James and Martin stood opposite from each other as the other guests watched from the patio. The porch’s lighting wasn’t really suited to a late-night teenage fight club, but that didn’t seem to hinder the audience’s interest, much to Martin’s displeasure; with all these watching eyes, he couldn’t risk using his new shape-shifting abilities to their fullest without arousing suspicion. The fence around the backyard was least high enough to ensure the neighbors and Trick-or-Treater’s didn’t see any “costumed weirdos” fighting.
James made no effort at a fighting stance, feeling Martin would be no threat to him at all, though he did glare daggers at the Tanuki that would dare lay a hand on his treasure. Martin, meanwhile, was casually leaning back on his tail, looking utterly carefree.
Rosa stepped between the two, to act as a ‘referee.’ She smiled as she raised a hand, motioning for the guests to be quiet. “The battle for my attention is about to begin. On your left, an armored, fire-breathing behemoth, James. On your right, a tricky tanuki, Martin. Much as I’d love a good brawl, we do need to set some rules. Wouldn’t want to get blood all over these fine fursuits, would we?”
“I wouldn’t mind,” James muttered, bearing a claw.
“The fight ends when someone stays down for a count of ten, or when one of the fighter calls ‘uncle.’ No use of claws, no biting, and no punching below the belt, we’re not animals, after all.” Rosa suppressed a laugh, then continued in a quieter voice. “And I’m sure you two can both agree on one other, unspoken rule, right? Wouldn’t want this to end in screaming guests before we’ve had our fun with them, would we?”
Martin nodded eagerly, happy to keep playing by her rules. James rolled his eyes, but nodded anyway.
On the sidelines, Kacey was feeling much more irritated with her brother’s arrogant antics, (and Rosa’s egging them on), than her serene demeanor let on. While she knew they couldn’t help their new natures any more than she could, all of them could have at least had the presence of mind to realize they were risking so much attention over nothing. Still, she had no way of halting their foolish competition without making even more trouble, so for the moment, the best she could hope for was to quietly use whatever subtle magic she could to minimize the damage this fight could do.
“Would you like a drink, Madam?” A purple nekomata girl spoke in utter monotone.
And speaking of minimizing damage…
Kacey glanced at the cat, with a hint of sorrow in her face. “I do not require a drink, but-”
“Yeah, I’ll take a root beer,” interrupted a guy in a grey wolf suit, taking the nekomata’s attention off of the quiet, wistful unicorn.
Abby somehow picked up on the subtle disappointment… no, disgust, in Kacey’s face. “Something wrong?”
“I fear Rosa may have used her powers to rob those two feline girls of everything that truly matters. Their minds and souls are simply husks hollowed out to receive and obey whatever order is given them. No will, no desire, no memories.”
Abby’s eyes widened, flicking back to vixen trying to excite the crowd. Just what kind of twisted mind lay behind those bright eyes and fanged smile, to completely destroy a person like that? Sure, everyone changed by their costumes so far even Abby herself, had definitely not been quite the same person they’d entered the party as, but even if she suddenly felt comfortable being “naked” or more excited at the prospect of flight than worried about what others might have thought of her new form, than she had been an hour ago, she was still herself, right? She still loved her parents and little brother back home, she still had several shows she put off watching for weeks, but wanted to catch up with “eventually,” she still couldn’t help but feel a little nervous about next week’s pre-calc test, even if she knew in the back of her mind that even getting into school like this would be tricky… If Kacey was telling the truth, then these girls didn’t have any of that…
“We’ve gotta help them,” Abby whispered. “Is there anything we can do? Or will Rosa try to brainwash us too?”
“Those of us already changed are more resistant to her tricks,” Kacey noted, “but I seriously fear it may be too late for those two.” She shook her head. “If you wish, we can try to find some way to reach out for any echos of their former selves Rosa missed, or at least prevent them from being warped into something vile by the actions of the other guests here, but-”
Rosa’s voice rose from the yard. “Three! Two! One! Fight!”
“-But it seems I will be preoccupied with preventing my brother from interfering with the building magic in this place.”
