Fox(girl)ificated 2 - Ch.11 - Money Talks & (Expensive) Shops

Hannah and Athene hung around for another hour or so after we'd all finished dinner, then they pitched in and helped tidy up afterwards. I did too, and soon enough we had all the left-overs in Luna's fridge while the dishes and cutlery were washed and dried and put away.

Finally when the tall redhead and their enbyfriend decided to head out I figured I ought to do the same. After working all day Friday then all night too, followed by all the craziness and excitement since running into Luna at the cafe, I was more than ready to get home and into bed.

Luna seemed reluctant to let me go though, and I was too weary to put up much of a fight. So I let the gorgeous catgirl talk me into spending the night in her guest bedroom.

The upper floor of her townhouse was just as nice and spotlessly clean as the rest of it. The guest room was at the front of the house, and it was easily twice the size of my tiny bedroom back home. The catgirl's master bedroom was at the back of the house, and it was even bigger. And in between the two was a large fancy bathroom. In fact looking around I realized this one floor of her home was larger than my entire apartment. And it was a hundred times nicer.

After giving me the tour Luna brought those bags of new clothes up for me and left them on the foot of the guest bed while I freshened up in the washroom. Then she pulled me into a hug and gave me a very chaste goodnight kiss on the cheek.

When we separated she retired into the master bedroom, while I stumbled back into the guest room. The bed in there was big and soft and comfy enough that I was out like a light as soon as I lay down.

I must have slept for well over a dozen hours because it was almost noon on Sunday when I finally woke. Finding myself in an unfamiliar setting sent a pang of anxiety through me, but that was enough to cut through the grogginess and confusion. And a moment later the nervousness was all but forgotten, replaced instead with a huge wave of euphoria.

Next thing I knew I was laying there with a goofy grin on my face as I hugged my big floofy black tail to my chest, which was rumbling with loud happy fox-purrs.

"It's real!" I whispered to myself. "It wasn't a dream, it really happened!"

The tail-hugging and purring lasted a good ten minutes or so, before I was finally ready to get out of bed. I wasn't sure if Luna was awake or not since I hadn't heard anyone else moving around yet, so I did my best to stay quiet as I padded barefoot into the washroom. Then I caught my reflection in the mirror and lost another minute or two to the sheer euphoria of my amazing new body.

I was smol, and cute, and perfect. My floofy black tail wagged happily behind me as I revelled in the knowledge that I didn't need to shave anymore, and that this was the face I'd see every morning in the bathroom mirror.

After freshening up I returned to the guest room, where I got another burst of joy from pulling on a bra and panties. Then I set about picking my outfit for the day. Not that I had a lot of options, but thanks to Athene's generosity I wasn't stuck with a single set of clothes. In only took a second to make up my mind, then I dug through the bags until I found the jeans.

They were tight but stretchy, with a low-cut waist. That wasn't quite low enough for my tail so they were bunched up a bit at the back. That felt weird, but I could live with it. And the black denim looked fantastic on my slim shapely legs. I paired the jeans with a tight black tee, then slipped on some footie socks followed by the sneakers. The hoodie was a perfect final touch, then I returned to the washroom to check myself over in the mirror again.

That led to yet another surge of happiness as I admired the cute hot sexy foxgirl reflected in front of me. My tail started wagging up a storm behind me while a wide smile settled on my face.

And from there things only got better, as I suddenly noticed the smell of something delicious cooking downstairs. I followed the wonderful scent down into the kitchen, where I found the gorgeous catgirl fixing breakfast. Not just leftover Thai either, she was making us a proper morning meal of pancakes and bacon.

"Good morning Kit," she greeted me with another heart-melting smile. "This will be ready in a half minute, so why don't you have a seat? There's coffee waiting for you at the table."

"Oh wow!" I gasped, while my ears perked up and my tail continued its non-stop wagging. "You didn't have to do all this, but thank you! It smells great!"

