The Secret - Part 13

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#17 of Jane Doe and The Secret

This story takes place in an alternate timeline to the one in my Swiss Mix stories. In this series, Hans and his father Karl are both Americans, and live in a suburban community. This is from the same series as my story "A Sleepover with Jane".

Karl and Melanie and the kids have dinner with Melanie's parents while wearing their costumes for the Samhain party. Andrew and Colleen's costumes are even more revealing than what Karl and Melanie will wear, and Karl gains a new appreciation for what a beautiful woman his girlfriend's mother is. Then the Samhain party begins the next day, with Hans dressed as Hannah for the ride to the park, and remaining in character as a girl the whole time. The costume contest is held, and we finally see Dianna's costume.


The Secret - part 13

By DoggyStyle57 - February 2013

10/27/2012 (Saturday - the night before the Samhain party)

On Saturday afternoon, Melanie rejoined Karl and the kids after spending the most of the day in her parents' half of the duplex, where she had been assisting them in preparing decorations to take to the party the next day.

"Mom and dad would like to join us for dinner tonight, Karl," she said, as she came into the kitchen via the back door.

"That's fine with me," Karl said amicably. "We have more than enough food in the kitchen to prepare two extra meals, and I do enjoy talking with them. I'll go get dressed, and tell the kids to dress for dinner as well." Karl and the kids had been having another 'naked family day' together. He was wearing nothing but a kitchen apron, and was only wearing that because he had been starting to gather the ingredients for dinner. In the living room, Hans and Ryan were completely naked and playing a video game with each other.

"Ummm, actually, I was thinking we should all wear our Samhain party costumes tonight," Melanie ventured tentatively. "We're pretty comfortable now with being naked or nearly naked, when it's just you, me and the kids. And my parents will see us in our skimpy costumes tomorrow night, anyway. So I thought it might help you to sort of ease into the idea of wearing the slave boy outfit with others watching. And I know mom and dad want to show us their costumes, too. Can we do that?"

Karl took a deep breath. He was poised to object, and even began to raise his hand to ward her off that idea, but she had a good point there. If he couldn't get up the nerve to wear that 'slave boy' outfit tonight in front of his girlfriend's parents, how was he going to manage tomorrow night, when it would be her parents, Mossy and Dianna, plus quite a few other people, most of whom he had never met? "I... Oh, all right, you win. Have you at least warned them how kinky our outfits will be? I know they've seen Hans in his dress already."

"Yes, they know. And from what Mom told me, their costumes are pretty revealing too, dear. I'll take over making dinner, and I'll call Mom and let her know our plans," Melanie said. "You and the kids get changed, and I'll change when you get back in here to relieve me. You know, I was very glad to learn you like to cook, Karl. I certainly appreciate your help in preparing our meals. Most men are rather useless in the kitchen."

"Well, when I got divorced, Hans and I still had to eat. I was able to fend for myself pretty well before I married - as well as most college kids, at least. But after that, I learned to do it right, so Hans could eat more nutritious meals," Karl said. "Somehow, needing to do something for a child makes it more important than doing it for yourself."

===

Later that evening, Karl answered a knock at the back door, and was greeted by a fierce looking and nearly naked Pictish warrior. Andrew Kelley was wearing not much more than dozens blue spirals and other patterns made with fur paint, and a small loin cloth for modesty. Behind him his wife Colleen was wearing a short Greek chiton - a single piece of thin cloth not much bigger than a bath towel, wrapped around her left side and pinned over each of her shoulders and once under her right arm with three pins that looked like oversized brass safety pins.

"I really doubt any of your Archaeology students at the community college would recognize you like that, Professor Kelley," Karl said with a grin. "You're a Pict, if I remember my history correctly? But I am at an utter loss to even describe your attire, Mrs. Kelley."

"Indeed I am, Karl. But I doubt any of your investment clients recognize you, either," Andrew smoothly replied, taking in Karl's leather body harness and pouch g-string. "It looks good on you, though. It takes a man with a good build and self-confidence to wear something like that."

"Karl, dear, how many times do we have to ask you to just call us Andrew and Colleen? I'm dressed as a Greek bath house girl," Colleen replied.

