Alec turned to check on his body before he did anything else, to make sure it was okay after possessing another body for such a prolonged time, and what he saw was quite alarming. He rushed over to it while exclaiming, "Oh no! My body!"
Sure, he hadn't exactly been an impressive specimen of a man, but it was his body! Well, it was technically a copy, seeing as god had wrecked the original, but still! Now his body was a perfect copy of the nekomata, which, despite the great stats, was neither male nor human. Which were definitely deal-breakers! There was no question in his mind about it! Nope!
He heard Vivian step up behind him. "So your real body changes to match the one you possess after a certain amount of time, huh?"
Alec covered his face with his paws and groaned, "I can't believe this happened..."
"Yeah, that's great, right?" Vivian remarked.
Looking up and over his shoulder, Alec regarded her as if she were crazy. "How is this great? I'm gone!"
"Well, sure," Vivian granted patiently. "But think about it: now that you know that this can happen, you can choose who you want to be."
Alec opened his mouth, ready to argue, when the logic of her words finally registered, whereupon his mouth shut and his eyes widened with realization. Of course! While he was still mightily attached to his body, a lot about his identity had become moot when he had been taken from his world of birth. He hardly knew anyone on this new world, much less well, so it might actually be worth becoming a new man. It might end up being tough to find someone with both looks and stats that he would love to have, in addition to being young enough, but surely the quest would all be worth it. Heck, maybe the special skill that god had saddled him with had be meant for this all along, which might explain his abysmal stat spread that he had started with.
Brimming with optimism, something that he had been short of as of late, he told her, "You're right!" Then he realized some more good news. "Wait! That means I don't have to gather anything for the wizard, or need to pay anything to fix my problem!"
Looking a little worried, Vivian asked, "You're not going to bail on me, are you?"
Eyes widening again, Alec turned to face her and held up his paws in a placating manner. "No, of course not! I wouldn't abandon you like that!"
"Sorry," Vivian replied abashedly, as she rubbed an arm insecurely. "It's just... I really don't want the curse to finish its job..."
Nodding his understanding, he turned back to his changed body and pondered what to do. It would have been a risk leaving it anywhere while they were occupied with the witch, but now he could prevent that risk and still be a nekomata. However, that meant that the nekomata that he was in control of would be set loose, which was also a risk. A risk that he had confirmed when he had found Vivian's scent offensive to... his borrowed... nose...
"Hold on," he thought, and sniffed the air again. "Her scent barely stinks to me now. It's actually beginning to smell appealing. Maybe..."
"Hey, Vivian?" He said, to get her attention, who had returned to completing her preparations to head out. "I think I can return to my body now."
Vivian looked between him and his changed body with some reservation. "Are you sure?"
"Not completely," Alec admitted, "but I don't like the idea of leaving my body unattended. She might not be interested in you now, after you've changed this much. Even if that's not the case, though, I'll be between you and should be able to hold her off long enough to possess her again."
"I guess it's worth a try," Vivian acquiesced. "If it works, you won't be worrying about your body while we deal with the witch."
With that decided, he moved to the other side of his body, then positioned it so he wouldn't be at a disadvantage if the nekomata was hostile and attacked immediately. When he was finished, he looked down at his body and said, "Possess."
He quickly sat up and shifted into a crouch while the nekomata got her bearings. Once she recovered, the new environment, sights, sounds and smells clearly had her bewildered and wary. Eventually, her gaze fell upon him and she leaned forward to take several deliberate sniffs.
"...Sister?" She enunciated like someone who was learning the word, her confusion quite apparent.
Not knowing what else to do, he raised a paw in greeting and nervously said, "Hi?"
Unexpectedly, that seemed to perk the nekomata up, who smiled and nuzzled her cheek against his, then repeated the gesture on the other side. She was purring by the time she pulled back, and still smiling. "Where you forever?"
A bit taken aback by the nuzzling, since his instincts were now screaming the opinion that she was a fellow nekomata who was close, safe and trustworthy, it took him a moment to return the gesture and formulate a response. "Sorry, uh... Was lost?"