"And good morning to you too," I added before turning towards the kitchen table.

Sure enough there were two places set. Both had glasses of juice in front of them, and one had a normal-looking coffee but the other had a cup of vanilla latte just the way I liked it.

Luna joined me a minute or so later, after setting a pair of plates down for the two of us. We each had a couple pancakes and a few strips of bacon. There was butter and syrup already waiting on the table, and everything looked and smelled fantastic.

"Thank you so much," I smiled. "You really didn't have to go to all this trouble, but I really appreciate it."

She just smiled back, "It's my pleasure Kit."

The food tasted every bit as good as it looked, maybe even better. The bacon was crispy without being burned, the pancakes were light and fluffy. My latte was perfect, and I'd almost swear the juice was fresh squeezed instead of from a can or a mix. Even the syrup was divine. I was positive it was the real thing, not the imitation maple flavoured stuff.

For the first minute or so the two of us ate in silence, but eventually Luna spoke up.

"I was wondering if you'd let me take you shopping after brunch?" she asked as she gave me a hopeful look. "I know you didn't want to do that yesterday, but I thought I'd ask again now that you've had time to relax after all the excitement yesterday."

After another gulp of my latte I grimaced, "I really appreciate everything you've done for me, not to mention Athene and Rachel and Hannah. The truth is I can't exactly afford to buy a whole new wardrobe. I figured maybe I'd visit some second-hand shops..."

My other option was to make another special withdrawal from the automated teller at my local bank, but I didn't want to do that in front of Luna. I didn't even want her to know I did that sort of thing, and not just because she used to be a cape. It was more like I didn't want to disappoint her, or make her think less of me.

While all that was going through my head Luna gave me another compassionate smile, "That's ok Kit. When I said I wanted to take you shopping, what I meant was I want to treat you. I know some lovely boutiques, and I'd love to help you find your new style."

My ears folded back and I shook my head, "You really don't have to do that. I'm honoured, but I mean... You work as a barista, right? Plus this place can't be cheap."

"Ah," she grimaced, while her ears drooped and her tail dipped down under her chair. She sounded almost embarrassed when she replied, "Money really isn't a problem for me Kit. You know I wasn't always a barista, that's only been the last couple months. I have money, from before. I just never had any reason to spend it, until now."

That left me curious, and since it was just the two of us I decided it couldn't hurt to ask. "So um, do you mean from when you were a cape? Do capes get paid?"

Luna gave me another warm smile as she nodded, "They do in fact. MaR-AID pays superheroes a stipend, based on their rank and how active they are. They also have a system of bonuses, to reward heroes for particularly dangerous or important work."

My eyebrows crept up, "So being a cape is like a regular job? I'm guessing it must pay pretty good, right?"

"It really depends," she replied. "For instance, an A-rank hero might be able to make a decent living if they work at it full-time. That means being on call twenty-four-seven, and answering as many of those calls as they possibly can. On the other hand a D-rank with a limited skill-set will probably treat their superhero work as a side-line, while they work a normal job for their actual income."

I frowned, "Huh. So it's basically just like any other job then?"

"Sort of," Luna shrugged. "Heroes are also allowed to accept gifts and claim rewards, provided it all goes through proper channels. By which I mean MaR-AID's accounts."

After that she made a face, "Some heroes are happy to accept corporate sponsorship deals too. You might have even seen ads for that sort of thing? Like there's an 'Unstoppable' brand of tactical gear, that I understand is popular among the prepper, vigilante, and militia types. And I'm sure you've seen The Dash hawking those awful energy drinks on TV?"

I grimaced as I nodded slowly. The Dash was a speedster from New York, but last I heard he'd moved to LA after he got famous.

"So it's more like professional sports then?" I asked. "A few big-name stars get rich, land the sponsorship deals, and get money thrown at them. Meanwhile career players do ok, but everyone else needs to find regular work to make ends meet. Except if it doesn't work out you can't really quit or find another employer. There's only one team, the only legit employer is MaR-AID."