"And I am but a slave to your charming daughter," Karl said. "Do come in."

Karl blinked as Colleen followed her husband into the kitchen, and he really got a good look at her costume for the first time. The outfit she had on was indecently short - only barely long enough in front to cover her groin, exposing the full length of her bare legs to his view. He was quite certain that if she sat down she would expose her groin quite easily, unless she kept her legs tightly together. And the fabric was thin enough and the open side of her garment moved enough as she passed him for him to be quite certain that she was wearing nothing at all under it. When viewed from behind, her tail held the back of the short chiton up enough to fully expose her naked ass, confirming her lack of underwear.

Karl wasn't at all used to seeing... so much of Colleen. She didn't normally wear revealing clothing, at least not around Karl, Melanie and the kids. As long as Karl had known her, Colleen had always chosen to wear caftans or loose robes rather than form-fitting clothes. So it hadn't been at all obvious to Karl before this that the 42 year old Collie still had such a fantastic figure. Karl knew that Colleen exercised daily, and that she was a yoga instructor at a local pagan shop. But now, as Colleen greeted Melanie in the kitchen, Karl realized that his girlfriend's mother still had a body that most 20 year old women would covet. While Colleen was, perhaps, a little thicker in the waist than Melanie, the main thing other than clothing that made it possible to tell them apart was their hair. Colleen's long, straight and jet-black hair reached to the bottom of her butt, and she wore it in a thick single braid. Melanie's hair, on the other hand, while equally black and straight, only came to the middle of her back when she wore it loose, and normally she wore hers in a pony tail.

Karl had to fight to remind himself that this was his girlfriend's mother that he was staring at. No, who he was looking at with quite lecherous thoughts, he had to admit! But then again, the difference in age between himself and Colleen was no larger than the difference between himself and Melanie. At 32, Karl was exactly halfway between the mother and daughter in age.

Fortunately, no one seemed to notice that he was getting an erection, or that he was standing there rather tongue tied. The kids set the table for dinner, with Hans swishing around in his princess dress and with his shoulder-length hair hanging loose rather than in his usual pony tail. Ryan had on her 'Prince Charming' outfit, except for her plastic sword. Andrew and Colleen assisted Melanie with carrying food to the table, as Karl finally got moving again and got the wine for the adults.

===

"I think your costumes are wonderful!" Colleen said, as they ate. "They're much more elaborate than ours. I know how expensive good leatherwork can be, since we sell several handcrafted leather items at the pagan shop. I hope you don't mind my asking, but did you find someplace you could rent those outfits, or did you really buy them? They certainly look real - like they were really made to last."

"We bought them from a shop that Mossy works at. She gave us a nice discount on them," Karl said. "I doubt we could have found anything like this for rent. They were expensive, I'll admit, but well within what I can afford. And... we may get some other uses out of them later."

"Oh yes! Now I remember that shop Mossy works at on the weekends. You've met her and have been getting along well then?" Colleen asked.

"Quite well. We discussed the time that she and Melanie spent together, and it's obvious that she still cares deeply for both Melanie and Ryan. In fact, she and her new Partner, Dianna have agreed to become godparents for Hans and Ryan," Karl said.

"A good choice. I think they will take that role quite seriously," Andrew said. "Mossy was quite fond of Ryan when she and Melanie were a couple. She's a good girl. A bit wild and precocious, I'll admit, but at heart she's a very good girl. She was very devoted to our Melanie when Melanie desperately needed emotional support - the kind of support that her parents couldn't, or at least shouldn't, give. We owe mossy a great deal for how well she treated Melanie, as well as for her being willing to let Melanie seek her own path again, when it was her choice to do so."

"You have been quite devoted to both Melanie and Ryan yourself, Karl," Colleen said. "We are so very glad that you and your son Hans have become a part of their lives."

"Yeah, we've all been gettin' along great!" Hans said eagerly. "Miss Melanie understands and accepts me, and Ryan an' me are really enjoying being with each other. I couldn't ask for a better mom!"

"And I think Mister Karl is gonna be a great daddy for me," Ryan said, with equal enthusiasm. "It's so cool to really have a daddy of my own!"

