True to her word, Cobalt put her transformation collar back on immediately after shooting the wedding dress. Bleats were already creeping into her voice, and Iris was insistent on keeping Cobalt at her best for the last day.
Yukino and Sakaki put away the wedding dress and prepared the next outfit. Cobalt, covered in a light robe, stood with Iris looking over the photographs on her digital camera.
"This shoot has gone amazingly well," Iris said. "I knew you were the right model for the job."
"I'm glad to help," Cobalt said. "I hope this portfolio gets you a lot of attention."
"It just might." Iris looked over Cobalt's shoulder. "There's your next one."
Cobalt turned around to see Sakaki holding the white and red robes of a traditional Shinto priestess. Her eyebrows perked up. "Another winner. Iris, you spoil me."
"I knew you'd like doing this, but I didn't realize just how much. You're going to miss dressing up for me, aren't you?"
The two walked over to the changing area and Cobalt slipped out of her robe. The two fashion designers began helping her into the miko outfit.
"I am. You have no idea-a-a how much."
Iris cocked her head. "Did you just bleat?"
"I thi-i-ink so... huh." Cobalt touched her collar to make sure it was still there. Her hoof-tipped fingers thudded dully on the brass bell. "Tha-a-at's never ha-a-appened before."
"Maybe it's because you've used it so much lately? Are you feeling okay?" Iris held up a hand and Yukino and Sakaki stopped what they were doing.
"I'm fi-i-ine. Kee-e-e-ep dressing me-e-e."
"No, this is not important enough to risk your health, or your body...or gender...or whatever it is that's being affected."
"I-i-iris, ple-e-ease. Just two more outfi-i-its. I-I-I can do thi-i-is. I-I-I wa-a-ant to do thi-i-is." Cobalt had no idea why she was bleating so much so quickly, and with the collar on. Her unusually fast transformation earlier that day played back in her mind. But she knew that if Iris called this off, it wouldn't just be the end of Cobalt's fun. It would put Iris' most expensive, most potentially rewarding photography portfolio in jeopardy.
Iris crossed her arms and Cobalt could see the pain of the decision on her face. "Are you absolutely sure you're going to be okay?" Iris asked with a grimace.
"We-e-e can ge-e-et this done qui-i-ickly a-a-and then cha-a-ange me-e-e ba-a-ack to norma-a-al. It's oka-a-ay." Cobalt wished she could have sounded more sure of herself.
"All right, finish suiting her up. Let's get this done right but done fast." Iris went to her camera and started readying the set for the next round of shots.
Despite her nervousness about her transformation's stability, Cobalt took much enjoyment out of being dressed as a priestess. She tried to use that as comfort, to stay positive. Her collar was probably just running out of magic energy. It was bought on the cheap, after all. That's why the transformation was never fully stable to begin with. Also, if the portfolio did land Iris better paying jobs, the money she'd promised to give Cobalt would probably be enough to pay a better mage to enchant a better collar.
Unexpectedly, the more she concentrated on feeling happy about wearing such beautiful clothes, the more she felt her mind slip into a more relaxed, dulled state. By the time she was standing under the bright studio lights, she was almost sleepwalking in her role. She knew this was wrong. The mental effects of collar withdrawal didn't usually set in for several hours. She forced herself to focus on the task, but it had little more effectiveness than if she were trying not to fall asleep at a boring lecture.
Iris instructed her into pose after pose. Some of her words sounded familiar, but complicated, and Cobalt couldn't be bothered to think hard enough to remember their meaning. Cobalt still obeyed, understanding most of what Iris said. By this point in the shooting process, Cobalt knew what was expected of her.
When it was finished, Iris walked up and quickly latched the collar around Cobalt's neck. Cobalt slowly began thinking more clearly, like waking from a daydream.
"Cobalt! Are you there?"
Cobalt nodded. "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry. I didn't expect to lose my higher mental functions so quickly."
"Well at least you seem okay now. You're not bleating. And you looked amazing." Iris hugged the kimera tightly. "There's just one photo left, and then you can return to normal and fix whatever's wrong with your collar. This is the special picture I told you about yesterday. Are you still up for it?"
Cobalt recalled the idea Iris privately shared with her the previous afternoon. She grinned. "Eager and willing. Le-e-et's do i-i-it."
Iris frowned at the return of Cobalt's bleat, then smirked. "Then we'd better work fast."
To Be Continued
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