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Chapter 7

On the fourth day, the crystal cracked and fractured. It broke open and there Layne slipped free onto her knees, shivering and nude, her eyes still shut as she gasped out for air. Her body felt as if she had been held underneath water for longer than her lungs could handle. She felt a familiar touch upon her shoulder, a large hand that eased her onto her feet and brought a bit of that pressure off of her. Her eyes opened to look around the chamber, her giant friend still with his hands upon her. As she felt her body warm and steady, she let out a breath and looked up to her friend and gave his hand a reassuring pat. Bav soon arrived with a dress similar to the one she had worn before going into hibernation and she blinked, taking note of the fact that she was fully nude. She looked at her chest where she swore a crystal spike had been rammed and felt over it in disbelief as she saw nothing of the sort there. In fact, besides her dress and hat being missing, she felt perfectly fine and dandy, "Bav...Did anything change?"

Bav's voice came out very odd, more concise than she'd expect, "You'll find out soon enough yourself, but yes. Here, I know you're not like Gatton who likes going without clothing."

Layne took the dress lightly and slipped it on, feeling a bit awkward at some points as she struggled through it. There were some changes already apparent, it felt like she had at least gotten a bit taller, but not by much because even Bav was still taller than she was, "Well, I guess I'd like to get to a mirror or something."

Bav gave a sawtooth grin and brought their arms up, "Darling, we're practically in a hall of mirrors! Turn around even and you can see yourself in the very vessel you were trapped within."

Layne felt her own cheek with a nervous paw, not sure if she wanted to see the differences. She had already taken the leap of faith, might as well see how everything had turned out. Hopefully she was still somewhat pretty. Turning and walking around the fractured crystal spire that had been her resting place, she found a smooth surface and touched it, leaning in to stare. She couldn't see her body very well, but she could see plainly that one of her eyes was as blue as always, and the other a deep grape, just like her mother's. That brought a bittersweet smile to her lips as she remembered her desire to see her mother again. Other than that, she couldn't see anything else too different with her face, but when she brought her paw up she noticed the blue rings around her wrists were gone and upon further inspection, she noticed that the tips of her ears had gained a bit of fuzz. So a little change there, but nothing significant, she really wanted a full body mirror instead of this nonsense and as she turned around, Bav with their fat grin held a mirror in paw much to her surprise. Narrowing her eyes she couldn't be mad, she sighed and stepped to the mirror to look at herself while asking, "Bav, how do you do that?"

Bav shrugged as Layne stepped before the mirror, "My artifacts are special for reasons I will keep to myself. My trade secrets are never shared."

Layne would have to take that under consideration as she looked into the mirror. Now she could see herself clearly. She had indeed grown just a bit taller, and her arms and legs had taken a bit more of a stronger appearance, a bit more bulk here and there and bit more fluff, but nothing too strange. With a closer look, she could see that her neck sported a ring of blue as she once had upon her wrists and ankles. It wasn't awful, but it was enough to unnerve her a little. She smiled at being unnerved by such a thing as a small reminder of what she used to be. As she looked at herself in the mirror Bav spoke, "You'll find your affinity as you keep on, same with what you're truly passionate about, and perhaps you already know it, it all depends. Not many Lunar Feline demons to go off of."

Layne nodded, "Right...I'll have to get my dresses resized, but other than that, looks like I'm normal enough."

Bav chuckled, "Tail check."

Layne touched at her cheek and brought her tail to her front and smiled just a bit, the tip was frosted a bluish hue, like little flames upon her tail. She had to admit she enjoyed the new look. The ring around her neck felt like a reminder of her past more than anything else, but the other changes in color were cute enough. Actually, what annoyed her more was the fact that she would have to be resizing every single dress she had, or getting rid of them and buying or making entirely new ones. Then again that meant shopping, and shopping was always fun. Now, what magic could she wield by a breath, what could she do now that she was a demon? That was something to test perhaps another time, but curiosity found her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her friend staring at her, the message clear as if he was reading her thoughts. With a chuckle, she turned to him and looked up at him. For a moment she saw those strange puppet strings that had tried to pull her into the abyss all over his body, in small bits and portions that seemed to shimmer and shine before they faded away. She blinked and then they were all gone, leaving only him standing there. Ignoring that sight she asked her large friend, "So, you gonna give me a name to call you now, or should I just call you doll like Gatton did?"

