Chương 132: 47. Ground Rules

A party! Finally they're speaking my language! I know better than to assume it's going to be anything like the college parties I'm used to, but a chance to meet lots of new people and see what the night life culture is like here in Stebaari is an amazing opportunity—not to mention bound to be lots of fun!

"Frick! What do I wear?" I fret, bustling back and forth in our room trying to fit together some of the new clothes Rara lent us.

"Allie—""The jeans are too much, right?" I ask Vi.

"We should wear something more local."

"I don't know," she sighs.

"Listen, Allie—""Dang it, what about my hair?!" I curse.

"I wonder if it's too late to take Rara up on a visit to that hair dresser..."

"Allie!" Vi snaps.

"Stop for two seconds and pay attention please!"

"What? I'm kind of busy right now. I barely have any time to get ready."

"That party isn't for hours yet."

"Barely any time!" Violet sighs heavily.

"We need to talk. Please stop dismissing me and listen?" Her forceful tone brings me back to reality, and I stop to take a breath before sitting down on the bed and closing my eyes to give Violet my full attention.

"Okay, sorry," I apologize.

"I'm just excited and maybe a little stressed."

"I understand," she says quietly, and I can almost see a sad smile on her face in my head.

"But this was supposed to be my day, remember?"

"Oh, r-right, I just thought... since your plans got cancelled—""Because of you," Maggie interjects.

"You're the one that—!"

"Let me handle this please, Maggie," Violet cuts her off.

"Allie, I don't blame you for being excited, nor do I fault you for Talla being upset with us. But we need to be mindful about how disruptions like this affect our routine."

"Do we have to talk about it now?" I groan.

"I'll make it up to you later!"

"What happens next time our plans conflict?" she asks.

"Who decides which time-sensitive plans get set aside? I feel like this has happened before, if not in such a direct manner."

"It definitely has," Maggie adds.

"The party is always tonight, and whatever we want to do can always wait until next time."

"That's not fair!" I protest.

"Not fair?!" Maggie repeats incredulously.

"You spoiled Vi's day and then literally hijacked it at the first sign of something you want to do!"

"Maggie, please," Violet sighs miserably.

"I'm not trying to cause problems here. I don't mind you going to the party—okay, I do a little bit—but I can accept that it's a time-sensitive opportunity and I wasn't doing much else anyway."

"Then what's the problem?!" I huff.

"There isn't one, this time," she assures me,"but what about the next? We should have some sort of system in place to handle these situations, to prevent problems and conflicts from happening in the first place."

"Does it really need to be so rigid?" I complain.

"I'm not even taking a whole day, and I'll give you one to make up for it. Isn't that enough?" Vi mentally shakes her head.

"In a vacuum, maybe, but life is hectic. If we informally trade days without any further thought, things are bound to get unbalanced."

"Who's going to count?"

"She will," Maggie says.

"I will," Vi confirms.

"And I don't want it to cause any resentment. It's not just a matter of one person losing too many days, if one of us accumulates too great a debt then it will cause a fight if the others try to cash it in." I rest my chin on my hand and frown.

"That sounds like a pretty good argument for not formally keeping track."

"No," she insists.

"It's an argument for setting clear boundaries and ground rules. It's fine this time, but you didn't consult me before agreeing."

"I—""It's not fine!" Maggie interrupts me before I can get a word in.

"What fucking good is a routine if somebody gets to jerk us around whenever she wants?" Why do I even have to put up with this?! It's my life! If I want to go to a party, then I can dang-fricking well— gah! No, bad! I may not agree with what she's proposing, but the core of Vi's argument is fair. I still chafe a little bit at the idea of sharing "my" body, but I consciously take a moment to breathe deeply and shove that bothersome little reflex away.

"Okay," I relent.

"Ground rules. What do you suggest?"

"First of all, this is still my day," Violet begins.

"I've agreed to let you pursue your agenda on my time, but it's still my time."

"O... kay? What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that even though you're in front, we don't do anything that I'm not comfortable with," she elaborates.

"Specifically in this context—no getting drunk, and no sex." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Wh—bu—pch—" I sputter helplessly.

"I wasn't planning on having sex!" I mean... I wasn't planning not to, per se. But my expectations on that front are low enough that taking it off the table is no big deal. Drinking, on the other hand...

"You expect me to go to a party without drinking?"

"Not necessarily," Vi relents.

"I said no getting drunk. A drink is fine."

"At least give me two," I insist.

"One. I'd be within my rights to say zero, but I'm trying to be fair." It sure doesn't feel like it from where I'm sitting, but I try to keep an open mind.

"Fine," I grind out between my teeth.

"One drink. Anything else, taskmaster?"

"You still owe me a day," she replies, ignoring the taunt.

"And not just any day—your next day, no matter how inconvenient that turns out to be for you. If we're going to do this at all, then each trade needs to be explicit. No banking favors."

"Oh, come on!" I groan.

"I'm not even sure that's practical. You said yourself that life is hectic. What if something really important comes up?"

"Then you'd better hope it's as important to me as it is to you," she replies coldly.

"Those are the terms I suggest." This feels really unbalanced. Maggie and Vi are the ones that are most content to stay in when left to their own devices. If I make plans, then it pretty much forces me to either restrict myself to my scheduled "days" or effectively give up an entire day just to have my plans neutered anyway.

