[center][b][u]PETA COLLAB 7 x 2 = ???:[/b][/u] [i]Science Rules! Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill Bill[/i]

[b]Summary:[/b] More bantering and puppy-ing.[/center]

Carmen openly laughed out loud at Ara's dignity spiel, complete with a throwback of the head and an infectious laugh audible by...pretty much everyone. In between stifled laughter, she responded. "You speak of your dignity while talking to me in a wedding dress covered in paint and foam. That's about the most undignified thing in the entire world for a male," she said as she looked around. But as she did so, she noticed some of the other crossdressing outfits around, like Crash's bunny suit and of course Ryuu's Sailor Mini Moon outfit (not that she knew what that was) and faced Ara again, amending her last comment. "Alright...[i]one of[/i] the most undignified things for a male," she said with a chuckle. "In any case you undoubtedly would have retained more dignity if you had stayed at the start - your wedding dress would be pristine! [i]Pristine![/i] I could have taken it for myself afterwards..." she said with almost a whimper.

Upon Ara's noticing of Lily, Carmen continued the verbal assault. "Nothing's unfair for the Fashion Police," she said playfully. "This is Lily," she said, turning and smiling brightly once again to the girl. "She's...well, I met her very recently. As in before and during the race. But she's quite lovely, don't you think?" she finished, looking expectantly at Ara for an answer.

Ryuu slowly crept away from Carmen, attempting to slide out of what could wind him up in an embarrassing conversation.

“Would you like me to give you the usual ‘my eyes are up here’ line?” Kathy asked with a laugh. There was a slight tint of a blush on her face as well again, but not nearly as bad at Crash’s. Besides, his innocent reaction made it harmless and seem more amusing than potentially awkward for her. Now if he had actually stopped to stare… [i]That[/i] would have been incredibly embarrassing. Her smile visibly grew quite a bit as Crash agreed to keep the bunny ears on. Temporarily. “Alright, it’s a deal.”
 
Kathy turned to Darwin for a moment with a bit of relief on her face. Fourth place didn’t seem too bad. “Congratulations!” She smiled at him, glad that his decision to string her along hadn’t ended too badly. "By the way, do you know about how long this will last for?" She asked, pointing to her hair.

Looking at Crash again, she was looking for something to say to cheer him up about his placement when he suddenly sneezed and changed into an adorable little puppy. Kathy laughed as he fell over. Apparently transforming had not given him better coordination. She looked a little troubled for a moment, shifting her weight from one foot to another. [i]'But he's still Crash and...'[/i] After making a slight thoughtful sound, she scooped him up in her arms and gave him a hug, rubbing her cheek against the top of his head. "I offered a hug after the race right?" She laughed. It was an excuse really. She just wanted to hold the puppy, barely managing to keeping her touch gentle instead of squeezing poor Crash to death. "Say, can you stay like this for a bit? You don't need to wear the bunny ears if you do." Kathy looked absolutely delighted about Crash's form as a corgi puppy. The thought that she was technically hugging a boy almost 2 years older than her just didn't seem to register behind how cute he was at the moment.

Ara joined in on Carmen’s laughter. It was hard not to and he himself found the whole situation rather funny as well. “Dignity is not defined by the clothes a man wears.” He smiled, straightening his back and lifting his chin up like he was feeling proud of something and arrogant about it. “And trust me, there are worse things a male can go through. [i]Much[/i] worse things.” He made an exaggerated shudder with his last sentence. Worse than just wearing an even more embarrassing costume. "Honestly, between a ruined or pristine wedding dress there's not much of a difference in how awkward it is to be wearing one in the first place." Perhaps it was even less embarrassing if it was covered in paint and the like. It made it seem obvious that the dress was being worn because of some sort of challenge or prank instead of some sort of strange hobby on his part.

"Lily, huh?" He repeated her name with a smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ara, if Carmen didn't bother mentioning me to you." But before replying to Carmen's final question, Ara raised a slight brow wondering if this was actually a trick question in disguise. [i]'Now would it be better to truthfully agree? Brown-nose Carmen? Or be a jerk and say no?'[/i] He mused. [i]'Decisions, decisions...'[/i] He decided to go with the first option for now and watch how both girls reacted to it. "Indeed, very lovely. Enough that I can at least see why you'd abandon me at the alter for her instead." Ara joked, still continuing the jest about Carmen running away from him at a wedding.

