There was no way Isabel was letting the sales woman anywhere near her. It was bad enough she had to be stuck in such a terrible place, there was no reason to allow things to get worse by having someone touching and measuring her. She'd wrap that measuring tape around the woman's neck before it got anywhere near her bust.

Thankfully the half-pint finally decided to speak up, as squeaky as that speaking might have been, and drew the employee's full attention before being herded toward the changing rooms, Ghost in tow. Isabel followed not too closely behind, not entirely thrilled to be moving away from the exit, but not really willing to stand around near the widows either. She was supposed to be bodyguarding again anyway, and she couldn't guard all that well if her charges were out of sight.

Ghost's comment about the girl's other form had piqued her interest. At least the kid had something more useful to her mutation that just a pointy pair of choppers. She was curious, but she doubted the kid would be doing any shifting outside of the changing room and there was no way the bonemancer would be following her in there.

That left her stuck standing at the back of the store trying not to stare at the array of products lining the walls and shelves while the kid went through the fitting process. It had to be one of the worst situations she'd found herself in, and she hadn't even been drinking. Booze probably would have made things worse because somehow booze always made things worse for her, but at least she'd have been in a good humor about it.

"So," she started, casting a sideways glance at Ghost while she was definitely not struggling to avoid making eye contact with a few products, "Push up, huh?" She was not going to be the only one suffering here.

Of course Maya would NOT abandon Abbigail to the deepest, darkest depths of the Bosom Buddies dungeon. And neither would Isabel, though the bonemancer drifted behind them with a bit more reluctance.

Maya kept Abby's hand as much as Abby kept hers. After seeing some of what was for sale, the elemental hardly wanted to stay at all. But she understood this was an important thing to get right. And that Abbigail didn't have anyone else to make sure it did get gotten. Or. Something like that.

No matter how embarrassing this was for Maya, it had to be at least that difficult for someone who was new at this. So there! That was why they were still here, all being brave in the face of the risque.

Huh. That one was almost architectural.

She gave Abby's hand a squeeze once they reached the dressing rooms and tried to radiate braveness on her behalf once they separated.

"We will just be in here. Momma don't worry. You can stay as close as you need. Nobody's getting naked, but I do have to measure." There was a measuring tape and everything. Seemed on the up and up.

Okay. Sure. Maya worried her lower lip once the young one and the attendant went behind a curtain.

> "So. Push up, huh?"

"Wouldn't help anyway." Her hands went involuntarily to her chest. "Uh. But that's not what we're here for anyway." Once Maya noticed, her hands went from her chest to just about anywhere else. Actually, no. It wasn't good to lean against that mannequin.

"Thank you for coming, Isabel. Sorry about..." Running off and leaving you with my brother? Tricking you into coming here? "everything." One shoulder shrug admitted that Ghost at least knew that excuse was lame.

Abby was happy Maya didn't let go. The further they went in the store, the scarier it seemed. It helped knowing they had "back-up" with Isabel behind them. If the lady tried anything, Isabel would stop her. Hopefully. Maya trusted her. The little shifter squeezed Maya's hand when they got to the dressing rooms. It was nice to know Maya was there for her. Even if it was only because of Cafas.

"We will just be in here. Momma don't worry. You can stay as close as you need. Nobody's getting naked, but I do have to measure."

Naked?! Abby sent a quick panicked look to Maya before the door shut her in the dressing room with the perky lady.

"Alright, hun. Arms straight out, like a 'T'" Abby did as instructed, lifting her arms so the measuring tape could wrap around the middle of her rib cage. Once the lady had the first number, she moved the tap up a bit to get another measurement. "Breathe, hun. I can't get a good measure if you're sucking your tongue into your head," the lady told her. Abby took in a breath, though she wasn't sure what the last part of the lady's statement meant.

"Alright, I've got your measure," she stated as the yellow tape fell away from her body. "Now your mom said you'd need some other considerations..."

She ignored the 'mom' comment. There wasn't much point in fighting it when she looked a lot like Maya. It was an easy mistake and hopefully she'd never see this woman again for her to really need to know that. "I'm a shifter. Aquatic." She didn't want to say shark as thought would probably make the lady scared. But she still needed to get one she could swim with. Maybe.

