Julie aggressively searched for the hidden pocket he'd stashed his wand in, but she couldn't find it. The inside of the sleeve was completely smooth.
"Where is it?!" she growled as she pulled at the sleeve. His cufflinks popped off and she tore the fabric open. There was no sign of hidden pockets, the wand, or anything else.
"Get-- get off me!" Lupo shouted.
"Julie, stop!" Joy grabbed Julie's shoulders and tried to pull her away. "You're acting like a wild animal!"
A savage impulse thudded heavily against Julie's mind. For an instant, she imagined biting into Lupo's jugular vein. She gritted her teeth and grunted at the disturbing thought. It distracted her enough for Lupo to finally shove the feline lady away.
He shook out his arms and picked at his tattered coat and shirt sleeves with a frown. Julie huffed, standing between him and Joy defensively. Her sharp emerald eyes were fixed on him. She was starting to wish she had bitten him. Then they'd have all the time they needed to find where he was hiding the wand.
"Change me back!" Julie shouted.
"Please change her back! This is going too far!" Joy pleaded, circling around to stand next to her sister. Julie grimaced. What was Joy doing? She needed to stay behind her where it was safe.
Before Julie could step in front of Joy again, Lupo turned to the crowd, who had been shocked into silence. "My sincerest apologies for the fright, everyone. These side effects tend to happen when one is changed so radically into a beast. Don't worry. You're all safe. Dear Julie isn't leaving this stage until the show is over."
"Like hell I'm not!" Julie snapped. "This has gone far enough!"
"Joy, please step away," Lupo said carefully, extending a hand toward her. "Julie's going to be fine. We just need to keep her calm."
"Stay right here," Julie commanded. It definitely sounded like a command. Joy's head swiveled to look at her sister. She recognized Julie's bright green eyes, and the shape of her nose, but they were trapped behind a cage of black-on-orange stripes. She could barely see the rest of her sister's face underneath the thick, dark, tousled hair.
Julie saw how frightened Joy was. She parted her black lips. "Joy. It's me. I'm still me. Please stay and help me." She held out her hand.
Joy looked down at the white-furred palm. Her breathing slowed. "I-I've never seen you attack someone like that before."
"No one's ever tried turning me into a tiger before."
Joy nodded and Julie could almost hear a giggle. "I guess not," Joy conceded. "You're just so much different than me now. It's easy to look at you and believe that you act like a tiger, too."
Julie winced as another pulse barreled through her head. She shook her mane and growled. "Please stop saying stuff like that. I... I need you to believe that I'm just like you." She struggled to stay still. A fight-or-flight instinct was building in the back of her mind.
Joy looked at her quizzically. "O-okay." She reached out to take Julie's hand, but she had forgotten she was still clutching the deck of striped flash cards. One tumbled to the floor as she relaxed her grip. She glanced down at it. It landed word-side up. The text was large enough for her to read it. She froze.
Julie gasped. "No, Joy. Wait--!"