Kelly's eyes winked open, still half-asleep. She caught a glimpse of her hand, and closed her eyes, sighing softly in disappointment. It had been such an interesting dream, being turned into her favorite animal and spending the night careening through the treetops. However, there was no doubt about it, the hand on the bed in front of her was human, and there was no way such a crazy dream could have been real. Not awake enough to realize she was sleeping nude on top of the covers, Kelly began to drift off to sleep again.
And was jolted awake by a screech and a thump. Turning over, a strange sensation in her backside, Kelly sat up and looked down to see her friend, completely naked, on her hands and knees beside the bed where she had fallen off.
"What happened?" Kelly asked, concerned.
Raising her horrified face to look up at her friend, Erica stuttered, "I can't believe it...it's not possible....I have a...TAIL!"
Sure enough, Kelly leaned a bit further over the bed, and her eyes followed a light trail of tan fur down Erica's spine from the nape of her neck. At the bottom end of her spine, the fur thickened, and sprouting forth was a sturdy, long tail that would not have looked out of place on a spider monkey, but proportionally matched Erica's human size.
"Don't tell me..." Kelly turned to look over her shoulder, and understood why her own rear felt so odd. Curving out across the bed was a tail to match Erica's, but covered in reddish fur instead.
"Oh my god, oh my god," Erica remained on her hands and knees, her head hanging. "It was real, the whole thing, it wasn't a dream, it was real..."
Kelly felt similar shock, but mixed with a strange wave of glee as well. Although she knew she should be as scared as Erica, the idea that her dream was real and she had proof of it nearly brought a smile to her face. However, first things first; she would have to see to her friend.
"Well, at least we're mostly human again," Kelly said, barely managing to hide the excitement in her voice. "Let's get dressed and get some food, then figure out what's going on."
Sliding off the bed, Kelly pulled Erica to her feet, then grabbed some oversized t-shirts from a drawer. Pulling one on, she handed the other to Erica, who copied her actions mechanically.
"What about underwear?" Erica asked, pulling the shirt down in front, her eyes regaining an edge of panic. "We can't wear pants like this!"
Kelly thought a moment, then had a bright idea.
"Wait here a sec," she called as she trotted out and over to her parents' room. Rummaging around in the closet, she found a package of boxers her dad hadn't opened yet. Kelly was about to pick them up, then turned around instead. Concentrating, she managed to wrap her tail around the package and lift it, dropping it neatly into her outstretched hands. Kelly giggled a bit, but hid her elation before she returned to Erica.
"We can wear these for now," Kelly said, opening the package and grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer. "They're brand new, and it's better than walking around naked for now." Cutting a neat hole in the seat of the boxers, Kelly handed one pair to Erica and began putting on the other, concentrating on threading her tail through the hole. Finally pulling up the boxers, Kelly was surprised at how comfortable they felt, not restricting the movement of her tail at all. However, Erica just stood there staring at Kelly, boxers in hand. Kelly could see her friend trying to dissociate from the insane circumstances they found themselves in, and tried to calm her down by behaving matter-of-factly.
"C'mon, put them on and we can go find some breakfast," Kelly said gently, putting a hand on Erica's shoulder. Still in shock, Erica pulled on the boxers, not as focused on her tail as Kelly, and ending up with her tail down one of the leg holes. Reaching over as Erica lowered the boxers to try again, Kelly carefully guided Erica's tail through the hole, and the girls were finally dressed.
The girls had a light breakfast of fruit, Erica sitting gingerly on her stool, stiffening up each time her tail brushed against the stool leg. Kelly, on the other hand, appeared to be adapting well, even using her tail as an extra hand at times.
After eating, the girls plopped down on the couch to decide their next move.