This was the first time someone he'd changed had been aware enough to notice he'd been changed to, so, out of curiosity Izzy decided to stay put, and see what she wanted. Getting a closer look at her as she approached, he could more clearly make out the body paint over her fur; a few streaks of blue on each cheek, patterned spots and lines in white down the sides of her body, and something like the outline of a bird on her back. It didn’t look like it was based off anything from his tribe’s history (even if he didn’t remember that too well), so he had to assume it had been made up for the costume. Assuming she wasn’t copying some video game character or something.
“Hello,” she said, giving a friendly wave. “I, ah… I mean, you.. Are you feeling okay? It looks like you got caught in the same… whatever it was that changed us.”
“You…Yip!” Izzy covered his snout.
The vixen giggled at the sudden noise, while Izzy’s voice refused to let him go into as much detail as he wanted.
Aw, is Izzy having trouble talking to the ladies? Coyote Snickered.
Doing his best to ignore that, Izzy nodded to the vixen. “..You could say that, yeah. Are you doing okay, yourself?”
“Kind of?” She scratched at her chin. “I’m scared of what’ll happen out there if I don’t turn back before this convention is over, if I’m gonna end up in a lab,or lose my job, or something like that.” She smiled slightly. “But, I also just… It’s kind of amazing! It’s what I dreamed of and wished for, for years! And it finally really happened to me! A part of me doesn’t want to go back even if I do find a way.” Her tail waved back and forth behind her. “My own fur, my own tail, my own foxy charms.” She grinned, leaning on her wooden staff. “It’s a major step up over the old me. I’ve got it all!”
Izzy resisted the temptation to add “your own fleas” to that list. He tried to steer the conversation in a direction that would let him leave as quickly and politely as possible.
“Well… do you wanna check in with the other new furries over there? I’m glad to hear someone’s worried about how I’m doing after, well, this.” He gestured over himself. “But I’m sure they could use some comfort too.”
Her grin shrank. “Well, to be honest, I didn’t come over here just to ask how you were doing.”
Izzy raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So what did you come here for?”
“Well, my fursona, Ishna, is a Shaman, with all kinds of magical abilities. And I think I got a few of them, even if I don’t really know how to use them, yet.” She paused, tapping her claws against the tip of her staff. “But one of them is that she can passively sense magic.” She looked him straight in the eye. “And you’re giving off a… a tsunami of power!”
Izzy’s eyes widened. This could be a big break! Sure, like the other people he’d changed, she couldn’t tell other people what was going on, but maybe she’d be able to help hold him back.
Oooh hoo hoo! Coyote chuckled. This could add an interesting little wrinkle to the game!
“You can- Yip!” Izzy shook his head, holding back a growl as Coyote prevented him from giving things away too soon. “...You can really pick up on something like that?”
“I think so.” She nodded. She leaned in a little closer, and whispered as she continued “You, uh… didn’t make your fursona a god or something, did you? Because, well, there’s a five-tailed kitsune behind us, and they’re no slouches when it comes to magic,” she pointed back at the brown fox with silver fur highlights, “and you’re blowing his power out of the water.”
The mental image of Coyote grinning appeared in Izzy’s head. Oh please, dear, you’re making me blush!
Izzy found himself able to move his mouth on his own again. “I… uh I kinda- YIP! Ugh! I didn’t really make my costume, before I got changed into it. If it’s got powers that I can use, I don’t know how far they can go, or even how to use them.”
“Oh,” the vixen looked a little disappointed. “I was hoping that maybe your magic could help us out. Or at least do something cool.”
Izzy shrugged. “Believe me, if I could do anything to help you or any of the other guys that changed get back to normal, I would. You might like it, but being part coyote just feels weird to me, and I miss having pants.”
The vixen giggled. “Well… maybe we could help each other out?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re both figuring out how our magic works, right? Maybe if one of us figures out one spell, we can teach the other how to use it? Plus, if we’re looking for what caused us to change, or some way back to normal, two heads are better than one, right? So we’ll stick together.”
“I guess…” Izzy wasn’t sure it was a good idea. How was he supposed to keep finding people to transform if she was always around to watch him. Coyote might just take control back and force him to abandon this girl, and get a little more liberal with transforming the cosplayers.
But before he could voice his objections, the vixen was already hugging him. “Great! It’ll be fun to try practicing magic together and-” She blinked, and backed off, sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry, I got a little over-excited! I’m not normally this outgoing, I just, well…” She waved over her body. “I’m just feeling really good about myself, you know?” She shook her head. “Oh, right, I probably should have said from the start: I’m Laura. What’s your name?”
“Er, Isaac,” he said, feeling a little awkward. “My friends call my Izzy.”
“Nice to meet you, Izzy!” She shook his paw. “This is gonna be the best con I’ve ever been to, I can feel it!”