Mara had thought that it would take some time and effort to wrap up the details of her mundane life before starting this adventure. It turned out that her life was depressingly simply. It only took one call to Stephanie to settle pretty much all of her affairs.

"Hi Stephanie, I've got a small favour to ask."

"Sure thing Honey, just name it," Stephanie replied with her usual cheerful but slightly too high pitched voice. "Are you feeling any better? If you need to take some time off, just leave it to me. I can take care of it for you." Mara was stunned into silence for a moment.

"Wow, that was the exact favour I was going to ask. You are amazing, scary, but amazing." A high pitched giggle rang through the line.

"Heh, not sure how I feel about the scary, but you can call me amazing anytime." Stephanie said as she continued to laugh. "So how long do you need?"

"Hmm, I'm not really sure actually." Mara replied hesitantly having not even though about how long this adventure might last.

"Riiiighhhht. Everything's okay isn't it? You're not in any trouble are you?" Stephanie's voice was laced with concern.

"No, it’s nothing like that." Mara laughed off the accusation. "I've just been feeling a bit lost. I need a bit of me time, you know, reflect on my life and where it's going. Burn some incense and drink herbal teas, all that new age jazz." Mara could hardly tell her the truth, but even as she lied she couldn't help but feel there was some truth to it.

"Okay Sweetie, as long as the new you will still sneak off to have hour long coffee breaks with me."

"Of course, you know I can never say no to coffee. Thanks for your help Steph, don't work too hard." Mara could still hear the sound of Stephanie's laughter as she hung up the phone.

Mara had expected to have to apply for sick leave and wait in a doctor's office for hours to fake an illness to get the time off, but apparently that was not necessary. With work so easily sorted all she had left to do was pack. But what did one pack for a detective adventure to the land of cats.

"Okay, so first impressions are super important and you are what you wear. I need the perfect detective outfit, like from an Agatha Christie novel." For a moment she thought about wearing a wax moustache but thought it might be a bit much, talking with an accent should suffice.

Digging through her wardrobe she found a flapper dress she had bought for a Gatsby party that she never attended and a cute little pin stripe jacket.

"Perfect... or purfect even." she said with a giggle but at a second look at herself in the mirror she sobered. There was a reason she had not gone to the Gatsby party and it was all too clear as she looked at her ridiculous reflection. The hem of the dress seemed too short as she tugged to lower it, and the deep red of the dress just made her look like a giant tomato.

With a long sigh she stripped off the dress and threw it into a corner. Instead she chose a pair of long pants and a t-shirt of dull, neutral colours. With her wardrobe sorted she now turned her attention to packing.

"So other essential items, powdered catnip, check. Fuzzy cat toy, hmm that might be in poor taste." She tossed the pink mouse toy over her shoulder and out the door. "Jumbo sized magnifying glass, check." She polished the glass until it shone before packing it carefully. "Okay, what else do I need? Oh, a notebook, how can I catch people in a lie if I don't write down everything they say. And miscellaneous others." To which Mara dumped the contents of her stationery drawer into the bag. "All that's left is to hydrate." Mara said as she slung her rather heavy bag over her shoulder and walked back into the lounge room. She was so focused on getting to the coffee that Mara, almost stood on Drake, who was purring with his body wrapped around the fuzzy mouse toy.

"Having fun?" Mara snickered as she stepped over him and Drake almost tripped her when he shot up in embarrassment.

"No, it was, I was just... Littering!" Drake stammered. "Yes litter, you should not throw things on the floor." Drake lectured and proceeded to drop the mouse in the bin. But Mara just continued to snicker.

"So you are packed already?" Drake said as he anxiously eyed her bag. "You can reconsider if you want, you don't have to do this." Drake mumbled as he stared at the floor.

"Wait," Mara snapped back and grabbed Drake. "Are you saying you don't want me to go? Don't you want to clear your name?" Mara questioned as her eyes grew wide. Those soft, pleading eyes were too much for Drake to resist.

Guess she won't change her mind, Drake thought with a sigh as his lips quirked into a slight smile.

"Well, if you are sure," Drake said as he turned his attention to an empty space on the wall. His whole body tensed. From his ears, pointed back and low, to the tip of his tail that twitched like a rattle snake.

In his mind he envisioned what the door would look like, a thick wooden frame holding a sturdy door made of the same dark wood. Rectangular panels were embossed into the wood and a simple round, brass handle finished the design. Keeping a clear image of the door focused in his mind, he set his will against reality.

For a long moment Drake had just stood there staring at the wall and Mara was starting to have doubts. Maybe this was all some elaborate hidden camera show and everyone was laughing at how gullible she was.

When a sudden light erupted in the room, like the flash from a camera, Mara was caught off guard and yelped in surprise as she blinded for a moment. She blinked her eyes furiously as spots danced around her vision.

For a moment she didn't see anything different until she realised there was a new door that was never there before.

"Woah, you really can make magic doors!" Mara jumped around the room in excitement. "Awesome! Open the door and let's go."

"Ahh, well you see, that is the problem." He said as he held up his paws. "Opening doors is kind of hard without hands."

"So wait, what now? How do we get the door open?"

"Well I may not have hands, but you do." Mara's mouth dropped open in response. "I create the doors but once they are made, anyone can open them." That was all Mara needed to hear. With her bag slung over her shoulder and Drake tucked under her arm, she turned the handle and stepped through.