This is a story of the Becoming Monsters Universe by AiLoves, used with permission.
The core idea for this series comes from Batthew, and it stars their OC Elise the Bat (and has another character of their creation, Caesar Maxwell). Appearing briefly is Doctor Yiphman, the creation of Meow-Moment. Don't worry, he'll be back.
--
Chapter 3: In The Cards
"Thank you for coming, Doctor Yiphman. Your order will be ready in a few days."
"Thank you." The nondescript man left, the door chiming when he did. The doctor was perhaps her most regular customer, and he stayed in the front section most of the time. Specializing in the more esoteric aspects of Changed medicine meant he often needed tools that he could describe, but which simply did not yet exist. The Bespoke Batte was simply the best place to get such things made.
Elise yawned. It was Saturday. Tomorrow was her day off, so she could have some fun. Blow off some steam. There were a couple of regular customers coming over for a card game in the afternoon, should be a good way to unwind. Possibly in a steamy way. She pulled out her design pad. It wasn't time to go home just yet, so she could get to work designing the rather fascinating device that the doctor needed for his patient. Not many surgical implements existed that could be used on someone balloon-like, so there weren't really any analogues to look up. It was enough to distract her and get the gears in her head turning until the door chimed again.
"Welcome to the Bespoke Batte," she said automatically as she looked up. Walking in was a distinguished, older gentleman. Looked like a Wolf, dark fur shown off by his straight posture and business casual dress, streaks of gray around his muzzle. Despite this, his amber eyes were bright and his broad build looked delicious to Elise. He was unfamiliar, which meant that he'd never been here before. She wondered what he could be here for?
"Good, I made it before you closed. I'm afraid what I'm looking for isn't as entertaining as some of the things you have a reputation for, but I need quality. A secure filing cabinet, well-hardened, that only I can open." His voice was buttery smooth and resonant, it took Elise a moment for her brain to catch up with the fact that he was asking for something.
"Oh! Yes, secure storage is something I can do. Will a standard three-drawer model be enough room, or do you need something more specific?"
"No, no, a normal model will do nicely." Her heart was beating a bit fast, but Elise could play it cool.
"Locking and hardening are fairly routine, but if you would like I have a certain special something to add. I can give a touch of illusion, let it blend in with other cabinets it is placed next to. If security is what you're after it may help."
"I assume that if I'm holding the key, or if it's tuned to me, or whatever you have in mind," he was at the desk now, and Elise was having to focus to remember which of her enchantments could go together as she nodded, "it'll let me see it?" She nodded again. "Perfect, that sounds like just what the lawyer ordered. What's the damage?"
Elise pulled out her merchandise book and started doing some math. "This is a layered enchantment, sir, so it will take some time. I basically have to do most of the steps in triplicate, then three extras for the shell." She turned around the notepad with the figure on it.
"You weren't kidding, were you? Still, I did my research, and this is more than fair. I don't keep that on-hand, of course, can we set up a payment plan?" His easy smile was infectious, too, despite the number of canines it showed.
Elise found herself hoping this gentleman would come back more often... but there was a way to make that happen, wasn't there? "Sir, if you would like, tomorrow afternoon I am hosting a game night at my apartment for people with commissions in progress. It's to test a bit of an experiment, but the winner will get a 20% discount on their project. There is plenty of room for one more."
"That does sound good. Count me in, where shall I meet you for the game?"
Elise flipped her pad to a different sheet of paper and wrote down her name, address, and phone number. "Can I get yours, too? You know, just in case."
The gray-muzzled man took the sheet she offered him, and in return gave her a business card before heading out. It was for a legal practice, but on the front was his name. Caesar Maxwell.
***
The next afternoon in her apartment, the red-brown Bat took a deep breath. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and her guests should start arriving soon. After eating her lunch, Elise had moved her living room furniture to the sides of the room (folded significantly smaller than physics should have allowed thanks to her own skills) and brought out a card table. Square, one seat on each side. Not so small as to be cramped, but intimate. Sitting on the center of the table was the star of tonight's show. A simple-looking deck of cards. One that had taken her most of three months to make in her off time. In terms of invested time and materials, that would make the deck worth thousands of Gold. In terms of what it did, many would consider it a novelty toy. In terms of research and what she learned while making it? Absolutely priceless.
Main table set, she pulled out four small side tables and began to lay out snacks. Her guests were going to be quite a variety, so some consideration needed to be taken in order to be a good hostess. She didn't keep any coffee on hand, being allergic to caffeine herself, but other things were available. Her own tray was an example, piled with her favorite fruits along with a dainty fork to keep her hands from getting dirty.
There was a polite, almost timid, knock at the door. Even without echolocation telling her the exact form of the person on the other side of the door (thank you to another enchantment to let said door allow those particular sound waves through), Elise would have known who it was from the knock. She opened the door for her first guest. Farah was a very attractive specimen of a Human being. A Witch by class, she was about six feet tall, blonde, blue-eyed, with curves in all the right places and clothing that hugged it like a jealous lover. The thing was, she was born with approximately none of it, and the Change itself hadn't done her many favors until she hit Level 6. When she did, she got some abilities to let her modify her outward look bit by bit, and had been indulging in them as quickly as the System would allow her to. Her self-image hadn't caught up yet, and after six months Elise was wondering when it would. Tonight might help. "Thanks for the invitation, Elise," Farah said by way of greeting. "Ritual implements aren't cheap, especially for those rituals."
"Of course! Come in, have a seat. You're the first to get here."
Farah walked over to the table and took the seat that was clearly meant for her, at Elise's left. Said bat closed the door behind her. At her tray she found tea along with a selection of fruit, cheese, and sliced vegetables. "Oh, thank you for remembering I'm a vegetarian!"
