Red Mage in the Shumi Village (Open)

Jayda closely watched Telira's expressions change from deep thought, to worry, to confusion, then back to worry again. Seeing Brix absorb her attention with "Carla", Jayda gave some thought to Telira's spoken concerns. With her finger tapping her chin lightly, Jayda's gaze wandered about the room as she spoke. "Ya know what? Ah thinks we can help out with sum o' that, Telira....."


She stood up and paced a bit as "Carla" made some odd mechanical noises which were rewarded by Brix's slapping hand again. "Now, iffin yew wanna base yer nursery in yer ship an' all, Ah can understand that..... bein' this worldly lead'r that ya are....but...." She turned back to Telira with a smile and a wink. "Seems awfully stressful fer a mom tah be in mah opinion, darlin'. Ah mean.... ain't layk ladies get the luck o' bein' preggers an all, all the darn tootin' tyme! Yew shuld be relaxin' and enjoyin' every darn minute ya gawt in yer condition. Sew Ah gawts me an ideah..."


Now Jayda stood right next to Telira's bed with new found enthusiasm. "Iffin yer all concerned 'bout yer world, Shade has more than en'ff resources tah keep close tabs fer ya! She's the ov'r see'r of this world, as well as sum others, an wuld be more than willin' tah lend a hand till yer lil' ones are born an' yer all settled! Yew gawts ev'rything right 'ere that ya wuld need too!"


"Stubborn piece of shyt!" With another slap of Brix's hand, "Carla" finally gave in. Within moments, several scanned pictures of the ultrasound came spewing out from the front of the machine where Brix collected them and handed them to Telira with a grin. "If I were you, I'd take Jayda up on her offer. Trust me, with Shade watching over your affairs while those kids are cooking and born? Not a damn soul is gonna give any problems to your world."

Telira accepted the photos with a stunned look on her face, reflexively smiling at the two unborn faces of her children. She looked up at her two new friends, an incredulous hope rising in her chest. "Would... would Shade be willing to take on such responsibility? It's an incredible burden, as was made quite apparent to me the day I was ambushed by it."

She looked back at the picture for a moment and then looked up smiling at Jayda and Brix. "If Shade is willing to look after things, then I would dearly love to be able to have my babies here... with friends." She chuckled. "I imagine that the Commodore won't complain at my choice... and goodness knows Soren would be glad to see me stay put for a while."

She thought about it a moment more and then nodded decisively. "I think that's what I'll do." She giggled softly, feeling light-hearted about matters in a way which she hadn't been able to before. "So," she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "which do we want to do first, ask Shade about looking after yet another world... or go clothes hunting for the Moombas?"

Brix and Jayda paused in dumbfound silence for a moment by Telira's first question. Would Shade mind!? As Jayda blinked and turned back to Telira, Brix gave a snort of laughter through her nose. "Sweetheart, ten to one Shade's already been keeping a watchful eye over your world without you even knowing it. For some reason, that girl feels she's responsible for protecting each and every one of them, whether they already have a ruler or not..."


Jayda's smiling giggle immediately followed as she nodded to her out world friend with reassurance. "Brixxy's prob'ly right.... Shadey's a bit wee protective 'bout stuff layk that....ev'n iffin she seems all grumpy layk. But iffin ya wanna be sure, then we can go ahead an' meet up with her right quick while we're here behfor we head off costume huntin'!"


She approached the side of the bed to assist Telira up just as Brix was getting another spiteful shock from "Claire" the ultrasound machine. Jayda still chuckled through Brix's profanity since it was the sort she had to listen to while growing up with the Balamb loud mouth through their childhood. "Shade's office is just up a few floors iffin ya wanna meet her.... or we can jus' give her a call. Up tew you, Telira!"


While smacking the hell out of "Claire", Brix added her assistance again. "I'll get started on having you a place to stay here if ever you need it. Can't be predicting anything when it comes to twins, girl. But I'll be sure to have accommodations made for your little midget friend too.... just let me know what kind of beverage he likes to get drunk on! "

Telira thought about the matter for a moment and then chuckled softly to herself. "Well, if both of you believe that there won't be any argument from her about overseeing matters on the World of One, then I'll take your word for it." She smiled at them. "I'm afraid I'm not used to simply presuming that people will help me, so I am very grateful for all that you are doing."

