Chapter 14 - Parental Problems

Bailey decided she’d had quite enough of being mouse-sized, and asked politely to be grown up.  Violet was happy to oblige, and soon Bailey’s head was back on a level with Violet’s.  She thanked Violet with a very snuggly kiss that ended up with Bailey’s tentacles twined in Violet’s, and her lower body wrapped around Violet’s legs.

When they finally came up for air there was cheering, mostly from Miji.  Violet touched a tentacle to the silver dragongirl around her neck.  “That didn’t bother you, kit-kat?”

“Nah.  It was sweet.  Don’t do that to my brother, though.  He might look like a girl, but I’d know.”

Violet giggled.  “We better get your box made up soon.  Hopefully your dad isn’t completely distracted by Mom this week.”

“Do you think that’s likely?” asked Miji.  “I haven’t seen him this happy in forever.”

“He answered my Mom’s cell phone.  Make of that what you will.”

Bailey laughed.  “Ruby and Scott, sitting in a tree...”

“They’re doing rather more than kissing.”

“Can we stop talking about them now, please?” pleaded Katie.  “Really don’t want to think about what Dad does behind closed doors.”

“Or in the kitchen,” teased Bailey.

“Do I have to point out what’s going to be happening in your kitchen when your Dad gets home?” whined Katie.

Bailey made a face, but that ended the discussion.  She opened up their virtual shop, and soon Bailey and Violet were busy making clothes for their classmates and others.  When the first rush was over, Miji offered herself up as a guinea pig for new experimental designs.

She was somewhat surprised that her clothes changed very little.  Until she got to the mirror and noticed the slitted eyes and cat-ears.  “I thought you weren’t allowed to do fur?”

“Isn’t any.  Feel your ears.”

Miji frowned as she rubbed one ear.  “They look like fur, but...”

“Experimental design.  I think it looks pretty good except up close.  What do you think?”

“I think an asian catgirl is way too cliche.”

Violet pouted as the other two agreed with Miji.  “But she’s so cute!”

They discussed the matter between customers.  Katie pointed out that whatever Violet came up with would likely start a trend.  Just having Miji around with her perky ears was drawing attention to the idea.  Several customers asked for cat-eyes, but didn’t want the ears or the slight muzzle.

When Amelia showed up, Violet asked the cheerleader what she thought of the catgirl design.  Amelia studied it and shook her head.  “Aren’t we allowed tails?  Can’t pull it off without a tail and at least something to suggest paws.  Claws, too.”  She held up a hand when Violet started to protest.  “No weapons, I know.  But you two had claws at the party.  They were safe, right?”

Violet nodded thoughtfully.  “Want a full catgirl makeover, with all that?”

Amelia shook her head.  “Nope.  I want to go back to the dragon stuff you did for Silvia, Darla and me earlier.  We kept the outfits.  Might get you to do a duration boost while we’re wearing them, at that.”

Violet agreed, and Amelia was surprised at how quickly she got her scaly body back.  Violet explained the use of the “history” command in the Venn Machines, and Amelia’s eyes lit up.  “I can change my friends back to dragons?”

“Yep,” said Violet with a sigh.  “Downside to designing bodies is that it’s easy to get to any recent ones.”

“Look at the upside.  You can charge way more for them if you tell people that.”

Violet grinned.  “Or I can keep coming up with new and popular forms, and...” her eyes widened.  “And have the whole school made over in an image of my choosing.”

“Now she gets it!” enthused Amelia.  “Going to go with dragons this week?”

“It’s mostly been fancy cat-eyes so far,” said Violet with a shrug.  “Maybe dragons will catch on.”

“I’ll do what I can,” said Amelia with a toothy grin.

Three customers later, Violet realized that Amelia was still hanging around.  “Is there something else you wanted?”

“Darla’s off sucking face with her boyfriend, and I can’t find Stella.  I was wondering if you might know...”

“Can I show her?” begged Katie.  “Please?”

Violet passed Katie over to Amelia, where she perched on a scaly shoulder.  Katie pointed the way, and the others followed.  Before long Amelia was standing in front of a display window advertising Violet Bailey Designs.  “I don’t get it.”

“She’s the mannequin!” squealed Katie.  “Standing there naked in the mall.”

Amelia laughed merrily.  “Oh!  Oh, I’m sure she’s loving it to bits.  When does she change back?”

“Tonight, I changed her for two days shortly after I gave you to Carson.  Was that all you wanted?”

Amelia blushed and nodded, then hugged Violet tight.  “Everything and more.  He enjoyed it too, but said he preferred me human, so he changed me back later that evening.”

“Aww, how sweet.”