"So, do you still have any questions about tomorrow night's activities, Karl?" Andrew asked.

"Well... will everyone's costumes be so... sexy?" he asked, glancing at Colleen.

Colleen blushed and replied, "Oh, no, most of them probably won't. We're only dressed this way because of the 'opposites' theme this year."

"Colleen usually dresses modestly and doesn't flirt with others," Andrew said. "But as a Greek bath house girl she'll be flirting all night. Should get an amusing reaction from a number of our friends."

"Fortunately, our friends all know me well enough not to take any flirtation seriously from me, so I'll be free to have fun tomorrow night," Colleen added. "And my pacifistic and very civilized and well-educated husband is a fierce and barbaric Pict warrior. Quite unlike him, wouldn't you say?"

"As much so as it is for me to act like a naked slave boy, yes," Karl agreed. "So, aside from the costume contest, and the late-night rituals, what else will happen?"

"Patrick and Monica Morgan own a large portable hot tub, on a trailer," Andrew said. "They bring it to a lot of our Druid or Wiccan events, and set up a large tent over it for privacy and to keep the air warm near the tub. Seats eight, or a few more if they are very friendly, and it has a soundproofed generator that they can position away from the tub itself to power the water heater and the whirlpool jets. They won't need to run the generator for this site, though. The event hall at the park has a couple RV spaces with full water and power hookups next to the hall, and they can plug everything in there. It's quite refreshing, so be sure to being a towel for each of you. Swimsuits are strictly optional."

"There will be tables with board games that anyone can play. There won't be a bar, but it's okay for people to bring alcohol. And there will be music and dancing, and a pot-luck buffet table. No formal meal, just lots of food and non-alcoholic beverages set out so people can 'graze' at will," Melanie added. "There's also a bunkhouse next door with several smaller rooms, for those that want to spend the night... or have some privacy. We can use those rooms to change into our costumes, so no one has to drive to or from the county park dressed like this."

"Well, that's a relief!" Karl said with a grin. "Can you imagine being pulled over for a traffic stop, dressed like we are?"

"We've had to explain worse things to the police," Andrew said ruefully. "Like when some idiot brought a potted Cannabis plant to a Yule revel, to give to someone as a gift, and left it outside. A county cop spotted it, and we had quite a time convincing him that none of us had left the thing out there. Fortunately the boy that brought it hadn't put a gift tag on the plant!"

They finished dinner, and the kids went to the living room to play video games, while the adults played pinochle on the dining room table. Karl wasn't very good at that card game game, but Melanie and her parents apparently played it fairly often. After an hour or so, Karl was playing passably well.

They played cards and chatted and sipped at their wine until it was time for the kids to go to bed. Andrew and Colleen said their goodnights then as well, and went home.

After they were gone, Melanie smiled and said, "Do you realize that by the middle of dinner, no one was acting as if they were in costumes? You even stopped staring at my mom's ass."

"I wasn't! Well... maybe I was, at that," Karl conceded. "It's kind of hard to ignore a pretty lady flashing her bare butt at you. Even when you know she's happily married."

"She was having fun teasing you," Melanie said. "You gave her a perfect chance to practice flirting."

"You really think she was exposing herself to me intentionally?" Karl asked.

"I'm certain she was," Melanie said. "It wouldn't have offended any of us if you had played along and flirted back at her. It's not as if she'd leave dad for you, or you'd leave me for her, right? And you have to admit, she's still a desirable bitch."

"That she is. Your father is a lucky man. She's quite a woman, all right," Karl agreed. Then he hugged Melanie, gave her a kiss, and said, "But I am quite happy with this beautiful and desirable bitch that I have in my arms right now. Let's go to bed, dear."

Melanie grinned, and said, "To bed, yes, but not to sleep just yet, my pretty slave boy! Come along now, and tend to your Mistress!"

===

10/28/2012 (Sunday - The Samhain party at The Lakeshore County Park)

The day of the Samhain party finally arrived. Karl, Melanie, Ryan and Hans all agreed that they would change into their costumes after arriving at the party, making use of one of the bunkhouse rooms to change. So Melanie carefully packed each family member's costume and accessories into four small gym bags, plus a dress bag for Hans' Princess dress and petticoats, and she had Karl load those bags plus their pot-luck contributions into the car, while she and the kids locked up the house and finished getting ready to go.

