“Okay, I'm still having trouble with this. You are not from this town, this dutchy, or even this kingdom.” Mary said, her words laced with exasperation. “All of my guesses have been wrong and you won’t just come out with it and tell me where you are from.” She paused, pleading with her eyes while she hoped Ember would just butt in and sate her curiosity already, before it drove her mad. After three awkward seconds of silence passed Mary continued speaking. “Unless you say it in that weird language of yours.”

Ember gave Mary a teasing smirk and chortled quietly while they continued their march through town to see Tila.

Mary gave a quick glance around to assure they weren't being watched then threw her hands up in defeat as she finished speaking. “Which I might add, I have never heard anything like that before.”

“I'm starting to think that you came from the lost continent across The Darven Sea. That or you magically teleported here from some other continent.” She paused once again, only this time she took a slow deep breath which she promptly exhaled in a short airy sigh. “A continent that wasn’t mentioned in any of the history books or religious texts that I’ve read either.” She scratched the side of her head before a smirk grew across her face.

Ember raised an eyebrow at the energetic girl when she suddenly quickened her pace and gave an over the top twirl which ended with Mary walking backwards and looking her in the eyes.

Mary sped up to overtake Ember, she then gave a quick, over the top twirl, which caused the bottom of her nice dress to flare and ripple through the air. “Or was it some continent that no one has discovered yet?” Her Grin grew even larger. “Or was it a secret realm or plane?” Mary asked while she rolled her eyes and giggled. Her own statement was so absurd that she didn't actually believe it could even happen, without being shown extensive proof.

Ember giggled at Mary's reaction. ‘I had no idea that she would be so obsessed with learning the answer. I Wish i could just tell her that Suches, Georgia was on a completely different planet, but Willow said that was one thing That I should do my absolute best to keep secret as long as possible.’ She thought to herself.

“Okay I'll meet you in the middle, I can't exactly tell you where I'm from but I will Confirm I'm not from this continent, and I'll still give you the names for my city, state, and country.” Ember wagered. ‘And continent and planet’ she thought to herself.

“Although I will have to say the location names in English. Either the words don't exist in common for them, which makes sense seeing as at least half of the names come from an American or English person's name. That or I just haven't had the chance to read those names or learn the words yet.”

Mary stopped walking to show her excitement for any usable knowledge. Which almost instantly turned out to be a bad decision. Ember wasn't paying close enough attention to Mary's distance while they walked, and the latest rabbit trail she thought up while speaking had her contemplating the origins of the words that were used to name people. ‘My name is easy enough to figure out with one glance. The name Ember came from the word ember which is just some part of a fire or someth-”

Ember lost her train of thought when she found herself crashing into Mary. Mary being a whole head taller than Ember placed her in an awkward position, her face crashed square into Mary's chest. ‘Wow… her dress really hides a lot…’ Ember thought to herself while her vision was being gently snuffed out as she sank into Mary's cleavage.

Luckily for Mary her dress had a high neckline which rested just below her collar bone which aided in her pursuit for cute while it also protected her from lingering eyes and crumbs falling in-between them. Unluckily for Mary though the impact and resulting tumble backwards caused her dress to tear. A rip tore through the fabric from the bottom hem, which rested mid shin when she stood, up to her upper thigh or hip. The only thing Mary could be thankful for was that the tear only ran up the front of her dress to her knees. It then shifted to the side exposing the side of her thigh until it was stopped by an embroidery stitch that decorated the hip and waist line of the dress.

“Eeee.” Mary squeaked in embarrassment while she reached down with both of her hands, one to hold the torn sides of fabric together at her thigh, while the other one was used to push Ember off of her.

“I'm up, I'm up.” Ember said while she staggered back up to her feet. She dusted off her hands on her shorts before she reached down to give a hand to Mary. “Here, Let me give you a hand.”

Mary took Ember's hand and with a bit of effort from both parties Ember was able to stand Mary back up while Mary was able to retain her decency.

“Oh damn… That's a lot worse than it looked from the ground. Oh! I know.” Ember said excited by her own thought. “Here!” she then started squirming around to keep her shirt from coming off with her hoodie. When she finally pulled it off she quickly wrapped the arms around Mary's waist and tied them together for her.

