access to one of the changing rooms.

  Clarissa was clearly enjoying the trip, and her hand resting in his was warm and soft.  She led the way to a little home-made ice cream shop in the mall, and told him "They have this thing here called an 'I'll Never See My Feet Again', you know?  Want to see if the two of us can eat one?"

Ozzy chuckled, "Sounds like a plan. I think the two of us can handle it. If nothing else, we'll have to comfort each other through the massive brain-freeze."

The little shop definitely looked like it had tasty ice cream, though he had to wonder just how big this 'I'll Never See My Feet Again' was.

  She giggled, and ordered one for them, then picked a booth to sit in.  When the waitress brought the ice cream, it was in a pie-plate sized bowl, with ten scoops of ice cream, two bananas, four cherries, strawberry sauce, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, nuts, and caramel drizzled all over it, and a three inch MOUNTAIN of whipped cream on top.  It was enormous.  She said "You sure you can eat half?"

Ozzy looked truly impressed by the size of the mega-dish, and wondered what kind of person would try to eat something like this alone.

"Yeah, I can handle it. It's gonna be lunch, though. I may be a teenage guy, but I'm not a walking black hole like some seem to be. But hey, let's dig in, shall we?"

With that, Ozzy began to dig into the mountain of ice-cream that Clarissa had ordered for them, trying to keep a moderate pace so as to avoid brain-freeze while also keeping the monstrous dessert from melting.

  Clarissa giggled, and said "They don't give it that name for no reason.  I can't imagine eating a whole one by myself.  But I can manage half.  The main creamery for these guys is on the outskirts of Weston, but their little shop at the Weston mall closed due to the para activity there.  The stock kept getting melted."

"That's too bad. I wonder why? Too many people using fire powers or something? The power never went out as far as I know, even when the mall was under attack. Which seemed to be, like, every five minutes. I swear, I think I've been in that mall more times in my costume than I have out of it!" he said, grinning.

"Man, they should put this thing on Man vs. Food, though. I'd like to see that little battle go down."

  She laughed, and said "Can you imagine that TV show actually coming to have this thing on it?  I would be so blown away.  Do you know anyone who could actually EAT one of these by themselves?"

"Andy," he said without even thinking about it, ""Dude must have, like, three stomachs or something, because that guy can eat. I guess it's part of his... condition."

He didn't want to mention Andy's condition in public, for fear that he'd spark some sort of negative sentiment about his friend. Most people were wary enough about paras without knowing that one of them was half-demon.

  She blinked, and asked "Does he use a lot of energy? If he does, maybe his metabolism burns it fast enough he can eat to compensate for the energy he uses."

"Oh, yeah. He's a real active guy. Speaking of high metabolisms, my little sister could probably eat this thing in ten seconds flat, despite the fact that it's bigger around than she is. But she burns a lot of energy, too. As fast as she moves, she's got to burn some serious calories," said Ozzy. He wasn't quite so squeamish about talking about Iris' powers, since Iris wasn't a half-demon, and she didn't really seem to care who knew anyway. Grandpa was always having to remind her to slow down some around normal people.

  Clarissa giggled, and asked "Does she have a cell phone?  If she does, you should give her a call and tell her about them.  Challenge her to face the 'I'll Never See My Feet Again Challenge' here."

Ozzy chuckled and said, "Sure. Who knows what'll happen."

With that, Ozzy pulled out his phone, snapped a quick pic of the still-massive ice cream treat before them, and sent a a message to Iris.

'Hey, sis, think you could handle something like this? Me and Clarissa are sharing one, and apparently there's some kind of challenge. Thought you might be interested,'

He then turned back to Clarissa and grinned, "Done. Heh, Iris is really hyper anyway. I wonder if we'll see her break the sound barrier if she actually eats one of these."

While Penny tried things on, Iris let the bigger girls help her. She sat in a chair looking very bored, then suddenly looked up, having recieved a mental message. She grinned, then told the others, "I'll be right back, k? Promise."

With that she took off, a super-speed white blur that stopped, a breeze floating up around her, at Ozzy and Clarissa's table only seconds later. She was still wearing the angel outfit with the laurel.

"Yes." She told them, grinning widely, "I can always handle ice-cream!"

Ozzy chuckled, "Ah, I thought you guys had come here. So, you want some out of my half, or what? I think for the challenge, you have to down one of these all by yourself. If you think you're up to it, that is."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "Yeah, if you actually eat a whole one, by yourself, it's free, AND you get a T-shirt that says you ate an 'I'll Never See My Feet Again' all by yourself.  You game to try it?"

Iris looked at the sundae, then nodded slowly, quickly speeding up, "I'm a bottomless pit. That's what Cook says. Dr. W said the same thing sometimes."

  Clarissa giggled, and waved for the waitress.  She came right over, and asked "How are you doing on your 'Feet' sundae?  Oh, what can I get for you, miss?  The angel wings are adorable."  Clarissa grinned, and made a 'your lead' gesture to Iris.

Iris looked blankly at Clarissa. Ordering in restaurants was something she was woefully underpracticed with, as it was not exactly something they taught at government research facilities. She finally decided to look at the waitress and smile, "Thank you! May I have a that?" She pointed at the sundae the others were eating.

  The waitress smiled, and said "I will bring you an "I'll Never See My Feet Again'.  You should enjoy it."

Ozzy grinned and said, "Awesome. I was surprised they'd bring it to you. Of course, given that you seem to know us, I guess they figure there's no way for us to weasel out of paying for you if you don't finish it."

When he finished, he returned to working on his half of their own 'Feet' sundae, hoping they'd get most of it finished before it melted.

Victoria was helping Penny with trying on her newfound clothes while Iris was out and about.

"Penny....these look very good on you..." she said to her softly as she assisted her.

  Ozzy and Clarissa were making good progress on the sundae, and the waitress brought Iris a complete one of her own, which was certainly going to be a challenge to eat.