The saleslady just nodded. "So one that works in water. Probably don't want underwire. You're one of the small ones right now, but you'll grow. Probably a t-back instead of regular straps. Better support without the wire." The lady kept going with different things Abby would need or not need as she opened the door. It seemed like she was making a list for Abby's needs.

"Alright Momma. She's gonna be a twenty-eight double A. I've got a few more questions that you'll need to answer," she moved away from Abby and towards Isabel and Maya. Abby let a little sigh of relief at not being near the lady anymore.

Well that was just great. First Ghost tricked her into visiting the most horrifying store in the city and now she was trying to make it worse with feelings. Isabel was not so good with feelings outside of murdery. "Uh, it's fine I guess," was the best she could manage for the time being. Friendly sincerity wasn't something she dealt with too often. Complaining was much easier, but she was a little concerned that too much noise making would somehow make things worse.

Speaking of worse, the saleswoman hadn't been gone nearly long enough before she was back out of the dressing room and had turned her attention away from the kid. It was mildly amusing to hear Ghost referred to as 'momma', though it would have been more satisfying if it had bothered her in the least. As it was she didn't even bat an eye. Was she actually the mom? Probably not. She didn't look old enough to have a kid Abigail's age. But then with mutants it was hard to tell. Isabel decided she didn't want to think too much into it. Things were already weird enough.

Maybe-momma would have to field any questions the employee had. Isabel's services stopped at bodyguarding. Babysitting Q&A was not on her list of talents. She would hang back and keep herself busy giving the saleswoman her best stay-away-from-me glare.

Was it fine, though? Really? "Let me make it up to you."

There was literally nothing she could do to make it up to Isabel here, in this store. But before Maya could think up something better Abby and the attendant were back.

> "Alright Momma. She's gonna be a twenty-eight double A. I've got a few more questions that you'll need to answer."

"Of course. She did mention the whole water thing, right?" Maya could answer questions. Questions were no big deal.

Maya drummed up a smile for the little one. "Hey. Double A five!" It was hard to be enthusiastic about these things, but she could try.

The attendant snorted. "If you're in a double A, I don't think you've been measured in a while, mom."

What? Maya's hands went back to covering up her chest. "I don't want a push up."

Another snort. "No? You'd be surprised at how comfortable they can be." The attendant was walking and Maya offered a hand to Abbigail before following. She scoured the walls in the more sporty-looking section.

Which. Wasn't too bad, honestly. Maya cleared her throat. "So, ehm. If I wanted to get something. For a friend? You know?" Maya glanced half way over her shoulder, but did manage to stop herself before finding Isabel with her eyes. It was best not to be too obvious about these things, after all. "I mean, I don't want anything lewd. Just. Special."

The shop attendant hesitated and then she looked between all the girls. And then she tried very hard not to look surprised. "Oh. Of course."

Well. That was easy then. Maybe the lady had something that Isabel would like after all.

>>"Hey. Double A five!"

Abby gave Maya a weak high five in return. It didn't seem all that great, but at least she knew what size she needed now. And she didn't have to do it alone. The little blonde would admit to being worried about going into a store like this by herself.

"If you're in a double A, I don't think you've been measured in a while, mom."

The lady seemed a bit mean, but Abby really just ignored the tone. It was kind of interesting to learn about different types of bras. Push up didn't seem like something she'd like right now, being so small but maybe later. Taking Maya's hand again eased some of the nervousness she had. She wasn't positive, but she thought the older blonde was thinking about buying something either for herself, in a weird way, or for Isabel.

>>"I mean, I don't want anything lewd. Just. Special."

"Oh. Of course."

"Um... What exactly is a push up?" she asked. She was new to this! She was allowed to ask questions! Hopefully.

The kid finally emerged with the correct measurements, the employee wasting little time in relaying that information to Ghost-momma. The kid was probably only a little more relieved than Isabel was. Now that they had the numbers they just had to grab some bras real quick and then they could split. Isabel was more than ready to find somewhere less horrifying to travel.

