Malakai laughed at Chris's last comment.  "I would do it because Jesus is funny like that.  And when you do good things for people who tried to do you wrong, you get more holy points.  Not that He is really a point taker, but you get it"  

Malakai began fishing in his pocket for something.  "I'm assuming that you don't have a cellphone, so I want you to take this card if I can find it."  He continue to search his pockets until finally he pulled a small gold and black business card.  He offered it to Chris with further instructions.

"Take this and go to this address in about three hours.  Ring the bell and ask for Narissa, tell her Kai sent you.  Wait there for me.  She's good people, you'll be fine.  Just don't touch anything and definitely do not steal anything"  Malakai glared again to drive the point home.  

"I'll be there shortly after you, and we'll see what Narissa and I, along with a lot of help of the man upstairs can do with up dating and expanding your wardrobe" he informed, then asking "You do have somewhere to store nice clothes right?"

Chris nodded when Malakai gave his explanation. Religion had never really been a part of his life - he grew up just hearing about it on radio and television, and his grandfather had never talked about his beliefs, or lack thereof, with Chris. But it still put him a bit at ease - it seemed less likely that Malakai's offer would somehow conceal an elaborate trap when he had a reason to be generous, even if that reason was, in his own words, holy points. Not that Chris really thought it was going to be a trap. The man could transport people across town with his mind, if he wanted the thief to end up in a jagged pit adorned with rusty nails there were more direct ways to make it happen.

Then Malakai, who rightly assumed that Chris didn't owe a cellphone, gave him a card. Chris accepted it without a word, memorizing the address before tucking it into his jeans pocket. Ask for Narissa, wait for Malakai, don't steal anything. That last part he hadn't even considered. To steal something when he was about to be given clothes for free would be a totally illogical thing to do... not to mention downright nasty.
"You have my word."

When Malakai asked if he had somewhere to store the clothes he nodded. He kept all of his clothes in a box in the back of his car, and there was plenty of space there.
"Yes, I do. Thank you."
That seemed to be it as far as instructions went, so he should probably get going and let Malakai deliver the garment bag to their original destination. He started to walk towards the exit of the alley before turning back around.
"Is this going to be an inconvenience to you? I don't want to be any trouble.

Malakai laughed as Chris began to walk off.  "This isn't going to inconvenience me anymore than have some random person run up and grab my clothes for the shoot I'm heading too.  Speaking of which, I'm deeply late.  Gotta hit it."

Malakai began to jog, passing Chris on his way out of the alley.  Thankfully the place wasn't too far, a steady jog would get him their quicker than trying to get a cab.  He only hoped that his designer friend had been able to stall for a bit.  And that she hadn't stolen his commission, the world of fashion could be brutal.  

"Remember, meet me there, wait," Malakai said as he rounded the corner then yelled adding "and start contemplating body glitter!" 

...Well, Chris couldn't really argue with that. He watched as Malakai started to jog out of the alley, giving some final advice directed at Chris. A confused frown started to spread over his face; since the suggestion had been so out of the blue it took him a moment to process it. When he did, his expression changed to horror.
Body glitter.
No way. Most of all, Chris wanted to blend in, and, if that was out of the question, at least try to not stand out so much. Which could be hard enough if you were a mutant with certain aquatic features, but would be near impossible if he also sparkled. He got a brief mental image of himself covered in glitter, and it was an unpleasant picture enough that it sent a shiver down his spine.

The sun had set, and there was enough time for Chris to get back to his van. It might be old, dank and smell strongly of fish, but it was his home and one of the few places he felt secure. After eating dinner he relaxed in the back for a while, contemplating the day's event. He wondered how Malakai's photo shoot was going; he only had a vague idea of what actually went dow during a shoot, except that it seemed hectic.
For a moment he wondered if he shouldn't go, after all. Good clothes would just be wasted on him, and the situation felt very new and alien to him. But he needed a jacket or a coat, and if he ditched Malakai he'd deny the man his good deed.

Unfortunately he was out of gas, so he couldn't drive to the adress Malakai had given him. It wasn't far, though, so he left the car and started to walk towards his destination. Chris didn't own a watch or cellphone, but when he rang the doorbell he estimated that roughly three hours had passed since he'd left Malakai. While he waited for Narissa to open the door he weighed from foot to foot, glancing over his shoulder occasionally. The area seemed rather nice and not very threatening, but he still kept an eye on his surroundings out of old habit.

