The plan was simple, or at least that's what Margo insisted it would be: break into the castle, retrieve Lain from the dungeons. As she explained her plan in detail, it became clear to Abby, the whole thing would be near impossible.

The castle was built of the same gleaming black stone Abby had seen on the cliff. Aelurians called it ly'ren stone, and because it was mined deep within Aelurus, it could act as a sort of conduit for magick. The magick woven around the castle to protect it from intruders would be three times as strong thanks to all the ly'ren. And that wasn't even the worst of their trouble.  

Darkmoore had guards, hundreds of well-trained Wanesguard patrolling castle corridors,  and posted at each potential point of entry. 

The King also had his own personal guard to contend with - ten fey'la or woman Aelurians, who had raised the King since he'd been a kit. This kind of closeness, invoked a mother's fierceness when it came to protected her cub and made them far more dangerous than a regular Aelurian. They would stop at nothing to protect the one they'd raised as their own.

Margo seemed to think all of this was well within the realm of doable, even though Abby had her doubts. Of course, if Margo managed to get them past the magick, the castle guards, she still had to figure out where this Lain was being kept and then break him out. 

The whole thing made Abby's head throb and by the time the plan had been explained, the sun hung a little higher in the sky, and the waitress who'd served the last night came trudging through the door. As soon as she saw they would be her first customers that day, a grimace appeared on her face. She dropped a satchel off at the bar, plucked an apron off a stool, and slouched over to their table, pen and paper in hand.

"Can I help you folk?" She spoke slowly, tiredness dripping from her words. Her eyes were heavy and she released a small yawn.

Abby couldn't help but mimic the cat-woman's yawn. She'd stayed up all night before, but never surrounded by cat people and a drunk mouse-woman. Her head tilted to her right and as her eyes closed, Abby felt fur brush her cheek.

"Mmmm...so soft," she mumbled and nuzzled into the fur deeper.

Margo cleared her throat and addressed the cat-woman. "We're good on drinks. Here," she said and Abby heard something like clinking metal and then the scuffle of feet.

"Abby..." It was Margo who said her name but Abby didn't want to wake up. She was warm and safe and so tired.

"Just a little," she said.

"Let her sleep," a voice said, coming to Abby's defense. It was so quiet, so warm, she knew it had to be Lucy.

"Thank you," she said before she let herself fall asleep.

When Abby awoke, she found herself riding in the back of a carriage. She propped herself up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A canvas roof kept the sun from beating down on her. Beside her, Sebbi sat, his head down, eyes closed. Lucy was opposite doing the same. Abby grinned and couldn't resist.

"They're cat napping," she said, her smile widening across her face. "How cute."

A grunt from Sebbi made Abby jump. But then the cat-man shifted his weight and curled his arms around himself tighter. He didn't say anything to Abby and she exhaled. Her words hadn't been heard. Other than the three of them, the carriage was empty save for a few wooden crates and two green jugs. The jugs Abby recognized from the tavern. Scrub, she thought. Margo probably had gotten them for the road.

Outside the covered back, two figures sat in the front, backlit by the sun. She moved nearer. Hestor and Margo sat in the front, Margo plopped down in front of some sort of steering wheel.

"You're finally awake," Margo said without turning to face Abby. Margo smiled. "I could hear you shuffling around back there. You're very loud."

Hestor turned toward Abby and gave the girl a smile. "And funny," he added. "Cat-napping," he said and Abby felt her face flush. "Clever."

She looked down at the boards and noticed between the slats that black stone that passed underneath. Then she looked up, and a city, like the rock back at the cave, jutted up in front of them, hundreds of black spires greeting them with a monster's grin.

"Darkmoore," Margo said. "Capital city of Aelurus."

Abby's skin prickled and she rubbed at her arms. She wasn't cold but the hairs on the nape of her neck stood up.

"Magick," Margo said. "It's concentrated here. Someone that's never been around so much will be able to sense it." She turned in her seat to glance at Abby. "You'll get used to it."

Abby nodded but deep down she didn't want to get used to it. She wanted, more than ever, to go home.

Abby placed her knees into her chest and watched as they passed Aelurian after Aelurian. The air was humid here, and sweat formed on her brow and dripped onto her dress. Most of the cat people didn't seem to mind the heat and the ones who did, sat in chairs, getting their fur shaved close to their skin.

"They have barbers here?" Abby asked, surprised.

"They have a little bit of everything," Margo said. "It's not a bad city," she added, nodding to a building of vibrant white stone that stood out in the city like a healthy tooth among a mouth of rot. The sign that swung above its door read, "The Wizard's Kellog's Cure for Aeulurian Ailments." Written in smaller script, and almost painted on, were the words, "They're caatastic, guaranteed."

Abby chuckled. "They like their puns too," she said.

Margo shook her head. "No, they hate being compared to the creatures in Exul. Someone was trying to be funny. Probably a kit in their early cycles who didn't know any better."

Abby nodded, wiped the smile off her face and made a mental note not to make any cat-centric puns again while in Aelurus. The image of Petrious' sword pointed at her came back into her head. She shivered. He would have killed for just being her, she didn't want to image what punishment awaited those who made fun of the cat-people.

Trees lined the stone roads, standing just as large and opposing as the castle on the horizon. They were all black, trunks, roots, even leaves were the color of pitch. White blossoms decorated each tree and Abby was mesmerized. They were beautiful. She'd never seen anything like them in Mirea.

Margo smiled. "You like them? Aelurians call them "Ni' elle ah - night sky.'" She crinkled her nose, and her whiskers rose and fell. "They're nice, but nothing like the Cloude puffs at home. Trees are twice the size, that grow like giant balls. They come in a variety of colors, brown, white, black. The brown ones are my favorite."

