User:Jetfire/School Daze Day 2

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{{#ifeq: User |User| School Daze Day 1 | School Daze Day 1}}[[Title::{{#ifeq: User |User| School Daze Day 1 | School Daze Day 1}}| ]]
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Author's note This story is basically R rated, but future chapters may have adult scenes for sexuality between adults. Reader descretion is advised

Sunday September 24

Spruce Coulee Camp

Nicole clawed her way back to consciousness, trying ineffectively to cling to the dreams she had been having. Still in the grips of sleep paralysis, she realized there was one aspect of her dreams that weren't fading away; the tingling arousal in her loins. An arousal she couldn't take advantage of.

Her consciousness finally broke through her sleep haze and took control of her body. She could sense the room was fairly bright, lit by the rising sun coming through the thin curtains. She opened her eyes, and the world crashed in on her.

She squinted against the brightness, blinking and bringing the world back into focus. A strange bird-like face was facing her, the figure still deep in sleep. She twitched before her mind kicked into gear and reminded her of the previous day.

"Fuck," she groaned, realizing it wasn't a nightmare. Now that she remembered the previous day, she recognized the presence of her own beak, the weight of her wings and tail, and the strange way she was blinking now, flicking a translucent membrane across her eyes instead of closing them.

She laid in bed, mourning that brief moment in waking where she'd felt normal and not like a monster creature from mythology. She refocused on her sleeping husband, studying his sleeping form. His eyes were still fully closed, barely visible slits on his feathered face. His furry breasts lifted and fell slightly with each breath, his wings twitching slightly from dream reactions. She pressed her lower wing down to help pull herself back without shaking the bed too much.

The distance let her look lower at Andrew, and she noticed she wasn't the only one having arousal problems. He was clearly having a major case of morning wood, a piece of wood she wasn't fully expecting. It was still somewhat normal sized from what she could tell, but it wasn't really human looking. Instead of a glans flaring at the end, it came to a more pointed tip. And it had backward facing nubs down its length on all sides. She stared at it, trying to sort out her feelings. One part of it was scared by the appearance of his shaft; the barbs looked dangerous and unnatural. The more animalistic part of her mind was feeding her own arousal and finding it alluring in a strange way.

Instead of acting on those feelings, she began to wiggle back. She felt for the edge of the bed, and dropped her foot to catch herself before she fell off. She stood up quietly and looked down at herself. She could feel she was aroused, the moistness in her vagina, but her own sheath was quiet, its package still hidden. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Fuck," she muttered again. Andrew's ears twitched, but he stayed asleep. She turned away from the bed, shaking her wings and tail to resettle her feathers and get them into a more comfortable position. She faced the window and took some deep breaths, slowly getting her body back under control. Her ears twitched back, hearing Andrew's breathing change.

She looked over her shoulder and saw his eyes open, but they didn't focus on anything. The inner lid flicked rapidly a few times and he let out a little groan. His head turned and focused on her.

"Damn, it's real," he growled softly.

"Very real," she confirmed.

She watched quietly as he finished waking up. He pushed himself up with one arm and was surprised as his breasts shifted with his movements. He looked down further, and noticed his morning glory. One hand twitched towards it, but he resisted the urge.

"Fuck," he muttered, echoing her earlier reaction. "I didn't realize it looked like that."

"Yeah. I don't know what to make of it," she confirmed.

He finished pushing himself up and twisted a little so he was partly sitting on the bed, his tail twisted to one side so it could hang off of it. He patted the bed next to him. "Here. Let's talk a bit, in private. Just talk. How are you feeling?"

She sat on the bed where he indicated, lifting and twisting her tail to the side automatically. He faced her, staying silent while she gathered her thoughts.

"I'm feeling... better," she decided. "Still confused, still scared, but the sleep helped. The first shock is starting to wear off a bit, but now the deeper fears are starting to bubble."

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean. What's going to happen next? Today, Tomorrow, Next week? How are we going to work like this? What does all this mean?" As he spoke, he brushed at the fur and feathers on his side where they'd been pressed against the bed.

"Exactly! I mean, what's going to happen to us?"

"Do you mean us-us, or us in general?" he asked, ears flicking in amusement. "For us in general, we're probably fine. The Titans are doing okay enough after all. And there are way too many of us to ignore. At the very least we don't need to worry about going into hiding or dodging sketchy government science labs or anything like that"

"And for us-us?" Nicole asked, glancing away.

