The Gehenna General Store was quiet that day. Hardly anyone stopped by. It wasn't payday yet, however, so that could explain it. The young man behind the cash register sat while he waited for someone to stop by, cycling between staring into space and doodling on a scrap of paper. His tail wrapped around his waist in order to stay off of the floor as he sat. The incubus was unimpressed with traffic that day. There was simply nothing for Logan to do until someone walked through that door. Suddenly, however, his eyes snapped open and he immediately stood at attention when he heard the bells attached to the door, notifying him that he was not alone at last.
"Well, hello again!" the incubus greeted with a smile, recognizing the faux-blonde and his demonic friend as they entered the shop. "You're looking much better."
"I've had a bit of time to process everything." Answered Kristopherson, returning the smile. "The book helped a lot."
"I'm glad." Logan replied. "So, are you looking for anything in particular that I can help you with?"
"U-uh… Well… I was wondering if there was anything here that could help me out with… uh… Well, werewolf-ing?" the faux-blonde said, pausing for a moment before the embarrassment of what he just said hit him. The man behind the counter, however, chuckled.
"Well, I dunno. You'd have to be more specific about that." The incubus stated. "I'm not sure if there's anything else here that you can't get outside. I'd recommend loose-clothes, though."
"So that's how it is, huh…" sighed Kristopherson, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't suppose you have any wolfman-sized pants around here, do you?"
"Unfortunately not. Nobody around here sells clothes, unfortunately. We mostly rely on stuff the Wolf's Glen is able to scrounge."
"Seriously? How do you find stuff that fits? You have a tail, don't you? That can't be comfortable."
"It's not, really. We have to modify the clothes we get, and it's kind of difficult without ruining them."
"I could try to design something that works." Kristopherson suggested. "That's sort of what I do as a hobby."
"You're a designer?" asked Logan.
"A very good one." Butted in Alois. "He could probably design more than just pants for tailed supernatrals."
"Could you make a shirt to fit an ogre?"
"Have you seen an ogre?" scoffed Kristopherson. "That would be easy. It's not that complicated to make tailored clothing."
"Maybe you should start your own shop. There's more than enough people here looking for clothes." Said the incubus.
"I can't sew clothes for an entire village on my own." Spoke the faux-blonde. "I can sew a few and come up with patterns, but that's the extent of my powers."
"That's a shame." Logan replied, leaning against the counter with his elbow against its surface and his chin in his palm. "Oh, well. You should at least tell the hairdressers down the street how to do your beard."
"Oh, that?" the wolfman remembered. "It's not really that interesting."
"No way! Do you know about the elves? They love doing all sorts of things with their hair, and they would love that."
"Well, I will have plenty of hair on my face to demonstrate with later this week."
"Yeah, sorry I can't help you with that." The incubus replied. "If you need somebody to help you out with those pants, though, I'd be happy to." Logan stopped for a moment before blushing a bit.
"Making the tail pants, that is." He added bashfully, standing up straight again and rubbing the back of his neck. The fact that the two blondes chuckled at his accidental innuendo didn't help his slight embarrassment.
"Sure. If you're interested." Answered the faux-blonde, playfully arching an eyebrow. His friend, however, pretended to look around the store instead of standing awkwardly as a third wheel. Alois sensed that he wasn't needed.
Thus, the menace looked around the shop, noting the differences between it and a human one. While Kristopherson chatted with the cashier, he decided that he would see if those books that he had been looking at last time were still there. A few of them looked like something that would interest his spouse, and he hated coming into this store without buying anything. Even the idea that some of these were books that one could only get in one single place in the entire world made them appealing. These were books that some of the supernaturals in the village managed to print off with an old printing press that H.E.L.L.S.I.N.G. got a hold of and donated to the city.
The menace was sincerely glad to see Kristopherson starting to return to normal, even with the approaching moon. He wasn't going to spoil this moment. Even still, there was something odd about the incubus. The way he awkwardly carried himself stood out, especially since he had never acted like this at any other time he stopped in. The only comparable time was when he first came in with Kristopherson.
"Oh, so that's it." Alois thought to himself before giving it no further thought. That was for Kristopherson to sort out, not him. As far as he could tell, there was no danger here, so there was also no need to intervene. Alois trusted his own senses when it came to this sort of thing, so he got what he was looking for and browsed while he waited for Kristopherson to finish talking.
"I'm afraid it's going to hurt a lot." Kristopherson admitted while he leaned on the counter. "Transforming a human body into a non-human one can't be fun."
"Yeah, I've heard that from a few werewolf customers." Answered the incubus. "Supposedly, it gets less painful over time! There is good news."
"What would be better is not having to do it at all." Sighed the Miles. "I never thought I'd be part of this. I've observed from the outside for a while, but this is some next-level shit…"
"You can talk about it here, if you want. We're open every day except on weekends, and I'm usually here." Offered the other.
"Thanks. That's nice of you. I mean, I can talk about it with Ciel and Alois, but they're busy a lot." Said Kristopherson. "It don't want to be a bother to you either…"
"Nonsense! It's cool. We can talk whenever. It's really no problem." Logan replied.
"Do you have a phone? I might be better if I just give you my number."
"U-uh, sure…" the incubus answered with a dopey expression on his face. "Let me get you a piece of paper…"
"And I'll enter yours into my phone." Kristopherson added while the other man was rummaging about.
While he didn't find anything he needed that might help him prepare for his first full moon, Kristopherson did feel better upon exiting the shop. He made a new friend, at least. According to Alois, that's just how people in Gehenna are. In general, they care a lot about other people's problems, because if they don't, it's hard to survive. Somehow, it made the faux-blonde feel as though he was going to be alright. Still, he wasn't sure what to do with Logan's number.
"Bootycall?" jokingly suggested Alois as they walked back toward the front gates.
"No way! I'm not like that." Kristopherson replied, pulling his jacket closed a little bit more. The mischievous grin on his friend's face was greeted with a playful shove. "Besides, I've got way too much on my plate before I can even think about my relationship status."
"Mm-hm. Sounds like a plan, man." Noted the menace, putting up the collar on his own jacket, or rather, his husband's. "It's getting colder… on the bright side, fur might be nice."
"Except it rains all the damn time." Answered his friend. "Do werewolves get wet dog smell? Probably."
"True… Good thing you don't plan on going out. Unless Gehenna does anything for Halloween."
"Oh, yeah… I didn't think about that. Do you think they do?"
"I heard something about playing horror movies on movie nights in October, but that's about it." Alois said. "I guess Treak-or-Treating would be weird for them, and if they have trouble with finding clothes, then they have trouble with finding costumes, so costume parties are out."
"Could still have parties." Suggested the wolfman.
"It's just the way they do things." Stated the Phantomhive. "It is a bit silly, though. Supernatural beings, not being active on Halloween… It's exactly the opposite of what humans think."
"Movie night sounds fun, though."
"Maybe we should go sometime."
"Sounds like a plan. Should I wear my fur coat?"
"Maybe not. Sounds exhausting."
