A moment later I noticed that Ginger was going through the pile on the table as she mumbled. “Let’s try something simple first…” I turned around just in time to see what she picked out of the pile. Clutched in her hands was a simple-looking shirt in a maroon color. However, unlike other shirts I had seen and worn so far, this one looked soft and flexible. She passed it over. “Put this on.”

While I didn’t like the color, as my fingers touched it I nearly fell in love with whatever material it was made of. It was the softest material I had ever felt. Within moments, I slipped the shirt over my head, and the material settled into place on my body. While the neckline was a v-cut, it didn’t cut down more than a few inches. Just enough to show the top of my boobs and that was it.

The shirt billowed out slightly as I spun to face the mirror. As I caught sight of my reflection, I found that it looked good on me. I had expected to see the straps of my bra on my shoulders but the shirt somehow kept them hidden. It also managed to hug my curves without feeling too tight. Something that most of my old shirts failed to do.

Ginger let out a soft hmm sound as her eyes looked at my reflection with a critical eye. A moment later her arm flew out as she tore something out of the pile. She either didn’t notice or care as clothes fell to the ground. “Put this on.”

With a bit of hesitation, I took the item and unfolded it. I half expected to find a skirt or something. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she had handed me a pair of dark blue jeans. Of course, it was then that I realized I was still wearing the pair of pants I had borrowed from Xander. Then again, what I had below wasn’t something she hadn't seen before.

My lips were in a frown as I shucked one pair off only to slide the other on. The moment I went to slide my tail through the hole in the back, she grabbed my hand and redirected it. “There are some tails that are unable to bend as much as yours can. Most designers realize that and incorporate some way to get the tail into the hole and secure it.”

Sure enough, with her guidance I found the little clip that was cleverly hidden under a belt loop. While it did take a bit of work to get open and closed it didn’t leave my fur feeling as if it had been brushed the wrong way for which I was thankful.

The outfit felt perfect. Like it had been made for me. More importantly, it looked great. None of it overly emphasized any part of my body yet it hugged it enough to give me complete freedom of movement. “That looks great on you.” Ginger gushed. Then she reached over and yanked the door open. “Oi. What do you think?”

I spun to protest her decision to involve Xander but the words died on my lips. The guy was leaning on the wall across the aisle from us. His eyes were locked on me but he didn’t say a word. He almost looked stupified by what he saw.

“That’s what I thought,” Ginger said as she shut the door and gestured for me to strip. “Let's put that into the buy pile shall we?”

“Um…who is paying for all this?” I tentatively asked as I reluctantly passed over the shirt and pants.

“Don’t worry about it.” She took them but gestured at my bra. “That too.”

“Can’t I just keep it on?”

Her finger waved in the air as she scolded me. “You should wear a bra that either matches the outfit or is able to be kept hidden. This outfit,” She lifted something that looked a bit too long to be a shirt. “Will not hide the straps. So you will need to wear one of these.” In her other hand, she produced what looked like a single strip of fabric.

I let out a sigh and passed over the bra. And here I was just getting used to wearing the damned thing. She took it and handed me the strip of fabric. Like the bra, there was a series of clips on one side of the material. Unlike the bra, the clips were between the cups which made it much easier to put on.

As soon as I was done, she handed me the next outfit. Sure enough, it was a dress. My eyes narrowed at her as I asked, “Really?” While she shrugged, she didn’t say anything. With a sigh, I slipped the dress over my head. I quickly found that there were no holes for my arms.

Before I could ask her how to put this thing on she grabbed the dress and pulled it off. “While you can slip strapless dresses on like that, it is easier to step into them.” She laid the dress on the ground and gestured for me to step into the center. As she pulled it up she stopped to slip my tail through.

While I didn’t mind touching my tail, I found that I didn’t like it when someone else did it. It reminded me too much of the brief battle with Barti that led to me getting kicked from this place for a short while. Wait, now that I thought about it, why had I been kicked? If the pod was moving me between Earth and here, then why would it need to pull me back to Earth?

As I tried to think through the question, a swift jerk of a zipper brought me back to the present just as Ginger turned me to face the mirror. The dress was nearly as tight as my bra as it hugged my chest. That wasn’t the only thing about the dress that matched the bra. Its neckline followed the material to show a healthy amount of flesh. While it wasn’t something that I felt I could pull off, I was pretty sure other women could work this outfit.

Ginger must have had the same idea because she frowned and shook her head. “Yeah, that…just no. Next!”

For the next hour and a half, she dressed in outfit after outfit. Some worked quite well for me and she showed those off to Xander who stayed silent. Most of the rest though, she tossed into the ever-growing reject pile. The last outfit she pulled out was one that I should have expected but somehow she managed to surprise me with it.

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I found myself staring at my reflection while I wore a Kimono. The amount of material made me feel stuffy and restricted my movement. However, as one would expect given the origins of the Kitsune mythos, the outfit looked perfect on me. The various red fabrics that made up the outfit complimented my blue hair and fur while the amount served to hide the majority of my curves.

“You are a Kitsune arnt you.” Ginger sighed behind me. Her tone no longer sounded playful. The sudden change caused me to spin around.

“Yeah? Did you not know that?” I asked, puzzled.