He stopped his absentminded combing and reached over to take her hands. "Us us will be fine. I still love you, no matter what you look like. And you look gorgeous in my new eyes."

She didn't respond but stared back at him. A few moments later they heard noises outside as the others began to wake up. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. You're right. Thanks. And you look gorgeous too."

He gave her hands another squeeze and let her go. "Sounds like people are waking up. Once more unto the breach?"

She stood up and sighed, looking at the pile of clothes she'd left on the floor. "Aye aye Captain. Damn, what I wouldn't give for something that fits properly."

"Gonna be a while for that, but we can make due." He stood up as well and rummaged in his bag, pulling out a hunting knife. He picked up his jeans and flipped them around. "Here, hold these like this," he instructed. With her help, he sliced the legs off, turning them into jean-shorts. Nicole's jeans quickly got the same treatment.

"They're going to fray like mad, but they should do for a few days," she said approvingly.

She pulled them on and tugged the zipper up, foregoing her panties. After a few minutes she managed to get the button hooked. Not having the legs did make them a little more comfortable. They had more than enough give for her hips, but they were tight across her front, pressing down on her sheath.

Now that she was fully awake, a new urge raised an alarm. "They still don't fit right but it's a start.... Damn, I shouldn't have done that button up."

Andrew was studying their shirts, holding them up to his chest and figuring out a suitable length that would cover but not bunch up much. "Why do you say that?"

"Because I've gotta pee now, and it took forever to button it in the first place." She started fumbling with the button and managed to get it unhooked.

"You want your shirt?" he asked, offering it to her.

"I should... but it would take too long. It's just across the hall, and I don't hear any of the kids. I'll risk it."

She went to the door and listened. She could hear someone running water in the kitchen, but no one was right outside. She opened the door and made sure the hall was deserted before she sprinted to the bathroom. Once inside she closed the door, panting a bit, giddy from the thrill it gave her.

"Who was that?" Judy called from the kitchen.

"Just us. We'll be out soon," Andrew called back.

Nicole flicked on the light and unzipped her jeans, letting them drop to the floor. She approached the toilet and hesitated. It was a standard household toilet with a tank on the back. Sitting down was going to be impossible, and she had no idea where it would come out. She looked down at herself, and saw her shaft hadn't responded to any unconscious cues; it was still hidden in its furry sheath.

With the need still building, she straddled the toilet with the seat up and made sure she was over the opening as best as possible. She mentally crossed her fingers and relaxed. That feeling felt surprisingly normal as the pressure eased.

When she was done, she looked at the roll of toilet paper. It was a cheap single ply roll, but it was all she had on hand. She unrolled a length of it carefully and balled it up before reaching down to wipe up. There was still a bit of lingering tingling from her morning arousal, but she finished up quickly and dropped the paper into the bowl. While her positioning was strange, the actions were familiar enough.

She washed her hands and inspected herself in the mirror. The bird-cat face looking back didn't seem quite as strange as it had the night before. She ran her talon through the feathers on the side of her head, feeling a bit better after fluffing them a bit, then turned away. She pulled her shorts back on and listened at the door, deciding it was safe to sprint back to the room.

Andrew was waiting for her, with the shirts spread face down on the bed,

"Any surprises?" he asked.

"Not for me. Might be for you. You probably won't be writing your name in the snow any more," she confirmed.

"Ugh really? Well, no time like the present. I've got an idea for the shirts, we can go over when I get back." He slipped past her into the hall.

She left their bedroom door cracked open while she looked at the shirts. The bottom of the shirts was folded, clearly indicating a cut point, but she suspected he had something else in mind beyond a trim. Working the shirt around the wing shoulders was the main challenge. She glanced at the old alarm clock on the bedside table, and saw it was around 7:30. She could hear the rest of the lodge waking up.

A few minutes later, he rushed back into the room. Beaks weren't very expressive, but she could tell he was more than a little perturbed.

"Was I right?"

He nodded, closing the door behind him. "Yeah, that was a new experience. But I guess it's what I am now."

He approached the bed and picked up the knife. He paused and looked at her. "We'll have to talk it over with the adults, but I think we should plan on having The Talk with the kids. Go over basic hygiene, and probably a safe sex talk too."

"You're right. Considering what I was feeling this morning, and what you were showing this morning, we're probably going to have a lot of confused kids. Hell we're just a bunch of confused adults as is. Giving them a proper talk is a good idea. After all, I grew up with all this and learned long ago, but we've got twenty- sorry eighteen boys who've never seen this stuff before."

