Neutral Omens

"Then confess to bein' a shoe-stealin' witch, por favor," said Adam crossing his arms over his chest and biting the insides of his cheeks to keep from smiling. "If the Inquisitorial Squad dun't have anythin' appropriate, I'm sure I could ask Ellie to borrow somethin'..."

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Pepper was going to keep in character if it killed her. If Adam wasn't laughing she wasn't about to crack. "You know I'll not confess to things I've not done, so I thank you to take that por favor and ..." Pepper paused a moment and cocked her head to the side, narrowing her eyes on him. "Hold up now, who is 'Ellie', an' why would I be afraid of her clothes?"

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"You done it. I saw you. Now you've gotta confess for it to be all proper."

Adam did a passable smirk then. "Ellie? Oh, she's a succubus..."

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She was about to tell Adam that shoe stealin' did not make her a witch, viva espana, when she heard the word 'succubus'.

Pepper was torn between being illogically excited at the idea of a real succubus in the same quarters with all of them, and being suspicious of how casually Adam had mentioned it. After all, wasn't it Adam who said they all had to be wary? "Oh, is she?" Pepper said with a strategic eyebrow raised, smirking just a little from her desire to tease in spite of the situation. "And you know her well 'nough to ask her for clothes to borrow, do you?"

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"I expect so," said Adam, eyes twinkling. "Most of 'em are pretty small, as you might imagine. They'd fit you, just not cover you up much. And I bet I could even convince her to turn them pink first. So you see, you've gotta confess."

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Pepper eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Seems being older did change the rules, even if just a bit. They'd threatened her with dresses and pink before, but never with lingerie. They don't have the guts for it, she thought. They're still little boys.

"Oh, so you all really fancy seeing me in something strappy an' revealin', then?" she said, her eyes twinkling to match Adam's. She sat up and leaned toward him menacingly. Well, she hoped it was menacing with how hard she was still trying not to laugh. "You. Wouldn't. Dare."

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"Dunno how I'd call a tube top and mini skirt strappy, but def'nitely revealin'," grinned Adam, flushing slightly. "But don't look at me. It was Brian's idea." It wasn't, of course, but it might buy him some time. When it came to playing with Pepper he had to deceive, defend, distract, or run like hell.

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"Don't look at ME," Brian said firmly. "I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. I was thinking something pink and ruffly. Like a princess."

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"The satisfaction?" Pepper huffed. "Because I dress like that all the time for my own gratification, is that right?"

She turned on Adam again, determined to keep her focus. He was trying to pass Brian off as a viable target, but Brian wasn't the sort to put her in a mini skirt, and she knew that well. Not that Adam had ever been the type either, but he was the one who'd brought it up. "And you, you horrible liar!"

Wait... was he blushing? Just a little round the ears? Pepper looked away, mouth twisting mischievously. "Anyway, it'd still have to be strappy, cos bare shoulders an' me don't go." And a tube top would probably fall right off me, was what she didn't say. "You still wouldn't do it." Pink and frilly they could do, wouldn't bother them. Revealing? She doubted they could even imagine her in clothes like that, let alone actually put her in them.

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"You don't think, so, huh?" asked Adam with a slightly evil smile, but he couldn't resist the dare. In an instant, he changed her clothes to mimic what Ellie had been wearing during the May Day bonfire (http://community.livejournal.com/neutral_omens/85812.html?thread=1411892#t1411892) but with the addition of tall, black stiletto heels in order to slow her down, and took off running as fast as his legs would take him. It didn't matter where he was going to as long as he was getting away from Pepper. Adam knew he was going to pay for this, but for now it was too much fun to stop.

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Brian just stared for a moment.

..."I'm staying well out of this." And he backed away from Pepper.

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Nope, he wouldn't do it, not in a million -

- well, that was a lot of air. In places where it didn't belong.

It took Pepper a few second to register what had happened, and in the end it was Adam dashing away the same manner that he had when he'd fingerpainted his sister's hair in her sleep that actually got her to look down and see what he had done. A halter top. And scrappy piece of fabric that couldn't have passed for a skirt on a doll let alone a full-sized person.

She rose to her feet and bolted after him - ...until she tripped and landed flat on her face. She tried to wrench the scrap of fabric down on her hips while she inspected her feet. Stiletto heels. Pepper had never even worn small, chunky beginner's heels, to say nothing of these little balancing acts, so naturally the shoes proved to be a problem. She yanked them off, shouting, "Adam! When I get my hands on you the pointy end of this shoe is goin' straight into your eye!"

Shooting a glare at Brian, who had the nerve to back out like he hadn't been a part of the whole thing, she staggered to her feet, one shoe in hand, and took off as fast as her legs-which-suddenly-needed-to-remain-very-close-together could carry her.

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Oh, gosh.

Brian pulled off his shirt and chucked it after her. As far as cover went, it was about twice as big as the dressy thing she was wearing.

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Apparently Brian was more worried about feeling her wrath than she'd originally anticipated... or he just didn't want to see that much.

