Consolidation - Revision history

JonBuck: Removing a template.

2007-11-20T06:57:30Z

Removing a template.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 20 November 2007
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	~~{{title}}~~
	{{WIP}}[[Category:Story]][[Category:Jon Buck]][[Category:Animal]][[Category:Transgender]]		{{WIP}}[[Category:Story]][[Category:Jon Buck]][[Category:Animal]][[Category:Transgender]]
	{{series box		{{series box

JonBuck: Title template...

2007-10-05T03:47:55Z

Title template...

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:47, 4 October 2007
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			{{title}}
	{{WIP}}[[Category:Story]][[Category:Jon Buck]][[Category:Animal]][[Category:Transgender]]		{{WIP}}[[Category:Story]][[Category:Jon Buck]][[Category:Animal]][[Category:Transgender]]
	{{series box		{{series box
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	{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series. Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary. The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}{{Comment tag}}		{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series. Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary. The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}{{Comment tag}}
	{{Hiatus}}		{{Hiatus}}
	~~By [[User:JonBuck~~\|Jon Buck]]		{{byline\|author=Jon Buck\|user=JonBuck}}

	"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.		"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.

JonBuck at 00:21, 4 September 2007

2007-09-04T00:21:10Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:21, 3 September 2007
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	"Hmm. I'll have to pick a different female name. But penance, ladies, penance. I'm not kidding when I say I feel guilty for unmanning you." He swallowed and looked at me. "In fact, Jenny, that stag medallion I brought with me the day I sprang you from prehistoric prison turned out to be a dud. It was doe or nothing, I'm afraid."		"Hmm. I'll have to pick a different female name. But penance, ladies, penance. I'm not kidding when I say I feel guilty for unmanning you." He swallowed and looked at me. "In fact, Jenny, that stag medallion I brought with me the day I sprang you from prehistoric prison turned out to be a dud. It was doe or nothing, I'm afraid."

	Sighing at the winds of fate, I looked at my breasts and gave them a squeeze. I looked between them, down to my crotch. My form had been slipping a bit over the last few hours. I was cervine enough to have the nubs of four teats down on my lower belly. In fact, I started slipping more and more away from my humanoid form, now that I finally realized that I'd been that way for far longer than I could have expected. My breasts quickly melted away, teats and udder replacing them as I slipped back to four hooves. I clacked a forehoof on the floor of Brian's home. ~~_So~~ much for that, anyway. We should probably head back to the base Tree, anyway. We have things to do._		Sighing at the winds of fate, I looked at my breasts and gave them a squeeze. I looked between them, down to my crotch. My form had been slipping a bit over the last few hours. I was cervine enough to have the nubs of four teats down on my lower belly. In fact, I started slipping more and more away from my humanoid form, now that I finally realized that I'd been that way for far longer than I could have expected. My breasts quickly melted away, teats and udder replacing them as I slipped back to four hooves. I clacked a forehoof on the floor of Brian's home. ''So much for that, anyway. We should probably head back to the base Tree, anyway. We have things to do.''

	"Incompetent leaders to unseat, aliens to evict," Donna added. She walked over next to me and put her arm around my shoulders, then gave me an affectionate petting behind my ears. "I'll go spread the word, Jen. Let's call a meeting and make our pitch."		"Incompetent leaders to unseat, aliens to evict," Donna added. She walked over next to me and put her arm around my shoulders, then gave me an affectionate petting behind my ears. "I'll go spread the word, Jen. Let's call a meeting and make our pitch."

JonBuck: Going on hiatus. Bit of writer's block.

2007-09-04T00:19:27Z

Going on hiatus. Bit of writer's block.

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 {{float tag|text={{add|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series.  Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary.  The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}{{Comment tag}}
+{{Hiatus}}
 By [[User:JonBuck|Jon Buck]]
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 "Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''
 {{Separator|k}}

JonBuck: Minor word choice and tyop fixes.

2007-09-02T06:39:13Z

Minor word choice and tyop fixes.

JonBuck: Comment tag.

2007-08-27T06:12:16Z

Comment tag.

