The Darkness that Falls

[CrystalTears]

Shayna could understand why Mr. Rabbit had been reluctant to speak about what was going on at the mansion. Even if he was trying his best to be vague, the context clues gave her plenty to work with. It was an illegal trading business, auction on top of that, so that meant they were both stealing and kidnapping magical artifacts and creatures in order to auction them off in exchange for money. No wonder he wanted protection, such a thing usually meant there was a bigger crime ring involved. The angel had thought of this as a simple investigation, but it seemed as if they would be kneedeep in work for quite some time now. In some sense, she would give the two runaways that they were acting in self-defense, but taking down the entire building was going a bit overboard. The smell of blood too, there were too many victims to believe that it was only an act of self-defense. But such trivial things could be solved later.

"Descriptions?" Shayna asked as she was clearly frowning when their Rabbit flipped Tucker off. Disrespect was something she didn't do well with, especially not when she was debating whether or not to cut his arm off. He was lucky that the angel planned on hauling his butt to jail, otherwise, he'd be missing one finger.

"How did they look?" She repeated her question. Tucker could smell them, but for Shayna who couldn't, she had to use her other senses. A physical description would help her a lot, Tucker wasn't some sort of bloodhound after all.

She looked up at Tucker and sheathed her sword, knowing well that he had given her what she asked for. Shayna honored her words, but she also knew how to work around them. "After you give us some physical description to work off with, we'll take you to the station so you can write down your statement," she said. It was better to leave the entire "jail" thing out for now. She didn't know if this crime gang had connections in prison, and to be frank, she didn't care what happened to him. Justice would come for everyone, including those who auctions others off.

"Sounds good to you Tucker?" Shayna asked. "Think we'll get what we need to be able to search, with your sharp nose and my eyes," she smiled. Unlike toward the rabbit, her smile to Tucker was genuine.

 

[Spekkun]

"They were girls, the both of them. The one we were gonna sell? She was a small thing. White hair, fox ears." The man responded to Shay, lowering his hand upon seeing her face. He didn't wish to have his finger snapped tonight, or any night for that matter. "The other one had black hair, some sorta wolf chick...same deal. Looked like cosplay, but real, ya know?" He paused in his description, pursing his lips as he thought for a moment. "Actually, I swear I heard something on the grapevine about her."

"Alright, well that Sounds great to me!" Tucker nodded his head and as if it understood the situation, the ground that had swallowed the criminal's feet opened up, releasing his feet from their confines. Of course, Tucker made sure to grab the man by the back of his shirt and lift him up. He looked akin to kitten being held by the scruff of its neck. "We got good info, it's deeper than we thought."

"I-I can walk." The man muttered, both scared and embarrassed. "You're gonna rip my shirt like this. I ain't gonna run or nothin'. You can trust me."

"I'd say I trust you about as far as I can throw you, but that is very, very far. So I'm just gonna say I'll carry you. It's funny!" As if to emphasize that fact, Tucker pinched one of the man's cheeks, eliciting a cry of pain from him. "Oops...too hard! Sorry about that! Hope you're not feeling disrespected." He couldn't help but snicker, his tail behind him going nuts as he patted the man.

"Alright, Shayna. Let's head back. We can put out a search for these little ladies and then from there we can figure out what to do." The idea of some big case like this got him excited, something he almost didn't want to admit. This was perhaps the most exciting thing that had happened to him since...since...well it had been awhile. "We'll deal with the whole 'behind-the-desk' stuff tomorrow. Or the day after...or maybe next week." He shrugged his shoulders as he started walking. "I don't care when. Not important." At least not to him, anyway.​

 

[CrystalTears]

Shayna made a mental note of everything the guy told them. Under normal circumstances, she would take information from such shady people very questionable, but Mr. Rabbit was risking his life, one way or the other, so the angel had no doubts that his words could be trusted. A fox and a wolf, huh? So, a fox shifter. . . or a kitsune perhaps? The other girl, a werewolf? It was too vague, but it was all she could pry out of their rabbit. The chances of it being cosplay were close to none, it sounded like an illegal storage mansion for magical artifacts and creatures alike. Their animalistic appearances had to be their actual appearances, the only problem, was how they, more than likely, could hide those features to blend in better with the mundane humans.