Karl finished packing and sat in the living room to check the map, so he could be sure he knew the way to the county park the party was to be held at. Melanie's parents had left an hour ago, and if they didn't leave soon, they would be late. He impatiently looked at his watch several times.

When Melanie and the kids finally came downstairs to go, Melanie was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and had done her hair in a single braid down her back. Ryan was in her usual school clothes, a dark T-shirt and jeans, and a blue ball cap covering her twin braids. But Hans wasn't in his usual clothes at all. His shoulder length black hair had been carefully curled and styled in a very feminine way and decorated with two red hair bows. His face was tastefully decorated with makeup that would be suitable for a teenage girl at an evening social event, and he was liberally scented with a floral perfume. He was dressed entirely as a girl, wearing his long sleeved pink blouse, a short black skirt that Karl had never seen him wear before, pink knee socks and white sneakers. His chest looked like he had on a padded bra, too. All told, he looked decidedly more feminine than either Melanie or Ryan!

"What's this?" Karl asked. "Why is he already dressed like a girl?"

"Now Karl," Melanie said, "It takes time to style a girl's hair properly and make her look like a pretty little princess. So Hans needed to have his makeup and hair done before we left. Doesn't he make a perfectly adorable girl?"

"I suppose... but does he have to wear a dress before he changes into a dress there?" Karl asked, already certain that he was going to lose any fight to get his son looking like a boy again before they left.

"Well, which would you prefer, dear? That everyone it the party sees him arrive as a boy, and knows he's cross-dressing as a girl? After all, he'll probably be the only Bernese child there of his age group. Or would you prefer that they assume she's a girl from the moment she arrives, and most of them fail to notice it's really a boy in that Princess outfit?" Melanie asked. "Most of the people who will be at the party haven't met Hans yet. If we call him 'Hannah' and refer to him as a girl the whole evening, only a few people will even know your son was there as a girl. Besides, he would look silly with that nice hairstyle and feminine makeup while wearing his normal boys' clothes, and we don't have time to wash it all off and start over again when we get there."

"So you really want me to introduce him as my daughter?" Karl asked. "Or should I admit he's my son, but dressed as a girl?"

"I was thinking of saying she was 'Ryan's friend, Hannah', when we introduce her," Melanie said. "But he won't be the only cross-dressed person there. I'm certain that there will be two or three others, and no one in our group cares if someone cross dresses. Shall we go?"

Karl sighed, and said, "All right, 'girls', get in the car."

"I get shotgun!" Hannah said quickly, just as Hans usually did on vacations. He liked sitting in the front seat beside his father when they took car trips. "And thanks for letting me do this, daddy!" Then the two 'girls' raced out to the car, laughing and giggling.

Karl cringed slightly at seeing his son looking and even sounding so much like a girl, but he said nothing as they secured the house, got into the car, and left.

===

It wasn't hard to find the event. The exit for the Lakeshore county park was well marked, and the Druid group had placed discrete blue signs decorated with a yellow Oak tree within a yellow Trefoil design, and with yellow arrows pointing the way. Karl followed the signs to the overnight camping area that was at the far end of the park, close to the lake that gave the park its name.

They passed through a gate with a minivan parked next to it, and checked in with Mossflower and Dianna, who were not yet in costume themselves. A large sign that was apparently folded in half from its full size was marked 'No public access beyond this point - reserved for a private function.'

"Straight down this road, and it's on the left," Mossy said, checking their names off on a clipboard while Dianna locked the gate behind them. "We have this end of the park reserved. You're the last group with newcomers in it who sent in an RSVP. We were just waiting here to make sure you got in okay, and now we'll lock this gate. Any latecomers will be our regular members who already know the combination for the lock." She told Karl the lock combination so he could leave when he was ready to, and sent him on his way, before getting in her own vehicle with Dianna, and following them in.

Karl was surprised at how secluded this one camping area was from the rest of the park. "Is there some reason this campsite is set up in such an isolated way?" he asked. "Most county parks I have been in were more compactly laid out."