She looked around and took a deep breath. "Soren likes several different brews... though I believe his favorites run to ales for simple drinking and anything strong if he's specifically trying to test his endurance..." She frowned slightly. "I believe that dwarves view drinking as an acceptable form of competition on par with dueling for the settling of disputes..." She sighed and shook her head slightly, "But I have been known to mis-interpret things. He carried my helmsman back to the airship one night after they'd been arguing all day with the simple explanation of..." She frowned slightly remembering the odd turn of phrase, "I believe it was, 'we fought, we drank, he made his ancestors proud'. Or something to that effect."

Telira stood, with Jayda's assistance and nodded to her. "Let's get the clothes together for the Moombas before the Commodore finds some excuse to commandeer a vessel and come looking for us." She chuckled softly. "He's done it before, though he had our help. It's amazing how many people will bow before authority as long as those around them ACT like it's authority."

Brix nodded to Telira's suggestions about her friend's drinking preference, then busted out in her usual obnoxious cackling. "So basically.... this Soren is like any other typical male species who finds that drinking proves his manliness no matter what his size! Gotcha! I'll make sure his mini fridge is stocked with whatever Balamb city has to offer!" With that, Brix headed off to her next patient, leaving Jayda and Telira to get started on their little clothing venture.


As the two of them were walking through the facility again, Jayda took the time to point out more of the Garden's features to her friend now that there was no longer the distraction of worry and concern over Telira's unborn children. Jayda even chose to side track a bit and show Telira the Garden's grand elaborate ball room that was now empty since the graduation ceremony was still a couple months away, yet the room alone with it's dome glass ceiling was a still a spectacle to marvel.


Once out within the center hub of the facility again, it was during a brief recess in between classes for the first years so they could take time to have lunch. Seven year olds were rushing around as the Cafeteria section was buzzing with youthful conversations as some were dodging around Jayda and Telira while running to get in line for their meal. Jayda giggled at them all and smiled brightly at her pregnant friend. "Hope yer ready fer double the energy!"


Just as they headed through the isle that brought them to the grand foyer entrance of the Garden, Jayda blinked in surprise when seeing Shade standing by a few benches while absorbed in whatever she reading within the file in her hand. "Shadey!? Wow! Yer outta the office rather early!" The gunner added a playful wink and a smile to her serious looking friend before making proper introductions between Telira and Shade. In turn, Shade gave a curt nod to Telira and got right down to business. "Got the call from Brix in regards to the situation. Consider Cornelia under Garden protection to put your mind at ease during a time you need to concentrate on your own well being. Feel free to stay as long as you wish or need to. Any accommodations you require will be at your service." She closed the file in her hand and gave a brief excuse of dismissal before heading back into the Garden


Watching Shade with her head tilted more in amusement than anything, Jayda gave Telira a chuckle. "Consider yerself lucky, darlin'! That's bout more than Shade ev'r says tah sumone in a week's taym!"

The ballroom struck her speechless. She'd seen great sights, seen ruins of ancient monuments and seen wonders left from the days of the Lufeine... but still, this was amazing to her eyes. She could almost hear the sounds of music in the distance, even though their footsteps echoed strangely across the empty room. "So beautiful..."

They made their way, then, to the cafeteria, dodging children as they went. The active and obviously excited youngsters made Tel's heart skip slightly as she watched them running. What would her twins be like at that age? What would they look like? What would bring them joy? Would her children race like these did? Would they be quiet and studious?

They would be hers... but there was a whole side of them that she had no clue about. Who was the man who sired them? She knew that she'd see him in them in those qualities they had which did not come from her... of that she was certain, but she didn't know what to expect.

She looked at the pictures that Carla had provided and smiled. "I hope I can keep up with them. I hope they can forgive me for all the ways I'll fall short."

Telira didn't expect to see Shade personally in the hallway and was caught off-guard by the woman's no-nonsense and direct manner, one almost devoid of personal involvement. From Jayda's response, though, it seemed as though she were usually much worse... which made Tel more than a little curious.