James shrugged. “Let’s just hit the giant weak spot of yours, and get this over with.” He started off with a roundhouse kick to the lower portions of Martin’s apron, (Rosa only said no punching below the belt) only to wince as he was met with a loud, hollow, gong like sound, while Martin broke into laughing fits.
“Ah ha ha ha! Oh, ho ho! You really think someone who’d stand up to a dragon WOULDN’T have balls of steel?” The human guests laughed along with Martin.
Abby had no clue how to help the two cat girls, but maybe while Rosa was distracted, she could try to share her magic with another human to change them, like Kacey had done for her, and “immunize” them. Picking at random, she reached out and tapped a girl in a lion costume on the shoulder, trying to internally focus on the idea of magic (not entirely sure how it actually worked, here).
“Um, hey!” Abby said softly.
“Yeah, what is it?” The girl turned her head back toward Abby, one eye still trained on the fighting boys. “Nice costume by the way. Really realistic feathers, and hooves, and all that.”
Abby simply blurted out the first conversation starter that came to her head. “My name is Abby, what’s yours?”
“Miriam,” the girl replied. “So, were you just trying to learn my name, or is there something important you wanted to say?”
“Well… Um… I…” Abby suddenly realized she had no idea how Kacey had changed her, or how any of the others had been changed, either. “...I wanted to ask if you believe in magic?”
“In a young girl’s heart? Hah.” The girl quoted in a sing-song voice. “No, not really. Now, if you don’t mind, I wanna see what other tricks the kind of loon that’ll put a flamethrower in his suit will pull in a fight.” She turned back to the fight, not noticing that even in the cool air of an autumn night, her suit began to warm up.
‘Abby, you’re being so stupid!’ She berated herself. 'I should have asked Kacey about that when I had a chance.’ She looked back at the Unicorn, whose horn’s subtle glow coincided with sudden gusts of wind that happened to appear whenever one of James’ flames got too close to the audience.
And speaking of James, his fight with Martin continued to be much more difficult than he’d originally anticipated. After the steel ball run-in that had left his foot aching, James had become more cautious in his attacks, and began to take advantage of parts of Martin’s body he couldn’t change to something more durable without hindering his movement or giving things away to the audience. He managed to surprise Martin with a solid gut punch, which almost knocked the Tanuki back, before he caught himself on his tail. Martin had quickly reached back, lifting a few leaves off the ground and carefully tucking them under his apron.
When he righted himself, again, Martin quickly transformed the leaves, pulling out an inflatable mallet in one hand, and a frying pan in the other. As James came in to deliver another blow, Martin dropped the hammer on the dragon’s head, causing James to let out a pained roar as he made the painful discovery that the 'inflatable' mallet had just been painted to look that way, and was actually composed of a durable metal. The hammer fell to the ground, changing back to a simple leaf while the audience’s eyes were drawn to the combatants.
James leapt back as the audience laughed, and took a deep breath, then released a burst of flame. Martin was quick on the draw, blocking the fire coming at his face with his frying pan. James, seeing an opportunity, released another fireball, and rushed down on Martin again, sweeping at the Raccoon’s legs. Martin dropped his frying pan, but managed to shift his pouch to a bouncier, rubber substance, causing him to rebound away from the dragon and giving him a moment to prepare himself.
Another set of leaves were transformed beneath his apron, producing a “plastic” katana and a smoke bomb.
As the two continued their battle, Miriam felt as if her suit was getting tighter and heavier around her torso. Yet somehow, it didn’t seem to hinder her movement at all. It actually felt significantly easier to move around in the suit now than it had before. Not to mention much easier to feel the breeze through the fur.
Her eyes widened under the suit as she realized the implications of that.
She carefully reached down, feeling over her stomach with the suit’s gloves, feeling every bit of pressure and ruffled fur directly, rather than feeling a costume rubbing against her skin. She gasped and took a step back, shuddering as she felt a strange pulsing sensation right at the lower end of her spine, stretching and growing out vertebrae by vertebrae, filling the once-padded tail. She twitched, and it bent with her, she could feel every errant movement it made with perfect clarity.
She glance around at the others, praying that none of them saw what was going on. Lucky for Miriam, her fellow partygoers were just as distracted by the fighting as she had been moments ago. She broke off from the crowd, running back into the house and shutting the door behind her.
