Lanterns hung in each corner of the large store. Hundreds of well-made silks lined the walls and hung from racks. Abby unconsciously scratched at her arms, the trauma of so many well-made itchy dresses creeping up on her and making her frown. Though, she hated to admit, these didn't look quite as horrid. Everything looked smooth and soft and collarless.

It seemed that Aelurians valued comfort above all else and that was something Abby could get behind. A stand to Abby's left held a few pairs of gloves, each with slits in the fingers perfect for  a cat's claws. Hats sat beside the rack, each constructed with a cat in mind, slits in the brims allowing for a pair of pointy ears to stick through. 

Margo perused a rack underneath a sign that had a big, red slash painted across it. "Bargains," she whispered, eyeing the rack with delight. She plucked a collarless tunic from the rack, and noticing the dull grey and white coloring, frowned, shook her head, and hastily put it back.  

Just like with my clothes, Abby thought, remembering the day Margo had become a part of her life. That time had only been a few days ago, right? Goodness, it seemed longer than that. How many steps had she taken between that day and now? Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Abby's hand grazed a pair of trousers and the feel of soft fabric against her fingers brought her out of her reverie. She noticed a hole in the backside of the trousers, ideal for a cat's tail. 

An older Aelurian woman pushed through a pair of swinging doors to greet them.

"My, my," she said, her voice raspy from age. Her eyes were blue, soft and kind. She smiled and wrinkles formed around her mouth. "Such a rare sight. You're from the Cloude, aren't you dear?"

Margo nodded. "Yes, ma'am," she said, her voice returned to its normal chipper tone. "Here for studies."

The cat-woman nodded, the few bangles wrapped around her ears, jingling. They sounded like bells. "How nice. And with such handsome, young kits."

Lucy beamed. "You have excellent eyesight," he said and the Aelurian smiled.

"I see well enough," she said, resting her hands the smooth stone counter top. Her hands were decorated in rings and bracelets and connective chains. She wore more jewelry than all the women in Abby's lifetime combined. If there had been more light in the room, the Aelurian would have been blinding.

Lucy nodded and plucked a rather luxurious satin cape from off the rack. "Are you the proprietress of this store?"

"Tabitha," she said. "Everyone calls me Tabs," she continued tapping a jeweled finger against the counter. "Feel free to do the same."

Lucy nodded and mouth half open was about to give the Aelurian his name but Margo whooshed by, a tornado of clothes and wire hangers and plopped them onto the counter top.

"We'll take these," she said. The old cat woman nodded and smiled, taking the clothes and folding them gently after reading each of their price tags. They all stood there, silently waiting for the total except for Sebbi. He stood next to a rack of jewelry similar to the ones Tabs wore on almost every inch of her. She must have noticed him eyeing the jewelry because she said, "Those are for the tail, unisex. All the rage right now from Espenn to Eithradall."

Sebbi nodded and plucked deep crimson one off the rack and tossed on to the counter. Margo shot him a sideways look. "We don't need that..."

Sebbi hissed. "Just get it. I'll pay you back later."

Margo shrugged and let Tabs add it into the total. Abby thought the piece was beautiful. Dark black and red stones were threaded together by a crimson ribbon. Each of them caught the light and sparkled. Though, given Sebbi's hatred of ribbons, it was odd that he would want something to put around his tail.

Last time...Abby's hand went up to her cheek and she chuckled. The faint scar that Sebbi's paw had left there wasn't as painful as it used to be. It was a reminder of her first moment with the cat. And sure it hadn't ended well and she'd thought Sebbi hated her for a long time, but it was precious just the same.

"That'll be ten full munes," Tabs finally said.

Margo frowned and lifted a satchel up onto the counter. "It's because of that stupid tail accessory," she said under her breath as she produced ten small silver coins.

Tabs smiled, counted the coins, and handed Margo over the folded clothes. The mouse-woman thanked her and they left.

As Margo put their haul into the cart, Sebbi took his tail bracelet and undid the knot. He shook it hard, each of the red and black beads falling off it and bouncing off the ground. With wide-eyed horror, Margo ran over to him.

"Hey! What are you doing? That cost more than all these clothes..."

Sebbi snarled and Margo's lips shut themselves. She glared and mumbled as she walked away saying something about turning him into a toad.

Abby was too busy helping put the clothes on the cart to notice when Sebbi strode up beside her. She smiled at him nervously before bending down to pick up a large wool coat Margo had bought.

"Let me," he said, plucking the coat from Abby's arms and tossing it into the cart like a sack of gull feathers.

Abby nodded. "Thank you."

Silence returned between them. Abby still wasn't comfortable conversing with her cats. She'd never had that probably before. But now that she knew they understood her and could respond, and now that she'd been made painfully aware of the times she'd changed in front of them and gotten out of the bath... Her cheeks swelled with embarrassment. It was too much.