“There.” Ember said proudly, before she leaned in and spoke so quietly that only Mary could hear her. “Part one of Get Mary to the Tailor before anyone else sees that she isn't wearing panties today is now complete.” She then leaned back with a smirk and watched as multiple emotions flashed across Mary's face while each of them lasted a mere moment before her expressions and emotions settled on beat red and embarrassment.

“No. You… I… I mean yes… Y-y-yes I am!” Mary started shouting before dropping her voice to a whispered scream. “I’m wearing them. Now drop it.” She pleaded while tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

Ember quickly waved her hands in front of herself defensively. “I'm Sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be mean about it or anything… I was just, you know, teasing you a little.” She said sheepishly.

“Mhmm” was all Mary could bring hersellf to say.

“Hey.” Ember nudged Mary before giving her a friendly smile. “We Are almost at Tila's shop. Once we get there I'll cover the cost to repair the tear since I'm fairly certain it only ripped because I fell on it too. Now come on.”

Ember wrapped her arm behind Mary and guided her along the way until Mary pulled forward and started walking on her own.

“Thank you.” Mary said. “I would have stood there frozen for another twenty minutes if you didn’t motivate me to get moving.”

“No worries.” Ember replied with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “That's what friends are for right?”

Mary raised an eyebrow skeptically at Ember. “Yeah, friends are there to drag you to the tailors. Right?” Mary joked back.

Ember then nodded her head in an overly exaggerated manner. “Yes, exactly. Friends are there to drag you to the tailor… aaaaand anywhere else that can help you solve your problems.” Then Ember gave Mary a cheeky wink and smile. “Like Victoria's secret.” Ember waited for a reaction or reply but didn't expect the one she got.

“W-who's Victoria?” Mary asked confusedly while tilting her head to the side. “And what's so important about her secret?”

Ember’s face fell flat and she let out a long, drawn out, loud, exasperated sigh. “Just a store from back home. I forgot y'all ain't got them around here. It was one of my favorite places to shop. It didn't matter if you wanted something sexy, cute, or just functional. They always made them comfy to wear, even if you only intended to keep them on for an hour or so. Plus they almost always had my size in what I wanted…”

“That sounds really nice and all but I still have no idea what they sold.” Mary replied playfully. “Also, did you say that Tila was from The Kitsune?”

“Oh umm… I'm sorry, can you repeat that I was lost in my head.” Ember answered bashfully.

“Tila, did you say she was from the Kitsune Tribe?” Mary repeated.

“Oh. Yes, yes she is. And oh my god she looks so fluffy I could die.” Ember answered before thinking.

Mary gave Ember a knowing look and smirked as the words she had spoken finally registered in Ember's head.

“N-not what I m–m-meant.” Ember stuttered out while her face turned almost as red as Mary's earlier. “N-not like that. I just want to touch… no that sounds worse, pet? Stroke?” Ember grabbed her hair from the sides from stress while she racked her brain for the right words to get her out of the hole she was digging herself. “I… think… that Tila has a fan- no…” She pulled her hair again. “Ugh! Stupid brain… I got it! Tila has a gorgeously fluffy tail and her hair… fur? uhh… hair and ears look super soft and smooth.” Ember looked up at Mary slightly red again. “It's not that kind of attraction, I'm just curious about how it would feel to hug her…” Her eyes moved to look up and to the right as she imagined herself doing what she was saying. “or pet her soft ears… or maybe shove my face in her floofy…” Her eyes grew wide. “I… I um… I'm shutting up.”

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Mary nodded and did her best to hide the laugh growing in the pit of her stomach. “Probably for the best. While you were distracted with your… uh… descriptions? A youngish man from the Ursa Tribe over heard you and ran off blush-k ha.” Mary lost the fight she was waging with her laughter. “He, he, he…” She took a deep breath and tried to calm her laughter. “He started listening to you around gorgeous fluff but he started running away by the time you got to the face in her floofy…” She said, intentionally leaving the air in the conversation. Which she promptly filled with her questioning eyebrows and and knowing smirk.

After a moment passed and Ember's face cooled down she took a look around to see how far they had walked while she was distracted and only paying enough attention to her surroundings to avoid collisions with people or objects. “Oh wow. We made good progress at least. We only have four stores to back track to. I… may have been a little distracted and overlooked our stop.” She joked while she rubbed the back of her neck.

