User:MatthiasRat/Change Building - Revision history

MatthiasRat: Sticka fork in it! It's done! Another Paradise story completed. :-)

2009-05-08T21:56:39Z

Sticka fork in it! It's done! Another Paradise story completed. :-)

Show changes

MatthiasRat: Another scene done. Okay, this time for real. Just one more to go.

2009-05-06T16:47:03Z

Another scene done. Okay, this time for real. Just one more to go.

Show changes

MatthiasRat: Finished the scene. One more to go I believe and I can wind this one down.

2009-05-05T23:23:27Z

Finished the scene. One more to go I believe and I can wind this one down.

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:23, 5 May 2009
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	He knew that not everyone would say that Leslie was beautiful. She didn't fit the stereotype that the world considered glamorous of gorgeous. She had a small face that fit nicely beneath her tangle of tightly curled dark brown hair. Her lips only smiled when she was truly happy, which made her appear more focussed than she really was. And her glasses gave her a faintly standoffish look. But for all that, Christopher Mattiaz knew in his heart she was beautiful and he loved her.		He knew that not everyone would say that Leslie was beautiful. She didn't fit the stereotype that the world considered glamorous of gorgeous. She had a small face that fit nicely beneath her tangle of tightly curled dark brown hair. Her lips only smiled when she was truly happy, which made her appear more focussed than she really was. And her glasses gave her a faintly standoffish look. But for all that, Christopher Mattiaz knew in his heart she was beautiful and he loved her.

			Together they finished the crossword puzzle, then snuggled together on the couch. Most of the time, Chris laid his head against her chest, curling up just like the rodent he now was. They didn't say anything, and they didn't need to. When the time came to head to Mass, they hugged once and then walked to their bedroom together to change. Chris made sure that Leslie didn't see him buttoning up his tail hole, but otherwise hid nothing from her. It felt good to be able to do that.

			To his delight, Rob and Audrey were there at Mass. Rob was still a skunk and Audrey was still human. Rob grinned brightly, showing off his fangs when he saw the rat and Leslie enter. Chris nodded, noted the quick glance Rob made toward Leslie, and then shook his head. Rob furrowed his brow, long tail lashing over the back of the pew, and nearly brushing in the face of another parishioner who knelt at prayer, but didn't say anything to give him away. In a quiet voice he said, "Chris, Leslie, good to see you."

			"And you, Rob," Chris said. "Glad you could make it."

			Leslie and Audrey said their hellos too and the four of them settled down for Mass. Chris wished he could have paid attention, but he was still too excited by all the possibilities being male again brought. Nearly all of them involved Leslie, one whose leg his paw stayed through almost the entire service. But after three years of being female, he knew he should try to not be so desperate. That was going to be the hard part.

			And Leslie seemed to notice too. After Mass, Rob invited them out to lunch, but Leslie had to go into work soon so they had to decline. When they got home, Chris insisted on making her something before she left for work. At which Leslie said, "You've been awfully attentive today. Is something wrong?"

			Chris tensed, long tail curling tightly about his foot paws. He licked his jowls quickly, and pressed his paws together. "No! No. Nothing's wrong. Well, just, I guess I've been feeling..." He took a deep breath, and lowered his ears and whiskers. "I've been neglecting you lately, Leslie. I want to try to make up for it. I know you wish I was around more and would be with you more. I'm going to give that a try too. I love you, Leslie. I want to be with you forever. I want to be your husband and not just in name. I want-"

			Before he could go any further, Leslie wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the nose. "Oh, I love you, Chris. I'm sorry I've been so distant too."

			Chris hugged his wife tightly and repressed the excited squeak that danced on his tongue. The tip of his tail squeezing his ankle in joy.