He chuckled and motioned for her to hold the shirt so he could cut the bottom off. "Well, the Internet exists, I'm sure most of them have seen it before. But never this intimately."

"So, what was it like? When that part happened?" she asked, holding the shirt up to her chest to get a sense of the length. It seemed long enough, but the back was going to be an obvious problem."

"Which part?" She pointed to his belly. "Oh THAT part."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I was trying to give the kids as much privacy as I could. The boys seemed extra uncomfortable at that point, but I couldn't really tell."

He nodded and spread the shirt out on the bed again, studying it. "It did hurt. In someways it was a literal kick to the balls, without an actual kick. I guess it wasn't quite as bad as the head, but it was up there. It started with cramps in my belly. Well more like below my belly. I don't know if you noticed, but the sheaths had grown in near the start, I guess when the fur got up there. Everything else, well that surprise was left for the end.

"Anyways, after that initial bit of internal cramping began to fade, there were the pins and needles feelings as the muscles grew in and woke up. More cramps and twitches there, and I could feel something in there. Especially once my scrotum pulled in with my balls. The clit was almost an afterthought after all that."

"Wow, yeah you guys had a bit more it seems." She saw him tilt his head questioningly and continued. "For me it wasn't so bad, but the clit was more the focus. My heart started pounding a bit, and I could feel it swelling, and then splitting a bit. Then it kept swelling bigger and bigger. I could feel it rubbing against my panties but I didn't dare look. Thankfully the sheath grew in soon after, giving me some protection before anything too bad happened."

He nodded and snickered. "Yeah, Change stories are going to be awkward to tell our kids. Something unique to our generation I suspect."

She gave him a sharp look. "Kids? Our kids? Do you think it's even possible?"

"Possible? Seems very likely. Whatever made us into this seemed to put extra effort in making sure everything works. We seem to be a hell of a lot simpler than the Titans, and there are already lots of pregnant centaurs down there."

"We'll see. I don't think I'm ready to consider the thought of carrying a kid, or kitten, or chick, or whatever we have."

"That's fair. But look at us, it doesn't necessarily have to be you doing the carrying. After all, they put a lot of effort in putting a baby factory in me too."

She froze, the thought having never occurred to her. "What?... would you?..." she stammered out.

He shrugged his wings and leaned forward to hug her. "Maybe. I never thought of it before, but now that it might be possible... we can talk about it in the future, when things are more settled."

"Right, later," she said, the moment of panic fading. She realized under the panic there was also a flash of excitement that stirred strange feelings in her. Feelings that were focused in her groin. She was glad she was wearing her jeans. "What are you thinking of?... For the shirts that is."

"The shirts? Oh! Right. Well, we want something to cover our chests, our breasts right? But the wings make having anything on our back difficult. The sleeves don't really help much either and the neck holes are rough too, but those are workable."

He let her go and traced a pattern on the back. "So I figured the best thing we can do is to eliminate the back. Chop this out, leave just enough up top to hold things together, and leave the sleeves so we have something to hold it in place. Then we can pull it on and it would hang over our chests, covering things up, while not bunching on our wings."

She thought his proposal over and nodded. "That could work. That could work really well. We wouldn't have any support though."

He cupped his breasts and hefted them a little. "Do we really need any? These are big, but they aren't really all that bouncy. We just want some modesty. Maybe if we get fancy we could sew a strap on the sides that could pull them in and hold these if we need to."

She chuckled a little. "Well, well, where did this fashion designer come from?"

He laughed as well and shrugged his wings. "It certainly won't win any awards, but I'm just looking for practicalities."

They set to work chopping up the t-shirts. Since they had no scissors nor a cutting surface, Nicole held the fabric taunt while Andrew sliced with the knife. When they were done, they helped the other pull it on. The fit was still a bit tight, but with the back cut away, the front of the shirt covered their chests, hanging just below their breasts.

"All these raw cuts. We'll be lucky if it doesn't all unravel by the end of the day," Nicole laughed, feeling a bit better being somewhat properly dressed now.

"Well, it's a start. And t-shirts are cheap. Maybe we can find some sewing kits or something."

The pair left the bedroom and went out to the main lodge area. The other adults were already awake, gathered in the dining area. Judy was just pouring mugs of coffee. All were dressed. Some had hacked their pant legs off, but no one had thought to cut off the backs of their shirts. The radio played quietly on the counter, tuned to the CBC out of Medicine Hat. The announcer was going over the news about the Event, but there didn't seem to be any new details.

