And they were back in the air. Abby slammed her eyes shut to help the growing fear from taking over. Whoever this girl was, she apparently didn't play by the rules. Or laws for that matter. Eventually there was solid ground under her feet.

>>"There. Much better. No need pay."

Green eyes stared at the winged girl. "You're worse than Panu," she stated in shock. Looking around she found that the girl hadn't even grabbed the rest of Abby's clothes. Though the black haired girl had time to grab some sort of legging type things.

"I hope you realize that those clothes weren't actually mine. What am I gonna tell them when I get back? Some fallen angel whisked me away while trying on dresses?" The little blonde stopped and took several deep breaths.

The little girl talked quickly. Too quickly for Astrid to catch everything she said. The winged girl did catch something about clothes and angels, though. She had been compared to an angel before, so she assumed that it was a reference to her,

Astrid took the little girl by her shoulders and held her steady while she caught her breath. "Tell nothing. Say friend got clothes. Or lie." She suggested after she had done her best to make sense of what the girl had said. It was difficult for her to grasp the concept of not wanting to hurt someone, or to follow the rules that someone set. "Nice not to pay, yes?'

She handed the girl her stack of clothes and the pantyhose, while hanging onto her own. "Now, face?" She asked her. While she could force the outfit on the girl, she doubted that she could forcer her to changer her makeup.

She wished she could do the same makeover with all American children. They all needed it so desperately. Maybe then the country would be a little more tollerable. While she enjoyed the freedom she experienced in New York, she missed the attitude and air of France. Mostly though, she missed her language. It was frustrating to speak in broken sentences.

>>"Tell nothing. Say friend got clothes. Or lie. Nice not to pay, yes?"

"Something like that," Abby grumbled. She still took the clothes though. If she could find the store again she could give them back. Though she really did like the dress she was wearing.

>>"Now, face?"

The little blonde looked up at the (much) taller girl. "What are you going to do to my face?"

>>"What are you going to do to my face?"

Astrid pursed her lips and thought hard. She couldn't think of the word. In fact, she couldn't remember ever hearing it in English. "Maquillage... Maquillage..." She repeated softly, making hand gestures like she was applying makeup. She hoped that the little girl would understand what she was trying to say, because there was no way she would get the word out.

After a moment, she pointed to the girl, realizing that she probably needed something to call her. "Name?" She asked her.

>>"Maquillage... Maquillage..."

The girl made a strange motion that she recognized from the older girls putting on makeup. They had tried once but after seeing her teeth the girls had decided to forgo it. "Makeup? What language is that?" Abby asked, guessing at the motion. She had already decided to learn a bit of Finnish for Panu, she might as well learn another one. They say it gets easier with every one. "I've never really worn makeup before. So long as you don't poke my eye out, I think we'll be good."

>>"Name?"

She decided to go with the same name she first told Panu. Knowing her luck they would run into each other somehow. "Abbigail. You?"

>>"Makeup? What language is that?"

Astrid nodded curtly, understanding most of what Abby told her. "C'est Francais. Come," she told the little girl with a beaconing gesture. They would go back to the hotel room she had been hiding out in.

>>"Abbigail. You?"

"Astrid," she supplied to Abbigail. "We must fly now, oui?"

French? That wasn't so bad. Her Aunt used a lot of French words from her family. Abby went through her brain for some of the words as she followed.

>>"Astrid. We must fly now, oui?"

She silently thanked whoever was listening that Astrid actually asked about the flying thing. "Okay, but I'm closing my eyes again. Let me know when it's over, si'l vous plait?" She said the last slowly. She wasn't sure if she had said it right, but hopefully the girl would know what she meant.

Astrid tried very hard to stop herself from smiling. It was such a comfort to hear her native language again - even if it was being butchered by a munchkin. But alas, evil people or 'Dark Ones' did not smile. Especially at children.

She nodded at the little girl as she picked her up, letting her rest comfortably in her arms. She took off again and flew off in the direction of the hotel she had stayed at the night before. Room checks weren't for a little while, so they had some time.

Astrid flew into the window she had left open and set Abbigail down. "Here," she told her as she stood up in the lavish room. Her stuff was still there from the night before, including her makeup.

"Sit," she told Abby and pointed to the bed. She picked up a bottle of eyeliner and twisted out the applicator. The little girl was going to look much better when she was finished with her.

As soon as she was in Astrid's arms, Abby started to list all of the marine animals she knew. She started with the Tiger Shark as it was the one her mutation reflected. She was just getting to the Blue-Ringed Octopus when Astrid stopped.

>>"Here."

"Thanks," she said absentmindedly as she took in the room. It looked like a hotel. Probably one of the more expensive ones based on the space. The little blonde had a feeling the winged girl wasn't planning on paying for the room either.

>>"Sit."

After a moment of hesitation, she went to the bed and sat down. When she saw what the black haired girl had in her hand, she winced. "Try not to poke my eye out," she said slowly. Now that she knew it wasn't just the girl being curt, Abby decided to try to help Astrid actually hear her.

>>"Try not to poke my eye out,"

Astrid nodded, understanding the jist of what the little girl was asking of her. She had done makeup before, but only very minimally, and she had needed to hold the other girl at the orphanage down. Needless to say, it hadn't ended well. This time, she intended to have different results.

She croutched in front of Abby and held out the eyeliner brush. Delicately, she began to line the outside of the girl's eye, following the same technique she did when she applied her own exaggerated wings.

Was doing that evil? She doubted it, but eventually, she could likely find a way to make it so.

The eyeliner went relatively well. She only accidentally poked the girl twice, and it hadn't smudged too badly. She sat back on her calves, pleased with herself. "Look," she told Abby and pointed to the mirror.

Abby had watched enough TV to know she would have to keep still for this to work. She stayed as still as she could. Every time the brush hit her eyes she flinched a little but she kept silent. Astrid seemed to be a person who would do what they wanted without care. Better to go along with her than against her.

>>"Look."

She listened and went to the mirror. She'd never worn makeup before so the little blonde wasn't sure what to expect. The long black lines seemed to cause the her green eyes to brighten. It was... cool and pretty were the only words that came to mind. "Wow. How'd you do this?" she asked quietly. When Abby got some money she'd have to look into getting some makeup. It probably wouldn't be for everyday but it'd still be fun.

>>"Wow. How'd you do this?"

Astrid shrugged and pointed to her own eyes that sported the same style. She was glad the girl liked it, but she shoved any warm feelings down, replacing them only with thoughts of how it looked.

"Hair now," she motioned for Abby to come back and join her on the bed as she crossed her legs. She glanced at the clock, realizing that they only had a little while before they would need to clear out.

>>"Hair now."

Abby wasn't sure what Astrid could do with her short hair, but joined the black haired girl. "There's not a whole lot you can do with my hair. I keep it short since I swim a lot," she tried to explain.

Astrid ignored Abby's comment of protest and began to run her fingers through the girl's short mane. Within a few moments, she had pulled the girl had brushed her hair towards one side of her face. Then, she reached in one of her bags and dug out a silver headband, placing it on the little girl's head.

"Voila!" Astrid said once she was finished, "you are look much better, oui?"

Abby let the older girl play with her hair. She was a little cautious, but the little blonde had already let the winged girl do so much to her person. The headband was a new idea. Usually she just left her hair to do whatever it wanted.

>>"Voila! You are look much better, oui?"

Abby looked to the mirror and studied the new hair style. It was very strange having something on her head that wasn't a hat. "I guess," she mused. It really was different for her.