  Penny blushed, and said softly "I have to take your word for it.  They don't feel tight, or like I can't move in them.  Thank you for helping me with this."

Iris looked at the sundae, then picked up a spoon. This might take a while, but she hadn't eaten since they left the house and that was a long time without a snack...

"Careful, Iris. I know you like to go fast, but you don't want to get a brain freeze," reminded Ozzy as he saw the way Iris was looking at her sundae.

He then turned to Clarissa, grinning as he whispered, "This is going to be interesting to watch. I wonder if it's even possible for her to get a sugar high. I guess we'll see, eh?"

  Clarissa smiled, and said "That's a HUGE pile of ice cream, Ozzy.  I'm more worried about the brain-freeze, honestly.  They DO keep the ice cream really cold here, and it's really good, home-made style, so it's got loads and loads of calories and all that stuff that most girls are cringing over."

"Yeah, and while this may not exactly be good for us, one of these won't hurt too bad. I know I'll probably burn it off eventually, anyway. And once we get you some skates again, I know you will, too," said Ozzy, grinning.

"Besides, those girls want to fit into a size zero. Which makes me wonder how the hell you can HAVE a size zero. I mean, I know on guys' clothes it's measured in inches. So what's womens' clothing measure? How many inches you are off from being anorexic?"

Iris started in on the sundae with gusto. She didn't eat in superspeed since at the mention of brain-freeze, she recalled that she wasn't supposed to be using that in public. But she wasn't really holding back. She made a face as they talked of calories and such, "Calories are a necissary part of food. And food is a necissary part of life. Ergo, calories are necissary. People who think they can do without are silly. They're wrecking their own bodies because if they don't get what they need from food, then their body begins to metabolize itself."

Then she continued eating.

  Clarissa giggled, and said "Dead on the mark there, Iris.  I eat when I am hungry, and only until I'm full.  I don't need to starve myself or stuff myself, and if I get hungry, I have a healthy snack, like fruit.  Things like this are sweet indulgences for special occasions."  She smiled at Ozzy, the special occasion crystal clear to him.

Ozzy smiled right back, making it clear that this was a special occasion to him, as well. After all, the way things were going it didn't seem like he'd get any more second dates.

"Yeah, definitely. They're not something you really eat all the time, especially not in this large of an amount. But hey, sometimes one must forgo normal nutritional practices for the sake of adventure, right?"

  Clarissa giggled, and said "Absolutely.  Next time, we do the 'all you can eat' salad bar down at the deli bar."

Ozzy chuckled, "Sounds like a date. And, after all, there must be balance in all things. First we eat something extraordinarily unhealthy, and then we go eat something healthy. It all works out in the end. Of course, we may wanna wait for a couple of days. Once we finish this, I don't want to even think about food for a while."

  She grinned, and said "How about those roller races though?  Gonna feel up for those?"

Ozzy chuckled, "Definitely. They're not today, are they? I mean, I could handle it, but I wouldn't expect maximum performance. I'm gonna be stuffed like a plushie when we finish this off, so pushing myself really wouldn't be advisable."

  She shook her head, and said "No, those are tomorrow.  Think you'll feel up for them?"  She snuck a hand over, and captured his free one, just holding his hand.

Ozzy wrapped his hand around hers, smiling as he said, "Oh, yeah. I'm gonna be firing on all cylinders tomorrow, babe. You better believe it!"

Of course, that gave him considerably less time to find a ride. In the back of his mind, he started wondering how the vampires got around town.

  She smiled, and said "I bet you will kick butt in the races.  The roller derby would be entirely up to you."  Of course, if he thought about it, he knew a teleporter.  All he had to do was get her a clear image of the places he needed to go, and if he asked with a please, Candy would probably be happy enough to teleport him anywhere he needed to go.

Iris was pacing herself well. This was a bit like some of the metabolic tests they had run at the Facility, only she was getting to eat ice-cream. She looked up at the mention of races, "I win races." She told them, a smear of chocolate sauce on her chin.

Ozzy chuckled, "I'm pretty sure they consider using super-speed cheating in these races, kiddo. Besides, you have to wear skates to participate, and they're also kind of rough races. You probably wouldn't like it. Oh, you've got something on your chin. Might want to get it off before it drips on your clothes."

Iris looked disappointed, "But how would they know it was super-speed? Do they have detectors?" She wiped the chocolate off of her chin.

"Well, no, but as fast as you move it can get pretty obvious. Of course, if you kept it down a bit, you might be able to fool them. Still, it's not nice, using your powers in a friendly competition against normal people. How would you like it if you didn't have powers, and then someone from super-speed came up and blew you away in a race that you wanted to win? Getting beat fair and square is one thing, but when you don't even have a chance?"

Iris shrugged. She'd had these powers for longer than she could remember, and while they were termed 'super', she'd never really considered them so. They were just how she was. If other people didn't consider it fair, she felt that it was their problem. After all, she blew the curve out of the water in chemistry class and nobody said that was wrong. She took another bite of ice-cream.

  Clarissa tilted her head, and asked "Would it be any fun to stand there and watch twenty people working their butts off to get to the finish line that you crossed five minutes ago?"

Iris shrugged again, "I wouldn't know. I'm not allowed."

Ozzy sighed, "Okay, then I'll explain it. Most of the fun of racing comes from the thrill of competition. Like chess. It's no fun beating someone at chess when you're playing someone who doesn't know the game as much as you do, and it's no fun getting beat by someone who knows the game way better than you do. Kind of like... what fun would it be if, say, Garry Kasparov walked into a Middle-school chess tournament and entered? Does that make sense?"

Iris took another bite of icecream. She'd already made a sizable dent, having cut breakfast short to go shopping with the girls so she'd been hungry anyway. She shrugged again, "He'd win 'cause he's the best. That's the point. The best players win." She stated simply, "I don't think it's fair not to let someone compete just because they're good. I mean, the Yankees are a good team, but you can't say, 'No, Yankees. Sorry guys. The Mariners suck this year, so you can't play them. Fair play is all good and well, but it's not particularly fair to deny play, either."

