Devin felt his wrenching growth pains in his arms as his shoulders broadened and his arms grew, but mostly it
was his hands. They were growing into wings. Devin had always been terrified of bats, since as a child he had
gotten one caught in his hair. It was the reason he wore his hair relatively short until this moment. Now his
skin was all slick and slimy like an amphibian but he was covered with coarse bat hairs all over his body. He
was changing into that weird creature in Tim's almanac: "A bewt- the bat-newt hybrid."
"Yeah, you're a real beaut now, Devin," chuckled Tim as he made sure the lid of the terrarium was secure.
Devin stumbled as his legs shrank and his tail grew. He had to crawl on all fours. He sure didn't want to fly.
He didn't know how, and he was afraid of heights. He was embarrassed. He had always been the take charge guy.
The confident one. He just had made sure he would not be in a situation where he might show his fears. Now he
was living them.
"Now, I need to look up what Bewts eat, so I can get you some proper food," Tim said walking out of the room
reading the almanac.
"Hey, I'm your new room mate, Konstanz," said a tall olive skinned youth stepping in front of Tim to delay his
exit. "This room faces south. Do you think we could trade rooms? I really prefer a southern exposure,"
pleaded Konstanz.
Devin recognized Konstanz as a herbomancer who used sun-fed plants in his magics. Tim just looked at him
confused. Uh, this has a view of the fountain. What do the others look at?"
"You mean you chose this room without looking at the others?"
Tim couldn't say that there already were roommates when he got here, could he?
"Well, I walked into this room and felt at home, so I didn't check out the other rooms," Tim lied.
"Hm, that's a nasty little creature you've got in the case over there. Is it a carnivore or herbivore?"
"I'm not sure. I was just looking him up. He was a housewarming gift," Tim said. "I'll think about moving
rooms. Let's look at them. Maybe you'll like one of the others."
"Oh, it's not a question of like," Konstanz explained, "I need sunlight for my magics, and the southern
exposure gets the most sun."
"Oh, well, let's see the other rooms, and I'll decide."
Devin fluttered and squeaked madly.