"There you are. We were wondering what you two were up to," Caleb greeted them, snagging one of the coffee mugs.

"We were just brainstorming some ideas before things got chaotic," Nicole said. "Any of the kids up yet?"

"Probably, but they're still in the cabins. Figured we'd leave them out there until we're ready to deal with the flock," Judy said.

"A sound plan. Is that safe?" Andrew asked, nodding to the steaming mugs.

"No idea. But I'm about to find out." Sam picked up a second mug and blew on the steaming liquid. He studied the mug hesitantly, not quite sure how to approach it. Finally he tilted his head down and dipped his tongue into it. He winced a little and panted. "Hot-hot-hot-hot-hot!" he exclaimed, panting. "But good. Just let it cool a bit."

Emily and Judy went back into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast, while the rest waited for their coffees to cool. Caleb took a cautious lap at his mug and winced but got more down.

"So what's the plan for today?" he asked.

"We'll play it a bit by ear. But there are some things we have to do. We're going to be stuck here for the rest of the week, so we're going to need supplies. And we'll need to get back in cell range so we can let the families know we're okay and what we are now. So some of us are going to have a long walk ahead of us."

"Gravel roads and bare feet. That'll be fun," Danielle said.

"It'll have to be done. We barely have enough food left for lunch, and that's only because we skipped lunch yesterday. The other option is we try fishing and hunting with our new equipment, and frankly, that's a path I don't want to go down," Sam said.

"Aside from that, we'll need to make a roster. Take everyone's picture so we can send them back to Paul to spread around. So we can confirm we're all good, and to give him an idea of what we are now," Nicole said.

"We'll have to figure out how to keep them busy. A week's a long time, but let's figure out what to do today. Any ideas?" Danielle asked.

"Craft time would be a good start. Get them to hack up their shirts so we get some proper coverage," Nicole said. The others nodded, some tugging at their bunched up shirts.

"We figured it might be a good idea to have a hygiene talk with them too," Andrew suggested. "Especially with the guys, considering how we're plumbed now. Keep them split, boys and girls for now, and go over the basics."

"Is there much to go over?" Jim asked. "And what do you mean how we're plumbed now?"

"I take it you haven't gone to the bathroom yet? As Nicole put it, the guys won't be writing their names in the snow any more."

The other three male adults looked surprised as it dawned on them. Danielle laughed and nudged her husband with her wing. "Oh relax. Girls can do it too. We just need to practice a bit more."

"But is there really that much we can go over? We don't really know how our bodies work now," Judy said.

"Approach it logically. We're familiar with the pieces, even if we don't know how they all work. So just make sure they know to keep things clean down there, and to not be putting things in the holes that shouldn't go in the holes," Andrew said. "And for the sake of this camp, nothing should be going into any holes."

Emily and Judy came out with toast, bacon and scrambled eggs, along with a fruit bowl. The adults dug in hungrily, conversation dying while they ate. Sam was the first to grab an apple and crunch into it with his beak, nibbling off chunks that felt right as he went.

"Tricky, but doable," he proclaimed after a moment. The actual bite from the fruit looked strange, but he was able to easily carve out small chunks with his beak as he went. A few others experimented, but most just focused on their meals.

"Okay, that was good. Thank you," Andrew said, wiping his beak and pushing his plate back. "We should get the kids up and ready."

"The kitchen's a bit tight, but we should be able to fit four of us in there to get breakfast ready for the kids. Whoever wants to help stay here," Judy said, gathering the dirty dishes. The adults split up their duties, and separated to get their charges ready for the day.

Etzikom

The cots were not comfortable to sleep on for humans. For griffons, they were worse. Sleeping on the back was impossible with the wings and tails. Most ended up on their sides, but as they fell asleep, their wings would relax and fall into the walking space left between rows of cots. Others chose to sleep on their belly and that worked best for the most part, but their relaxed wings tended to fall on both sides of the cot doubling the problems.

Scott O'Brian slept in late, exhausted not just from the change, but from literally growing a new arm and a leg on top of the wings. He was a belly sleeper, head tilted back, beak facing forward.His long tail feathers covered the back of his legs, reaching down to his feet. He finally woke with a jolt when he felt someone lifting his wing out of the way. His eyes snapped open, his mind spinning in confusion. He remembered the hint of strong dreams but the details fled quickly. He blinked a few times, noticing the dimly lit gym and the rows of occupied cots, forgetting where and what he was.

