You wander aimlessly about the mall, eyes flicking from shop to shop as you go, not truly taking in any of it. Remarkably little seemed to be going on in your mind, and you floated along, an almost skip working itself into your gait. The haze in your mind was only interrupted from time to time as your twintails tugged at your scalp pleasingly.
Just the funnest of ideas flitted through your brain as you walked! Candy, unicorns, the color pink of course, glitter, shoes, pedicures--
You froze as your mind got to the last one, and a couple of people had to quickly jump out of your path to avoid hitting you. You didn't even notice them do so, nor did you register when they walked off, grumbling in annoyance.
You were now staring resolutely down at your cute Mary Janes, or more accurately, at the socked toes you were now cutely wiggling inside of them. Pedicure! That's what you could use now, something to really glam up those plain toenails.
Your lavender eyes flicked up, looking at the stores around you with actual attention this time. As seemed to be the case with this magical mall, what you were looking for appeared to be nearby already. Funny.
Out of the corner of your eye you caught a glimpse of a store with a sign above it reading "Footcrafters".
Striding closer, you see a smaller sign by the door; "Pedicures, massages, cleanings, and resolings! Walk-ins welcome. Ask about our package deal!"
Even in your more bubbly mindset, the last word stuck out to you. Resolings? Did this place do shoes too?
Shrugging your shoulders, you walk inside, still with that girlish bounce in your step.
Pushing open the door, you gaze around. The place looked equal parts nail salon, massage parlor, and doctor's office. It went further back than you would have expected from the size of the entry doors. Behind the counter there appeared to be about twenty stations, curtains draping the entrance to each. The one nearest to the counter appeared empty, it had a comfy looking massage chair, with a moderately sized basin at the bottom. Behind that were all kind of beauty products and devices. Most other curtains were closed in front of their respective stations, and you heard various sounds coming from within them; chatting, splashing water, humming of electronic devices, and even what sounded suspiciously like moaning from one.
The meaning of the last sounds bounced straight off your more vacant mind as you smiled dreamily. Seemed to be the right kind of place!
"Miss?" said a voice near you, making you jump slightly. "Can I help you?"
You twisted your right foot nervously without noticing what you were doing. Turning, you look at the woman behind the counter. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and of Asian descent. She was wearing an outfit that was some kind of mixture of a maid's dress and a sexy nurse costume; a red dress with a white apron and frilly bows, ruffles, and other accents. Wherever a medical cross would normally go (if anything was normal about this combined outfit), instead there was symbol in the shape of a foot. She had cute brown, almond-shaped eyes, and was gazing expectantly at you.
It took you a second to realize she had just repeated her question to you, and a couple of seconds longer to remember why you were here.
"Oh!" you said, blinking your lavender eyes quickly as it came back to you. "I need a pedicure, my nails are just soooo boring right now!"
The girl behind the counter nodded, "We certainly provide that service here!" she said animatedly, her accent creeping through. "It is $40 for pedicure, but for just an extra $20 we throw in free massage and resole!"
"I'd love a massage," you say, flexing your feet unconsciously, "but these shoes are new, so can I skip the resole?"
"Resole not for shoes silly!" said the girl, rolling her eyes. "It's for your feet."
You stare at her without saying anything, still not understanding what she meant.
"Trust me," the girl said, giving you a mischievous wink, "You'll love it or get money back, okay?"
You brightened at that, a big smile on your face. "You mean it? For realsies?"
"Yes, yes." She said impatiently, batting your questions away with a wave of her left hand. In her right she held out a plastic card with the words 'full package' emblazoned on it. "Go to station 12. Leticia take care of you."
You grabbed the card, turned, and headed further into the parlor. Little numbered signs hung above the entrance to each station. You half-skipped along them until you reached number 12. You stepped inside.
Behind the expected massage chair, there was another chair with a girl sitting on it. She looked somewhat Hispanic, with tan skin and dark black hair. She was wearing an outfit similar to the girl at the counter, though this one had short, puffy sleeves that didn't go far past her shoulders. Her bare legs were propped up on a stool in front of her chair, and she was absent-mindedly scrolling through her cellphone.
She continued scrolling for a second before glancing up and hastily putting her phone on the counter behind her.
"Sorry" she said in a friendly voice, "it's been a slow afternoon. Welcome to Footcrafters! How can I service you today?"
You didn't say anything. You didn't even register that she had said anything in particular either. Instead, you were transfixed on the feet Leticia had propped up on the stool. She was barefoot, but more than that, her feet were a deep, royal blue. They were slightly longer than a girl like her might have, the balls of them a little wider, and dark blue claws capped each toe. On closer inspection, the blue coloration was the result of them being covered in soft, pebbly scales. The scales and their blue coloration traveled up the girl's soles and past her ankles, tapering off before they reached her knees. From there her normal tan skin took over, though anything above her knees was protected from view by her skirt and petticoats.
Leticia saw where your eyes were drawn to. "First time?" she said, smiling knowingly and revealing pointed teeth. She wiggled her clawed toes. "Just had one of the other girls do these yesterday, was about time, the paws I had were looking pretty scruffy."
She saw the card clutched in your dainty hand. "Full package huh?" She stood up, her feet remaining arched as though she was wearing invisible high heels, her claws clicking softly against the floor as she approached you. Up close you could see that her amber eyes had reptilian slits, and the very tips of pointed ears poked through her dark hair. She reached out, dark blue pointed nails clacking against the card as she took it from you.
"So what'll it be?" she said, glancing down at your Mary Janes. "Got all kinds of stuff I can do." She held her eyes on your feet a moment longer, a strange look darting across her face for the briefest second. Was that longing? She flitted her slitted gaze back up to you.
"Uhhhhmmmm" you said, a mixture of surprise and your new cloudy-headedness blending into a non-answer.
Leticia paid it no mind and turned away from you. By the edge of one entry curtain was a table with a booklet on it. The Latina girl with the dragon toes stepped gracefully over toward it. She first undid the rope holding the curtain open, closing it and giving you two some privacy. She then picked up the booklet and sauntered back over to you.
"Take a peek and let me know what you want...or you can always go with dealer's choice" she said with a smirk.
You tore your gaze from her and looked at the booklet. It had the same foot symbol on it that was on the store's uniforms. Popping it open, you flicked through the strangest catalogue you had ever seen. All kinds of feet were on display. From the mundane to the stylized, gigantic to miniscule, human to anything but that.
"Uhhhmmmm" you said again, stupidly. So many to choose from, you didn't know what to pick.