Stanton had a list that he was both adding to and subtracting from over the course of the day. By the time evening rolled around, he had to smile at the last errand left on it: Collect Battlemaid.

The last hour of his day had been spent getting the perfect outfit, the perfect hairdo, and the perfect cologne to impress upon his intended date how important she was to him. He was almost home when movement in the corner of his eye made him look over to see Elspeth sitting in the market, on an old crate, watching him back. She had a black dress on, a dark veil, and held a pretty pink parasol to keep the evening sun off her.

That Stanton noticed her made Elspeth glad. She really hadn't wanted to be more obvious, but as he walked closer, she availed herself of the time to really look at him. She could do this, she realized. She had only one real contender, and if she played things right, she could beat Triana Eyesbright to the prize. "Stanton, so odd to meet you here."

Not liking the way she looked at him as if she owned him, Stanton felt his hackles raise at her casual query that was as rhetorical as it wasn't actually a question. "What happened yesterday, Elspeth? Everyone was cleaning up those kobolds but you ran away."

"I didn't run away!" Almost shapeshifting in her anger, Elspeth calmed herself and sat back. "That damn pig and his kobold minions tried to kidnap me. Didn't work, though, they were expecting a dumb werewolf. I guess they should have waited for Triana to arrive."

"Shit," Stanton said, before recovering. "We didn't know that. Triana said that after she reached the alley, there was no sign of you. I—I'm sorry, Elspeth."

She hadn't actually prepared for the eventuality of getting an apology. "Well, I'm fine now. I have decided I will compete in the next contest. I will beat Triana Eyesbright and, Stanton, you will be glad I did."

"Why would I be? She's a friend. She's made the effort to be friends with my friends. I've already penned a letter I'll be sending to my mother to tell her this." He hoped it would put her off, or else he'd have to go and write that letter that he just lied about.

"You'll tear that up yourself and you know why?" Leaning forward, Elspeth closed and adjusted the grip on her parasol so the hooked handle swung behind Stanton's neck and pulled him close enough they could kiss. "Because I can tell you how to get to that damned pig's secret lair under the city."

"Wh—" Stanton had to gulp before he could continue. He was off-balance because of her, and he knew it was her plan. "Why would I care about that? Seems like more of your problem than mine." Big bluff, he knew, but he had been playing politics within his family for years.

"Really, Super Lupine Girl?" The look of panic on Stanton's face was a delicious delicacy for Elspeth. "Oh, don't worry, I won't tell your little common-born dalliance about that side of you. She's the only one that doesn't know, right? Oh, and the demon. You think you're the only one who can tail people and find out what they're up to?"

"What do you want, Elspeth?"

"That's clear, Stanton. I want to pin the names Raveel-Sharptooth after Longhowl. You, I have no doubt, will be a fun puzzle to unravel over the next twenty or so years. After that, we can each settle down to our own games. No doubt you'll be chasing the maids around and getting pups on them all while I trade in your families' names." Elspeth pulled a little more and licked Stanton's cheek. "Mmm. Maybe I'll dress up as a maid every now and again, if only to see how blind you've become."

Trying to jerk back from her, Stanton realized that she was using force above and beyond what werewolves would typically use in their human form. With an unspoken prayer to the power within him, he reached up and broke the crook of the parasol's handle and stepped back. "You seemed kinda normal yesterday. What happened? Was all that an act because of Triana beating you?"

The change in an already aggressive Elspeth to fiery incandescent rage startled Stanton. He had to jump backward to avoid one of her claws that still barely missed him.

"I'll kill you for bringing that up!" The snarled shout and fury surprised Elspeth. She had acted without thinking of the consequences for probably the first time in her life. Even her fight against Triana had been calculated—but she was sure she would have killed Stanton if her claw had connected. Jerking back, she felt trapped between her desire to control Stanton and the overreaction.

"Yeah, you know what, I have limits. Forget it. I'll tell mother that if she chooses you, I'm leaving the family. Also, if you ever threaten me like that again, Elspeth, not even Triana will save you." Stanton didn't, couldn't, break eye contact with Elspeth.

Elspeth's anger rose further, until she was on the verge of attacking him. She felt her wolfish qualities start to bubble just under her skin—muscles cording and bones growing denser—and then there was a press of bodies all around and between them. Children, it seemed. If she wanted to fight Stanton, she would have to smash her way through to him. "Soon, then."

Stanton was left watching as she turned, broke her parasol in half and dropped it, then walked away. He sighed. "What is up with the crazy women in my life? All I wanted was to graduate, get a maid or two, and— Battlemaid!"

