Nate wagged pensively back and forth. The football game had just clicked over to a commercial. It was time to test the waters.
“Hey guys… You ever hear of a Chronivac?” Nate bleated softly.
“Baah, you mean that internet urban legend?” Marcus snorted, “Oh sure, they managed to cram reality altering magic into an app and are just selling it to people.”
“They are,” Nate grinned. Baah, no use beating around the bush. He held the Chronic up, “I’ve got one.”
“Bullshit,” Allen leaned forward into his seat.
“Don’t believe me? How about a demo?” Nate typed in his password back in and gestured towards the screen, “It’s always so stereotypical to use a werewolf as a quarterback, wouldn’t you say?”
“Uh,” Allen wasn’t sure where Nate was going with this. Their host was hastily typing on the little gadget. “Teams are like packs. Some wolves are just natural leaders. But neither team’s-“
“Holy shit Allen!” Marcus pointed at the TV.
Their local team only had a few mythical creatures on it. A pair of swift foxes had made surprisingly effective wide receivers, but otherwise this was still very much a human sport. Right before their eyes however, the team was getting one new mythical addition.
Their team’s quarterback was getting lined up for another play. The game’s camera was looking at him from behind, but even at this angle the three could see him shift in real time. His helmet started to change shape, gaining a canine sleekness as two small slits opened on the top. A pair of large silver wolf ears slowly started perking up over his head. It was hard to see the man’s face, but eventually the helmet started to form a protective cage for a muzzle. A moment later, a large wet black nose pushed into view to fill it.
His stance was shifting. He was a bit more low to the ground than the other players. He didn’t mind occasionally bouncing off his hands to give him a bit of extra spring. Or rather, he’d bound along on his forepaws as he crossed the field. Oh wow, they were almost as large as the ball itself!
Everyone was set in their place for the next play. The quarterback growled something intelligible to his team mates. A large silver tail sprung out behind him as he got ready for the snap. His cleats completely vanished as two large paws dug into the grass. In every gap in his uniform, big tuffs of silver fur could be seen underneath the deep maroon.
No one on the fields was batting an eye at these changes.
“Still don’t believe me?” Nate smirked.
“Oh my God,” Allen stared, “It works!?”
“Sweet Pan is right,” Marcus rubbed his eyes, “Why isn’t anyone else freaking out?”
“I set the perception filter so that only we can notice the changes,” Nate grinned. “Let’s make this a real grudge match, shall we?”
Owen had interfaces for all sorts of subtle adjustments. Adjusting sliders, tweaking dropdowns, that sort of thing. The Chronivac also had a texting-like conversational interface though. Nate just had to quickly type out, “Make the other quarterback a lion”, and the device did the rest.
The opposing QB grew a long tasseled tail as he stalked the sidelines. He had his helmet off, letting the three get a good view as his hair shifted into a short trimmed mane. Just as before, no one in the crowd seemed to notice their star player grow a muzzle right beside them. The quarterback himself was focused on studying a clipboard even as the hand holding it shifted into a feline paw.
Marcus and Allen were focused on taking in the new lion man’s changes, but Nate couldn’t help but notice the crowd’s makeup shift. Before the game’s attendees were mostly humans, but now there was an entire section filled with the local wolf pack coming out to support their hometown star. There were apparently a lot more mythical creatures interested in the game now. One of the more sporty brands of fur shampoo had started taking out ads on some of the stadium’s smaller banner slots.
“Baah! Nate! This is incredible!” Marcus sat up.
“Wh-what else have you done with it?” Allen stared.
“I may have turned myself into a satyr,” Nate’s face went red.
“Huh? You’ve always been a satyr,” Marcus stared.
“That’s what you believe,” Nate chuckled. He didn’t have to tell Marcus that he’d technically turned him into a satyr too. “I’m… actually thinking of staying like this. But I wanted a second opinion.”
“Uh- I always remember you as a satyr too?” Allen tilted his head, “You make a good one I guess?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Nate held up the Chronivac, “How would you two like to swap species?”