Just then, Abby felt something being placed on top of her head. She looked up and saw Sebbi walk away, helping Lucy with a few other things of clothes. Something red fell in front of her face and floated its way down toward the ground. It was the ribbon from Sebbi's tail decoration. She picked it off the ground and as she brought it closer she noticed the color matched the roses on her dress. Had Sebbi gotten this because the color matched her dress? Had he gotten this for her? But why?

She clasped the ribbon tightly to her chest. Tears started to form in her eyes. She'd always worn a ribbon in her hair for each of her cats, even if Sebbi didn't ever wear his. She did it so much Crum made fun of her for it every time he came around. But those ribbons were no more. They were ash, just like everything else in her house, and the one she'd gotten for her party had disappeared.

"Thank you," she whispered, speaking to the ribbon. She knew Sebbi wouldn't accept such a thanks, he was too shy. So she said it to the ribbon in hopes that Sebbi would know. Know how much it meant to her. She smiled and tied the ribbon into her hair and got in the back of the cart.

Lucy was the first to notice the ribbon. If he had noticed that it was the same as Sebbi's accessory, he didn't mention it. He was probably being considerate of his brother in his own way. "Ribbons suit you," Lucy said, playing at the ribbon's edge with his fingertip. "You without one in your hair doesn't feel right."

Abby smiled and touched the ribbon gingerly. "You're right," she said.

Sebbi paid them no mind. Margo seated behind the wheel, forced the cart forward and with a lurch, they were off, headed toward Darkmoore.

It was night by the time they got to the castle. The blood moon hung high in the sky, bathing the castle in red. All of its towering spires looked as though they were coated in blood. Margo parked the cart in a forest nearby and coaxed Lucy and Sebbi to help her cover it with leaves and fallen branches. With a pulsing red fruit in her hand for light, she led them deeper into the forest surrounding the castle.

"Wanesguard patrol these forests too, so we must be quick."

The prick of magick ran the length of Abby's arms and down her spine. She never felt it so strong before. She shivered and tried to swat the magick away.

"See those carts going toward the castle?" Margo pointed to the road they'd turned off of. They nodded.

"There's a party tonight. Moon born like to gather and drink and conspire and poison one another at things like this."

Abby's breath caught in her throat. Poison and conspire? What kind of party was that?

"Aelurians, especially those with noble lineage always desire to expand their territories. They call themselves lesser kings and are always plotting." She shot up straight and proud. "Us of the Cloude don't have that problem. We work together."

Lucy snorted. "You're probably too distracted by shiny objects or wheels of cheese to actually plot anything."

Margo pouted. "Only some of the time."

"So what kind of party is it?" Sebbi said.

Margo tossed a shirt and trousers into his arms. "The kind where we wear those."

Sebbi cocked his head in confusion and Margo cleared his throat. "It's a hemma ball," she said. "Balls always have themes here, and disguising yourself as a hemma is a quite popular one."

Abby was stunned. "They dress like humans?"

Margo shook her head. "They don't just dress like humans, they use magick to become humans. That's why so much magick is gathered in one spot. See that?" She pointed to a road leading to the castle's back entrance.

"See what?" Abby squinted but couldn't make heads or tails of what she was seeing, or what she should be seeing. All she saw was a swath of silvery leaves, and strange, undulating blossoms.

Margo grabbed her arm and tugged her downward. "Look again. See that slight glimmer?" Now that Margo'd positioned Abby, she could make out a faint shimmer, like faded candlelight, looming over the castle. Abby nodded. "Magick," Margo said frowning. "And once you're through that barrier, you become human. It's a terrible waste."

"So then," Lucy said. "We pass through that barrier, turn human and then what? Kidnap some washed-up Aelurian guard?"

Margo nodded. "Sort of."

And with that, she started to walk toward the castle. Lucy, Sebbi and Abby ambled behind her. 

Abbernathy Fun Fact 7: Back to magick; It does exist outside Exul, though to wield it, you pay a huge cost. There's the elemental magicks - fire, water, wind, and earth. Light and Dark magick exists, but a lot of how to wield it has been lost to the ages. Necromancy, an archaic form of Dark Magick still remains.

There's also spatial magick - Margo opening up the rifts between realms, for example. Time magick - stopping time momentarily as Margo did for Abby, though no forward/backward time travel. This kind of magick exacts a huge toll and is what Margo considers a 'major spell'.

Then, there's also cosmetic casting - which is what Margo's best at...kind of (turning things into toads) as well as something called Soul casting. What the humans can do in Exul, using potions to change hair/eye color, etc, is a weak kind of cosmetic casting.