She slowly shook her head but stayed silent as she studied me. We stayed that way until, finally, she steepled her fingers and spoke. “My brother never actually told me what you were. He only said that you had been changed and needed help. Honestly, I thought you were a fox beastkin or something this entire time.”

“Then how did you figure out what I was?” While I asked, I had an idea.

“Because that Kimono was meant as a joke. It just doesn’t look right on others. Now that doesn’t mean that they can't make it work or anything. It just doesn’t look quite so perfect.” She leaned her head back as she let out a sigh. “I am not explaining this right. Something about a Kitsune’s magic, your magic, makes the outfit look like it was meant for you.”

“So the outfit works for me.” I shrugged, “Why is that a problem?”

A hand lifted to rub her face. “What do you know about Kitsune? Or foxes for that matter?”

“Just the myths and legends used in various games, shows, and books. Why?”

I started to remove the outfit as she spoke. “Okay, pull up your species screen.”

“My what?”

“Your species…” she grumbled something too low for me to hear over the rustling of fabric. “Go to your status screen and select your race.” As soon as I put the fabric to the side, I did as she asked.

Race:

Kitsune

Variant:

Demonic

God:

Inari

Tier:

1

Power Category

Fire

Power Tier:

1

Race Skills:

None*

Race Points:

3

Mated:

No

“What does most of this mean?” I asked as I looked over the information.

“Almost every race has a different list so I don’t know what you have.”

“Then why did you ask me to pull it up?” I muttered, a bit annoyed at her answer.

“Tell me,” she sounded hesitant as she asked, “does the list include a spot labeled mate or mated?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Do you really need me to spell it out.” She moaned.

“Spell what out?”

“There are species out there that mate for life. Dragons, wolves, griffins, and well, most of the other beastkin species, as well as the magical ones, mate for life. This includes Kitsune.” She rushed out in a single breath.

“What do you mean by mate for life?” I asked though I had a feeling about what she was going to say.

“It means that the first person that you seal the deal with will be it for you.”

And I was right. “But what does that have to do with me? Why are you bringing this up now?”

She sighed but her eyes met mine as she said, “I have seen how you and my brother look at each other. While it could be lust or hormones from the change, I doubt it. While I don’t know you all that well, I do know him. Just know that if you do decide to go after him and end up breaking his heart, I will kill you.”

Her response confused me. “Wait, I thought you said that I would be the one stuck with him for life? How did this turn into you killing me for breaking his heart?”

The glare she shot me was sharp as she spoke with a clipped voice. “If you lead him on without the intention to at least try. If you use him only to leave him. If you…” She sounded as if she could go on but stopped herself. “Just, think before you do or say something to him. I know this wasn’t something you had to deal with as much while you were a guy, but us girls have to watch what we say and do because men are simple, stupid creatures. One misplaced hand, a hug that lasts too long, a misplaced word, and they might take it wrong. They might interpret it as something you didn’t mean.”

“Okay,” I nodded. “I think I understand. I can try. But you still haven't told me why you mentioned the mate aspect.”

“Because once you start down that road you may find yourself unable to stop until it is too late. I want you to think about what you want before you do something you might end up regretting.” She closed her eyes. “And just because you are mated does not mean that you will be unable to cheat on him. Just that, from what I understand, the magic will cause him unimaginable pain.”

And that was the reason she would kill me. Not because Ishe did or didn’t want me to choose her brother. But because she wanted me to be sure before I made the choice so that I didn’t hurt him.

“Anyway,” Ginger grunted as she stood up. “Let's get you back into the first outfit so we can pay for this and go get some lunch.” By the time I finished changing, her bubbly personality had returned.

Ginger practically bounced out of the room as soon as she opened the door. She and Xander avoided colliding as she made her way toward the counter. Xander, for his part, stayed quiet as we walked to join her.

Once we were at the counter, the two staff members made quick work of the small pile. “That will be three hundred twenty gold.” I balked at the amount. Even with everything I had, I would barely be able to cover half the amount.

Xander barely blinked as he handed over four large gold coins. Unlike the coins I knew, these things were square. She took them without blinking and passed back one triangle and three metal sticks. Each of which were gold in color.

Xander must have noticed my gaze because he pointed to each while Ginger shoved everything into her inventory. “These,” he pointed to the sticks. “Are worth ten. While these,” he pointed at the triangle. “Are worth fifty. The squares are worth one hundred and hexagons are worth five hundred. It is one of the more recent developments given how much inflation is happening.”

As we started for the exit, I scoffed. “So they are printing more cash?” Or was it stamping more cash?

“Not quite.” He shook his head. “Each coin is minted then anyone can exchange their coins for it. The exchanged coins are sent to the treasury to either be melted down or put into circulation as needed. Now…” Suddenly a growling rumble interrupted his explanation.

We both looked over at Ginger who looked sheepishly back. “Hey, I haven't eaten anything since you told me that you needed help.”

“That was a day ago.” Xander didn’t sound happy. Instead of confronting her, he asked, “What do you want to eat then?”

“Hmm…your treat?” She asked while giving him a pleading look.

“You make more than enough to treat yourself.” He rolled his eyes but gave in with a heavy sigh. “Fine, but only this one time as thank you for helping Kyren.”

“YAY!” Ginger grabbed our hands and practically dragged us behind her. “I know just the place!”