<Episode 16>
One of Jerian's main hustles was coloring clear glass and then tricking people into buying it as if it were real jewels.
Jerian had a gift for turning all kinds of junk into cash, and even the neighborhood cats, who hated his guts for hogging all the food, had to admit Jerian was a money-making machine.
'What was he going to use all that money for?'
The craziest thing was his jewelry swap scheme. He got rich by swapping out accessories with beautifully made fakes for ones with real jewels, even if the settings were beat-up.
'Bad cat!'
But, after being run out of town by leopards and forced to move, any cat who was hard up for cash had to help Jerian, no matter how old or what sex they were.
Jerian didn't even think twice about hiring little kids, saying their small size meant he could shove them into stoves or chimneys to clean them out really well.
He also liked using young cats when he was selling stuff, figuring it was easier to get people to feel sorry for them.
I wasn't the type to go around selling stuff; I mostly stuck by Jerian, doing whatever random chores he told me to.
Sometimes, when kids my age brought in baskets and dumped them out, I got stuck with the job of figuring out which jewels were which.
'Why did he only make me do that?'
For some reason, I could distinguish fake jewels from real ones well. Whenever I picked out the real jewels, even the beat-up ones, Jerian would squint and mumble something I couldn't understand.
"Seeing you distinguish real jewels, it seems you have some insight..."
He used me like that, and then, just because a mother with kittens swiped some food...
'The worst cat in the world. Someday, I'm gonna learn the nastiest words ever and call Jerian every single one of them.'
Of course, to do that, I'd have to get right up in Jerian's face, and for that, I needed to get strong at the wolf mansion.
I shook my head to shake off Jerian.
The worker who'd tried to scam me was getting hauled off by the Gridwolf knights. I didn't feel bad for him at all.
'Hmph, trying to take me for a fool.'
While I was pouting, Lena came up and asked, "Oh, honey. Are you upset?"
"No, it's nothing. Shall we try on the clothes quickly?"
I went behind the screen and started changing into the first doll outfit.
Turns out, Sir Elliott had told Jackal what I said, and my brothers happened to overhear. They'd come to turn in their homework and just tagged along.
'Theo and Deon have to submit homework to Jackal every day.'
I wish I could get a teacher soon and start learning, too. Caris said she'd look into it, so I guess I'll wait.
Lost in thought, I did what they told me, and before I knew it, I was all dressed up in the first doll outfit.
"Okay, all done. Please go out."
I walked out from behind the screen, trying to look all graceful. There was no mirror inside, so I could only see myself in the full-length mirror placed outside the screen.
"It's so pretty! And comfortable to move in..."
As I stood in front of the mirror, turning my body this way and that to check the clothes, I could hear everyone whispering over by the sofa.
"Too bad my wife's not here to see this."
"Ahem, there's a reason the knights have been going on and on about how cute the little lady is."
"What are we gonna do, she's so adorable..."
"Fluffy-paws, get over here!"
When I heard Deon, I looked over and saw all four wolves looking totally spaced out.
Wayla came over and started explaining the clothes. It seemed like she was trying to impress Jackal.
"This frilly dress is supposed to look like a big pumpkin."
"Next."
Jackal was being really short with her, but for some reason, Wayla seemed happy about it. The other apprentices looked at Jackal with wide eyes, too.
'She's happy even though Jackal totally cut her off.'
Are they sucking up to him because he's the leader of the wolves?
I changed into the next doll outfit set. This time, it was a light, white dress that would be good to wear in summer.
When I came out from behind the screen, there was even more of a fuss than before. Theo said with a happy face, "Kitty. Is that outfit comfy?"
"Yeah! And isn't it kinda cute? If I spin like this, the skirt goes poof!"
I spun around in place once. All those frills meant you couldn't see anything under the skirt, but the hem puffed out all big and round.
"Well, duh, look who's wearing it."
"Work it, girl, work it."
Theo and Deon were grinning, and the Waylas looked about ten times more excited.
I tried on a few more outfits, and each time, the four wolves' reactions were similar.
The last outfit was a pink dress with the cutest little patent leather shoes. It even came with a tiny purse.
"Ooh, I love the peachy color!"
This time, I strutted out from behind the screen.
"Oh my..."
Lena, who was watching me like a hawk from the sofa, gasped and clutched her chest. Jackal and my brothers took one look at me and then started having some kind of serious discussion.
