Chapter 8

It requires the group thirty minutes to arrive at the destination, a house similar in design to the one Arven and Sylfinas live on, but more grandiose, in a patch of open land surrounded by forest. The father of Arven and Sylfinas knocks on the door, and a young male Beastman opens the door. A cross between a High Elf and a Fenri, his body is slender but more muscular than a High Elf, hairier than it though less than Kaera, and the color is black instead of grey. His facial features are closer to Elves, but there is a trace of Fenri around the golden-brown eyes; the ears protruding from his thick hair near the top of his head are Fenri, and he also has a tail. The clothes he's wearing are simple in design, and he eyes Arven, Merrick, and Sylfinas with interest.

"Hello there. Are your parents around?" Arven’s and Sylfinas's father asks.

"Mom! Dad! Mr. Runestalker's here to meet you along with a few others. One of them is similar to father and has no clothes on." Kaera's face blushes with embarrassment as he mentions her nudity. Two figures appear coming down the stairs, and the male vacates when they arrive. The first one is a female High Elf wearing a blue dress, and behind her is a male Fenri with dark black fur that towers over her and is wearing dark pattern clothing. 

At the sight of his friend, the Fenri exclaims, "Jemeir!" The male Fenri runs over to give Jemeir a hug and lifts him significantly off the floor, and the tail swishes. "It's been weeks since you last visited us."

The pressure from the embrace constricts the airways in Jemeir. "Can you put me down, please, Radclyff? Can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." At the request, he releases Jemeir, and Jemeir inhales deeply.

"Thanks. How's the situation here?"

"Chaos. It's what you expect when you're a father of six boys and two girls. My wife's expecting at least one additional."

"Congrats. Fortunately, you still have all the treasure from adventuring."

"Farm is still performing adequately for you?"

"It is. Festival and cattle auction moved to an earlier day, so I'm scrambling to prepare everything."

"I assume you're here to ask me for help."

"Not in the way you're thinking. My son, Arven, my adopted scion, Sylfinas, and their friend, Merrick, made friends with a Fenri and brought her over to the farm. None of the clothes fit her, and I know your wife manufactures clothes, especially around your size; I was wondering if she has any spare clothes to give or prepare one for her."

"I can sympathize with her. Being the only Fenri living in Adoran has its issues, such as searching for a clothing store with the exact size for me. Luckily I fell in love with a High Elf that produces shirts, dresses, pants, and other apparel for any occasion, so I haven't been to a store since. Heard reports of Goliaths moving into Adoran, so hopefully, the demand for clothes in bigger sizes will be substantial enough for shops to carry clothes around my size. Is it alright with you, Aila, if they can have one or two spare clothes or for you to fashion a couple?"

"All I can see is her head, so I need a closer inspection first, but I won't complain in aiding her." At Aila's request, Kaera emerges from the group, and she scrutinizes her. As Kaera stands closer to Radclyff, they realize that he has several inches on her, and he briefly raises his eyebrows. "Come with me, miss. Upon initial inspection, I believe I have a handful that can fit, but I require further accurate measurements. But first, you and your companions must stomp on the mat near you; I don’t want mud, dirt, or anything else from outside scattered throughout the house.” The visitors acquiesce.

With Kaera following his spouse up the stairs, Radclyff turns his attention to Jemeir. "While Aila's helping her out, we can walk to the shed to talk about news as you and I paint the crib for the upcoming child." As he articulates his following words, his tone changes to lower and profound, "And we can discuss something important."

The tone in the masculine Fenri's suggests to Jemeir that his time with him will be more of a crucial business than intimate. "It's a plan, Radclyff." Jemeir offers a suggestion to Arven, Merrick, and Sylfinas, "How about you three play with the kids while you wait? Just don't bother us and Kaera and Aila."

"Can do, Mr. Runestalker," Merrick responds.

"Call me Jemeir, Merrick."

With a salute, Merrick replies, "Aye aye, Jemeir." 

Kaera and Aila walk into the master bedroom, and Aila closes and locks the door for privacy. "I'll gather certain measurements of your body first before we proceed further. Forgive me if I unintentionally invade certain parts of yours."

"No worries."

The first item Aila measures is Kaera's height. "Seven feet and four inches," she mutters to herself. Afterward, she measures the shoulder and arms and has a conversation during the process "If you don't mind me asking, uh." Not knowing Kaera's name, she pauses, trying to recall it.

"Kaera."

"Kaera. What brings you over to Adoran?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know from my husband that Fenri rarely travel out from Canir. There's a wide space between Adoran and Canir, so chances of coming across one are extremely slim to none."

"A group of slave traders captured and dragged me along with them in a drugged state until I made it to what I now know as Belburn. The three younger men you noticed rescued me, but they found me by pure luck."

"Or fate." Aila advances to measure the waist next.

"I'm not much of a believer in fate or destiny or anything else of that nature."