She chuckled at Jayda's comment and sighed. "It's strange, but she reminds me of someone I once met, a long time ago... he was... he was lost and trying to find his way back to his friends, but I can't remember where he said he came from..." She shook her head. "It was a very long time ago and it was, quite simply, my first experience with offworlders and I think he wasn't prepared for the oddities of Pravoka." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "In any event, he had a very similar manner, all work and no play."

A strange image came to mind and she had to laugh. "I'm very glad that I met the Commodore, though. He certainly will not let me fall into that attitude. It's like it's his personal mission to make everyone around him laugh for joy."

Jayda tilted her head with curiosity at Telira's confession about someone reminding her of Shade, then chuckled as she led her friend outside of the facility. "The only one Ah knows of layk Shade wuld beh her bruther, Fury..." Then she leaned closer to her companion with a wink and a smile as she whispered. "But iffin ya ask meh, Fury's a bit more chipper than Shadey..."


Once outside, they found a facility car parked at the curb awaiting for them to use. Once inside and on their way, Jayda spoke up about Telira's parenting concerns. "Ya know, Telly, yew shuldn't be so hard on yerself already, darlin'. That's layk settin' yerself up tah fail before those lil' ones are ev'n born...." Jayda kept the conversation to a positive perspective seeing that Telira needed the self confidence, and when it came to needing encouragement, Jayda was an abundance. "What Ah learned from helpin' with Fury's girls was that ya gotta expect tah make mistakes, Telly. What makes a good parent is learnin' frum those mistakes sew not tah make 'em again. A bad parent jus' repeats the same mistakes ov'r an' ov'r without ah care in the world."


Once in the small town, she found a safe place to park and gave her new friend a beaming eager smile of excitement. "Awlrighty! First stop, the thrift shop! We send a lot o' the yunger students clothes here when they outgrow them... Them kids grow like weeds!" When entering the grand scale store, there were gobs and gobs of tables scattered all over the warehouse room with signs posted on them identifying the sizes of the clothes. All along the walls was the former attire strung up on hangers and accessories lined the floor in countless of boxes and storage bins. "Ah say we lewk fer the most outrageous stuff we can find.... Moombas liyke bright an' flashy stuff!"

Telira thought for a moment, the name was strangely familiar. "Was Fury the World Leader from Gran Pulse or Cocoon? The World of Thirteen? 'Cause that's not the man I'm thinking about. The man I remember was more interested in picking a fight with Gilgamesh and tinkering with his metal arm to tell me much about where he came from... other than freaking out because, apparently, crystals are dangerous where he came from." She shrugged. "I was about ready to spank both of them and put them in corners like the schoolboys they were acting like."

She listened to Jayda's advice and flushed red for a moment. "I admit that I am... more than a little nervous." She chuckled slightly. "Thank you for being so understanding and everything. It... it means a lot to me."

They arrived at the store and Telira thought her eyes would pop out of her head. "Oh my..." she looked around at the piles of clothes and blinked several times, then a slow grin crossed her face. "Yes, the more outrageous the better... Do you have any drama classes? Old costumes might be a place to start. The Commodore really likes bright buttons and gold braid on his jackets. It makes him look official, I think..." She started looking around for a good place to start. There was so much to go through that it had her mind spinning.

Jayda nodded eagerly in agreement to Telira's suggestion and quickly found an employee to direct them to where costumes may be stored. The elderly woman directed them to the staircase in the back of the warehouse where she stated costumes of all sorts were kept on the second floor.


Taking the stairs slowly so Telira could take her time in her "extra load" condition, Jayda opened the double doors for her friend to reveal the second floor just as spacious as the first, and what appeared to be the world's most grandest Halloween costume store! At first, Jayda gasped by the wondrous sight as her widened eyes drank in all the various colors and accessories before even identifying what was what from shirts, gowns, flashy pants, skirts, and countless other garments.


"Oooooooohhhhh mah,mah,mah,mah,mah...... Telirah?? Ah'mma thinkin' we're gonna need a whole darn tootin' week tah shuffle thru all these 'ere costumes!" She took her friend's hand with an excited giggle and led the way with a "WhooHoo!"

Telira was very slow as she mounted the stairs to the second floor as the old woman with the kind eyes directed. She saw the way the woman looked at her highly noticeable belly and then up to her face to smile gently. She blushed in embarrassment, but to her surprise the woman offered her own arm to lean on as they approached the stairs.

