Early in the morning we set out again, this time to the mall of all places, to the store I probably would have least suspected four short years ago. 

The Bank of Fluff. Our local do-it-yourself stuffed animal store. 

Sure, their front business was booming, but the secret normal folks didn't know was that the Bank of Fluff led a magical double life; this chain in particular was a dispensary of sorts. When you needed an alchemical boost and didn't want to grow it yourself, this was the place to go. 

I felt the familiar tingle of ambient magic as Laura wheeled me up to the opening. It was practically spilling out of the store as cheerful kids and adults wandered around the brightly lit space. It was almost captivating. 

I took over the wheels as we crossed the threshold, feeling like I had to gently extricate my chair from her grip as we took in the scenery. 

Before long a banker strode up to us, beaming their stereotypical customer service smile. 

"Welcome to the Bank of Fluff! What sort of fuzzy friend can we get started for you today?"

I grabbed my backpack from the back of my chair and rustled around until I found the script. I held it out to them and tried to will them to drop their customer service routine, but to no avail. 

"Oh, excellent! I am actually the foremost specialist in knot things here at our humble store and I so look forward to helping you today!"

I struggled to keep my expression blank as Laura thanked them. 

"Cool. So are they in a back room or something?"

"Of course not! The first step is always choosing the shape of your little knot thing!"

I looked from the enthusiastic banker to the row of bins along the side of the store. 

"You're kidding."

"I certainly am not!"

I groaned more to myself than anyone as I rolled over to survey my choices. I didn't bother hiding my chagrin as I looked them over. Countless bears, far too obvious. A turtle, too green. Nothing remotely humanoid in sight, because of course not. 

"Do you have nothing human-shaped?" 

My already miniscule hope was shattered as they launched into a spiel of what they did have as well as their recommendations, so I tuned them out. 

Laura grabbed a mermaid bear, holding it up and considering it. 

"No. Absolutely not." 

She blinked and stared at me blankly for a moment.

"I'm not going to be bound to the form of a mermaid bear for any stretch of time," I clarified and she laughed.

"No, silly, this is for me. I want a new bear."

I groaned as she continued to browse and I begrudgingly followed suit. 

After a couple laps of the display section, I was at the end of my rope. Everything was fuzzy, cutesy, and not remotely me. 

"Whatever." I grabbed one of the dragons at random and held it up to the banker. 

They bit their lip and gingerly accepted the fabric shell. They hesitated for a moment before falling back into their rhythm. 

"Next you choose your furry friend's heart!"

I was about to fish around in the box of fabric hearts with Laura when they held out a small box to me. It was surprisingly ornate given the setting and weighty to match. 

Inside there was an assortment of tokens that seemed to thrum with power. I sifted them gently, savoring the feel of each one in turn before finding one that resonated just right. As I grabbed it, the box nearly snapped shut on my fingers. The banker took the box back and locked it in a cupboard under the fabric heart basin. 

I wanted to act offended, but I could understand the security measure. These tokens were spitting some serious power; I estimated one alone probably made up a week's harvest for the store. The whole box was practically priceless. I clenched the heart in my hand, willing myself not to draw the slightest scrap of power from it lest I compromise the knot thing somehow. 

"Now it's time for the heart ceremony." 

"Seriously?" I'd watched this so-called heart ceremony on one of my laps around the store earlier. Sure it was probably fun for seven year olds, but for twenty-seven year olds such as myself It looked a little odd. 

"Totally serious." They beamed down at me and I had to wonder if there was some sadistic streak in them eager to watch me suffer. 

"First you rub it on your head so they will be wise."

I watched as Laura enthusiastically rubbed the top of her head and begrudgingly followed suit. 

"Then on your tummy so they never go hungry."

I grimaced as the heart grew hot in my hand, somewhat dispelling my doubts but not putting me remotely at ease. 

"Then on your back so they'll always have your back."

I had to switch hands because it felt like my palm was steaming. 

"And lastly, hold it to your heart so they will always be warm." 

I stifled a yelp of pain as the stone touched my chest, causing Laura to look at me in alarm, but as rapidly as it had set on, the heart cooled in my hand.

"Very good. Now for stuffing!" They walked on as if nothing had really happened and fired up an ordinary looking cotton stuffing machine. On a closer look, though, I could see tells of magic. Siphoning runes lined the filler nozzle linking the bear to some unseen part of the machine, presumably whatever heart or hearts they were charging up today. 

Laura went first, requesting hers be less firm and more cuddleable. I was about to request mine be extra firm as a joke when they went to work unbidden. I watched as they flipped a switch they had left untouched before and there was an unearthly hum as the stuffing began. 

“What --”

They cut me off before I could get another word out.

“Shh,'' they murmured, apparently focusing very intently on what was otherwise outwardly a very normal bear stuffing procedure. After a quick look around, they yanked the dragon off the nozzle, revealing the glittering gold wool inside. They snatched the heart out of my hand, stuffed it inside and pulled the drawstring to close everything up. 

“I'm sorry we don't offer voice boxes with your particular model. Are you ready to pick out clothes?”

Laura and I shared a look. She didn't seem nearly as surprised as I was, but I began to wonder how much this prescription knot thing would cost.

I let her wheel me over to the clothes section. I almost grabbed the ballet outfit before I remembered with a flash of embarrassment that I would be effectively wearing whatever I picked out. Instead I found some jeans and a little tee shirt as well as a hoodie for good measure. I figured I'd miss that safety net while I was all small and stuff. 

Clothes in hand, we made our way to checkout, where the banker took the script and rang up our total. 

“Ninety eight dollars and ninety six cents, please.” Before I could even react Laura held out her card.

“That's for both?”

They nodded. “And the clothes, yes.”

I shrugged. “Okay.” I didn’t know how they parted with a heart and that much gold for so little, but they were already answering my unspoken question.

“We file it on insurance, of course. It's a prescription, after all.” They winked at me and I decided I'd just roll with it for now.

“Have a wonderful day and come back to see us soon.”