Cyber was very much shook in how Alistair didn't know about ice cream! He was sure someone must be freaking out about someone not knowing about ice cream (hint hint!) "Wah!? Its a really yummy and sweet treat! its made of milk and cream there is so many flavors!... I wonder where did you come from Onii-chan?" Cyber looked at him but with real curiosity... Now he wondered... where did Alistair came from?...Even though he wasn't at the academy for a while it seemed that Alistair was from a whole new world... 'Well I just have to pay for now... luckily I have a few dollars I saved up...' He sighed from knowing he had to spend some cash...'Does he even have money!?' That though up to his head but he shook the idea and just gave his sweet [s] fake [/s] smile. "Hhhmmm Well Onii-chan its time for you experience something truly delicious." He pulled Alistair near the ice cream stand and asked the vendor. "Excuse me but can I get two vanilla and strawberry ice cream please?" The vendor nodded and gave him two ice cream cones with the flavor he choose. Cyber nodded and paid the vendor at least 3 dollars then gave the treat to Alistair. "Here we go! try it! Its really good!" He giggled and smiled again while taking a small bit of the sweet dairy treat.

Alistair looked over at Miss Cyber when she said "Wah!? Its a really yummy and sweet treat! its made of milk and cream there is so many flavors!... I wonder where did you come from Onii-chan?" Alistair stopped to think "i'm not sure" he looked over at her with an amused smile "I've never thought of it, I've been here so long..." his face dropped "i've forgotten where i came from".
He shook the thought from his head and smiled at her "Hhhmmm Well Onii-chan its time for you experience something truly delicious." she said then talked to the man at the stand "Excuse me but can I get two vanilla and strawberry ice cream please?"
"thank you very much, Miss Cyber" Alistair said. he looked at the man putting balls of the 'ice cream' on a triangular prism "fascinating, what is the purpose of the prism? and why is this 'ice cream' in ball shape?" the man held the confections over the stand to them, he wasn't sure what to do so he looked to miss Cyber for direction.

...What?....Cyber was getting weirded out by Alistair in a way... 'He forgot where he came from...what the hell those that mean!??! Is he like a thousand year old guy just looking like that!? Like how Ash Ketchum is still like 10 even though its been what? Fucking 10 years or so!? Then that's so weird!!' He tried to keep those thought in his head and just smiled, acting out his normal innocent girl persona."fascinating, what is the purpose of the prism? and why is this 'ice cream' in ball shape?" ...'Seriously'... " Well I don't know... people don't asks those things really, the prism is called a cone some are edible like this one so you can eat it, it holds up the ice cream so you don't have to eat it with your bare hands. The ball shape is just been like that for a long time so not much is really answered by it..." When he thought about he didn't know the use of the ice cream being circular but he just shook it off and smiled again . "Just try it though Onii-chan I swear to you its really good!" Cyber giggled again and took another bite out of the ice cream.

" Well I don't know... people don't asks those things really, the prism is called a cone some are edible like this one so you can eat it, it holds up the ice cream so you don't have to eat it with your bare hands. The ball shape is just been like that for a long time so not much is really answered by it..." Alistair listened intently as she explained "interesting" he muttered again.
Alistair watched as Miss Cyber took the 'cone' he imitated her. Then she took a tiny bite of it. he blinked, not entirely understanding the gesture.
"Just try it though Onii-chan I swear to you its really good!" she said, taking another tiny bite. Alistair carefully copied the gesture, it was rather good, "this is quite sweet, like the asper pods back home" he smiled at the memory "quite enjoyable" he took another tiny bite, smiling up at her "thank you again Miss Cyber for this treat, it's quite nice of you"

'"Asper pods? What are those Onii-chan?" Cyber was really curious of Alistair....Its like he came form another world... "Well glad you like! But you know ice cream isn't much a celebration treat... I think there should be more though..." He smiled seductively thinking maybe he should go quickly to part 3 of his master plan... "After this we need to get some dinner! or lunch... whatever the time is right now! I say we should try some sushi or maybe a bowl of ramen! Oh those things are just making me feel so hungry!" He said excitedly... he was really getting hungrier and could't wait for probably a free meal. " So Alistair... while we eat, I wan to know more about my Onii-chan! So what do you like and stuff I am really interested!" he faked his interest in him again so time can move a bit more. "Onii-chan are you a student at Athalia academy?" First question he was actually curious of, like before.... where did this guy came from?

