More things to wear [Josette]

[Noemi de Trevalion]

It hadn't taken long to arrive at Bella's Boutique and as soon as Josette and I stepped inside I was struck with how charming it was. Everything was neat and tidy and the gowns on display were well-made and interesting but not overly formal, something I preferred for everyday wear when I wasn't in one of my gowns from Serenissima or a dress Vic had altered. "This place is great," I told Josette with a grin as I took another look around. "Where should we start?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“Hmmm,” I said as I glanced around. “Is there a particular color you want to look for?”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"No, I'm pretty willing to at least look at everything," I said with a smile. "But I think maybe purple might be a fun place to start if you'd like to. There's so much difference in the colors there."

[Josette Bradamante]

“Purple it is then,” I said, grinning and leading her towards the gowns in that color. “There does seem to be a wide variety, doesn’t there?”

I fingered the material of a pale purple gown. “Oh, this is so soft.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"Is it silk?" I asked interestedly as I looked at the gown she held and ran a finger over it, amazed by the luxuriousness of it. "My sister would know what it was, she's a bit of a fashion designer and really good at it. I kind of let that be her thing though so I don't know quite as much."

[Josette Bradamante]

“I think it must be silk, I don’t know what else could be so soft,” I said, smiling as she talked of her sister. “I don’t know a lot of the particular’s either.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"Well, some of the cotton can be that soft I think," I replied with a light laugh, looking over at a gown of mauve with lighter pink gauze at the sleeves and walking over. "What do you think of this?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“Oh, that’s lovely,” I said, following her. “That would look amazing on you.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I do think it's a very pretty color, though anything approaching pink is really more Victoire's realm," I said with a grin. "Oh well, too bad for her, she can't claim the whole spectrum, can she? Maybe I'll try it on later." A gown in a light blue-violet caught my eye and I looked at Josette, then at the gown. "What about that one for you?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“What a beautiful color,” I said, taking the gown and holding it against me so she could see. “Do you think it suits?”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I think it'll look fantastic and really bring out your skin tone," I told her sincerely, smiling widely. It really was lovely on her. "We could always try them on too, then we'll know for sure."

[Josette Bradamante]

“Good point,” I agreed with a chuckle, laying the dress over my arm so that I could look at others. “Is purple your favorite color?”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I like almost every color," I told her sincerely as I smiled. "Purple, green, blue, orange, yellow, red, brown, pink, gold, silver, they all have beautiful things about them so it's hard for me to pick an exact favorite. Purple's near the top of my list though." Another gown, this one plum velvet, caught my attention and I looked it over, my fingers running across the gold embroidery that ran around the low neckline. "What about this? Too dark, do you think?"

[Josette Bradamante]

I looked from her to the dress and back again a couple of times before answering. “No, actually I think the darkness would be quite striking with your coloring,” I answered after a moment. “The contrast would be amazing.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"Then that's another one," I said cheerfully, pulling the gown over my arm and brushing my hand absently over the velvet to feel its texture. "What about you, what's your favorite color- or do you have one?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“I don’t have an exact favorite, but I tend towards brighter colors,” I said as I drifted to another rack, this one holding gowns that were more pink than purple.

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I could understand why, they'd suit you," I said with a smile, simply letting my eyes wander over the various gowns for a moment but not in a rush to pick anything else up. It's not as though I had a specific amount of time before I had to be back.

[Josette Bradamante]

“I hope so, otherwise I’ve been going about looking like a dunce,” I replied, chuckling.

I found a gown of bright rose pink with draping white lace at the cuffs and waist. “Hmm, what do you think?”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I like it, it's like nothing I've seen before," I replied after looking over the gown she held eagerly and reaching out to brush some of the lace with my hand. "You should definitely try it on." I was having a lot of fun with Josette and I hoped that we'd be able to spend a lot more fun days together. "Can I ask you a question that doesn't really have anything to do with dresses?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“Absolutely,” I said, smiling at her as I added the pink gown to the ones I was trying on. “You can ask me anything.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"Alright, but be careful, I always have a lot of questions," I told her in a jestingly warning tone, smiling widely. "Have you ever been to the Night Court?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“Oh yes,” I answered with a smile. “Though not as often as I would have liked yet.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I haven't been at all and I'm still trying to figure out which House would be best," I told Josette as I smiled back. "Which one did you like best?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“I’ve plans to visit them all, so I started with Alyssum,” I told her. “And I can recommend that as a lovely place to begin.” I smiled as I remembered my time with Adin. “In fact, if you do start there, I would suggest contracting the Second.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"If I ever go to Alyssum I'll keep that in mind, but I don't know if they're the kind of House that would appeal to me," I said honestly, thinking to myself about my friend Eric and how that House had treated him when he'd been hurt. I knew that the probably didn't mean anything by it but it reminded me of how some people would throw away puppies or kittens that didn't end up the way they wanted and leave them to become strays without a care in the world. The other Houses may have done the same things but I didn't have proof of that, and it wasn't a happy thing to think about in any case. "What other Houses have you been to?"

[Josette Bradamante]

I thought for a moment, and then had to laugh. “You know, that is the only House I’ve been to,” I told her. “I have been with other adepts, but it has all happened as a result of fetes. I have some work to do.”

I laughed again and then drew out a dress from another rack; this one had deep midnight blue panels alternating with cloth of silver. “What do you think, too fussy?”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"I like the colors, it's more flashy than fussy. That dress would be fun to dance in with the panels swirling," I told her in an admiring tone. "Even if you didn't go to the House does that make a difference as long as you were still with the adept?"

[Josette Bradamante]

“Perhaps I’ll try it on then,” I said, adding it to the others. “As for the adepts… there was a different feel being actually in the Night Court and in one of the Houses. But then that could have just been me.”

[Noemi de Trevalion]

"Well, I have no knowledge at all in either case," I admitted with a light laugh. "Though that's probably not the best thing to admit, it must make me seem a little less than worldly."

[Josette Bradamante]

“Not at all, it just means you have so much to look forward too,” I said with a chuckle.

A clerk came over and asked if we’d like to have her put our gowns in dressing rooms so we could keep looking. I thanked her and handed mine over, glad to be free to look at more dresses.