-- Lilith POV, Skyview Monastery --

  It was late night already, the moon in the first quarter and she still couldn't find sleep.

  Tomorrow was the big day. The day to travel to Laketown with John. It felt almost unbelievable to her. To be free. Well almost free. She still was meant to show up daily at the town guard, but past that she could go wherever she wanted to. She would be more free than she ever had been so far.

  A thought was nagging her though. One of the first things she had been told in this world was, "This place isn't safe for someone like you." That had also been used as the reason why she had been arrested at first. To keep her safe from people who'd try to lynch her, just because of her looks.

  How much truth was in that? How would the people in Laketown react to her? John had said, he had friends there, and she didn't need to worry. But there was a town full of people. If they all turned against her, she would be trapped in John's workshop like any of the prisons she had been in so far.

  Maybe no one would care if she had horns, claws, hooves and a tail. That she stood taller than most. Maybe ... ? She took a breath. Nope. The actual question was if she rather became a curiosity to them or a perceived threat. Hoping to just pass without being noticed was futile. But what could she do to be seen as a curiosity instead of a threat?

  While she could do little about her physique, at least John had bought clothes for her. Clothes that he said were the traditional outfit for women in Laketown. Three sets, underwear and dresses. Muted colors, off-white, beige and brown mostly, some parts in a faint blue too. John had said that the dyes for stronger colors were rare and expensive, and only rich people, or people higher up could afford to dress in vivid colors. She wanted to blend in, fit in, so the colors that John had chosen looked all good to her.

  The traditional woman's clothing in John's place had a surprising lot of layers. Maybe Laketown was even colder than Skyview Monastery? She had not asked John about that yet. When she had asked about the many layers, John had told that it was about protection and washing the clothes. Apparently that was a major issue, and so only some pieces were washed frequently, and mostly there to prevent the upper, more valuable and more decorative layers from getting sweaty or greasy. The off-white linen pieces could be cooked with water and soap, John had said, so it wasn't too hard to get them properly clean again. The dyed pieces could only be washed lukewarm, or the dye would bleed out, and soap also washed the dye out. So it was better not get these pieces dirty in the first place.

  Overall the clothes that John had gotten her were of surprising good quality, fine textiles expertly tailored. John had taken her measurements and even that the tailor couldn't meet her for fitting, for obvious reasons, the tailor still had done a respectable job on the fit.

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  At first she had been quite happy to see that many of the pieces were of the wrap-and-lace style. She had considered that to be a good thing. Anything she had to pull over her head all too easily turned into a nightmare of entanglement with her horns. Clothes that were designed to be wrapped around her were much better. And even if the fabric was not particularly flexible, the laces promised a good fit.

  Relieved to be spared from issues with her horns and the new clothes, she had eagerly tried them on.

  Her joy about having horn-friendly clothing lasted exactly till the moment when she came to realize that laces and claws were not really on friendly terms either. Particularly if the laces were on her back, and at least half of them were.

  Ultimately she had to ask John for help. John had not even tried to jest her about her clawed hands and her troubles with the laces. Instead he had wrapped her with quite apparent joy and made sure everything fit perfectly on her.

  And now she was sitting on the fence. On one hand she wanted to depend less on John's help, particularly in something like getting dressed which had to happen every morning, maybe even twice a day, once to put on her daytime clothes and once to change to her evening clothes. Maybe even a third time before they went to sleep, if she failed to undo the laces in order to undress. But if he enjoyed the procedure? She also didn't want to ruin his fun. John had done quite a lot for her already.

  She sighed. Monk robes were definitely easier to get dressed with, but they were now also part of her past. She'd dress like the other townspeople from now on.

  The working clothes that John had brought for her were fairly plain in comparison. Also a sort of wrap dress, just of simpler make. Sturdy off-white linen cloth, two short sleeves so they couldn't easily catch fire while she worked and wide enough to get her clawed hands through easily. Parts to wrap up front, tied in place with a cloth belt. Simple and effective. Three of these, and a leather apron to wear above that, to be tied at the back. In case of the apron the straps were by far not as finicky as the delicate laces on her other clothes and she felt confident to handle them by herself.

  She tried to pull the blanket up higher, just to be reminded how shredded the upper rim was meanwhile. Her claws and any fabric that she tried to pull with some force where natural enemies, and the fabric always was on the loser's side.

  She sighed again. Probably better to always ask John for help with getting dressed. He had spend money on these dresses. It would a real big shame if she damaged them by accident, just because she was so clumsy with her claws.

  The wagon was loaded, the forge here in the monastery cold, empty and the room swept clean. Everything was ready so they could leave. In the morning John and her would have breakfast one more time with the monks, and then leave for Laketown.

  She rolled over and wrapped the blanket more tightly around her, claws tearing the cloth up some more. She didn't care, she really needed to get some sleep now. Probably John would allow her to nap while they traveled, but she wanted to give him company. He really hated the travel meanwhile; she had to make this one more pleasant for him. Napping was not an option.