"Sorry," a familiar voice said quietly beside him. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Out of habit, he pressed down with his left hand, ready to lever himself up. He was thrown off balance, not just by his wings and tail, but by his right arm and leg. He stumbled and fell off the cot with a crash, the events of the day before snapping back into focus at the same time.

"Dad! Are you okay?" another voice asked from his other side.

He untangled his limbs and pushed himself up. Among the rest of the feelings he was sorting out, he realized his chest ached a bit from sleeping on his breasts. "I'm okay. I'm okay," he assured them. He pulled himself to his feet, amazed to actually be standing again, and focused on the people around him. Around the gym, many griffons and a few humans were looking his way. The griffon expressions were hard to decipher, but the humans looked worried, but he waved his hand in a hopefully reassuring way. Right beside him, two strange griffons were watching him anxiously. He remembered they were his wife and his son.

"Are you sure?" Beth asked, offering a scaly hand to him.

"I'm sure, I just forgot for a moment. Never expected to have my arm and leg back," he assured her. He took her hand and squeezed it. He held his other hand out to Chris and squeezed it as well.

It was late enough in the morning that the gym was half empty. They had tried to get as many into the gym as they could, but it had quickly become obvious not everyone would fit. So, many of the classrooms had been drafted as well, usually reserved for families with unchanged children.

"What time is it?" he asked, finally feeling awake. He shook his wings and wiggled his tailfeather, feeling the feathers rustle and fluff up. He pulled his wings back into a position that felt comfortable. He'd slept in his clothes. The shorts and underwear were tight across his hips, and the shirt had bunched up through the night. He tugged it down, back over his breasts as best he could.

"A little after 8," Chris confirmed; he held up his phone, the screen showing 08:06. "I've been up for about fifteen."

"After eight? Wow, I really slept in." Scott wasn't sure how he looked but he felt like he was grinning. He looked around the gym again, seeing some of the occupied cots nearest them were stirring. "Come on, let's let them keep sleeping."

They set off towards the entrance of the gym, carefully stepping around outspread wings and tails. The halls outside the gym were busy with griffons and humans. They made their way through the crowd to the cafeteria and joined the lineup for breakfast.

"So how was your sleep?" Scott asked as they waited. The line was moving steadily, but it was long.

"Surprisingly well. Those cots suck, but I was out like a light," Beth said.

Chris nodded in agreement. "Strange dreams though. I can't remember anything in particular but I remember they were very vivid."

"Yeah, same with me. I can't remember what they were about but I remember they were detailed," Scott said, twitching his tail to pull the feathers in tighter and lift it out of the way as a human volunteer pushed a cart of drinks past.

"How about you? How are you feeling?" Beth asked again, touching his arm to hint at what she was really asking about.

"I'm feeling whole again. Really whole. I never thought I'd be this way again but here I am," Scott said. "If they can figure out how this works, it will revolutionise medicine."

"Well that's something good that came from this," Chris noted. "But what are we going to do now? They say we can't go home yet, and even if we could, what are we going to do?"

Scott reached his wing out to hug his son. "They won't keep us here forever. It'll just be a week or so, and then we can go home. After that, we'll sort things out. For now, we just need to figure out what we are now, starting with how we eat."

The night before they'd eaten, but it was mostly just small stuff; snacks and soft foods that were easy to get into their beaks without much thought. It was fine for an emergency food rush, but Scott realized they would have to figure out how to eat more normal food, starting with the breakfast they were about to be served.

They reached the serving area, where volunteers, mostly human, were providing a basic breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, sausages and a variety of cereals and instant oatmeals were available, as well as a selection of fruit, juices, milk, coffees, teas and hot chocolate. A hastily written sign on the hot drinks warned people to let the drinks cool before drinking.

The family loaded up their trays and walked past the unmanned cash register into the dining hall. It was packed full of griffons, along with a smattering of humans. Most of the chairs were flipped around to give the griffons a better way to sit, but their tails and wings still partly blocked the paths between tables. There were a lot of mumbled 'excuse me's' as people weaved their way among the tables, the new griffons somewhat automatically pulling their wings or tails to the side to make enough room.

"Over there. Against the wall," Chris said. His hands were full, balancing a tray, so he swung his wing forward to indicate the table where another group was just standing up to leave. They managed to reach the emptied table first and set their trays down to claim it.

Scott sat down with his back to the room and studied his meal. He was still starving, but he wasn't sure how best to eat what he'd picked up. Finally he picked up a piece of toast slathered in peanut butter, and bit into it.

