Style Quest: Fashion Show

“Varick,” Raine shouted as they stormed into the shop. The green-furred, blue-spotted snow leopard was in one of its shorter, more feminine forms. They held a flyer that looked like it had been stolen directly off the guild hall’s wall. “There’s a fashion show coming up! We can debut all your best outfits!”

 

“I’m not going to walk a catwalk,” Varick snorted as he looked up from the dress he was sewing. Although the business had a moderately good opening, it took time to build a good customer base. If the blonde Clydesdale could sell more complicated enchantments, he could establish himself as a brand-name tailor and enchanter.

 

“Too bad. We already signed your shop up,” Kaytlyn slyly smiled as she pushed the door open. The thirteen-year-old fennec was holding a piece of paper in her harvest druid robes. “Don’t worry; there’s no entry fee, so it’s free advertising.”

 

“I swear, you two are the worst team-up,” Varick sighed, putting his needle down. He had more than enough clothes for a fashion show, but he didn’t have models. There was no way the equine tailor could model and run the backstage simultaneously. As he looked at his partner and sister, an idea struck Varick. “It was nice of you two to volunteer as models for me, though. It truly means so much that you care so much about my store.”

 

“What? No.. thats not…” Kaytlyn started to sputter out but couldn’t quite find her words.

 

“We’d love to, and we’ll take those expensive cookies from Castimeria as payment,” Raine excitedly said. Of course, the fey-blooded snow leopard was bought off with sugar. The fennec growled but gave up on any arguments.

 

“Raine, darling, I have all your possible measurements, so you can prep however you need to,” Varick smiled at his partner. While that wasn’t entirely true, it was close enough since the mahogany horse could enchant clothes to shift sizes with the wearer. He’s made enough outfits for his partner to know how to fit them. “Kaytlyn, however, I don’t believe that I’ve made anything for your new form.”

 

“F3NN3C P1NK doesn’t need clothes, its a mech suit,” the young fennec insisted as she tried to back out of the store. She knew her brother was talking about her druid sentinel form but wasn’t sure how the earth mother would feel about using her powers for a fashion show.

 

“Come on, be the Druid Sentinel and restore balance to the fashion industry,” Varick smirked as he waved his hand and locked the door. “I’m sure the Earth Mother would appreciate a fashion update.”

 

“Ugh fine,” Kaytlyn growled before snapping her fingers. There was a purple flash of light and some upbeat music before the fennec reappeared, now five foot tall, in a purple dress, and five different colored tails flowing behind her. “You just want to be able to say you make clothes fit for the gods don’t you?”

 

“Yes, and if you hadn’t been bragging to everyone that you were a demigod now, I never would’ve gotten the idea,” the blonde Clydesdale smiled, motioning to his measuring room.

 

“If Jord gets mad at me, then I’m telling her it’s your fault,” Kaytlyn snaps at her adopted brother. “I hope you enjoy getting smote by the fury of nature.”

 

On the night of the fashion show, Varick stood backstage nervously, tapping his hoof on the floor. Plenty of fabulous designers had already shown their products, and his turn would come soon. Sure, he had always impressed his clients, but now he was against the guild’s best. A hand on the mahogany horse’s shoulder and a kiss from Raine set his nerves at ease. Even if the show failed, he’d have always had his family and just had to work harder to make his shop a success.

 

None of Varick’s worries turned out to be anything to fret over. Raine and Kaytlyn killed it on the runway, using their shapeshifting abilities to amaze the crowd. Clothes shift to accommodate the wearer’s changing sizes and shapes, and the changing colors and patterns will leave the crowd cheering. Then, all the music and lights went down as Kaytlyn and Raine reached the end of the runway in their final dresses. On the fennec kitsune was a dress whose purple and blue pattern danced and flickered like living flames. Raine wore a flowing cloud-like dress that seemed to be a contained thunderstorm. 

 

“Imagine, if you will, you are at a fancy party and suddenly you’re attacked by a bunch of evil ninjas.” Varick spoke to the crowd with an enchanted handkerchief over his mouth, amplifying his voice. On the runway, a bunch of illusions of black-clad ninjas poofed into existence. “A normal dress would be a hindrance to a fight, but a dress made by Varick’s Tailoring and Enchanting can become the reason you survive the night.”

 

Kaytlyn adjusted her waist, transforming the outfit’s skirt into pants that were easier to move in. Quickly, the Druid Sentinel ducked an attack from the illusionary ninjas before unleashing real gouts of blue and purple fire from the dress’s sleeves. Varick altered the spells so that the crowd wasn’t in any danger. Ninja illusions were poofed in the path of the flames.

 

Raine threw the clouds that made their dress at the attackers, momentarily creating smokescreens. When the temporary blinding hazard cleared, the green-furred snow leopard leaped forward with hands coated in electrical energy. Each lightning-coated claw strike caused a ninja illusion to disappear. Together, Kaytlyn and Raine cleared away all the fake attackers to the cheering of the crowd.

 

With that demonstration done, Varick’s section of the fashion show ended. Orders immediately started coming in en masse, so many that the blonde Clydesdale had trouble keeping them all straight. It looked like the fashion show wasn’t a waste of time, as Varick thought it would be. Granted, he would never admit that to Raine or Kaytlyn, but he would ensure they got more of those Castimerian cookies than they could carry.