“What the Hell is going on?” She hissed, grabbing a hold of her tail. “Why am I changing into my costume?”
What a riddle this is. a quiet voice said, indistinguishable from her own, beyond carrying a subtle air of nobility.
“What a riddle this is,” she muttered to herself, quivering a little as her legs shifted, bulking up and taking a muscular tone, while keeping a feminine curve. Her feet became narrower, and her toes thicker, the suit’s paws, her paws, gaining leathery pads to cushion them. “This sort of stuff isn’t supposed to happen in real life. It’s like some kinda freaky... magic..” She blinked as she realized that the Pegasus girl she’d been talking to had asked her about magic. Was she doing this, somehow?
She turned toward the sliding glass door leading to the back yard and growled. “When I get my hands on her, I’ll-”
thank her for the gift,
“-thank her for the gift.” Of course. It wasn’t every day someone got to actually experience something like this. She wouldn’t want to seem ungrateful. She idly flexed her hands as they grew thicker, filling the costume’s gloves the way her feet had, but gaining significantly more dexterity than the padded digits ever had before.
“Still, I’ve gotta get her to get back to normal-,”
for the sake of expanding my knowledge, as opposed to using it.
“-for the sake of expanding my knowledge, as opposed to using it,” Miriam continued. Knowledge is it’s own reward, after all, and understanding the nature of the spell could help her in the long run.
She felt pain in her skull, and the back of her shoulders, and groaned as her jaws stretched out, the mouth of the costume becoming moist, the jaws able to part as sharpened teeth and a rough tongue, while the nose let out a sort as air began to fill it. The lingering scents of every person who’d been in the room all became readily apparent, as did the smells of the food and punch. Her ears grew to fill the costume’s larger, rounder ears, as subtle noises like the humming of the refrigerator in the next room became louder.
The pressure in her back reached its peak, and she let out a growl as two new limbs forced themselves out of her back, rapidly forming bone, sinew, skin, and then… feathers. She gasped, flapping her white wings experimentally.
“W-wings? But that wasn’t part of my costume.”
Though I am grateful for them.
“Though I am grateful for them. But… What am I, now?”
I am a sphinx.
“I am a sphinx,” she suddenly realized. Of course. That made sense. “But shouldn’t I be-”
both powerful and wise.
“-both powerful, and wise?” She straightened out her posture. Yes, of course she should be. That was her nature. Why would she even need to ask?
“I better return to the party.” She turned back toward the sliding door.
I have riddles to test.
“I have riddles to test, after all.”
As she stepped outside, her eyes once again drawn to the dragon and tanuki duking it out, it was as if a layer of ignorance fell away. How had she been so oblivious before? The two fighting boys were obviously the real deal! As was that kitsune, and Brad’s phoenix “costume,” and the unicorn. And of course, Abby, who had started her change, and was now watching the fight, and her unicorn friend, nervously. With a coy smile, Miriam stepped up behind the Pegasus, and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her wings to flutter in surprise. She turned around, and her eyes widened further.
“Oh! Oh it actually worked!” She smiled nervously. “Uh, how are you feeling, Miriam.”
“Simply wonderful, thanks to you.” Miriam grinned, displaying her fangs. “A pity we can’t afford to try out our new wings, with so many prying eyes, no?”
“Yeah…” Abby sighed wistfully. She shook her head, and looked back to the two fighters. “Too bad THEY don’t seem to care as much.”
James growled between heavy breaths. What should have been over in seconds had been dragging on for several minutes, and while Martin’s weaker blows could barely be felt under his thick scales, Martin’s trickery had led to James’s full-powered attacks missing or getting nullified multiple times. They had proved to be surprisingly evenly matched, and James was beginning to feel worn out. If he was going to win Rosa’s affection, he’d have to find a way to outwit the greedy trickster who wanted what rightfully belonged to him.
He rushed in once again, bracing himself as Martin brought down a “balloon” mace, and catching it in his claw, before yanking it out of his foe’s paws and winding up to hit him from the left with it. As Martin produced a “garbage can lid” made of titanium to block the blow, James released a jet of flame to the right, catching Martin’s apron on fire.
