“Get dressed, my queens, it is no time to dilly dally,” Geraldine barked suddenly as she leapt to her feet, flapping her arms at us and making me jump half out of my freaking skin.
“Jesus, Geraldine, don’t do that,” I growled, giving in to her demands and changing into the admittedly badass looking armour.
The breastplate which was clearly designed to be worn by a woman, laced together at my sides with a material which almost seemed like leather but was somehow tougher and more supple, creating a layer of softness against my skin within the metal. The pants were made with a mixture of the leathery fabric and metal panels which slid over each other to allow my legs to move freely while still protecting them and I couldn’t help but admit how comfortable the armour was despite its weight.
There were boots which were made of the same supple material and there were braces for my arms, though the upper part of my back was left bare, my shoulder blades free to allow my wings room to materialise.
Thankfully there wasn’t a helmet, because I was pretty certain I would have had to draw the line there. I was already feeling kinda weird putting this shit on and was wondering how offended Geraldine might be if I just switched back into my own clothes, though as I caught sight of us in the mirror, I quickly dismissed that idea.
“Well shit,” I muttered, looking between Darcy and myself in the reflection as my heart paced and my palms grew slick. “We look like we’re doing one hell of a cosplay.”
Darcy snorted in amusement, tilting her head and nodding. “Comic Con here we come,” she agreed, grinning with me as I turned around to look at the back of it.
“Nonsense!” Geraldine cried. “This is no costume you have donned to play dress up! This is the armour of your kind, forged in the fire of the Phoenixes themselves - they are the garments worn by the warrior queens who sired your line many a moon ago. So hold your head high in preparation for wearing your crowns because the day will soon come for you to finish this attire with those shining tiaras and when you sit upon the throne, all in Solaria will rejoice and know that the true queens have finally returned!”
Geraldine dropped to her knees with a sob, prostrating herself before us and murmuring about what a joyous day this was as I gave the armour another look in the mirror, wondering if it really would be able to withstand the full force of our flames when we shifted.
“We do look kinda regal,” I admitted, a smirk on my lips as Darcy grinned.
“And our mom wanted us to wear it,” she said with an ache in her eyes, her fingers trailing over the beautiful armour. “Do you think she saw us wearing this?”
“Maybe,” I whispered.
“I definitely won’t complain about being able to fully shift without having to focus on not burning my clothes off,” she said in realisation.
“There is that,” I agreed, pinching the leathery material of the undershirt between my fingers and wondering if it really would survive my Phoenix flames. It seemed unlikely, but if this had belonged to our ancestors then I guessed it must have been put to the test more than once.
We were so distracted looking at our own outfits that we hardly even noticed Geraldine pulling on her own armour which gleamed like freaking sunlight and covered her from head to toe, making her look like a knight due at King Arthur’s table and suddenly our own outfits didn’t seem that ridiculous at all. Her breastplate was moulded to accommodate her large chest and narrowed to triangular points on both boobs.
“Oh I feel better now,” I said, looking to her and exchanging a grin with Darcy.
“Yeah, no one will notice us while you’re dressed up like that,” Darcy agreed, as Geraldine lifted her flail into her hand and gave it a few test swings.
“Balderdash. I am but a lowly worm beneath the notice of a crow. But I am a worm who will stand firm between you and death my ladies, no matter the cost.”
“Err, thanks?” Darcy said and I shrugged, unsure what the response to a proclamation like that should be either.
“Let’s have less death talk, yeah?” I suggested. “We’re just gonna go there, barbecue a bunch of Nymphs while Orion and Caleb fix the rift and be right back here in time for buttery bagels at dawn.”
“And they shall be the butteriest of bagels indeed,” Geraldine crowed. “The Flail of Unending Celestial Karma shall see it so.”
We headed for the door and Geraldine rushed forward, casting a concealment spell around us so that shadows clung to us as we headed out into the corridor, and she muttered something about this mission staying between the eight of us until it was completed.