Aayla was about to say something when the voice spoke again, only this time it was from the piece of cloth that was just thrown at her. "I'll say this is quite a step up from a dark room."
Aayla jerked back though she was still holding the piece of fabric. She stared down at the triangular brown fabric, only then realizing it was precisely where the voice had come from.
The fabric seemed to impossibly shift and the vague outlines of eyes and a mouth appeared in it. "I have no idea what you are, but I approve of your dress code."
Aayla held the piece of fabric as far away from herself as possible and the vaguely cone shaped item dangled in the air.
"Is that... the Sorting Hat, Harry?" Tonks' voice came from the portrait besides the passageway.
Harry ignored Aayla's bafflement with the hat as well as the portrait's comment when he came out. He definitely wasn't wearing the sort of outfit they were used to seeing him in. This wasn't the casual sweats, or even the nondescript traveling clothing he had had been prone to wearing.
Instead he had donned a black top and pants that an experienced eye could identify as some sort of animal hide. It also included a black cloak with a hood, though it wasn't pulled up at the moment, and boots that seemed to be made of the same material.
Ahsoka noted that his outfit seemed to glimmer slightly in the lines of the leather like animal skin. Her mind was instantly drawn to the black powder she remembered Harry using on their initial encounter in a bar. Her attention was drawn however by the fact that he was carrying something in his hands.
It was something that he tossed to her as he exited the hidden hallway, causing her to awkwardly catch it in surprise. She caught the main bulk of it but for one shoe and another small object that fell to the ground from the bundle. It took her a minute as she realized she was holding a top and a pants that looked to be of similar material to what Harry was wearing.
"Put those on." Harry said shortly.
"What? Why?" Ahsoka asked, holding up the garment he had tossed at her, her eyes trying to judge how close the size was to her own.
"You're going to insist on coming with me, and I accepted that. But what you're wearing is hardly protective." Harry replied shortly glancing down at her long expanse of legs and exposed midriff. "As pleasant as the view is… I'm not going to lose my apprentice because you're wearing even less clothes into battle than Blue is over there.
"It allows freedom of movement, and covering up isn't going to protect me from a blaster bolt." Ahsoka argued, though she couldn't keep the blush and the smile off her face on the comment about the view.
Harry just shot a look over his shoulder that he wasn't going to argue the case further before he walked away.
He passed Aayla who was looking at him, demanding an explanation for the piece of fabric she was holding. Harry shrugged and gestured at it, "You want to know about my world? The Sorting Hat might help you if you can get some answers from it." He didn't wait for a response instead heading down the row of shelving.
Aayla watched him go, and wanted to say something but there was something different about the way he was moving now. She tilted her head slightly, watching him go back towards the comm station they had left Shaak Ti at as she struggled to categorize the change she was seeing.
That's when hit her. This wasn't something 'new' from Harry. This was exactly how he had appeared when he dealt with the slavers back on Nar Shaddaa. There was little nonsense going on at the moment, and Aayla realized that Harry fully intended to fight in whatever conflict was about to occur.
Aayla glanced back at Ahsoka, and then at the hat she was still holding in her hand before she stormed after Harry, hat still held in her hand. She realized the answer he had given was entirely inadequate and misleading, as there was no way a filthy piece of cloth was going to tell him anything about his past. "Harry, what the hell is this?" she demanded as she strode off after him.
"Potter, this one's got a pair of lungs on her. And, by Merlin, that's not the only pair she has! Not sure about the head tentacles… but hey… to each his own. They probably give you something to grab on to. Not that I know anything about that since I don't have hands," the voice said in the distance as Aayla stormed off with it.
Ahsoka hesitated as well, watching them both go, before once more looking at the bundle of things Harry had tossed her. She gave it a few experimental tugs to determine how flexible it was and found out it felt oddly peculiar. It wasn't hard and leather like, despite its look, instead it felt smooth, almost like hardened liquid moving through her fingers, if she had tried to describe it, She debated arguing with him about it, and then reconsidered. He hadn't really set down any rules, and he clearly expected trouble. After another few second's consideration, judging the size of the outfit he handed her against her own size she finally shrugged slightly and began to strip out of her clothing, figuring if it didn't fit she could always tell him she at least tried.
Ahsoka slid into the dark pants without much problem, sighing a bit, as she suspected her legs were slightly too long and the waist was too loose to be held up without a belt. She debated not putting on the top and going out to argue with Harry but decided she wanted to at least be able to say she tried when she did.
She struggled a little bit getting her head through the top, while she did she noted that the inside of the garment was lined with odd silver colored designs. She could tell instantly it was too big as she tugged the loose garment to her waist.
However, the instant she pulled it down that far, the two garments seemed to come alive. She felt the Force suddenly cascade through them as they suddenly shifted, tightened, and became one unified outfit. A moment later she was standing there in a perfectly fitted outfit that covered her from neck to ankles and molded to her every curve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you enjoy reading? Visit my site on Tiendup! There you will find the advanced chapter in PDF format, ready for your convenience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/