Matin yelped, and moved to throw away his Apron, but he saw Rosa shaking her head at him out of the corner of his eye, and instead dropped to the ground and began to roll in a bid to put the fire out. That he didn't cry out was actually admirable on Martin's part. Just as it seemed he’d beaten down the flames, he suddenly felt a great weight pinning down his arms and legs, and felt the hot breath of his opponent above him.
“One, two, three…” James counted.
Martin mentally scrambled, trying to think of a way to break free of the dragon’s iron grip without shapeshifting too blatantly.
“Four, five, six…”
He hastily turned his tail into painted metal, and with great strain, slowly lifted it up.
“Seven, eight, nine…”
CLUNK! The tail came from behind and landed square on Jame’s head, stunning and causing him to collapse with a groan… Still on top of Martin, and weighing him down considerably.
“Ten.” Rosa finished. “Looks like James is the winner, and gets to enjoy basking in my presence for a little longer than most tonight.” She chuckled and James’ claw in hers, helping him get up as he got his bearings.
“It’s no fair!” Martin pouted. “Brains always beat brawn! I shoulda won!”
“I agree, brains do beat brawn,” Rosa said with a smirk. “A pity you lacked the tools to win this fight.” She turned back to the audience, and raised Jame’s claw high. “BEHOLD YOUR WINNER!”
The teens all cheered, and James got a cocky smile.
“I was only messing with that buffoon anyway,” she whispered in his ear, “I’d MUCH rather have a hunk like you by my side at a party. Though that fight was fun to watch either way.”
James wondered briefly if he should be angry about being stringed along, but the soft touch and sweet words of his treasure was more than enough to mollify him.
Rosa hated to admit it. But this game was getting boring faster than she expected. So many humans left to be remade. So little time. And she could guess whatever magic was in the air was going to have trouble figuring out a mythical counterpart to every animal party goer here.
Kacey and Abbey actually had little to worry about, Rosa was only able to help those two kitty cats enter the zenlike void since they were minds were still clay in their transition between what they'd been and what they'd become. And Rosa had, as amusing as it had been to do, to keep the nekos from ripping each other's throats out. Having a collecting of obedient dolls might have been lavish, but it would have also been so damn BORING. She was not a creature of order and calm.
That didn't mean there weren't other tricks Rosa couldn't perform.
"Attention everyone! In celebration of our winner, I have a little light show I'd like to perform. Something I hope will enlighten your minds rather than dim them!" She added the moment Kacey locked eyes on her. "All eyes on me, as if I need to tell any of you that," she added theatrically.
Flames appeared on the tips of her tails and in the palms of her hands. She moved with the grace of a Geisha and the seductiveness of a belly dancer.
Nature abhors a void, and unicorns were creatures of nature in its most transcendent form, so it was no wonder Kacey felt revulsion at the two living dolls, whose minds had entered the void. But here, it was a blessing. The nekos looked at Rosa with indifference, not really affected by the performance at all, only watching because they'd been told to. They couldn't be swayed by Rosa's light show now. There was something within them, not quiet 'free', but a sense of wholeness, completeness, of their state of being unshackled from such petty distractions.
Kacey reached out and helped up Martin while everyone's eyes were on the dragon and kitsune.
"I'm sorry you were dragged in the games Rosa plays with my brother," she whispered.
"Hey, no problem! I'll bounce back! Like a beach ball!" Martin grinned accepting the unicorn's hand. It was a good thing that James' back was turned, if Martin thought hitting on his girlfriend would get James' wrath, flirting with his sister would have spelled Martin's doom, cover or no cover! "Has anyone told you you're the pretty living thing I've ever seen?"
"Not this evening," Kacey said as plainly. What need did any unicorn have for confirmation of their beauty that was akin to the beauty of a sunrise or a waterfall? Martin stood up, seeing his apron was mostly undamaged. "Wanna get a cup of punch darlin'?"
"It seems you have caught me," Kacey observed calmly, seeing that she had indeed offered her hand to Martin, and he had grabbed it, only now did she realize that indeed, she was caught, but like her beauty, she accepted this as a simply fact. "Lead on virgin, this unicorn shall follow you."
"Yeah-HEY!"
"It is nothing to be ashamed of."