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MatthiasRat: Tiny bit more

2009-05-05T09:28:01Z

Tiny bit more

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:28, 5 May 2009
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	But when Leslie finally woke, the inchoate desire to tell her what he truly was withered inside of him like a new shoot under a bright, arid sun. One look from her groggy face as she walked into the kitchen to prepare herself some coffee made him withdraw back into his nest of secrets. After a brief ‘good morning', the rat busied himself with stuffing his modified clothing into his side of the dresser. Maybe he'd have the courage after Mass to tell.		But when Leslie finally woke, the inchoate desire to tell her what he truly was withered inside of him like a new shoot under a bright, arid sun. One look from her groggy face as she walked into the kitchen to prepare herself some coffee made him withdraw back into his nest of secrets. After a brief ‘good morning', the rat busied himself with stuffing his modified clothing into his side of the dresser. Maybe he'd have the courage after Mass to tell.

			When he finished, Chris started to head out to join his wife on the couch when it dawned on him that this would be just about the first time he would be male with her since their wedding. He tapped his knuckles against either side of his snout to calm himself. It felt so odd to brush them through his whiskers, stiff but yielding and sensitive. His body trembled for several seconds, and then his breathing caught up to him. "I'm a man again," he whispered, new tongue forming the pleasing words without difficulty. "I'm a man again. I can be a proper husband."

			He opened his eyes, emboldened, and left the bedroom, found his wife on the couch scouring the TV Guide crossword, and slid in next to her, one paw carefully gliding his tail around his other hip. He slid his left arm around her back, and then set his right paw on her thigh and stroked softly with his thumb and claw. He turned to look up at her, noting her face in all its lovely detail.

			He knew that not everyone would say that Leslie was beautiful. She didn't fit the stereotype that the world considered glamorous of gorgeous. She had a small face that fit nicely beneath her tangle of tightly curled dark brown hair. Her lips only smiled when she was truly happy, which made her appear more focussed than she really was. And her glasses gave her a faintly standoffish look. But for all that, Christopher Mattiaz knew in his heart she was beautiful and he loved her.

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MatthiasRat: Started next scene.

2009-05-04T09:29:32Z

Started next scene.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:29, 4 May 2009
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	He still gave one more scream of joy before rushing back inside.		He still gave one more scream of joy before rushing back inside.

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			Leslie slept for another three hours in which Chris readied all of his rat things and posted on the Changed network. It was too early for there to be any postings about new Changed, but there were a couple people who knew folks who'd been sick the last couple of days, so the rat hoped to see some good news from them soon.

			Chris spent a good bit of time refamiliarizing himself with his rodent form. He'd been a rat once before, and had been male that time too, so it didn't take long for him to remember how his body worked. The profusion of whiskers were very sensitive and helped him determine which way the wind was blowing and also helped him find his way in the dark The long tail helped him keep his balance; as a bear he could walk and stand like a human, but the rodent body shape was more beastly and he always leaned slightly forward with bent knees and ankles. His fingers and toes were long and thin, and so he had to trade up for his original wedding band, the smallest of the four. His incisors yearned to gnaw and he realized he'd have to find someway to do so discretely. When he'd been a rat before, most of the year he'd still been a bachelor, and so it was easy to keep a supply of sticks to sate his teeth. Now he'd have to figure out a way to keep Leslie from noticing chewed up wood chips.

			But with a new body there came other adjustments too. Chris had to find a comfortable way to sit down without pinching his tail and using the toilet without making a mess every time. Because his tail was not as flexible as he wished, he had to sit as far forward on the couch as he could, or to lean back and slide his tail forward between his legs. And on the toilet he had to sit backward and bend as far forward as he could just to aim properly. It was one of the few things he knew he'd miss about being female — a male Changed always had to perform some sort of gymnastics to cleanly make use of a toilet.

			But those were challenges he was delighted to undertake. He was equally pleased to resume buttoning his pants in front and back. He'd have to be very careful about leaving laundry out because the hole he'd made to accommodate his rat tail was very large compared to the size of his pants. He'd even sewn tail sleeves onto his winter gear to help keep the sensitive appendage warm.

			But now that he was male again, the thought struck him, perhaps it was time to let Leslie in on the secret the way Rob had let Audrey in on it. There wouldn't be the gender awkwardness, nor the spectre of a lesbian relationship, a thought that thoroughly discomforted and disgusted Chris. Not that he would say others couldn't do that sort of thing if it was their choice, he just had no desire to do it himself, no matter how comfortable he'd become in a female body.

