honest feelings - clip from Dorothy Wright's video diary

There was a certain time early, early every morning (except for Saturdays) when all of the other Rabbits were tucked tightly in their beds, and everything in the building was dyed a gentle blue-gray. This morning in particular had a certain cool crispness that lent a sort of surreal quality to the common room, and though I typically cherished the peace and quiet of the mornings, it ate at me as I sat with my morning tea.

Things had finally settled down again, recently. Rather, I ought to say I had come to terms with a few things as of late, and I’d fully integrated into the group again. Maybe as their den mother more than their comrade, but I liked to think that was for the best. Even I’d admit that some of them needed reining in at times.

I caught a flicker in the corner of my…vision, I supposed. I wasn’t entirely sure how to think of it. It was more of a sense than anything, a ‘feeling’ of proud, pale aquamarine, sparkling at eight o’ clock. She moved ever so slightly – peeking out at me almost like a cat, apparently fascinated with my small morning ritual.

…Well, I was in no hurry. If she needed something, I would be here until she was ready. I took a sip of hot, refreshing tea and left my thoughts to churn while I focused on her movements, and after a few long minutes of apparent deliberation, she slipped out from the doorway, making scarcely a noise on the padded carpet.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I had a feeling it would send her scuttling off like a mouse, the way she was acting. It was odd behavior for her already.

“…Wright,” she began, crisply and quietly, in the vague trappings of her gentle patois. She cleared her throat. “A moment of your time, if you please, and your thoughts on a vexation of mine.” Viola was never one for speaking bluntly, and we’d all wondered from time to time if this was typical over in the European Officios. This sort of morning meeting was why I keep two cups out, regardless, and I poured some tea for her as she took a seat across from me.

“Has Wendy been teasing you again?” I asked after a few moments of silence passed. Viola’s attitude could be…difficult for most people to deal with, and she’d poisoned more than a few wells for herself after she’d transferred to the Eighth. She and Wendy ended up on assignments together reasonably often, though, and I liked to think they’d become good friends, despite their mutual grumbling.

“Cooldown? As though that would bother me. I haven’t an ear for fools.” She stared hard into her tea, and I offered a smile, reaching over the table to pat her shoulder. “This is…about our Eastern guests, from a few weeks ago. The Japanese.”

I nodded and urged her to continue.

“…Among them walked a goddess, Dorothy.” Viola nearly swallowed the last few words, her teeth digging into her lower lip. The faintest hints of a blush began on her face, and my own smile grew (with some small effort). “In manner and spirit, in grace and in battle. A beacon of shining gold amongst the dark-haired rabble.”

Well, at least she wasn’t referring to them as Orientals. Anymore. I nodded again and took a long, pointed sip of my tea, to allow her a moment to think about what she needed to say.

“…I can’t stop thinking about her. Dreams, wicked and vibrant dreams, haunt me. …I…am not entirely sure how to cope with this. You’ve sense, and experience in matters of the…the heart.” She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “I need to see her. I want to see her smile again. I want to keep it for my own.”

“Don’t cut off her head, Viola,” I scolded as gently as I could. “That’s hardly the way to begin a romance.”

“…I wasn’t going to,” she lied. “I hadn’t even thought about it.”

---

I couldn’t say I knew Miss Tomoe very well – we’d only met very briefly, just once or twice. She was awfully kind to all of us, despite the Corps’s infamy among certain other Officios, though she also held onto a cool, professional air that I’d rarely seen in…well, in the United States as a whole, in fact. Aside from a few glimpses into diplomatic Callidus missions, and Warmaster Marigold’s picnics with dignitaries.

What I did know, however, was the simple, inescapable fact that clothes made a woman, and Viola’s were…at best, uninspiring (aside from half a wardrobe of implausibly lacy garments that I was sure the Prima was behind). A couple of old uniforms from her time at the Second, a smattering of blouses and skirts, and…granny panties.

…Well, supposedly those had come back into style lately, but the rest needed a severe tuneup. And that was why we were hitting our third high-end boutique for the day. I had insisted as politely as I could that I size and evaluate Viola myself, and while I don’t enjoy throwing my weight around, it was rare for anybody in Santa Destroy to argue after one flashed one’s Eighth Officio ID card.

“Is…is this truly what Miss Tomoe would want from me?” For the eleventh time in the past two hours, Viola nibbled her lip and fixed her eyes on me.

“Do try and have a little faith, Viola. I plan to do everything I can to make this work for you, but you need to trust me.” I tried to reassure her with a gentle squeeze on the arm, but for one reason or another, it seemed to make her all the more uncomfortable. Maybe it was a bit too hard…

“Would she not see through such shallow drapery?” She definitely needed something cool and professional…blue hair was so hard to do anything cute with...Well, that and her smiles tended to be ominous on the best of days…trying to work against her nature would just come off as dissonant… “…Wright?”

“Mm?” I paused for a fraction of a second to review what she’d asked. “There’s nothing to see through.” Not entirely true, but I had a feeling she would be…a bit upset, if I pointed out that howling about blood for the Blessed Lady tended not to make the best impression.

