Waking up proved to be…complicated. Not only did James have an overly fluffy tail that smelled of Soul Water and Jasmine against his chest, but there was a second, much thinner tail, draped over his side. The invader, was none other than Amber, who had for some reason, broken into his room.

Moving to rub his eyes, he accidentally nudged Grace awake. The skunk yawned once before rolling to face him. "Last night was fun."

"It was." Grabbing her tail, he started to fluff it. "But we both have work to get to, and I have a cat to chastise."

Giggling, Grace looked over his side at the sleeping nekorian. "She really loves you, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. But we agreed to take things slow, especially after my last relationship."

"The Fenrir?"

"That obvious?" he asked with a sigh.

"It is. Just like I know I can enjoy you while you are still in town. When are you leaving?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I promised a friend that I would help solve his problem before he passed. My people have a long way to go before we tackle it."

Humming, Grace pushed Amber's tail off him. Climbing out of bed, she made sure he was watching as she bent over to grab her clothes. Licking her lips, she gave every sign that they were going to have a repeat of last night.

Smiling, he watched her sneak out before he rolled over to Amber. "How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?"

Eyes popping open, she chuckled. "I didn't want to ruin her moment. If I wasn't here, she probably would have taken you for another round."

Resting his hand on her hip, he realized she was naked. "Are you sure you aren't jealous? I can stop if you are."

"Naw," she said before moving his hand to her ass. "Just keep giving me attention. I already know that you are mine and we'll be together soon. Have fun while you can, before I lock you down."

"I'm guessing you are going to as well?"

"Only with women," she assured him. "No other man will touch me, ever again. My body is for you alone."

"Thanks, Amber. I have a lot I need to figure out before I can settle down again."

Leaning in, she kissed him gently. A kiss full of love as she brushed her soul against his. When he returned it with equal vigor, she moaned and started to roll him onto his back.

With a chuckle, he broke away. "Ready to get up?"

Blinking a few times, she sighed. "One of us is up at least."

He was most certainly up, and he needed to calm down before they took things further. He didn't want their first time to be a random moment without meaning.

Climbing off him, Amber brushed her tail across his chest while shivering. "Maybe I'll ask Grace if she wants to help me this morning."

Laughing, he got up and started to get dressed. "Go to your pleasure district again. I'm sure Melody can help you release some frustration."

Humming, she kissed him one more time before getting dressed. "I've waited weeks to taste your lips. Now you are mine."

Pausing, he shook his head. "Give Luna a bit more time before you say stuff like that in front of her. She deserves better."

Slumping, Amber agreed before opening the door. He gave her a few minutes to head out before leaving as well. When he got downstairs, he found Luna in the restaurant, sipping on water while holding her head.

Walking over, he sat with her. "Want to talk about it?"

Looking up, she sighed. "Not really. I just have a lot to figure out and I'm dreading go back to the market." Shivering, she slouched. "So many people…"

"If you need me later, I can break up the crowd around you. You're my partner after all."

Softly smiling, she leaned against his shoulder. "It's you and I, unraveling the mysteries of the world."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Running his hand along her tail, he added, "just because we aren't involved anymore, that doesn't mean I'm letting you leave my side. You're my greatest friend, Luna and I'd choose you over anyone else."

"Even Amber?" she whispered.

"If you told me to leave with you, right now, I would. Just don't blame me when she follows."

Closing her eyes, she let out a slow breath. "Thanks, James. I feel like I'm ready for the day now. Share a drink later?"

"After I get back tonight." Pulling away, he sat her up. "You're paying though."

Scoffing, she pushed him. "You drink for free."

"You're still paying," he teased.

Rolling her eyes, she got up. "I may need you later. Keep checking on me, please?"

"Of course. Try and have a good day though."

Waving, she left with a bit of levity in her soul. He was glad he could help and headed next door. He had to wait for Jamie and Amber. The nekorian was already sitting at the bar when he arrived.

"I have your pipes," she stated.

"Making more devices?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. I have a few more places that I want to set them up and help people." Sitting down, he only waited a moment before Grace slid him a mug.

Crossing her arms, Grace said, "Mave came by this morning already."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she was looking for you, James. Said something about sharing a drink and she even had a touch of makeup on."

Bursting out laughing, Amber nearly spilled her drink. "Damn, James! Grace wasn't enough?"

"I'll find her later." Rolling his eyes, he turned to Amber. "Try not to make any of the ladies fall in love with you today."

"No promises," she teased. "Tomorrow is the big day though."

Not wanting to say more, James moved to his table. Amber didn't join him as she continued to talk with Grace. They were having a very adamant discussion about him and sharing details about the things he enjoyed.

Jamie showed up nearly an hour later with a scarf around her neck. Amber stopped her conversation to point it out. "Did you let the bunny suck you dry?"

