The next day found Daisy strolling through town with a whistle, tune interrupted with a feline. "Oh, hello, Jaspur."

The officer glared at her. "You were found innocent, but your mutagen sources are still just that. For the safety of the people, they should be clearly labled."

She looked down at herself, and the obvious bulge there. "That would be hard," she began carefully, "since they are a part of my body. They aren't something I can just take off."

He looked quite confident as he leaned in, pressing some crystal to her chest. It pulsed twice. On the third, a sign appeared, floating, above her chest, 'Mutagen Source' in plain text.

Daisy looked down at her chest, then back up to the cat. "Are you serious? That's not going away is it?"

He smiled at it. "It's for safety. Assuming you comply with its presence, there are no further issues. It should make them clear." He gestured at her chest. "Nobody will be caught by surprise."

She sighed but nodded. "Fine, fine, let me go. I have a busy day today, and I don't need this delay." With dark cheeks, she pushed past him and hurried away. "What a jerk." Part of her rewinding the meeting, berating herself on not standing up for herself. "That'd just make more trouble."

Daisy entered the shop and began looking around. But someone was at her. She glanced aside at a different feline, from the school. She smiled when noticed. "I thought you said you didn't have any of that mutagen." The feline approached. She was wearing a red top with a black skirt. Her fur was a rusty color, with a darker stripe along her tail.

Daisy shrugged. "This will turn you into a mouse person, not a brood mouse." She huffed gently. "I safely assume you want these big weights for yourself."

"Of course I do!" The cat woman looked up at her. "I'm sorry about the other day. I was being an ass to you." She took a step back. "But I really would like to talk with you about your milk sometime."

Daisy selected a small mace that happened to be there. "I just told you, you'll be a mouse. Mouse mutagens aren't too hard to get, are they?"

"I don't want any other mutagen." She stepped closer, offering a hand. "Name's Selena. And yours?"

"Daisy." Daisy returned the handshake. "Sorry if I'm being short." She laughed with a sudden idea. "You'll be short too if you keep going. Mice tend towards slender and short. I'm the exception, or maybe that's brood mice in general." She turned away, feeling the heft of the mace as she went. "Wish I could meet another brood mouse."

Selena looked up at her with interest. "You don't know any? None at all? You must get so much attention." Her tail whipped with building energy. "To be something so rare. Hmm, I can just imagine the stares, the aches, oh wow."

Daisy shrugged, trying to keep the color from her cheeks. "I, uh, get a lot of attention, yeah." She shifted in place. "You sure you want this? It's a big change, but a big one once started."

The feline nodded. "Oh, I do!" Selena looked down herself with some distaste. "Look. This is me as a kid." She dug around and pulled out a drawn picture of some small human girl with her parents. "Don't I look so plain?! The moment I was old enough to go shopping for mutagens, I did. I've tried out so many species. I'm not even sure I know what my default even looks like anymore. But I still haven't seen anyone like you. And so, I want that." She set her hand over her heart, eyes gazing into the distance. "And if I can't be a brood mouse, I can at least say I'm a mouse, made that way by the one and only brood mouse. That's almost as rare."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Daisy looked at the picture, then at Selena, and back again. "You were human?"

Selena nodded. "Yep, as plain and ordinary, boring, as any human ever." She shrugged at the thought. "So boring. They don't even have a tail." She reached back to pet hers. "So, how much for a drink?"

Daisy looked at her, really looking at her. Her eyes were drawn up and down this feline. Selena wasn't bad looking, by any means. The rusty color of the fur highlighted the white of her muzzle and chest nicely. But she had partners, and had just promised them. "I can't. Nobody gets access to these without Cedric and Theodoren's permission first."

"You'd have me ask your boyfriends?!" She made a face, her cheeks warmed under the fur. "Oh wow, you are forward."

"No!" Daisy sighed. "They aren't my boyfriends, but they are my partners, and I promised to run any new additions by them." She played the words she had just said. "I mean—"

"Boyfriends. Maybe husbands? Either way, what a power move." She laughed and turned for the door. "I'll ask them then. Once they let me past, I'm coming for you." She laughed again as she walked out.

Daisy was left to stare after her. "Wow, she's forward."

The store owner approached, a weasel. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"Not directly." She offered the mace. "I was hoping to find a warhammer. Bigger, just as blunt. Got any?"

The weasel looked her up and down, taking in the sign that floated above her chest. "That'd be quite the sight." He gestured towards a rack. "We have a few of those further back. You look like the sort that could use one."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll take a look." She moved towards the racks he indicated, finding a wide range of weapons. They went from small hammers, fit for a child, to huge great hammers. It was, to put it simply, the hammer rack. She reached for the biggest one they had. "Oh, this feels nice."

It was so large she had to use two hands and could feel mild strain moving it around. "I'm loving this." She gave it an experimental swing. "It's so powerful, even when I just try. And the heft is just what I need to do real damage." She turned and carried it towards the counter. "I don't have a shred of doubt. I want this." She set it heavily on the counter. "Kindly."

He smiled at her, nodding. "Excellent choice." He reached for a tag dangling from the handle. "I'll get this rung up for you, right away." He began to add up the total. "You're going to break some bones with that." He paused a moment. "Maybe literally, Miss Paladin."

Daisy perked up an ear. "How'd you know I was one of those?"

He chuckled and looked her up and down again with a shrug. "You're huge, have a worrying sign floating there, but I feel nothing but safe around you. If you aren't a paladin, I don't know what you are, ma'am. Did I guess right?"

"You did," Daisy admitted. "I'm just a bit surprised at the guess. Most people think warrior when they see me. And for good reason."

"I own a store for warriors." He smiled as he entered the last of the price. "Paladins are just a kind of those. Healers in the front line, keeping themselves and others upright. A noble task." He accepted her coins and gave some change. "A pleasure doing business. You want some armor? Your clothes are nice, but not very protective."

"Actually," Daisy looked down herself. "Do you have some chain mail that would fit me?"

"I'm afraid we're all out of that." The weasel looked at his stock with frustration. "At least in your specific size. You're a large one, ma'am. I can size you though, get started on something. It's an order, so you'll have a wait."

"An order would be wonderful!" She smiled. "I'll gladly take it. How much?"

He pulled out a measuring tape and moved around the counter to approach her with it. He took his measurements in a professional manner, hands staying where they should be. He quoted a price on the way back around the counter. "It'll take a few weeks. Where should I go to tell you it's ready?"

"Ah, I live at the university, actually." Daisy smiled at him. "With Cedric and Theodoren."

"I know their names." He smiled and nodded, making a note. "The fox and rabbit, yes? They've been by here many times. It'll be good to see them again."

Daisy smiled, then left for the exit. She stopped and turned back. "You have any straps for this?" She made a last minute purchase of some to keep her new hammer attached to her back.