Tucker, pleased with all of this, released their rabbit before holding him above ground with his shirt. Their rabbit was closer to a kitten now, which was, admittedly, a little bit cute.

The angel's ice blue eyes followed Tucker's tail, which was running amok, behind the werewolf before shaking her head to focus more on getting back to the station. Their rabbit kitten had to write a statement, to make this information official, and they had other paperwork to catch up with along with starting up the search for the two runaways.

"You can walk, which means you can run," Shayna said. "Of course, if you'd rather have both of your legs broken then I don't mind doing that for you. Otherwise, I'd let Mr. Nice Werewolf carry you," the angel advised. It was a true offer, breaking his legs wouldn't be too much of a worry nor a headache when she got to the station. Almost all of the criminals she brought in had some sort of injury, it was more surprising if they didn't have a broken bone in their body.

"Hey, you're making us do the paperwork too soon!" Shayna playfully whined. "How about doing it next millennium?" She asked with a smirk. Tucker was visibly excited and so was Shayna. They were not catching purse thieves or kids who robbed some candy from a store, this was going to be something big. Of course, that also meant all of the paperwork that had piled up on her desk could wait and be shoved over to Diaz and Chocolate Face.

 

[Spekkun]

"No ma'am, I'm fine." The criminal muttered, ceasing his whining immediately. He hadn't planned on running, but if they broke his legs and he needed to run then he would be up a creek without a paddle. Still, it was demeaning and almost painful to be carried like this. "Just...take it easy, okay? I don't want my neck bruised or anything. I only snitched to avoid being injured or worse, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Since when the hell did criminals become such babies?" Tucker scoffed. He actually sounded as if he was disappointed by this discovery. "We guaranteed your protection, as long as you play by our rules and cooperate. If you don't, then, whatever happens, happens. No matter who does it."

With that said, he turned his head to Shayna, a small grin on his face. "I mean, we can't let it sit that long. Then all our work will be for nothin'. One slip of paper we didn't sign and we could get in trouble. Besides, in a millennium I might forget all about it." To be honest he would probably forget about it in less than a week if he wasn't careful.

"We'll get this guy to a holding cell since he just implicated himself and all. Then we can call it a night and tomorrow begin the real work. As long as we can find a general area they're in, my nose will do the rest." He tapped his nostril with his finger, a prideful look on his face. "Then...then we figure out what the heck to do from there."​

 

[CrystalTears]

Arden was an early riser, she had always been, and for a moment, she had forgotten that she wouldn't wake up in the cold dark basement. A bit startled by Scout at first, Arden made sure to make no sudden movements so that the Inugami could keep sleeping. It was still early in the morning, and Scout had helped her out so much yesterday that the Kumiho would feel bad if she disturbed her sleep.

With careful movements, Arden released herself from Scout's light embrace and then draped the blanket over the sleeping Inugami. She wasn't sure if Scout could get cold, but it was better safe than sorry. No matter what, even if Arden had practically asked her to become her roommate, she was still a guest until she got properly settled in.

It had been too long since Arden had a guest over, ears and a tail proudly showing themselves off due to her excitement as she tiptoed her way over to the kitchen to make breakfast. Unfortunately, due to her imprisonment, Arden hadn't bought in a lot of groceries, but this was where her powers were quite nifty.

There was plenty of food that had gone beyond their expiration dates, some that even smelled a bit funny, which was enough for Arden to grab out of the fridge and put on top of the table. The Kumiho only waved her hand before the spoiled and rotten food turned into a grand breakfast consisting of steaks, eggs, fresh milk, and orange juice. It wasn't quite the homecooked meal that Arden had imagined making for Scout, but it was her magic, so it was basically self-made. She didn't know about the Inugami, but she always appreciated a good meal after using her powers so recklessly like that. Perhaps it was a bit too much to change the entire building into dust to get her answer across, but. . . she really hated that damned thing.

With food prepared and the dishes placed on the table, Arden decided that it was time to wake Scout up for their day. She promised to take the Inugami downtown to go shopping, though she hoped that Scout knew how to blend in with the humans, and they would need some stuff for Scout to officially move in.

