"Why are you being so nice to everyone and bowing to everybody?" Chen asks with slight annoyance watching Mimi bow to another food vendor as she accepts a package with Dumplin in her arms.
Mimi had finally managed to coerce Chen and Dumplin out of the hotel and into the streets that morning. Mimi casts a privacy spell about the three of them.
"I am cultivating an excellent reputation for us," Mimi said, putting the food into a large shopping bag.
Adjusting Dumplin on her hip, who hid her face in Mimi's side. Mimi continues strolling through the vendors. Chen stuck close to her like a shadow.
"Look around you," Mimi gestures with her shopping bag, looking down at Chen, "we are supernatural creatures engaging with people. Look how they subconsciously sense this."
It was apparent how people seemed to gravitate away from the sisters in the crowded marketplace, giving them a wide respectful berth.
"We are the foxes in the hen house, so to speak," Mimi smiles and looks down at her now empty grocery bag, the packages linked to their rooms in the hotel, "We are the predators amidst the sheep. But what you always need to remember is that there are more of them than there are of us. The strongest of the many can always overpower the most powerful of us. A strong reputation of being kind and generous," Mimi drops multiple golden coins into a beggar's cup, "can turn the tide against the most vicious of accusations. Besides," Mimi winks at Chen, "high praise is better heard from the mouths of others than from yourself. Always. Especially if you wish to hide in plain sight."
Chen clings to her sister closer, her eyes full of fear. Mimi kisses the top of her head, "Relax, cub. Oh, look, a bookstore!"
Poking her head out from behind her sister, Chen looks at the store with undisguised longing.
"Would you like to go in?" Mimi asks cheekily before leading her siblings into the store.
"Good morning," Mimi jovially greets the old shopkeeper, setting a struggling Dumplin down.
"Good morning, my lady," the old shopkeeper bows, and Mimi respectfully returns the bow.
He looks expectantly at Chen, who murmurs a "good morning."
Looking to her sister for aid, Mimi nods at her reassuringly, and Chen bows.
Still, under the privacy spell, Mimi praises, "Good job. You will get used to interacting with people."
Feeling a slight tug on her skirts, Mimi looks down to see Dumplin holding a children's book, richly illustrated with a couple standing on a bridge of birds.
"Would you like this one, cub?" Mimi asks and watches Dumplin hesitate before nodding.
"Why don't you find a couple more," Mimi takes the book from her and nudges her in the direction of the children's section, "Just stay where I can see you."
Mimi could tell that Chen longed to wander about the book shop, so she nudges her forward, "Take a look around."
About to look over some shelves herself, Mimi finds herself stopped by Dumplin, holding up another book.
She smiles ruefully as she realizes it is a book of fairy tales. Keeping her eye on Chen, Mimi crouches down to take the book.
"Would you read me one?" Dumplin pleads, reaching up to nuzzle Mimi's nose.
Still unused to the gesture, Mimi is a little disarmed; these kids are making me soft, Mimi thinks with a smile, not totally against the idea, "Yeah, of course."
Mimi sits down in a window seat as it begins to rain outside; people were running back and forth, tugging away stalls and pulling out umbrellas.
Mimi tugs Dumplin on to her lap, "Alright, let's see," Mimi winces as she sees the first story entitled, "Demon Fox and the Sheepherder," she turns to another story and witnesses "Fox Seduces Merchant," most definitely not appropriate. Turning to another story Mimi nearly grits her teeth, "Fox Spirit Possesses Child."
Leaning back in such a position that Dumplin could not see the words, Mimi begins to "read."
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman named Yuki, who lived by the sea; she was extremely skilled at sailing and often traveled for many weeks to foreign lands to ply her trade. You see, Yuki studied healing and was quite proficient in her field."
Dumplin sighs in contentment and sets her head on Mimi's chest. Mimi wraps her arm around her.
"One day, the woman decided on a whim to see a fortune teller in the village, the fortune teller's face was like a shriveled apple, and her fingers resembled long Manticore claws."
"What's a manticore?" Dumplin looks up at her sister with wide eyes.
"Someone you shouldn't play poker with," Mimi mumbles before diving into a further explanation, "a manticore is basically like a lion with wings and a scorpion tail. Reasonably nice until they get drunk and start taking all your money."
