"Why are we here again?" Kith stood in the middle of the fitting room while Nankojiva browsed through differnet outfits.

Because, she flicked aside a pair of flimsy gloves with her tail, do you think I'd let you fight with me like that?

Kith glanced down at his street clothes. Honestly, he didn't think it was that bad. They weren't exactly designer clothes, but at least they weren't rags. And he thought that they matched rather well.

I'm not criticizing you fashion sense, which could be worked on a tad, but really isn't too bad. I told you, if you're fighting, you need to be protected.

"So like this?" He held up a chain mail shirt.

Nankojiva snorted. Not so obvious. She tossed him a pair of gloves.

"Gloves? But it's the middle of summer."

Look at them closely. They're not just gloves.

Kith examined them closely. "Sorry, I don't see anything."

She sighed. Well, I suppose you can't tell because you've never seen them before. They're Handle-Anything Gloves.

Kith's eyes lit up. "So I can do things like hold fire and ice?"

That's the idea.

"Wow."

Now for the rest... She began nosing through a pile of garments.

"Hey, Nankojiva," Kith said.

Yes?

"Where are we?" She had led him to this place--a seemingly abandoned old warehouse. Inside there were piles of strange things--some ordinary, some extravagant, and some seemingly ordinary but not.

That's my secret.