Marcella Walker sighed heavily as she looked out through a set of curtains that were set up with the building for the Animalia School of Modeling. It was something that had her nervous and uneasy, partially as she wasn't so sure on what would happen next. She was grateful that the second punishment came before Easter, but this one coming just after it didn't seem all that much better. It wasn't super lewd, so that was fair enough, but it was also still something that drew attention to her and attention she really didn't want or like. Some of it was also something that she didn't fully understand. She could also see that her present guardian, Manfred Tuscan was seated in the back, along with Nzinga and her husband. The African Elephant Animalian matriarch was seen tapping the bull Wolly Mammoth Animalian's shoulder with her trunk. Chrissy was not present, but then, she might also be in school.
She could understand Animalians being models or wanting to get into that industry. The general build that female Animalians had was sure to turn the heads of males, which was partially why she wondered if the community service at the Meat Market was one of the punishments. As there were a few people, usually drunk, that got a bit handsy with her on her shifts, and from what she'd heard, her old friend and the person she slipped the African Elephant strain of the Animalia Virus to, Christina Moore, had also had to deal with some of that. That was something that also privately puzzled Marcella, as many of the people who went to the Meat Market WEREN'T "furries." Most of that demographic actually became Animalians once becoming an Animalian was possible. Yet, people that weren't were still willing to go to a club where Animalian females and males engaged in some form of strip tease.
Traditional high fashion, though, generally didn't look for women as voluptuous as female Animalians. They generally preferred pencil thin women with small breasts that would then allow them to show the attire with as little modification as possible. About the only point where some of these sorts of things had to go with Animalians would be for the kinds of Animalians that had physical needs that would require some major alterations. The Bird, Bat, and Pterosaur Animalians needed specialized tops that often had an open back to accommodate their wings. Ceratopsian Dinotopians, like the Rhino Guard member, Sherry, that was presently making sure that Marcella didn't try to run away had to wear button down shirts to accommodate their frills. Some of the Dinotopians that were based off of the armored dinosaurs likely needed even further adaptations to accommodate plates, spikes, and other related pieces of anatomy.
Elephant Animalians, however, didn't entirely have that need. Those with long tusks might need button down shirts as the collars of most tee shirts, even scaled up to an Elephant Animalian's size, wouldn't easily fit around the tusks. That, however, was predominantly limited to the males and that a female's tusks were smaller and that ultimately applied for Marcella, and she assumed for Chrissy as well. She could fit her trunk and one tusk through the collar and then shift the shirt to fit the other tusk with the collar stretching a bit underneath her chin. The rest of the issues for Elephant Animalians was a simple size issue and that wasn't something that required a lot of work. The only Elephant Animalians that really needed the specialized clothing adaptations were Manfred Tuscan and his wife, but they were specifically Wolly Mammoths and thus had much larger and more curved tusks that made the sort of thing that Marcella managed nearly impossible, unless their tusks were cut and made shorter. The thought of having them cut, though, seemed to make them hesitate away from things.
Thus, Marcella was left to watch from behind a curtain and look the crowd of people, most of whom she didn't recognize, sit in the sort of gallery area of Animalia's modelling school while she was model various outfits for Elephant Animalians. It was embarrassing, though perhaps not as bad as the previous one of having her libido driven into overdrive and not being able to scratch that itch or even think about anything else that would drive it down. It was something where she was still adjusting to an Animalian's naturally high libido. She figured that Chrissy might be better off, as she'd at least have Steve to relieve her passions, but Marcella didn't have that and was having to adjust accordingly, which on its own was embarrassing, and then past punishment dialed all that up to eleven. Now, she was expected to model things, and she was absolutely certain there was going to be a twist in it somewhere.