"Ma'am, I cannot..."

The woman shook her head with a look that said that she would not be dissuaded. "Had two boys when I was young, didn't get to see either bring home a lass to give me grandchildren. Allow an old woman her dreams, will you?"

Telira simply had to smile and allow the old woman to help her make it up the stairs.

It was, though, worth it when she looked at the mass of boxes and racks of the most colorful costumes that she had ever seen. She simply stood still for a moment, overwhelmed by the sheer massive scale of it, and then a slow grin crossed her face as she thought about the joy that awaited them in the Shumi Village.

She laughed. "I don't think the Commodore can wait a week for us to return... but this is truly an amazing place..."

She made her way over to the first rack, looking at the mass of taffeta petticoats in all colors, with layers to make a skirt poof out further and she giggled as she showed one to Jayda. "Two straps can make this a beautiful sundress, don't you think? if we find a little short coat to go with it? I wonder if they'll have the same view as most of the little girls I knew back in Pravoka, the louder the dress rustled the prettier it was...?"

She giggled and started for another rack, this one of gentlemen's coats from a more swashbuckling era. She laughed out loud looking at them. "And the Commodore would love these! The whole group could be decked out like little Pirates Gallant..."

Oh... she felt like a child again, looking through the clothes and imagining all the ways that they could be used to bring happiness and laughter to the Moombas.

Finding the collection of pixie wings, though, was too much. She had to bring all of them. Something told her that the Moombas would love to pretend that they had wings and could fly as easily as they leaped from place to place.

The only thing swimming in Jayda's mind was what the Moomba's would look like wearing the random garments she pulled out of the countless piles upon the various tables. Hearing Telira's absolute joy and delight encouraged her own with more laughter as she found dancer tutus in various colors. Moombas were enthusiastic curious creatures who would no doubt find other means of wearing the flashy poofy skirts other than around their waists.


The thought of the feline creatures trying to wear such garments on their heads instead reminded Jayda just how much they liked hats, having her own taken so many times while in the Shumi village by the Moombas always passing it around to try it on for fun. "HATS!! We can't beh fergettin' hats an' belts an' scarves, Telira!" Jayda was in a fast trot passing her giggling companion from behind to dive into countless bins in search for the named items. Within moments, Jayda found her arms overstuffed with garments and costumes already that she realized she needed something to carry her purchases in. "A CART!! Ah need meh ah cart er ah buggee!!"


Once again, Jayda was in a trot run passing Telira once more to retrieve a buggy on wheels and dump all the clothing within when her hazel eyes shot wide open with yet another idea. "SHOES!! We can't beh fergettin' shoes, an' bewts, an, sandals!!" And just as before, Jayda zipped past Telira like a mini whirlwind to eagerly dive through the endless racks of costume shoes to her heart's content. As for how they were going to transport all the garments to the Shumi Village, Jayda hadn't reached that point of the plan just yet.....

Telira wasn't quite certain where Jayda was finding all this boundless energy as she watched the woman running through the place back and forth and yelling out loudly as she thought of new things to get. Simply walking up the steps had Tel huffing and puffing, but part of that was probably the extra weight she was carrying.

She put one hand over her belly as she laughed, watching Jayda's mad scramble for boots and shoes.

"Jayda, will the boots and such even fit the Moombas? I've never even considered them for the Commodore, mostly because of the shape of his feet." Then she paused and asked the one question neither of them had considered yet. "And... how are we going to get all this stuff to them? We'll probably need to get some help packing everything to an airship."

Her eyes fell on something and widened at the new thought. "JAYDA!!! WIGS!!! HAIR DYE!!! Oh my word, can you imagine them playing with fur colors?" She laughed out loud at the thought of a pink Moomba with racing stripes.

Jayda giggled at Telira's first question as she grabbed a pair of what appeared to be jester's shoes, all sparkly coated over the bright green and purple fabric with the toes curled up and a jingle ball attached to each tip. She shook them playfully in front of her friend and laughed. "Sum o' them we'll just have tah cut the tops o' the shoes off! Moomba's won't mynd at all, Telly!"


