"Let's ask Flora next," suggested Ruby. "I wanted to buy some weed anyway."
"Sounds like a plan," said Renata. "I'll take the lead. I'm friends with her sister Marley, so she knows me." The others nodded.
Renata led Ruby and Jezebel up to the pot shop's door, where Flora stood texting her sister. When she saw the three girls approaching her, Flora waved hello.
"Hi, Flora," Renata smiled, the sun shining in her red hair. "It's me, Renata Hamilton."
"You're one of Marley's friends, right?" Flora smiled. "I remember you smoking pot with her two weeks ago. Good to see you again. But if you're planning to go in there, I should probably warn you that Hank only sells to people who can prove they're 21 and over. Sorry."
"That's okay," Jezebel smirked devilishly as she pulled a plastic rectangle out of her purse. "I never leave home without some fake IDs I had made for me and Renata. We use 'em to get into bars and crap."
Ruby pulled out a phony driver's license of her own. "And I've got one, too. The only thing more fun than teen drinking is conning the bars into letting you drink. But buying weed isn't the only reason we're here."
Flora raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I'm afraid that's kind of the only thing there is to do in a pot shop."
Renata giggled to herself. "We actually wanted to talk to you."
Flora smiled. "Aw, that's sweet. So, what'll we talk about?"
"My friends and I have a huge secret," Renata began. "Have you met them? This is my best friend Jezebel du Charme and my new girlfriend Ruby Reynard."
"I think I've seen Jezebel around," said Flora. "Doesn't her mom own that super-popular nightclub, Inferno?"
"That's right!" Jezebel grinned, striking a flamboyant pose.
"I don't think I know Ruby, though," said Flora.
"That's because I'm not from around here," Ruby explained. "My family's pretty... nomadic. We live in mobile homes and rove around the country doing odd jobs... or just stealing what we need. We've only been in Stokerville for a few days."
"Your family sounds really free-spirited," Flora smiled. "I think I'd like to meet them sometime." She turned to look at Renata. "So, what's the secret, Renata?"
Renata took a deep breath. "My friends and I aren't actually... human. I mean, I was human until recently, but Ruby's a lifelong werevixen and Jezebel's a succubus. As for me, Ruby found a way to turn me into a werevixen like her."
Flora blinked in shock. "Uhh... what? I'm not high right now, you know."
"But it's the truth!" Renata protested. "Come with us and we'll show you!"
"Okay," Flora said, trying not to giggle. "I'm open-minded."
The three girls led Flora away from the crowds of shoppers and into a public restroom and locked the door behind them. "There!" Renata said. "Now we can show you the real us without being outed to every human in a mile-radius. I'll go first."
Renata's body began to grow red and white fur, and her feet stretched out into vulpine paws coated in black, sock-like fur. Flora gasped as a bushy tail burst out of the redheaded girl's jeans. Although she wasn't growing as much as a werewolf or a werehyena would, Renata's breasts and butt seemed to be rounding out a bit as she transformed. Renata's face elongated into a fox's snout filled with little sharp teeth, and her ears grew pointed and moved up to the top of her furry head. "There!" Renata declared, appreciatively running a clawed hand over the fur on her arms. "Check out my wild side!"
Flora's hand wobbled as she adjusted her heart-shaped sunglasses. "H-holy crap! Y-you really are a..."
"A werevixen," the furry foxgirl who had once been Renata Hamilton said proudly. "Ruby, you go next."
Ruby nodded and willed her own shift. Flora marveled as she watched Ruby grow a pelt of red and white fur just like Renata's as her feet became canine paws. Ruby's own vulpine tail poked out from under her miniskirt, wagging in arousal from the transformation. Finally, her head underwent a metamorphosis similar to Renata's, her face stretching into a muzzle with a black, truffle-shaped nose and her ears inching upwards and growing pointed. Ruby, now a fully transformed werevixen, posed for Flora. "Soooo... whadda ya think, Flora?"
"You look... beautiful," Flora gasped for breath. "Renata, too. It's just... I... I think I'll be able to enjoy it better after a good bong hit, though. It's all a lot to take in, and I need some soothing cannabis to calm my nerves."
Jezebel laughed. "If you think they're beautiful and intimidating, just wait until you've gotten a freaking load of me, Flora Roberts. Behold the true form, mortal!"
As Jezebel shouted her last sentence, her voice began to echo and reverberate with unearthly power. Her skin changed color, turning an alluring shade of pale red. A pair of goat-like horns grew from her head, curling as they lengthened. A forked tail lazily snaked its way out of Jezebel's skimpy booty shorts as her expanding tits strained against her tube top. Her nails sharpened into wicked talons, and her eyes morphed into the slit-pupil, golden eyes of a cat. The transforming succubus smiled, revealing a mouthful of needle-like fangs. To finish Jezebel's hellish metamorphosis, a pair of bat wings unfurled behind her.
Flora reached out to experimentally tug on Jezebel's forked tail. It didn't come off. "Ow!" The succubus shrieked. "Only touch of you plan on groping me, not if you wanna assault me!
"This is unbelievable!" gasped Flora. "But I think I'm beginning to like it. Being a succubus suits you, Jezebel."
"Feel free to call me Jez," Jezebel smiled. "All my friends do. Just don't call me Jezzie; my mom does that, and it drives me nuts."
"I'm glad you like our true forms, Flora," said Renata, "because I have an offer I want to make you. I'm starting my own werefox skulk, you see."
"Skulk?" asked Flora.
"That's the word for a pack of foxes," said Renata. "So, I'm starting a skulk of my own, and I need more members than just Ruby here. So I decided to spend the afternoon recruiting."
"Is that why I saw you talking to Isabelle Newberry?" asked Flora.
