The sun was high in the sky, watching the busy Streets of Aguris curiously. A couple wisps of white decorated the light blue sky, and a gentle breeze greeted a wooden sign board hanging outside a shop. It swung lazily in the breeze, on its surface was a carving of a thread and needle. Occasionally someone would walk in or out, but the traffic in this store was quite low.

"Hey, wait stop! Fuck, if you're gonna be that pushy. . . Hey, don't touch there!" a voice slipped out from the store as a customer left. The interior was brightly colored, and rows of clothes greeted the customers as they came in. At the back the store's floor was raised and a larger mirror could be found along with a desk where a worker stood. To the left sat a line of changing rooms, each had a curtain to hide the customer as they changed. One of those rooms had a violently shaking curtain.

"Come on, just take those off and try this." Another voice leaked out.

"Hey wait, stop pushing and huh stoooop!" Skarlet exclaimed as she stumbled out of the changing room, she wasn't wearing much. Through the fumble and bumble they'd managed to get her down to her panties and bra, this wasn't a super big deal. It was a girl's store and the likelihood of a guy walking in was low. Skarlet frowned at the person who walked out, Amethyst, her new friend. Skarlet looked a bit pitiful as she sat on the ground covering herself and glaring at the girl in front of her.

"If you're gonna be so pushy I'll just do it myself, just stay out of my changing room!" Skarlet grumbled in annoyance. Amethyst's tail was wagging and she was practically oozing excited puppy dog energy. But it sank as Skarlet said that, her ears dropped and she stepped aside.

"Sorry."

"Dummy." Another voice spoke up, Aiko was standing nearby with her arms crossed. She was wearing short black shorts and a sleeveless black shirt with a long scarf that was pulled back so both ends rested around the base of her tail. She had thick black boots with golden buckles and fingerless gloves, and the way she was standing made her seem like some kinda punk. The continued black from her shorts and shirt was broken by a brown belt that held two short swords on either side of her waist.

Amethyst was dressed in a short skirt that was bright red like a cherry and a white shirt with a color splash design, or maybe she just got carried away with some paint at some point. Her shirt had long sleeves but one was bunched up, she also wore a belt with a magic bag on it for money and stuff. She had a necklace around her neck with a purple gem in it. She was also wearing loose shoes meant for running and activities.

Skarlet sighed as she got to her feet and stepped into the changing room.

"I know what you're gonna say, but come on she's looking so cute!" Amethyst exclaimed while looking at Aiko, the cat girl just let out a sigh and looked away. "What, are you jealous, you're not pouting cause I'm not fussing over you right?" Amethyst asked as she got closer. The rustling sound of Skarlet changing faded into the background, Amethyst slipped up next to Aiko and blew a little air into her ear. A shiver ran through her as a small blush appeared. Aiko snapped her attention to Amethyst, who was smiling coyly at her as she stepped away. "You're cute Aiko." As she finished saying that the curtain blew out as Skarlet reappeared, she was frowning deeply.

"You're making fun of me aren't you!" Skarlet accused them as her face was a mix of embarrassment and anger. She was dressed in a short pink skirt with multiple layered frills, tall white socks and a shirt with ruffled sleeves. There was even a bow on her shoes. "I'm not a kid you stupid mutt!" Amethyst burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, just you're so small I thought you'd fit clothes from the kids section, hehe. You look so cute though!! Ahh, hey why don't you try this next!" Amethyst thrust her another outfit and hurried her back into the changing room. Skarlet was stuttering and stumbling over her words as she tried to protest, but it was futile.

"You're a bully." Aiko spoke again looking at Amethyst, the girl in question looked back at Aiko.

"Maaaaaybe, but I only bully those I like. Besides doesn't she just feel like a little sis? I wanna spoil her, won't you let me indulge a little?" Amethyst asked. Aiko sighed again, but didn't comment. "Thanks bestie!" Amethyst exclaimed happily, moments later Skarlet stepped out again and she looked furious. She was wearing a one piece white dress with pink trim and a bow on the collar. Amethyst ran over and circled around Skarlet with a smile before messing with her hair. "If you ask me to put my hair up in tails I'm going to stab you."

