Xodiac receives a pointed lesson in why you don't volunteer for anything until you know all you can about what you're volunteering for. Especially when you have a sister given to practical jokes.

---

"Thanks again for helping out, bro," Rille said as she polished a glass. "This place is just too busy for me to tend bar alone, most nights."

"You're welcome, I guess," Xodiac said, then tugged again at the black skirt he wore. The thing was so short! "But if I'd known what I'd have to wear I never would have volunteered!" The skirt was bad enough, but there was also the top that hugged his torso and left his arms and shoulders bare, and the thigh-high stockings. And, to top it all off, was the red bow around his neck. It lay not in front, like a bow tie, but in back, at the nape of his neck as if he was a living present. A matching bow rested on his left hip, and a small heart was emblazoned on the opposite breast, right over his nipple. On his sister, the outfit was attractive, even sexy. Xodiac, however, felt ridiculous.

"Stop fidgeting! And I did warn you there was a uniform."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it'd be the exact same one you wore!"

"Well, if it wasn't then it wouldn't be much of a uniform, now, would it?" Rille put the glass away and started working on a new one. "What really surprises me is that you actually fit. You know, I have some outfits at home that I don't wear much, anymore. Maybe I should give them to you. I'm sure you'd look fabulous!" she teased.

Xodiac crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling plaintively. "Oh, god. Kill me now!"

"Hey, now, none of that," Rille chided him. "No whining on the job. Smile! You'll get better tips. Like, say, from that cougar, there."

He checked. "Oh, geez. He's looking at me!"

"So he is! Oh, hey, he's coming over," the dragotess said cheerfully. "Remember, smile!"

Xodiac's smile was decidedly twitchy when the cougar approached him. "Manhattan, please," he said.

Although his sister was far more the partier than he, Xodiac still knew how to mix plenty of drinks. (Which is why he hadn't hesitated to fill in for her absent coworker, after all. Not until he saw what he was expected to wear, at any rate, at which point it was far too late to back out.) So he didn't have to look the drink up in the little black book the owner kept behind the bar, or embarrass himself – further, that is – by asking what a Manhattan was. He simply reached for the whiskey and a glass. "That'll be seven dollars."

The cougar nodded and reached into his pocket. "So what's your name? I'm Beldin."

The dragote was taken aback. Was he flirting with him? He didn't want a conversation, much less to be hit on. Unfortunately, he couldn't really just ignore the question. After a few second's pause he said, "Uh. Xodiac?"

Beldin cocked his head, a hint of a smile on his muzzle. "Really? You sound unsure."

"It really is Xodiac," Rille confirmed. "But his friends," she added with a wink, "call him Xodie."

Xodiac whirled to glare at his sister. They did not! But Beldin spoke before the dragote could regain his voice. "Well then... Xodie. Are you new here? I come by often and haven't seen you before."

"Oh, he just started," Rille answered for him. "But he's only here for a week. Maybe two. Taranai had a family emergency she had to take care of."

"Ah. Too bad," Beldin said. He sounded like he meant it, too. "Any chance I could get your phone number, then, Xodie?"

Xodiac forced himself to focus on finishing the Manhattan. "Uh, I'd rather n–"

"Sure!" Rille chirped. "Let me just write it down for you."

Blushing furiously, Xodiac pushed the drink at Beldin. "Seven dollars," he repeated.

The cougar pressed a twenty into his hand and gently pressed the fingers closed around it. Before Xodiac could pull his hand away, however, Beldin turned it over and brought it to his muzzle, kissing the knuckles delicately. "Until we meet again, Xodie," he said with a knowing smile. He took both the drink and the card Xoie offered him. "Expect my call." Then he headed back into the crowd.

"What were you thinking?" Xodiac demanded of his sister once he was gone.

"Well, you haven't exactly gone on very many dates, bro, especially recently," she said. The twinkle in her eyes showed just how much fun she was having at his discomfiture. "So I thought I'd help out."

"You're setting me up with a man!"

"So? I've gone out with men plenty of times, and it was fun! Sometimes a lot of fun, if you know what I mean."

"Sure, but you're–"

"And besides," Rille continued like she hadn't heard him, "I think you two make just a lovely couple! And I have just the perfect dress for you to wear! Oh, and some shoes... might have to fix your hair a little..."

Xodiac looked upwards in despair as Rille continued to describe what he should wear. He didn't know just how, but he was sure his sister would make sure he actually went on that date. "Kill me now?" he asked again of any gods who might be paying attention.

"Whup! We got more customers coming! Oooh, and some of them are cute! Time to smile again, bro!"

"Please, kill me now!"

---

While the picture is called "Barmaid Xodiac" (to be a good companion to "Barmaid Rille") the story is actually titled "Kill Me Now". It grew from a short description of Xodiac's reaction to wearing this outfit, to a short conversation as Rille teases him over it (and incidentally explains why he's wearing it), to a scene explaining it all and getting Xodiac throughly embarrassed. 899 words.

Art by  naladaaegis. When I saw the ych she was offering, I was torn whether to get it for Rille, or Xodiac. Then I thought, why not both? Her version is here.