She zipped away to another pile of garments to rummage through while chattering away in all her enthusiasm. "Oh don' yew worry yer perdy lil head 'bout how we're gonna geyt this stuff there, darlin'.... " Just then, Jayda paused in her fun filled search to whip out her cell phone and make a quick call. After stating the address they were located at, she giggled as she closed her phone until her attention snapped back at Telira when she screamed Jayda's name. Her hand slapped over her her chest as Jayda ran as fast as a lightning bolt until Telira held up the prize of her discovery and shouted her excitement over wigs.


For a brief moment, Jayda gave her pregnant friend quite a playful glare as she waggled a warning finger at her. "Woman!! Yew can NAWT beh yellin' fer meh layk that! Hyne's teeth! Ah thought yew were goin' in LABOR!" Still, Jayda found humor in the moment and still went back to giggling as she nodded eagerly in agreement by Telira's idea of the wigs. "They'll absolutely LUV them!"


Moments later, the sound of roaring engines could be heard from overhead before several SeeD cadets ventured into the clothing warehouse ready to assist the women in carrying their mountains of purchases whenever they were ready to leave.

Telira couldn't help it. The exasperated tone in Jayda's voice, the sudden panic and her expression when she realized that it wasn't an emergency… it set Tel to giggling and she simply couldn't stop once she started. The more she giggled, though, the more movement she felt from inside her body seemingly as if her children shared the humor and were laughing with her.

It took a while for her to calm down again because the last thing she wanted was for the two to decide that Jayda had a good idea and they wanted out right then. She was quite happy having her babies still inside her for the moment.

She nodded to the cadets as they entered, smiling at them as she started overseeing the gathering up of all their accumulated discoveries. It made quite an imposing sight gathered together, but she knew that the Moombas were going to be absolutely delighted.

She looked around again, trying to decide if they'd found enough or if there was something else she hadn't considered yet. "Jayda? Have you found anything else or are we ready to see to our purchases and then the grand delivery at the Shumi Village?"

Jayda gave organized directions to the cadets that lined in the goodwill store in an orderly fashion, as most of them wore perplexed expressions over their faces. And although some were silently disappointed that this wasn't the "mission" they had in mind, they still found their smiles when seeing it was Miss Kinneas they were lending a hand to. Piles and piles of colorful garments of every playful fabric and material were hauled out of the store as Jayda busied herself packing up the random shoes and boots in various shopping bags.


She paused for a moment to ponder over Telira's question, then began shaking her head with a laugh when seeing some of the cadets stumble around while trying to make their way out of the store with an over abundance of clothes and costumes piled within their arms and barely able to see where they were going. "Ah dare say, Telira.... iffin we geyt even jus' one more garment, these SeeD cadets may run off AWOL!" Just as she was stuffing a pair of bright green sequence boots into another bag, Jayda's head shot up and her hazel eyes went wide as if in a state of panic.


She rushed up to her friend and eagerly took her by the wrist to lead her off into another small room located at the farthest corner of the floor. Once she opened the door, the most elaborate and cheesy play jewelry glimmered across every wall from the sunlight streaming through the windows and reflecting off the fake, yet gorgeous gems. "Ev'n Moombas gotta accessorize!!"

"Jewelry!!" Tel gasped in surprise and put one hand dramatically over her forehead. "Oh Crystals, how could we forget the accessories?!"

Then she giggled and immediately started sorting through the collection for the most gaudy, glittery, shiny things that she could find. There were ropes of metal chains and "jewels" of all shapes and colors and she'd picked out a fair pirate's treasure of them by the time she figured she'd looked at everything.

She was still giggling as she settled them into a box for the cadets to carry out.

"Alright then, onwards to the Shumi Village for the Dress Up Party of the Century to commence!!" That set her into a fit of giggling that had her holding her belly from the way her twins rolled around like they were laughing too.

If the Ragnarok could speak..... It would simply growl and grumble for being demoted from a intimidating fighting airship to a simple clothing line transport ship. As humorous as it was, there was garments and various accessories from shoes, to wigs, to just about anything gaudy or flashy filling the bulk of the ship to the point the SeeD cadets could barely walk through the bulkhead at all without tripping or falling over.


