Daniel and Jennifer traveled in silence to the arcade. Jennifer was taking stock of her latest developments caused by Daniel bringing up the collar in an attempt at small talk while they were walking. Her feet and legs had changed, looking much more like a dog's hindquarters and forcing her to walk on their newly formed pads. Small claws and the hint of pads had formed on her hands, but other than that they were still shaped like human hands at least. Her face was somewhere between a human face and a dog's muzzle, her long tongue hanging out of her protruding mouth now and then as she panted infrequently in the heat. She was very glad she had the foresight to dress in a t-shirt and shorts today, her body was completely covered in fur, with longer patches typical for golden retrievers towards the back of her upper leg and inner thighs, the backs of her arms, and a small tuft centered above her topmost pair of breasts.
Jennifer absentmindedly shifted her shirt around when she got to that detail. It had felt odd enough when her fur started growing around her breasts, but now that she had three more pairs than normal, the sensation against her shirt and the fur was starting to get distracting. She quickly traced her hand down her front, feeling the smaller and smaller mounds as she went lower. Her bottom pair of breasts was just barely more than only the nipples, just slightly making an outline in the fabric pressing against them.
Jennifer turned her head over to Daniel and saw him look away quickly, a slight redness in his cheeks. She wondered if he had had a crush on her before all this mess had happened, or if it were somehow brought about by the curse and her altered appearance.
Daniel broke the silence, clearing his throat, "We're almost at the arcade, we just need to turn left up at this light and then head down a couple of blocks."
"Good, I just hope he's there. I have a bone to pick with him," Jennifer bared her teeth slightly, thinking of Kyle's smirking face. She could faintly hear a faint, high-pitched whine coming from somewhere to the left of them.
"I still find it hard to believe that the c-" Daniel cut himself off after a growl from Jennifer, "fine, fine. That there's some sort of 'curse' that's warped reality. I mean, there's no such thing as magic and stuff. If Kyle somehow put this into your head while he was making fun of you for being special, I'll do more than give him a black eye," he looked over at her, "There is nothing wrong with the way you are. You're unique and beautiful."
She was at a loss for words, "Daniel, I... Do you hear that?" Jennifer's ears swiveled ahead as she hurried closer to the intersection, craning her head to try and peer around the buildings to the left. The faint tone from before was louder now, oscillating up and down as it gained in volume. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear it sounded like...
"A siren?" Daniel ran to keep up with her.
The ambulance sped across the road to the right without slowing, the siren falling in tone as it went further away from them. Jennifer's gaze followed it until it passed out of sight, heading towards the Hospital. She then snapped her head back to the left, looking a couple of blocks down the road at the small gathering of people and police cars in front of the arcade.
The arcade. The ambulance had come from the arcade. Before Jennifer's mind could begin to process what this information could possibly mean, she felt something which should have been a great relief but made a growing pit of uneasiness in her stomach given the circumstances:
The collar had fallen off of her neck.
Daniel reached down and picked it off the floor, "Hey, good. You finally got the stupid collar off. It really didn't suit you."
Jennifer's hackles raised as she waited for the next change to hit her. And waited. And waited. "Something is wrong," her voice was wavering as she rubbed her hands across her still-furry neck where the collar had been, "nothing is happening."
"And should anything be happening?" Daniel looked at the collar in his hands for a bit, and then quickly clasped it around his neck.
Jennifer reached out, alarmed, "Don't! Take the collar off before..!" She clasped her hands in front of her mouth, hoping that the collar didn't affect Daniel as it had affected her before.
"Before what?" Daniel stood there, looking himself over as he waited, "Nothing is happening. It's just a stupid, old, ordinary collar," the bell on the front jingled slightly as he easily removed it from his neck and handed it over.
Jennifer quickly put it into her backpack next to her destroyed shoes, wanting to touch it as little as possible. "I need to find out what happened, this is very important."
They ran the rest of the way to the arcade. The people outside had been slowly clearing away after the ambulance left, so by the time they reached the building the only people left outside were the owner of the arcade and an officer, putting his clipboard away.
"Ex -- cuse -- me," Jennifer was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath after the spur of the moment jog, "I -- was -- supposed - to - meet - my friend here after school, Kyle Perkins? He wasn't here when this hap-" she stopped short as the policeman and the owner of the arcade shot an uneasy look between themselves, the uneasiness in her stomach returning tenfold.
"I'll go get something to cool you off," the heavyset arcade owner said, wiping his brow and offering a pained smile before turning and vanishing into the building.
The policeman gingerly put his hand onto Jennifer's furry shoulder, "I'm sorry young lady, but your friend is dead. There was a hit-and-run here earlier, and witnesses say that they saw him trip as he was leaving the arcade, falling into the street in front of the speeding car."
The uneasy feeling in Jennifer's stomach turned over on itself before freezing and splintering like ice, "No," She whispered, her eyes moistening as she looked from the policeman to Daniel, who was suddenly at her side, holding her.
"I understand that this is a bit of a shock, and I wish I could help you out, but I've got to go and deliver this report on the incident down at the station. I'm sorry for your loss." He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before walking over and entering his cruiser.
Jennifer fought back her tears, "No," The gravity of the situation was crashing down on her head. "No..." the end trailed off slightly, her lips quivering. "I don't want to be a freak."
Daniel shifted to her front and held her tightly, "You're not a freak," he moved his hand behind her head, holding her to his chest as her escaping tears began to stain the front of his shirt. "I don't know what he's said or done to you to make you think this way, but it's over now. I'll be here for you, you don't have to worry about him anymore."