"Well, yes, but the Yankees and the Mariners are both professional teams, the best at what they do. Even if the Mariner's suck, they've got a chance. That IS fair play. What I'm talking about is more along the lines of, say, the Yankees versus the Weston Pee-Wee Pumas. Something where it's a foregone conclusion. Honestly, you should see if you could get Bill or Andy to race you. Maybe even Jeff. They're pretty fast, so it might be an interesting race," said Ozzy, sighing. It seemed Iris still wasn't getting the point he was trying to make.

Iris looked cross, "But the Mariners really do suck! I think the Pee-Wee Pumas could probably beat them."

Ozzy just facepalmed. Iris really wasn't getting it. He looked at Clarissa, smiling  half-heartedly and whispering, "You got anything else, babe, or is this a lost cause?"

  Clarissa tilted her head, and said "Well, let me see.  Iris, is it any fun to play a game when you don't know the rules at all, and you can't with because you don't?"

Iris squinted at Clarissa, then back at Ozzy. She wondered if Ozzy knew that she wasn't so smart. "What does that have to do with the Mariners?" She asked pointedly.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:28, Sun 14 Aug 2011.

  She shook her head, and said "Nevermind, Iris.  I can tell what I'm saying isn't making any sense here."  She looked apologetic, and offered Ozzy a bite of her part of the Sundae with a wry expression.

Iris made a face, ~Can't with because you don't. I'm glad she realized it didn't make any sense 'cause I'd hate to be the one to point it out.~ She sent to Ozzy, ~And then I'd feel really bad.~ She carefully dug out a spoonful of mostly whipped cream and ate it.

Ozzy replied, [[You'll understand what we're talking about when you're older, Iris. Right now, though, I guess you just want to race.]]

He accepted the offered bite, and grinned as he offered her one from his part of the sundae.

Iris hid behind the sundae. Was Ozzy pretending that statement was English, too? She felt certain that anybody who spoke the language would not have understood that last bit.

  She grinned, and took that bite with a grin.  She also gave his hand a squeeze.  Iris would have to find out the hard way.

Ozzy smiled and returned the hand-squeeze. He was really enjoying sharing this massive ice cream sundae with Clarissa, though he had to admit he would've preferred to share a root beer float or something so they could've been closer, like they were last night.

Still, they could do that some other time. It wasn't every day you had the chance to participate in a team 'Man vs. Food' challenge.

  Clarissa grinned, still holding his hand, and whispered "I'm having a great time today.  How about you?"

Ozzy grinned and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Oh, yeah. Definitely. I'm spending the day with you, and so far there haven't been any supervillains. It's been a great day so far."

  She giggled, and told him "Derrton has their fair share.  But the Peacemaker usually keeps things settled.  If we DO see a supervillain, you should let the locals handle it."

Ozzy smiled, "As long as no-one will get hurt through my inaction, sure. I'm not exactly gonna just sit here and do nothing while some psychopath is killing innocents. That's not 'enjoying a day off', that's 'being a jackass'."

  Clarissa nodded, and said "Just, don't get in the middle if it isn't a life and death thing.  I don't want you making extra enemies here."

Ozzy chuckled and grinned, "Yes, dear. I won't put myself in harm's way for a stranger unless it's life or death. I promise. Note that I said stranger. Some guy tries to hurt you or Iris, and it's on."

  That got a blush, and Clarissa said "Since the both of us are right here, if anyone comes after us, you're right here too.  So that only makes good sense."

  Crystal Rose chimed in.  "Not to mention that she's far more vulnerable than you, with only a familiar to separate her from the normals."

"Well, yeah. Even with my armor down, I'm a pretty tough guy. Still, I'm not bullet-proof or anything without it. Heck, I'm not even bullet-proof WITH it. Just a bit more bullet resistant. It's kind of like an all-over kevlar vest or something," said Ozzy, smiling.

He then chuckled and said, "So, after we get you that bag to go with your dress, what do you want to do? There's plenty for a couple of mall-rats like us to go do. I wonder if they've got an educational store here. I had a nifty idea I want to try out."

"I'm not bullet-proof - but they have to hit me first. That can get difficult." Iris submitted. She had been quietly downing the sundae, concentrating on eating so that she could get back to Penny and the others. She was sure that they were still trying on clothes because girls took a LONG time with that.

Victoria helped Penny with a few more clothing items, eventually helping her to pick out a very good assortment of outfits she could easily travel in: a few pairs of jeans, tennis shoes, and dresses that were made to fit the young blind girl.

  Penny was pleased to get the outfits, and she asked, hesitantly, "Do I really look nice in them?"

"Yes you do," Victoria said with a smile. "They look very nice on you."

  Penny blushed, and said "Thank you.  I really do appreciate what you're doing for me."

  Clarissa grinned, and said "Well, they have a great gently used store here that has some gorgeous jewelry on occasion.  And some vintage clothing too."

In reply to Seer (msg #178):

Victoria smiled and gave Penny a sisterly hug.

"I'm glad to be of help, Penny. You know, you have more friends now than I venture you ever did. Thank you for reminding me why I strive to defend this realm...it's because of people like you that make that cause worthwhile."

  Penny smiled, and said softly "I am glad.  I'm not  really dangerous to anyone, unless they try and hurt me.  Then I will defend myself.  Like most good, decent people."

"I agree with you, Penny.." Victoria replied. "That's a basic principle of the martial arts...to learn to use them so you don't have to. I bet our friend back at the mansion exemplifies that principle."

Ozzy smiled and asked, "Sounds like a plan, babe. Going 'treasure hunting' is always fun. Anything else you really wanted to do?"

  Clarissa giggled, and said "There's a comic shop down the other end of the mall, and a nice little place with flowers and stuff."

Ozzy grinned, "Sounds like fun. At least until your cousins come back with armload number two."

As if he was afraid he'd summoned them by mentioning them, Ozzy checked over his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't see them.