That appeared to be understandable enough for the simple-minded nekomata, who joyfully threw her paws into the air and exclaimed, "Found now!"
She then saddled up next to him and proceeded to groom him with her tongue, which should have felt weird or embarrassing, but was calming and endearing. Oddly enough, happiness began to well up inside of him, along with a case of the purrs, from being cared for like this. He felt connected to her in a way that he hadn't felt with anyone else in a long time, but he couldn't remember who or when that was. Perhaps it had been his mother, before and just after the time his brain learned how to store memories well.
"That's just so adorable..." Vivian remarked from behind them, who — by the sound of it — probably wished that she could memorialize the moment.
While embarrassing to hear that, Alec was more worried about the nekomata's reaction. Strangely enough, aside from a twitch of her ears, she didn't pay Vivian any mind. Maybe she really didn't smell any competition anymore. Or... Perhaps she was taking her cue from him? Either way, it meant that he didn't have to worry and he could enjoy this strange event in his new and further-changed life. By the time she finished, he didn't even think twice about returning the favor, although he tried to rationalize that he was keeping up appearances and didn't want to give the nekomata a reason to become hostile.
When he finished grooming his "sister", she tilted her head and queried, "Home come?"
He shook his head and tried to explain why he couldn't as simply as he could. "Hunting witch."
"Witch!" She hissed, her hackles rising as she rose up onto her paws. "Bad!" That appeared to not be an adequate expression of her opinion, but all she could come up with after wrestling for something more was, "Bad!"
"Must hunt," he told her.
He didn't know what to expect from her, because he had enough trouble knowing why humans did things, but despite looking concerned for who she thought was a long-lost sister, she gave him a nuzzle and softly said, "Me wait."
Touched by that, his return nuzzle came belatedly, then he focused on his own preparations before setting out to deal with the witch. The nekomata mostly crouched in place and watched curiously, but was happy to share some water and breakfast when the time came for it.
Before he set out, he took out his adventurer's card and looked it over out of curiosity, to see if there were any changes.
Name: Alec Hansen
Age: 18
Race: Nekomata
Nationality: Unregistered
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Health: 300
Mana: 100
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Statistics
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Strength: A
Magic: F
Stamina: B
Will: C
Constitution: B
Psyche: D
Dexterity: A
Intelligence: D
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Skills
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Special: Possession
Passive: Catnap | Uncanny Reflexes | Purrfect Time
Active: Rend | Sprint | Pounce
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Information
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Catnap: Easier to fall asleep in unusual places, and benefit more from sleep even if it's short. Gives an extra boost to stamina and will recovery, and can cure some minor constitution conditions.
Uncanny Reflexes: With great speed comes the need for great control, drastically reducing mistakes and improving overall performance.
Purrfect Time: There are easy ways to reach a happy place with the help of another, or a fellow nekomata. Being in this state helps in will and wisdom recovery, cures some lingering will and wisdom conditions, and intelligence is increased during the brief, extra clarity of mind afterward.
Rend: An aura surrounds the claws, increasing their sharpness significantly and adding to their length for deeper penetration.
Sprint: Double speed for a few seconds. Repeated use can quickly have a negative impact on stamina.
Pounce: Jump ability is enhanced, along with aim, to kill prey before they realize anything's amiss. Ideal for ambushing lone targets; this commitment naturally makes one vulnerable while airborne.
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(Author's Note: I don't know how to make that yellow thing for this stuff, nor saw an option for it, so I hope no one minds me putting this explanation here.
I made some changes to the skills, now statistics. You can use them or leave them. If the former, this is what I cobbled together:
Strength and magic is basically your physical and magical power, mainly — but not exclusively — geared toward damage-dealing.
Stamina and will is how much abuse you can put your body and mind through. Like running that extra mile to safety, or focusing through pain.
Constitution and psyche is one's defense against physical and mental injuries or status effects. Like how much and long you bleed, or if or how long you get confused.
Dexterity and intelligence is how quick you can move your body or think your thoughts. Either getting to point A to point B sooner than later or dodging, or coming up with a plan in the nick of time.)