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:12, 27 August 2007
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	\|next=None yet}}		\|next=None yet}}
	{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series. Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary. The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}		{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series. Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary. The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}{{Comment tag}}

	By [[User:JonBuck\|Jon Buck]]		By [[User:JonBuck\|Jon Buck]]

JonBuck: Very, very minor.

2007-08-27T05:37:30Z

Very, very minor.

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:37, 26 August 2007
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	That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie theatre. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."		That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie theatre. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."

	Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''		"Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''

	{{Separator\|k}}		{{Separator\|k}}

JonBuck: Some changes in word choice.

2007-08-27T05:32:00Z

Some changes in word choice.

JonBuck: A few new author's notes.

2007-08-27T03:43:22Z

A few new author's notes.

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:43, 26 August 2007
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	\|next=None yet}}		\|next=None yet}}
	{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.~~'''~~}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series.}}		{{float tag\|text={{add\|'''Author's Notes: New additions will start with the first sentence of green text.}} I am entertaining suggestions for a title for this series. Keep in mind that significant revisions are possible, and sometimes necessary. The entire text is therefore in flux.'''}}

	By [[User:JonBuck\|Jon Buck]]		By [[User:JonBuck\|Jon Buck]]

JonBuck at 03:04, 27 August 2007

2007-08-27T03:04:57Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:04, 26 August 2007
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	"Neat!" the golden vixen said, tongue lolling. "What does that mean for us?"		"Neat!" the golden vixen said, tongue lolling. "What does that mean for us?"

	Brian blushed. She did have a pretty face, I had to admit. "Um... nothing so far, sorry to say. Like I said, I don't understand how those second-order effects work. I'm not even sure why this works on ''me!'' You're going to have to give me a few more months..."		Brian blushed. She did have a pretty face, I had to admit. "Um... nothing so far, sorry to say. Like I said, I don't understand how those second-order effects work. I'm not even sure why this works on ''me!'' This is the first kind of medallion I've created that doesn't require any sort of external soul-binding. I think that's why the effect is temporary. You're going to have to give me a few more months, girls."

	It was an interesting demonstration. "Brianna" sheepishly took her seat opposite the rest of us, blushing furiously, arms folded over her chest. "So, um, let's girl talk. Where do we go from here?"		It was an interesting demonstration. "Brianna" sheepishly took her seat opposite the rest of us, blushing furiously, arms folded over her chest. "So, um, let's girl talk. Where do we go from here?"

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:39, 2 September 2007
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	"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.		"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.

	"If you show us how you do it we can take the pressure off," Donna said. She had only swallowed half the Crystal Light in her glass. "I know I've always been curious how it works. I mean, why do we ~~end up~~ female even at One? It'd be possible to be an almost-human male on one end of the scale and a female deer on the other, wouldn't it?"		"If you show us how you do it we can take the pressure off," Donna said. She had only swallowed half the Crystal Light in her glass. "I know I've always been curious how it works. I mean, why do we stay female even at One? It'd be possible to be an almost-human male on one end of the scale and a female deer on the other, wouldn't it?"

	"It's a second order effect," the raccoon-mage explained. "Out of my control. I honestly expected the same thing you said when I first started passing them out to new recruits, when I didn't have any other options. It flips your original gender to match the creature you bond to. I don't know ~~hot~~ to reverse it." He shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, girls."		"It's a second order effect," the raccoon-mage explained. "Out of my control. I honestly expected the same thing you said when I first started passing them out to new recruits, when I didn't have any other options. It flips your original gender to match the creature you bond to. I don't know how to reverse it." He shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, girls."

	"Doesn't matter," I replied with a dismissive wave. The cool air inside the raccoon's home played around my bare skin and nipples. He was really quite a handsome fellow, and those raccoon ears of his were kind of cute. I had to admit that those were some very feminine thoughts, and attributed them to the estrogen. Humans have instincts, too. And the three of us had remained quite nude. "We're adapting well to the gender-flipping, Brian. Honestly, we are. Let me explain myself one more time.		"Doesn't matter," I replied with a dismissive wave. The cool air inside the raccoon's home played around my bare skin and nipples. He was really quite a handsome fellow, and those raccoon ears of his were kind of cute. I had to admit that those were some very feminine thoughts, and attributed them to the estrogen. Humans have instincts, too. And the three of us had remained quite nude. "We're adapting well to the gender-flipping, Brian. Honestly, we are. Let me explain myself one more time.