  She laughed, and said "Well, when they do come back, we take em out to the car and hope there's enough room for us to still fit when they get done!"

Ozzy chuckled, "If there's not, I call roof. I've always wanted to try car-surfing. It ought to be an experience."

He then grinned and winked at Clarissa mischeviously, "Or you could just sit in my lap."

  Clarissa giggled, and said softly "My preference would be for your lap.  That way I can cuddle with you all the way home."

Ozzy grinned, "Oooh. I hope they buy enough to fill most of the back seat, then, because that sounds rather nice."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "I'd love it.  And I bet they will."

Ozzy finished up his half of the sundae, leaning back a bit and rubbing his stomach gently.

"Ugh... dude, I am STUFFED. I for serious do not want to look at food for the next few hours. I feel like I'm about to explode," he said, chuckling softly. He then smiled as he looked over at Clarissa and asked, "How're you holding up, Clarissa?"

  Clarissa giggled, and said "I'm good.  Feel like the Thanksgiving turkey, but good.  Now we take a leisurely stroll shopping for accessories, and then if you want, and my cousins let us, we can work on maybe some fun stuff."

Iris dropped her spoon in her bowl and called out "Done!" Then ran off again at superspeed to meet up with Seer and them and see how they did in the changing room.

Ozzy grinned, "That definitely sounds like a plan," before standing up and stretching a bit. He then offered Clarissa his arm and asked, "Shall we?"

  Clarissa giggled, and took Ozzy's hand, grinning with pleasure as she began to lead him on a stroll toward the store she had seen the accessories in.

---

  Penny was slowly walking and turning to show off what the clothes looked like, although she was uncertain.

Ozzy grinned happily as they headed towards the accessory shop, enjoying his 'day off' with Clarissa. He hoped nothing would ruin it, though he knew that evil never slept. Still, she was right in a way. There were other heroes here, and they could probably take care of anything that happened.

In reply to Seer and Clarissa Clemmons (msg #195):

Upon seeing Iris, Victoria waved back at the young girl as she helped Penny.

"Hi!" Iris greeted the others, giving Penny a good looking over, "It looks good. How's it going?"

"Very nicely...we've been able to find some nice varieties of clothing for Penny. We're just about done, though. What have you been up to?"

As the three girls conversed, a seemingly ordinary woman walked by them. The woman herself had dark brown skin, and was wearing a green sari made out of silk, and had a red Bindi in the middle of her forehead. She briefly glanced at the three girls, then continued to walk on throughout the mall.

"Ozzy was here with his girlfriend and he accidently invited me for ice-cream." Iris responded promptly, "There was a lot of it, but no real problem. They told me that I won't understand what fair is until I grow up and then they ignored me 'til I finished, which is to be expected since they're on a date." Iris laughed, then continued, "I think I understand fair perfectly well, but I think that they understand a different fair than I do. What I don't understand is boys. I mean, I love Chuck 'cause he's my brother, but all this lovey-stuff that Ozzy and Clarissa do is kinda... well, I don't know. It's weird. What about you, Vanessa, is it like that with you and Andy?"

Victoria smiled.

"With Andy and I....it's WORSE. I'm only kidding....we show affection in different ways. Not teenage antics, but....well, I guess it's hard to explain."

Victoria then seemed to take note of someone watching them, then dismissed it.

  Penny said softly "What Ozzy and Clarissa feel is different than love for the brother.  It FEELS different than what you feel for Ozzy or Chuck."  She ducked her head, blushing to admit that she could so easily read other people's emotions.

The female stranger looked back briefly in the direction of Penny and the others. She then soon left the mall, bound for other destinations.

>>>>>>>>>>>>??????????????>>>>>>>>>>>>

"What about with Jack?" Iris persisted, "Is Jack different?"

  Penny said softly "That's a very complicated answer.  And the English language doesn't exactly cover it perfectly."

Iris frowned, then shrugged, "Use French then. They've got a lot of nifty words, and it sounds cool. Or Latin. I'm good at Latin, but not French. But I can translate it if I have to 'cause that's what I do with scientific papers written in other languages."

  Penny shook her head, and said, clearly trying to find the terms for her answer.  "It isn't exactly that English is worse than French, not that I speak French, but that there aren't words for it.  Emotions and thoughts aren't something everyone else can sense and feel from others.  A comparison is to say that an emotion has a flavor, or a texture.  But even that doesn't explain it right.  Imagine tasting sunshine.  Or hearing colors.  There aren't words for it, because nobody does it.  I can sense your enjoyment when you talk about ice cream.  It's sort of like bubbles, and strawberries, and a trilling slide of music all rolled into one.  But I don't have the right words to explain it RIGHT."

Iris frowned leaning in towards Seer, "But that sounds fine to me. It's close enough to making sense. Please try! I don't understand at all, and I think even descriptions that deal with bubbles and strawberries will get me closer than what I know now. It'll at least give me a description of what to keep a... sense organ out for, right?"

  Seer half smiled, and said "I think in some ways, for this, the best explanation, is a demonstration.  I can let you feel what I sense, if you don't mind me sending you the experience?"

Well, that wasn't going to be able to go into the recorder! "Can we try words first, and then try magic? I mean, I am a scientist. I might can comprehend based on words alone."

  Clarissa asked him playfully "You let me know if you see anything particularly cute, okay?  I'll try it on, or you can see if you'd like it."

  Penny frowned, and said "I'm not really sure how else to explain it.  I mean, it's not something most people do, so the words were never really made.  Close your eyes and try to taste the sunshine."

Ozzy grinned and replied jokingly, "Sounds like a plan. I'll keep an eye out. Let's promise not to fight over anything we both like, though, okay? I'm sure we could find a way to share a dress."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "That's easy.  We take turns wearing it.  Although I think you'd need broader shoulders and waist than I do, and your hips, I think, are a bit narrower."  She ran her hand along his back, then down his hip with a wink and a giggle.

