A "Winds of Change" Story
By Jon Sleeper
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that Brian had changed back into an eagle that quickly. Those push fights he and I had gotten into had been pretty fun, actually. One of the best things about being a deer, I guessed. Unless they got serious... I really didn't want to think about that part.
Maxine and I sat in Bryan's living room for a long time after the others had gone to sleep. Even her brother had finally gone to a bed that had been prepared for him. Amazing, considering. Bryan hadn't yet found the time to talk to our bullishly stubborn "companion". And I had a feeling he was going to tell him off soon...
We were watching "Bambi," which she'd rented from a local video store. That was part of what had driven her brother into his room. He'd said it was a "kid's movie" and had stomped off to bed.
Personally, since the Change, "Bambi" was my favorite movie in the whole world. Especially with Maxine sitting beside me (considering we were on the third time around...). We'd enjoyed each other's company from the very beginning, and though we'd actually known each other less than a week in real life, it felt like much, much longer.
We'd spent most of the evening, just talking, getting to know each other. More and more I realized that I'd found my match. She seemed to realize it, too. When her brother had gone to bed we had some fun doing an "unfair stereotypes" game. We'd both speak like our respective stereotypes (me, the Surfer Dude, and her the "Eh" Canadian). It was great fun. We laughed a lot.
Once during the conversation, she turned to me and said, "I sometimes wish that I was a whitetail morph like you are. But then I think of Grace, and I have second thoughts." She smirked.
"I like you just the way you are," I replied. "You have nice, dainty little antlers. Wonderful hooves, and your face is very unique." Though her muzzle was a bit more chunky than mine in actuality, it gave her character.
She snorted, "'unique'? I look like a female Rudolph! But you're right, it is a rather nice muzzle, actually." She sighed again. "What are we going to do about my brother? He's not going to let me leave with you tomorrow to go to Boston."
"Why not?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.
"You know him and his opinions of Americans. He's not going to let me leave... But the scariest thing is, I used to be exactly like him, if not worse."
"No!" I said, shocked.
But she nodded, "If not for that urge to migrate I doubt I'd have changed at all. I was the most backward, idiotic redneck you can think of. When I met Grace in Del Mar on the other end of my trip she seemed to confirm my opinions of 'you Americans.' She's the stereotypical valley girl, you know. But then it happened. I discovered my Power..." Her look became disturbed, and she got up. "I... I accidentally made Grace an exact copy of myself one night. Her mind is rather weak, you know. Somehow I copied everything about myself, memories, personality. Everything. Into her. And I saw myself for the first time..." she trailed off, thinking. "I found that I didn't like myself, so I changed. It was that simple."
That gave me pause for thought. "What about your brother? I'm sure that he thinks you're still like him."
"I know, I know. Believe me, I've considered trying to 'change his mind' like I did Grace. But I know it doesn't work like that. I can change memories, but if someone's mind is too strong I can't do any more than that. So he'd be the same idiotic, bigoted person. I'm almost afraid of what he'll do when he finds out I don't share his views anymore. Heh, I almost wish Bryan had never brought him back..."
"Just how much can you do??" I asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "Whenever I feel like I've discovered something new another thing pops up. But the thing is... that only started happening when I met you, Jon."
I turned my ears back a bit, "are you implying something?"
"No, it's just that all this stuff with Brian, and my brother..." she sighed.
I thought about her Power a moment. "Maxi, I'm sure that everything that happened with Brian was just a fluke."
"I'm still scared to use it, Jon. Really scared."
"I thought you experimented on Grace with it."
"I did, but that was until I met you. I'm scared, Jon. It can do things..."
"Would you like another subject to fool with?" I asked carefully. I could smell the reluctance coming off of her, but I pressed on. "Like me, perhaps?"
Her ears perked up, "you're serious, aren't you?" she said. I nodded. "Well, I don't know."
"Practice makes perfect," I smiled.
So did she. "Well, that's true." She thought a moment, then sighed. "I guess you're right. Why don't we go into the bathroom? That would be the better place, I think. You'll probably want to see yourself anyways." She was warming to the idea.
I stood up, stopped the video, and helped her off the couch. I ear-grinned. "Right you are..."