Animalia's DA, Alexandria "Sandy" Lynx, came up before the crowd first. She was followed by the Mink Animalian, Maggie Jones, who ran the Animalian School of Modeling. She'd met the latter only briefly after coming in through the back door to the school. She'd half expected to fall through a trap door and onto a slide, like she'd fallen onto in the first punishment, but nothing like that happened and shed found herself in a changing area. She was instructed to wear the black semi-formal dress. It fit, and Marcella was grateful it also didn't conflict too much with her bra, as the dress also did show a fair amount of her upper cleavage. It wasn't skimpy or anything like what many of the girls wore at the Meat Market. But regardless of how classy it was, it did have the potential to draw attention.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Alexandria spoke, "as I'm sure many of you are aware, Animalia is presently conducting its four punishments with the individual, Marcella Walker, who has plead guilty to the deliberate theft and with intention to transform Christina Moore in an African Elephant Animalian at a New Years Party at a club run by a man named "Rocky" in Desert Flats to Lyre/Animalia's east. The result of this lead to a fight between Marcella and Christina causing property damage to the club that "Rocky" has made statements holding both financially responsible for the damages. Though without Marcella's criminal actions, the property damage would not have happened."
Marcella sighed, knowing this was something of a standard rundown of what had happened and the charges that she had pled guilty to. She was thankful that Alexandria didn't also summarize the political circus that felt like more of a punishment than anything she'd suffered so far, which to Marcella also said a lot about how bad she felt over things and how far some appeared ready to go to punish her. THAT felt WORSE than the punishments had thrown at her, and Marcella DIDN'T want to go through the two punishments she'd already had, again. She listened on as Alexandria continued.
"You are here for the third punishment, where Ms. Walker will be able to present attire designed for Animalian fashion and the attention that Ms. Walker has drawn on herself," Alexandria continued, "Rhino Guard officers are at various positions as you can see here and behind the screen, assuring that she cannot flee or charge. I will know turn the "running" of this "fashion show" over to Margaret Jones, the owner of the Animalia School of Modeling."
Marcella watched as Alexandria went back to the front row and sat beside one of the observers who was there to monitor her punishments. He seemed to whisper something to Alexandria, but she raised one pointed finger up and shushed him as the white furred Mink Animalian then spoke.
"We will start with something that every woman wants for a successful date," Maggie Jones spoke calmly, "the little black dress. The one that Ms. Walker is wearing is a fairly classic design, but one that fits her quite well."
With that, Wanda and Sherry pushed Marcella forward and she stumbled through the curtain and before the audience that looked to her. She noted two male White Rhinoceros Animalians, and she thought they were the same ones from arrest at Rocky's club. She was bigger than them individually, but she was no fighter they likely had training. She carefully straightened herself out and brushed herself out. She walked forward, though with her ears back and her trunk hanging low. This was attention, but it wasn't attention she'd wanted when she lashed out at Chrissy in jealousy. In this, she made no flare as she walked along the line that was marked in tape on the tiled floor that served as the "stage." She got to the end and then looked to Maggie and then to Alexandria. Maggie Jones only raised a hand and pointed finger upward and twirled it in a circle.
Marcella sighed and then turned around to give the people watching a view from all angles, and was glad the hole in the back of the dress for her tail was small enough that only her tail could be seen. Maggie only continued.
"As you can see, the dress is tight without being restrictive and can be the perfect thing to hold a bull Elephant Animalian's attention," Maggie spoke, "assuming that one has talked with that male and set up a date. Otherwise... it's good for attracting attention that may not necessarily be wanted, regardless of how friendly or antagonistic it is."
Marcella let her ears dop lower and gave a heavy sigh. She figured this had to be jabs at her jealousy at Chrissy gaining the attention of Steve Herrons, a boy that went to the same consolidated school that Chrissy and Marcella had gone to. Steve had seemed polite enough and had never engaged in some of the bullying that Chrissy's new friends engaged in with Marcella, and that had gotten Marcella to crush on him a bit. Then, around Christmas, she saw the two of them riding in a car together in Desert Flats and that confirmed some of the rumors that had been going around the school that the two were dating. That had been the proverbial last straw for Marcella and she figured her New Year's prank would show up Chrissy, get her friends to abandon her and Marcella could then get Steve on the rebound. Then, when things went wrong, everything else fell apart, and that was finally what got her thinking clearly enough to realize that much of her plan was probably flawed from the start.
"We'll then give our "model" a few moments to get changed and set up for the next piece," Maggie spoke, "a number that will suit the sort of work needed in certain circles."