Iris hummed, "Sunshine... so clean, warm, comfortable... tastes a little bit tangy from the incandescent gases, yeah?" She asked, sounding serious, "Like a summer day or a spring day?"

Ozzy grinned, enjoying the feel of her hand sliding down his back and hip.

"True, I'm not as deliciously curvy as you are, Clarissa. That does present something of an issue. I think it would also be somewhat loose in the chest region, though I could fix that most easily. If I tried to wear something your size, at best I'd end up looking like Corporal Klinger," he said with a playful smile, softly patting her rump when he mentioned her delicious curves.

Penny tilted her head, and said "Think warm, and like a caress on your skin that you can't see, then add a sparkle, all overlaid on silk like rose petals and scented like vanilla and oranges.  Then make it all register in your mind, so there's not a PHYSICAL component to it at all."

Clarissa giggled, and said "Well, there's that, or we could find one we both like on me, then go and get two, then use one for a pattern, and modify the pattern to make it hang right on you and MAKE you a better one.  I'll admit to not being a horrible seamstress when I actually do sew."

Ozzy grinned, "You sew? Awesome. I didn't know that. Still, that's a handy skill to have. Do you cook, too, or am I the only one?"

  Clarissa laughed, and said "You cook, I'll sew, I'm not very good in the kitchen yet.  My parents don't trust me with a hot stove."

Iris patted Penny's arm comfortingly, "Ah, okay, I think I understand, more or less. It's very abstract, but I have been playing in abstracts since I was in elementary school. It's the kind of thing that happens when you are raised by a group of aging scientists, yeah?" She encouraged.

  Penny nodded, and said "Yes.  It's abstract, but very real at the same time.  Hard to explain to anyone not good with abstracts."

Victoria smiled, gratified the conversation didn't get too awkward.

"So, ladies....what's next?"

Ozzy grinned, "Maybe I could help teach you sometime, then. I may not be some celebrity chef, but I can whip up a good meal quick. As you saw, I've had some practice recently."

  Clarissa grinned, and said "That sounds like a good plan to me.  All the more time with you!"

  Penny shook her head, and said "I'm just sort of riding along.  I'm not sure what else you think I should have?"

Iris tapped her lips, then replied promptly, "Some butterfly accessories - like hair do-dads and necklaces and stuff. And some of those gummy bracelets probably wouldn't go wrong if you want what's popular now. Fingerless gloves. Claires'd have most of that in the color choices you want to coordinate to, or else Hot Topic. And we can window-shop some of the other shops and see if they have any good butterfly-themed clothes. I know I've seen a pair of jeans with a very pretty painted design going up the leg with a butterfly at about thigh-level, but I can't for the life of me remember where. You should get one of those. And also, you need some giant butterfly wings. Can we stop by the Holiday Shop? I know they've got all Christmas stuff now, but all of their Halloween costumes'll be on sale in the back." Iris listed very quickly, clicking her recording device off.

She thought she had the recording she needed. She hoped the boys were keeping up their end at laser tag. Iris wasn't sure how well it would go with Chuck there... he could be a little bit dense sometimes, or occasionally too blunt.

  Penny tilted her head, and asked, almost hesitantly "Can . . . can I borrow someone else's eyes to 'window shop' with?  Otherwise it will be you guys looking, and me sort of walking."

"Borrow mine.." Victoria said without hesitation as they prepared to window shop.

Ozzy grinned and snaked his arm around her waist, "Thus why I suggested it. Of course, cooking is also fun, so it definitely won't be a chore."

  Clarissa giggled, and leaned on his shoulder, smiling, her arm sliding around his waist as they walked.  She said happily "I think we could get away with it.  Your grandpa would know that I'm definitely not trying to do illicit things when we're in the kitchen cooking."

Ozzy smirked and said, "Definitely true. With all the people in the house, I don't think we'd be able to get alone long enough to do anything like that. And there's no way you'd be doing anything ELSE on your parents' list of "Don't let hers"."

  Clarissa smiled as she leaned into Ozzy's shoulder, and said "I don't think anyone would mind me picking up another 'practical' skill either.  But best of all, it's time with you."

Ozzy grinned as he hugged her with one arm, "Yeah, that'll definitely be the best part. Hopefully the others will be able to stand the sappy sweetness."

  Clarissa laughed, and said "If they don't like it, we can hand em lemons.  They can suck on them, or make lemonade!"

Ozzy chuckled, "Heh. Sounds like a plan to me! Of course, given most of my friends' dispositions, I think we should be fine. I think I was the closest thing we had to a 'team sour puss'. That, or maybe sometimes Andy would've been."

  Clarissa tilted her head, and asked "Why would you be a sourpuss?  And why would Andy?  I mean, you're fun!!"

Ozzy smirked and said, "Like I said, the closest thing. I know I've had my broody moments. But with good reason. Luckily, that's not how we are normally. We don't have anyone who's negative all the time, fortunately. I just have to get that way sometimes, because occasionally the 'no, we can't' line of thinking offers valuable insights."

  Clarissa laughed, and said "Okay, that's your reason.  Why does your friend Andy get broody?  Or is it just because he's older?  I know he's a senior, but he seems to have dropped out of school  . . ."

"It was mostly because of the whole 'being half-demon' thing. That's got to take a lot of getting used to, you know? Not to mention getting kicked out via way of being shot at. Again, he had his reasons. That's definitely something I'm thankful for, that we don't have any authentically whiny people on the team. We might gripe on occasion, but it's generally for good reason," said Ozzy, chuckling.

  Clarissa tilted her head, thinking for a moment, and then said "That's one of the best reasons I've ever heard of for someone to be broody, cranky, and sorta unhappy.  He got SHOT??"

Ozzy nodded, "Yeah. With a shotgun, in the gut. Lucky for him, demon puberty comes with a healing factor, so he got better. One helluva healing factor, apparently. He's taken a bomb blast and healed up from it. I don't think conventional weapons can kill him, like at all. Just slow him down a bit, and piss him off."

