This was a test to see how cloth draping compared with conforming clothing in actual scene I might do. I used a chapter cut from one of my books and rendered each scene twice. The first image is draped. The second is conforming. As far as time each scene took, there wasn't much difference. You can be the judge of while clothing looks better. Bacna stood, testing his weight, and found it held. “I need to g-get back. J-Janta was covering for me, but he’s g-got his own work.” Remtani rose too. “I’ll walk you.” “I’m okay,” Bacna assured him. “You tore some tendons. I’m just going to make sure you get down the hall okay.” Bacna studied him for a long moment. “What h-happened?” Remtani blinked. “You fell.” “N-No. You d-don’t hover l-like this unless something else is w-wrong,” Bacna clarified, his gaze sharp. “You mean besides my sister nearly dying again, the kingdom being attacked, a teenage dragon almost getting killed, and half my men lying in the healing rooms?” Remtani asked wryly. “Yes.” “Never mind.” Remtani looked away. “There’s s-something w-worse than all of that?” Bacna pressed. “Don’t ask.” They stepped into Ann’s room, where the sounds of hammering and quiet conversation from the workers filled the space. Remtani hoped the presence of others would discourage further questions. “Don’t ask what?” Janta inquired, looking up from where he stood near the workers. “I I a-asked him w-what was w-wrong,” Bacna said, switching to Dragon. He struggled enough with one language. He rarely used a second. Remtani recognized the shift for what it was. Bacna was serious, determined enough to deploy any tool or tactic, including playing up his disability or injuries if required. But this was a secret Remtani couldn’t share. “It’s nothing,” he said in Menthan. “You s-sent a p-page to the college to get a healer,” Bacna said. “You tore tendons,” Remtani pointed out. “You c-carried m-me on the s-stairs, and you w-walked m-me d-down the hall after I was healed,” Bacna added. “So what’s bothering you?” Janta asked. “Aside from your men’s injuries.” He had to tell them something. “The Monster of the North isn’t dead.” The M-Monster of the N-North? You mean Dre…?” Bacna asked. “Sh. Don’t say her name. They’ll hear.” Remtani indicated the workers. “Who cares. Sh-She wasn’t h-helping Lyra, w-was she?” Bacna pointed out. “No.” “She h-hasn’t caused t-trouble since she escaped. Don’t w-worry about it,” Bacna waved it off. “Which is what I said,” Remtani reminded him. “It was unexpected.” “Yeah, e-especially when y-you saw under her hood.” Bacna agreed. “What do you mean?” Remtani asked. “You d-didn’t see her?” Bacna asked, surprised. Remtani had seen her. He knew the truth, and it had shaken him to his core. “I saw her. I know her real name. So does Dad.” He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant while keeping one eye on the workers. “You d-did, and y-you d-don’t care?” Bacna pressed. “I thought y-you said the m-madness w-was over.” Remtani’s head snapped toward him. “What do you mean?” “I f-figured it out years ago, when C-Carem attacked the p-palace.” Bacna shrugged. “What? That our youngest sister is the monster?” Janta asked. “H-How d-did you know?” Bacna asked. “I overheard you and Uncle Tolin talking, back when you figured it out.” “You s-said you o-only heard part of it,” Bacna reminded him. “I wasn’t going to repeat everything. They didn’t need to know.” Janta turned to Remtani. “Is our little sister really the Monster of the North?” “Yes,” Remtani snarled, the old guilt surging hot and bitter. “And it’s my fault. I drove her away. All those people she hurt… that’s on me.” “She ran because Mom and Dad forbade her from casting,” Janta corrected gently. “If I hadn’t tried to hurt her, she wouldn’t have burned me. Mom wouldn’t have panicked, and Dad wouldn’t have banned her magic,” Remtani reasoned, voice thick with regret. “I should have helped her. I should have stood up to the nobles’ children who bullied her. Instead, I was too busy trying to kill her and keeping the rest of you from being her friend.” “Rem.” Bacna’s hand found his brother’s arm. “It w-wasn’t you. It was the s-spell.” “I still did it,” Remtani insisted, his fists clenching. “You were a kid. You want to blame someone, blame whoever cast that spell on you.” “Spell? What spell?” Janta asked. “He’s not m-mad. He has a spell on h-him,” Bacna explained, “I’ll t-tell you about it later.” Janta nodded and switched back to Menthan. “I need to go. Barin and Piena are waiting.” He gave them both a quick nod and left. “I should go too,” Remtani said. “I’ll check on you later.” “Where are y-you g-going?” Bacna asked. “I need to check something in the tower.” Bacna nodded. “Be c-careful.”