"Sounds good to me," Maggie chimes in.

"That's two for the proposal." I want to protest that this isn't a democracy, but... I guess it sort of is, and I'm outnumbered. I draw my knees to my chest and sigh.

"I guess you win, then," I grumble.

"It's two on one."

"Not yet," Maggie says.

"E'ava, what do you think?" I feel her dormant presence stir awake within me, as grouchy as ever.

"Must you involve me in your inane arguments?"

"Just because you're voluntarily ceding all your time doesn't mean you don't still have a right to it," Mags argues.

"Your opinion counts." Evie sighs.

"My opinion is that this is all a ridiculous waste of time. But if I have to give an argument, then I think you two are being unfair to Miss Allie. You just made a bunch of demands without offering anything. I'm against it." I perk up a bit.

"Really? Thanks, Evie!"

"Don't thank me just yet," she says.

"I still mostly agree with Violet."

"What sort of concession do you suggest?" Violet asks.

"I don't know. Figure something out," Evie huffs.

"I don't care about any of this." But she cares enough to force a stalemate? I really don't get her sometimes.

"What if we say that as long as both parties agree, it can be a full trade?" I suggest.

"I got excited and signed us up without thinking about Vi, and that's on me this time, but in the future, as long as we discuss it properly beforehand, we can totally swap agendas."

"In other words, as long as you ask permission before accepting the invitation, you can drink and fuck all you want?" Maggie summarized.

"Not how I'd put it, but sure."

"I think that's fair," Vi says.

"As long as you make your intentions clear. Though for the record, I want to point out that Eva is only seventeen. We shouldn't be doing much of either, anyway." Frick that's a good point. Gosh flipping dang it, that's actually a huge issue, isn't it?

"I know you think I'm a child, but the age of majority—""Nope!" I interrupt.

"Once we start talking about technicalities, we've already lost. Okay, so no sex until Evie is eighteen, at least! And then... I guess a weird and complicated conversation like this one. Bleh."

"If you insist," Evie says with a mental shrug.

"I certainly won't complain. Are we done, then?"

"I guess I can abide by Vi's rules," I sigh.

"No more than a couple of drinks, then."

"One. Drink!" I cross my arms and pout.

"One drink..." * After hours of preparation, I scrutinize myself in the mirror. I really wanted to get a mix of local fashion and my own clothing, but the blue denim of my jeans clash way too much with the more muted colors of Fa'aun clothing. Plus, while the house staff did a great job patching them up, they are still pretty obviously worn, so I had to ditch them. I'm not quite ready to go full loincloth just yet, but with some help from Rara and a lot of digging I managed to find a decent compromise.

A white miniskirt that was almost certainly not originally made for this purpose, layered beneath a longer sarong and held together by a red belt sash for color. It's a lot of leg by my standards, especially in these heels, but it should fit in with local fashion without any risk of exposure. Now that I look at it, I'm starting to get a tan. A very slight one, but still. I never used to tan, but I think Talla healing my sunburns—more often than I'd like to admit—is helping somehow.

What I really need is some sunscreen, but that's probably going to be a lot harder to manage than shoes. Maybe we'll get a skill or spell for it. Anyway, on to my top. Black is easy enough to fit into any outfit, so my old off-shoulder long tee gets to make a triumphant comeback! Of all the clothes I arrived in this world with, it's probably my favorite.

Not the most important —that would probably be the underwear—but showing off the freckles on my shoulders always has a way of making me feel less sensitive about the ones on my face. I do wish my bra had some actual straps, even if they'd be visible, but we make do. Since crop tops are the fashion here, I've folded the bottom hem up and fastened it with some hidden pins. I feel like I'm in high school again, rolling my clothes up like that, but after wearing local clothing for so long, I'm used to it.

Rara insists that I need something for my shoulders, the hypocrite, but comes up with an awesome solution that gets the best of both worlds. A sheer, light red shawl hangs loosely around my shoulders, giving me the "proper" profile while still leaving my collarbone and shoulders visible. Overall, it's a pretty weird outfit, and there's a lot missing. I didn't have time to get my hair done, so I'm still stuck with Vi's hack job, combed to the best of my ability and fastened in place by my poor overworked hairpins.

I wish I had some contact lenses, but that's even lower down than sunscreen on the list of viable luxuries. Likewise, makeup is probably a far-off dream, though I did manage to get my hands on a clear glossy coating that Fa'aun use to give their horns and hooves a shinier look. Rara laughed when I used a tiny paintbrush to apply some to my nails, but admitted that they do look a bit better that way. It's not perfect, but it's mine, and I like it.

There are so many other details I'd love to add, but I think I have to accept that this is it. I'm ready. Only one last test remains. I step out of my room and into the guest hall, holding out my arms and doing a small spin.

"How do I look?" I ask nervously.

"Blood and acid," Rara gasps, nearly causing me to cringe and retreat back into the room before she continues.

"That is adorable! By the goddess, look at you! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you grew up here. That is so much better than the stuffy priestess look you had before!" It's funny hearing her describe it that way, considering how bold Kiera's clothes are by my standards, but Fa'aun have very different ideas about conservative dress than I do.

"Well then," I say, stepping forward to take her arm in mine.

"Shall we?"