As she rested under the shade of a tent at the outpost, Moliira came to a realization.  There wasn't a place on Revaliir that she hated more than a desert.  If it had only been one thing or another, it wouldn't have been so unpleasant to her.  But between the sand that got into everything, the dryness that sapped her now mortal body, the lack of anything green, and the miserable heat that made her feel as if she would melt, Moliira swore to herself that she would never return to this place again.  At least not this area of it.  But there was a fight that she could participate in, and it was the only thing that she was certain she could handle anymore.

But as she relaxed for a few moments under the shade with a borrowed canteen of water from one of the outpost's attendants, Moliira wondered just what she would do once this fight was done.  Find another?  No, she was tired of fighting.  This was an exception, a threat that needed to be put down.  But after this threat was taken care of, she had absolutely no idea as to what she would do.  A small feline came up to her, and Moliira put a hand out for the creature to sniff.  After a moment, the stray cat decided that she was acceptable company, and perched on her leg.  The drow smiled slightly as she scratched the cat's ears and contemplated just where her path would lead her next.

"Salutations! You're back in one piece! So–did you get the thing?" The voice of a rather enthusiastic person was coming from a few meters away from the walls of the outpost. Some scouts had come back from patrolling the outer reaches of Aysut and had returned to finish their shift. The person speaking was a short girl in a white smock and over-sized hat who was grabbing at a large glass jar one of the patrols was holding. "Yeah, here's what we found in the outskirts. …Oh and that jar of beetles you wanted." Came the disgruntled voice as the little mage snatched the jar and small stone figurine from his hands. "Hehehehe~ You guys are great! Look at all of 'em, crawling around the sides and all over each other! Here's your payment!" The clink of coins exchanging hands was heard before they walked away. 

She had paid a few of the patrols to pick up any interesting things lying about Aysut while they were doing their rounds, offering them ten crescents per item. She then threw in an even better offer, saying she'd pay fifty for the first person to bring her back a jar of live scarab beetles from the place–the more the better. Artifacts were getting harder to come by with the passing days, and all the easy pickings were already gone by now. The rest was either hidden by the shifting sands or were in the pyramid.

"SUCCESS!! Oh she's going to love this when I give it to her, all wrapped up and ready to go!" Myouga cackled in glee as she ran down the street, holding her jar of scarabs above her head. As expected, the sea of people parted when they saw what was being carried inside the sealed glass container. She ran by the tents set up between the ramshackle buildings in the camp, then backpedaled when she caught sight of the cat sitting on the drow. The arcanist clutched her jar of insects tightly as she stared at the stray cat intensely, with a silly grin on her face. It definitely looked like she was scheming something–something mischievous from the glint in her eyes. She could use a bit of cat fur for that experiment she was planning on doing while Lise was working with the clerics…

The cat was almost pure white with a few orange marking and bright blue eyes, Moliira noted.  And it was decently fed, she couldn't see any ribs.  So the cat was used to people, and probably being fed on the scraps.  Perhaps a feline companion would be something to help ease her troubles, it was certainly something she could look into later.  But her thoughts were disturbed by someone running between the tents with a large jar over her head.  Full of scarabs.  A person who stopped, backed up, and was now staring in a rather uncomfortable manner at the cat sitting on her lap.  Moliira knew the look on her eyes, it did not mean anything good.

"Can I help you?  You certainly already seem to have your hands quite full with that jar," Moliira said, breaking the silence caused by the people watching the strange scene.  The cat seemed to sense what was going on, and crouched down on her lap.  The drow wasn't entirely sure if it was trying to hide or getting ready to run, but she kept a hand on the feline to try and make it feel safe.  The cat's ears flattened, and Moliira only gazed at the woman with mild curiosity.  Just what would anyone want with scarabs and a cat… 

The incredibly awkward silence was broken by the drow woman who was acting as the cat's resting spot. When she was asked to state her business, Myouga gave her business. "Hey…if that cat happens to…y'know get a hair ball–maybe you can let me know?" She was still grinning, but was trying to tone down her eccentricity. Myouga had realized that grabbing cats and demanding they shed their fur was not a useful option, so why not get their hair balls instead? It was the same thing, but less dry. "Or maybe not…it's ok." She then looked left and right with shifty eyes. Remembering that yes she did have a very fragile, dangerous jar of scarabs in her hands, the arcanist looked down and realized that the woman had a point. "Whoops! Lemme put that away so it doesn't break." Setting it down on the ground, she then procured a mirror. Putting the mirror on the ground, she then proceeded to shove the glass jar of writhing insects into said mirror.

