Plans? Who Needs One! Improvise It, Baby!

The food left by Ms. June is forgotten as I pace the length of the wall by the window. I need to do something to prevent Val and Yancy’s date from getting ruined! However, Val’s finished getting ready; his hair pulled back in a low ponytail, a black hat and mask giving his face enough cover to make it hard to recognize him. With his hair pulled back, a couple of piercings on his ears become visible. A white shirt with a large, hooded jacket unzipped dresses him, along with a regular-looking pair of jeans and sneakers. I didn’t know he even owned stuff like that. He has piercings? Looks good… But I’m basically out of time!

He tugs on a backpack as a knock at the door arrives. When it’s opened, Yancy shyly pokes her head in. She smiles when she sees Val.

”Ah, you’re ready.” She says. “You look good.”

”As do you, Ms. Yancy.” He gives her a smirk, which he’s right. Her long hair is tied back in twin braids, and the outfit she’s wearing is simple, but cute and cozy. A brown, ruffled top under a tan sweater decorated with embroidered flowers and a muted, long green skirt with a similar flower pattern. A pair of brown boots poke out from under the skirt, and she grips a very large, brown bag over her shoulder.

”Then, I suppose we should go.” Val says, looking back to me and smiling. “Be a good kitty!” He steps out of the room, before pausing and looking back to Yancy when she doesn’t follow. “…are you coming?”

”Oh!” Yancy flinches, clearing her throat. “Yes, in a minute, Ms. June asked me to do something for Princess before I leave. You go on ahead, this will only take a moment.” She gives him a smile, and he nods.

”Sure, I’ll be waiting.” He responds, walking down the hall. Yancy softly closes the door before walking over to me and kneeling down.

”…Hahh, I’m so nervous, Princess!” She covers her face, pushing her glasses up to cover her eyes. “I’m doing my best to keep it together, but I can’t stop my heart from pounding. I want to keep my promise to you so much, it’s making me scared of messing it up. With His Highness? Hahhhhh… What do I do?!”

I look from her hidden face down to her bag, which now rests on the ground. Quickly making a decision, I examine the bag, determining it is perfectly cat size, and crawling into said bag. The sudden motion startles Yancy, causing her to fall on her butt before recovering to sit on her knees.

”P-Princess? You want to come with?” She opens her bag, locking eyes with me. I meow at her, blinking as she stares. She shifts uncomfortably, looking around the room, until she nods.

”I… I think it’s possible… Just be really, really still and quiet, okay? Let me… stop by my room quickly, I’ll grab some stuff to hide you.”

Yancy gathers her bag, slipping out of Val’s room and skittering down the hall, only taking a brief detour to her room. Some sort of fabric or blanket is placed over my body, concealing me completely from the outside world. The bag jiggles around, me doing my best not to let my head get hit by any of her random items inside or by her hip.

”There you are! Ready?” I hear Val ask, and Yancy huffs a small laugh.

”Y-Yes, let’s go!” She responds, and they climb into a car of some kind before it takes off.

The pair engage in idle chat as they ride towards their destination; things they hope to see, what they want to get, authors they’d like to meet that will be there, those kinds of things. Of course, Val wants to meet all the authors I like. I couldn’t be more proud, I raised him right!

The car stops and the pair climb out. They walk a little bit before stopping. I can hear people talking all around; it’s easy to tell without seeing that it’s pretty crowded. They wait for a minute before Val talks.

”Sorry, Yancy. A friend told me to wait around here, so…”

”Oh-! No, all is well! They aren’t here yet it seems, then.”

”No, not quite, he said he’ll be here soon.”

”Okay! Um, then I will go inside and grab something to drink, I think!”

”Sure, I’ll come in after he gets here.”

I can feel Yancy shuffle away, the atmosphere changing as she enters the cafe with all the smells of coffee and food hitting my senses. It doesn’t last very long, as the sounds of the cafe fade and I hear a door open and close with a soft click! A lock is pressed, and shortly after the bag is placed on the ground and the cloth over my head is lifted. The first thing I see is Yancy’s worried face, and the next thing I see when I poke my head out is that we’re in a one stall bathroom.

”S-Sorry, Princess! I wanted to check how you were doing. You’re not getting smushed, are you? I’m… a bit worried that I shouldn’t have brought you… what if His Highness finds out…?”

After a closer look, the fabric in Yancy’s hand isn’t just a blanket. It’s what looks like a long sundress. Twitching my nose, I also make note that Yancy is now wearing a sun hat she had not been wearing before. I think I know what’s on her mind.

I give her a meow, leaping out of the bag and sitting up on my hind legs, holding my paws out. She blinks, thinking for a second, before gasping.

”O-Oh! Uh, d-do you want me to do that… spell again?” Another meow seems to convince her, and she nods, reaching out to take my paws into her hands.