While piloting the gleaming red ship through the sky with a cheerful hum, Jayda made for Shumi village at record speed. The landing was surprisingly smooth with as fast as she set the ship down, but having flying lessons from her mother since the age of 3 gave the Kinneas girl added experience on handling the remarkable aircraft.


Jayda went on ahead to forwarn the Shumis that they had quite a load being brought in by the SeeD, as Telira kept the delivery process organized and over seeing everything delivered smoothly so nothing was left behind in the ship. About an hour later, there was a single small mountain of costumes, shoes, wigs, purses, etc, etc planted in the center of the village with countless Moombas peeking around the village huts and trees with noses sniffing madly in the air with curious sounds from their throats.

Now it was time to sit back and watch the fun....

Telira giggled to herself as the incredible collection of clothing and whatnot was carried in to where the Moombas watched them with wide, curious eyes and sniffing noses. The Commodore was the first one to race towards them, landing with a happy squeak and wrapping his arms around Telira's belly, giving a rumbling purr that set her children to moving in response.

She had to smile at him. "We're alright, Commodore, all three of us." She sighed and petted his head. "I wish you could have told me before that there were two little ones in there instead of just one."

He gave a growl that sounded curiously like a laugh and then scampered over to the huge pile of costumes. There were squeaks from several other Moombas, like they were asking what was going on, and the Commodore whuffed low and pulled off his coat, handing it to Telira to hold so that it didn't get lost, and then he dove into the pile of boxes and emerged wearing a green-blue tunic with a belt and a large wig of spiky blue hair.

He posed for the rest of his kin, who started squeaking and making other exited noises as they suddenly understood what the game was that they were being offered. That was when the free-for-all started...

... and oh, what hilarious chaos it was!

Thankfully Commodore was there to help give his fellow Moomba's the extra nudge of curiosity about the mountain of treasure mysteriously brought to the village. Jayda erupted into laughter when he popped out of the enormous pile of clothes, now striking a pose with his new attire and spiky blue wig. "Well it's obvee-us that Com'dore has had plenty o' practice at this!"


The Moombas had been watching him closely, and upon seeing him display his new duds, every furry ear perked straight up and every paw was running towards the countless costumes, where the only thing left to be seen was numerous balls of orange fur burrowing through the clothes and accessories. Some sank so deep in their eager search that only their happy swinging tails were visible.


Within moments, several Moombas were already styling their new looks. One was desperately trying to dance about in shimmery gold parachute pants with his feet slapped into a pair of costume frog feet, but found the only way to do his happy little Moomba shuffle without toppling over was to keep all four paws safely on the ground. Seeing his balancing problem, another Moomba wearing the pink tutu with a silver sequenced tank top reached over to his companion and gave a sudden rip with his claws to the back of the parachute pants for his friend's tail to wiggle free.


By this point, Jayda was howling with laughter with tears about to stream down her cheeks. Had she known the day was going to turn out this way, she would have begged Fury to have his girls join along in the fun. So the least she could do was take countless pictures with her phone and send them to his while laughing more so by imagining what his normally hard core expression would look like when first seeing such pictures pop up on his screen. "He's gonna think Ah'm out boozin'!"


Suddenly, another squee of excitement could be heard as yet another Moomba launched himself out of the costume mountain wearing neon green leotards, a florescent orange skirt with at least five obnoxious looking belts around his little waist, and a purple vest made of very fluffy feathers, topped off with enormous white cowboy boots littered with red ruby rhinestones. It was an endless display of wild romping fur and excited Moomba chatter that even had the all Shumis putting their work aside to simply enjoy watching the fun.

Telira had never laughed so hard in her life as she watched the Moombas going nuts in the huge pile of costumes. It was so obvious that they were having fun that it was impossible not to laugh at the capering and the dancing and ohhhhh the flying feathers!

One of the Moombas discovered the feathered wings and it took a bit of work with helpful hands to get them on but then the grateful Moomba chittered happily and practically raced to the top of a nearby lightpole and then leaped from it with all four limbs stuck straight out and the biggest grin on the feline face as, for a moment, flight seemed possible.

The Commodore was completely in his element in the middle of the madness. The sound of the laughter was the greatest gift he could get and he went for more and more extravagant outfits just to hear more of it.