Without thinking what I was saying or who I was talking to I added, "In a way it feels like the only difference between capes and crooks is who they work for. Work for MaR-AID and you're a cape, work for yourself and you're a crook."

"It's not quite that simple Kit," the catgirl stated with a frown. Her ears were folded back and her tail twitched a few times as she continued, "I know you've had some very bad experiences, but most superheroes are careful not to put the public at risk. Some villains do their best to try and limit collateral damage too, but many don't."

Just like that I knew I'd put my foot in it, and my ears and tail all drooped while my cheeks heated up. "I'm sorry Luna. I didn't mean..."

"I know cutie," she replied with a shrug. "It's ok, I forgive you."

Then her expression darkened as she admitted, "Having said that I suspect there's some heroes who are in it mainly for themselves, and for the money or the glory. And I believe a few of them do blur those lines on a regular basis. I haven't caught anyone doing it, but I have reason to believe some heroes skim whenever they can."

"That's when a hero helps themself to recovered loot," she elaborated. "Like say some villain's made off with a load of cash, or bullion, or diamonds. Then they're defeated and the goods recovered, but some percentage of it is reported as lost or destroyed during the fighting. It's written off, insurance usually covers it, and no-one questions it. I think a few heroes see that as a sort of finders' fee."

After a brief pause she seemed to decide we'd dwelled on that topic enough. Instead she brought the conversation back around to where we started, "Anyways the point is I've saved up plenty of money over the years, and I'd love to spend a little of it on you cutie. If you'll let me."

My tail already started wagging again as I blushed, "I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with that? But I'd definitely like to spend more time with you. And I'd really appreciate your help in figuring out styles and stuff like that? So um, maybe we could agree to go window-shopping? Whether or not we actually buy anything."

"Alright Kit," the gorgeous catgirl agreed. "That sounds perfect."

We'd both had enough to eat by that point, so the two of us got up and took care of the dishes together. I had my phone and keys and wallet tucked into my hoodie pockets, while Luna had her things in a cute little purse.

She didn't own a car, but she arranged for a ride-share to take us to an up-market shopping area where she promised I'd find everything I needed. I'd heard of the place before but I knew the stores there were pricy so I'd never had any reason to visit.

At Luna's insistence we basically went on a little tour through various high-end boutiques, and while the two of us attracted plenty of stares from other shoppers none of the store staff gave us any problems. And as long as I didn't look at any of the price tags it was actually kind of fun. We both found some nice outfits, we tried on skirts and dresses, pants and slacks, blouses and tops. We visited a shoe store where she got me to try everything from high heels to sexy boots. We even visited a lingerie shop where she taught me about sexy undergarments and frilly sleep-wear. Then she left me blushing and squirming through a professional fitting, so I'd know my exact measurements.

Our last stop was a salon-type place, where she insisted on buying me some fancy toiletries that she said would help me keep my hair and skin and floof clean and smooth and soft.

Then instead of heading for home Luna turned us around and started retracing our path back through most of the same shops we'd already visited. And despite my protests she ended up buying me almost everything I said I'd liked when we were trying things on. She also picked up a few goodies for herself too, maybe so it didn't seem like it was all about me. Either way the afternoon ended with the two of us heading back to Luna's townhouse in another ride-share, surrounded by piles of expensive bags and parcels.

When we finally reached her place there was one last surprise waiting for us. Athene and Hannah were there, and the enby had something for me.

"Here you go Kit," they smiled as they handed me a large envelope. "This is all your new government ID. It's everything you need to update your records everywhere else. Like your bank account, phone bill, and your place of employment."

My ears drooped and my tail ended up between my legs as that suddenly hit me. I gulped, "Right. Work. My next shift's tomorrow morning. How am I going to explain this...?"

** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Camille, who commissioned it! **