"Hey Scout?" Arden asked as she gave a few gentle knocks to the bedroom door. "Scout?" She repeated before slowly approaching the bed and giving the sleeping Inugami a few shakes. "Breakfast is ready, get out of bed and eat."

 

[Spekkun]

In the brief amount of time it had taken Arden to prepare breakfast, Scout had curled up into a ball before rolling left and right on the mattress, ending up in a tangled mess of limb, sheets, and blankets. She had been having a peaceful, albeit weird dream. There was nothing sinister about it, it felt...homey. She was simply sitting on a couch, eating a meal while watching the previous night unfold on television. It was probably because of the mattress. It had been awhile since she slept on such a comfortable, soft, fluffy surface.

When Arden woke her up, she groaned in disappointment and reached up, her hand feeling the Kumiho's face. "Hnh...Arden..." She groaned, her tail sweeping to the side as she slowly rose into a sitting position. "You're still here. Nice." She chuckled, though it sounded more woeful than pleased. "I haven't slept that well in a long time. Thanks for that. Felt really good. Almost familiar." She yawned heavily and raised her arms as she stretched, her joints and back popping in the process. "Alright...breakfast...a breakfast I didn't have to hunt!" She seemed only slightly more awake now.

"Thanks for making me some grub!" Scout cracked a sleepy grin at the girl before rolling off the mattress, laying in a heap of flesh and bedding on the floor before she floated off the ground, flying again. "I'm gonna make that up to you!" She assured the girl. "After all, we're roommates now, right? I gotta give as much as I take!" She let her nose do the guiding as she floated out of the bedroom and to the table, her tail going ballistic behind her as she went. "Yep...gonna...make it up to you...wow this smells and looks good!"​

 

[CrystalTears]

Arden laughed a bit as Scout's hands felt around her face in a sleepy daze, it felt a bit weird, but at least Scout had a pleasant sleep and was ready to get up to have some breakfast. Usually, Arden liked to cook her own meals properly by buying the ingredients instead of cheating it like she had today, but it couldn't be helped and now Scout could help her carry the extra food they were going to need back from the store!

"You usually hunt your own food?" Arden asked as she sat down across from Scout at the table and realized she had forgotten to bring some cutlery to the table. The Kumiho was too lazy to walk back to fetch some, so instead, she grabbed the napkins and turned them into cutlery for both of them. "Here you go," she smiled and then started on her own breakfast before smiling to Scout who seemed very enthusiastic about the idea of them being roommates. Arden didn't mind, and it was returning a favor, plus she had agreed to help take down more of those godforsaken buildings.

"You don't need to worry about it. Roommates do this for each other," Arden said and she genuinely meant it. Plus, it felt weird for Scout to owe her anything when the Kumiho owed the Inugami her life.

"Though Scout, do you know how to blend in with humans?" She decided to ask. "We're going shopping for clothes and food, and it wouldn't be too beneficial if you didn't look and act like them. I mean, they know about us but we still attract attention. It would be better if they didn't know any better when we move about during the day," she explained to the best of her ability to the Inugami. "Though, in the meantime, you can borrow some of my clothes. Can't have you go back to your bloody clothes and these pajamas won't do either," Arden added as she hoped that Scout had some clue on how to mingle among humankind. Otherwise, shopping would be a bit more of a chore than she initially thought.

 

[Spekkun]

"Oh yeah, you gotta when you're out on the streets like that." Scout told her, sounding somewhat proud of the fact. "I mean, sometimes I'd swipe stuff, but other times? I'd just go about hunting animals out in the rural areas. Honestly, it makes me feel..." She paused for a moment as she sat down, her mind searching for the correct word to use. "It makes me feel...I dunno. It feels good, feels natural. Maybe I was a hunter in my past life, eh?" She stopped speaking for a moment to stuff her face with some of the food, chewing vigorously and animatedly. If she wasn't trying to seem less wild in front of Arden then she would have ate much more savagely than she was now, not that the way she was eating currently was much better.

"Uh, blend in? I think I can do that." She answered her question, nodding her head. "I mean, I've avoided being caught before, right? Can't be too difficult! Just stuff the tail away, wear a hat to cover the ears? Good to go." She gave Arden a thumbs up, pausing when she noticed a bit of food on her black nail, something she licked off.