Marcella made her way back to the curtain and was sure that there were people pointing and silently laughing at her. Not because she looked unattractive. A part of her had liked the general dimensions of her body. As she'd lost all the fat around her middle and had some decent muscle there on her trim stomach that was then balanced by the large milk-laden breasts on her chest and her wide hips that fit the build of every female Animalian. If she'd had that figure and not the animal features, she probably wouldn't have felt jealous over Chrissy. But, strangely, now that she had that figure, the attractiveness of it didn't feel as good, mostly because of how it was more an accident for her and what had caused it. She doubted any respectable boy would interest in her in any way that truly mattered.
She came back through the curtain to find a pair of Maggie's employees waiting for her with Sherry and Wanda waiting patiently. Marcella noted the taping of feet and knew that she wouldn't be allowed to "go slow." So, she carefully went about unzipping the back of the dress and letting it slide down and then fall off her. It fell to the floor and she stepped out of it, generally grateful that Animalians didn't necessarily always need to wear things like shoes. Some did, and specialized shoes for all kinds of Animalians were made, though none of them were like the sets of high heels that might be typically worn with such a dress. It left her in her underwear, but it was everyone back there was female and that let Marcella relax a little bit. However, when she noticed what Maggie's employees where holding, Marcella grew uneasy.
For the outfit that she was to wear next was NOT something that most would consider as normal work cloths. There was a button down white shirt, one that also looked like it was cut to not be able to button well over her generous chest, and thus would leave at least her upper cleavage visible, just as the other dress did. There was also a long sleeved red jacket with gold trim, stripes on the sleeves, and epaulettes. Marcella also noted that the back of the jacket hung lower than the front of it and she also surmised the jacket was not designed to be buttoned at all. There was also a set of black, fishnet stockings, a set of black short-shorts, and a gold colored cloth sash with it as well. One of the other employees also then held up a top hat with her spare hand. It was literally, a sexy woman's version of the circus ringmaster's costume and played to the jokes that had been aimed at Marcella by Chrissy and what she hoped to throw back at Chrissy after Chrissy became an Elephant Animalian.
"Aw... man," Marcella half whined as she handed the black dress to Wanda.
"At least you're the ringmaster, and not the circus freak," one of Maggie's workers said softly as Marcella went about changing.
She managed to get into everything and then watched as one of Maggie's employees then slipped out through the curtain. She was guided back to the area where the curtain met. She knew there was a cue that Maggie would give, and she did know the cue. As much of everything that was part of the punishment was told to her beforehand. About the only things she really didn't know was what she would be modeling. And the dress was something that did circle things back to what drew her into her present situation, jealousy over a boy that started things. And now the present costume played into the things that she internalized and made her specific choices on. In some ways, Marcella considered a lot of it be karma taken to its logical conclusion. It only added to her embarrassment.
"As we know, a lot of the present punishments are coming from some search for attention," Maggie spoke, "and in that sense, that's something that everyone can be wary of. But for those working to try and attract attention, for whatever reason, it will always make sense to dress for that occasion."
That was the cue and Marcella slowly made her way out. This time, the crowd's reaction was different. When Marcella first went out, there was barely a reaction from anyone. There might have been a picture or two taken on a cellphone, but there weren't many of them with that first appearance. This time, however, Marcella noted several phones raise and the sounds of their cameras activating clicked away. Further back, she even saw someone raise a more standard camera and her eyes caught its flash as the picture was taken. There was no way Marcella could hide from this.
"And while those that may have bullied Ms. Walker in the past may have been wrong to do so, that does NOT change the consequences of her actions," Maggie continued, "people called her a circus freak and through her actions, she set herself up for the circus that has followed her actions and her arrest. So... it would be best to draw attention and to lead said circus."
Maggie twirled her finger again and Marcella spun on her heals. She was about to head back to the area behind the curtain when she saw Maggie raise a hand for her to stop. She sighed and did so, turning back to face the crowd and the additional pictures being taken. It was at this point that she noted Alexandria standing up and approaching again.
"I take it a lot of this was not what you expected?" Alexandria asked.
"No," Marcella answered, "I was surprised by a fashion show... but... I'd figured that would just be some of the things that the world's fashion industry and the embarrassing parts would be the jokes about me not knowing how to model things. Particularly when most of the "adjustments" for Elephant Animalians is in overall size, not something super unique there."
"But that wouldn't have the punishment fit the crime," Alexandria answered.
"And a reminder of everything... along with pictures of me in this that will surely make the internet and live forever," Marcella spoke, "I'd say it did fit..."