An older woman, her hair salt and peppered with a streak of lavender curling to frame the right side of her face stepped out of the shop, looking around.  She had a sketch pad in one hand, and a cellphone in the other and wore a simple white blouse and jeans.  Across her hip was a gold belt, with pockets holding a designers tools: measuring tape, scissors, some fabric, some buttons and zippers and an assortment of other nicks-nacks.  Her eyes found Chris and she squinted.

"Christopher?" she asked.  She didn't know if that was his full name, or if it was even okay to call him that, she just had a habit of using full names as opposed to abbreviated versions.  

The door opened and Chris took a step back to create some space between him and the woman. She was older than him, and didn't quite fit into image he had of designers. Except for the colored streak through her hair her outfit was simple. He had almost imagined that designers would dress more outrageously, with high, angled collars, brisk colors and thick, red-rimmed glasses. but judging form the ones he had met so far, Malakai and the woman who greater him, that was a bit of an exaggeration. It made sense, he supposed. The designer should probably not compete too much with the client, who were the one supposed to get the attention. Sort of like weddings.
"Yes," he said as an indication that she'd guessed his name right. "And you are Narissa?" he added, just to be sure.

Chris withdrew the card Malakai had given him from his pocket and held it out towards Narissa, as if he needed to give back the original invitation to be let in.
He craned his neck slightly, trying to get a peek over Narissas shoulder of what the shop looked like.

Narissa nodded a wide and genuine smile taking over her face.

"Yes, I am the one and only Narissa, fashion magician extraordinaire." she said, her voice and eyes filled with mirth that was too unfiltered to be anything but real.  "Come into my cauldron dear-heart and we will start working some magic."

Narissa motioned for Chris to follow her into the shop, chatting the entire time as he lead her into what could only be described as a beautiful mess.  Fabrics of all types, lengths and colors lay everywhere.  Pieces of clothing in varying states of completion decorated mannequins of different sizes and in different poses.  The entire place looked like a cross between some colorful fun house and a bizarre museum.

"Kai text me a rough estimate of your length and size, so I pulled a couple of things for you to try, just to get a feel for what you like and what looks good on you." Narissa said, motioning to some clothes laid across a table in the corner of the workroom.  "He told me the circumstances of your acquaintance," she said, still smiling "and then gave me some ideas for what you should be wearing.  I love him dearly, and I must admit he has a fashion sense that borders on the occult, and a business savvy that cannot be denied.  But he is seriously lacking in street smarts."

Narissa picked up a pair of midnight black jeans and a polo to match, holding them out towards Chris.  "Now don't get me wrong, you wont be leaving this shop looking like no one cares about you, but I doubt that someone like you would appreciate neon muscle shirts and boots that you could probably take to consignment and pay rent with.  Function, that's what you want.  Kai and I will add a little flare of fashion, but don't you worry sugar-foot, I'll keep him in check."  

Apparently it was customary for designers to speak about themselves at deities or magicians. When Narissa presented herself Chris just nodded and added a polite "I see."
He wondered what it would be like if he started to present himself with the same amount of confidence. Christopher Berg, lord ruler of the aquatic realms. But my friends call me Chris.

He followed the designer into the shop, which was an explosion of colors, patterns and fabric. How they were able to get anything done in there was beyond Chris' comprehension. There seemed to be multiple projects going on at the same time, occupying the work spaces. Chris reached out after a grey fabric with silver threads running through it, but withdrew his hand before touching it. Narissa and Mordekai probably had some sort of system going on in here. No need to mess it up.

It was a relief that the female designer seemed to have a more practical outlook on what Chris should wear than her male counterpart. Chris didn't know what a neon muscle shirt was, and he wouldn't find out that evening either if he had something to say about it.
"Thank you, Narissa," he said, visibly relaxing. He looked straight at her and added in a total deadpan voice: "Not to sound ungrateful, but if you'd mentioned body glitter I'd probably have escaped through a window."
Chris considered himself to be a funny guy, not realizing that his delivery was severely lacking.

She held out some clothes to him and he accepted them, holding them under his arm like an UPS package. He was a bit unsure what to do next. Should he just leave? Or should he change into the clothes then and there? The customs around receiving clothes was unclear to him, so he just stood there and looked at Narissa hoping she'd give hims some sort of clue for what to do next.