"This'll be easy, don't worry. People won't even look our way twice." She assured Arden with a smirk. "And if they do...Well...I can take em' out. No one else will notice!" With that said, she went back to stuffing her mouth, making sounds of appreciation and wonder as she ate.

 

[CrystalTears]

Scout was either starving or Arden's "cooking" tasted like some sort of Heaven to the Inugami. Either way, it made the Kumiho very pleased to see Scout eat with so much gusto, so instead of being bothered by it, she only giggled and then started eating, though in a much slower fashion, her breakfast as well. It was probably a better idea to keep the fact it had been spoiled and rotten food, but transmutation took one thing and turned it into something else, so it wasn't as if it mattered. Technically, it could have been a piece of the wall if Arden had wanted to use that instead.

However, as she had guessed, Scout hadn't tried living among humans. It was understandable, to some degree, considering how she had cold-bloodedly murdered so viciously yesterday. Arden was no better now, but she couldn't imagine having the blood of someone else on her hands or to use her claws as weapons like Scout. It was as admirable as it was terrifying.

"Okay, so yes, that's a good start," Arden smiled as she figured Scout probably couldn't hide her ears like the Kumiho could. It was, sort of, their specialty to blend in with the humans. It was for lesser morally good reasons than shopping, but she'd leave that in the past.

"And no! You can't knock them out! Don't hurt them unless they're bad!" Arden said strictly. She didn't condone to violence, despite what last night would have to say, and she wasn't about to start hitting innocent humans just because they saw them! "It's not bad if they see, it's not as if our existence is a secret, but. . . let's try not to attract attention, okay?" Knocking out people was sure to attract a lot of eyes, which was unfavorable.

"It also means you need to walk, no flying or floating. Your feet need to touch the ground," Arden continued her lesson. It had been a matter of survival for the Kumiho to pretend to be human, so a lot of this seemed unnecessary to explain, but she did understand that Scout was in an entirely different situation. "And absolutely no violence!" She repeated. Arden trusted Scout, but there was a part of her that held just a tiny bit doubt in the obviously bloodthirsty Inugami.

"I'll get you a hat and maybe a coat to cover your tail," Arden said as it wasn't so hard to hide her own from view. "You mind doing the dishes before we leave?" The Kumiho asked as he finished her breakfast. "It's only fair that you do the dishes when I made breakfast, that's roommate rules."

 

[Spekkun]

"W-what?" Scout couldn't help the stutter in her speech or the meek surprise in her voice. "W-walk?" The word itself seemed foreign to her. Occasionally, sure, she would grace the ground with her steps, but not being able to fly at all? That was like asking a bird not to fly! Sometimes she didn't even mean to fly, it just happened! Like her body wasn't meant to be on the ground! But they did just come from a terrible situation and any attention they garnered was sure to be the wrong kind, so she had to play it safe. "I guess I can do that...I guess." She didn't sound too pleased about it, and her ear folded to demonstrate that fact. But she knew it was important, and it wasn't like it was a permanent thing.

"I can do the no violence thing, I guess. I don't have to beat people up." The Inugami told her, a small huff leaving her. "Not unless I *have* to, anyway. I can keep myself in check. Don't worry." If her life, or Arden's life wasn't on the line, then she would keep her hands to herself. It was supposed to be something of a fun day, anyway.

"I'll definitely need the hat and coat, though. I can't hide these things at all." She flicked her ear and tugged gently on her tail, which shied away, as if to say 'leave me alone'. "Never have been able to. Weird, huh?" She chuckled. The other Inugamis she met could, she just wasn't able to do it herself. Either she wasn't good at learning how or it just wasn't physically possible for her. "I got the dishes too, no worries. Fair is fair, roomie!" She promised the Kumiho, giving her another thumbs up.

