Kevin/Sharon: The Cat Came Back
Jan. 21st, 2024 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_changeling posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsSharon takes a second shot at Kevin.
Back straight and tail relaxed, Sharon stood for inspection. She felt confident. Her mascara was unclumped, the red lip perfectly lined, and the right combination of foundation and a subtle touch of blush lent a convincing illusion of health to her waxy skin. Her eyebrows were plucked, filled, and set. The half-braids she'd worked into her hair served the dual purpose of providing some semblance of style while also keeping the unruly mass out of her face and unable to spoil her work. For her attire Sharon had selected the textured black and peach jumpsuit approved by Felicia and purchased by Alani. It seemed appropriate.
"I was not helped," the girl said with obvious pride. "My training has been rigorous. Assistance to select appropriate pigments was required to compensate for dichromatism, but recommendations such as may be received from sales assistant is assumed to be a reasonable accommodation. All else is my own work."
"Indeed." When it came to her training in this area, she was now met with Nora each time. The redheaded woman tilted her head right and left, walking slowly around Sharon in a slow circle. Every so often she'd lean in, taking a closer look of something, her face revealing nothing as she studied Sharon.
"So, the important question is..." She tapped her bottom lip for a moment. "Is this you? Is this Sharon, or is this someone else? And if this is someone else, who is she supposed to be?"
"Who else am I meant to be?" Sharon asked, annoyed by the absence of immediate praise. "Point of this exercise was to prove I may enhance that which exists, correct? Therefore I am myself, but presented to the world in a manner of my own choosing."
"Good. So who are you presenting? If I don't know you... if I walk into the room and see you for the first time, what am I supposed to see and think?" Nora said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Sharon's face remained blank, but her tail twitched. Suddenly she felt as if she'd spent all night studying for the wrong subject.
"I am . . ." Clearly this answer was meant to provoke a more abstract reply than 'Sharon Smith.' Summoning what Felicia had tried to explain to her of fashion and appearance as they practiced, the girl drew up her full six foot frame with a hint of defiance.
"I am sophisticated. One with a care for appearance, but secure enough that flash is not required. Obvious artificiality, such as a red lip, draws attention from more subtle enhancements. Natural beauty shall be overestimated. Products are of good quality. They do not flake or smear with time. From this it may be concluded I am an individual with a certain amount of disposable income. From my manner of dress confidence will be assumed also. Height is accentuated by cut of jumpsuit and boldness of pattern. One who will not make herself small to coddle the egos of others." Sharon hesitated, trying to read Nora's face with an eye that was poor at determining even normal human expression, let alone one with decades to perfect inscrutability. She added, with a hint of uncertainty, "This is what was meant?"
"I never told you who you needed to present. Just that you needed to present someone." Nora said, her gaze penetrating and uncomfortably thorough. "You're missing the right accessories for the woman you're presenting. A thin gold chain, perhaps with a cross or medallion of some type. Diamond earrings, but small ones, like a birthday or graduation present. Maybe a ring, depending on who you're meeting." She tapped her lower lip again. "Better. Much better. You listen to Felicia."
"These things I have never owned. Collar of perpetual modesty is my only accessory. Piercings would not hold, I think. I am too often cat. But others, I should invest?" Her tone remained neutral, but her tail curled around one leg in a combination of pleasure and relief. Extracting a 'much better' from someone like Kevin Sydney was like extracting a tusk from the bull elephant currently trampling you. Succeeding while escaping some kind of bodily injury was equally difficult.
Sharon didn't bother to add that of course she listened to Felicia. She nearly asked Nora if she knew about Felicia's claws, but decided against it. If she didn't already know Sharon wasn't going to tell her. It would be their secret.
"That depends. Who do you see needing to show this Sharon to in the future?" Nora said, one perfect red eyebrow arched.
Sharon blinked, caught off guard once again.
"You?" she tried.
"Why?"
"Because . . ." Felicia's counsel couldn't help her here. Clawed fingers worried together as Sharon thought over her response.
"Because is part of shapeshifting," she said, "to be able to change without changing. To demonstrate global understanding of the concept rather than simple mimicry. And because these things I shall need if I am to interact with human society."
"That's a start. But that isn't all the truth." Nora said. "You're not a child and you're not just a cat. This is a realization of that. But it should also be a realization that there is a next step. A next... stage in your evolution."
The girl gave him a blank look.
"Is like . . . next, that I must learn to suitably pass at black-tie events?"
"One day. For now, you passed." Nora said with a sharp nod. "You've earned the next stage of training... if you want it."
"Yes," Sharon said eagerly. "What is next?" She was choosing not to acknowledge how good it felt to finally wring a drop of approval from Kevin. It was a minor concern. She could stop any time she wanted.
"I'll let you know. You did well. You should celebrate." Nora said, dismissing her. "I'll be in touch about what else you can learn."
Sharon let herself out of the study, basking in the warm glow of satisfaction only a former gifted child could feel when placed in a situation that hit the same emotional chords as being awarded an A for a school project. Of course, now she had a new problem.