When it was gone and on the other side, she pocketed the enchanted item and turned to the cat and drow again. Holding her hands out to the cat she said: "Hair ball, please!" She had no doubts that it understood what she was saying. The problem was more on her end, as she didn't speak cat. She wanted to learn and it was on her list of things to do, but this and that got in the way. Overall she just came off as being very enthusiastic, if not downright weird. Genuinely, honestly weird.

The only thing Moliira could do was raise an eyebrow, she couldn't imagine just how a cat's hairball would be of use to anyone.  But she did suppose that it might be better than any of the alternatives.  And she didn't like the look in the woman's eyes enough to let the cat loose around a person who looked like she might just reach down the cat's mouth to retrieve said hairball.  But the mention of the jar distracted her for a moment, and Moliira found herself intrigued for a moment by the mirror.  A thought formed in her head, a way they could all benefit from the situation. 

"Cats don't like taking orders, much less requests I've found.  They do as they wish," Moliira said, and that was the moment the feline chose to jump from her lap and stroll off into the outpost.  "But I have a proposal for you.  Tell me where you got that mirror, and I will help you get some cat's fur, and it won't even be too hard.  Deal?" Moliira asked.  She knew where there was a feral colony close by, it wouldn't be too hard to find enough fur for whatever this woman wanted there.  They would both benefit, and the felines would not be harmed.  It seemed like a good idea all around, at least in her mind.

"Huh? My mirror?" Myouga took a few seconds to think of what the drow woman was asking. Her train of thought quickly jumped towards how great of a sale this would be and resumed her grinning. "Oh those! Well you see, it's actually a set of two mirrors! I see you've got good taste in items–there's no doubt about it. Now these mirrors are an absolute must-have for anybody who's on the go. They're like pocket portals–trademark pending–like a gateway spell that's always open and ready to use! And here's the best part: they won't use your magic power! Some of the snazzy features on this little humdinger are relatively infinite range connecting one to the other, the ability to change size to fit even the most unwieldy of items, and shatter-proof material! You'll never have to worry about accidentally dropping it with the magic mirrors' sturdy construction and everlasting enchantment!" Having run through a typical salesman's spiel, she concluded with the piece of information that the woman had asked for.

"I can tell you're itching to get one of these, so I'll let you in on a secret~ There's a super secret shop that sells stuff like this all-year round in Nisshoki! They change out their stock four times a year, and they've always got the coolest knickknacks you can't find anywhere else! I'll give you a little hint so you can find it, here–" Pulling out a piece of paper she scribbled a list of directions on how to find the mysterious shop. "By the way, if you ever stop by there tell the owners I said hi!" Placing the parchment fragment into the drow woman's hand, she backed up and was beaming in expectation. She had been told that she would help her get enough cat fur, and this sounded much easier than stalking cats all day to wait for them to shed their coats.

The being before her certainly had a short attention span, and Moliira couldn't help but smile at the display.  Admittedly, she was highly intrigued by the mirror, even more so when the woman told her just exactly what the items were possible of doing.  That could be extremely useful to her, and Moliira was already making plans to find the mentioned shop.  But even better, her new acquaintance scribbled directions for her, which would make things so much easier.  "Thank you.  May I get your name, so I can tell them just who I am passing on greetings from?  My name is Moliira," she said, offering a half bow as she tucked away the piece of parchment into a belt pouch for safe keeping. 

Taking a final gulp of water from the canteen, Moliira squinted into the sky.  Even after all these decades of being on the surface, the bright light still stung her eyes.  It was a constant reminder of where she had come from.  But the sun was starting to set, and the cats in the colony would still be napping.  It was an ideal time to snatch some fur.  "Come, they will be slower now than in the night.  Cats prefer to nap in the day and hunt by night I've noticed.  I don't blame them, I do not like the heat," Moliira explained with a chuckle, then headed off at a casual saunter. 

The colony was large, she had to guess there were nearly three dozen adult cats, and a number of kittens as well.  Peering out over the broken wall, she remained down wind and at a distance so she wouldn't startle the cats.  "There.  How much fur do you need, anyway?" the drow asked, still curious as to how the fur would be used.  But if she could help her companion get it without harming the creatures, she figured it was better for all involved.