Amelia’s smile grew wicked.  “I made him promise to treat me like that while human sometime.  Should have seen his face when I made it clear that I’d very much like that.  Poor boy.”

Violet snickered.  “I’m sure he’ll recover.  Did you get him to tell you his dark fantasies?”

The cheerleader shook her head.  “I...  Wow.  Do you think he has them?”

“Won’t know until you ask.  Offer to become whatever he wants.”

“And you’ll change me to it?” asked Amelia excitedly.

“To the best of my ability.”

Amelia cheered and clapped.  “Come on, let Stella out so I can tell her.”

“She said she wanted to gamble on changing back on her own,” mused Violet, teasingly jangling the display’s key in one tentacle.

“Are you actually going to make me beg?” asked Amelia.

Violet considered her for a moment.  “No.  Just say please.”

“Oh!  Of course.  Please let her out so I can have one of my besties back.”

Violet did so, and soon Stella and Amelia were chattering away between themselves.  Violet waved as they wandered off, and got two waves in return.

“You don’t even know what Carson wants,” said Bailey.  “What if it’s nasty?”

“Aw, c’mon.  Carson’s not like that.”

Bailey snickered.  “Suure he’s not.  Hey Miji.  What’s your dark fantasy?   You can have Violet here turn me into whatever you most want me to be.”

“She already has,” said Miji, hugging Baily’s monsterkitty form and sighing happily as she got wrapped up in tentacles.

“Good answer,” Bailey said with a smile.  Then she whispered something in Miji’s ear that made her blush.  “Ooooh!  Tell me.”

“I want to be the right size to dance with you like that first time.”

“Just dance?”

“Nope.”

Bailey had the Venn Machine open in a flash.  When the two of them emerged, Jimmy was male again, and stood no more than two feet tall.  Bailey scooped him up in her arms, and he squirmed his way into the top of her dress, a cream-coloured Violet creation that reached both sets of knees.  “Can I stay here while you work?”

Bailey grinned.  “Heck yeah.  Now we both have decorative sweeties.  I should get some chain so I can turn you into a necklace.  I wonder if the junk jewelry shop has anything.”

Jimmy proved too big and wriggly to stay in Bailey’s dress, and a little too unwieldy to perch on her shoulder.  He offered to get reduced even smaller, but wanted a dance with her first.

Bailey was only too happy to oblige, turning the mall’s insipid background music into a paw-stomping dance that kept Jimmy hopping.  Violet joined in, with Katie air-dancing, fluttering around them to the beat.  Several of their clients joined in as well, leading to a ten-minute impromptu dance party around the Venn Machines.

The dancing ended when Jimmy tumbled and fell, ending up under one of Bailey’s paws.  She kept her weight off it, and used it and her tentacles to scoop him up into a hug.  “You okay?”

Jimmy was wide eyed, but nodded.  “Saw my whole life flash before my eyes as that paw came down.  Thanks for not crushing me.”

“You’re Venned,” said Katie.  “You’d have been fixable.”

“Oh!” exclaimed Jimmy and Bailey together.  Then they exchanged a shy look, and a grin.  “Later.”

“Yeah,” agreed Violet.  “Let’s deal with the backlog.”

There were numerous requests for subtle body edits among the clothing changes.  Lots of cat-eyes in various colours.  Violet managed to upgrade a number of girls requesting clearer skin to some kind of feline colour-pattern, though most only asked for hidden or subtle spots, rather than for something to show off.  Katie talked two girls her age into getting tails, but one came back later to get it removed, claiming it was a pain to sit on.

During one lull, the four of them had a quick lunch in the food court.  Jimmy asked if the girls could afford to do so, wondering how badly ate into their profits.  Violet shrugged, and looked to her friend.  Bailey admitted that it did have an impact, but that staying near the mall led to more time for clients, so it was something of a wash.

“But if someone were to make a bag lunch to share with you?” asked Jimmy.  “You’ve seen what I eat at school.”

Both girls nodded.  “Does your Dad make your lunches?” asked Violet.  “Your sandwiches always look great.”

“Jimmy makes them,” chirped Katie proudly.  She was perched on the table in front of Violet, and had stolen nibbles of food from her fork as she ate.  “He’s a great cook.  Does our dinners too.”

Jimmy blushed, but when pressed admitted that he’d been tending the house for years so his father could put in more time at work.  He shot Katie a look. “Someone was supposed to help out, but hasn’t.  Mostly because she’s draped around Violet’s neck.  On the plus side, she’s not making any messes that way.  Hm.  Go ahead and keep her, this is working out.”

