The pair headed to Samantha's house from the Deli. It was further than Tricia's place, but still within walking distance. Tricia was pleased at the durability of the leathery bottoms on her new two-toed feet. She didn't need to worry about getting bigger shoes to fit them. Her fur felt great, too, as there was a chill in the wind, but she felt no colder than usual. She noticed Samantha needed pants and a long-sleeve shirt to go outside on a day like this.
"I don't suppose you'll take this time to explain what it is you're going to show me?" Samantha said, breaking Tricia's attention away from herself.
"Well," Tricia said, "It's a little weird. When I woke up this morning I found a remote control in my room."
"That is weird. Maybe you should report this to Fox Mulder."
"Oh stop," Tricia chuckled. "The thing is, the remote doesn't change channels on a tv, it changes physical characteristics on a person." Samantha glanced at her with a predictably skeptical face. "Just bear with me. I used it on myself."
"And what did you change?"
"Nothing major. Just my eyes, my hair, my fur, my hands, my feet, and my tail."
Samantha couldn't think of anything witty to respond with, so Tricia continued. "The remote can make everyone else oblivious to the changes. That's why you think I look normal right now."
They had reached Samantha's house and she started to unlock the door. "I wouldn't say you're 'normal,' Samantha said. "I don't know any other cow-girls. But you've always looked like that." She opened the door and they entered her house. "Are you feeling lonely? Is that it? A cow-girl among humans?"
"No! In fact I'm loving the fact that I'm really, truly unique for once. Okay, now that we have some privacy, I'll show you what I'm talking about." Tricia pulled the remote out of her purse, held it so that Samantha could see all of its buttons, then pressed the Acceptance setting for "BWCow1" and zapped her friend. Samantha flinched at the ray of white light, then blinked her eyes repeatedly. She stared at Tricia as if seeing her for the first time.
"You're right. Holy crap, you're right." She walked slowly up to Tricia and touched her furry arm. "This is incredible! How did I ever believe this was always the way you looked?"
"It's some kind of perception thing the remote can mess with. It makes changing easier because we don't have to worry about going out in public."
Samantha was half-listening. She seemed unable to stop staring at all of Tricia's cow features. Tricia felt flattered, and relieved that Samantha hadn't freaked out and chased her out of her house.
"Those eyes are a little creepy, though," Samantha said at last. "It's like you're a cow demon or something."
Tricia's red eyes seemed to brighten up as she smirked. "What can I say? I like red and black. So how about it? Want to see what this thing can really do?"