"Me? Why, I am the great and magnificent Myouga! Proud member of the faculty of Iria's famous mage college, traveler extraordinaire!" The arcanist struck a pose, as if the emphasize her self-introduction. Ending the theatrics, she continued. "Nice to meet you, Moliira! You're the second drow I've met in forever!" When her newfound acquaintance beckoned her to follow, the little mage was quick to keep up. She was skipping as her legs were much shorter than the drow's. "Ugh, yeah the heat's the worst! And it's so dry too. But at least you won't feel as nasty when you sweat… The sky being all green is also super annoying. Really messes with reading and experiments."

 Her eyes then grew wide as she was led to a massive congregation of the feline kind. Cats, cats–everywhere! It was cat heaven! She had to refrain from giggling to herself in glee. "Hehehe…there's so many! Think of all the hairballs!" Definitely not what most people thought when seeing a bunch of cats, but it was clear to see her train of thought. When asked how much fur she needed she answered succinctly. "I need two handfuls! As big as my fists! That should last me for at least…twenty trials! Which is plenty of trials if you want to test something. I'm not making live furballs, so a pinch goes a long way."

It was now becoming apparent that whoever she was, she had a lot of free time on her hands. Also that she had very questionable tastes and interests. Nevertheless, she was being very cooperative and wasn't running rampant now she had a goal. The small oni rubbed her hands together in anticipation, grinning as far as to expose her canines, slightly sharper than the average human's.

She made a careful mental note of the name and appearance, the eccentricities of Myouga would be quite memorable to anyone who had crossed her path.  And such mental notes could be useful later.  The mention of meeting another drow was curious, her kin often traveled together, so it had likely been another loner like herself.  "True.  But I would much prefer a forest where I sweat a little to this awful place.  And I'm sure my kin you met would think the same," Moliira said, gently trying to tease out more information about this other drow.  Myouga seemed to like to talk quite a bit, and the suggestion seemed to be as good of an idea as any.   Squinting up at the green sky, she had to agree with that point as well.  "Skies of any strange color throw off quite a few things.  I am a ranger by training, and I've not heard any of the normal birds here.  The cats however don't seem to care much," Moliira explained with a chuckle. 

It was entertaining to watch Myouga's expression change once they reached the colony, and Moliira figured she had made the right decision.  She only glanced at the exposed fangs, she had seen many beings with fangs, and it bothered her little anymore.  "I see.  Well, lets see what we can find for you.  I'm curious as to what you're testing that requires that amount of cat fur," Moliira said with a grin of her own.  Looking over the colony, she spotted something useful.  There were a few dried out coils of hair resting against a building only a few feet away.  "Would that do?  It looks like they've been there a few hours, I don't know how… fresh you need the hair to be," Moliira asked, trying to not chuckle.  How far she had fallen, helping someone get cat hair for experimentation.

"Hm…I dunno. Didn't chat with him much that time." She said casually, still mostly fixated on getting her reagent. The drow had better eyes than she did, and pointed out a few hairballs that had been left to bake in the blistering Harena sun. "Would that do? It looks like they've been there a few hours, I don't know how… fresh you need the hair to be," She was holding back a laugh, but Myouga didn't mind. Sure it was silly but that was the whole point! The best discoveries of the century didn't come by playing it safe, or without a little creativity. Spotting the hairballs in question, the arcanist shaded her eyes with a hand and then cackled. "Yes…yeeees… Perfect! That'll do. As long as it's hair from a cat then it's fine." She was about to march over and take the dried hairballs for herself, but then she got a better idea. Waving her hands, she began to make them levitate and pulled them towards her via telekinesis.

Grabbing at them before the spells wore off, she stuffed them into her pockets like a little gremlin. "Thanks a bunch Moliira! Now I can finally make that animated stuffed cat doll I've been wanting to try for ages!" Her train of thought dictated that since she wanted to make a living doll shaped like a cat, why not add real cat fur to enhance the authenticity? The only downside would be the allergies caused to those who were more sensitive. "Hrm…oh wait they're not going to sell aren't they? They'll make people sneeze. Maybe I can just fuse them with the fabric so they feel fuzzy?" The rest was mumbled to herself as she worked out the fine details of her next alchemical undertaking.