Katie stuck her long forked tongue out at her brother, and tried to blow a raspberry at him.  It came out sounding more like a cricket-chirp, making everyone giggle.  She shot Violet a resentful look, so Violet cuddled her until she couldn’t help but purr.

After lunch, Jimmy rode back to the Venn Machine on Bailey’s back, but felt that his size just wasn’t working right.  Katie suggested he try being even smaller, so that he could fit into Bailey’s top, and the other girls agreed.  Outvoted, Jimmy sheepishly agreed that it sounded fun.

Once Violet had reduced him to eight inches in height, Jimmy spent a short stint in Bailey’s top.  Bailey found him a little too squirmy and uncomfortable for “long term wear”, so he spent the rest of the afternoon perched on her shoulder, chatting with her and making her giggle.

When it was time to head off to the sleepover, they walked out to Jimmy’s car.  It wasn’t until they were actually standing beside it that it occurred to Jimmy that he wouldn’t be able to drive it at his current height.  Violet and Bailey both abashedly admitted to only having a learner’s permit, so they trudged back to the Venn Machines once more.

After Violet had restored Jimmy, he sighed.  “I was looking forward to being tiny for the sleepover.  You need to get your full license.”

“I’m working on it,” Violet said.  “I can’t get it until my birthday in the spring.  Wait, your birthday isn’t until February, how do you have one?”

“Driving school cuts off four months,” replied Jimmy.  “Dad insisted, partly because he didn’t have time to teach me... but also because it’d help if I could drive to get groceries and such.”

Violet nodded, only half paying attention to Jimmy’s comment.  “I have an idea.”

“That would let you drive?”

“No.  It’d let you drive.  And be small.”

Jimmy’s face lit up.  “Cool.  How?”

Violet gestured to the Venn Machine, and set it for sixteen hours.  “If we change you now, you’ll be normal in time for school.”

Jimmy hopped in.  When the change hit, she started to laugh.  “Two of me?”  The eight inch tall copy of Jimmy echoed her comment.  “Wait, why is my voice so high?”

Violet smirked.  “Can’t have a boy at a sleepover.  Mom’s rules.  I’m still working the Jimmy is a sweetie angle, I’m sure I’ll have a breakthrough soon.”

Jimmy scooped up little Jimmy as the Venn Machine opened, then handed her to Bailey.  “This is kinda confusing.  Can you hang on to her so I’m not feeling myself move?”

Bailey snuggled the little one tight.  “This is so cool.”

Jimmy went to the mirror, studying herself.  This version of her face was familiar, she’d been Venned into looking like a twin sister many times testing out Violet’s designs.  One of which she was wearing now, a sleek blue dress that highlighted her curves.  Closing one set of eyes, then the other, she practiced using each viewpoint in turn.  “Okay.  I think I can drive like this.”

Jimmy shot a look at Bailey.  “No messing with little me while I do it, though.  This is distracting enough as it is.”

Bailey stopped tickling the little one, who was giggling up a storm.  “Awww.”

“Plenty of time for that at home.”

Bailey cheered, then apologized to the little Jimmy covering her ears.  “Sorry.  I’ll be good.  Ish.”  She tucked the little one into her top, and they headed out to the car once more.

At Jimmy’s house, he showed them around.  It was an older place that was a little run down, though his dad had been working on renovations when he could.  He pointed out the bedrooms, one of which had been an office until Katie showed up a month ago.

“Dad promised to paint it pink, but Katie refused.”

Katie snickered from her perch on Violet’s shoulder.  “Pink?  Me?  At the time, I wanted him to paint it black.  Kinda glad he refused, I’m not feeling that way now.  It’d be nice to paint it out a pretty colour, though.  Violet, maybe?”

Violet giggled at the thought.  “I don’t want to be paint.”

Katie giggled.  “Aww.  It’d be fun to sleep inside you.”

Violet scooped up the little dragongirl and dangled her above her mouth.   “Care to rephrase that?  Because I’m pretty sure I could nom you down if I tried.”

Katie stared down at Violet, the grin never leaving her muzzle.  “Sounds like a trip.  I’m pretty thin, you could slurp me down like a noodle.”

“No eating my sister,” insisted Jimmy.

“Even when she asks so nicely?”

Jimmy sighed, and carried on with the tour.  The last stop was back downstairs, the rec room.  It was only half-finished – the walls were done, but the floor was still bare cement, with rugs thrown over it here and there.  The most peculiar feature was the sunken octagonal section at one end.  A small pile of pillows tried to conceal the fact that there wasn’t anything to sit on.

“Weird,” said Bailey.  “What’s this for?”

