Baltimore, Thursday Afternoon

[soniaroadsqueen]

With no classes on Thursdays, Ringo had decided to take her morning AT run in the city, so she'd left early. And it had been a great run, even if she'd had to be careful not to do anything too visible. No need to draw any official attention, after all. In fact, she'd gotten so caught up in the joy of riding in an actual city that she'd lost track of time and almost forgotten about her deal with Kathy.

Ringo and Kathy had been talking about a shopping trip for quite a while, but just this week they'd handwavily made plans to actually do one. A flurry of text messages had them agreeing to meet up at one of the stores Kathy knew in Baltimore.

She probably still could have made it on time if she hadn't gotten turned around once or twice trying to find the right address. American addresses didn't really make any sense, and she didn't know Baltimore that well, and thank goodness for GPS in phones.

So she arrived a couple of minutes late, face flushed from the rush, with a ripped pair of jeans and a tshirt that were a lot better suited for an AT ride than convincing anyone that she had a real fashion sense.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, already apologizing for making Kathy wait.

[NFB for distance]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean, I know you said you fought before..." Kathy said, still sounding uncertain.

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Well," Ringo pursed her lips, "I wouldn't want to worry you, or distract you. And maybe it's not even a good idea, but, well, I want to understand why this means so much to you."

She thought for a moment. "Maybe I could show you sometime? What it means to be the Thorn Queen?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy nodded. "That would help, yeah," she agreed. "It's not that I don't think you can handle yourself, but I've never seen exactly what it is you can do."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo smiled, the dangerous glint leaving her eyes. "No, I get it. And if you do decide to take me out with you sometime, I wouldn't want you to feel like you had to worry about me." She shrugged. "So I understand wanting to be careful."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I mean, you wouldn't take me out to an Air Trek battle between the Road monarchs, would you?" Kathy asked, reaching out to tangle her fingers with hers. "You're my friend, Ringo. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt."

[soniaroadsqueen]

That made Ringo smile and blush again. She squeezed Kathy's fingers. "I know," she said softly. "And it means a lot to me, so thanks. But it's the same for me, you know? I don't want to see you get hurt. So, well, I guess that's why I want to understand why you do what you do. So that maybe I'll worry less when you're out there maybe getting hurt."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I promise I try not to," Kathy assured her as Letty walked in, arms full of clothing for Ringo to try on.

"I've got some things that I think you'll--oops! Am I interrupting? I can come back in a few minutes?" she offered.

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo blinked, caught Letty's expression, and blushed bright red. "No, no," she said quickly, seeming to teleport a couple of feet over as she let go of Kathy's hand. "We were just waiting for you!"

Wow. Ringo was a terrible liar.

[spin_kick_snap]

Letty just raised an eyebrow while Kathy laughed. "It's all right," she assured the salesgirl. "I was trying to get Ringo to tell me who her mysterious and secret crush is. Find out who's sparked her interest in fashion, you know?"

Letty looked at Kathy with an are you kidding me? expression, then transferred it over to Ringo. Is she kidding me?

No one could be that oblivious, right?

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo blushed brighter, which probably shouldn't have been possible, and gave Letty a look that was simultaneously helpless, and pleading. Don't tell her!

Trying to sound casual about it, Ringo nodded. "It turns out that Kathy is a terrible guesser."

[spin_kick_snap]

Letty snickered. "Is she now? Well, that's a pity. Let's see if I'm any better, huh?" Laying out an armload of clothing, she started to hang them up so she could display them properly.

"That reminds me!" Kathy said. "I have a new guess! Dante? I know Radio's mentioned you two hanging out a couple of time."

[soniaroadsqueen]

Ringo had was leaning forward, excitedly watching Letty sort through her selections, when Kathy threw that out there.

Which earned her an amused giggle. "Dante? He's so grumpy. Though the way he pretends that cat totally isn't his is kinda cute." But, no, Kathy. Not Dante.

[spin_kick_snap]

"His grumpiness didn't stop you from racing him the other week," Kathy teased. "Though you're right. I've been teasing you about your crush since the summer and he only showed up in September. Hmmm. Back to the drawing board."

Letty rolled her eyes. "While you work on that thrilling mystery, I have a great number of dresses for you to look at."

The ones she pulled out were about half of the ones she'd snagged. Sorry, Ringo, you didn't think this was going to be fast did you?

"So I went with ones that I thought would suit you. Clean lines, a bit of frill, would look good on curvy girls, elements in common with the things you picked already. Now, pick your top, hmm, five, I think, and tell me why you like them best."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oooooh," Ringo breathed out, eyes going wide at the selection. "They're all so pretty!" But Letty wanted her to actually look through them and make some selections.

She held up each of them in turn, turning to find a mirror to examine the way she might look with each.

"I really like this red one," she said. "It's so bright. And I like how the shoulders are narrow, I guess?" She pursed her lips, not sure why that was true, but it looked nice!