It was way different from before when they were all clapping and stuff, so I got kinda shy.
"Um... does this outfit not look good on me?"
I tilted my head and asked. The large ribbons decorated on both sides of my head drooped together.
Jackal held up five fingers to Wayla, and Wayla practically drooled, she was so happy.
What are they talking about?
"So, what do you think of the clothes?"
Jackal asked. His voice was stiff, but I carefully looked in the mirror and answered, "They're super comfy and pretty. I love the bag and shoes, too. I think I want this one."
Deon, who was listening in, was like, "Huh? You want this one?"
"Since I've tried on a bunch of clothes, don't you think it's time to pick which ones to buy? This one's my favorite."
I stuck out my shiny shoes to show them off, and Theo nodded.
"Dad. Ordering five sets of that outfit in different colors was a total power move."
"Pardon?"
"Kitty, we're just gonna put all those clothes hanging there straight into your closet. It'd be way too much to try them all on right now."
They're buying all that? I looked at Jackal, totally shocked.
"Jackal. But Kitty's gonna grow out of all these clothes before she even gets a chance to wear them..."
"Then we'll just get her new ones."
That seems kinda wasteful. I was still hesitating when Jackal asked again, "You said the one you're wearing now is your favorite, right?"
I nodded, and Jackal called the Waylas again. I tiptoed over, all sneaky-like, to eavesdrop on what Jackal was saying.
"Is it possible?"
When Jackal asked, all serious, the Waylas kinda rolled their eyes and said, "Oh, so... you mean like, matching outfits for everyone in Gridwolf to wear for the new family picture?"
"Yeah. It's what my wife wants."
"So, five outfits based on the design the little lady liked best?"
"You got it."
"Okay, so the price is gonna be around..."
I got up on my tippy-toes and checked out the numbers Wayla wrote on the bill.
'Oh my goodness.'
There were so many zeros, it was insane. Jackal looked away, kinda uncomfortable, and added, "That's way more than we budgeted for."
Wayla laughed like she knew it all along.
"I know, right?"
"So, are all those accessories over there the real deal?"
"Yep. The kid the knights took away was selling stuff from outside. Everything on display now is legit, I checked them all myself."
Even I could tell the accessories from the Waylas' trunk were the real deal.
I was thinking Jerian would have to work for like, fifty years to buy all that, but Jackal just casually said, "We've got tons of budget left over, so just buy all of that, too."
...We didn't run out of money, we have extra?
Theo, Deon, and Sir Elliott weren't even fazed by this crazy news. They looked like they totally expected it.
I realized something.
'Oh, I get it. A cat being rich and a wolf being rich are two totally different things.'
So, like, how loaded is Gridwolf? To just throw around more money than was on Wayla's bill like it was nothing.
If Jackal had even blinked or hesitated for a second, I was gonna run over and stop him, but everyone, the workers and the Gridwolfs, were all chill about it.
'What if Gridwolf goes totally broke because of me...?'
I sat on the sofa, trying to hide my worries.
Standing around for so long was kinda tiring. Changing clothes so many times was actually a lot of work. Even just watching a fashion show takes it out of you.
"Thank you for coming, everyone."
When I said that, Jackal chuckled and petted my head. I could feel him being super careful not to mess up the butterfly on my ribbon.
"You're not gonna change?"
"I wanna keep wearing this 'cause it's pretty. If it's okay with Jackal."
"They're your clothes, do whatever you want."
I gave him a big smile to show I would. Jackal, who looked like he was about to head back to his office with Sir Elliott, just stared at me.
"Did you eat?"
"I had tons of strawberries and cookies. What about you, Jackal?"
"Something quick. I gotta get back to my office now."
It seemed like we were totally done talking, but Jackal kept staring at me.
Theo and Deon, who were heading back to study, dropped a hint.
"Kitty. Dad's gonna be in his office all day."
"I peeked in earlier, and he's got something in his office that Fluffy-paws would like."
"Ah!"
I asked Jackal, who was just standing there looking at me like he was waiting for me to say something, "Jackal, can I come hang out in your office?"
"Of course."
Jackal scooped me up like he was grabbing me and held me easy in one arm. He held me real steady, like he'd held tons of kids my size before.
"Elliott. I'll get that update on the Bluemoon fake stuff later."
"Got it. Have fun with the little lady."
And that's how I ended up in Jackal's office for the second time. This time, I could finally ask Lena all the stuff I didn't get answers to before.