Glowering, Jamie flipped her off before sitting with James. Raising his brow, he gestured to the scarf. "Are you cold?"

"She isn't," Amber assured him. "She's hiding a few love marks."

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"Love marks?" Looking between all three woman, he was hoping someone would fill him in.

Jamie must have taken pity on him and undid her scarf. What looked like bruises littered her neck and James felt his eyes widen.

"They aren't injuries," she told him. "If they were, they would have healed by now."

"What causes something like that?" James asked.

Grace cleared her throat. "Does he really not know?"

Amber jumped in. "He was very sheltered growing up. Luna was his first relationship. Ever."

"Ohh…"

Waving them off, James pulled out pipes and Amber added to his pile. They easily had enough for fifty devices and Jamie jumped in and started carving. Once James started as well, Amber excused herself to get her day started.

"Do you think you could do my house?" Grace asked.

James glanced at her. "For the cost of five silver and reimbursement for the pipes."

Eagerly nodding, she added, "I have my bath and kitchen sink. Too bad you can't figure out something for the toilet…"

James paused his work and turned to Jamie. "Can we figure something out for her toilet?"

Jamie set down her pipes. "We would need to inspect it, but I don't see why not. We are both improving and I bet we could knock something out fairly quick."

Bringing over two ales, Grace hummed. "If you two can fix the toilets in my tavern and house, I'll make sure you get free drinks for life."

"Bunny too," Jamie countered. "I want to surprise her."

"Her name is Bunny and she's a rabbit demi-human?" James questioned.

"Yup!"

Sighing, Grace nodded. "Fine, I'll include her as well. When can you get started?"

James thought it over for a moment. "We can take a look after we finish the devices for your sink and tub. Just let us know if a runner comes from the enchanting guild. We are waiting on word from them."

"Will do." Turning, she brushed her tail against him. "I'd be very grateful to you, James for doing this."

Cocking his brow, he regarded her and her interest in him. He almost shook his head, but didn't want her to get the wrong idea. So he simply pinched the end of her tail. "Behave."

Sauntering away, she made sure he was watching before going back to work. With his morning planned out, he quickly started putting pipes together. He didn't know what fixing the toilets was going to be like or even where to start, so he couldn't promise a time frame, but he was very curious if he could get it done.

***

Luna walked through the streets, her mind and body relaxed after her conversation with James. She had been very worried that he was going to leave her behind, or scorn her for breaking up with him. Instead, he valued her and cherished her like always.

She admitted it was greedy and selfish of her to enjoy that aspect of his. She wanted to horde him and not share him with anyone, but knew he needed to move on. Amber would be stepping in before long and she would need to be happy for the nekorian.

Rounding the corner, Luna came face to face with her curse. The denizens on the street all turned toward her with adoration in their eyes. Before she could protest, they started to gather around her, offering to escort her back to the market. It was unnerving to be desired in such a superfluous way.

Biting back her annoyance, she forced herself to be happy as she moved with the crowd. Reaching her booth from yesterday, she started taking out the gifts that she had received and set them out. People quickly started searching through them and bartered for her affection.

Taking their coin with a smile, she added it to her growing purse before waving for her crowd to let others in. After ten minutes, she got down to her questions.

"I heard children have been disappearing?"

Several mothers pushed people aside to answer her. "My son was taken."

"My daughter nearly was. If I hadn't arrived…"

"My kids are safe, but it's horrible to hear what has been happening."

Luna regarded the two humans and elf. It seemed there was no discrimination when it came to the children that were taken. "Do we know who's doing it?"

All three women shook their heads.

"The sect told us they were looking into it."

"I don't trust them."

Rubbing her chin, Luna started thinking it over. I don't know if I'll get much out of gossip. I'll keep asking throughout the day, but if whoever is doing this learns I'm seeking information, I might cause trouble for my party. I need to be careful.

Pulling out some mini cakes, Luna set them up. "If you learn anything, I'd be grateful." Flashing the ladies her best smile, she watched them nearly melt at her words.

Sickened at the display, Luna kept moving through her growing crowd. She had more questions that she needed to spread out. Not to mention coins to make to help James. They were going to need supplies for their final act in the city.

***

James kneeled by the toilet. It was a simple design that collected waste and once a day, someone would flush it using a bucket of water. The drain was wide enough to handle the load, but the smell was horrible.

"Any thoughts?" he asked.

Jamie pinched her nose shut. "We could make a flushing system like the toilets we saw in the Forsaken city."

Nodding, he pulled out a pipe. "Creating the water system will be easy. But will it be as simple as having someone activate the runes and rinse the tank after every use?"