Squinting at her, Dumplin settles back, "Okay."
"Anyway, the fortune teller takes Yuki's hand and says in a voice like melted butter, 'You will meet your true love upon the sea. But a mermaid's hair you bequeath to me.' Because Yuki is a strong and independent woman, she laughs at the fortune teller, but gives her a shilling for her time."
"Why does she laugh at the fortune teller?" Dumplin asks, and Mimi's train of thought is derailed.
"Erm, because Yuki knows that the idea of true love and soul mates has been popularized in the media so much that the idea of someone completing you is unhealthy. You can still be a complete person and still find someone who is equally complete to be with," feeling rather proud of herself for this, Dumplin derails her again with, "Why does the fortune-teller want the mermaid's hair?"
Mimi sets the book on her lap and wriggles her claws at Dumplin spookily, "Cause she is a witch with an agenda!"
Dumplin swats at her sister's hands, and Mimi lifts the book back up to her face, once again pretending to read, "Let's find out, shall we? Probably looking to get ahead in the stock market."
"With the wind in her sensibly short hair, Yuki sails away with her fellow adventurers to the Island of Jujub to collect gems that can capture the glow of the soul. These gems shone not only the basics of human emotions but the complicated ones as well."
"I thought you said Yuki is a healer?"
Chen had somehow managed to sneak up on her sisters, sitting curled up on the floor next to Mimi with nearly a dozen books by her side and one in her lap.
"Erm, Yuki is a healer," Mimi corrects herself, "but if you had a chance to see some gems that can reflect a human soul, would you pass it up?"
Rolling her eyes, Chen scoots closer to Mimi, studying the large book in her lap, "I suppose not."
"That's right," Mimi lifts the book to her face, "Yuki wanted to make a quick buck because learning to be a healer is expensive. Yuki is sailing across the sea with her collection of gems, happily imagining what sorts of books she will be able to buy with the money she will make when a large wave strikes the ship. A shadowy giant appears out of the ocean, only his dark eyes visible in the miserable gloom of the turbulent waves."
Little hands grip the front of her dress tightly, and Mimi changes tactics, "You see, the shadowy giant is the son of an even bigger shadowy giant. He saw the ship and thought it was a toy boat."
The fingers relax, and Mimi resumes, "The giant's son picks up the ship and drops it fast, not knowing that there were people on the boat. He is having so much fun that he loses track of time and doesn't hear his father calling for him. Finally, the father emerges from the ocean and pulls his son down with him because it is time for dinner."
"What do giant shadowy people eat for dinner?" Dumplin asks, looking up at Mimi.
"Whatever they want," Chen mutters from the floor.
"Umm, whatever is on the seafloor. You have had fish. They can also take all the lava from underwater volcanos and drink it like tea."
"Oh. So, what happens next?"
Mimi pulls the book back up and does not see the cloaked blue man standing near the window with an umbrella.
"While the shadow giant's son is playing with the boat, Yuki tries her best to protect her fellow adventurers. She runs back and forth across the dock, yelling for people to use a rope to tie each other to the mast. She is so busy trying to ensure everyone is safe that she doesn't notice the large wave crash against the boat. The wave is so large that it wipes her off the boat and into the ocean. Since Yuki has lived by the ocean her whole life, she is an excellent swimmer. But the waves were so large that she could not fight against the ocean. She begins to lose consciousness and sinks beneath the waves."
"So, she died?" Dumplin's eyes are large and fearful.
"They wouldn't kill off the main character," Chen snorts, but Mimi could tell she looks concerned.
"Well, she would have if not for the giant crab that just happened to be munching on some kelp at the time. The crab is huge and purple. The crab is so large that it is completely unaffected by the crashing waves. Sometimes when the crab takes a nap for long periods, people would mistake it for an island. When Yuki lost consciousness and sank into the ocean, she slips right past the crab. Surprised at never seeing a person before the crab gently grabs on to Yuki's leg and pulls her to the surface to get a better look. The crab pokes her in the stomach, and Yuki spits out all the water that she had swallowed."
"Did the crab eat her?" Chen asks, and Dumplin nods in agreement with the question.
"Of course not! Crabs have feeble vision. This crab especially. So, the crab changes its shape to that of a mermaid."