He then grinned and said, "So would it surprise you to find out I've been shot? A couple times, actually. Of course, Megs had to patch me up both times, since I don't have any kind of super-healing."

  Clarissa shook her head, and said "You'll have to show me where.  So I can kiss the ouchy spots."  She hugged him, and said softly "Sounds like what you do is a dangerous thing.  I'll worry about you when you go out now."

Ozzy grinned and returned the hug as he said, "You'll have to wait a bit, since I'd have to take my shirt off. But, so far I've only been shot twice. Once here, in a big brawl at Weston Mall. And once in my other shoulder. I'd put myself between you and your old dealer to keep him from trying to take you hostage, and got shot for my trouble. Still, better me than you, since I had my armor up. And I don't think your parents would've liked you being full of bullet-holes when you got home, either. More importantly, we'd have never got the chance to go on that date last night, or this one."

  Clarissa blushed, and hugged him tightly as she said "Thank you for that.  I'm SO glad you did.  You are definitely MY hero .  . ."

Ozzy smiled softly and kissed her on the cheek before he said, "No big deal. It's part of the whole hero thing, you know? Honestly, that was part of why I was wondering why you were wanting to go out with me. Part of me was afraid that you felt like you 'owed' me or something. Which, just to be clear, you shouldn't feel that way. I do what I do because I enjoy it, and because I like helping people. Plus, the whole 'with great power comes great responsibility' thing. You know?"

  She shook her head, blushing, and said softly "A 'thank you' would have been owed.  A date is my, and your, pleasure as two people.  You're a man as well as a hero, not JUST a hero, and you deserve someone who wants to spend time with you when you AREN'T doing the hero stuff.  Who doesn't mind doing the studying, and the dinner, and that sort of normal stuff with you too."

Ozzy chuckled and said, "Well, okay, maybe a 'thank you'. But that's it. I'm glad we're thinking alike yet again. And, you're definitely right. It was most certainly my pleasure to take you out last night, and it's my pleasure to be here again today. And you, Clarissa, deserve someone who wants to spend time with you, and do stuff with you, and help you out when you need it. Lucky for me that you picked me to be that person. If it wasn't for that, I'd never have known what I would be missing out on."

  Clarissa blushed, and giggled, and said happily "The best part is, we REALLY work well together.  And you are one hot kisser."

Ozzy grinned and replied, "Only because I learned from a great teacher. Of course, I still think I need more practice. Then again, that may just be me trying to find an excuse to kiss you again."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "Kissing is sort of like martial arts.  You can never stop practicing, because you can always improve on it."

Ozzy grinned and said, "Wise words indeed, 'sensei'. Of course, to keep getting better, much like martial arts, it always helps to have a 'sparring partner'."

  That got another giggle, and she said softly "I'm game to spar with you on that challenge as much as you like.  Because it's a pleasure to 'spar' that way."

Ozzy chuckled and replied, "Indeed it is. With a partner like you, it would have to be. Of course, I may be biased."

  Clarissa laughed, and kissed him, even as they reached the little boutique he'd spotted the accessories in that would look good with the dress.  She said "Believe me, I am so looking forward to lots and lots of practice."

Ozzy smiled, returning the kiss. When she pulled away, he grinned, "Good, so am I. Oooh, Clarissa, look!"

He then lead her to where he'd spotted something, a nice pendant, saying, "This would go perfectly with your dress, not to mention your eyes. What do you think?"

Ozzy smiled, returning the kiss. When she pulled away, he grinned, "Good, so am I. Oooh, Clarissa, look!"

He then lead her to where he'd spotted something, a nice pendant, saying, "This would go perfectly with your dress, not to mention your eyes. What do you think?"

  She smiled happily, and held it up against her cheek so he could check the color better, and asked him "You really think so?  It's not too expensive, is it?"

Ozzy nodded and said, "Definitely a good color for you, Clarissa. And it's not too much. Otherwise I think they'd probably keep it behind glass. Even if it was, though, you'd still be worth it."

He then leaned in close and put the chain around her neck, before giving her a quick kiss. He then asked softly, "So, what do you think? Are we getting it, or is it going back?"

  She smiled, and kissed him again, then agreed "Then we can get it.  I want to look good for going out to fancy dances with you.  And to have lots of good reasons to hold you close."

Ozzy grinned, "Good. As long as you like it, then we can get it. And you'd look good wearing a Hefty bag with a purse made of Capri Sun pouches. Of course, having clothes that actually look good just adds to the effect."

He then gave her another quick kiss, saying, "And the only reason you need to hold me close is because you want to."

Victoria turned back to Seer after lending her vision to her.

"Did you see anything else you liked, Penny?"

  Clarissa giggled, and kissed him, then said "I think I see matching earrings over there, think we can them to the list?  And I do too need a good excuse in public at formal functions.  We don't want to look tacky!"  She gave him a tight hug though.

  Penny had looked around carefully, and she asked, shyly "I think I saw a couple butterfly designs?  Could we look at them, please?"

Victoria nodded, and then guided Penny to the butterfly design outfits.

  Penny gently fingered through the clothes, but she couldn't tell which ones were the ones she'd spotted, so she asked "Can you grab them for me?  I'm not so good at dead reckoning without seeing from my postion.  TK pings don't tell me which ones have designs  . .. . "

Victoria smiled, and acquired some of the garments for her, so that she could have a physical sensation of the garments.

  Penny smiled, taking hold of the fabrics.  She said "Can you colormatch them for me?  I don't want to look like a total fool . . . "

"You've got it Penny," Victoria said as she matched up the outfits for Penny. Blue pants and a red shirt, adorned with butterflies, and several other sets that would fit the young girl nicely.

In reply to Clarissa Clemmons (msg #264):

Ozzy nodded, "Sure. We can get them, too."

He then grinned as he returned the hug, "And if you say so. Of course, you know me. 'What most people think of me' isn't exactly on my list of things to be worried about, you know? As long as you and my friends are cool with me, the rest of the world can go @#$% themselves with cacti for all I care."