Running back to his tower, dodging around people on the streets using his inhuman evasion skills, Stanton froze outside his front door and checked over himself. Luckily for him, Elspeth's parasol hadn't left any marks, but he was sure he still had her scent on him from where she'd licked. Also, when he checked his face in a magic reflection spell he conjured, he saw that she'd smudged the little touch of blush the hairdresser had left on his cheeks.

Another spell and he quickly dabbed the makeup and scent off together, leaving him with just the cologne. His hair was carefully pulled up and styled to hide its volume, so he considered himself ready. "I'm home!"

Jumping up from the stool she'd been sitting on, Battlemaid turned around—her dress spreading out around her—and stared at Stanton. Her hydraulic system's pumps misfired several times.

----------------------------------------

Earlier.

"Come on."

Battlemaid was a little confused. "Where? I have a date tonight and I don't want to miss it." She beheld Triana's excitement and couldn't for the life of her figure out why the woman was so worked up.

"Exactly! I'm not ashamed to say that your food was amazing—you really deserved to win this date. But Stanton is out getting himself prettied up for the date, and I want him to come in that door and freeze as he realizes he won't be the most beautiful thing in the room. So, come on." Reaching out her hand, Triana pulled Battlemaid to her feet. It wasn't exactly easy, and if Triana hadn't been a werewolf it would have been impossible, but as it was she drew her metallic friend toward the door.

Looking at Triana's arm, Battlemaid wasn't prepared to fight the encouragement but she still wanted more answers. "Where are we going?"

"You need several things, but a dress is top among them and will take the longest. Thankfully my cousin will help out with that, while my sisters will not hesitate for a moment to have your hair and makeup looking— What is your hair made from?" As she was pushing Battlemaid out the door, Triana noticed that while the girl's hair looked normal from a distance, it seemed synthetic.

"My hair is a composite of nylon, high grade silicon carbide, and aluminum mesh. It provides excellent all-round impact protection, prevents squish-head and HEAT munitions from contacting my chassis, and can dissipate heat—though Stanton made me that new system to help with that." Battlemaid tapped her chin in thought as Triana gave up dragging her and literally lifted Battlemaid onto one shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"First, to the transporter station. We don't have time to wait for an appointment with someone in town, and I've already secured us both travel there and back." Hoisting Battlemaid onto one shoulder wasn't exactly hard, the girl was a little heavier than the average two-wheeled wagon, though, and so Triana adjusted her until the mass was comfortable. "You, uh, are quite solid."

"Affirmative. Battlemaid's chassis is built from an ultralight alloy, but has armor plating around several key areas made from a Tungsten/depleted Uranium alloy that prevents damage should even ninety percent of the rest of the body be ablated." It wasn't embarrassing to be carried, but Battlemaid was sure she could have moved faster under her own power. Shifting herself, she grabbed Triana under her shoulders and said, "Activating thrusters."

Flying wasn't common for werewolves, though Triana could appreciate that out of all the methods for flight she knew about, the new one that Battlemaid was employing definitely had top marks for being the most terrifying. It was more than the thin arms supporting her, the huge plumes of flame burning barely out of reach below her skirts, or the way Battlemaid seemed to be pitching forward more and more to trade vertical acceleration for horizontal—but they were absolutely a big part of the panic she felt.

"Gimballing around center of mass. Slowing horizontal momentum. Throttling down thrusters." It didn't matter to Battlemaid that Triana touched the ground first. She let the woman get her feet under her before returning to her shoulder-supported position. "You have arrived at your destination."

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Her legs didn't shake because she was terrified, Triana lied to herself, it was totally because Battlemaid was heavy and she was still in her normal human form. "Please don't ever do that again." Even her voice shook, but Triana had to admit—they were at the station far sooner than she would have got them there.

Being placed back on her own feet, Battlemaid adjusted her apron and skirt to sit properly. "Taking note: Triana Eyesbright does not wish assistance with locomotion."

"Close enough. Come on, I booked us a departure time and these rural stations can sometimes get snooty with nobles about ruining their schedule." Taking Battlemaid's hand in her own, Triana led the way into the huge station. They took the shortcut to the more exclusive teleportation pad, of course, and all it took was Triana flashing her reservation to get a nod from the staff.

The wait wasn't long, which meant that they really had cut it fine. When the teleport ended and they were in a much louder city, Triana breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, we have a seamstress to bully." It wasn't so much that Triana was shoving her way through the crowd, but when a well-to-do lady was dragging a maid along by the hand, people made way and tried to pretend they weren't looking back to listen for the inevitable scalding that was about to happen.