"Believe what you will." Done with waist measurement, the High Elf moves towards the chest, opens it, and commences searching the contents. "After measuring you, I know a few sets of clothes to choose from. A couple of them may need minor tweaks, but all of them should fit comfortably to you." She picks up red, lacy panties and quickly shoves the undergarment back in.

"How'd you and your husband meet?"

"We met while working on a quest with him, Jemeir, and others. I lived in a village deep within a thick forest in Aeyis, and an out-of-control beast was roaming around, killing villagers indiscriminately. Radclyff's party arrived and took up on the offer by the village to slay the beast. With my vast knowledge of the area, I became a guide for him and the rest of the party until we located it. Ordinarily, the creature we fought would've given us zero issues, but it was vastly stronger and more parlous than the rest of its kind; it would've killed me had Radclyff not positioned himself in between me and it and received the full brunt of its wrath that it knocked him out. As soon as we prevailed, I healed Radclyff with potions, and that was where our relationship began. I stayed with the group, and we had a wedding after two years in the relationship, and we recently celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. For moving to Adoran, in case you were about to ask, we just wanted a change of scenery, and that was the first kingdom that came to mind."

As she explains how she met Radclyff, Aila pulls out four sets of clothes from the closet and underwear. "Try these four on to check their comfort. There is a spot in them for your tail to fit through." The first one is a dark green color, and stitching in the fabric forms a dragon scale pattern. When Kaera tries it on, the sleeves cover the part between the elbow and the shoulder. The leggings stop at the knees. For her inspection, Aila tugs the clothes at specific locations. "Hmm. It appears it's a perfect fit. A couple of minor adjustments, but they're simple to adjust. Feel alright to you?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Try the next one." The second set is colored red, and the sleeves extend beyond Kaera's elbows, and the leggings cover her knees. "I detect no major adjustments. Are they comfy?"

"Feels decent aside from the long sleeves and leggings. I favor less fabric on my fur."

"I should've expected that critique. The next one up is this." The third option is green but brighter than the first set of clothes. The sleeves cover Kaera halfway between the elbow and shoulders, similar to the first set; the bottom half is a skirt. "Nothing serious to adjust on this one also. Is it comfortable for you?"

"I prefer this over the second."

"Alright, now for the last one." The color of the final set is brown, and the material used is stiffer than all the previous groups. There are no sleeves on the top portion of the articles, aside from the straps holding it together and only covering her breasts, exposing her belly. The bottom portion extends from the waist down until it stops a bit above the knees. 

"What is this you made?" Kaera inquires.

"Something I created by combining material I gathered from various tanners that weren't up to standards for being leather armor when boredom overwhelmed me. As I stare at it now, I realize it's one of my worst creations, and I need to dispose of it, so that leaves you with only three options to choose from unless you want me to custom design one. Have you made your decision yet, or do you need additional time?"

"I'm actually taking this one I'm wearing."

"You are?"

"Yes."

"But I just said that's one of the worst creations ever; I can't bring myself to give it to a female as beautiful as you are, especially in your time of need. There are other options, and I can produce special dresses just for you if you prefer."

"I do want the one I tried first after you made your adjustments and the third, but I want this too. You did a splendid job, and it's actually similar to what I would wear in Canir for everyday living. Plus, I'll be working on Jemeir's farm, and I don't want to dirty up the other clothes. I'll save those for when situations require modest clothing."

"If you insist. I must warn you that clothing is not armor even though it resembles somewhat close to one; it provides protection just as any other common clothing would, so try to avoid fighting situations."

"I'll try, but I can withstand plenty of hits before I fall unconscious should I find myself in a brawl. Thank you for helping me out."

"My pleasure. Let me make the slight adjustments to the first one you tried, and I presume you'll wear the one currently on right now."

"Yes."

"Once I'm done with the adjustments, I'll place the other two clothes you want in a container, and you are ready."

Now wearing new clothes, Kaera exits the master bedroom and travels downstairs to search for Arven, Merrick, and Sylfinas; she finds them playing tag with Radclyff's and Aila's children outside the backyard. Merrick is the first to spot her first and obtains Arven's and Sylfinas's attention; all three jog to greet her. 

Arven's the first to speak, "Judging by how you appear, I say you were successful."

"I was." Noticing the lack of one other person in the group, Kaera swivels her head around. "Where's Jemeir?"

"He's in the shed with his friend chatting while working on the baby's crib," Arven answers.

"Any idea how long it'll last?"

"No clue. We've been passing the time playing with the children as we waited for you and him to finish their project in the shed, which reminds me. You're it, Kaera!" Arven runs away.

"Hey, no fair! I wasn't ready!" 

"Run, Sylfinas," Merrick speaks as he bolts from Kaera.

"Right."

An hour passes as they play tag and another game with the kids before Jemeir comes out of the shed. "Alright, everybody, I'm done, and we can travel back home. Been a pleasure talking to you, Radclyff."

"It was. We should do it again sometime soon. Perhaps at your place next time."

"Maybe. My house space limits how many can fit inside."

With Kaera's predicament out of the way, the five leave and head back to Jemeir's home to prepare for the upcoming festival.

 

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