…

“Ember! Your back!” Tila called out from her workstation on the opposite end of the room. “I was starting to think I would have to keep this wonderfully crafted, super cute,” Tila eye'd Ember up and down once and then gave her a playful wink, “Fur lined… multi-pocketed, aaaaand possibly rank one hooded coat for myself.” Tila gave her best merchant's smile. “But now I see my favorite customer has returned.” She then noticed Mary standing behind and to the side of Ember. She gave her a once over as well. “Nice… And she brought a friend? Or a new client perhaps?”

“Hi Tila.” Ember answered. “It's good to see you again. Now I would normally be a bit more polite and ask you about your day, but you've done gone and piqued my curiosity by bringing up my new Hoodie.” The excited and anticipatory grin grew across her face.

“Ah, right you did call it a hoodie when you requested it. I knew I liked the word but,” Tila shrugged. “I guess it slipped my mind while sewing.” She gave Ember an eager smile. “Well? Come and check it out.”

By the time Ember had walked over to Tila's cutting table to give her new hoodie a good once over, her smile had grown so big her cheeks were beginning to burn and her eyes had stars swimming in them. “It's perfect! I absolutely love it!” Ember almost shouted while she ran around the table to hug Tila. “Thank you Tila,” she said while she wrapped her arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Your work is amaz… zing.”

Mary burst into laughter at the sight of Ember’s reaction to grabbing a handful of Kitsune tail fur. She had completely frozen up and lost her ability to speak after she realized that she was hugging Tila’s tail. More specifically when she noticed the warm, soft, and smooth fluff intertwined between her fingers. She couldn't control herself and ran her fingers through Tila's tail, fully enjoying her own lapse of judgment. Once Ember’s hand broke free of the fluff she turned bright red and quickly back stepped to give Tila her personal space back.

“I'm fluffy!” Ember spat out while shaking her hand placatingly. She quickly shook her head after she noticed she had misspoken. “No! I meant you're sorry. Bah!” She took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I'm sorry.” She eventually got out. “I got excited and I’m a bit of a hugger…” She looked back up to face Tila, doing her best to ignore Mary's continued laughter, to see Tila standing there frozen with her ears and tail fur standing on end and she looked to be just as red as she was.

“You… HA… both… wow…” Mary said between laughs and weezing. Her attempt to break the silence drew both of the blushing girls' attention. “One sec.” she said while holding up her pointer finger. She then took a slow breath before continuing. “Okay, first off you two are hilarious. Ember, you just ran around the table, grabbed her out of the blue, and made the poor girl turn mute.”

“I know.” Ember said to Mary before turning to face Tila. “And again, I'm sorry.”

Tila blinked a few times before finally replying to Ember. “I-it's okay. You just caught me off guard.” As Tila spoke her voice evened back out and her face shifted back to that of the friendly merchant. “A little warning though, next time offer to take a girl out before grabbing her tail.” She said with a nervous laugh while simultaneously breaking eye contact.

“Ah… Umm… Yeah, I-I'll remember that.” Ember replied with the same nervous laughter.

“Uh-hum.” Mary cleared her throat. “While I don't mean to interrupt,” she gestured in their general direction, “whatever this is.” She said with a playful laugh. “Maybe we can move past this awkward little back and forth and check out that interesting coat Tila made for you?”

“Right!” Tila said a little too loudly. “Uhm… Your new Hoodie is a little special.” Tila gave off a playful air as she spoke. “I figured I’d throw in a little something extra for you since you let me copy your hoodie's design and I'm fairly certain I'll be the only supplier of them for the foreseeable future.”

Ember raised an eyebrow. “Special how?”

Tila's grin grew even larger. “So you know I’m a tailor.” She said, gesturing around herself. “But I'm also Classed as a Threadsmith. My class has some extra benefits for me when I’m creating clothing or armor out of fabric and I may have Experimented with a new class skill while I made your hoodie.” Tila gave Ember a teasing grin. “First, thank you for the help in gaining my latest level. Working on a new coat design while simultaneously applying a successful enchantment to said coat gave me the last bit of experience I needed to finally progress. I don't know if you are aware or not but crafting classes have a hard time progressing in levels without having a dedicated party to craft for, new and creative designs, or a massive amount of disposable income to spend on supplies for practice.”

Ember shook her head. “I had no clue.”

“Me either.” Mary seconded.