"You're joking right? These days, babe? You've either banged somebody or you're nothin'!"
"You are a tanuki are you not? Why would you let such a thing define you? What need have you to fear that you'd be unable to father children or satisfy any woman? That is not how you should be judged, and most certainly not how you should judge yourself."
Martin was in awe, Kacey said all of this with the confidence of a force of a nature, there was no argument or debate, like her beauty, it simply WAS!
"You're incredible," said the tanuki breathlessly.
"I know."
While the Nekomata continued serving drinks to the other guests, the bakaneko who had been Fanya before becoming a doll, sat with her king.
Dwayne continued to sit with Fanya during the show, still amazed at his girlfriend's dedication to this roleplay she suddenly wanted to engage in. Both had been utterly embarrassed by their hobby, and had hidden it from their parents, and had met at what had been called the 'history of animal anthromization' club, but really had just been an excuse for furries to hang out without having to answer odd questions. He'd known her fetishes ran deep, and actually felt a bit proud of her for being more open about it.
Dwayne stroked one of the costume's breasts. It was honestly kinda freaky how much more detailed it was now. If Dwayne was touching Fanya's real body, he'd have likely fainted, he thought. And even still Fanya showed no outward reaction as she sat in the lap of her king.
"You okay babe?"
"This body is not harmed. And this one is fulfilling your commands by being here with you, yes, it is fine."
Dwayne scratched his face, not thinking that he could feel his finger nail on what should have been a mask and glove.
"Yeah well, maybe you could show a little more personality maybe."
"What personality would my king want me to show?"
Dwayne grinned, this was too good, maybe he could fluster Fanya a little here to break that perfect poise of her. "Well, enjoy your king's company some more. He's definitely enjoying yours.You're my loyal servant. Your king is where your loyalties lie. Who is me. A perfect beauty like you is a perfect prize for a king like me. Make sure I'm enjoyin' yer company."
Dwayne waited for Fanya to glare at him and slap him, knowing that in a month they'd look back on this and laugh.
Instead she leaned in closer to him, pressing her body closer to his. She draped one arm over him.
"As you say my king, my loyalty is to you, I am your perfect beautiful prize," she said in a sultry tone. Dwayne blushed, not realizing it was visible.
Then things got weird, as Dwayne suddenly was sure he could feel Fanya's furry breast as if it was his hand touching flesh covered in fur rather than a glove touching shaped cloth.
Dwayne shook his head at the nonsense. Maybe he was getting a little too into this himself. But still, what other time would he ever have a chance to?
Rosa meanwhile, her flames danced like they were plastic balls she was juggling, and some wondered if they were little colored lights in plastic containers, her body and tails moving like liquid, no human able to take their eyes off her.
"Everyone, just relax, be at peace, be calm, everything is fine, everything is alright, listen to my voice, look upon my flames. Feel yourselves drawn in deeper and deeper. Into my voice. Into the flames. Fear not. Worry not. Just let it all melt away. It's so peaceful and wonderful isn't it? Just melt into your seats, and know everything is fine. Just my voice, my flames, my dance, fill you. You know everything is fine. You know this is a party. You know that we're all friends here. That there is nothing to worry about. Nothing to panic about. No matter what you see. No matter what happens. You remember this is a party, nothing bad is happening, nothing wrong is happening. No matter what goes on, you have nothing to worry about, no need to bring up anything odd, because nothing is odd. Be peaceful. Be happy. You're relaxed. This is a party after all. So be relaxed. Nothing you see from any of us is actually strange or odd. You should just accept it and move on, this is a party after all, have fun little humans."
While the untransformed guests were left in the total sway of Rosa's performance, Dwayne for his part wondered what was up with Rosa's speech, she was stating the obvious in a really REALLY weird way, if he'd known this party was gonna be this roleplay heavy, he and Fanya could have worked up something together. Brad should have told them, or was this a spontaneous thing? Maybe.
Still holding Kacey's hand, Martin came up to Rosa and asked, "Can I?"
"Yes," Rosa said, if her suggestion hadn't held, Martin would just be humiliated for the rest of his life, she could live with that.
"Finally!" Martin took off his apron.