			But when Leslie finally woke, the inchoate desire to tell her what he truly was withered inside of him like a new shoot under a bright, arid sun. One look from her groggy face as she walked into the kitchen to prepare herself some coffee made him withdraw back into his nest of secrets. After a brief ‘good morning', the rat busied himself with stuffing his modified clothing into his side of the dresser. Maybe he'd have the courage after Mass to tell.

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MatthiasRat: Change scene finished! You knew I'd do this. :-)

2009-05-01T00:45:32Z

Change scene finished! You knew I'd do this. :-)

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:45, 30 April 2009
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	CM's paws gripped the side of the sink, and they too lost their fur. The skin beneath became a pinkish beige which could almost pass for a typical Caucasian skin tone. Her claws, once long and thick, were now narrow and pointed. The only fur left on her paws was a taper on the back extending just past her wrists.		CM's paws gripped the side of the sink, and they too lost their fur. The skin beneath became a pinkish beige which could almost pass for a typical Caucasian skin tone. Her claws, once long and thick, were now narrow and pointed. The only fur left on her paws was a taper on the back extending just past her wrists.

			Her heels lifted off the floor as the thick pads of her feet faded into a slender digitgrade stance. Her toes lengthened and splayed, ursine claws dwindling into tiny spears. She shifted her weight around, knees folding to adjust to her new stance.

			Though her weight decreased everywhere else, behind her she felt her tail swell and stretch, descending down beyond her ankles and curling across the cool tile of the bathroom floor. It thickened as she shrank, until it was wider than her arms at its root. The familiar muscles twisted from side to side, and her long whip-like tail slid effortlessly across the floor and through the air.

			Aware of all that happened to her body, CM still watched only her face. The face of the bear melted away, even as she shrank inch by inch from the top of the mirror down to its bottom. Though her eyes didn't move, it appeared that they slid further apart as her head moulded to its new shape. But they did bulge more as they darkened to a rich black. Her nose brightened to the same beige hue as her paws, while from beneath her cleft lips protruded a pair of thick, white incisors. Coupled with the long, thick tail, the short stature, the almost furless paws, and the still rotund belly, CM had once more become a rat.

			But unlike the bear, this time there was an odd weight bearing down on her front. CM, glanced down and blinked a few times, her heart beating faster and faster she took the sight in. She wasn't a she anymore. Betwixt her... no, his legs was something he'd pined for these last three years. CM no longer, he was Christopher Mattiaz once again. A man! A rat, but a man at long last!

			Chris covered his longer snout with his paws, even as he felt the power of the change dissipate from his body. He trembled, trying to hold back the laugh that pounded at the back of his throat. His tongue pressed firmly against his incisors, and he felt the need to gnaw wake from a long slumber. He shifted his legs about, tail lashing in ecstasy, and nearly pinched his returned genitals. After three years of being a woman, he now had to remember he had something between his legs in front too.

			Unable to contain his excitement, Chris grabbed his bathrobe and dashed out the bathroom, short claws digging into the carpet. He yanked the robe over his arms, even as the end dragged a full foot behind him. The robe, too short while he'd been a bear, was much too long now that he was a rat. But he didn't care. He fumbled at the lock to his front door, managed it, charged up the stairs and outside into the parking lot, and let out a shout for joy into the night sky.

			"Thank you! Hallelujah! Oh thank you! Thank you!" Chris laughed and danced on his paws, not caring about all the little stones irritating his sensitive flesh, nor that anyone in the complex would wake and hear him. "Oh Lord, thank you! I'm a man again! I love you! Thank you! Hallelujah!" He laughed in delight so hard he started to cry. His tail lashed so hard that he managed to yank his robe off, leaving him completely nude.

			Christopher Mattiaz was so happy he managed not to notice his nudity for another three minutes. He capered about, grasping his tail in his paws and feeling across its smooth surface marred only by the occasional scraggly strand of brown hair. He ran his paws through his fur, which was a uniform brown across his back with a lighter underbelly. And he enjoyed every bit of it.