With a crossing of the arms her friend answered curtly as usual, "No, and I would prefer not. I simply exist."

"Not even a nickname for me to refer to you? I'm staying here for good now, I'll need to call you something whenever I see you around, after all, I'll be counting on you on a more permanent basis."

Those words seemed to stump the gentle giant for a moment before he grumbled, "Alpha."

Layne tilted her head and chesire smile, "See, that wasn't so hard, and now I have to say, thanks for just standing guard there. I'm guessing that isn't part of your job, so maybe you can tell me why you've been following me so closely."

Alpha answered without pause, "I do as I must...." After a moment of silence and Layne's disbelief clear in her gaze, Alpha answered, "I like cats."

Layne snorted and stifled laughter, "You're following me all this time because you like cats?"

Alpha nodded, "Yes."

Layne smiled just a bit, that wasn't all there was to it, but the joke was enough to keep her satisfied for now. At the very least she would be able to rope him into helping her keep her shop nice and safe when she had it built. Oh, there so many things to be done now that she was a demon in the flesh, so many things to do with building her little potion shop from the ground up. She'd have to go back to Ultera to get her savings, but before that she would have to see about some prices. With the gears turning in her head she didn't even hear Gatton enter the room and get behind her, "Good morning cat."

Layne leaped and turned around with a gasp, "F--You frightened me!"

Gatton shrugged, "You're alive. Good. You can get out of my home now."

Layne huffed, "Well, hold on now. We have a lot to discuss. I'll be needing some prices on some real estate here."

Gatton flicked his wrist at her, "Not my job. Bav can get you set up."

Layne's tail flicked in annoyance, but she remained quiet about it, "Fine fine, you're so mean."

"Eat first. You're irritable."

Layne tilted her head, "Excuse me?"

Gatton grunted, "Happens. You're hungry, haven't eaten in four days. It isn't healthy, so get yourself something to eat on me, meaning on Bav. New clothes already delivered to your hotel. Saw the changes happen myself so I could measure you out and send out for them. Figured you'd come out of it alive, and if not, then I could just sell your belongings."

Layne rubbed at the back of her head, her stomach rumbling just a bit, "I suppose, thank you."

Gatton waved her off, "Just take care, and when you're thinking about moving on up and who you want to work for, think of me."

Layne wasn't sure what that meant, but she nodded either way. Bav was by her then with a ring in paw presented to her, to which she narrowed her eyes and sighed in resignation. Teleportation was a necessary evil, and so they left the crystal chambers, Layne unsure of what exactly her new body was capable of, but at the very least knowing that she would find out soon enough.

After a quick meal and a promise from Bav to send her a notice full of juicy choices and prices for her shop, she was sent to her hotel room to rest. She wasn't sure why if she had literally been resting for four days in a crystal, but then again that was supposedly a bit different. The first thing she did when she was alone was look in the mirror again. She looked fine if not a little asymmetrical with the purple eye and nothing else purple on her body. She wasn't sure what to make of it really, and strangely enough when she stared at herself long enough she saw strange colors flickering and sparking off of her body. Shaking her head those colors disappeared before her sight and she shrugged it off. A shower sounded like something nice, and so she went for it.

Beneath warm water, she thought of her family, of her friends, of how they would react, and she smiled at that moment because she really couldn't care less. With her thoughts turning to her mother and father, she was only really curious as to what they would say when they saw her when she went to tell Nicolas of her adventure. Layne was tired of having Nicolas sneak free from his day to come see her, instead, she would actually come to him and tell him with a big smile about her day seated underneath the roof of the people who had taken her for granted. That would be nice, she'd also have to get him to come on over to her new home whenever she made that happen, but more importantly she could tell to his face that he didn't need to worry about a single thing when it came to her livelihood, she had it all covered. Layne shook the water out of her fur as she turned off the water and turned tail to step out of the shower, the cool air bracing beneath her wet fur.

Could she send a messenger bird along to Nicolas from here? Bringing her paw up to begin the messenger spell she saw light appear almost instantly, a bright blue bird made of energy floating just above the palm of her paw. She purred then as she looked to it with half-lidded eyes, satisfied with the result of her magic. She had the words now for him, had the words for all those who were dear to her and still on Ultera. She would tell them that she was just fine and dandy, and that a move was going to be happening. She would be living far away from them, but always remember to occasionally visit, and that someday perhaps they could visit her too on the demon continent of Bafol, and it was all her choice.