"Yes," said Renata, "but don't call her that. She wants to be called Spike, and she will beat up anybody who refers to her as Isabelle. But Spike isn't the only person I wanna invite into my skulk today."
Flora smiled understandingly. "You mean...?"
"I'd be honored to have you in my skulk, Flora Roberts. I really think you'd love our species' nomadic, carefree lifestyle."
"Like you wouldn't believe!" Flora laughed. "College has been so stressful! It's just exam after nail-biting exam! I've honestly been looking for an excuse to just drop everything and turn hippie like my grandparents did back in the Sixties."
"You know," Ruby smiled, "A lot of werefoxes were pioneers of the hippie movement back then. My mom told me that about a quarter of Woodstock attendees were werefoxes. So were some of the performers."
"Really?" Flora asked, clearly intrigued.
"Totally," Ruby answered. "Not a lot of people know that about Janis Joplin, but it's true."
"Cool!" Flora grinned. "So, what's it like being a werefox?"
"Pretty great," said Ruby. "You get enhanced senses and a slight healing factor, but the real attraction's the lifestyle. Werefoxes love nothing more than wandering the country with their skulk, screwing each other and any hot stranger they might meet on their travels, having a good prank or misadventure, and living by their wits. Being free spirits is just how our foxy brains are wired. We lead the life other people would love to live if only they had the balls to actually do it instead of fantasizing while suffering through their boring nine-to-five job."
"I think I'm one of those people," said Flora. "I'd like to join you and live like that. Only... don't you get into a lot of trouble if your instincts force you to be mischievous delinquents?"
"A fair point," said Renata. "Most skulks are always in trouble. They can't seem to resist drifting aimlessly from place to place, avoiding an honest day's work like the plague, seducing every pretty face they see and then heartlessly moving on to the next conquest, stealing anything that isn't tied down, playing obnoxious pranks on all their neighbors, and generally making nuisances of themselves until they're all but forced to move on to the next town... but I have a secret all those dysfunctional packs don't have."
"What's that?" asked Flora.
"A potion I bought from a witch that gets all those new mischievous instincts under control," Renata answered. "It doesn't get rid of your impish new werefox thoughts, but it weakens them enough that you can resist them if you think they'd get you into trouble. It also heightens your sense of empathy so you can judge how your actions affect others better. I've been trying to get Ruby to take it since I bought it."
"I just don't wanna be a watered-down werevixen!" Ruby sniffed huffily.
"Well, as long as there's a way to preserve my self-control, I'm in," said Flora. "So, how does becoming a werevixen work? Please tell me you don't have to bite me."
"Biting doesn't do anything," said Renata. "That was just invented by Hollywood to make horror movies more dramatic. They probs got us confused with vampires. You can usually only be born a werefox, but that witch, Morgana, sells a couple of ways to turn a human into a werebeast. I bought a Werebrush and a foxskin belt. The Werebrush works by brushing an animal with it and then using it to brush your hair on the night of the full moon. The full moon isn't for a while, so we'll use the belt for you. You just have to wear it once, and its power will turn you into a werevixen for all time. She also sold cock rings that let you sexually transmit therianthropy, but... well... I don't have a penis, so I can't really use that."
"Sweet!" Flora chirped. "Where's the belt?"
"In my bedroom sock drawer," laughed Renata. "I don't carry it around everywhere I go, and I figured I'd just scout out who I wanted today. Eager, are we?"
"I guess so," Flora chuckled. "It sounds like being a werevixen'll be a ton of fun. I wonder if Marley'd like to join, too."
"Maybe," Renata shrugged, "assuming the vampires, werewolves, or werehyenas haven't already snapped her up."
"Wow," Flora marveled. "Who knew Stokerville was such an exciting town? Werefoxes, werewolves, werehyenas, vampires, succubi, AND witches? Am I living in a Buffy rerun?"
"It sure seems that way sometimes," said Renata. "Oh, I just remembered something I wanted to ask! Which way do you swing? I'm asking because, unlike the very lesbian werehyena pack, my skulk will be including both male and female members, and I don't want any of our guy werefoxes to be stuck looking for mates in a skulk full of lesbians. You know how it is in Stokerville."
"I'm pansexual," said Flora. "My sister's a lesbian, but I've always found people of all genders beautiful. I don't care if you're male, female, or non-binary; if I love you, I love you."
"Perfect," Renata smiled. "That way you can be anyone's mate. Well, I'll drop by your place with the belt once I'm ready to start making transformations. Bye!"
"Bye!" Flora smiled, waving as she left the restroom with her weed.
"That went pretty well," Jezebel said as she turned back into her human form. "I think we scared her a bit at first, but she was really getting into things by the end."
"That's two more members for your skulk, Renata," Ruby said, shifting into her human self. "Now let's go get some weed of our own. I'll pay for it. Mom had a ton of luck pickpocketing last night, so I've got tons of money today."
Once the girls left the pot shop with their weed, they glanced around the street trying to find out who else was available. They naturally still saw Lucas (who was busy gluing a quarter to the sidewalk in front of a vending machine so he could watch people try to pick it up). They also spotted a blonde girl wearing an unusually heavy coat for late March slipping out of a GameStop.
"Who's the girl in the winter coat?" asked Ruby.
"That'd be Paige Nielson," said Jezebel. "She's the most talented shoplifter in Stokerville High School. She uses that coat to hide the goods. I'd bet you anything it's stuffed with stolen video games right now."
Ruby smiled. "Sounds like another natural werefox."
"Yeah, we should probably recruit her," said Renata. "I just hope she'll agree to take the inhibitor potion."
"I hope she doesn't," Ruby smirked. "It'd be nice to have another real werefox in the skulk. Uh, no offense."