			The newly made rat finally pulled his robe back over his form and managed to huddle down on his modified knees. His long tail continued to whip back and forth behind him, so close to the asphalt that he could feel it tickle his scraggly hairs. He took a long deep breath, savouring the feel of every part of his new and very masculine body. In a much quieter voice he said, "Thank you, Father. Please let me stay this way. If it is your will. But for today, thank you!"

			Chris made the sign of the cross, lowering his snout as his claw traced out that venerable symbol of his faith. In the light of the streetlamps, Chris consummated his prayer with a kiss from his incisors on the backs of his paws. He rose, once again a man, and walked back to his apartment. It was time to set out his year four gear and post his good fortune on the forums.

			He still gave one more scream of joy before rushing back inside.

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MatthiasRat: Hooray! The Change is here! Still more to go, but that's all I had time for this morning. Off to work!

2009-04-30T09:24:31Z

Hooray! The Change is here! Still more to go, but that's all I had time for this morning. Off to work!

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:24, 30 April 2009
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	CM closed her journal, turned out the light, and lay her massive head down to sleep on her last night as a bear. For the first time in a log time, she was truly happy before a Change.		CM closed her journal, turned out the light, and lay her massive head down to sleep on her last night as a bear. For the first time in a log time, she was truly happy before a Change.

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			Five o'clock. CM's eyes popped pen at that early hour of the morning with the sudden need to use the bathroom. It was always like this. The she-bear could still smell the pizza on Leslie who lay snoring faintly next to her with mouth agape. Crystal was curled up between them.

			CM slid one paw under the sheet and gingerly drew it over her chest and belly. She lifted one knee and eased her paw to the ground, being careful not to catch her long claws on the blankets. She put one hand on the bedframe and heaved herself up. The metal groaned faintly as it disgorged her three-hundred plus pound body, but Leslie continued her peaceful slumber. CM smiled, eyes warming beneath heavy brows, and pulled the covers back over her side of the bed.

			With many years of practice walking with claws, CM had no trouble quietly making her way from the bedroom to the bathroom. She shut both doors behind her, sat on the toilet, and relieved herself one last time as a bear. A sullen energy filled her, building to what would come in only minutes. CM tensed her claws, digging through the fur over her knees. What was going to happen this year? What would her friends say when they saw what she became?

			CM lowered the lid, flushed, and then shook out her fur, glancing at herself in the mirror. The charge inside of her flesh was making her fingers tremble. She smiled at her reflection and softly whispered, "Goodbye bear."

			And then the power broke forth like water rushing through a dam. But instead of that internal expansion she'd felt the last time, this was like being wrapped tight in a glove and squeezed from every direction. Her fur lightened in hue, though still remained a warm brown. It shrank into her body even as her bulk sucked inward like plastic recoiling and corroding from a fire. Her snout narrowed, whiskers flanking on either side. Fangs diminished, while from her gums incisors began to protrude. Rounded ears did not shrink with the rest of her, but lost their fur and scalloped inward.

			CM's paws gripped the side of the sink, and they too lost their fur. The skin beneath became a pinkish beige which could almost pass for a typical Caucasian skin tone. Her claws, once long and thick, were now narrow and pointed. The only fur left on her paws was a taper on the back extending just past her wrists.

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MatthiasRat: Finished the scene finally.

2009-04-29T00:50:43Z

Finished the scene finally.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:50, 28 April 2009
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	Time enough for one last jaunt around the complex with Crystal, and then she should get to bed. CM slipped the shoes over her feet, watched them disappear, and called her dog after her. Crystal climbed off the beanbag chair and followed the bear out the door. Crystal was an old dog, but she managed the stairs fine. The evening was pleasantly cool and the slight breeze felt good through her thick fur. Crystal sniffed around and them ambled after the bear as they walked around the Chasewood Downs complex.		Time enough for one last jaunt around the complex with Crystal, and then she should get to bed. CM slipped the shoes over her feet, watched them disappear, and called her dog after her. Crystal climbed off the beanbag chair and followed the bear out the door. Crystal was an old dog, but she managed the stairs fine. The evening was pleasantly cool and the slight breeze felt good through her thick fur. Crystal sniffed around and them ambled after the bear as they walked around the Chasewood Downs complex.