 

[CrystalTears]

On second thought, had Arden even seen Scout's feet on the ground yet? The Kumiho was fairly certain that the Inugami had kept her paws in the air, but she hoped that Scout knew how to walk on her hind paws. Unlike Kumihos, Inugamis weren't meant to blend in among the people to feed on their hearts. They didn't need to look human, but Arden did. Thankfully, the days of "feeding off hearts" were long gone, but old myths were still told to the public. It didn't matter too much anyway, most of her kind was dead from the vicious hunting of their beads. A small pearl that could make any wish come true, such a thing was truly terrifying.

"If walking is too hard, then try just hovering slightly over the ground, so it looks like you're tall more than floating," Arden suggested as she put her dishes in the sink.

"I don't think it's too weird," the Kumiho smiled as she proudly showed off her ears and her tails. One day, she would have nine, but for now, she only had three. "I think it all depends on whether or not you think it's necessary? I guess you never needed to hide it, so why should you know how?" Arden smiled and put out the dishwashing supplies that Scout would need. "You can put them back into the cupboards, get used to the kitchen," she instructed before heading over to the bedroom to find Scout some clothes so she could hide her Inugami features.

Arden had been too scared to turn on the radio or the TV in the fear of the news of a building disappearing had reached the public. If worse came to worse, then they could be wanted criminals at this point. They did murder, even if she would claim it was in self-defense. Maybe she had gone overboard, but Arden couldn't say that she regretted it.

"But will she be okay?" Arden asked herself and peeked back into the kitchen to see how Scout and the dishes were going. "She won't. . . break them. . . right?" She murmured to herself before returning to her attention to any clothes that would look good and not suspicious. There was something about Scout and her thumbs up that left an unsettling feeling in Arden's stomach, but it was just the dishes. It would be fine, hopefully.

 

[Spekkun]

"No, no, don't worry! I'll walk! I need to exercise my legs anyway, right? Otherwise, what are they for?" Scout assured the girl, giving her a rather toothy grin. "I won't take any risks! You just got free, and I just made my first real friend! I don't wanna put you at danger." And with that, she hovered off to do the dishes.

Admittedly, she hadn't ever done them before, not that she remembered anyway. But how hard could it be, right? She could put two and two together rather easily. Stick em' under the water, scrub em clean, rinse off the soap and stack em' in the rack, right? She started almost immediately, though she paused to occasionally clean the plates of bits of eggs and leftover juices from the steak. "Waste not, want not." She snickered to herself, smacking her lips before going back to cleaning.

At first, she put way more effort than necessary into it, trying to get every dish to shine and maybe even sparkle. But eventually, she realized she didn't need to put in that much elbow grease, and resorted to making sure they were good enough. Thankfully, she didn't break anything. At least not that she knew of. "Dishes are done!" She called out after finishing before floating towards Arden's room. "cleaned to perfection! And then some!"​

 

[CrystalTears]

Thankfully, Arden didn't hear a single plate get smashed under Scout's care. It was a bit mean of her to doubt, but it couldn't be helped since it didn't seem like the Inugami knew how to act or pretend to be human. Arden's life was close to that of a human, except her childhood where she lived in her Kumiho village, so she had accustomed without too much difficulty.

"Thanks!" Arden smiled and handed Scout over some clothes, a coat, and a hat. It might get a little bit hot, but hopefully, that wouldn't become too much of a problem. "Here, this should be good enough for today! Sorry if it's not your size, but that's why we're going shopping," she said before finding some clothes for herself, hiding away her Kumiho features.

It was a good thing that Scout understood why they needed to lay low, and it was heartwarming to hear that the Inugami not only considered her as a housemate but also as a friend.

"I'm not rich though, so I can't buy very expensive stuff, but it'll be good to have some extra clothes!"

 

[Spekkun]

Scout put the hat on first, fidgeting with it for a few moments to ensure that her ears were completely covered. "Don't worry about it! Something to wear is better than nothing to wear." They were going to buy clothes so she could handle a few hours in clothes that were only a tad bit small for her. The coat was something she wasn't much used to wearing, but she had to admit, she loved the look it gave her.

After getting dressed she hovered in front of Arden's mirror, checking herself out. "Tail? hidden. Ears? hidden!" It was a little uncomfortable for her tail, but she could handle it! "I'm lookin' pretty good, too! Your style ain't half-bad, roomie!" She told Arden, doing a little twirl in the air. "Hm, maybe I should get some sunglasses too?" Her eyes were orange, and while that wasn't perse normal, she could easily play it off as special contact lenses or something. But they did have a bit of a glow to them, more noticeably in the dark. "Nah, what are the odds we'll be in the dark? I'll be fine." She waved her hand passively.