Melanie grinned and said, "The land that was donated for this park is a long, narrow strip along this side of the lake, backed by a high, rocky cliff. The part we use is sort of pinched off from the rest by that rock outcropping that we just drove past before we saw the gate, and the beach on the lakeshore at that point is interrupted by a spit of rock that juts out into the lake, blocking access by the lakeshore. The only way into the area is this road, or to come in by boat. So the county set this side up for groups that wanted some privacy, and the beach on the lakeshore is an official 'nude beach' - one of three nude beaches in this county. Quite popular with naturists in Summer, but few people come here in late Fall or Winter. When the area isn't reserved, that sign at the gate is unfolded, and it warns that clothing is optional beyond that point, and that photography is prohibited without permission from all people in the photos."

"I see." Karl said. He had never been to a nude beach, but he had heard of them, and he wondered what it would be like to come here when the nudists were using the area. He wasn't quite sure if he could go nude in public like that and not sport an erection. He had read somewhere that it was considered bad form at a nude beach or nudist colony to become aroused just because you and others near you were nude.

He might have said more, but as they rounded a curve he could see the event buildings, with the large while tent for the hot tub set up on one side, and the bunkhouse on the other side. A large patio was on the far side of the event hall, and would have a stunning view of the lake and the beach area. There was even a playground with swings and a slide, with several kids of various ages and species playing on them.

Most of the vehicles in the parking area were vans or small, energy-efficient cars, all bearing pagan-themed bumper stickers. There was also a small school bus painted in fanciful colors, and a large pickup truck that was apparently the tow vehicle for the portable hot tub. Yet several other vehicles in the lot would have appeared quite normal in the parking lot at Karl's investment brokerage, or at a PTA meeting for the school. He saw a few very expensive luxury cars, and even one car with definitely Christian bumper stickers on it.

When they got out of the car, Mossy parked beside them, and approached Hans. "Well, aren't you pretty!" she said.

"Thank you aunt Mossy," Hannah replied, giving a small curtsy. "I'm to be called Hannah today, Ma'am."

"Then Hannah it is, 'young lady', and you look simply adorable," Mossy replied. "Now, go get into your costume. I can't wait to see you in that fancy dress I heard about!"

===

Karl and his family found an unused bunkhouse room and changed, and then took their clothes back to their car and got their pot luck contributions. Then they went into the hall, with Melanie leading Karl on a leash, and Karl carrying the cooler full of food.

Inside, the first people who they met were a Great Pyrenees couple in their mid 40's. The male was almost as tall as Karl, at 6 feet two inches, and was a bit overweight, with a pot belly and massive arms and legs. He was dressed as an old-West Sheriff, with a pair of plastic six-guns in a holster on each hip, and a big gold star on his fringed leather vest. His wife was dressed like a school teacher from the same period, with her long white hair drawn back into a severe bun. The effect was spoiled a bit by her nearly six foot height and overly ample 42-36-44, DD cup figure. She smiled and hugged Melanie as soon as she spotted her. "Melanie dear! So glad you made it! My! What a stunning dominatrix outfit! And who is your adorable slave boy?"

"Karl, this is Patrick and Monica Morgan, the High Priest and High Priestess of the Oaken Trefoil Druid grove," Melanie said, as Karl set down the cooler to shake Patrick's hand. "Karl is the wonderful man that I'm getting handfasted to at Yule! You know my daughter Ryan, of course, in the Prince Charming costume, and this pretty Princess is her friend, Hannah."

"Glad to meet all of you!" Patrick said. "Let me help you with that cooler, Karl. The food goes over this way," he said, as he picked up one of the cooler's handles and helped carry it to the next room.

"He's quite handsome!" Monica said as Karl passed her. "We've been looking forward to meeting your wonderful new lover. Looks like you landed a keeper this time, my dear. About time!"

"Well, Goddess knows I got enough bad ones along the way, but yes, Karl is wonderful," Melanie said. "I need to make some more introductions. When does the costume contest start?"