			She didn't see any of the other neighbourhood dogs, and so after fifteen minutes they wended their way back to the apartment. CM closed the door behind them, gently pet Crystal on her hairy head, and then stretched, letting out a rumbling sigh. "Well, I guess it's time to go to bed, eh, Crystal?"

			Her Cairn Terrier licked her nose and laid back down on the bean bag. CM laughed and padded back into the computer room. She stuffed her last pair of shoes into the boxes, and then removed the last of her clothing, folded it, and shoved it in. She closed up the boxes and put them back into the closet, making sure that the boxes marked with a "4" were now on top so she could get to them easily if she changed as she expected.

			Completely naked apart from her fur, CM turned off the computer room lights and entered her bedroom. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and shifted about, noting the bulky, ursine form. Her belly curved outward as if she'd hidden a basket beneath her fur. Her breasts sagged, though covered by her brown fur, they appeared only as very noticeable lumps on her chest. Her face, broad and dark, ended in a wide black nose, while her eyes, small and black, stared out with a warmth that she had grown to love in the last year.

			CM smiled and her fangs glistened beneath her jowls. Yes, she'd miss being a bear.

			CM climbed into bed and pulled out her journal. She tapped the pencil against her fangs for a moment and then began to write.

			<div style="font-family: Technical, Comic Sans MS, cursive; font-size:12pt; font-weight:normal; width:480px; padding:10px;">
			Aug 16, 2003

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">Another year comes to a close, another chapter in my unusual life comes to its end. Tomorrow I will Change again, and the only thing I can hope is that I will be male again. I've been female for three years now, and I hate to admit it but it's starting to rub off on me. But there's a very good reason for that.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">This is the first time I've been seen and treated as a female.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">But this is also the first year I've realized that I wasn't alone. There are so many more who are Changed like me into animal-men. First my friend Rob was turned into a skunk. Then there was this lawyer from Cleveland, Walter Lundh who is now a long horn bull. And through him I met Carter Ryan a black wolf from Buffalo, who I've been working with this last year on calculating the number of Changed. And then there's the ones we met at Technicon, Jan and Dennis, Claire, Barb, Carl, Kyle, and Edgar.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">I'm so happy to know I'm not alone, it made being treated like a female from time to time well worth it. It's kind of funny, because I don't even mind the way Jan leered at me the first time we met anymore. I guess he's more than made up for it with his visits, and the time he's spent teaching me to ride a bike. I know I want one of those one day. Ah, but first I need some real money.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">The money we made from the work with the number crunching helped pay off some of my education debts, but there's plenty more of that to go. It's better to pay off debt anyway. Wish the government would figure that one out.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">Ironically, the money I used to pay off my debt was tax dollars, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">It was rather interesting to meet Congressman Sandrick. Good to know there's at least one person in congress who understands our needs. But I really enjoyed meeting Number Two. Reynaldo De Smet was a very interesting fox, and he seemed to understand my situation better than most. It was nice to finally have a chance to talk with somebody who's been Changed longer than I have.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">The important thins above all else, I'm not alone. No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll never be alone again.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">Bear. Female. It's been interesting. I love being a bear. I even love having a big belly and dealing with hibernation hunger. And I love making Rob, Jan and the others squirm when I catch a fish in my jaws. And it's kind of fun seeing the way they act all embarrassed around me when we're bathing.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">Ah... but the year of bear is over. And
			hopefully the years of female are over. I only wish that Leslie was Changing too.

			<p style="text-indent: 2em; line-height:1.2;">Lord, I don't know what You still have in store for me in the years to come, but I will trust in You that everything will be okay. No matter what happens. Please guide me. In nomine Patris, et Filli, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
			</div>

			CM closed her journal, turned out the light, and lay her massive head down to sleep on her last night as a bear. For the first time in a log time, she was truly happy before a Change.