	"We're losing through attrition alone. Either because we have former humans going to Eleven, or even predation. Most of us are deer, or something small enough for the coyotes and cougars to get~~, or the~~ predators we ''do'' have get knocked off by humans protecting livestock. Right?" I said.		"We're losing through attrition alone. Either because we have former humans going to Eleven, or even predation. Most of us are deer, which are human food, or something small enough for the coyotes and cougars to get. The predators we ''do'' have get knocked off by humans protecting livestock. Right?" I said.

	Brian nodded, then took another sip of his drink. "The animals have gotten harder to catch, too. They have to be bound into the medallion."		Brian nodded, then took another sip of his drink. "The animals have gotten harder to catch, too. They have to be bound into the medallion."
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	"Why so many deer?" Donna asked, folding her arms under her bosom. "You'd think that cougars and coyotes would be a better choice for the Resistance. Hunting instincts and all that."		"Why so many deer?" Donna asked, folding her arms under her bosom. "You'd think that cougars and coyotes would be a better choice for the Resistance. Hunting instincts and all that."

	"Practical reasons," he replied. "Whitetails are very, very numerous. They're easy to trap alive. They're also very close to human-size. Believe it or not, conservation of mass is still important in magic. There are drawbacks, of course. Every animal has its strong and weak points. I've tried making more raccoons, but it's just too hard to trap my own 'people'. And I've avoided anything small enough to get eaten as a snack by our own members."		"Practical reasons," he replied. "Whitetails are very, very numerous. They're easy to trap alive. They're also very close to human-size. Believe it or not, conservation of mass is still important in magic. There are drawbacks, of course. Every animal has its strong and weak points. I've tried making more raccoons, but it's just too hard to trap my own 'people'. And I've avoided anything small enough to get eaten as a snack by our own members. At least most of the time."

	He gave me a measuring look. "What else did you have in mind, Jen?"		He gave me a measuring look. "What else did you have in mind, Jen?"
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	Brian chuckled. "The gang's all here. I feel like the odd man out. Hmm..."		Brian chuckled. "The gang's all here. I feel like the odd man out. Hmm..."

	"Didn't ~~meant~~ to put you in a tough spot," I said.		"Didn't mean to put you in a tough spot," I said.

	"It's okay. I like being surrounded by beautiful women," the raccoon-man said. "And there's a way around this little problem, if you don't mind me performing an experiment on myself."		"It's okay. I like being surrounded by beautiful women," the raccoon-man said dryly. "And there's a way around this little problem, if you don't mind me performing an experiment on myself."

	I flicked my ears back. "Don't put yourself through any trouble on our account."		I flicked my ears back. "Don't put yourself through any trouble on our account."
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	Donna chewed on her lower lip, then sighed heavily. "I guess this makes us a conspiracy."		Donna chewed on her lower lip, then sighed heavily. "I guess this makes us a conspiracy."

	That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie ~~theatre~~. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."		That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie theater. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."

	"Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''		"Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''

	{{Separator\|k}}		{{Separator\|k}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:32, 26 August 2007
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	"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.		"Look, I need to make at least thirty more medallions by the end of the month. I don't have ''time'' to teach anybody, Jenny. I just... I can't." Brian wasn't angry, exactly. Frustrated yes, since I had pressed on this issue relentlessly for the past hour. The bare fact was that somehow he was the most experienced magic-user among us "animals". I'd stirred him up so much he was pacing around his mini-tardis tree's living space.

	"If you show us how you do it we can take the pressure off," Donna said. She had only swallowed half the Crystal Light in her glass. "I know I've always been curious how it works. I mean, why do we end up female even at One? It'd be possible to be a human male on one end of the scale and a female deer on the other, wouldn't it?"		"If you show us how you do it we can take the pressure off," Donna said. She had only swallowed half the Crystal Light in her glass. "I know I've always been curious how it works. I mean, why do we end up female even at One? It'd be possible to be an almost-human male on one end of the scale and a female deer on the other, wouldn't it?"