She was going to have to ask Felicia to teach her about jewelry, too.
Back straight and tail relaxed, Sharon stood for inspection. She felt confident. Her mascara was unclumped, the red lip perfectly lined, and the right combination of foundation and a subtle touch of blush lent a convincing illusion of health to her waxy skin. Her eyebrows were plucked, filled, and set. The half-braids she'd worked into her hair served the dual purpose of providing some semblance of style while also keeping the unruly mass out of her face and unable to spoil her work. For her attire Sharon had selected the textured black and peach jumpsuit approved by Felicia and purchased by Alani. It seemed appropriate.
"I was not helped," the girl said with obvious pride. "My training has been rigorous. Assistance to select appropriate pigments was required to compensate for dichromatism, but recommendations such as may be received from sales assistant is assumed to be a reasonable accommodation. All else is my own work."
"Indeed." When it came to her training in this area, she was now met with Nora each time. The redheaded woman tilted her head right and left, walking slowly around Sharon in a slow circle. Every so often she'd lean in, taking a closer look of something, her face revealing nothing as she studied Sharon.
"So, the important question is..." She tapped her bottom lip for a moment. "Is this you? Is this Sharon, or is this someone else? And if this is someone else, who is she supposed to be?"
"Who else am I meant to be?" Sharon asked, annoyed by the absence of immediate praise. "Point of this exercise was to prove I may enhance that which exists, correct? Therefore I am myself, but presented to the world in a manner of my own choosing."
"Good. So who are you presenting? If I don't know you... if I walk into the room and see you for the first time, what am I supposed to see and think?" Nora said, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Sharon's face remained blank, but her tail twitched. Suddenly she felt as if she'd spent all night studying for the wrong subject.
"I am . . ." Clearly this answer was meant to provoke a more abstract reply than 'Sharon Smith.' Summoning what Felicia had tried to explain to her of fashion and appearance as they practiced, the girl drew up her full six foot frame with a hint of defiance.
"I am sophisticated. One with a care for appearance, but secure enough that flash is not required. Obvious artificiality, such as a red lip, draws attention from more subtle enhancements. Natural beauty shall be overestimated. Products are of good quality. They do not flake or smear with time. From this it may be concluded I am an individual with a certain amount of disposable income. From my manner of dress confidence will be assumed also. Height is accentuated by cut of jumpsuit and boldness of pattern. One who will not make herself small to coddle the egos of others." Sharon hesitated, trying to read Nora's face with an eye that was poor at determining even normal human expression, let alone one with decades to perfect inscrutability. She added, with a hint of uncertainty, "This is what was meant?"
"I never told you who you needed to present. Just that you needed to present someone." Nora said, her gaze penetrating and uncomfortably thorough. "You're missing the right accessories for the woman you're presenting. A thin gold chain, perhaps with a cross or medallion of some type. Diamond earrings, but small ones, like a birthday or graduation present. Maybe a ring, depending on who you're meeting." She tapped her lower lip again. "Better. Much better. You listen to Felicia."
"These things I have never owned. Collar of perpetual modesty is my only accessory. Piercings would not hold, I think. I am too often cat. But others, I should invest?" Her tone remained neutral, but her tail curled around one leg in a combination of pleasure and relief. Extracting a 'much better' from someone like Kevin Sydney was like extracting a tusk from the bull elephant currently trampling you. Succeeding while escaping some kind of bodily injury was equally difficult.
Sharon didn't bother to add that of course she listened to Felicia. She nearly asked Nora if she knew about Felicia's claws, but decided against it. If she didn't already know Sharon wasn't going to tell her. It would be their secret.
"That depends. Who do you see needing to show this Sharon to in the future?" Nora said, one perfect red eyebrow arched.
Sharon blinked, caught off guard once again.
"You?" she tried.
"Why?"
"Because . . ." Felicia's counsel couldn't help her here. Clawed fingers worried together as Sharon thought over her response.
"Because is part of shapeshifting," she said, "to be able to change without changing. To demonstrate global understanding of the concept rather than simple mimicry. And because these things I shall need if I am to interact with human society."
"That's a start. But that isn't all the truth." Nora said. "You're not a child and you're not just a cat. This is a realization of that. But it should also be a realization that there is a next step. A next... stage in your evolution."
The girl gave him a blank look.
"Is like . . . next, that I must learn to suitably pass at black-tie events?"
"One day. For now, you passed." Nora said with a sharp nod. "You've earned the next stage of training... if you want it."
"Yes," Sharon said eagerly. "What is next?" She was choosing not to acknowledge how good it felt to finally wring a drop of approval from Kevin. It was a minor concern. She could stop any time she wanted.
"I'll let you know. You did well. You should celebrate." Nora said, dismissing her. "I'll be in touch about what else you can learn."
Sharon let herself out of the study, basking in the warm glow of satisfaction only a former gifted child could feel when placed in a situation that hit the same emotional chords as being awarded an A for a school project. Of course, now she had a new problem.
She was going to have to ask Felicia to teach her about jewelry, too.