"That's not how it works," Chen claims, but her voice is excited.
"Are you reading this story?" Mimi quips, "Now, this mermaid's name is Mieko. Like her crab counterpart, Mieko is a huge mermaid whose tail was like a serpent's body. Her hair is nearly as long as her serpent tail, which is why she spent so much time in her crab form. She is as fearsome as she is beautiful. This mermaid did not know very much about humans and honestly was more concerned with eating and running illegal mollusk fights. But something about Yuki drew her interest. Perhaps it was her kind eyes, her quick wit, or the fact that she managed to cut off Mieko's long hair to something more manageable. After several failed communication efforts, they became friends."
"But Yuki misses her friends and home. She couldn't leave everyone she knew behind. After a while, Mieko finally agrees to take her home. But Mieko had fallen in love with Yuki and did not want her to go."
Both Dumplin and Chen gasp.
"Because Mieko did not want Yuki to forget her, she cut off a long piece of her hair and fashioned it into a ring that would allow its bearer to breathe underwater. At the same time, Mieko and Yuki are bonding. The ship's crew has been making a lot of money off the gems from the Island of Jujub. When Yuki shows up demanding her share thinking, she could buy an underwater breathing apparatus. Unfortunately, the crew had already divided up the money and, well, they could not give her what she wants. In the middle of the night, the crew ties a rock to her feet. Throwing her into the depths of the ocean. But Mieko is still waiting in the harbor and eats the treacherous crewman. Yuki realizes she can breathe underwater with Mieko, and they decide to live together on both the sea and land."
Mimi closes the book with a resounding thud and looks upon her sisters expectantly. Dumplin is asleep, and Chen is thumbing through her books.
"My work is so underappreciated," Mimi snorts and sets the book aside.
"I like mermaids," Dumplin said suddenly, "But that story wasn't from the book."
Mimi puts the book on a higher shelf than Dumplin could reach, "How do you know that it wasn't in the book? You saw me reading it, didn't you?"
Chen pipes in, "It was a good story, but you never turned a single page."
Putting a hand on her face, Mimi looks outside and realizes that the rain has stopped.
"Alright," Mimi sits up, and her back pops a couple of times, "Are you guys ready to go?"
Dumplin nods her head, but Chen is looking panicked, "But I can't decide which ones I want, and I don't have enough coins for all of them!"
Mimi looks down at the twelve books at Chen's feet, "Are you going to read them all?"
"Yeah," Chen looks up at her sister with large fox cub eyes.
"Well, I was going to pay," Mimi says, a little amused at the delight in her sister's face.
Shaking her head Mimi turns her attention to Dumplin, holding the illustrated book, "Did you want to pick out anything else?"
"No. Just this one!" Mimi thanks her lucky stars that Dumplin didn't want the anti- fox spirit propaganda book of fairytales.
Mimi pays for the books and settles them into her bag, knowing that they would appear in the hotel.
"Alright, where to next, ladies? Dress shop? We should also buy Mameki some more appropriate footwear."
"Why does Yuki fall in love with the mermaid?" Chen suddenly asks as they walk out of the bookshop and wander past a couple more shops.
Eyeing the clothing store where she had bought the nightgowns, Mimi guides her little sisters across the cobblestones.
"You can fall in love with anyone you like as long as they have a reliable career choice and treat you like the brilliant woman you are. No bums. That goes for you too, Dumplin. No bums. I will not allow it," Mimi answers automatically, taking Dumplin's hand and making sure she did not leap into any of the puddles that she seemed to be contemplating.
"No. I mean. Why does she fall in love with a woman instead of a man?"
This threw Mimi a little; she had no idea why she hadn't anticipated the question.
Not liking the small glint of rebellion in her littlest sister's eyes, Mimi scoops her up and tickles her, "No puddles. I don't want you two getting dirty."
With Dumplin playfully swung under her arm Mimi turns her full attention to Chen, "Sometimes love is unpredictable. If you love someone, then you love them. If there is consent from both sides and you both are of age, it shouldn't matter what other people think. Love is too rare a thing in this world."
"Huh," Chen considers this before taking her eldest sister's free hand as she sees more people leaving the shops.
"On second thought," Mimi says, leading them into the dress shop, "I don't think I want either of you dating until your at least a hundred."