The bathroom was a pretty good size, actually. It looked like it had been enlarged a bit from it's original size (especially the door). Considering the species of Bryan's father it wasn't surprising. "What do you want to try first?" Maxine asked.
I'd given this a lot of thought. And there was only one choice. "How about a caribou morph like you are?"
She got a blank look for a moment, "if you're asking me to change your sex I can't do that. Grace asked me to try it once and I couldn't."
My turn to look surprised, "Maxi, that's not what I meant."
She tweaked herself on an ear, and I smelled embarrassment. "Sorry. 'Rudolph' it is." She grabbed onto one arm with glowing hands, and I started to change.
I really didn't feel much different. But I noticed the weight of my antlers increasing on my head as they got larger. My fur color changed from rusty red to dark brown, with white still on my rump and my neck. I gained a dewlap. My tail shortened, my hooves got larger, my muzzle a bit more blunt. I gained some mass. Otherwise, it felt very similar to the whitetail morph. "Well, now we're a matching couple." I said with a smile. Case-in-point her scent had suddenly become much more alluring. "You smell wonderful, you know." I said.
She smiled, "so do you, love. ...but what do you want to do next?"
I had to admit, I wanted to stay this way for a while. But I decided against it for now. We could do something later, though. I thought a moment, "How about the golden eagle morph I was a few days ago?"
She nodded, then I saw her hands start to glow again, and so did I. Dizziness washed over me, I felt my muzzle going numb, a tickle of sprouting feathers, the odd creak of growing wings on my back. I had to close my eyes as my vision sharpened. My ears shrank away, my senses of smell and hearing starting to go with my changing head. I had to take several steps as my hooves pushed downward, my toes split apart, and the talons grew in.
"You look magnificent," Maxine said. I opened my eyes.
To see her in such detail was a feast for the senses. Even though I couldn't smell her, nor nearly hear her heartbeat, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. But there was something missing... "It's just too bad you can't join me." I said sadly, thinking of the flying.
She tiled her head, "On top of all the powers I have already, Jon, don't you think that would be a little much? I wish I could norm-shift, though. That would be nice..."
I nodded. Caribou were beautiful when they ran, like all deer. At the moment I swear I felt something go click in my head. It wasn't exactly tangible to me, but almost like the Universe had shifted a little... strange. But it felt right. "You still deserve it, though."
She went to far as to kiss me on the beak. "Thank you very much. But if something like that turns up now it'll be an amazing coincidence."
I tried to smile, but failed around my beak. "That it would. What next?" For all the eagle felt great, it felt kind of wrong for some reason. I wanted to get back to my whitetail morph form, it felt like it was me for some reason.
"How about a feline?" she said. "What's your favorite?"
I didn't even have to think to respond to that! "Leopard." I said.
I closed my eyes, anticipating the changes. And there were changes... the most noticeable were the claws and the tail. Now, my other tail in deer form was a short one, used mainly as a danger signal. This one was infinitely moveable at the tip. It gave a away my mood. My spots were very nice (or so Maxine said). And the claws... I surprised myself when I flexed them and they emerged from their sheaths. I took in a moment to take in the differences (paws instead of talons or claws).
"Want to go on to the last one?" Maxine asked me.
"In a moment," I rumbled. I took a moment to shift to norm and see myself that way. Then I changed back. "'Kenti' in real life." I mused aloud.
"What?"
"Sorry. Before the Change I was involved in one of those MUCK-things on the Internet. It was based on 'The Lion King.' My character was a leopard. I hear that that MUCK is totally different, now. But anyway, why don't you surprise me for the last one?"
She smirked. "You sure?"
I didn't like her sly (and slightly appetizing...) scent. But... "Sure. I'll close my eyes, even."
"Okay... but I've never done this one before, for all I've touched one. All I'll say it I like them very much for some reason. Ready?"
I nodded, and closed my eyes.
I felt myself begin to change again. My muzzle got a point at the end, my canines retracted and fused, then my muzzle grew numb. It was forming into a beak. I felt the tingle of feathers once more, and the growth of wings. Tail feathers. I shrank I don't know how much. But it felt... different from an eagle. My feet lacked the large talons. The tingle stopped. "Are you done?" I said in a high tenor voice.