When he realized that Jayda was taking pictures, he squeaked with joy and made sure to pose for her camera at each costume change.

Telira was practically blinded by tears, holding her sides and rocking back and forth as she laughed helplessly at the cavorting Moombas. Each time she wiped her eyes to try to see clearly again, another impossibly hilarious outfit emerged from the pile and the tears started up again as she lost control again.

This was, quite possibly, the most fun she'd had in... well, a very long time, and she was incredibly grateful to Jayda for making it possible.

Commodore was pretty much leader of the pack, since whatever he did, the other Moombas were trying to mimic. Now all of them were striking poses as he did, wearing outlandish garments that in no way matched or went together. But that was the beauty of it.... seeing just how comical the combinations could be that the Moombas could come up with.


After countless text pictures, Jayda surprisingly got a reply as she was just about to send another picture of a Moomba dressed in a red sequence skirt, no shirt, but gobs and gobs of necklaces adorned around its neck. Thinking the text reply was probably from one of Fury's girls, Jayda's eyes went as wide as saucers with shock when reading the all caps reply from Fury.....STOP SENDING ME THESE PICTURES, WOMAN!!... I'M OUT OF EYEBLEACH!! YOU WIN! THE GIRLS WERE TELEPORTED TO THE RAGNOROK!! *goes to gag and die now with gun to head* BANG!!


Whether he was really angry or not, Jayda simply found humor in the text and giggled just when she heard two familiar voices shouting out her name. When Jayda turned, her face lit up more seeing Alivia and Serenity come running into the village with excited expression. Jayda glanced at Telira before the girls reached them and smiled. "Careful thar, darlin'! Ya laugh any harder, and them thar babies are gonna pop out!"


Once the girls reached them, they were chattering eagerly about their father making weird grumbling and choking noises before rushing them off to the teleporter. Jayda kept her lips sealed and nodded the whole time, even when Seranity tattled with her report that she could sworn her father uttered a cuss word. But the very moment their eyes discovered the Moombas and what all they were into, their shrieks of glee echoed throughout the village as they ran to join the fun. Looking back to Telira again, Jayda gave her friend one of those sarcastic pondering looks with her finger tapping against her chin. "Hmmmm.... maybeh Ah shulda taken their cell phones frum them first...." She glanced at the sky before shaking her head and giggling again. "Naaaahhhhhhhhhhh...."

Telira couldn't stop giggling, even as she watched the two little girls enthusiastically running into the chaotic mess.

She'd always loved children of all ages, but these two looked especially adorable. Particularly as she overheard the conversation about what their father had been doing.

The Commodore saw the girls about the same time they spotted the Moombas and he squeaked with joy as he capered forward, a pair of "fairy wings" in each paw. He chattered as he offered them to the little girls, plainly inviting them to join the dress-up session that was in full swing.

Telira held her stomach as she laughed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't stop laughing, Jayda, this is too funny!"

She rocked back and forth slightly as she tried to calm herself unsuccessfully. "Great Crystals, I've never laughed this much in my life!"

Jayda was lost in another fit of giggles until Serenity held up a sparkly sequence costume bra like lady performers wore in a circus. "This is pretty, Miss Jayda! Can I wear it?"

The young gunner woman now looked as if she had seen a ghost and was about to throw up all at the same time until finally, she snapped back to her senses and ran for the mountain of costumes Serenity was half buried into. After talking the youngest out of the two from wearing such a request that would certainly seal Jayda's doom with their father, Serenity went back to searching for a new garment while Jayda stashed the bra in a random bush nearby.

When she turned back around, Alivia had just popped her head out of the massive mound with a neon pink wig that looked as if it were stuck by lightning and far too big for her head that it actually flopped down over her eyes. Unable to see or move very well, a small pack of Moombas began throwing anything on the child their paws could reach. Within minutes, Alivia was transformed into a gothclown crossover creation with striped tights of florescent orange and purple, black cowboy boots, a bright red frilly skirt, a blank tank top with rhinestones that spelled "Punk", the same wacky, curly pink clown wig, and enormous green sunglasses the shape of stars ten times too big for her face.


Jayda could only stare in shock with her jaw nearly nearly touching the ground before slowly turning her head back to Telira. "See wut happ'ns when yew gawts TWO o' them???"