“Well, most people only come to me for everyday clothes or the occasional suit or dress for special events or high end clients. But then you came in and told me you were a newly registered hunter and a prospective magic class. So I figured you wouldn't mind if I added a little extra protection or some utility while you were out in the wilds.” Tila explained. “I don't get to make much armor or enchanted clothes out here with the majority of this town being unclassed or low levels. Plus the majority of the hunters out here tend to lean into the physical classes so all their work goes to the smithy.” She let out a sigh. “That being said, my enchanting skill is still new and low leveled itself, so I don't have very many options on hand yet. I was only able to get one enchantment to stick, and it is only a level one armor skill but, I hope you still find it useful when you’re out on the road and unable to come see me.” She gave Ember a playful wink.

Ember was practically shaking with anticipation when Tila paused her explanation. ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!’ She thought to herself. ‘I'm getting magic clothes, I can’t believe it, magic clothes. Aaahhh!’ She let out an excited scream in her head and a small squeak out loud. “Please, the anticipation is going to kill me…” She gave Tila pleading eyes.

“Hehehe” Tila giggled at Ember's reaction. “Okay, so first off your hoodie is now technically considered cloth armor now. It will offer an added three points of damage reduction when in top shape and no lower than one while it is still in one piece. Now for the enchantment, and, I know it isn't the rarest or strongest added skill but in my opinion it is one of the most useful in the long run.” She looked down to see Ember shaking from suspense. “Okay I'm just stalling now… It has self repair at level one.” She paused expecting to see the disappointment flash across Ember's face but it never came.

“Self repair? Like it will fix itself?” Ember asked with a bubbly excitement drenching her voice.

“Yep.” Tila agreed with a nod.

“That's so cool!” Ember practically shouted. “So if I'm out and get a tear in the sleeve from a branch or a bunny strike rips a hole open in it, it will just start to fix itself without me bringing it back in or anything?!?”

“Yes, but not immediately.” Tila said with a sigh. “Like I said earlier, it's a level one enchantment so at this level it will only begin to repair itself after eight hours without sustaining damage and should fully repair itself in no more than three days. That is, as long as at least a third of it remains intact.”

Ember grabbed the warm yellow hoodie off of the table and pulled it into a hug. “It's super soft. And I love that you used the same color as my original hoodie, this is one of my favorite colors. Followed by orange, black, and purple respectively” Ember said with an innocent smile.

“Good to know, I'll keep that in mind for your next custom piece.” Tila replied with a wink.

“Hey, Ember. You never told me your tailor friend was classed, I didn't think his town had any classed that worked with cloth armor. My brother only ever goes to the Smithy and I would just buy comfortable robes or dresses I could move around in from the general store.” Mary said as she approached Ember and Tila. “Ms. Tila, I am very happy to meet you. My name is Mary, I’m also a magic user like Ember here” She said pointing over to Ember. Who she now stood beside. “I would love it if you would let me place an order with you as well.”

Tila let out a small chuckle at Mary's nervous introduction. “Of course, any friend of Ember is a friend of mine.” she said with a wink. “First I'll have to get your measurements, then I will get you into something premade that isn’t ripped up to your hipline.” She gave Mary a cheeky smile. “Then we can go over what material you would want it made out of, color if you have a preference, and finally the enchantment. Just be aware that an enchanted piece of armor cost significantly more than an unenchanted piece. Although… with Ember being the one to introduce you and you being a first time customer I'll make your first piece at cost if you are willing to make a trade instead. Nothing crazy or anything but with you being a mana user figure you could just charge my mana crystal with twenty five mana and call it even. How does that sound for you?” Tila inquired.

“Y-yes! I can do that!” Mary sputtered. “Just show me to the crystal and I'll get started right away.”

Tila chuckled at the excitement coming from the two girls. “There's no need to rush. I still need to get your sizes so you can charge it while I take your measurements. Now, Ember, go try on your new hoodie and tell me if you need any adjustments.” Tila pointed at a door on the side wall of the main room. “That's the changing room over there. While you are changing I'll get started with your friend here.” She made a shooing motion towards Ember and turned to give Mary her full attention. “Now my first question for design… is your hip high slit intentional?”

Mary's hand shot down to her legs and pulled the loose fabric back together to cover her exposed upper thigh and lower hip. “N-no, this was from a fall on the way here. I would never show this much skin. In public.”

Tila laughed “I like you, I think we will get along well. Now hop up on the pedestal and spread your arms and legs so we can begin.”