Oooh! Shelby is such a BA
Gotta admit, there was definitely some bamboozling that happened halfway through the story. I did not see that coming! I'd like to think the bear bartender kinda knew from the get-go what was gonna happen. Shelby has a reputation there, after all

Haha, Shelby is a BA! I'm glad my trickery worked out! I was hoping for some bamboozling. The bartender certainly knows what's up when Shelby takes too much interest in a stranger, and he knew she'd be back before too long to let him know the situation had been taken care of :)

Aha! Hence the free mug of ale and her little nickname?
I am curious to know what other adventures have lead her into the forest … 🤔 I’m sure she’s got quite the rap sheet!

so very well done... I normally don't do magic in what I do or read, but this was exceptionally done Shelby - and much enjoyed too.

Vix

Thank you very much Vix!

Also thank you for the fav!!

Also, I added "magic" as a keyword, and will start doing so for any stories that have magic in them.

Well, as long as the magic is used toward good I'm sure she'll be fine...
Unless an inquisition were to pull up then it's to the stake with her.

Definitely an intriguing read.

I mean it's uuuuuuuuuuuusually used for good, depends on your definition of good lol. I have been considering a story with witch hunters, could be interesting!

Thank you very much for the kind words!

Eh, I would define good as this.
Hehe, well if you require any info on such subjects feel free to ask me (IDK why, I just tend to know this stuff).

You're very much welcome, glad to do it whenever I can.

That would be a good type of magic!

This is a world with many different types of magic, and Shelby would really be referred to as an elementalist, which is why she doesn't care for being called a witch lol.

Magic and monsters are fun! And forest witch Shelby is amazing. The Creature seems to be some weird mimic maybe. I hope that letting it go free wasn't a bad decision that would mean more people dying because of its hostile nature.

And I liked how it was at the same time slice of life, but with some action. It was very nice and interesting to read and I was definitely curious what was Shelby's plan going to be.

Haha, thank you!! I didn't really give the creature an origin, though there are many mythological skin stealing creatures out there! in D&D (mimic relation), I think there's some kind of bog monster that steals your skin.

Shelby understands that it's hard to fault a creature for being what it is, however she also doesn't want the creature eating people in her neck of the woods lol.

Thank you again! Sometimes a little subterfuge and trickery are needed, and fun!

Yeah, I like to think the guy whose skin was stolen deserved it. Although the fact the creature tries to take Shelby’s pelt is kinda an argument against it being terribly choosy or ethical about where it gets its skins...

Hard to say! Does anybody deserve to have their skin stollen? Perhaps some, for sure!

I suppose some creatures do try to stay morally in the right, even when they need to wear other creatures skin to survive, and perhaps good will have a change of heart going forward!

Shelby's such a tease and I really thought we were going to hear about a night of romance for a minute there.

"you're some kind of monster..."
Hmm... Nope, I'm not seeing it. Shelby seems like a perfectly normal cat to me.

Hehe! I'm pleased my trickery got a few people, or you are all being nice and saying so lol. Either way, this story was great fun to write. Perfectly normal cat, nothing to see here!

Thank you so much for the fav as well FtD!!

It did take me a bit to know what was going on. Shelby definitely doesn't seem that outwardly flirtatious so I knew it was an act. An act to what end? That I didn't know at first.

Frankly, I'm not sure I'd even give a creature like that a chance to live. Far too dangerous.

Shelby is generally not flirtatious, though I suppose there could always be certain circumstances lol. Glad I half fooled you!

Yeah but then you need to figure out how to kill it, if it even can be killed... it's a lot of work lol

Well he, it, definitely met his match! As others have said I'm surprised she let it go, but I suppose as you say it might be difficult to actually kill.

Sometimes it's just easier to say, leave and don't come back, especially with mythical and magical creatures! If she felt she had to, she would have found a way lol.

Thank you very much, and thank you for the fav!!

Ah I see, and y/w!