"Okay! I'm ready to go!" She exclaimed, floating over to Arden. "I'm ready to try shopping for the first time!" She was maybe more excited than she should be, but she couldn't help it. New things were always exciting, and it would be nice to spend a day relaxing, as she'd seen others do. And with a friend no less.​

 

[CrystalTears]

After checking that Scout looked as human as possible, and contemplating whether to get her some sunglasses or not, Arden decided that they were ready to go shopping. While the sunglasses would help her unusual eye color, the Kumiho figured it would make Scout look too conspicuous. The Inugami was already in a coat and hat, that thankfully fit, so it would have to do. Expectantly, Arden was a bit nervous since what she knew of Scout was what she saw yesterday, and while she would argue it was self-defense, it was still bloody. Obviously, Arden knew that Scout wasn't going to act like that in the street, but if trouble arose, she would get worried about their assailant.

Hopefully, all petty pocket thieves or college jerks had gone somewhere safe to hide so Scout wouldn't need to unleash her wrath upon them on their little excursion.

The mall was, as usual, bustling with people trying to get their hands on last-minute sales. Arden, knowing it was crowded, grabbed Scout's hand before leading her through the mass of people. It would be bad if the Inugami got lost, and the Kumiho didn't want to run around trying to find her. On the plus side, with this amount of humans walking around, Scout's conspicuous outfit would stand less out.

"Okay Scout," Arden started. "You choose what store you wanna go into and pick out some clothes, I'll buy them for you," the Kumiho smiled. This mall wasn't too expensive so she wasn't worried about going bankrupt, at least not yet.

 

[Spekkun]

"I get to pick?" Scout looked surprised, but her look soon changed into a rather cheeky grin. "Sweet! I get to pick!" She had thought Arden would pick a few stores for them to go to, not that she had a problem with that. But this just made it easier to get her own style going! "I tell ya this is gonna be great! I haven't had a change of clothes in...like years!" She crinkled her nose, making a face at the memories before observing the first few stores before them.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to a store that sold punk-themed clothes. While she wasn't entirely into it, it was interesting enough that she started to literally float towards the store, only stopping when she remembered that there were ordinary people around who would likely freak out. "Oops." She mumbled. "Oh, Arden, is this store okay? I like their jackets!" The jackets were nice, but they weren't all that different from the one she was wearing when the two met.

"I mean, I wanna see what else too, but the jackets are nice! And the shorts!" It might have become evident that Scout had no idea what she liked because, in truth, she liked everything she saw. If she could, she would get one of the outfits on the display dolls in the window of the shop, complete with the choker. "Ahh, that other store has nice stuff too..." She turned her attention to a much lighter and brighter themed store, biting her thumbnail as she struggled to make up her mind. "Which one...which one...which one...this one! I'll pick this one!" She pointed at the first store. "This is the store!"​

 

[CrystalTears]

Arden chuckled as Scout was trying her best to pick out which store she wanted to go to. In all honesty, while the Kumiho hadn't voiced it, it wasn't as if they were only going to one store. In fact, Arden had nothing better to do, so in theory, they could go to every single store and get an article of clothing from each. She patiently waited for Scout to find one store she liked before deciding where to go, it was the Inugami's clothes they were going shopping for, but maybe Arden would pick up a few things for herself. Her old clothes, the ones she wore when she got captured, were no longer useable. And maybe Scout could spice up her wardrobe a bit, though she didn't expect it to be punk.

"You know Scout," Arden said as she led the way over. "We can visit all of the stores you want to go to, even if you just wanna have a look and don't actually buy anything," she smiled and greeted the shopkeeper on their way inside.

It was. . . colorful and yet it was very black at the same time. There were plenty of leather and chains flung around, though some of the sweaters and t-shirts were pretty cute with some less cute imagery on them. Still, it did look cool. Arden was a much more casual kind of girl when it came to her style, and fascinatingly enough she stood out in all of the punk clothes, as her eyes wandered about the store.