No scalding would come this day, certainly not from Triana. "I think Stanton is contagious."

"Master has been invaded by microscopic almost-life?!" Battlemaid had planned for this. She was already shifting her ammo production systems into making a combination of synthetic chicken-noodle soup and powerful acids to burn away phlegm. "I must go to him!"

"Wait!" Containing a slim, several-hundred-pound combat-rated maid was not an easy task. Triana could feel her shifter muscles straining to stop Battlemaid before she did something inadvisable. "He's not actually beset by illness, werewolves can't get those, I merely meant that his magnanimous nature was rubbing off on me."

"You were abrading him? Aren't you both the same consistency?"

"I—" Triana closed her eyes and surrendered to the inevitability of Battlemaid never quite understanding anything she said. "Just forget about it. Come on, you need to be measured so Courtney can make your dress by the end of the day."

Reaching her cousin's boutique without any further incidents, and only one confusing moment where Battlemaid told her she was continuing to make armor-piercing ammunition, Triana pushed the robot girl into the building ahead of her. "Courtney!"

Poking her head up from behind a counter, Courtney Eyesbright spotted her cousin and leapt over the bench and slammed into her with a huge hug. "Tri! Where have you been? It's been sooooo boring here without you! Did you—?" She stopped and looked over Triana's shoulder at Battlemaid. "You have your own maid now?"

"No. Wait. She's sort of a maid, but also— Let me explain it properly and introduce you. Courtney Eyesbright, this is Battlemaid. Battlemaid, this is Courtney Eyesbright, my cousin. Oh, Battlemaid is Stanton's maid. She's literally the best cook I know and, once you get used to her, she's amazing." Triana was, as she spoke, trying to come up with a way to get her cousin to get a ride from Battlemaid, but she was also worried that it would leave Courtney so terrified she wouldn't finish the dress. "We need your help."

"You need a dress." Not a question, not even a hint of one. There were others that Triana could go to for all manner of problems, but Courtney knew that if Triana needed a dress made, this was exactly where she'd be. "Who is it for and when do you need it by?" She narrowed her eyes and held up a hand before Triana's face. "Wait, I already know the answers. Battlemaid and some time today."

"Please?" Triana asked.

"You realize I work by appointment only, right? I don't let riffraff in off the street. The Emperor's daughter came in yesterday, I was making her dress when you arrived." Courtney held the moment only as long as was required for Triana to look a little defeated. "But she doesn't need it until the weekend, so you are lucky. Triana, don't try to pull this again without at least a day's notice."

"The Emperor's daughter, really?" was all Triana could think to ask.

Nodding, Courtney said, "Yes. Really. So, what event are we bringing this— Are you a golem of some kind?"

"I-I was. Now Lorissa says I'm way more than a golem, and Master said so too!" Battlemaid fiddled with the hem of her apron, not even realizing her vocal systems had slipped a little. "I keep him safe and cook for him, and he—he is taking me out on a date tonight."

Nodding, Courtney found herself patting Battlemaid's hand to reassure her. It wasn't hard to imagine her as a person instead of a golem—no golem Courtney had ever seen got nervous and excited at the same time. "Triana, I have got so many questions, but I can ask those while measuring. Please go behind the shade over there and take off your dress, Battlemaid."

A flash of confusion and social rules poured through Battlemaid as she tried to figure out whether it was safe to undress. The main worry, that her master would see her, was alleviated due to him being a large distance away (though the teleporter was a worrying device she'd have to investigate). Courtney, being someone who made dresses, was definitely qualified to inspect bodies so, with the privacy screen promised (and being unable to confirm if Triana had eyesight that could penetrate the barrier), she went and did as instructed.

Looking at her cousin, Courtney poked her tongue out after a good stern glare, then headed off with measuring tape in hand. "With your complexion, something dark would be best. We want to give you a framing, not steal the attention. Bright colors would only leave your skin tone begging for light."

"Chassis coating," Battlemaid said. "I don't have skin. This is a high density non-ferrous metal-polymer alloy that is nano-woven together to provide puncture resistance and a soft texture."

"Okay." Unsure what to do with the information, Courtney filed it away. "That would still be the skin of your chassis, correct?"

Blinking at that, Battlemaid tipped her head to the side a little to allow her cooling systems to better facilitate heat-flow out of her processing system. "That is logically correct."