"Yes, but feel yourself with your hands, first. I want to know what you think you are." Her voice sounded pleased.
I reached up to feel my head. I found a rather short, pointed beak. On the top of my head was a backward-facing feather crest. I opened my wings, and they felt shorter and built for quick flapping. I opened my eyes...
...and found a flighted blue-jay morph staring back at me. "Wow," I almost squawked. "That... actually doesn't look half bad!" I said. Though I'd lost a good foot in height (Maxine towered over me), I'd always liked blue jays. Their distinct blue coloring, with a bit of black here and there. White on the belly. I fluffed out my feathers once and spread my short wings. "No, not bad at all..."
"I'm glad you feel that way," she said ominously.
"What do you mean?!" I said quietly, but firmly.
"Just kidding! But I just got an evil idea involving my brother and your current form..." She smirked evilly. "You know the Toronto Blue Jays?"
That wasn't exactly what I expected her to say! "Um, yeah."
"Well, my brother thinks they're the epitome of the 'American Invasion' as he calls it. I think I feel like a bit of revenge..." She got that evil look again.
I would've done the same, but beaks aren't built for that.
I was back to my whitetail self a few minutes later as we crept towards Tim's room. Both of us where holding back chuckles. We were also about to find out just how far Tim's Power extended...
It worked beautifully! Tim didn't even stir, and we left him with mussed up feathers! We went out to the living room, then into the back yard, then broke out into gales of laughter.
It took a full five minutes to stop laughing so hard, and I hoped we hadn't woken anybody up in our mirth. I looked at my spot under the tree. "I guess it's bedtime." I said with reluctance. "I'll see you in the morning?"
"I guess so..." she said, I could tell she wanted to stay out here with me, but since she couldn't norm-shift...
I decided to speak up. "Have you ever tried norm shifting?"
She thought a moment, "Not really, I have to admit. The one time I did try to imagine a barrier like others do I came up against a mirror instead. It was too hard to push through..."
"Mirror, huh?" I said, I rubbed an antler in thought. "Reflection? Maybe you've just gone about it the wrong way." I thought again. "Come with me..." I said, and grabbed her hoof-like hand and we went into the house, then back into the bathroom in front of the big mirror. I put her in front of it. "How about this." I said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I've read about some Shifters who need to see their own reflections in a mirror in order to Shift. Maybe you're one of them." That made some odd sort of sense, and I felt another click from the Universe.
"You know..." she said. "I never thought it that. Let me..." She focused on her reflection, and immediately fell onto all four hooves. It was amazing she didn't bellow out loud! She smelled very pleased with herself, though. She started to nudge me towards the door of the bathroom. It was obvious she wanted to sleep outside with me, from her earlier comments.
Frankly, I was a bit reluctant, but I didn't scent anything more than excitement in her smell. She snorted once or twice, and pushed me with her antlers. I moved forward, with no choice. She was a bit bigger than me in my norm form anyway. "Maxine, I really don't wanna..." I said quickly and quietly.
I looked back at her a moment as we went out the door. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as if to say "men! The only thing on their minds is..." (never mind). She hoofed it over to a spot next to where I'd bedded down the night before. She just wanted me to lay next to her. How could I refuse?
I shifted to norm myself. I weighed maybe two hundred pounds in norm form. She was at least fifty pounds heavier than me! But she actually encouraged me to lean against her side. "Wath is it?" I lisped.
She made an almost bleating sound and looked at the house. Her ears were vibrating in surpassed laughter. "Oh," I said. "You juthed want your brother tho thee uth thleeping together." I sighed. I'd hoped it was something more...
She just looked at me, her eyes reflecting the starlight. Then she licked me lovingly (and wetly) on the cheek. I suddenly felt very warm, and was sure if I was in my morph form I'd be blushing. I took a deep breath, and nearly pulled a "twitterpated" like I'd seen Bambi do in the movie... I felt like I was suddenly walking on air! I could smell her smile.
Then she laid her head down on the ground close to me, and closed her eyes. I licked her back quietly, then snuggled next to her larger, warm form, turned my head around and rested it on my back in the sleeping position I'd found most comfortable, and fell asleep myself. Dreaming wonderful dreams.
Copyright 1997, Jon Sleeper
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