”Ok, sit still. Mage Lucas… gave me a tip, I’ll try it this time.”

Once again, she begins to mumble words I don’t quite understand, and I feel my body grow gradually. A bright light emanates from my body until it is human sized, and a shiver runs down my spine, eyes opening to see hands where my paws once were, me now crouching on the floor with human legs. I give them an experimental flex before standing up, putting my hands on my hips and grinning down at her.

”Looks like you came prepared.” I say, holding my hand out for the dress draped over her arm. She flusters, holding out the dress as an offering.

”I-I wasn’t sure if you wanted to follow me because you wanted the spell again or not! So I figured, better safe than sorry…”

I slip the dress on over my head, two cat ears popping out as I shake my hair free. The dress is long enough to reach my ankles with a built in petticoat; it’s perfect for hiding my tail. I can’t help but wonder if she bought this specifically for me. I’m a lot taller than she is. Yancy reaches up and places the sun hat over my ears and onto my head, smiling before lowering her gaze and frowning again.

”Oh, I forgot a coat… Here, take my sweater. I’m wearing long sleeves underneath.”

She quickly removes her sweater and places it over my shoulder, now turning back to her bag and moving through her belongings.

”Thanks.” I say, frowning. “Well, if it means anything, I wasn’t really planning on tagging along in the first place. Things changed though, so I had to improvise.”

”Huh? What do you mean?” Yancy asks, pulling out a pair of flats and placing them on the floor in front of me. She stands back up as I slip them on. “Did something happen to His Highness?”

”Sort of. Y’know how he’s waiting for a friend right now?” I glance up, seeing her nod before continuing. “Well, that friend is Marius Lias. That guy is here because his sister is here somewhere. He phrased it like he wants to run interference with his sister, but why follow Val around instead of his sister if that’s what he wants?” With a tap of my foot, the shoes are comfortably on, and I place my hands on my hips and lock eyes with Yancy. “I came because I don’t want Marius to ruin your day with Val, and I don’t want Janice getting anywhere near either of you! The plan is that I’m going to do what I can to drag Marius away from both of you and play bodyguard!”

”O-Oh my! Lady Janice is here?!” Yancy gasps, far more alarmed at that than the possibility of her date being interrupted by a third wheel. “We can’t let that girl near His Highness!”

”Exactly! Even though I can only protect you for an hour, I’ll make good use of that time!”

”About that,” Yancy interrupts. “I think the time should be longer now. I’m not fully sure how long, but I think two hours minimum! There’s extra time. You should be able to tell when you’re about to transform back.”

”Really?” My ears perk under the hat. “That’s handy! That’s what you learned from Mage Lucas?”

”Yes. I’ve been working to extend the time of it…. Though you’re the only animal that it’s worked for so long with. I’m not sure why I can’t get others to stay for an hour like I did for you…”

”Well, I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth! Let’s go, Val and probably Marius will be waiting!”

Yancy nods and leads the way out of the bathroom. She shuffles between people, reaching the exit, grabbing my hand so I don’t get lost in the crowd. When we arrive outside, I immediately spot Val standing with Marius, who’s smiling as Val talks to him.

Ugh. I’m trying not to get annoyed by the boy. I just can’t shake the sour first impression.

”I’m back!” Yancy announces, pulling me along with her. “I-I ran into my friend in the cafe! Isn’t that funny?”

Val and Marius turn to look at us, the pair taking in the sudden appearance of a fourth party member. Val doesn’t seem to care, though, because he offers me a genuine smile.

”Nice to see you again. What did you say your name was, again?”

”It’s Lana, Your Highness.” I return his smile— mine might be faker, as I need to pretend a bit. Val gives a nervous laugh as he looks around.

”I’m trying to keep a low profile, so for today, you can drop any formalities and just call me Val. Both of you. We’re just… a group of friends today, okay?”

”O-Okay!” Yancy agrees immediately. “Th-then what should I call…?”

Marius tilts his head as Yancy turns to face him. He’s in a similar get up to Val, only replacing a cap with a beanie and his clothes are slightly edgier… black and red seem to be his favorite colors.

”Just call me Marius. It’s Yancy, right? Val told me about you.”

”H-He has? I’m honored, haha.”

Marius looks at me, and by god I’m doing my best to keep a straight face. He just gives me a nod as to acknowledge my presence before turning back to Val, not giving me a single word of greeting. Oh how badly I want to chew out this kid! This just reinforces my goal to make sure he doesn’t further ruin Val and Yancy’s date!

”Well, shall we?” Val asks, readjusting his mask over his face before beginning to walk outside towards the crowd. Naturally, the group follows him, Yancy taking bigger strides to walk next to Val and take the lead.