Naota was pacing back and forth in his throne room, already dressed for the Celestial Ball. Getting ready for such an event was easy for him since he’d been forced to such things in childhood, but Echo? Not so much. Each time she decided to go, she usually ended up enjoying herself, but the dress was the difficult part, not the event itself. At this stage in their joined lives he wondered if she were keeping it up as a ruse since each garment was battle ready, usually with some new technique woven in that was custom to her. Then he thought of the amount of pillows thrown at the back of peoples’ heads and knew there was no charade here.

This gown in particular had to be the fiercest of any garment he’d made or had made for her. This one was the former. No other could possibly dress her in such a thing aside from him due to how it was constructed almost entirely of crystals save for the protective lining that kept her skin from being marred. His fingers tapped at his chin as he stood alone in his throne room, lost in thought on how best to present it to her in a way that wouldn’t have her immediately groaning. All deities were attending the ball, so he knew that she knew he’d be expected as well. His drink was already in place even.

To be sure that everything was in order, he moved both hands out, finding the balance within himself while in such a holy and aligned place, to summon forth the crystals. Each one glittered into being and came together in the pattern he had designed for her. The bodice was sturdy but left enough freedom for her to parry and weave should she need to: it was adorned in swirls of smithsonite and ametrine that twisted and came together to be able to tie at the back of her neck in accompanying ribbon. Within the bodice were twin sheaths where she could pull her thin but deadly blades.

A cincher of violet flame opal brought the garment together, but when removed would straighten out into a deadly spiked chain whip. When this would be done, the skirt of the dress would shift and fall to loose pants around her legs: comprised of sugilite and amazonite. The two crystals complimented each other in soft stripes to give the illusion of height for his tiny life partner while in the legged combat mode.

Should the cincher not be removed, the skirt of the gown kept the same striped pattern, but with sugilite and ajoite. The ends of the skirt had their own nigh perceptible chips of stone that would prove quite painful should the wearer decide to haughtily turn and sashay the skirt towards the would-be aggravator.

Three gifted blades and two throwing daggers were already secured within the skirt as a deadly surprise, assuming she would actually put on the gown. Naota slowly circled it, adjusting crystals where he needed to as it stayed suspended in midair for him to make any necessary changes. The lining was cool and smooth so that she would be comfortable, this one had to be the masterpiece of all garments made for her. It also had to be the deadliest.

He breathed out slowly and snapped his fingers: the dress disappeared. It was time to find Echo. He straightened his own clothing and hair and teleported out of the throne room. For himself he was wearing a simple, if not also battle ready, formal suit as always: designed with black as the main color, with accents of amethyst for dreams and soft golden silk for light. Torinasu, as always, was tied at his hip. His eyes were clouded with dark liner which made the emerald shine of his eyes that much more vibrant.

“Echo?” he called as he came to their private bed chambers. He knew there was just as much likelihood that she was training or chasing one of their many children, but this was always a good starting point.