  She giggled, and hugged him tightly before she said "That's one of the best things about you.  You're not worried about 'what everyone else' thinks, you're just worried about you, and me, and your close friends.  That's a wonderful trait."  Then she kissed him.

  Penny gave Victoria a tremulous smile, and said "Thank you, Victoria."

"Very welcome," Victoria replied to the young girl.

Ozzy returned the kiss, holding her tight as he enjoyed their embrace. When he pulled back he said, "I'm glad you think so. I'd hate to think that you didn't like me being me. It's the only person I'm really good at being, you know?"

  She giggled, and said "You're forgetting your other ID.  You're good at being him too."

Ozzy just smiled and said, "Well, yeah, but that's just me wearing some armor and using a voice-changing spell. It's not like I'm, you know, Freakazoid or something where my personality changes whenever I 'power up'."

  She giggled, and said "True enough.  So.  Oh dear.  You know, it's going to be a crowded ride home."  She'd spotted her cousins coming, and they had a HEAP of bags and packages in their arms.

Ozzy just grinned, giving her a quick kiss before saying, "It's a good thing we're comfortable being in close contact, then. See if you can't find a purse to go with the dress, and then we'll head out to the car. Unless you wanted to go ahead and hit that other store while we're here."

He then turned to Clarissa's cousins, holding his arms out and saying, "Arright, ladies, load me up. This mule's ready for another load."

  Clarissa gave him a kiss as she headed for the purse rack, and her two cousins began piling boxes into his arms and bags soon festooned him like fruit from a tree.

Ozzy gave a soft grunt as the two loaded him down heavily, but it seemed that he could handle the load. Still, it was a near thing, and he was having to turn sideways to see where he was going. He wondered if it might be a good idea to let Tats ride on top of the boxes, to let him see where he was going a bit more easily.

  Clarissa came over and said "Here, let me lead the way, you can't see through those.  I told the girl at the counter to hold onto the purse, necklace and earrings.  My cousins aren't anywhere close to done shopping yet either.  This will be one INTERESTING trip!!"

Ozzy grinned and said, "Works for me, babe. Lead the way!"

He then followed Clarissa when she was ready to lead, hoping that he wouldn't need to cause a scene by using Tats. While he didn't care what others thought, he didn't want to ruin his time with Clarissa by having people crowding around and trying to get autographs or anything.

  Clarissa led him a little way, then rearranged the boxes so he at least had a small window to peek through.  She said "Here, this will help a little."

Ozzy nodded, "Much better. Yeah, unfortunately X-Ray vision isn't something I can do. Granted, that's probably one of the 'not so hot' powers that every dude seems to want. Because, really, if it's really X-Ray vision then you'd see through clothes... and skin, and muscle, down to the bone."

  Clarissa giggled, and said "They just want to see through the clothes, not the rest.  But I bet that Superman had his reasons for things!!!"

Ozzy chuckled, "Superman had true X-Ray vision. And, given that he was a total Boy Scout, he would've never used it inappropriately anyway. But, yeah, he could see through walls and stuff, so it was probably true X-Ray vision. Thus, the whole 'Superman was a perv' argument is about as valid as the whole 'the TSA is looking at my naughty bits' thing. Unless of course the operator just so happens to find your skeleton sexy."

  She giggled, and said "Yep!  So unless someone is a weirdo and likes bones, thinks them sexy indeed, real X-ray vision isn't so good for that!!"  She led him through the door to the parking lot, and headed for  the car.  She asked "We sure this will all fit??"

Ozzy grinned, "I can make it fit. I may not have a 'bigger inside than out' spell, but I *do* have good spatial sense. It's like Tetris, almost. Like I said, though, we'll have to get REAL close inside. Of course, I rather enjoy having you in my lap, so it's more of a legal thing than anything else."

  She grinned, and kissed his cheek, then opened the doors and the trunk, and said "Well, time to play Tetris!  Its 3D though, not just 2D.  Does that make it  more fun?"

"In theory, but apparently the actual attempt left something to be desired," he said with a wry smirk as he began to very carefully pack the other boxes, making sure to keep Clarissa's dress on top. Once the trunk was full, he closed it carefully before he started to load the back seat, keeping the boxes and bags low enough so they wouldn't obstruct her cousin's vision while she was trying to back up.

  Clarissa giggled, and helped him as much as she could, trying to tuck and slide some of the things, the t-shirts and such into nooks and crannies that would make it a better fit and keep things from sliding too.

Ozzy smiled, glad for the help. When they were finished, he gave a satisfied nod and said, "Looks good to me. What do you think, Clarissa?"

  She grinned, and slid her arms around him, giving him a deep kiss as she said "I think I'm really going to enjoy that ride home sitting on your lap.  Unless they get another huge load, in which case we might have to wait here while they drive it home and then come back for us!!"

Ozzy grinned, his arms wrapping themselves tightly around her as he returned the kiss. When she pulled away, he grinned, "I can certainly think of worse things than waiting here with you while they go clear out some of the stuff. We'll have to wait and see what happens, yeah?"

  She giggled, and cuddled her cheek against his shoulder as she said contentedly "Yep.  I could spend all day snuggled here in your arms."

Ozzy just smiled and sighed contentedly as he held her, his arms wrapped around her tightly. After a minute, though, he eventually said, "It's too bad there's no way to stop time for just the two of us. Then we'd have all the time we wanted. Unfortunately, life goes on."

He then leaned down and kissed her softly. When he pulled away, he added with a smile, "I guess we'll just have to make the most of it while we can, yeah?"

  Clarissa cuddled, and said "That's why you take every moment and hold it tight and hard."

Ozzy smiled and nodded as he held her, saying, "Exactly. Every moment is precious, because we never know if we'll get another one like it."

  Clarissa smiled into his chest, and said contentedly "I think I could enjoy this moment for a slice of forever    . . ."

