My home

"Two pounds o' apples and a sack o' wheat, total come off fer seventy-five coin." Said the worker, a seemingly young man fresh into his adulthood sporting a stubble and a tunic that seemed a bit baggy on the sleeves. He sniffed and wiped his nose, patiently waiting until the customer placed one gold coin on his palm. With a nod, he dismissed himself and returned with a few silver coins, seemingly larger in size then the gold coin that seemed large enough to be a ring. He offered the silver in return as spare change, to which the old lady tucked away into her ragged dress.

"Do you need any help carrying, miss?" He asked.

She offered a warm smile as another man who shared the same wrinkled face and ashy grey hair accompanied her, graciously retrieving the wheat sack and tucking it under his arm. "Thank you kindly sir, but my husband still has some strength left in 'im."

The old man scoffed, his voice seeming raspy as he hacked up and spat a wad of saliva to his left. "Once was a time where I was strong enough to carry twice my size! A real stallion I sure was."

"My stallion." His wife teased back with an affectionate arm hooked on his own. The two walked away as the worker began rearranging the stock of fruit in display. He glanced up when a beautiful women approached him, fumbling with her pretty black hair.

"Everything is good to go, ma'am. Just taking count." He assured her.

"You're sure you can close up without me?" She asked.

He nodded quickly with enthusiasm. "Of course, of course! Now be gone, make way and enjoy your special night."

"Very well. Once Niko returns from his deliveries have him help you close."

"Understood. Enjoy your date." He smiled and waved his gloved hand, allowing Janette a moment of relief as she felt more confident that the store was in good hands. Her feet continued moving forward on their own disregarding the funny feeling jumping around in her chest. She brushed her palms along her pretty green dress, still in awe at the amazing feeling of the fabric used for it. Smooth silk ported from some mystical kingdom far across the valley and over the gray mountains, the name of that place escaped her at that moment. Some place very hot but known for their sugar cane and cotton. It costed her a high price but she hoped it would be worth it, for the dress was not to please her eyes only.

She stepped lightly aboard the steps leading her to her private carriage under shade, closing the door behind her as the horses whined and tossed their heads forward, stomping their hooves with a heavy grunt before pulling the carriage along the trail. Janette made herself comfortable within the interior, sitting on the cozy padded seat with a yellow ball of light flickering from the latern which hung above their heads at the center. The carriage was small but had enough room for four passengers, so the two onboard were able to stretch their limbs and move from side to side if they wished.

Felix complimented her with a smile. "You look nice."

Janette smiled with a funny look, snickering when she looked him up and down. "Thank you. Nice uh, what is that?"

"I don't know." Felix chuckled with her, raising his arms as he glanced down at himself. "That tailor you hired said it fit the ocassion, but this thing around my wrists and neck are kind of poofy."

"Poofy is nice, it almost resembles fur." Janette reached out to rub the white fabric, admiring its texture. "These are lace jabots, a decorative piece attached on the collar and cuffs. It looks like they have a unique pattern to it, they seem to resemble a paw. See the little buttond coming from the top of the big circle?"

His eyes followed her fingers as they guided her words toward the lace cuffs, tugging at the material to show him the pattern she was referring to. "Oh, I didn't see that."

"It's lovely, but that hat." She broke into a snorted giggle, covering her mouth as Felix began to turn red. "I love the feather."

"He insisted, said it fit my heritage according to my name. I don't like it." He frowned.

"It looks like a pirate trying to impress a flock of birds with his majestic white feather."

"It does! I'd rather not wear it but he resisted." Felix explained with a roll of his eyes and a shrug. "I do not feel as strongly as he does. But he's the tailor so who am I to argue, I'd much prefer the comfort of a tunic."

Janette comforted him by reaching out to hold his hand, smiling and making eye contact. "It's lovely, you'll do great. I'm nervous too, even though it's not one perhaps due to the ocassion it resembles a date night."

"I'm sure it will work out." He reassured her. She glanced up shyly and nodded back, and only then did he notice the velvet book in her hands. "Still writing your story? You've been at it for a long time."

"Just finishing it, I think... this is the spot to conclude things. Maybe in the future we can add a sequel to it."

Felix scoffed. "If a sequel means more adventures for me, I am not so sure. I have too much here for me to move around now. I am ready to settle right here."

"I know you are. I suppose only time will tell." Janette placed the book next to her as the carriage came to a halt. Both of them shared one last look as the door between them parted open and the blue glow of the moonlight illuminated the trail for them to pursue.

"Lady's first." Felix offered his hand, helping Janette step down lightly before following behind her. Before them was a familiar gathering of cat girls and friends they've gotten to know over the past months. Felix was met with Emyri waiting for him at the front as she offered her arm for him. Janette let him go, watching the pair walk down the path between the clutter as she took her place next to a very familiar cat girl.

She felt a paw on her hand and instinctively held it tight, feeling Syri's arm brush against hers. The two kept silent, watching as Emyri walked Felix down to the altar up ahead.

There, Emyri left him with a kiss to his cheek and a whisper in his ear. "Take care of her."

He nodded back, stepping forward as his eyes fixated on the thin woman before him shrouded in a velvet white dress which hugged her figure, custom made to be baggy at the sleeves so that her paws would fit. When he reached forward to unveil her, he was met with the most beautiful golden eyes, swelling with tears and looking deeply into his brown eyes. As the veil fell back, the brown collar around her neck was revealed.

"Perfect." He whispered in a soft tone. She gasped with a sniff of her runny nose, her paws brushing the front of her dress crossed over her slim belly beneath her cleavage. They had grown a bit since the pregnancy, something she was proud of as she triumphantly declared finally having developed a woman's body once the birth had passed.