Jimmy shrugged.  “Beats me.  There’s wiring for a TV down here, so it’d make a cool sort of mini-theatre?  You could have two tiers of seats.  Kinda.  I think we should just fill it up with pillows, but it’d be hard to find so many.”

Bailey settled herself against one side of the octagon, using some of the pillows to fill the corners.  She draped around half of it.  “I can work with this.”

“You’re a living couch,” giggled Violet, hopping into the octagon and leaning back against Bailey’s flank.  She made a little nest of cushions inside the curl of Bailey’s body.  “I could sleep here.  Bailey?”

“I’m cozy.  This body is all kinds of flexible.  I can sleep anywhere, just like a cat.”

And ultimately, that’s what she did, after much chattering about the weekend they’d just had.  Jimmy went up to sleep in her own bed, leaving little Jimmy behind to curl up on Bailey’s tail.  Violet snuggled against her side, with Katie around her neck.

While the arrangement was cute, Violet found she had a crick in her neck in the morning, and it took a nice hot shower to work the kinks out.  By the time everyone was ready for school, Jimmy had changed back to normal.  Bailey had not, so they dropped by the mall to restore her on the way, much to her disappointment.  Violet added purple rosettes all over Bailey’s body, and bright amber slitted eyes.  Bailey also asked for cat-ears like they’d experimented with the previous day, and the longest tail that the school rules would allow.

“You want anything done, Violet?” asked Bailey, as the circle was timing out.

Violet shrugged, wriggling her tentacles liquidly.  “Just the clean dress, I’m good otherwise.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t until Phys Ed class that Violet realized her mistake.  She’d become so used to using her opposable tentacles that her inability to serve a volleyball was a surprise.  She tried forming her tentacles into a hand, and remembered Katie’s prank from days earlier.  She’d taken that option away, and Violet had gotten so used to her new limbs that she’d forgotten about it.

The teacher had a chat with her while the others continued to play.  Violet explained the issue and apologized.

“Look, it’s not that I care either way, but you’re the one that’s supposed to be the most familiar with the school rules.  You should probably go talk to the principal, get ahead of this.”

Violet nodded, and dutifully headed to the office, her Phys Ed teacher’s note in hand to explain her absence.

Principal Hanley was sympathetic with the mistake.  “I think enough people saw you doing the tentacle-hand trick last week that they’re just assuming you’re within the rules now.  I won’t make you waste your lunch break on a run to the mall, but fix this for tomorrow.”

Violet grinned at him, and nodded sharply.  “Thanks!  I’ll take care of it first thing after school.  And I’ll try not to draw too much attention.”

The principal laughed out loud.  “Too late.  You’ve got everyone’s attention.  I’ve fielded half a dozen complaints about Bailey’s shape already.  She was here half an hour ago proving that she doesn’t have any fur.”

“Sorry, I guess we should have come in to talk about that this morning.”

Mr. Hanley shrugged.  “It’s a clever trick, almost an optical illusion.  But it’s well within the rules.  We tested with Mrs. Green, as she is very allergic to cats.  No reaction to it at all.”

Violet’s grin grew wider.  “Great!  I’m sure I could create non-allergenic fur in the Venn Machine, but I’ll stick to the rules.  Hard to check everyone, right?”

“Exactly.  Oh, there’s the bell, you’d best head off.”

The rest of the day was uneventful.  Violet and Bailey met up with Jimmy after school, who drove them to the mall.  Bailey had fielded a bunch of questions about her ears once the school had cleared them, and they had a half-dozen clients lined up for similar changes.

While they were there, Katie asked if she could be a necklace again.  “It’s not the weekend any more, I can be inanimate.  Besides, it’s hard to pretend to be decorative when I can move.”  She fluttered her wings, flying around Violet’s head twice before landing again.

“Don’t you want to be able to move?” asked Violet.  “This seems unfair.”

Katie shrugged.  “I’ve had plenty of wiggle time this weekend.  Necklaces don’t get tired.”

Despite Katie’s protests, Violet modified her silver octopus necklace form to allow more mobility, and to let her speak.  Violet opted for normal arms and hands.  She’d gotten good at writing with pairs of tentacles, but it was still slower.  She did get Bailey to add a pair of retractable tentacles to each forearm, and used one of those to hold tentacles with her necklace.

Violet spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting at the kitchen table, working on her homework.  Katie’s new design left her able to hold a pen and do the same, which she was doing with ill grace though the encouraging smiles from Violet kept her going.

“What are you doing here?” asked Ruby as she entered her home, arm in arm with Scott.

“Homework?”  Violet looked up at her mother, puzzled.  Ruby's face showed anguished indecision, and Violet's eyes widened.  “You two...  Right.  Want some more time together without the third wheel around?”

