Birthday dress by HalfCerberus on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

“Come on! Try it on!” her mother urged.
Zylia looked at the dress with a healthy skepticism. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but how could she?
“But I’ll ruin it!” Zylia squeaked, taking the dress from her mother anyway and holding it out in front of her.
“Oh, what is the purpose of things if not to be used,” her mother chidded, smiling as Zylia took it. “Don’t worry about it! It's your birthday, you should wear something nice.”
While one head examined the dress, Zylia’s other looked down at the forest floor, and all the things that could snag and ruin the garment. Her two minds were in parallel consciousness, sharing thoughts between them, and greatly increasing her mental capacity.
“Oh I’ll buy you another one if you rip it,” her mother–Lillian–said.
Zylia glanced at her mother sternly. “You didn’t buy this.”
Lillian shrugged and gave her daughter a mischievous wink. “Acquired, then.”
“Mom! Who did you steal this from?”
“Nobody who will miss it! Go on, try it on!”
A little reluctantly, Zylia donned the garment, shocked at how well it fit. How had her mother found something so nice that fit so perfectly? She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She knew her mother’s moral compass was a little off, but she really did care for Zylia. And based on Zylia’s few passing encounters with society and how the people had reacted to her, she didn’t feel too bad about her mother’s actions.
“Twirl!” her mother urged, excitement on her face.
Zylia did, and couldn't stop herself from smiling either.