Staring back at Kelly and Erica were the reflections of two large wolves, one still dressed in Erica's t-shirt and skirt, and the other having Kelly's pair of jeans tangled about its rear legs.
"This is some sort of freaky dream, right?" Kelly asked, her eyes locked on the reflection as the wolf's mouth opened and closed in concert with her own. "Erica??!"
Kelly turned to her wolf-friend, who was still staring open-mouthed at the mirror. Finally tearing her eyes away, Erica turned to Kelly, then closed her eyes as though denying the truth in front of her.
"We must be hallucinating, or something," Erica responded, her voice rather high-pitched and unsteady. Her eyes then popped open. "Let's call Hannah, she should be able to snap us out of it," Erica suggested, recalling their calm and collected friend.
Kelly unsteadily got up on her four paws and gingerly untangled herself from her jeans and underwear. Tottering over to her bag, she pawed at the zipper for a moment before realizing a new problem.
"I don't think we'll be able to dial, even if I do get my phone out," Kelly slowly said, starting to panic. She turned back to Erica, only to see her absently pawing at the t-shirt with her hind leg. "What are you doing??"
Finally realizing her actions, Emily froze, then stared at her paw. "The shirt was itching...I didn't mean to..." she trailed off uncomfortably. In spite of herself, Erica's hind leg again reached up as if to scratch her side and shoulder. Kelly couldn't take it anymore.
"Look, let's get your clothes off; no one's home, and even if this is a hallucination, seeing you do that is just too weird," Kelly ordered. However, after walking unsteadily over to Erica's side, Kelly realized what she would have to do. Sighing, she took the edge of the shirt in her toothy maw and pulled it over Erica's muzzled head. While the teeth left a few holes in the shirt, that wasn't Kelly's immediate concern. She finally realized why Erica was so itchy. Kelly had removed her bra with her shirt, but Erica's still remained on, digging into her now wider, furry chest. Realizing she wouldn't be able to undo the clasp, Kelly steeled herself, grasped the back of the bra in her sharp teeth, and tugged quickly. Like a knife through warm butter, Kelly's fangs ripped the strap of the bra and it fell to the ground, much to Erica's relief. While it took some maneuvering to pull Erica's skirt and underwear over her long, furry tail, it too finally came off.
While Kelly was glad her friend was feeling better, seeing Erica raise herself on all four feet and shake herself like a dog made Kelly wonder if one or both of them were losing their minds.
"Oh, that's right!" Erica exclaimed. "Hannah might be online; your laptop is still on. We can video-chat with her!"
For a moment, Kelly almost objected. If they really looked like wolves, wouldn't it freak out their friend? But then again, if they had been turned into animals, they were going to need help from someone, especially since their parents wouldn't be back for days. Kelly padded over to the desk and managed to place her front paws atop it, trying to put out of her mind how comfortable she was becoming with this new form. Kelly tried to press the button to turn on the webcam, but ended up with her paw smashing into multiple keys on the laptop. Recalling a story of a quadriplegic person able to hold a paintbrush with her mouth, Kelly managed to nose a pen to the edge of the table, then picking it up with her long muzzle, used it to push the webcam button. Dropping the pen, she then nosed the mouse over until the cursor was on Hannah's name, and proceeded to click. The video-chat window popped up on the screen, and Kelly saw her friend's face.
"HANNAH!" Kelly cried out. "Don't freak out, but we need your help!" Worried at the confused look on Hannah's face, Kelly kept going. "Something weird happened to me and Erica, it changed us into animals. Please, you gotta come over here!"
For a minute, Hannah didn't respond. Then she shouted into the webcam, "Hey Kelly! Don't know if you're there, but your dog is messing with your laptop!" Kelly then saw Hannah reach for something. She didn't understand what was happening until her phone, still stuck in her bag, started ringing.
"Guess she's not there," Hannah said, after a few rings. Turning back to the screen, Hannah wagged her finger. "Bad dog! And stop barking, you're going to annoy the neighbors." As the video-chat window clicked closed, Kelly heard Hannah mutter, "I didn't know Kelly got a dog."
Barking? Kelly wondered for a moment in shock before she realized what had happened. While she and Erica could understand each other, everyone else thought they were just big dogs. They really had been changed into wolves. Kelly dropped to all four paws, her heart sinking.
She turned to see Erica sitting on her haunches, her tail firmly tucked between her legs and her ears hanging low, a terrified look on her canine face.
"What do we do now?" Erica asked her friend.
Mirroring her friend's fear, Kelly responded, "Well, for now maybe we should..."