he thought about it "asper pods ... are a lot like strawberries, but bigger and juicier" he smiled as that was a reasonably accurate description.
"Well glad you like! But you know ice cream isn't much a celebration treat... I think there should be more though..." Alistair understood her insinuation and he smiled very mischievously at her, he knew it came off almost like her knew something she didn't, she suggested "After this we need to get some dinner! or lunch... whatever the time is right now! I say we should try some sushi or maybe a bowl of ramen! Oh those things are just making me feel so hungry!"
he wanted to ask what those were but he figured his questions would start to annoy her after a while so he just smiled "lead the way"
as they started walking she said " So Alistair... while we eat, I wan to know more about my Onii-chan! So what do you like and stuff I am really interested!"
"there's not a lot to know about me, i don't do much ever, i mainly hang around and feel sorry for myself" he laughed, then she asked if he was a student, he shook his head "no, i live here, well more precisely out there" he gestured towards the forest. As he figured she was probably confused he said "i wasn't born here though, i was ... well taken is the kindest way of saying it, and well, i ... i was left here, this isn't my home" he looked at her "but i have nowhere else to go," he quickly changed the subject to "where do you come from Miss Cyber?"

Cyber was very interested now on where Alistair came from. Even the Asper pods sounds like it came from a new world of some sort...like Saint's Row Four.... that was a weird world. "Left here? Like you were abandon? That is sad Onii-chan.. Well you can stay here, maybe you can even know about yourself here too~." He did feel a little pity for Ailstair yet he didn't really much care for what he says like how he feels sorry for himself. "Hhmm well if you don't know much about yourself then maybe we could both out together? Hang out and unlock to see much more!" Cyber thought he was talking gibberish...well of course when he talks about something it ends up with gibberish and a fight. "Sorry if I am not making myself clear Onii-chan..." He gave a semi-okay joking smile and a lighthearted giggle. He noticed that Alistair quickly wanted to change subjects but he just gave his signature fake innocent happy smile. "I am from little town... Well a very big town, not much has happen in that town...quite boring with lots rumors and myths...but still quite boring..." Cyber made a childish face for remembering how he used to live there. "Plus lots of...creeps who just...ugh..." Now he wanted to change the topic... "Well just enjoy our ice cream! Create new happy memories!" He smiled gleefully as he continue to eat his ice cream with Alistair. Maybe he was enjoying his company after all...

Seven listened carefully while trying to dry himself. 'First place?! Yes!' Seven smiled happily but was so busy licking himself to dry he really didn't care anymore.. "If I was smaller then this would be easier..." He felt a little gloomy from not caring that he won first place but rather keep himself clean. He turned back to his bakeneko form, he was small enough and probably easier to clean only problem he always faces... fur... fur dries slower than skin so bid disadvantage... "gah! Stupid water! God why did I have to get that!?" He moaned as try to lick his fur clean, thinking that he was getting no where and getting lazy he walked towards a small group of people (Crash, Kathy, Darwin, Carmen, I will continue this later) "um excuse me but... need help drying my fur up..." He asked the group hoping to help him.