"Woah, um heh, I wasn't thinking about it at all, promise ya. Hey um why not try this on." Amethyst seemed slightly taken aback by Skarlet's blatant hostility so she quickly grabbed an outfit from the women's section, but Skarlet seemed more interested in Aiko. Aiko was taller than Skarlet but also had the same petite build. Seeing this Amethyst smiled and grabbed Aiko's hand and dragged her into the changing room.

"Amethyyyyyst!" there was an exclamation, a look of pleading directed towards Skarlet then she was gone. Skarlet smirked in satisfaction, but then a realization came up. I'm having fun. . . She frowned with a bit of worry. I shouldn't be here, this is wrong, I don't deserve it. She wasn't truly angry, and her aggressive stance was more her trying to hide her happiness. Mostly due to fear. But this reminded her that things were changing a bit around here, not with the people native to Aguris. There were newcomers, like Cody and this group, Aiko and Amethyst. They didn't know about her and treated her with kindness. She had half a desire to relish that feeling, and another half to run from it.

Her line of thinking struggled to continue as Amethyst reappeared to show off Aiko now dressed as a Gothic maid, a black and white color scheme with lots of bows, frills, and a headband. Skarlet burst out laughing and Aiko glared at Amethyst, who just smiled happily while admiring her work. Aiko promptly turned around and tried to escape but Amethyst snatched her hand and pulled her closer.

"Awe don't be like that, call me Master please! I wanna hear it." Amethyst was in full blown happy dog mode. Tail running at a hundred miles an hour as she stared expectantly at Aiko. who hesitated, trying to not look at her friend's eyes. But she couldn't help it and soon was defeated by those pleading puppy dog eyes. Aiko looked down and began fidgeting with her dress before finally she opened her mouth.

"M-master." Aiko mumbled with a blush, and Amethyst immediately hugged her and started patting her head. "Good girl!" Aiko's tail shot straight up from that and she struggled from Amethyst's grasp. Skarlet was quiet though, she was staring with surprise at Aiko. Damn, that was unexpectedly really cute. Skarlet couldn't stop the smile as Aiko eventually slipped away and bolted into the changing room.

She came back out wearing her usual gear, after they finished teasing, they ended up helping Skarlet pick some proper outfits. This all started because they decided to visit her place, and apparently Amethyst loved to design outfits and was greatly disappointed by Skarlet's lack of a wardrobe.

Skarlet tried to protest but was promptly dragged around town to various clothing stores, she was aware that she was getting close to these two but couldn't stop it. She was afraid though, scared of how her curse would affect them. After they finished shopping they started the walk home. Amethyst and Aiko were quite close, Skarlet noticed this while hanging out. As they walked home, the energetic dog girl was hanging off of Aiko eagerly chatting her up. Aiko rarely spoke but Amethyst seemed to be able to almost read her mind, they conversed even if one didn't speak.

On the way home they passed the market and Amethyst dragged the group over to an outdoor restaurant. Plopping down on one of the chairs, Skarlet followed, at some point she decided to stop thinking about it so much and just go with it. So she was absent-mindedly following them.

"Say ahhh." Skarlet stared at Amethyst as she tried to feed Skarlet. "Awe no fun." Amethyst pouted as she realized Skarlet wasn't gonna go with it. So she turned to Aiko. "Ahhh" she repeated, Aiko sighed again for the upteenth time that day and opened her mouth. Amethyst was overjoyed and plopped a piece of meat in her mouth. Aiko chewed it as she eyed Amethyst from the side. "See it's good, this place makes the best meat!" she exclaimed, Skarlet was enjoying watching them interact as she casually ate her own food.

Skarlet closed her bedroom door, leaned against it and sighed, I've done it now, there's no way this will end well. I don't wanna hurt more people, I'm scared. She was conflicted due to her newfound closeness to them which made her feel good and her belief that she didn't deserve to feel these things. That coupled with her belief in the rumors about her, the bad luck charm. I'll only harm them in the end. I'm taking advantage of them at this point. She thought cynically as she plopped onto her bed.

Author note: I realized that I needed to find a way to force Skarlet to form relationships. This led to the creation of Aiko and Amethyst, a duo who form an interest in Skarlet as the only other Lithian adventurer in town. Amethyst being a massive extrovert and Skarlet being an Introvert, it made a good pairing I think. Also Aiko and Amethyst might be a couple lol that happened while writing, I wasn't planning or thinking about it. Just kinda happened.