Lavender & Fire

10. Not Exactly The Outdoorsy Type

"Good Morning, Lady Biechta, I'm Ashima. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ashima said as she nodded a greeting when Biechta opened the door to her dwelling to greet the alien.

"Thank you, it is a pleasure to meet you as well." Biechta nodded in return.

"I hope you don't mind that we asked you to join us so early."

"That is quite alright, I am used to rising early. Please, come in."

"Oh, good." Ashima breathed in relief. "I had to work myself up to that, honestly. I was never a morning person so it took years of self-discipline."

"Oh." Was all Biechta said in response as they sat across from each other in the armchairs within Biechta's living room.

"I hope you don't mind, I asked Kietnan if I could come meet you alone at first."

"Oh?" Biechta asked in confusion. She had been wondering if the male was no longer joining them and was a bit worried for their safety. She had never spent any time in the woods and was nervous enough as it was.

"I hope you don't mind, but I was told you hadn't spent much time outside and I wanted to see if you needed anything before we departed." Ashima glanced down at Biechta's dress and shoes. "I had a very dear friend during college that had grown up in the city and never spent any time outdoors. She agreed to go on a hike in the woods with me one day and I hadn't thought to speak with her about what to wear."

Biechta glanced down at her attire and then looked back up to Ashima in confusion.

"My friend, Tammy, she wore these ridiculous stiletto heels and short skirts practically all of the time. I honestly wondered if she didn't sleep in them too." Ashima chuckled but then cleared her throat at Biechta's confused expression. "Stilettos are very tall, skinny heels that many women on my home planet wear. They are made to look pretty but are entirely impractical for most functions. Anyway, I assumed she knew that her typical attire was fine for the city but wouldn't be appropriate on a hike. We met at the trail and she had on her typical skirt but had exchanged her stilettos for a pair of boots."

Ashima began to laugh and Biechta just stared at her, not sure what to make of the strange female.

"The boots that she insisted were perfectly acceptable for a hike had 3" wedge heels. Definitely better than stilettos, but still..." When Biechta still held her face of confusion, Ashima sighed. "Anyway, she had insisted on doing the hike despite my concern over her well being. So we did it and as soon as we finished and made it back to our cars she finally admitted that her feet were in terrible pain. We took a break and she removed her shoes. I was horrified to learn she wasn't even wearing socks with her shoes so I wasn't at all surprised to learn that she had developed blisters and they were starting to bleed. I had to drive her to the nearest urgent care to get treatment."

At the look of pure terror on Biechta's face, Ashima continued. "I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to scare you. I don't know why I told you all of that." Ashima rubbed her forehead before continuing. "What I'm trying to say is, I sincerely dislike trying to tell anyone else what they should and shouldn't wear so this makes me nervous but I wanted to make sure you are wearing the appropriate shoes and clothing before we depart. As long as you're dressed adequately, I promise this will be an enjoyable experience."

"Oh! Um..." Biechta looked back down at her feet again. "I imagine what I'm wearing isn't exactly ideal?"

Ashima shook her head slightly. "But it's an easy fix. I can come look at what else you have, if that would be alright?"

"I'm afraid I don't have anything that would be considered appropriate."

"Ah, I see."

"I apologize, I should not have agreed to this, I regret to have wasted your time."