Ozzy nodded, smiling, "I know. I wanna just stay out here and hold you forever, too. But, the sales girl might get a bit irked if we make her wait too long. So, I suggest a compromise."

With that, he scooped Clarissa up in his arms, laughing softly as he said, "Well, what do you say? Will this work for you?"

  Clarissa laughed delightedly, and told him with a kiss "This works for me wonderfully!!"  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hung on with clear pleasure.

Ozzy smiled blissfully as he returned the kiss, glad that she was happily hanging on to him as he carried her.

He started towards the mall, grinning and knowing that people would stare. But he didn't care, not in the slightest. Clarissa was enjoying it, and that was all that mattered. If the rest of the world had a problem with it, they could stick it where the sun didn't shine.

  Clarissa giggled, cuddling close, and Rose said cheerfully Okay, this IS fun.  Her giggles and pleasure are like fizzy carbonated soda pop with a lovely strawberry flavor.  Which made Clarissa giggle all the more, hugging him more because she would not have CrystalRose without him, and clearly that made a serious help in her eyes.

Ozzy grinned, replying, "Glad you two are enjoying this, because I know I am."

Tats looked over, still flattened out on Ozzy's arm and remarked quietly, "Ah, to be young again. I somewhat envy your perspective, Rose, how everything is fresh and new to you, and that your first experiences are those of a loving couple. I do hope you do not lose that enthusiasm once you've spent a little time with Ozzy. It would be a shame."

  CrystalRose purred, and said Well, One of the parts of herself that Clarissa used to make me, is that sense of wonder with the world.  And her appreciation for the simple pleasures of good company and a nice cup of hot cocoa."

  Clarissa giggled, and popped a kiss on the top of Tats' head, still giggling.

Tats smirked, "Ah. I would be Ozzy's more reserved side, for the most part. I'm here to make sure he doesn't go totally wild. Not that I've been to successful, as his preference in artistic media will show."

Ozzy blushed from the kiss, but managed to reply, "Hey, art should be free. It's not my fault that the best way to freely display art is to directly paint it onto the wall. Besides, I only put it on buildings that need the touch-up. Otherwise they'd be so dreadfully gray and boring. Cookie-cutter buildings, just like all the others. Folks're just lucky I don't do residences... usually."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Fri 04 Nov 2011.

  Clarissa laughed, and said "You'll have to show me some of your work so I can admire it."

  CrystalRose giggled, and said I'm a little harder to define, but I can definitely coach Clarissa on not making self destructive decisions.

Ozzy grinned and said, "Sure. I'll make sure to point some out when we go skating. Assuming it hasn't been washed off, of course. You know how people are about washing off perfectly good graffiti."

Tats just shook his head and said, "You see what I have to deal with? Ugh... you're impossible sometimes, Ozzy. I hate to think where you'd be without me."

  She giggled again, leaning her head against his chest as they reached the doors of the mall, where one of the other people laughed and opened the door for them both.  Ozzy DID look like he had his hands rather full.  Clarissa said "I'd like that.  I bet my parents might let you decorate the inside of the back yard fence, if you like?"

  CrystalRose chirped with laughter, and said You two are such a riot!

Ozzy smirked and said, "I could do that, yeah. Though I do tend to prefer 'surprise' decorations. Though, the mural at the dojo went pretty well, and it was kind of a surprise. I know Flip-sensei probably wasn't expecting someone to come along and 'spruce up' the walls of his dojo. Still, getting caught that time went extraordinarily well. I wouldn't be studying Gojo-Ryu if he hadn't caught me. Funny, isn't it, how life goes like that sometimes?"

He then grinned as he had a delicious idea.

"Does your mom have a garden or anything in the backyard? I could do a 'surprise' decoration, and just make it something they'll like. A surprise present of sorts."

  Clarissa said thoughtfully "Mom adores orchids, but she can't grow them because they're tropical, and they take special stuff that Mom and Dad can't afford."  She'd not gotten much into her mother's orchid fascination, but the plants could be extremely expensive, and the greenhouse or hothouse to grow them could be very expensive.

Ozzy smiled, saying, "Well, if she can't have real orchids, I could at least paint some for her. Maybe even make 'em 3D, if I had enough paint and some time. Climbing orchids up her fence would make her happy, right?"

  That got a laugh, and Clarissa giggled as she admitted "That would be awesome.  Mom would be amazed!!"  She cuddled into his chest happily, even as they were reaching the boutique.

Ozzy grinned, "Awesome. I'll have to see if I can't stop by some night and take the time to do it. Or day, depending. Does your mom work?"

  Clarissa nodded, and said "Yeah, she's a nurse in the angioplasty at the hospital."

Ozzy nodded and smiled, "Okay, yeah, then I'm definitely going all-out. She helps people for a living, and nurses have really stressful jobs. She deserves a little extra thanks."

Tats grinned and added, "Ozzy's always had a soft spot for medical professionals. I guess because he was in physical therapy and such for so long because of his leg, he got to know several folks there."

  Clarissa nodded, then said "Just, let me warn my Dad so he doesn't think we have some tresspasser from a gang or something doing it.  He will appreciate the surprise for Mom though."

Ozzy grinned, "Sounds like a plan. It's a good excuse to go to your house, and it'll probably get me further in to your parents' good graces. After all, as the saying goes, 'when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.' The inverse is also generally true."

  That got more giggles, and the clerk in the boutique asked him "Are you two a new couple??"

Ozzy grinned proudly and nodded, "Yep! How'd you guess?", asking that last bit playfully as if it weren't obvious. The two had been inseparable since they'd first met up that day at Gysbourne Manor.

  The clerk laughed, and said "I think the first clue was that you're carrying her?"

Ozzy chuckled, still talking as if carrying her was perfectly normal, "Oh, that! Well, she wanted to cuddle outside a bit longer, but I was worried that you guys might have some rule that you can only hold an item so long or something. So, we compromised. Relationships are all about give and take, right?"