"Doubt it." Jamie kneeled next to him. "We can test just using the pipe and flushing the tank, but we'll need to build the pipe up to the side of the toilet. That way people aren't bending down to flush it."

Nodding, he summoned his soul to his fingers and started molding the metal pipe. The copper worked with him easily and curved and extended it. Once it was long enough, he pressed the open end against the tank and smiled. "We'll need to make a hole to attach the pipe."

Jamie quickly helped him by using her own Soul Crafting to cut the hole and fit the end of the pipe in. Together, they worked the rest of the pipe up and to a reasonable height so that those standing or sitting could activate the runes.

Carving them on the slender metal took a bit more work, but after an hour, they had the pipe powered and tested the water flow. It was just enough pressure to clear anything in the tank and wash it down the drain. Within moments, the toilet was empty and the golden water was whisked away.

"That was actually pretty simple," James commented.

Jamie nodded. "I wasn't expecting that. But we could make a better design. We would need to build a toilet from scratch though."

"Don't have time for that." Pulling out another pipe, he moved to the next stall. "We still have two left in here to work on. After we finish them, we'll wait for Tian's runner."

"No, we will go to Grace's house and fix it up. She can send the runner to us. I want this all handled before we meet with Tian today."

Conceding to her point, he started forming the metal to what he needed. Over the next hour, they worked swiftly and had all three toilets outfitted with copper handles that would flush the tanks. They add to the design that the water would cut off after a few seconds so that someone couldn't flood the system.

Moving back out to the bar, they waved Grace down.

"Finished already?" she asked.

"Yeah. Heading to your place now." Holding out his hand, he waited for the skunk to hand over her key. "Send the runner to us when they arrive."

Nodding, Grace handed over the key and gave her address. With their next job in hand, he took the lead. Jamie happily linked arms with him as they left Grace to check on her new toilet system.

Grace's house was only a street over. Unlocking the door, James felt a little odd about entering her home without her. Once he stepped inside, he felt more than a little awkward. Underwear and bras were spread across her living room, while various pants and shirts were hanging from her couch and table. Her kitchen was a mess, with dirty dishes piled up by the sink and pots that needed to soak for a few hours on the stove.

Jamie started laughing. "Her tavern is so nice! Then there's this!"

Shaking his head, James headed to the kitchen. "Let's do this quickly."

Still giggling, Jamie joined him and they hooked up the kitchen sink. Moving to the bathroom, they both pinched their noses shut as the toilet was a little full.

Fixing that problem first allowed them to breathe easier. Her toilet took a few flushes, but soon they were working on the tub, which was the easiest install. After they were done, they shared a look.

"I'll soak the dishes," James stated.

"I'll gather her laundry," Jamie offered. "God only knows that the woman works enough that she needs the help."

Splitting up, they got to work. James washed each dish until they were perfectly clean. Once he got to the pots and pans, he soaked them in the sink before drying his hands.

Jamie joined him, having added all of her clothes to warm water in the tub. They would need to soak with a little soap before they were cleaned. Thankfully, it didn't take long to finish tidying the house, if only a little.

As they were prepared to leave, a young teen knocked on the door. Greeting the kid, James learned that he was sent by Tian. With Grace's key, he locked the door before returning to her. Explaining that they tidied her house earned a few joyful tears from the woman.

Before he could be pulled away for a relaxing break, he hurried out of the tavern. They had a contract to sign and supplies to gather. Fifty devices would take them a few days to make, then they had to install them. Plus, he had a feeling he was going to have more toilets to install before the day was done.

***

Zenaria followed James as he began crossing the city. The world of shadows was hers and yet he knew exactly where she was, no matter how much she spread out her existence. His eyes tracked her movements with precision that was unnerving.

"When are we going to meet?" he whispered.

Ears twitching to his words, she felt her tail pick up a slight wave. She didn't answer him.

"You're learning all of my secrets, and yet won't show yourself." Raising his brow at her, he stepped over to the wall and rested his hand by her head.

"Leave them alone," Jamie droned. "You're like a cat that caught his prize."

Shivering in fear, Zenaria was about to flee when he leaned in closer. "How about a deal. I find the missing kids and you reveal yourself."

She wanted to scream at him, but he simply grunted and turned away.

Before he started walking, he whispered. "You aren't scared of me. You are scared of what will happen when you fail. I ask you this, shadow. Who will you be failing? The children? Tian? Me? My advice is to stop worrying about failing others and find what failing yourself will mean. When you are ready, my hand is yours."

Zenaria didn't respond. There was too much that he didn't know. She even wanted to scream at him that he didn't know anything about her. That her failures had led her to her current job. That failing those in charge of her would…

Shaking her head, she dismissed the thoughts. She had her job. She only needed to follow James around and report on his activities. It was an easy job and it would secure her safety for just a bit longer.

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