7 Settling In

Finally escaping from the dining chamber, I headed straight for my room. I wanted a little peace to myself to get organized. Sitting there with a fork in front of my face didn't count. But there were so many people in this villa. Even now, two guards were trailing me. Having lived by myself for months before dying, I was feeling suffocated.

And yet another person came to intercept me. It was the head butler. He was looking truly haggard. There were tears in his robes and sticks in his hair. There was even a bloody paw scratch across his cheek; the blood wasn't even dry yet. In his hands was what looked like a rabbit foot ... if the foot was several times too large, maybe a fox or a cat. He presented me with the paw, "My lady, as requested."

I stared at him bewildered, not knowing what was going on, nor accepting the foot. The butler seemed to have expected this and pulled another foot from his pocket, "Perhaps this one is more to your tastes." The first one was a calico color and this one was jet black. I still had no clue what was going on and didn't move. The butler began to perspire. The silence was cutting into him more deeply than any words could. In a fit of nerves, he dug his hands deep into 2 pockets and pulled out dozens of rabbit feet.

"Please accept one, my lady," The butler begged, "If you are displeased, punish me, the other servants have families, please think of their wellbeing."

I suddenly felt a pang of guilt from the Zoey side of my persona. She was mischievous and bossy sure, but she didn't mean any harm. She didn't quite understand the consequences of firing several batches of servants in the past. Now that she had merged with me, she did.

While I was still lost in my thoughts, one of the guards behind me began bursting out in laughter. He was in the dining hall earlier, he knew I had reincarnated and figured I had completely forgotten about the task I set the servants to. It was my turn to give a reprimanding glare. Apparently, it ran in the family, the guard sobered up quickly. I turned back to the now confused butler, "I'll take them all, many thanks." I bowed politely, scooped them up, and handed them to the guard who laughed; he had pockets, but I didn't. As we departed, the butler continued to stand there in a daze, internally questioning his life.

Finally reaching my bed chamber, I left the guards at the door, after claiming my tiger-rabbit feet. Before I cleaned up I decided I play with the rabbit feet a bit. The servants had worked fast and already fashioned them into necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. I put one of them on and heard a *ding* from my system.

TIGER-RABBIT FOOT BRACELET (COMMON): LUK +2

LUK: 20 (44)

I struggled to remember where my stats got so ridiculously buffed, and then I looked out the window and saw a moon.

"Oh."

This is good stuff, I wonder if I can stack them, or if any of these are better than the others. After messing around for a bit, I discovered they couldn't stack. Most of the feet were +2 like the first one I tried, but a handful were +4, and one was +8. I kept the +8 foot, it was jet black with a purple spot attached to a charm bracelet of exceptionally good quality. The servant who crafted it went above and beyond. I even wondered if the +8 effect was due to the foot itself or because of the care the servant put into the final product.

There were enough of the +4 rabbit feet to give one to each of my family members with one to spare. I decided to give the extra +4 to the servant who crafted the +8 bracelet, and the +2s I'd have the head butler distribute them to the other servants, they could keep or sell them as they see fit.

Next, I decided to clean up before bed. Fortunately, they had basic plumbing. The toilet was still a stone box with a wooden seat, but it flushed, which was leagues better than the outhouse I was expecting. The bath required a bit of extra work though, It had a sluice for cold water and a drain, but hot water still required boiling in pots over a fire before being added to the tub. Fortunately, a maidservant anticipated my needs and was already boiling the water. She expertly filled the tub in just the right ratios to achieve the desired temperature, 1 degree cooler than the fires of Hell.

After bathing in my hell-bath, my skin still gleaming red, I approached my wardrobe and immediately noticed a problem, this world had no panties. It was fine for now, I had bloomers, which worked okay for wearing standard robes or nightgowns, but I'd have to go commando to wear a skirt or dress, a slip or under-gown would be the only protection against a wardrobe malfunction. I decided immediately to have my big sis help me to commission some panties from a local tailor. I also saw materials in the wardrobe that would be appropriate for leggings and decided to have some of those commissioned as well. Lastly, I'd need some active-wear robes and tunics. These didn't need special commission though as they already existed here, I just didn't have any.

I loathingly put on a pair of bloomers and a nightgown before attending to the last task of the night, testing the form of the hominid. Before I closed the wardrobe, I noticed a mirror. Curious about my own appearance I approached and was immediately enchanted. I would do anything for the little girl in front of me, even die for her. Wait she is me. That's right, everyone should be willing to serve and die for me. Whoa Zoey, calm down, stop being a narcissist. Such a forceful personality, it's definitely going to get me in trouble in the future.

Back on task, I focused on controlling my qi according to my ability. I didn't have many good targets, and none of them were child-sized, so I decided to select my sister. Slowly the image in the mirror changed from my enchanting face to the more reserved, but still charming face of my sister. A dwarf-sized version of my sister. The curves were all there as well, but they were all wrong because of my child-sized proportions. I instantly felt tired as my one and only qi point was expended. I resolved myself to never select a miss-sized target again, it didn't look quite right.

At that moment, the door opened, and my sister strode in before she stopped in shock at seeing a dwarf version of herself. I jumped and squeaked, before releasing my form and returning to my original appearance. At this rate, I'd have no secrets left.

A short time later. "So let me get this straight, you can change into anyone's appearance?" Vivi asked.

I nodded.

"That's just so ridiculous! And you haven't even started cultivating yet. How much of your qi does it cost?" She said exasperated.

"All of it," I replied.

"Well that's good, it would be insane if you could just use that whenever you want." She said. I decided not to enlighten her that it was just 1 qi and would essentially become free to use once I began cultivating.

"Hey, sis." I started.

"Yeah?" She said in a daze.

"Can you keep it a secret for me?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said, still in a daze.

"What did you come in here for anyway?" I was curious about what foiled my privacy.

"Oh!" She returned to her usual chipper self, "I thought you might still be upset and want a friend to sleep with. I mean, from what I understand, in the last few hours you died, reincarnated, and got interrogated. I would be terrified to sleep alone if I were you." She said while nervously poking her index fingers together

I quickly understood I wasn't the one in need of a sleeping companion, it was my sister, she was having an existential crisis. I quickly agreed. Before bed I let her pick out a tiger-rabbit foot. She picked out the sister paw to mine, it also was black with a purple spot, however instead of a bracelet, it was a necklace.

"You know these sell for a lot on the market. And if it has a better-than-average effect, like you say, then it would be a minor fortune. Granted there's no way to test that claim ..."

I squinted meanly at my sister.

"Okay, okay I won't sell it. I'll cherish it forever and ever!"

I nodded smugly. "Speaking of the market, I have a couple of ideas I want to share with you."

I shared my clothing ideas with her. She began praising me as a genius. I only got her to stop by admitting I copied them from the other world. Apparently, she didn't like bloomers or going commando either.

We spoke about this and that while we lay in bed, her hugging me from behind. I appreciated that she now spoke with me like an adult, I learned many things about this world that Zoey didn't know. We talked long into the night before falling asleep, I don't even know the last thing we talked about. My sister acted as the best heated, heavy blanket in the world and I couldn't continue resisting sleep.