“I...”  Ruby's expression grew even more pained.  “I don’t want to kick you out of the house.”

Violet’s hand went to Katie’s back, a tentacle sliding out to twine with one of Katie’s.  “No, I get it.  You’re happy, Mom.  More than I’ve ever seen before.  I can head over to Bailey’s.  Since school-night sleepovers are apparently okay now...”

Ruby’s blush was answer enough, but she insisted on calling Mrs. York first.  She frowned at the phone after a while.  “She’s not answering.”

“That’s because she’s too busy showing Dad her ‘new trick’.”

“Bailey?” asked Violet, turning toward her friend.  “What are you doing here?”

“It’s one thing to know intellectually that your parents must have had sex at least a couple of times to produce you and your siblings.  Quite another to come home and hear them going at it,” Bailey said, making a face.  Then she saw the looks on Ruby and Scott's faces.  “Aaand this isn’t going to work either.  C’mon, Violet.  Let’s go to Jimmy’s.  You’ve got a bike, right?”

“I’ll give you a ride,” offered Jimmy's father.

“Can we talk about this first?” asked Violet as she gathered up her books.  “I mean are you guys seriously okay with us having no adult supervision?”

“Yes,” said Ruby and Scott together.  “Jimmy’s a responsible guy,” continued his father.  “He pretty much runs that house already.  Groceries, cooking, cleaning, he even has access to my account to pay the bills.”

“He is a great guy,” agreed Violet.  “Which is why both of us are infatuated with him.  Well, Bailey more so than me.”

“Violet!”

Violet held up a hand toward her friend.  “You know it’s true.  So you're dumping us in a situation where sex is on the table.”

“I... kind of figured you two had already...” admitted Scott, looking at Bailey.

“No!” protested Bailey.  “Well, not... not quite anyway.  This whole thing is complicated and messy and the first time has to be... right.  You know?”

Ruby laughed, smiling at Bailey kindly.  “First times are always a disaster.  But despite that, they’re also really special.  Take your time.”

“That’s not what you’re doing,” muttered Violet darkly.

“This isn’t our first time,” replied Violet's mother.  “We’re both adults, and we know exactly what we want.”

“A house to yourselves.”  Violet said with a hint of a smile.

“Yes,” admitted Ruby.  “Please, sweetie?”

Violet got up from her chair, and hugged her mother tight.  “I’m only doing this because I love you, and because Scott is a sweetie.  C’mon, Katie.”  Violet scooped up her backpack with both sets of papers in it.  Katie scrambled up her arm and settled around her neck.

Violet went to her bedroom, where she filled her usual sleepover bag with toiletries and a change of clothes.  When she got back to the door, Ruby was waiting there with her coat on.  “C’mon, the others have loaded Bailey’s bike into the trunk.”

“Thanks, Mom,” said Violet as her mother walked her to the car.  “This feels...  Weird.  Significant.”

Mrs. Powell nodded, and got into the passenger side of the car.  “It is.  You’re growing up, and it’s time to take on new responsibilities.”

Violet hopped into the back seat beside Bailey.  “New responsibilities?” she asked.

The answer was not forthcoming on the short ride to Scott’s house.  Jimmy answered the door with a look of surprise on his face.  "Bailey!  Violet!  What are... all of you doing here?"

"They’re moving in."

Jimmy studied his father.  “You’re serious.”  He glanced between his father and Violet's mother, noticing the looks they were sharing, and the way his father held her hand.  “Very, very serious.  Wow.  Okay.  So what’s the plan?”

“Think you can keep the house tidy until Sunday?  Inspection at 5pm sharp.”

Jimmy nodded.  “It’ll pass muster.”

“Good.  You three have fun.  But not too much fun.  No noise complaints from the neighbours, or calls from the school.”

“Dad, really?”

Scott laughed, and hugged his son tight.  “I trust you.”  Then he returned to Ruby’s side, and the lovebirds walked back to his car, arm in arm.

Jimmy waved the girls inside.  “C’mon in.  We’ll have to sort out rooms, I guess.”

“Violet can sleep in my room.  I don’t need my bed,” chirped Katie from her perch around Violet’s neck.

“I can sleep in the octagon,” offered Bailey.  “If we hit the mall first.  And maybe buy a few more pillows?”

“Or turn someone into pillows?” giggled Violet.  “I bet Jimmy would volunteer.”

“Isn’t it Bailey’s turn to be the inanimate one?” asked Jimmy.  “A pile of pillows for the octagon would be a nice alternative to the couch she suggested.”

“It’s a date,” agreed Bailey.  “Friday.  Until then, we need normal pillows.”