Preparations for the Heian-inspired wardrobe photographs took quite a long time, and once under the many heavy layers of clothing and the hot studio lights, Cobalt quickly realized her interest in wearing such an exquisite array of robes had a breaking point.
She surprised herself when she was beyond relieved to be rid of the many fabrics. Iris noticed Cobalt panting heavily after the last photo had been taken, and realized the goat had been struggling to disguise her discomfort until then.
"I'm sorry about the heat," Iris said, trying to show some sympathy. "With all those clothes, and fur, you must have felt like you were in an oven!"
"It wa-a-as," Cobalt panted, "wh...worth i-i-it. Could I ha-a-ave some wa-a-ater though?"
Iris quickly grabbed two bottles of water from the kitchenette at the far end of the studio. "We're going to do a light outfit next," she said. She handed her parched friend one of the drinks, then proceeded to open her own. "The girls have a cute wa-lolita dress ready for you. Do you know what wa-lolita is?"
"Who-o-o do you thi-i-ink you're ta-a-alking to-o-o?" Cobalt replied in between long refreshing gulps.
"Right. So," Iris continued, leading Cobalt back to the area where Yukino and Sakaki prepped each outfit. "We've got a delicious red mini-kimono for you to try on."
"I'm afraid we've run into some difficulty," Yukino said to Iris. She held up a long span of red material with a tube-like end. "One of the sleeves must have been left out of the package. We can only find this one."
"Ugh, fantastic," Iris said. "This started out really well, too. If she only wore the one sleeve it would look awkward, but if she didn't wear either of them her arms would be conspicuously bare..." She tapped her chin and glanced down at Cobalt's grey-furred arms. "Say, Cobalt?"
Cobalt had just finished her water bottle and emitted a satisfying half-sigh, half-bleat. "Um, ye-e-es?"
"You can grow your hair and your goatee longer in seconds, so that means you can grow any of your fur, right? But just how long can you grow it?"
"I ha-a-aven't found a li-i-imit ye-e-et."
"I've got a crazy idea that ought to make a great picture...if we can pull it off. Instead of actual sleeves, let's make your forearm fur look like sleeves."
"So-o-ounds co-o-o-o-ol," Cobalt chirped. "I'll do-o-o i-i-it."
The girls hastily helped Cobalt into the close-cut faux-kimono, a silk one-piece sleeveless jacket in the shape of a kimono and dyed two delicious shades of red. Cobalt herself stalled the process a few times when she kept asking to take a few more sips of water, but the biggest hang-up came just after Sakaki wrapped a gold sash meant to be the backing for an elegant obi around Cobalt's waist. Yukino came to Iris with more bad news.
"The obi is missing, too! My sincerest apologies. Our factory is going to be seriously evaluated for these omissions."
"We can't tie the kimono like this," Iris said, circling Cobalt to look at all of their options. She had to side-step her dragging hair, which had only been partially cut off after the previous shoot. "Hey, wait a second. How fast can you two tie French braids?"
A little over an hour later, Cobalt stood ready on the infinity plane, again under the hot lights but feeling much cooler compared to her previous outfit. Her hair, at least, the parts of it that hadn't been tightly wound into ball-shaped buns, was carefully arranged in a number of ropey braids that slid down her back and wrapped around the gold sash at her waist, securing it in place. Cobalt had to stay mindful of the arrangement...one careless turn of the head could upset the delicate updo and ruin the picture.
"Wha-a-at ma-a-ade yo-o-ou thi-i-ink of thi-i-is i-i-idea-a-a?" Cobalt asked, gesturing with heavily fur-laden arms at the floor. All around her, in an expanse nearly seven feet in diameter, was a pool of her own fur, collected from the merging locks that emanated from her forearms and lower legs, completely covering her hooves and shimmering beautifully in the light.
"I think it was all that water you were drinking while we set you up. I got this image of a sea nymph rising out of the water. Your hair catches the shine of the light so perfectly for that kind of effect."
"I-i-i-it o-o-ought to-o-o co-o-ome o-o-out go-o-od."
"Are you doing okay?" Iris asked, her enthusiasm giving way to concern. "It's easy to tell you're having trouble speaking."
"Eh, i-i-it's ju-u-ust the spe-e-ell I-I-I'm unde-e-er. I-I-I'll ha-a-ave to-o-o u-u-use sho-o-orte-e-er se-e-ente-e-ences so-o-o-on."
"Okay," Iris said, not convinced that losing the ability to speak English was the only problem on Cobalt's mind. "But if you're having any trouble just tell me somehow, okay? I want to make cool photos, not torture my friends."
"So-o-o ge-e-et o-o-on wi-i-ith i-i-it," Cobalt said, raising her arms and casually lifting a hoof. "Ho-o-ow's thi-i-is?"
"Perfect! Hold it right there."
To Be Continued
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