He slipped his hand into his coat pocket and retrieved a golden ring, holding it for her eyes to see. It matched the ring on his finger, the same one which held the elven enscription gifted to him by a friendly lady dwarf. Reaching forward, he gently clicked the ring into place as it hung into her collar and Kuli batted her eyes, beaming with a smile from ear to ear. The white dress under the moonlight made it look as if she were glowing before home, perhaps she was glowing, though words could not suffice to describe how this moment felt for the two.

She gasped and lunged forward, crossing her paws behind his head as she sealed him with a lovers kiss. He was shocked but his eyes closed and his arms followed, hugging her waist and kissing her back. They hadn't noticed the uproar of childish squeals, laughter and applause they received at that moment.

The rest of the night felt flawless, full of joy and celebration for the new stage in their live. The dinner was delicious, some of the Nekomata girls went fishing in the river and supplied us with delicious salmon which went down beautifully with a glass of red wine. Janette would find herself enjoying her dinner with her date sat in the table with her. She glanced up as she dipped her quill in a bottle of ink to see Syri rubbing her paw into the bellies of the twins, the baby cat girls giggling and cooing in return as she appreciated the attention from their auntie. Janette knew which one was Syri's favorite, the strongest difference between the twins was the color of their eyes. When they first opened their eyes, Syri gasped the loudest when she was met with a reflection of her own sharp green eyes on one of her nieces.

Janette leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh, loud enough for Syri to glance over.

"Did you finish?" She asked.

"One last part." Janette responded as she pressed the tip of her quill onto the blank page.

Felix walked around the ceremony, following his mate by her paw pulling him away from the crowd. She said something to him but he was unable to hear it due to the music and voices surrounding them. Still, she urged him to follow behind and so he did, the pair continued walking further and further away until they stood above a hill overlooking the ceremony below.

He wondered what she was after when he saw her looking up. He followed her haze and was met with a close encounter with the full moon. Her paw squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

"This was what I wanted to see for the longest time. This is where it began."

Felix turned to her, mouth parted open to ask what she meant, but not a word slipped through.

She continued, "When I was a kitten, my mother would tell me if ever I found myself lost and alone with no clear path to follow, to look into the sky. The moon is always watching, and so you're never lost because the moon is there with you. Everyone who has passed in our clutter leave their bodies behind, their spirits trascend into somewhere beautiful, and the moon is their way of watching over our lives to ensure we our safe. It lights the darkness, brings comfort to all and guides our path even if we don't acknowledge it."

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"When I was lost, I was in a dark place. Perdilius had captured me, used me to reveal where our clutter was hiding, took advantage and captured a lot of my friends. We were all in disarray, lost and confused. We ran, because that is what we do when we encounter a predator stronger than us. I blamed myself. I led him to us. That was the worst night of my life. There was a storm, it was pouring so hard that I was running blind with eyes closed snd thunder roaring over my head. The moon was nowhere in sight, I took it as a sign. I felt that they were ashamed of me, disgraced at what my naivety brought to us. How I endangered everything and caused all of this. So much so, that I felt I had nothing left. I wanted to cry, but the rain hid those tears from me. I wanted to hide, find a hole and sink further and further down until the soil covered me like a wet blanket and engulfed me into nothingness. I wanted to go. I hated myself."

Felix squeezed her paw when she opened her eyes and looked to him, watery and with a soft smile growing on her face.

"I don't anymore. I remember now, the moment I felt a warm fire drying my fur and the touch of a gentle soul who rescued me that night. When the storm had passed, the moon had resurfaced and I was not lost anymore. I had found my home, and now... I want to live."

The pair looked at each other in silence, the soft echoes of laughter coming from the ceremony below. Felix stepped forward and held her in his arms, rubbing her bad as she leaned into his chest and closed her eyes.

"I love you, Kuli." He said to her in a soft, sweet tone with tears in his eyes.

She began to sob quietly, shivering and holding him tight as her tails slipped from below her dress. "I love you too, Felix."

The pair held each other with a tightness that reassured them that they won't ever let go, captured in an embrace with the full moon light watching over them.

The book ends abruptly, you flip the next page only to find it blank before reaching the back cover when the realization sinks in. The book is over, just like that. No cliffhanger, no epilogue, just a happy ending... and that was good enough for you. It wasn't the ending that upset you but rather knowing that a story you had invested into and grown fond of has reached it's conclusion.

"Ah yes, that one leaves me feeling emotional by the end as well. A fun read, it became a bit full of itself in some areas but it was very satisfying to see the priest get his comeuppance."

She reaches for the book as you close it and place it in her hand, her smile seeming sincere as she placed it back into its place in the shelf. It was then you noticed the back cover of it as the story was labeled with a number four.

She noticed your wandering eyes and smiled. "Hmm? Yes, some forget that this is the fourth in a series. Perhaps if you are interested? Think of them as a piece to a puzzle, each story filling in toward the bigger picture. They're wonderful stories, some of my favorite. Maybe the others can satisfy your desire for more? I know they do for me."

With that, she stepped around you and walked down the aisle of bookshelves with an audible chuckle like a teenager who had just learned of some juicy gossip. "Then again, nothing sates it for long. I always love seeing that seed of desire get planted. Enjoy your stay and thank you so much for enjoying my story."

Your story? You blink in bewilderment as she turns back with a knowing grin. You could hear the clack of her heels echo through the library as you're left alone leaning against the bookshelf, contemplating the adventure you've just partaken in, the journey you've observed from start to finish.

What a ride it had been.