When Milo had gotten back to his dorm he found a small quiet celebration going on in the common room. Sodas and board games. It wasn't one of the wild parties in the other dorms, but much more his speed, and he wasn't ready to face Dare again quite yet. So when he did head back to his room, Dare was already in bed, this time under the covers. Milo undressed as quietly as he could, pulled on his pajama bottoms and slipped into bed. He thought he had been quiet, at least until a soft voice came from the other bed. "Good night."
"Night." He offered back, pulling his own covers up before drifting off.
He woke up feeling weird. Though that was probably going to be a pretty common feeling over the next couple of weeks. Sun was streaming in through the window and Daryl's alarm clock showed an early 7:30. Milo rubbed at his eyes, then looked over to the other bed. Empty. Where had Dare wandered off to this early in the morning. He didn't seem like the type to do anything before noon, he had been hoping to drag his sullen roommate out for breakfast, though. Maybe he was just getting a shower. Milo sniffed at the air. He could probably use one, too.
He stretched his arms over his head feeling his muscles unbunch, then scratched at his chest and froze. He looked down and nearly cursed. His chest was covered in a short coat of rough, bristly brown fur, and that was not the only oddity. He had a chest. Well, he had always had a chest, but now he had a chest. He could make it out, the lines and curves of two very obvious if not bulky chest muscles. He quickly did a full examination. His arms and legs were thicker, too. He pulled his pajama pants out and peeked down there. That was still the same. For now. A quick check of his back by looking over his shoulder at the closet mirror showed nothing. Though his hair seemed to be sticking up more than usual, and a hand through it confirmed it felt a bit rougher. Great, so he just got a seventies style rug for a while.
He tugged on a t-shirt which felt a little tight across his chest, of course, and quickly headed out of his dorm room. He could feel the fur sticking out the collar of his shirt. He went right to Stripe's door and gave a knock. "One second." Came a gruff voice from inside. After a bit the door swung open. And there in the door stood Stripes in nothing but a tight pair of boxer-briefs that really didn't hide anything. Milo let out a little yelp and looked up at Stripe's face, meeting his blurry stare. "Milo? Something wrong?"
"Something wrong?" Milo was keeping himself under control, but he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up. "Dude!"
Stripes grinned, looking like he was trying not to laugh. "Well, you see, when a boy starts becoming a man he starts to find hair.."
"Stripes!" Milo said, his voice a bit shaky. "Its not just that, I mean.." He thought he had magically bulked up quite a bit during the night, but standing next to Stripes he realized it really wasn't all that much, just compared to how he had been. "I.."
"Sorry. Most guys wouldn't be upset about a little muscle. Some species are just more prone to bigger builds. I don't think I've ever seen a small boar." Stripes squeezed his eyes shut then stepped aside and motioned Milo to take a seat. "Let's talk this out, what has you worried."
"I.. I don't know." Milo said, dropping into he seat. "I guess I just freaked out. But what about clothes? I don't have the money to buy a whole new wardrobe. I barely have a week's worth of clothes as it is."
Stripes snorted as he sat on his bed. "They still fit, don't they."
"Not really, it feels tight." Milo said, plucking at his shirt.
"That's not tight, that's fitted. It looks good on you, and I bet your clothes might start showing you off a little more." Milo knew he was giving Stripes an odd look. "What, you think this place can change your body, your thoughts, you whole life, but your clothes would stay the same?"
"I guess that makes sense." Milo murmured, looking down.
"Just don't be surprised if you suddenly have a bunch of tank tops. It happened to me. Not a single shirt with sleeves, in winter, man, it sucked. Just, remember, you're going through a change, you can't freak out every time something new comes along. Hell, it's kind of enjoyable if you just let it happen." Stripes stood up and walked over to what looked like a supply closet against one side of his room. He pulled out a bottle of something and tossed it to Milo.
He flipped the bottle over and read it. "Shampoo for rough, bristly coats?" He looked at Stripes.
"The school has us keep the grooming supplies you guys might need on hand. It's best to get into the habit soon. Looks like you'll need the same shampoo for your head." Stripes reached out nd ruffled his hair. "That's got a nicer feel than I thought it would. Huh."
"Wait, but if my clothes change, wouldn't my toiletries? That makes no sense." Milo asked as Stripes flopped on his bed.
"They do, if you have something equivalent, not many people have a full nail manicure kit that would work for claw care, just a cheap pair of nail clippers which suck. And I bet you have one of those all in one body wash shampoos that smell like a perfume shop farted in a gun store." Milo blushed. It was cheap sure, and that's what he could afford. "Well, that shit exists on this side, too. Shampoo for all fur types. Bullshit. Get the specialized shit, you'll thank me, and so will the strong sniffers." Milo popped the top of the shampoo and gave it a whiff. Cedar? And subtle, definitely better than what he had.
"Does everything change?" Milo asked, his voice soft as he thought about his camera.
"Not if it means enough to us. I don't know how it knows, but it knows." Stripes held out a hand and pointed towards the wall where there were a bunch of pictures. "Bottom left." Milo leaned in for a peek. It was a picture of two humans side by side, teens, one a tall beanpole in a polo shirt, the other was a punky looking kid. They looked a bit awkward.
Something about the punk kid. "Wait.. is that you and Max? You're so.." He looked over to Stripes then back to the picture. "Skinny."
Stripes snorted. "Yeah, we took that photo during orientation. Even as we changed it stayed. God, we couldn't stand each other the first few days, then." Stripes shrugged. "So if you're worried about your little project, don't be. If it means enough to you to have, it'll keep. Most of us have a memento or two from before." Milo stood to leave. "And Milo, it'll be fine. Trust me, I've never seen it not work out well."
Milo wandered back to his dorm room. And a few more of the freshmen were out and about. At least half showed something, others probably had something out of sight or not obvious. Or maybe nothing had happened yet. He stepped back into his room and caught a whiff of something, soapy, clean, and a spicy scent under it all that made him twitch. Maybe his nose was getting better, too. Dare sat on his bed, his hair still damp which made the white streak show up more.
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Dare looked up as Milo entered and his heart skipped a beat. When had he? Were those muscles? He didn't have those yesterday, he was sure. Hell he had seen his roommate naked. "Well, look at you." He found himself saying. "Might not be embarrassing to be seen out in public with you anymore."
"Haha, fuck you." Milo said, though it was a bit joking as he dropped down in his chair. "Probably won't be going to the lake for a swim for a while unless I want a weird nickname." At Dare's arched brow, Milo lifted his shirt. Dare was not as good at keeping his laughter under control as Stripes had been.
"Oh my god! Tell me, do you wax?" Dare let out a loud laugh and pointed. "Camera now. Your project demands this and I want photo evidence."
Milo was about to argue, but then sighed and began stripping down. "Fine, but then we do yours." Dare felt his heart racing a little faster as he saw all the new lean muscles gracing Milo's body. Other than the pelt on his chest and those teeth sticking out his lips he looked so much like... Dare shook his head. He hadn't thought about Kurt in years and he wasn't about to now.