Phew, okay, firstly everyone should know I'm a jerk : p, I won this great contest from  Cobalt_Raccoon and it evolved into this big project, that he was very reasonable in helping my manage cost. We both had some issues here and there, but the length falls greatly with me. Course even now a lot's going on, but I REALLY wanted to get this out there. We even scripted this thing together, and besides being a cool comic, it'll have a small story from both our perspectives.

This will also be the first appearance of my magic shop. I haven't used this gimmick much, but I plan to keep it going strong, anyhow this story should be well enough, time to get rolling. Here we have the opening page, a rather lovely one I would see, though the peace shan't last long : p

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It was always relaxing when you were at a task. It was hard to call it work, oh yes, it took effort, concentration, and a lot of energy, at least if it was to be long-lasting quality. But when you're enjoying it, it at least wasn't a labor or anything of the sort. A young feline man was sitting at his workbench, pumping a green aura into a card. He was experimenting with hand signs, seeing what worked best. In the end, it hardly really mattered, but he had just seen Doctor Strange, and if it FELT right, it tended to yield better results.

That was the same of the object too, he worried it may perhaps be a bit hooky, using his namesake in the manner. But it honestly seemed more elegant than some type of control rod. The Enchanter knew as he was making the magical card, one that when set off, would help control a beast, a guard beast, one to be made of... raw materials.

Curses were fun after all, and while Clow wasn't malicious, (Though perhaps at least a little mischievous) he WAS opening a magic shop, his wares could be dangerous in the wrong paws, claw, and hands alike. The way he saw it, the smart thieves would know what they were getting into, and the honorable ones wouldn't take such a small mark such as his. In honesty, he rather liked the flashy thieves who treated the profession as a craft and felt pity for those in a situation that left them little choice. But there were others. He wasn't innocent of greed himself, but one had to protect what was his. And just like any dungeon, he could thin out the herd for quality.

It was always best when he had this time, these moments to really concentrate and craft something strong and long lasting. He was a bit worried about his... Contractor. Rusty seemed to be skilled, and Clow admired that, but this was a pretty strong curse. Still, if he came alone, he should change into a dragon of some sort, and Rusty had assured him he had certain immunities to mind alterations, so as long as he had time, he shouldn't have too much trouble with reversing it. Certainly better than having a little rampaging dragon around. He was a bit more worried if he had an entire troupe, that would more than likely result in some sort of hydra, and THAT would get complicated.

Still, he wasn't sure which he wanted to see more, his security curses best a talented rogue, or to see a truly skilled burglar in action, slinking and concurring every challenge. It made it reeaalllyyy tempting to go off dimension and steal something big and flashy from some crime syndicate. As dangerous as it was, how many people had the means to give something like that a shot? Not to mention, if he could find a mark suitable to his moral standings, it could be a cheap way to stock the shop.

He'd be sure to discuss has phantom thief dilutions this with Rusty at some point, he could see a very exciting and lucrative friendship with the raccoon, depending on how things went. Still, he was getting ahead of himself, as he often did finish the task at hand, see how it goes, and see what kind of relationships come of it. Though he would at least make sure to shop for a more stealthy outfit later, that couldn't hurt either way.

It was true, the soft opening was still even a bit of way off. He actually learned from his mother that a store could even open before it's GRAND opening. Perhaps Clow had given Rusty just a bit too much grandeur and hero worship, it was his way after all. The irony wasn't lost on him, that he was admiring flashy thieves as he tried to prevent being stolen from. Perhaps he had liked the escapades of Sly Cooper just a bit too much. Then again, it's not like he would zap, disintegrate, or otherwise harm anyone, that's more than you could say for SOME magical shop owners.

The cat himself was quite fond of Rusty, though he wouldn't be quite as presumptuous to call him a friend just yet, as much as he would like that. Mostly because it was a two-way street, and he could have self-esteem issues from time to time. Though as he pondered to some of the talks they had had, he could certainly relate to his hardships, his family relations weren't bad, but he felt a very deep, more familiar kinship with the family he adopted. Though he knew at least one sibling who he might be retroactively related too. Having a reality adjusting alter ego could get complicated for the two of them.

Still, he was glad to get this moving, now that he was bringing and storing stock here, certain precautions had to be made. This card was the strongest and most devastating trick he had, in a way, so getting it up and running would give him time to add smaller things. After all, he didn't really plan to make two of these, it was a bit draining, and he hoped the use of the first would negate the need for a second if all went well.