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MatthiasRat: Tiny bit more

2009-04-27T09:23:05Z

Tiny bit more

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:23, 27 April 2009
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	CM hung up the phone and smiled. Well they may not have any new Changed from amongst their friends, but at least there'd be more of them local no matter what happened. It was a stark change from previous years when CM had spent her days and nights wondering if she was the only in all the world.		CM hung up the phone and smiled. Well they may not have any new Changed from amongst their friends, but at least there'd be more of them local no matter what happened. It was a stark change from previous years when CM had spent her days and nights wondering if she was the only in all the world.

			CM lumbered into the computer room and opened her private closet. She pulled out the numbered boxes and opened all those marked "3". It was time to put all of her bear things away.

			With care and precision, CM took her clothes out of her dresser and closet and one by one folded them tight and stuffed them into the boxes. She had to shove a few times, and snagged her claws in a few loose fibres a few times too, but managed to get everything inside. Next came all her bras and panties, as well as other female accessories she wouldn't be needing for the next year if she were lucky. Even if she did need them, she'd likely need much smaller versions.

			CM stalked every corner of their apartment for anything else that had to go into the boxes. Such a thorough inspection offered several opportunities to clean which she took without thinking. By the time she stuffed all but a single pair of shoes in the boxes, she'd knew Leslie would be very pleased with seeing how nice the apartment looked. Twilight descended outside, and all that CM had left to store in the boxes was her current attire, the last pair of shoes, and her wedding ring.

			Time enough for one last jaunt around the complex with Crystal, and then she should get to bed. CM slipped the shoes over her feet, watched them disappear, and called her dog after her. Crystal climbed off the beanbag chair and followed the bear out the door. Crystal was an old dog, but she managed the stairs fine. The evening was pleasantly cool and the slight breeze felt good through her thick fur. Crystal sniffed around and them ambled after the bear as they walked around the Chasewood Downs complex.

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MatthiasRat: Next scene underway

2009-04-23T16:10:58Z

Next scene underway

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:10, 23 April 2009
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	There wasn't anything else CM could do but lay in bed and wait for the pain to go away. She hoped that Rob and the others would have better luck.		There wasn't anything else CM could do but lay in bed and wait for the pain to go away. She hoped that Rob and the others would have better luck.

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			After calling off from work and being kissed and tended by Leslie, CM spent most of Friday laying in bed. She attempted to read, but her eyes didn't want to focus on the pages. She tried at one point to climb out of bed to go watch a movie on the couch, but it took an hour to convince her body to make that journey; then after watching the first half of The Fellowship of the Ring she decided she'd rather try to sleep anyway. Apart from one time in the evening when she plopped herself on the porcelain pedestal to make her bodily offering, she never bothered trying to get out of bed again.

			Leslie was kind enough to leave the phone at her bedside once she went to work, and so CM was able to answer the phone when Rob called to check on her. The skunk asked her how she was doing, but once he knew that CM was suffering the Change sickness, he excused himself and hung up. CM felt like growling at the world, but that would probably only make her stomach tie itself into even more knots. Instead, she lay in bed and let her bodily misery run its course.

			Like all things, time worked its own wonders, and the she bear found the patience she'd honed in her many years alone and the seven times she'd suffered this before (not to mention all the periods she'd undergone during her five female years) helped her endure the long Friday. She got little sleep that night, and the illness persisted Saturday morning. Another quick call to work and she resumed her sojourn in bed. Leslie understood her need to suffer alone and after doing what little she could for her husband, Leslie closed the bedroom door and quietly went about her daily chores before work.

			By the time Leslie left for her afternoon-evening shift, the pain began to ebb. CM opened her eyes and took a long deep breath of air that stank of bear fur. She panted, drool wetting her cheeks. With her right paw she thrust the covers off her frame, and enjoyed the relatively cool air inside their apartment. A few minutes later, she managed to lumber to her feet and began navigating her heavy bulk over to her dresser. She pulled a loose t-shirt on and a pair of shorts. If she was lucky, she wouldn't need the bras and panties after tomorrow morning, so decided not to bother with them.