Eating with a beak, he discovered, was like eating with just your teeth and tongue. He could easily snip off a piece of food and snag the morsel with his tongue, pulling it back far enough to swallow. Chewing was basically impossible. With a bit of work, he could break bigger chunks up within his mouth, using his tongue to move it around. When he forgot and tried to chew more normally, it tended to send chunks of food out of his beak and onto the plate.

Not having lips any more made drinking particularly difficult. He soon settled into methods that felt somewhat natural. He picked up his coffee cup and blew on the liquid before dipping the tip of his beak into it and lapping a bit of the liquid up with his tongue. The coffee was hot on his tongue but bearable, and the familiar caffeine hit was nice. When the cup was down to the last drips, he tilted his head back and poured it directly into his mouth.

"I think I know what some of the dreams were about," Chris noted midway through the meal. The tip of his beak was a bit stained with jam and ketchup.

His mother tilted her head inquisitively, encouraging him to continue.

"I'm remembering a bit more now... Not the dreams, but more the lessons Mrs Karnes taught us about the Titans," Chris continued. He licked the edges of his beak a moment. "The Titans mentioned their first nights had a lot of dreams too, and things just felt easier after a good night's sleep. I think the dreams are basically a way to teach us how to griffon."

His mother nodded slowly. "That... that makes sense. It feels easier to move than it did last night. Even eating, it's not as hard as I feared it would be."

They finished their meals and lingered, sipping on their drinks. Scott twisted around in his seat and looked around the room. There was a steady stream of people coming in and out as they wrapped up their meals and he knew they should leave soon. Seeing the mixed group of griffons made him notice something.

"Can you pick out the kids?" he asked as he studied the crowd. "I mean the teens? The ones that changed?"

His wife and son looked puzzled but started looking around. Chris nodded after a moment and pointed out a few groups. "Yeah, I think I can tell a few of them. Not that I'm recognizing many, but there's something about us maybe?"

Scott nodded. "Right, I can't put my finger on it, but there's a subtle difference between the kids and the adults. Like the kids still have a bit of growing to do or something. Just like human teens I guess. But look at the adults, there's no difference. There were grandparents at the match yesterday, and a wide range of ages in general, but we all look the same. Well different but the same. Where are the grey hairs? The balding spots? Or whatever the age cues are for us now?"

"Mrs Karnes touched on that with the Titans I think," Chris confirmed. "Something about an age reset. As best as they can figure, all the Titans maxed out to be in their late twenties maybe, unless they were younger to start. Not sure how they figured that out, but there aren't any old Titans. Nor are there any old Griffons now."

Beth squeezed Scott's hand and seemed to smile. "Lucky us. We get to enjoy the prime of our new lives."

Scott squeezed her hand back and nodded, not sure what to make of that. He was still a bot overwhelmed by everything and just trying to put up appearances to support his family.

"In any case, it's a busy spot. We should probably get out of the way," he said, changing the subject. Before he could act on his suggestion, they noticed a somewhat familiar griffon wandering the room, pausing at random tables to talk to the people there. She spotted the family and started heading their way, obviously recognizing the group. Scott racked his mind, trying to figure out who she was.

"Good morning guys, I hope you slept well," she greeted them.

"Hi Coach, we did, all things considered," Chris replied.

Scott did a double take and finally recognized Coach Boyd. He shook his head in confusion. "Hi Brian, sorry, I forgot what you looked like."

The coach laughed and nodded, "We're all getting used to new standards. Jacob and I have been looking for all our students. I figure we've only found half of them so far, and most of them found us. Anyway, I'm glad I found you. We want all Leo Mayes students, and family of course, to meet out on the soccer field at 10AM. We'll go over what we expect of everyone for the next little bit."

Scott glanced over the coach's shoulder to an analog clock on the wall on the other side of the dining room. It jumped into focus automatically. "So an hour from now? We'll be there."

Brian nodded to them. "Right then. I've gotta keep looking. See you then."

Spruce Coulee Camp

Andrew walked to the first boys cabin, feeling the gravel of the path under his paws. He had to admit it wasn't as bad a feeling as he had feared; the walk to town might be more bearable than he was worried about. As he got closer, he could hear voices in the cabin and figured they were probably awake. He knocked on the door and walked in.

Six feathered heads turned towards him. They seemed to be as dressed as possible. Two had cut the legs off their pants and two more were wearing shorts. They had a third pair of pants in their claws and a pocket knife halfway through the fabric. The cutting griffon looked guilty.