She continued to trail behind the trio, trying not to pay much attention to the decor or the conversation at hand. She'd be happy being involved as little as possible. She did, however, catch a few words like 'gift' and 'friend' and felt a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. Someone like Ghost had to have at least a few other friends in her life, so Isabel would cling to the hope that she hadn't reached the gift-giving level of friendship with the woman yet. Protesting would only draw more attention to the problem, though. Ignoring the issue seemed much more efficient for the time being.

"Push-up's got padding in the bottom of the cup, makes it look like you've got more in there than you really do," she said, hoping that maybe if she fielded a few questions Ghost and the other woman could wrap up their conversation more quickly without interruptions, and if the conversations wrapped quickly they could move toward the door more quickly. "Won't be so good unless you plan on stayin' dry. It'll probably suck up water like crazy."

The clerk pulled a few items in Abbigail's size with vastly differing taste. Hot pink with turquoise trim. Plain grey and molded cups. A sports type that had an animal print...

"Is that cheetah?"

"Hmm. Leopard, I think. You can find more in this section here, but this is a good start. Did you want to check out the specialty items?" The woman was trying to sneak peaks between Ghost and Isabel. "Do you know what size?"

As resolved as she was, Ghost felt like she might just die of embarassment first. So she grabbed something from one of the middle shelf displays. It wasn't so intimate and therefore much less embarrassing. Plus, it was the right color. And it had bows. Ghost tried to keep her body between the item and her friend. Isabel would like it. Probably. Maybe. It was a good 'I'm sorry' right? To buy a present?

"This is probably good."

The clerk nodded and slipped the item into a stack ready to head to the register.

"Have you found what you need, Miss Abbigail?"

>>"Won't be so good unless you plan on stayin' dry. It'll probably suck up water like crazy."

Huh. Well that put push-up out of her mind. She never knew when she would go swimming after all. And changing her bra just to do that seemed silly.

Taking a look at the items the lady had in her hand caused a grimace to pull on the little blonde's face. Ignoring what the lady had, she took to looking through the racks. She liked the last type of style the lady had grabbed. It looked like a small tank top thing.

"Do you see any blue tank top things?" she asked Isabel, pulling a light grey regular looking one with bright green... lace? covering most of the.. part that holds her chest. It looked pretty and it was in her size.

>>"Have you found what you need, Miss Abbigail?"

The little mutant glanced at Maya and pulled another of the regular looking bras out, this time in a peach like color that kinda matched her skin. "I think so. Did you... find anything for you?"

Searching the racks hadn't really been in Isabel's plans. She was much more interested in focusing on nothing in particular and gradually circling back toward the door in the hope that they'd be leaving immediately. But she supposed that looking through the safer racks for the kid was probably better than any other possible alternative. Having a color goal gave her something to focus on instead of fretting about what Ghost and the saleswoman were quietly discussing.

She watched Abby pick out a few things to get an idea of what she was looking for and then started sorting through the nearest couple of racks herself. There seemed to be a lot of pale colors, lots of peaches and yellows, but there were some brighter pieces mixed in. It was just a matter of finding the right size.

There were a few blues in the mix that she thought might be the right size by holding them up and looking between the girl and the top. one of them was a real dark blue that might have actually been black but it was hard to tell in the dim lighting of the store. But the two others were much brighter.

Isabel held the few hangers in Abigail's direction in case any of them caught her eye. She very much hoped things were winding down and coming to a close. It sounded like things were winding down. Please let things be winding down.

Yes. The faster they finished, the better! Maya helped find a few that seemed less wild and passed them along. Once the child had more than enough Maya was ushering Abbigail to the front and letting Isabel wander as she pleased.

"Don't worry about the cost." She offered the words Cafas had equipped her with. "You're worth every penny."

All items got piled up top and the clerk tugged out Maya's extra item with a raised eye brow. Did Maya still want that?

She nodded and it got scanned first. Beyond that the elemental tried not to be too interested in the small impulse trinkets, oils, or lotions for sale. Some had pretty labels indicating pretty smells.

