As Jade rummaged through the various dresses she explained to Kat the hierarchy of her world. Kat listened intently and was amazed at how Jade's society worked. From what Kat could gather Jade was head of her family and thus she was as responsible for them as they were responsible to her. After that the only person Jade really had to answer to was her King and Queen. The more Kat listened the more she started to realise that Jade was fairly intelligent and made sure she was up to date with current events, even if they didn't affect her. Kat was still absorbing all the information Jade had just past on when she noticed Jade's tone change.

"Sorry?" Kat asked looking up.
"I said I think this one would suit you. Golden fur isn't the easiest to dress too."
"Oh, I didn't think of that."

Jade smiled and handed Kat a red dress. Kat took the dress and stared for a moment at the hole in the back of the dress. It looked deliberate and for a brief moment Kat wondered what on earth it was for until she realised it was for her tail. There were a few things she would definitely have to get used to. Kat dressed quickly and then turned to look at herself in the mirror. The skirt swirled as she spun. The red in the dress making her hair look more golden and fiery. The top of the dress was V-necked and cut just to show a hint of cleavage. The dress was sleeveless and well suited for the sunny day outside.

"Yes, I think that suits you well." Jade said as she put the other dresses away before grabbing one for herself. She then invited Kat to sit and then smiled as Kat sat.

"A tad annoyed are we?"
"What gives you that impression?" Kat asked.
"Your tail. You are certainly not used to it and it shows." Jade paused as she took a seat. "You see are emotions are reflected in movements of our tails. When you sat down uncomfortably on your tail it twitched in annoyance."
"Oh."
"You can learn to control it, just as you can learn to control your facial expressions. Firstly let me show you the two easiest ways to sit."

Jade stood and then demonstrated how to sit in an armchair where she coiled her tail around her body. Then she sat on the bed and lifted her tail first before sitting. Kat did the same and once she got used to the fact that she had to move her tail out of the way she found sitting down a lot easier. She smiled pleased with herself. Jade smiled warmly in return.

"Here, brush your fur and I'll grab some accessories for the two of us." Jade went to leave the room and then turned at the last second "Don't forget your ears have moved."

Kat picked up the brush and wondered what Jade had meant as she ran the brush through her fur. Two seconds later she realised and laughed as she caught one of her ears with the brush. She put the brush down and had a proper look at herself. Her now slitted eyes looked back. There were physical changes she could see but there were some other changes she noticed. She had noticed she could hear a little better and when she smiled she realised her teeth were slightly more pointed. She resumed brushing her fur when Jade returned.

"Here, allow me." Jade offered and put down a handful of jewellery on the vanity unit. Kat handed her the brush and allowed Jade to brush it and toy with it before she put it up in a style she was obviously happy with. She then put the brush down and studied Kat's face critically for a few minutes. Then holding Kat's chin she applied some eye-shadow and blush. Lastly handing Kat a lipstick. Kat applied the lipstick and then looked at her reflection. The make up that had been applied by Jade was barely there and seemed to just highlight Kat's features which she approved off. She then turned and watched Jade do her own hair and make up. Kat noticed that the silence was not even strained. She had only met Jade the night before and yet they seemed comfortable in each others presence. There was a sense of rapport that Kat had only just noticed and wondered if Jade had also noticed it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Jade stood. Kat did the same.

"I got this necklace for you and this broach." Jade said handing the two items to Kat. Jade then fastened two jewelled combs into her hair, put on a white gold necklace and a broach the same as the one she had handed Kat with the exception of the jewel in the broach. Kat studied the broach. It looked somewhat like a family crest with a cat curled up on top. The belly of the cat contained a Sapphire. The belly on Jade's broach held blue Jade.

"Sable and Coal will be here shortly. Coal will be your escort."
"My guard you mean?" Kat asked.
"That too." Jade said honestly. "But it would be inappropriate for someone of your stature to be unescorted."