Hestor smiled. "That's why they called you puffs in third cycle because you always brought up how your fur was the same color of those trees."

Puffs?

Margo's face grew flush and she tapped Hestor in the gut. She shot him a glare. "Shh.." she commanded. "Abby doesn't need to know about that."

Oh, I think I do, Abby said and then she frowned. She would miss Hestor once he returned home. And she would miss his Margo stories.

Behind Abby, she heard a few of the wood planks creak. She turned and found Lucy awake. He stood hunched over, careful his height didn't rip through the back. He walked toward her, the boards creaking and bending under his wake. Abby thought for certain the cart would snap in two.

"Don't worry," Hestor said, as his eyes watched Lucy with interest. He still hadn't gotten over the fact he was in the presence of real-life Aelurian nobility. "This is a genuine Aelurian cart. The wood they use to make it won't break. It's hissing wood, though, and that's why it creaks so much."

Abby nodded as Lucy crouched down beside her. He smiled and placed a hand on her head, patting her as she had done to him thousands of times before.

"How are you feeling, love?"

Abby smiled. "Good," she said. "Rested. You?"

Lucy's lips pulled apart in a very big grin. "I quite enjoyed my little cat nap," he said. Abby immediately blushed. She'd been heard.

Margo smiled. "They have good hearing too," she said. "Though not as good as mine." She puffed out her chest and gave Abby a little wink.

Lucy turned toward her. "I imagine someone called Puffs would have only the best hearing befitting of such a grand nickname."

Margo's smile fled her face faster than a piece of cheese placed in front of her nose. She turned away and ran a hand through her hair. The very tip of her ear was a cute shade of pink.

"You continue to hear too much," she started. "And I'll turn you into a toad."

Lucy laughed and nudged Abby with his shoulder. His touch almost knocked her into a passing Aelurian, whose swaying reminded Abby of the last time she'd rode in one of her dad's fishing vessels. The Fragilli Sea had been pretty unforgiving that day, and Abby guessed that Aelurian's head would be just as unforgiving come tomorrow. "I'd be the most handsome toad to ever exist," Lucy said, his words littered with overconfidence.

Margo grunted. "It's not handsome eating flies off of shit," she hissed.

"I'd find a way," Lucy replied. And then silence filled the cart.

Abby heard more shifting from the back and turned. Sebbi still sat in his same position, though she saw one of his eyes was peeled open. He huffed and rose to his feet, his head smacking off the canvas roof. "You guys are too loud. I couldn't find sleep even if I were dead."

"Good, then you have no reason to go and die on us," Lucy said as his brother made his way over to him. Sebbi plopped down behind him and the whole cart trembled. "I'd hate to never see the twigs jutting out from your ass," Lucy added.

Sebbi hissed and, hand raised, was about to hit his brother in the shoulder but stopped as his eyes met Abby's. Not knowing what to do, she smiled and Sebbi immediately lowered his hand and turned away. Had she done something to anger him?

Lucy nudged her and whispered, "You said his fur was soft."

Abby looked up, confused. "When had I?"

"Last night."

Heat as warm as the day rose to Abby's face. That's right. Yesterday, when she'd fallen asleep. "But I thought it was you..." she said.

Lucy shook his head. "Nope. And now look at him," he nodded toward Sebbi. "He doesn't know what to do."

Abby grabbed the hem of her dress and twisted it around her fingers. "Well, I don't know either."

Lucy grabbed Abby's cheeks. "You're too cute. Never change, love."

Abby swatted his hands away and turned back forward. The cart slowed down in front of a large, black stone building. The wind rustled through some of the night trees and their blooms fell and blew around them like snow.

"What are we doing?" Lucy asked, eyeing the store and the few cat-people who paraded in and out of it, bolts of cloth tied with ribbon shoved under their arms.

"We're clothes shopping." She eyed the brothers and then grinning, continued, "You're very much naked. It's about time we remedy that."

Abby's mouth stood agape. Naked? Sebbi and Lucy? She clasped the fabric of her dress tighter, too afraid to look anywhere else.

"What do you mean, naked?" Sebbi growled. He jolted up and smacked his head on the roof. "All this time?"

Lucy remained calm and sat back, propped up by an arm. "Doesn't really bother me. We have fur and it covers up the important bits well enough."

Margo nodded in agreement. "Exactly. And technically, in Aelurus, clothes aren't really required. They're more of a formality and a status symbol."

Lucy cocked his head. "If that's the case, why do we need them now?"

Margo shook her head. "Not now, for after."

"After what?" Lucy said. Margo ignored him and jumped off the cart. Hestor followed suit. Lucy poked his head out from under the back of the cart. "After what?" he called.

Margo smiled. "You'll see," she called.

"You should have let me eat her when she was small," Sebbi said.

Abby didn't want to think what was in her head but she thought it anyway: I can't say I don't see the benefit to that.

A swell of nervousness perked up inside her as Margo waved at them to come over. With a deep breath, Sebbi, Lucy and Abby got out of the cart and made their way to their first stop in Darkmoore.

The sign above the door read, Catillian's Finery.

Clothes? Were we going clothes shopping?

Out of nowhere, Margo crashed into Abby, pulling the girl into an embrace with the force of a falling boulder. She grinned from ear to ear. "We'll need new clothes," she whispered. " if we plan on attending the king's ball." 

Abbernathy Fun Fact 6:  I once drew an Aelurian chair how I envisioned it. Suffice it to say, never again will I draw anything for this story. I'm just not an artist.