"In about an hour, dear. Talk to Corwyn about getting signed up. He'll have you fill out a card with the names to be announced for the individuals or couples in each entry, and what your costumes are supposed to be, if it isn't obvious," Monica said. "And good luck! There are some splendid costumes this year!"

When they caught up with Karl, Melanie steered her group over to an impressive ten-point stag who was wearing a draft harness studded with golden bells, and little else. When he turned to face them, they could see that his real nose was covered by a fake plastic nose that glowed bright red. They could also see that he hadn't bothered with a loincloth or other groin covering, and that judging from his sheath, he was quite well endowed. In spite of his impressive antlers, he was only four inches taller than Melanie, and a good six inches shorter than Karl. At a guess, Karl would place the stag somewhere in his mid 40's.

"My! You have got to be the most manly 'Rudolph' I have ever seen, Corwyn!" Melanie said, giving him a hug. "Everyone, this handsome white tail deer is Corwyn Grant. He's the High Priest of the Rowan Coven, that mom, dad, Ryan and I are members of. Corwin, this is Karl Bernerholdt, the man I want to be handfasted to at Yule. And these kids are Ryan and her friend Hannah."

"Pleased to meet you sir," Karl said, offering his hand.

Corwyn shook Karl's hand, and said, "Well, when you have antlers your choices of costumes get a bit limited. He's every bit as handsome as you said, Melanie. It's nice to put a face to a voice I've only heard on the phone before this, Karl. You two will have to join Donna and I for supper sometime soon, so we can get to know Karl better. Karl? I understand that Andrew and Colleen have been training you and your son, Hans, in our ways? I'd like to meet the boy as well, of course. Is he with you tonight?" He glanced at Hannah, but left any disclosures to Karl and the child.

Karl glanced nervously back at Hannah, and said, "I am sure my son will be glad to meet you, when he can. Ahhh, but this is Ryan's friend Hannah with us tonight."

Corwyn looked directly at Hannah, and then smiled and nodded politely. "Just so, then. Welcome to our Samhain party, Miss Hannah, and to our coven, if you so choose. And if you should happen to see Hans Bernerholdt, I would welcome him to our coven as well. 'And harm none, do what ye will', as we say. Both you and Hans will be welcome among us, young lady."

"Thank you sir," Hannah replied, uncertain of what else to say.

"Oh! Hannah! Look over there! Some of the kids are playing a fun game where they try to bite an apple hanging by its stem from a string. Let's go play with them!" Ryan said, dragging her cross-dressed boyfriend away from the potentially embarrassing situation.

"You needn't worry about her among us," Corwyn said quietly to Karl as the girls ran off. "She truly will be welcome among us, as will your son. She... makes you uncomfortable though, doesn't she?"

Karl looked down at his feet, and then back up at the pagan priest. "You are very observant, sir. I suppose you could say that I only 'met' Hannah very recently. I am... still getting used to having 'her' around. I do love my son and... I accept his choices in life. It's just that some choices take time to grow accustomed to."

"Corwyn my love, are you making our new guests uncomfortable already?" said a feminine voice from behind Karl. The voice belonged to a lovely white tailed doe, wearing an outfit like a forest elf, but with small wooden toys hanging from her belt. "You must be Karl? I am Corwyn's lifemate, Donna Grant. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Karl took her offered hand and kissed it. "The pleasure is mine, dear lady. And no, your husband has, if anything, been trying to relieve my discomfort at something which has nothing to do with your coven or the Druids or other guests here. We can talk about it over dinner, some other night. It is a matter I would rather not discuss in front of a large group of strangers."

"We would certainly welcome both of you, and your children as well. Next Friday night, perhaps?" she replied.

"That would be wonderful. And thank you for welcoming us among you. Aside from Melanie and her family, the people here are, I fear, the first Pagans I have knowingly socialized with," Karl said. "Hans and I are getting used to the idea, and Andrew and Colleen have been teaching us. I'm still a bit on the fence about joining the coven properly, but I must say it's becoming more likely, as I spend time with Melanie and her family. It's just a lot to take in."