Kat relaxed at Jade's honesty. She didn't feel like a prisoner and was clearly not being treated as one but she knew that Jade was no fool and probably keeping a close eye on her. Truth be told, Kat was doing the same in regards to everything she saw.

Shortly after the two boys returned. They were showered and dressed formally. Sable offered his arm to Jade and Coal offered his to Kat with distrust showing briefly in his eyes. Kat did notice that his tail remained still however and she almost doubted what she had seen. They were escorted to the gardens outside and sat down to a late breakfast of primarily fruit. Kat's stomach grumbled and she realised she was quiet hungry. Sable laughed warmly at her and she pretended to look unimpressed which seemed to make him laugh all the more. Kat joined in and sat down, carefully avoiding sitting on her tail. When she looked up she saw Coal scowling and Jade with a strange smile on her face. She simply chose to ignore Coal and grabbed herself an apple. They ate in silence. During the meal a guard informed them that the inspectors had arrived. Jade nodded in acknowledgement and finished her breakfast before standing. Sable went to stand too but she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You stay here with Sapphire, Coal can escort me."

Sable remained seated, his eyebrow raised in question. Coal stood up stiffly and escorted Jade into the house.

"I thought you wanted me to look after her."
"If I could trust you to look after her." Jade said coldly.
"Lady?"

Jade guided Coal into a deserted corridor.

"We are playing a dangerous game here, with the inspectors and having her here pretending to have been like us for years. I do not need you giving her the cold shoulder and acting like you completely distrust her. Reign your feelings in and stop drawing attention to yourself and her. Plus I need her to feel relaxed. The more relaxed she is the more she will trust us. I don't know what's going on but I have a feeling her presence here is no accident. She could have ended up anywhere in this world but she didn't. She arrived here."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be Coal. If you can't trust her trust me."
"Yes Lady."

Jade nodded and then hugged Coal. She knew he was only being protective but sometimes he really drove her nuts. Plus she was amused by how Sable had taken to Kat. She had known him a long time and he wasn't one to instantly warm to someone. But what interested Jade more was how Kat seemed equally taken to Sable. The other thing that had amazed Jade was Kat being able to see the amulet. They had discovered ages ago the amulets hid themselves from others who didn't wear one. Perhaps Kat too had an amulet, but Jade hadn't noticed. She would have to ask.

Perhaps the same way Kat had explained the transmutation was magic directed inwards and thus caused no outward ripple was the same way the amulet hid themselves. It was something Jade didn't understand though. Could magic be sensed like sensing the wind? The idea troubled her and she promised herself to set aside some time to look at the Book. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she entered the main foyer.

"Gentlemen, I hope I haven't kept you waiting."
"Not at all Lady Auvreanae. We understand you are a busy women and thank you for your time."
"Can I offer you any refreshments?"
"We thank you for your kindness but we do not wish to trouble you. Perhaps if we get started we can leave and thus not distrupt your day any longer than required."
Jade nodded and swept her arm out towards the rest of the house. "After you."

Jade and Coal walked with the two inspectors as they toured the house. They walked back and forth in a few corridors and Jade mentally noted those areas. When they neared her wing of the house she said nothing and a quick look to Coal indicated he shouldn't react either. One of the men stood rigidly in front of her room and then like he was possessed walked purposely forward. He got as far as her study and then looked around like he had lost something. Aware Jade was watching he instantly stopped looking.

"Nothing in the house, perhaps we could look outside."
"Certainly."

They headed outside but there was no more indications that they had found anything out of place. It wasn't long before they met up with Sable and Kat. Jade almost held her breath but the men seemed to take no real notice of Kat, much to her relief. Shortly after Coal guided them out and Jade sat down exhausted.

"So that's how they do it." Kat said catching both Sable and Jade's instant attention.
"Do what?"
"Detect magic. The little one of the two was using magic to find magic."
"Your kidding?"
"Not at all, we do so in our world sometimes. It's fairly simple to do actually."
"Interesting. Very interesting."