Once done, a price was named.

It was not a small price. It wouldn't cover the cost of a car, but it would probably feed a family of 9 or 10. For a week.

Maya fished out a single credit card, shiny and platinum with Cafas' name on it.

"Er. Could I see some identification Ms. Johnson?"

"I'm not, Ms... I mean, here." She had ID that said she was Maya Csendes. Not that she was even that person any more.

The clerk was starting to appear as agitated as Maya was. "Uhm. I should call. To verify..."

>>"Don't worry about the cost. You're worth every penny."

Abby looked at the register tally as it went up. The higher it went, the more uneasy about the shopping the little blonde became. "Are you sure?" It looked like a lot of money.

Then the clerk was asking for Maya's ID. Johnson... That was Cafas' name wasn't it? That would make sense since Cafas was the one to set the shopping trip up. But was she right? "Is that Cafas'?" she asked quietly.

Finally the register! They were in the home stretch! As soon as the woman finished ringing everything through they'd be able to beat a hasty escape and hopefully never ever come back to the place again. And also possibly never help another child again. Or friends. Helping people in general didn't really seem to work out very well.

There was only one hiccup. The employee was causing problems again. Didn't she want them to leave as much as they wanted to leave? What was so hard about swiping a damn card? Was a matching name really that important? Even if it was Cafas.

Wait. What?

Isabel cast a sidelong glance at the child when she offered the name. Had she known Ghost was dating someone? It was hard to remember, but either way she definitely didn't know about the them being an X. That could cause problems later. Or maybe even sooner. Did Cafas know who Ghost's new friend was? It was just her luck to get suckered into a friendship with someone who had connections to the X-Nerds.

That was an issue for later, though. Their immediate environment was much more pressing, as was the employee's apparent hesitation to accept Ghost's card. Calling someone was out of the question. Her patience was wearing dangerously thin and she doubted it would outlast a rambling phone call about technicalities.

Isabel fished a card out of her pocket and reached past Ghost to slap it on the counter. "Try that one." Her name definitely wasn't Simon, but she wasn't about to stand there and argue that point. "There shouldn't be any problem with it," she said, her tone very much suggesting there would be a problem if the woman didn't just use the damn card.

She jumped when Isabel slapped a card onto the counter. The clerk jumped more.

"Isabel, you can't-" buy your own present. Maya shut her mouth and looked back at the counter. She'd almost outed herself! The woman looked between all of them and grabbed the card before anyone changed their mind.

Did that... say Simon?

Stolen? Or gifted? The possibilities spun around in Maya's head, but no matter how she tried, she could not imagine Simon giving his card to Isabel and telling her to buy something for herself.

"Oh! Uh-Looks like this one works! Ha. Ha." The register bell dinged. Cha-ching! Now they just had to wait for the receipt to finish noisily printing.

"Did you need to buy something for Simon?"

"Should I put the receipt in the bag?" The woman's volume went up along with her nervousness and she cut in right after Ghost's words. Clearly she wanted them gone.

Do not cause a scene. Do not cause a scene.

Maya thanked the woman, made sure the bag made it into Abbigale's hands, and then got them all walking in the right direction back out to the car.

Abbigail pouted at being ignored, but watched the on-goings anyway. She didn't understand why she was being ignored. She didn't understand a lot of what adults did though. She hoped it would make more sense as she got older.

Watching the cashier take the card and then run the card was boring. But it meant they were leaving. That was good. She didn't think she would come back to Bosom Buddies. Maybe there was a different way she could get these kinds of things. She'd have to ask. Later.

>>"Did you need to buy something for Simon?"

"Who's Simon?" she quietly asked the two women with her.

>>"Should I put the receipt in the bag?"

"I'll take 'em!" Abby grinned. It would give her an idea of what kind of money she would need to get any more. The cashier handed the receipt and the bag over with a forced smile. Abby just smiled more.

As they went outside, Abby wondered if this meant the end of their day. She didn't really want it to end. She liked Miss Isabel. It was about lunch time wasn't it? The little blonde's stomach growled in response to her wondering. "Can we get lunch before we go home?"