Pepper whirled around, snapped the shirt up from the ground - crouching, as she realized that bending over would be a bad mistake - and threw it over her head, pulling it down far over her legs. She set her eyes in Adam's direction and spotted him in the distance.

"Right," she said, and dashed off.

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Brian sighed meekly and turned towards the manor.

Now he needed a new shirt.

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Adam looked over his shoulder. Bad idea. Pepper was gaining on him. Briefly noticing that she seemed to have acquired Brian's shirt, he turned into a wooded area hoping to maybe double back and lose her in the trees.

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Adam was out of the clearing now, where it would be much easier to lose him. Pepper followed into the woods, trying to keep her eyes sharp, but it was hard in the low light with the leaves from the trees shadowing her path. Pepper found herself stepping on the twisted, mangled roots jutting up from the ground, which hurt something awful when she was in bare feet...

Now there was an idea.

After all, she'd been doing stage combat for the past two years, hadn't she? She reckoned it had to be good for something. The next root in her way she deliberately caught, turning as she fell so she landed on the fleshier parts of her back and behind. She was careful of where she landed too, made sure that she was crunching down on a good bit of underbrush so the sound was satisfying. In the end it seemed like she had hit the ground pretty hard. If she were lucky, he wouldn't expect. She'd never done it before to any of them, so maybe the element of surprise would be enough.

"Ow..." she said in a dazed voice, suggesting pain in the syllable as much as she possibly could. Come on, take the bate...

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He couldn't ignore anyone in pain, but especially not a friend. Adam ran back to the clearing to find Pepper on the ground and fell to his knees by her side, eyes genuinely concerned and carefully focused exclusively on her face.

"Pep? You all right?"

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He fell for it.

Pepper couldn't believe her luck. And he looked so worried too, which just made it even funnier. She'd have to thank that acting teacher of hers someday. Reaching out, she grabbed him by the shoulders and sat up, flipping him to the ground. "I can't believe you fell for that!" she laughed hysterically, getting a few good punches in for her trouble.

And then she remembered what she was wearing. And she was torn between wanting to keep laughing and suddenly getting very self-conscious. She tugged Brian's shirt down again (which had already ridden up far too high) and kicked Adam in the leg. "You deserved, though. You're a right bastard."

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"Pepper!" he nearly wailed. "I was worried about you. Ow." He grabbed her wrists to protect himself from further blows.

Adam didn't want to ruin the conversation like he had earlier, but he couldn't let it go either. "It's okay now, but don't go cryin' wolf anymore, okay? I've gotta know for real when you're hurt."

But he let it go because his leg was aching where she'd kicked it. "Tell you what. You don't do that again and I won't change your clothes again. Fair?" Although secretly he thought she had the legs for that skirt...

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"Aw, aren't you sweet?" Pepper simpered mockingly, fluttering her eyelashes like a flighty storybook princess. "Thank goodness you're around to make sure I haven't sprained my dainty ankle!"

She rolled her eyes as he tried to get serious on her and cut a deal. "Like it would ever work again, anyway." She was still leaning over him. He probably wanted to get up. Pepper backed off, trying to edge Brian's shirt down again. She caught the smell around then. "Oi!" she said, crinkling her nose pulling the fabric away from her neck to examine it. "Why did I take a shirt from Brian? 'Specially one he's been runnin' in? Now I smell like 'im..."

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"That's not what I meant," protested Adam. "You're always takin' stuff the wrong way on purpose. I know you can handle yourself normally." He sighed.

"Never mind. There's worse things than smellin' like Brian, you know. But you can take it off if you hate it so much..."

Was that a grin? Oh yes.

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"Do not take stuff the wrong way on purpose!" Pepper protested right back. "Just teasing you, Wonder Boy. Stop being such a sissy."

She shook her head. "You may think think there's worse things than smelling like Brian, but...." She caught the grin at the same time that she'd caught up with what he'd said. Oh, he was really asking for it, wasn't he?

She was not going to blush or look away. She wasn't. It was like playing Chicken, only with your will instead of a car. "Fine," she said simply, and pulled the shirt over her head and off, throwing it at him. And then she stared at him, one eyebrow quirked pointedly. There. She dared him not to be uncomfortable now.

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Making a face, Adam pulled Brian's shirt off his head and caught a glimpse of Pepper still partly on top of him and now wearing very little clothing. All powerful antichrist he may be, but he was also part nineteen-year-old human male and it's quite possible that nearly anyone sitting on him half-naked would have some sort of effect. As it was someone his own age and female, there was more effect. Oddly enough, seeing Ellie in this particular ensemble didn't phase him. He took it in stride as part of who she was. But seeing Pepper in it, well, he had to find someway to extricate himself without saying anything or her noticing anything. It was a good example of being careful what you wish for, Adam Young.

He held his hands up. "All right, all right. You tricked me, you got your revenge, I'm a bastard, and you're braver and stronger and pr... a better person than me all around. And you hafta accept my surrender or else I'll use chemical warfare on you." Adam waved Brian's shirt around.

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