Lian would have to wait until nightfall. If she went out now, it would be extremely likely for people to spot her, which would not end well for her. But how would she pass the time? Her hands were too big for playing video games, both on the console and on the computer, and she would have a lot of trouble with her phone and her books. She wouldn’t be able to use the remote for her TV—
Wait, she could watch TV, but she would probably be stuck on one channel. If it was on a channel she doesn’t like, then she would have to tolerate it for the time being.
After getting several liters of soda out of the fridge, Lian returned to her room. She sat down on her bed, placed her drinks nearby, carefully pressed the power button on her TV, and leaned on her side. Much to her relief, it was her favorite channel and in the middle of an episode of a pretty good show.
With everything that happened in less than a day, it felt nice doing nothing. It almost felt… human.
*****
Blissful hours passed, and she had chugged down all the bottles. Lian was surprised that when she burped, she hadn’t spewed fire, nor did she notice any other changes to her body. She sluggishly stood up, turned her TV off, and looked out the window through the curtain. It was nighttime already, and nobody was out wandering in the street. She wondered how inconspicuous she had to be.
She left the room, then left her house through the door in the garage to her backyard. Her feet now on the wet, cool grass, she readied herself for flight as her wings spread. The sheer force from these huge wings had knocked over a shovel leaning on the wall nearby. Her whole body quaked because she was nervous. It would be her first time taking flight… as a dragon.
“Okay… you can do this, Lian,” she told herself after taking a few deep breaths.
Her wings flapped and she took flight, shooting upward until she was high enough o barely see her house. She couldn’t help but muster an astonished laugh. It was like she had years of experience doing this somehow.
She turned and flew toward the city below and descended, zipping toward one of the buildings nearby. She landed in a dark, empty alleyway, stumbling a few steps forward.
“Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing,” she quipped.
Stepping out, she gasped, her eyes widening at what she saw.
The well-lit streets were filled with colorful decorations and people, all dressed in costumes of various animals, real and mythological. As she stepped out of the alleyway, she noticed that no one reacted to her.
Oh, this is a furry convention, she realized. A bit unusual for it to be out in the streets, though.
However, someone in a skintight wolf fursuit passed her by, her tail wagging as a brief burst of laughter escaped her muzzle. This gave Lian some pause. “What the fuck?” she muttered as she searched for the vendor and his market stand. What was even going on?
Eventually, she found it. The smell of cooked meat lingered in the air as she approached the vendor, who was happily humming to himself while making a meal on the barbecue. Only that the man resembled an anthropomorphic lizard with his tail wagging behind him in rhythm. He noticed her when her heavy footsteps caused the other utensils to shake. He turned around with a smile on his snout.
“Hello there!” he spoke in a strange accent. “Glad you’ve arrived in time!”
Lian stared back at him in confusion. “What…? Where’s the guy who gave me the kebab?”
“You’re looking at him.” He patted his chest before looking up and down at her. “Wow, how you have grown, but I don’t think you’re done changing yet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell you what. Let’s have a deal.” The lizardman leaned in, his muscular arm resting on the stand. “Why don’t you try having another kebab and I can tell you more about this festival and your… condition. Savvy?”
“But can I, um…?” she tried to ask.
“Be human again?” the vendor finished. He chuckled. “Only if you agree to the deal. What say you?”