Dwayne's eyes bulged, between Martin's legs... was a furry pouch that... to be frank, was utterly ridiculous! It was like some parody of a teenage girl's fantasy, or some utterly unconfident social failure. But Martin moved about not looking hindered at all by the mass swaying below him.
"Whao!" Only Dwayne said, and was surprised when everyone else around him didn't so much as bat an eyelash! Social pressure did it's magic however, and Dwayne forced himself to say nothing more as nobody else made a deal of it.
Fanya meanwhile, had worked with perfect machine-like efficiency, rubbing him in all the right places to make him more excited. He wrapped his tail around one of her legs. What?
"Fanya let go!"
She did so instantly like a string board. "Yes, my king."
Dwayne grabbed his tail, and randomly gripped it, there was no denying it, he could feel it, not only his hands touching the tail, but the tail being touched by his hands! But the tail was-
a natural part of him, said a voice indistinguishable from his own thoughts, if somehow a bit wiser, and yet also more reckless.
Right, if he was feeling the tail, then that meant it was a natural part of him! But how did that even make sense? He looked at Fanya. He looked at Martin. He looked at Rosa, James, Kacey, Abby, Brad, and Alexis... None of them were wearing costumes-
and that's how it should be.
If they were going to be blessed by being something more than human, then why should he worry about it? They were a part of the natural order now.
Dwayne looked down at his feet... and tested them by stroking his tail with one, and picking up a soda with another. His feet... were now more like a pair of second hands. Also, he felt a weight on his head. Where did that gold ring come from? How did he know even what it was? It-
-belonged to him.
Right, obviously it belonged to him. But that wasn't the only distraction. Looking down, he realized that Fanya had done too good a job to getting him charged up, and he was no longer wearing a costume... or much of anything. This was-
absolutely, positively, nothing to be ashamed about what so ever.
Heh, right. What the heck was he worried about? Most of the others were already naked. What the heck did he have to be ashamed about! But what about Fanya? Was the magic making her act weird? Or was this the real her all along?
"Hey, Fanya, are you- set to be my queen, and not a mere servant?" If he was to be a king, then certainly Fanya would fit better as a queen than a mere servant.
"I am whatever you wish me to be my king. If you say I am your queen, then I am your queen. And I would have it no other way." She leaned into him again, remembering her command to be sure he always enjoyed her company.
Dwayne felt on top of the world as she kissed him. He was- a link a long chain.
Dwanye didn't forget his life, but he did remember another, many in fact, from ages past. He didn't know if this magic was retroactive, but he realized it didn't matter, it was his reality now, and he wouldn't want it otherwise. He embraced Fanya with all five of his limbs and kissed her deeply.
Fanya's bell collar.. changed... becoming golden with chinese symbols engraved upon it.
Both Kacey and Rosa felt the aura of power, and both immediately knew exactly what, or rather, who, the power of the costume's magic had brought forth. Of the being in their midst that even gave Rosa pause. Their party now held the honor of hosting the monkey king.
"Now who wants to line up for a free kiss from the kitsune?" Rosa said, wanting to kick the transformations into high gear.
Thankfully taking the hint thanks to Rosa's earlier reveal (didn't he mean he liked it) James said, "And who wants an arm wrestling contest with the dragon? Unless someone here is chicken!" And that was all the baiting anyone needed.
That was when there was a knock on the door. And all the mythics felt a splash of cold water. All of them remembered what night this was. This was Halloween... and that meant, trick or treaters.
Kacey said, "Your Highness, Martin, out of sight, or you can walk back to this party in the snow covered mountains."
None argued with her.
Brad opened the door... to find a little witch, vampire, mummy, and devil shouting "Trick or treat!"
Behind them was a lady clown, and a man dressed in an army outfit.
"Whao! Such monsters! Please don't cause trouble for us here! Please take this candy and spare us!"
Brad gave out the candy. And the trick or treater responded with a 'Thank you!' from the clown and left.
By the time they'd left the yard, there were four fairies inside the monster costumes, while the tall ones wearing the clown-up and army uniform were now a pair of anthro jackalopes. None of them missed a beat as they left. The fairies being careful not to fly least someone spot them.
More than one person complimented the jackalope woman on her clown make-up, embarrassing since she's thrown it together at the very last minute.