The small store was quiet as Derek and Sonya entered the shop. They glanced around and saw that many of the shelves were completely bare.
"Not much to choose from," Sonya said, dismayed. "And I was hoping we'd find some really interesting stuff here."
"I'm sure there's something we can find," Derek reassured her. "If this store is what we think it is, everything in here does something related to transformation."
"Hey, look at this." Sonya brought Derek into an almost empty aisle with a few animal care accessories. Among the occasional fur brush and leash, there was one single black leather collar. It had a red ruby fixed inside a gold setting in its center, and a gold buckle.
Sonya looked longingly at the collar then she looked at Derek with sneaky look in her eyes...but he wasn't looking in her direction. Grabbing the collar, she walked over to Derek.
"I see you found something you like" she said.
"Yeah: this mermaid costume" said Derek. He pointed to a fishtail hanging along the aisle.
"And just who were you thinking of as a mermaid?" asked Sonya.