“And it isn’t shallow,” I added after a moment of thought. “You’re dressing to highlight your best features. The best features of your personality, I mean.” I shot Viola a sideways glance just in time to see her mouth snap shut.

“…Quite.”

---

“I’m just saying, you’re prrrobably better off putting a Chihuahua in a little Santa outfit.”

I really hated to admit it, but even after carefully styling Viola’s hair, carefully applying makeup, and fitting her with the most stunning semi-formalwear in Santa Destroy…well, Amber wasn’t the only one to whom a scared little dog in a costume came to mind.

Well, it was more correct to say that the outfit looked great – a nice, dark suit jacket with a silk blouse and sensible tie, along with a stylish, just-short-of-risque` skirt with black pantyhose and riding boots, a compromise between functional combat boots and fashionable heels (I still wasn’t happy about that, but it worked well enough) – but Viola didn’t wear it as well as I’d hoped. The style was right, it was almost there, but…

“…This whole affair bears the acrid stench of failure.” Viola gripped her arm tightly, looking all the world like a wounded animal. My heart ached as I stood, trying to puzzle out the best way to proceed.

“I think that’s cherry blossoms, actually? They all kind of smell the same to me, I’m not really, y’know, a perfume person. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t just dab blood behind your ears or something and call it a day.” Amber tilted her head, peering through a little box she made with her fingers.

“Wright wouldn’t allow it,” Viola huffed in response, seemingly relaxing just a bit. She and Amber began to chatter about the events of the day, and while I kept an ear open, I instead focused on the problem at hand.

A million pinpricks lit up the inside of my mind as a world of information opened before me. It occurred to me in passing that I ought to have simply done this before, as I recalled V’s measurements and what I had of her stance and movement patterns, but I didn’t regret it. The old ways felt better, at least for a baseline.

…Well, I would like to say it was arduous, but it only took a few seconds to work out what I thought would be a good solution. I was wrong the first time, though, so I double and triple-checked, adjusting over a few minutes as Viola eased up. Amber always knew when to start needling people; she was already pushing V back into a more natural state of mind.

Once I finished, I slipped in closer to make some adjustments, and…

“…you just pin her down and lick it, she won’t even…” I caught Amber in the middle of giving Viola some terrible, offensive advice, though she quieted down into a little giggle as I stared her down. “Sorry, were you ready?”

“…Yes. I need you to fetch something for me-“

“You’re not just going to put her in a sweater, are you?” Amber peered up at me. …It wasn’t like I had a fixation on sweaters…

“No sweaters. I promise.” Well, I did think about it for a moment.

What I needed was fairly simple: one thing I was sure Annie would part with, and if not, something we could pull together easily from my things if we had to.

After she hopped off, I got to work. With a spark of magic, a needle-thin pink field appeared around my finger, and I leaned in to work. Ditch the tie...slice away the top two buttons…Viola shifted as she stood, though her breathing steadied while I worked near her chest. …It was nice to know she trusted me.

Amber was back with the last piece to the outfit (I hoped) faster than I expected, and I kept her waiting for another few minutes while I fussed with Viola’s blouse and her collar. I’d definitely need to adjust the fit on these later, or go full haute couture-

“Come onnn I didn’t go snooping around Annie’s Nobody Loves Me collection so I could watch you play with V’s boobs.” Viola stiffened up, and I pulled away with a small sigh before taking the crowning piece of sorts for the outfit – a heavy black choker with the Blessed Lady’s golden symbol lovingly hung from it.

It seemed…warm in my hands, like I could feel the Lady’s smile deep in my heart just by touching it, and I paused to study it. …It shone brightly – no, nearly glowed, even in the ordinary lighting of Viola’s room. I gingerly fastened it around her neck, and immediately, she reached for it, fingers tracing over every millimeter.

…Yes. Yes, this would be perfect. Even she seemed to like it.

---

A few weeks later, Amber and I waved to Viola and the others as their plane took off, now en route to Mitakihara City. It had become increasingly common to…we’ll just say ‘creatively discover’ reasons to travel to Japan recently, due in no small part to the Prima’s fascination with Shibuya and Wendy’s newfound personal life. To my understanding, though, it had done quite a lot to build the relationship between our Officios, and that was indisputably a good thing.

…Even so, it was a little sad to see everyone disappear into the sunrise whenever they’d leave. Moreso than usual, I felt a bit like a mother sending her little girl off to school. Well, her first date, hopefully. That was sort of the same thing.

…

“M’lady~ Your private jet’s gassed up and ready to go!” Amber snapped a crisp salute as I glanced toward her, just barely forcing the grin off of her face.

“Oh, how wonderful.” I couldn’t help but beam, myself. With a sensitive girl like Viola, it was natural to want to walk her to school for the first few days, so to speak. Even if Miss Tomoe didn’t return her honest, innocent feelings, we would make absolutely certain she would have every chance to.