"Of course. Take your time, ask questions freely of any of us, and when, and if, you wish to join us, you and your son will be welcome." She frowned a bit and pointed to one rather obese brown bear in a Roman toga, who was leaning against the patio wall outside, regaling a teenaged otter girl with a long story. The otter looked rather uncomfortable, as if torn between listening politely and wanting to escape. "I should probably warn you to take Rufus over there with a large grain of salt. He's somewhat 'socially challenged'. A good soul, but inept in terms of social skills or tact, I fear. He's harmless, but if he starts talking your ear off, just nod politely and disregard most of what he says. One of us will try to pry you away from him if we notice he is being troublesome."

As Karl looked at the bear, a young wolf smoothly interrupted the bear's story, asked the otter to dance, and extricated her from the awkward social situation. Karl nodded and said, "We have a guy like that at the office. Works on the Janitorial staff. Harmless, but just a bit 'touched', and doesn't know when to shut up. It looks like your group has managed to find a good way of dealing with Rufus there. I won't let him bother us."

"Thank you," Donna replied. "One difficulty of being an open and accepting group is that sometimes a few less-desirable individuals drift your way. We've tried to work on his social skills, and he is improving, if slowly. Just please, don't take him as representative of our people. Have a pleasant night tonight."

===

Melanie took Karl around the room, still leading him by his leash, and introduced him to just about everyone there, from Rufus to the youngest child out at the playground area. They had barely finished that bewildering round of introductions when Corwyn loudly announced that the costume competition would start in fifteen minutes, out on the patio, and that he was making the last call for entrants.

"I still haven't seen what Dianna's costume is, have you?" Karl said, as he and Melanie filled out note cards for themselves and for Ryan and Hannah, and gave them to Corwyn.

"She's entered the contest," Corwyn replied with a grin. "Mossy brought me Dianna's entry card, and said that Dianna wants to be the last entrant. The girl plans to stay hidden until she is called to the contest."

"Can't wait to see what she made," Melanie said. "All I know is that her costume is mostly purple and has a tail. I just hope she isn't that sickly-sweet dinosaur from the kids TV show. You know the one I mean? Ryan loved that show when she was four, and by five even she was sick of that dinosaur."

===

The contest was quite entertaining, with several contestants that had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into their outfits. They ranged from some even more blatantly sexual than Karl and Melanie's dominatrix and slave boy act, to an utterly adorable five year old vixen, dressed as a chibi male version of herself, with huge eyes and an oversized head mask. Hannah and Ryan got a polite response, but no one commented on Hannah being a male.

"And now for the last entrant in our costume contest, Miss Dianna!" Corwyn announced.

The curtain at the far end of the patio parted, and a purple figure waddled into sight. She was at first completely concealed in a purple wrapping of some sort of cloth, with Dianna's bare feet and lower legs extending below the cloth, and her head fully covered.

Then the purple shape opened into a large pair of bat-like wings, a dinosaur-like tail which covered her real tail flopped to the ground behind her, and the rest of her costume was revealed. All that she was wearing was a yellow, scaly covering that wrapped from her groin to just above her breasts, barely covering her breasts and belly fur like the scales on a dragon's belly; a scaly purple dragon tail with a ridge of yellow triangles that went up her back to the nape of her neck; and a mask that covered her face from the base of her muzzle just under her eyes to her hairline. That mask gave her the appearance of having a single, large, green cyclopean eye, and a foot-long golden horn on her forehead. The rest of her was wearing nothing but her own purple fur.

She struck a dramatic pose for a moment, then activated her iPawed at full volume, and started to dance to the music, which had a man's voice singing the lyrics...

_ Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky It had the one long horn and one big eye I commenced to shaken' and I said "ooh-eee" It looks like a purple people eater to me_

_ It was a one eyed one horned flyin' purple people eater (one eyed one horned flying purple people eater) a one eyed one horned flyin' purple people eater sure looks strange to me (one eye?)_

Her dance involved a lot of wing flapping and pigeon-toed movements. Everyone laughed and started singing and dancing along with Dianna, forming a conga line behind her and trying to imitate her funny dance steps. Corwyn laughed harder than anyone else, and shouted, "WE HAVE OUR WINNER! MISS DIANNA, AS THE FLYING PURPLE PEOPLE EATER!"