"And this black one has really pretty lacy bits."

"Oooh, and this one is a really pretty blue. And I love the way it flares." She looked a bit closer. "Oh, and this belt thing seems cute."

She held up another one to examine. "I like how this one looks so floaty? Like it's all these loose layers?"

The last pick was hard, though. There were neat things about all of them. But eventually Ringo held up her final dress. "I think the bow on this one is really cute. Because it stands out?"

She looked a bit hesitantly at Letty. "Is that... what you needed?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"It's a good start," Letty said, encouragingly at the same time that Kathy said, "You're doing great!"

"Now, pick your three least favorite dresses and why."

[soniaroadsqueen]

For just a moment, it looked like Ringo might whine. She'd had so much trouble picking the ones she liked!

Still, Letty was the expert. Ringo took a breath and looked through the remaining five dresses. This was hard! They were all so pretty! "I guess, hmm, maybe these three dresses?" Ringo frowned, as if unsure of her choice. "I mean, they're all pretty. And I like the bow, and the little detail stuff, but they all look a little tricky to move around in?"

You'll have to excuse Ringo, Letty. She'd never worn a sheath dress before, so she was suspicious.

[spin_kick_snap]

Oh honey. It was okay, Letty was here now. She would help you learn the error of her ways.

"So, it's not an aesthetics thing, but a comfort and murder thing?" Letty asked. "Here, why don't you try one on? You don't have to like it at all, that's totally okay if you don't like the way it fits. But you should try it on before you dismiss a good sheathe out of hand."

"I can't wear them," Kathy said with a sigh. "I look like a ruler."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"I'm sure you like just fine," Ringo objected. Though she probably wouldn't have thought to ask Kathy for fashion advice if the other girl had just worn sheathes all the time.

"And, well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try one on?" Ringo admitted. She looked them over for a moment before picking up the first one (she really did like that bow!). "I guess I'll be right back?"

She headed into the changing room, and a couple of minutes later she was back. "It's not as tight as I'd thought," Ringo admitted, looking a little shy. "Does it look alright?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Comfort and murder? WTF, self? I don't even know what I meant to type there.

"Oooh, look at you!" Kathy said, applauding. "Definitely not like a ruler!"

"She's right, you look fantastic," Letty said smugly. Hey, she knew her job. "Why don't you move around a little? Find how much movement you can get out of the dress?"

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Mobility" maybe? I figured A) it was 1:30am, so you had an excuse, and B) WE KNOW THAT MURDER IS ALWAYS ON YOUR MIND!

"Okay," Ringo said slowly. She did kind of look pretty good in it, she had to admit. But she did want to test out mobility. Without actually damaging the dress.

So she slowly leaned forward toward an arabesque position, feeling for where the fabric really started getting in her way. Of course the skirt slid upward an inch or two before that began to be a problem, so she ended up with more room than she'd expected. Though she definitely wasn't getting her back leg out to 90 degrees.

[spin_kick_snap]

YES! THAT'S EXACTLY IT! Also, C) watching Elementary. BUT DEFINITELY A & B, TOO!

Well, technically she could, but that would require a lot less modesty on Ringo's part and a lot more willingness to show off her undergarments. But it was definitely possible!

"Very nice," Letty said, with a nod. "Now, some sheathes, depending on the fabric, will give you less room to move around in, but I chose only fabric with would bend and stretch with you. Material choice is just as important to consider as cut!"

"She's been telling me that for months now, and believe me, I feel it when I don't listen," Kathy said, making a face. "Try bending over, make sure your upper body is as free to move as your legs."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Oh, right. Good idea." Ringo put her foot back down and adjusted the skirt. Then she did a couple of slow twists back and forth, feeling the way the fabric stretched across her skin. It wasn't that bad, really. Then she tried bending forward, reaching down toward her feet with one hand, the other hovering in case she had to make a sudden grab for her skirt if it rode up too much.

"Am I being too paranoid about how the skirt might shift if I bend over too far?" she asked, still bent over.

[spin_kick_snap]

"It'll go up high, but not that high," Letty promised. "There's give, but there's a limit to it and the fabric catches on your hips before it slides all the way up, see? So, you might give a show, but no one's gonna see everything."

"I swear," Kathy said with a smile, "Letty runs around and does karate katas in every piece of clothing in this store, just so she can answer questions like this."

[soniaroadsqueen]

"Really?" Ringo asked, standing up and looking impressed as she glanced back over at Letty.

[spin_kick_snap]

Letty laughed. "Honey, I don't know the first thing about karate," she said. "But I do know my fabrics and how they word. You wouldn't believe the advanced degree that goes into this job. I'm too good for it, but what're you gonna do in this economy?"

"If you ever open up your own place, I'm following you there, no matter where it is," Kathy said immediately, eyes shining. "You're amazing, Letty, and they don't pay you enough here."