If it was possible Crash went as red as his hair at Kathy’s question, he looked so flustered he couldn’t even formulate an answer to that, he just kept his hand on the back of his neck and looked to the side giving her a point in the teasing war they seemed to be engaged in. He was also eager to find out how long it would take for her to change back for two reasons now.
Sneezing was a rather haphazard for Crash, where he hadn’t fully learnt how to control his shifting it happened at sporadic times, often controlled by his emotions. He looked up at Kathy with soft crimson eyes, wrinkling his nose as she laughed at him, he poked his tongue out at her, holding the tip out for a moment before his ears flicked back as he watched the troubled look cross her face, his tail thumped against the sand a second time he tilted his head to the side as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking over his shoulder at the changing booth he got to his feet. “Let-“ His voice hung in the air though replaced by a surprised yip as he was suddenly scooped up into her arms he hadn’t expected it. Crash puppy’s reaction to being hugged was to wriggle happily and wag his tail at an alarming speed resisting the urge to lick her hands in its excitement, it was difficult to suppress every animal like reaction when in a shifted form. His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as she laughed, he hadn’t forgotten about that he took being crushed as a puppy was as good a hug as any, especially if it was from her, He tilted his head back his front paws resting over her arm as the rest of him hung underneath it, though she was holding tight enough that, he wasn’t about to flop to the floor his tail was still whirling away below him. His ears pricked up as he listened to her request, he noticed how delighted she seemed to be with his puppy form. [i]Really? I get a hug just like that and I don’t need to wear the bunny ears anymore? I’m sensing I should have been using this form a lot more...[/i] He thought to himself, puffing out the tops of his jowels as if trying to grin. “Sure!” He answered her happily. “Just ease up on the squeezing hmm? Breathing is a necessity” He added cheekily snuffling her arm as his ears flickered atop his head as he dropped his gaze to the blue haired unicorn beside them. “Where are we going next though?” He asked, his tail still wriggling away. He tilted his head as Seven approached them. “Good race Seven” He barked happily to the bakeneko, his whole body wriggling in response very much like an excited puppy did. In fairness if he hadn’t been in Kathy’s arms he would have been running around like a crazy cracker by now, he was kind of hoping he could stay where he was for a while longer though...

While Kathy knew it had been an 'unfair' question, it was a lot more effective on Crash than she would've imagined. She grinned mischievously, wondering how she could use this to her advantage later. [i]'Not sure exactly how but... At last I know he's weak against something now.'[/i] She thought to herself.

With Crash in her arms in the form of a corgi puppy she laughed again as she noticed how fast his tail was going. "Is that on automatic?" She asked. His little stub of a tail seemed to be on helicopter mode at the speed he was going at. "And hey, doesn't breathing get a little boring at times? Maybe you should take a break." Despite her jokes though, Kathy loosened her grip on him a bit and used one hand to support him under his butt and the other arm remained wrapped around his torso. Basically, Crash was hugged to her body while facing the same direction she was as she support him from below with one hand. Looking around for a moment, she thought about where they should go next. Noticing the pile of crumpled clothes nearby, she chuckled, "I'm thinking the changing booths might be an ideal next destination." Kathy actually wouldn't have minded if he just stayed with her as a puppy for quite a bit longer, but that was probably not really fair for Crash. And also... Unfortunately, she also realized that the pile of clothes on the ground meant he probably wouldn't have any to shift out of... [i]'Entering a forbidden zone of thought now.'[/i] Blushing, she shook her head a bit at the thought, probably confusing anyone that was looking at her with the sudden action. 

Clearing her throat, Kathy looked around trying to locate where the newest voice was coming from. There was a purple cat (Seven) nearby, calling out to them for a bit of help. "Oh." She realized with a start, "Are you a shape-shifter as well?" Still keeping Crash held up against her upper body, she leaned down to talk to him. "We can probably use one of the beach towels to help you dry." She lifted her head back up to glance over around the changing booths. Maybe they didn't even need to go very far. There could be a towel or two around the changing area, or if they were particularly lazy they could always use a costume cape or something similar in place of a towel. "By the way," She added with a light chuckle to Crash, "You wouldn't chase a shape-shifting cat would you?"

Seven looked at a red haired puppy... “Good race Seven” ... A puppy... a dog... you looked like he was going to explode out of excitement like a puppy would be.... Seven hissed very loudly, arching his back, tail straight, fangs are showing and ears back. "Get away!" He hissed out as he step back. He had a very bad experience of dogs and hated every single mutt out there. But he ended up being distracted by the voice of a girl (kathy) "Are you a shape-shifter as well?" The girl with rusty red color had said while carrying the mutt. Seven just stop being a sour little cat and nodded "Well not really you say shape shifter... this is my true form quite frankly" he looked at the giants now since he was back to name al' but laughed sarcastically. " But its not important right now..." Seven grumbled a bit as he was getting irritated with the wet fur. "We can probably use one of the beach towels to help you dry." He looked back at her and gave a small smile. "Thank you now please dry me off! I hate the water" He shudders and continue to lick himself to sort of help his situation.