			Their dog Crystal lay sleeping on her beanbag, but did open her eyes at CM's approach. The she-bear pet the elderly Cairn on the head and then entered the kitchen to find something to eat. It would be her last meal as a bear, possibly forever, and after a day and a half of laying in bed, she was starved!

			A hour later, CM had cleaned out the fridge and sat contented, one paw idly storking her distended and gurgling belly through the fur. If not for being female, she'd love being a bear. And, CM had to admit with a sigh, being female wasn't so bad either.

			But tomorrow morning she wouldn't be a bear anymore, and there was plenty to do still to prepare. Being the middle of the Summer, as it was only six o'clock they had a few hours until night cloaked their little mountain town. But CM wouldn't be able to stay up much more after that, not when she had a Change coming the next day.

			With a grunt, she hefted herself out of the chair, found the phone, and gave Rob a call. The skunk answered on the third ring. "Hey, CM! Feeling better?"

			"Much," CM replied. "No more headache and my belly's fed, so I'm good. How about you? And the rest of SOAP?"

			She could almost see him shake his head. "Looks like I'm going to stay a skunk, and none of the other SOAP members reported coming down with the flu recently. Barb and I also checked with a bunch of folks from VTSFFC, but nobody there either."

			It only took CM a moment to remember that VTSFFC was the local science fiction and fantasy fan club; technically Technicon was started by VTSFFC, but the last few years it had been mostly run by the furs from SOAP. "So nobody new that we know," CM said with a rumbling sigh. "It was probably too much to expect. What about the others across the state?"

			"I called them yesterday to let them know you were out of it, but nothing on that front either. At least not yet. Not even Jan and Dennis had anything to report. Tomorrow's the big day. If anything's going to happen it'll be then."

			"And then some," CM added with a faint laugh. "Well, next time you see me I won't be a bear. Most likely. We should keep our eyes and ears open tomorrow. If folks don't show up to work or church and all that, it could be because they've Changed."

			Rob laughed. "I was hiding in my room last year! I don't know how long I would have stayed in there if you hadn't shoved your claws under my door! It'll probably take a few days before we can be sure."

			"True." CM leaned her head back, shifting the handset from ear to muzzle as she spoke and listened. "Either way, when Kyle gets here, there'll be four of us in Blacksburg."

			"He's already here," Rob replied. The skunk snorted and CM could imagine him rolling his eyes. "He's suck a chipmunk. He couldn't wait and is crashing over at the furry apartment until the dorms open up. Patrick's going to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't leave fur all over the place."

			The bear laughed and felt a smile crease her jowls. "I should have known he'd come early."

			"Hey, CM, does Leslie work tomorrow night?"

			"Yeah, why?"

			"Since Kyle's here, I'm going to have a Changed party at my place tomorrow night. Only going to be four of us it looks like, but Patrick and Audrey will be there too. If you aren't going to tell Leslie, at least come join us to celebrate a year."

			CM nodded. "I will. If I become male again, I'll have to tell Leslie. Until then, we'll see. Thanks for the invite though. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

			"Show up whenever, but not until after five." The skunk paused for a moment then added, "You don't work tomorrow do you?"

			"No, I asked for that day off weeks ago."

			"They probably think you took the last two days off to extend your holiday."

			CM grunted, tongue clicking against the back of her fangs. "They better not."

			Rob laughed and said, "Well, I'm going to go over the server one more time to make sure it's ready. If we're right, we should get a whole lot more Changed joining the Network in the next few weeks."

			"Indeed! Take care, Rob. I'll see you tomorrow."

			"I may try to come to Mass too," Rob replied. "See you then!"

			CM hung up the phone and smiled. Well they may not have any new Changed from amongst their friends, but at least there'd be more of them local no matter what happened. It was a stark change from previous years when CM had spent her days and nights wondering if she was the only in all the world.

	{{Separator\|k\|Work in Progress}}		{{Separator\|k\|Work in Progress}}