Epilogue

The rest of her vacation had been enjoyable enough, mostly sleep though as she felt the exhaustion of being trapped inside of a crystal shell, that and Layne had simply desired to get back to her home as quickly as possible to begin the process of moving to another place. By the time she was standing at the foot of the hill leading to her cottage at the top every single one of her messages had been sent to those who she knew around the region. She'd have to make plans later on to visit Nicolas. She was glad to see that Ogglen had taken good care of the cottage, everything seemed good enough from the outside. Once she reached the rosewood door to her store she opened it and stepped inside with a deep breath. She would need to grab some flowers for her new shop and home.

"Layne!" Came the yell.

A feline shaped mass of green ooze and two glowing eyes gave her a squeeze unlike any other, nearly popping Layne out of her clothing. Layne winced and stared down at her dearest Ogglen, assistant and now owner of this here store. Layne choked out, "Good to see you too Ogglen, you look positively radiant darling."

"Are you really leaving for good?"

Layne giggled, "Yes and no, I'll be back often enough to visit and it'll take a month or so for the move. It isn't as if I can just buy property immediately, I have to pick and choose and I still have some business left over here after all."

Ogglen blinked up at them and felt over Layne's head, "Your eyes changed and you're a bit...Fatter?"

Layne huffed at that, "Fatter? A bit bigger? I just grew a little is all...And I might've been eating my weight in premium fish."

They both shared a giggle at that and Ogglen again squeezed, "Sooo, you're really going to be leaving sometime huh?"

Layne nodded, "Mhm. I'll be gone for good in a month or so. This shop will be yours. I trust no one gave you any trouble right?"

Ogglen shook their head, "Nope, they all seemed to be fine with me. Even sold a good bit."

"Good work. A friend over on the other continent is keeping my stuff by the by, so no thinking I got mugged."

Ogglen blinked, "Were the demons frightening though?"

Layne shrugged, "Am I scary?"

Ogglen shook their head, "No, you're beautiful as ever."

Layne smiled, "Then you've seen a demon in the flesh. Made the change to make it easier to make the move."

Ogglen seemed to absorb that for a moment before tilting their head, "Huh, I guess...I guess I was wrong then."

Layne snorted, "Right you were. Now, come on. I'll need help picking out which specialized herbs I'll be smuggling."

"Smuggling?"

Layne repeated with a smile, "Mhm, smuggling. Not too many, because you'll still need to run this store, but just enough rare stuff. I'll need every advantage I can get, especially with my competition."

Ogglen parted away and grinned, "Right, you need it, I got it. Oh, your cousin showed up before and left a handwritten note, weird enough. Left it on the store front counter for you today, I'll head back while you read that."

Layne blinked, but before she could probe Ogglen as to what Nicolas had been doing here of all places, they were gone and in the back room. With a sigh Layne moved to the front counter, some apprehension gripping her as she took up the piece of parchment that had been so neatly laid there, his handwriting clear as day upon it in black ink, signature and all.

"Dear, Layne. You've been doing well? I really hope so. I really, really hope so. When I received notice that you were going to the demon continent I thought that you were mad, and I was going to risk a spell to transport myself directly to you before you left, but, I decided against it. You've been through so much with and without me, that I believe in your decision making. When your next message arrived I just smiled, because it seemed like you were so determined. Demon, Lunar Feline, it doesn't matter to me, so long as you are safe and happy. If you plan on visiting, I'll make sure your mother and father are at the very least calm before you arrive. They miss you. They miss their Leon, and your mother has taken to trying to convince your father to use your real name; Layne. Whatever you do, I'll support you. With everlasting love, your cousin Nicolas."

By the end of the letter, tears were stinging at her eyes and falling upon wooden store countertop as she moved the letter out of the way as to not sully it. It was so bittersweet to see that name again while at the same time seeing such encouragement from her cousin. He trusted her of all people to do the right thing when she had skirted the law so many times and he even knew about it, but what did it matter? She had his support, and her mother was calling her Layne. Hopefully, this meant that her family visit would be just fine. In fact, Layne was confident that her life would just be fine, even if it took her to another continent, even if she were faced with those who abused her as a child, she would face it all with a smile and endless pride. Even in tears she smiled, smiled and stared out the window. A bright life awaited her, and it was all her own choice.