"Good idea guys. As you can see, I had a similar one," he greeted them, nodding encouragingly to the cutter. "Good morning guys. Breakfast will be served shortly. When you're ready, head to the lodge and we'll get this day started."

He left the cabin and repeated the message at the next two, before retreating to the lodge to help the other adults. The teens trickled in in pairs or alone, grabbing a plate for breakfast before seeking a spot to eat, usually with friends. The idea of the cutoffs had spread fast, and everyone was in shorts now, either regular shorts or cut off pants. Most of them had also jammed a shirt on, but the idea of cutting that hadn't spread in time.

"Mr Karnes," he heard a quiet voice near him.

He looked over and took a moment to place the beak to a name. "Yes Cindy?"

"What's going to happen to us? Are we going home today?"

He sighed and shook his head. "We'll go over the plans shortly. But no, we probably aren't going home today. We may not know until next weekend."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry the news isn't better. But we're doing all we can to sort things out."

She walked back to join her group, wings dropping a little. Andrew sighed, and scanned the group again. He saw Sam also watching the crowd and wandered over.

"It's going to be a rough day," he said. "I think things are starting to sink in."

"Yeah, I heard you talking to Cindy. We'll get through it. It's interesting though, have you noticed it?" Sam said.

Andrew looked around, "Noticed what?"

"Noticed us. Think back to last night, when we wandered back from the woods and how we were around the lodge."

Andrew looked around again, but he wasn't really sure what he was looking at. He saw Nicole heading their way and waved his wing to catch her attention. "I don't see it."

"Their behaviour. Our behaviour. Watch them. See how they use their hands, handle their wings, move their tails, eat with their beaks. They seem more confident about it. Hell! We seem more confident about it."

"The Titans reported something like that. After the first sleep, they said they were a lot more coordinated than they were right after changing. Some called it a 'dream download' or something like that," Nicole explained, getting in conversation range.

She did her own scan of the dining hall and nodded. "Yeah, I can see the difference now. Yesterday, it was like we were learning to crawl, we didn't know how to handle our new limbs. Now, it looks like we're getting the knack of it."

Andrew nodded, seeing the obvious now. "That reminds me of something else I should clear up. In any case, it looks like everyone is here. It's squawking time."

Nicole groaned and slapped him with her wing. He grinned and headed to the front of the lodge, waving his wings to get attention. The noise level dropped a little but not much. He tried to clear his throat, but couldn't quite project enough to overcome the clatter of dishes and the chatter. Finally he cleared his throat and tried to shout louder. To his surprise, instead of a shout, it came out as a high pitched chirp-screech that silenced the room. He cut the screech off as suddenly as he let it out, beak clicking shut as all eyes turned towards him.

"Wow... I didn't know I had that in me," he said. "Good morning everyone. As you can tell, it wasn't a dream. We can still hope that it might reverse itself or they might figure out a way to change us back or something... but we have to be practical. We have to start planning for the long term.

"I know we were planning to go home today, but that's not going to happen. We heard on the radio that a quarantine is in place now, for at least a week. So we're stuck here. The good news is, technically we aren't cut off. Unlike the Titans, the world knows what happened to us in general. The bad news is, the phone line is down, so we can't call home."

The noise level rose for a moment as the teens took in the news. Most just grumbled unhappily, some shouted questions he ignored. Andrew waited a few beats then raised his wings again and glared at some of the noisier griffons until the room quieted down again.

"So, one of the first things we're going to do is send some people to Elkwater. They'll have a long walk ahead of them, but they should get into cell tower range fairly quickly and they'll contact Principal Clendenning and let him know what happened and we can start figuring out what to do next. Once they get to Elkwater, they'll look to get supplies we'll need to last the week.

"For the rest of us, we're staying here. We'll have a few things to do with you. We want to take a picture of each of you, one at a time, so we can let Principal Clendenning know what we've all become and he can then brief your parents. We also need to do some crafting time for our shirts and shorts. And finally, we'll have some lessons, to make sure everyone is clear what to do with your new bodies, as best as we know. There will be some obvious things, but we want to make sure we stay as healthy as we are now.

"Beyond that, you'll have free time. Get used to your bodies, within reason. Just stay out of the forest, stay out of the water, no climbing on anything, and especially do NOT try to fly. We can't call for help if you break a limb, so we're erring on the side of caution."