	"It's a second order effect," the raccoon-mage ~~replied~~. "I honestly expected the same thing you ~~did~~ when I first started passing them out when I didn't have ~~a medallion of the proper sex~~. It flips your original gender to match the creature you bond to. I don't know hot to reverse it." He shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, girls."		"It's a second order effect," the raccoon-mage explained. "Out of my control. I honestly expected the same thing you said when I first started passing them out to new recruits, when I didn't have any other options. It flips your original gender to match the creature you bond to. I don't know hot to reverse it." He shrugged helplessly. "Sorry, girls."

	"Doesn't matter," I replied with a dismissive wave. The cool air inside the raccoon's home played around my bare skin and nipples. He was really quite a handsome fellow, and those raccoon ears of his were kind of cute. I had to admit that those were some very feminine thoughts, and attributed them to ~~my new hormone mix~~. Humans have instincts, too. And the three of us had remained quite nude. "We're adapting well to the gender-flipping, Brian. Honestly, we are. Let me explain myself one more time.		"Doesn't matter," I replied with a dismissive wave. The cool air inside the raccoon's home played around my bare skin and nipples. He was really quite a handsome fellow, and those raccoon ears of his were kind of cute. I had to admit that those were some very feminine thoughts, and attributed them to the estrogen. Humans have instincts, too. And the three of us had remained quite nude. "We're adapting well to the gender-flipping, Brian. Honestly, we are. Let me explain myself one more time.

	"We're losing through attrition alone. Either because we have former humans going to Eleven, or even ~~because of~~ predation. Most of us are deer, or something small enough for the coyotes and cougars to get, or the predators we ''do'' have get knocked off by humans. Right?" I said.		"We're losing through attrition alone. Either because we have former humans going to Eleven, or even predation. Most of us are deer, or something small enough for the coyotes and cougars to get, or the predators we ''do'' have get knocked off by humans protecting livestock. Right?" I said.

	Brian nodded, then took another sip of his drink. "The animals have gotten harder to catch, too. They have to be bound into the medallion."		Brian nodded, then took another sip of his drink. "The animals have gotten harder to catch, too. They have to be bound into the medallion."
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	"Why so many deer?" Donna asked, folding her arms under her bosom. "You'd think that cougars and coyotes would be a better choice for the Resistance. Hunting instincts and all that."		"Why so many deer?" Donna asked, folding her arms under her bosom. "You'd think that cougars and coyotes would be a better choice for the Resistance. Hunting instincts and all that."

	"Practical reasons," he replied. "Whitetails are very, very numerous. They're easy to trap alive. They're also very close to human-size. Believe it or not, conservation of mass is still important. There are drawbacks, of course. I've tried making more raccoons, but it's just too hard to trap my own 'people'."		"Practical reasons," he replied. "Whitetails are very, very numerous. They're easy to trap alive. They're also very close to human-size. Believe it or not, conservation of mass is still important in magic. There are drawbacks, of course. Every animal has its strong and weak points. I've tried making more raccoons, but it's just too hard to trap my own 'people'. And I've avoided anything small enough to get eaten as a snack by our own members."

	He gave me a measuring look. "What else did you have in mind, Jen?"		He gave me a measuring look. "What else did you have in mind, Jen?"
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	"I'll need whatever you created to turn us morphic when we came in here in the home base tree's entrance. Everyone gets 'morphed. Everyone. We need to stop living like animals and remember what our purpose is. Outside home base, we can stay furred up and on four legs. It's necessary for the subterfuge. ''Inside'' is human civilization. Period."		"I'll need whatever you created to turn us morphic when we came in here in the home base tree's entrance. Everyone gets 'morphed. Everyone. We need to stop living like animals and remember what our purpose is. Outside home base, we can stay furred up and on four legs. It's necessary for the subterfuge. ''Inside'' is human civilization. Period."

	Lucy chose that moment to appear in the tree's entrance spot, flat on her back like Donna and I. My cervine companion had gone outside and sent out a telepathic call for her. ~~{{add\|~~"Yow," the golden vixen yipped.}} "Now that's a trip! I hope I'm not too late, all." She bounced to her feet, and noting that everyone else was a One, pulled herself as human as she could get. Her bushy tail swished behind her, then wrapped it around her front shyly. "I feel like a furry centerfold. Can someone fill me in?"		Lucy chose that moment to appear in the tree's entrance spot, flat on her back like Donna and I. My cervine companion had gone outside and sent out a telepathic call for her. "Yow," the golden vixen yipped. "Now that's a trip! I hope I'm not too late, all. Had to see a man about a mouse." She bounced to her feet, and noting that everyone else was a One, pulled herself as human as she could get. Her bushy tail swished behind her, then wrapped it around her front shyly. "I feel like a furry centerfold. Can someone fill me in?"