Battlemaid seemed like a strange little conundrum to Courtney. It was obvious the girl wasn't made of flesh and blood, both in how she spoke and how she looked (the tiny seams in her flesh were obvious now she'd disrobed), but Battlemaid's emotions were real. "If you ever get tired of working as a maid, you should come and work for me."

It was a surprising question. Battlemaid pondered it. "Battlemaid would never get tired of Master, but if Master doesn't need Battlemaid anymore, she—she will come and serve Courtney instead."

Taking the required measurements, Courtney smiled at the idea of getting to know the girl further. "What are your thoughts, Ba—Do you have a shorter name?"

Blushing a little, and not sure why, Battlemaid said, "The others called me Billi when we had the cooking contest."

"Billi? Yes, a lovely name. Well, Billi, what are your thoughts on a good color combination?"

"C-Color? Battlemaid is—" Focusing her attention on her nano-woven skin, Battlemaid changed her exterior tone to the exact same as Courtney, and then adjusted her hair-color to match. "This makes it easier?"

Staring open-mouthed, Courtney shook her head to banish her shock. "You can change your color with magic?"

"N-No. It's not magic. Battlemaid can realign the crystal reflectors in her cha"—Battlemaid realized two things, Courtney preferred her shorter name and the woman didn't need her technical descriptions—"in my skin and hair using electricity. I can change it back if that would help?"

"Ye— Wait. No, don't become something just to please others, Billi. Become what colors you want to be." As usual, inspiration was a big part of Courtney's toolkit. She offered the instructions even as her mind started designing a dress to show off some of Battlemaid's features.

"What Battlemaid wants to be?" The surprise of being asked distracted Battlemaid from using her Billi persona. "B-Billi, sorry. I think it would be nice to have…" As she spoke, Battlemaid made her skin go paler white and her hair turned a soft blue. She examined it, then made a happy little squeak.

The change surprised Courtney. "Paler skin? That tone was already quite light," she said, holding out her arm, which is what Battlemaid had copied in the first place.

"Well, it's not with normal vision, I— Oh!" Holding out her right arm, she aimed her hand back toward herself and extended her personal flashlight from the back of her wrist. "My skin is highly UV reactive."

Staring as Battlemaid's skin started to glow in patterns with the deep "blue" light on it, Courtney could now see what she'd meant. "Oh my goodness, that's amazing. How did you make that light? It's not magic?"

"No, this is UV light. It's produced by very specific manipulation of—" Reminding herself that Courtney didn't need specific descriptions, Battlemaid shrugged. "It uses technology. Because the UV reactive parts are, to natural eyesight, no different to the rest, only excessive UV light or special optics can see the patterns." She was quite proud of the geometric patterns she'd used, particularly with the mathematical aberrations she'd added, that included some of her favorite numbers.

"If you can show me how to make the light and how to make cloth react like this, I will make this dress for you for free. In fact, I would make you an entire wardrobe." Avarice wasn't normally Courtney's thing, but since dresses had come back in style, she'd been looking for another idea to make her outfits unique.

Thinking about the slew of roadblocks that would require solutions to, Battlemaid nodded. "That shouldn't be impossible." The smile she got from Courtney made her smile too, and she realized how nice it was to make people happy. "Do you need further measurements or internal specifications?"

The question reminded Courtney that she was meant to be measuring Battlemaid. Looking down at her notes, she ran through them. "N-No! I have everything I need. Sorry, Billi, but you're so fascinating to talk to."

"You're done?" Triana asked. "We still have her hair to do and some accessories to get."

"Go, then. Leave me to languish and toil on your dress."

The wink Courtney gave her led Battlemaid to believe she was employing hyperbole. It was a form of camaraderie she had not experienced before. Then, with some rapid analysis of her entire life up until this moment, she realized she had been missing such cues a lot with Stanton. Of course, thinking about Stanton made her systems overheat.

"No, Billi, leave your maid uniform here and wear this for the day." Whipping out a pretty dress in blue and white, Courtney also selected underwear and other garments required to properly wear the piece.

By the time Triana got fed-up of waiting, and stomped over to the privacy screen, Battlemaid stepped out from behind it. The appearance of her in something other than her maid uniform, confirmed something for Triana. "You look very pretty in that, Billi."

Forced to balance her cooling to not ruin the far less durable fabrics of the borrowed dress, Battlemaid nonetheless blushed. "Thank you."

Once the pair were out the door, Courtney turned her attention back to Battlemaid's uniform. Running her fingers over it, the soft fabric seemed far more than it first appeared. She dug her nail into a seam and couldn't even begin to feel it underneath. "Courtney, careful or you'll find yourself in love."

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