"If you want to try something, just tell me. We can grab a few things and try them on, just to make sure you got the right size," Arden told Scout as she decided she might as well become a bit daring with her own style. Even if she tried it, she didn't need to buy it, which was all the Kumiho needed to convince herself to at least try.

 

[Spekkun]

"Oh! We can!" Scout sounded surprised as she realized that was true. They had no other plans for the day really, and if Arden didn't mind then she wouldn't complain. Aside from the clothes she had been wearing since...forever now, she didn't know much about what clothes were out there. So knowing that she wasn't confined to just one choice made everything so much easier to her.

She followed Arden around in the store for awhile, making a conscious effort to keep her feet on the ground as she surveyed the clothes for something she wanted. "Okay, that sounds good!" She grabbed some blue shorts and a black shirt rather quickly, only pausing to check if the size was likely to fit or not. "I'll try these out then. Seems to go well with the whole dark thing we Inugami's got going on, eh?" She asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

"Are you gonna get something? Because it'll be weird if I'm the only one getting something." Arden was kind enough to pay for her, so it would be weird if she was the only one getting something. "We could look like a couple of badass sisters, eh?" She smirked, elbowing the Kumiho playfully. "Nobody'll wanna screw with us."

 

[CrystalTears]

It was nice seeing that Scout was having so much fun despite the fact they were just going shopping. Most people considered shopping a chore too, though the Inugami had obviously not done this in a while if ever, it was good to see she enjoyed it. "Well, if that's what you're aiming for, shouldn't you get something dark or bloody red?" Arden joked back with a chuckle. The Kumiho didn't know all that much about Scout's people, but yesterday was a good enough demonstration of how bloody they could be. Thank goodness that they were almost the same size, otherwise, they'd have to try to hide the blood on Scout's old clothes in. . . some creative ways.

Arden looked over a couple of the displayed and found a red and black shirt that looked decent. Plaid was definitely not something she would usually wear, though when Scout mentioned it would be weird if she was the only one, the Kumiho found herself convinced to at least try. She didn't need to buy it, or maybe she'd surprise herself and like the new punk style.

"Sure, I'll try this one and. . . " Arden's blue eyes searched the same table as she found a pair of black ripped skinny jeans to go with it. She even matched the outfit with a cap that had a cute but edgy kitty theme too. ". . . this, it'll make for a whole outfit," she smiled. Shoes they'd have to look for elsewhere, though she doubted they would have something that fit Scout's hind paws.

"We're going to look so scary they'll turn the other way," Arden laughed as she found the dressing rooms and pulled the curtain out of the way to allow Scout in first.

"Here you go. Try it on, and tell me if something is wrong so I can fetch you a different size or color," she smiled. This was a lot of fun, it truly felt like going shopping with a sister. Ironically, they only met yesterday, but it felt like they've known each other for years.

 

[Spekkun]

"Bloody red, eh? That's a good suggestion." Scout had not quite thought of that. "Maybe I'll look at something like that later on. It's been a while since I wore stuff that wasn't black and blue." She had almost cracked a joke about her clothes being bloody enough as is, but she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to say such a thing in a public space. Plus, she was sure her violence might have shocked her new roommate. It was much better to be safe than sorry.

Taking Arden's go ahead, the Inugami nodded her head up and slipped into the dressing rooms, closing the curtain behind her. The moment the curtain closed, the girl floated off the ground, letting out a sigh of relief, as if she had dropped some incredible weight. "Not flying is harder than I thought." She chuckled to herself as she began to cast off the clothes Arden had lent her, trying on the new ones.

It didn't take long before she was done. She opened the curtain halfway at first but realized she was still floating. "Oh, wait!" She closed it and then lowered herself to the ground before bursting out of the curtain, arms raised into the air as she showed off her new look in all its new look glory. The style wasn't radically different from her look the night the two met, but it was a start. The choker around her neck was perhaps the most stand out part of her outfit. "Ta da! Whatya think?" She asked, doing a short twirl on her toes. Unfortunately, she had forgotten the coat, and so her tail was showing in all its fluffy and orange streaked glory.​