	Brian chuckled. "The gang's all here. I feel like the odd man out. Hmm..."		Brian chuckled. "The gang's all here. I feel like the odd man out. Hmm..."
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	I flicked my ears back. "Don't put yourself through any trouble on our account."		I flicked my ears back. "Don't put yourself through any trouble on our account."

	He chuckled, rummaging around in a pile of medallions, some of which had odd symbols on them that roughly resembled the ones on the animal medallions. "Oh, this is something I've been thinking of doing for a while now. Think of it as penance for not having the correct medallions for you and the other gender-flipped," he replied. "Ah, here it is!"		He chuckled, rummaging around in a pile of medallions, some of which had odd symbols on them that roughly resembled the ones on the animal medallions, but more abstract. "Oh, this is something I've been thinking of doing for a while now. Think of it as penance for not having the correct medallions for you--um," he stammered, remembering that I had actually chosen this despite a stag medallion being available, perhaps. "Uh, you and the other gender-flipped," he replied. "Ah, here it is!"

	The wooden medallion was about an inch across, and had a simple symbol on it: the plus-handled "handmirror" of female.		The wooden medallion was about an inch across, and had a simple symbol on it: the plus-handled "handmirror" of female.
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	There was a moment of uncertainty... and for an instant, there were two people occupying the same space. Then the two points connected, and Brian's body ''flowed'' into a female shape. The temporary female just stood there for a minute or so before Lucy went to keep her from toppling over.		There was a moment of uncertainty... and for an instant, there were two people occupying the same space. Then the two points connected, and Brian's body ''flowed'' into a female shape. The temporary female just stood there for a minute or so before Lucy went to keep her from toppling over.

	"Neat!" the golden vixen said, tongue lolling. "What does that mean for us?"		"Neat!" the golden vixen said, tongue lolling. It looked odd on her mostly-human face with no muzzle. "What does that mean for us?"

	Brian blushed. She did have a pretty face, I had to admit. "Um... nothing so far, sorry to say. Like I said, I don't understand how those second-order effects work. I'm not even sure why this works on ''me!'' This is the first kind of medallion I've created that doesn't require any sort of external soul-binding. I think that's why the effect is temporary. You're going to have to give me a few more months, girls."		Brian blushed. She did have a pretty face, I had to admit. "Um... nothing so far, sorry to say. Like I said, I don't understand how those second-order effects work. I'm not even sure why this works on ''me!'' This is the first kind of medallion I've created that doesn't require any sort of external soul-binding. I think that's why the effect is temporary. You're going to have to give me a few more months, girls."

	It was an ~~interesting~~ demonstration. "Brianna" sheepishly took her seat opposite the rest of us, blushing furiously, arms folded over her chest. "So, um, let's girl talk. Where do we go from here?"		It was an unequivocal demonstration of his acumen and innovation in magic. It was clear to me now that we needed to know everything he--or she--did. "Brianna" sheepishly took her seat opposite the rest of us, blushing furiously, arms folded over her chest. "So, um, let's girl talk. Where do we go from here?"

	Donna chewed on her lower lip, then sighed heavily. "I guess this makes us a conspiracy."		Donna chewed on her lower lip, then sighed heavily. "I guess this makes us a conspiracy."
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	That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie theatre. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."		That word grated on me like fingernails across a chalk board. Like a cell phone going off in a movie theatre. "No. No conspiracy," I said firmly, tapping the tabletop with my fingertips. "Let's approach Barry with our grievances ''first.'' If he does nothing, then we'll persuade the others and get things moving ourselves. We're going to be as open about this as possible."

	"Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''		Then you'd better start with me," Lucy said, tapping her paw-foot. "What's ''going on?"''

	{{Separator\|k}}		{{Separator\|k}}