Izzy stepped up to the bar, trying to think of a plan to keep this fox from changing more people, and maybe change 'Redda' back, too. Assuming Coyote would allow any magic he'd brought into existence to make someone normal again.
Unfortunately, it seemed that he wouldn't have much time to think, given the kitsune was already introducing himself to Mary.
"Master? Marlene, what are you talking about? Who is this?" Mary asked.
"Just look into my eyes, and you'll find out," the kitsune replied, one of his tails already reaching out for her waist.
Izzy grabbed the tail before it could reach its target, startling the fox and Redda.
"What do you think you're doing?" Izzy demanded.
"Careful, dude," the kitsune said, trying to pull his tail out of Izzy's grip. "I'm just introducing myself to this fine young lady here."
"Yeah, the same way you 'introduced' yourself to Marlene?" Laura asked.
"Hey, I don't know what you’re implying there, but if you don’t let go of me…"
Izzy smiled as he realized that a “magic show” would likely catch a lot of attention. “What, are you gonna throw a fireball at me?”
“Sir,” the bartender said, “please take your hands off my customer’s costume, you’re making a scene.”
Izzy briefly considered pushing it, just so he could get thrown out, but he remembered that Coyote told him if he tried to leave, Coyote would take control back. He relented.
“...Alright. But I only did it because it looked like he was about to grope this woman here.”
The kitsune went wide-eyed for a moment, before regaining his composure. “You’re seriously saying I’d cop a feel with one of my animatronic tails? Even if I were that kind of pervert, what’d be the point if I couldn’t actually feel it?”
The barkeep didn’t seem to be entirely convinced either way, side-eyeing both the kitsune and the coyote warily.
Mary looked at both parties in confusion. “Marlene, what is going on here?”
"It's Redda, now, dear. And I wished for you to share in the joy of being one of Master's maids with me."
"Redda? Marlene, I already told you, I don't care about this maid stuff. And why the heck are you dressed like a furry?"
Redda looked very disappointed. "Master showed me the true joys of both service and fluff."
Mary stared incredulously.
"You have got to spend less time on the internet." She turned to leave, while Redda hung her head. The bartender went back to cleaning glasses.
Izzy turned back to the kitsune. "Whatever you're doing to her, you need to undo it."
The kitsune rolled his eyes. "You know, I'd been meaning to see if I could turn guys into maids, too…"
Before Izzy had time to react, the kitsune's eyes glowed golden, and he felt paralyzed. As if a strange force was reaching into his mind, at the same time the tails reached for his body.
Well, Izzy could at least hope this would put a damper on Coyote's plans.
I don't mind being female if it enhances the game, but I draw the line at wearing a maid dress. The colors will completely clash with our new paint. Gonna have to put a stop to this.
A flash went off, and the kitsune reeled back out of his seat with a yelp, his tails releasing Coyote.
"Wha-!" He shook his head. "You're not all talk after all… L-look, I'm sorry about trying to hypnotize you, okay?” The kitsune pleaded, on his knees. “You're clearly on another level, alright? I won't bother you anymore. I'm sorry!"
Isaac blinked, not expecting things to have turned out that well. After a few awkward seconds to get a grip on what had just happened, himself, he spoke again.
“Yeah, that’s right!” He said, trying to make it sound like he had meant for that to happen. “Now, if you want to get out of here in one piece, you’d better undo your magic on this woman. And if you try it on anyone else, we’ll know!”
"H-hey now, I just figured out how to change people one way a few minutes ago, I haven't figured out how to do it the other way."
The bartender leaned over to Laura, and asked, in a hushed voice, “Wait… Are they recording some kind of video or something? I don’t want to be a part of that.”
“It’ll be fine,” Laura found herself force to say, “nobody will know it’s you in the shot once we’re done.”
"You gotta believe me, man!” The kitsune said, scrambling. “I’ve barely had this magic for a half hour, I’m still experimenting. Do either of you have lie detecting spells, or something? Use them!" He let out an exasperated groan.
Izzy and Laura exchanged glances. Given their own poor understanding of their magic, he unfortunately made sense.
"Okay," Izzy said. "Can you release her from your control?"
"...Probably." His eyes glowed once again, and Marlene's body shook as she realized what had happened.
She ran up to the kitsune and slapped him across the face, then tried to get out of sight, futilely attempting to get the tiny apron she now wore to better cover her generous bust.
“Marlene?” Her sister, Mary, asked. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Izzy didn’t have time to follow their conversation before Coyote interrupted.
There, you’ve “rescued” the girl, now it’s time for you to keep your promise.
Izzy found himself pointing at the bartender, despite his efforts not to. “Laura, I can feel it!” He whispered. “That one will change next!”
His lips twitched as his jaws stretched forward, growing several centimeters. His teeth were getting sharper, more of them poking out through his longer gums. Izzy could see the man try to say something, but the words were magically caught in his throat. The bartender's tongue stuck out of the lizard-like snout as gagged, splitting at its tip.
A pair of long, spindly limbs forced themselves out of his shoulders, ripping through his shirt. Thin 'fingers' spread out from them. Between each of these digits, a leathery membrane formed, creating a pair of wings, and completely ruining the back of his shirt.
By this point, scales covered his face, much of his torso, and his arms. Claws burst out from his fingertips, and his ears fanned out into a fin shape. His hair fell away, leaving him bald as two arching horns sprouted from his skull.
He fell to all fours, pants tearing as a tail grew out, becoming nearly as long as his torso, with a webbed fin at the tip.
Glowing white runes appeared along his sides, trailing down his limbs and tail, and his body began to grow, becoming larger and larger.
Izzy, for a moment, hoped that, even as relatively hidden as this bar was, maybe this change would be noticed. His hopes were quickly dashed when the former man, panicking wildly, halted his body completely enveloped in a blinding light, and suddenly started shrinking. Wings, tail, and horns receded, claws pulled back, and his whole figure became shorter than when he'd started.
When the light dimmed, behind the bar stood a teen girl. She wore a yellow dress, and her red hair dropped down to just below her shoulders.
"What was going on with that?" Izzy asked.
"Oh, I think I know what happened to her," the kitsune whispered. "He turned into Jira.”
“Who?”
“It’s a dragon goddess from Thunder Medallion, who hides herself in a human form.”
“As a teen girl?” Izzy restrained a sigh.
The former bartender shook her head as she regained her bearings. When she’d recovered, she gazed wide-eyed at the collection of furries in front of her, then back down at herself.
“Did one of you-“ the girl started, before her speech halted. “spend that much on special effects?”
Mary, Marlene, and the kitsune all looked at the transformed girl in confusion.
“D-don’t look at me!” The kitsune stammered. “
When Izzy saw Mary actually acknowledging something was going on, his mind started racing. Sure, Coyote’s magic meant he couldn’t directly explain anything, but someone finally taking notice of what was happening was a step in the right direction. Come to think of it, Marlene might not have the same curse preventing her from discussing the change, either, since she hadn’t been changed by Coyote’s magic directly. But how to take advantage of it to warn others of the danger, that was the question.