Andrew looked around the room and sensed a few were disappointed with the rules he was laying down. He hoped he wouldn't have to deal with a mutiny later. "For now, finish up your breakfast and relax. We'll call you in for photos when we're ready. Any questions?"

He saw a strange hand lift up from the far side of the room. It took him a moment to realize it was a human hand. Ricky and Emir were sitting at a table with Varujan and a few friends. The humans looked really out of place among the feathered folk. He pointed to Ricky and nodded.

"You said you had to walk to town. Why can't you take the truck?" he asked.

The room erupted in chuckles, and Andrew had to fight to keep his tone friendly. He spread his wings to make them more obvious. "We'd love to take the truck or the van. It's ten klicks to town after all. But we can't exactly fit in the driver's seat now."

"I can see that, but, why didn't you ask me? I'm sixteen now. I only have my learners permit, but I've driven on my uncle's farm all summer. I could drive for you."

Andrew froze and resisted the urge to face palm. He mentally kicked himself for missing the obvious. The room, sensing the shift in power, let out some random Ooos.

"You're right. I'm sorry, we never even thought of you. That would be perfect, and makes things a lot easier. Among other things, it means we can get supplies back easier. See me after breakfast and we'll figure out when you go and who will go with you."

There were a few more random questions, before Andrew dismissed them, letting the students finish their breakfast in peace. He collected a bin of dishes to take back to the kitchen and made his escape.

"Ugh, that was embarrassing. Why didn't we think of that?" he said once he was at the sink.

Nicole laughed, busy scrubbing some pans in the sink next to him. "Don't be too hard on yourself. None of us thought of it. It's a good solution."

"We're adults, we're used to being the ones in charge and running things. Having to depend on one of the kids goes against all our instincts," Sam pointed out. "It does make things a hell of a lot easier at least."

"Even if some of us will have to ride in the back of the truck. Better than walking at least," Nicole said.

As breakfast wrapped up, some of the students were recruited to help with the cleanup. The adults did a quick huddle to discuss the change in plans, and decided Nicole and Jim would ride in the truck with Ricky.

Nicole left to get her phone to start taking pictures to send when she got back online.

Andrew summoned Ricky to talk with the student. He was surprised Emir showed up as well, but ignored the exchange student for the moment. They walked out to the driveway to stand next to the vehicles. They looked so normal considering everything that had happened. He pushed the thoughts out of the way and focused on the teen.

"You said you know how to drive?" he asked.

Ricky nodded. "I do. I only have my permit, but I did drive over the summer."

"I think we can overlook your license status for the most part. Would you mind driving the truck? You'll have to be careful. Mrs Karnes and Mr Anderson will be riding in the back with you."

"It's not a bad drive. I can do it. Do it safely."

"Right, then you're hired. As soon as they've finished the photos, you will head in." Andrew shifted his attention to Emir. The exchange student seemed a bit nervous. "Do you want to go with them?"

"I would like to see cat-bird town," Emir said, nodding his head.

"Well, there probably isn't that much to see. Until yesterday it was just like any other town. But sure, you can go along. We'll be focusing on cat-bird things out here anyways, so a trip into town can keep you two busy. Go make sure your phones are charged and get anything you want to take with you. Mrs Karnes or someone will fetch you when they're ready."

"Thank you, Mr Karnes," the pair said, making their escape.

Andrew sighed and leaned back against the truckl, propped up by his wings. It was only mid morning and he was already exhausted, with a to-do list longer than his new wings. He was seriously considering having beer added to the shopping list Emily and the Stevens were building up.

An hour later, Nicole had a pad of paper with a numbered list of names on to help her remember who was who, and a folder on her phone with a set of photos. Judy and the rest of the parents organized the students, helping them adjust their shirts to be easier to wear. Jim, Andrew and Nicole gathered at the driveway with Ricky and Emir.

Nicole stood by the driver's door, looking in the cabin yearningly. It was obvious there was no way she would be able to squeeze into it. "I guess we'll have to sell it," she said to Andrew.

"Yeah. Not sure what we'll get to replace it though. Taking the buses will be tricky."

"We'll have to figure it out later." She turned to Ricky and lobbed the keys to him. "Hop on in and get things adjusted. It's automatic so it should be simple enough."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, catching the keys. He climbed in and began to adjust the seat and mirrors under the intense gaze of two griffons. Emir climbed into the passenger seat and clicked on his belt. Ricky turned the engine on and rolled down the windows.The griffons winced at how loud the engine roared when it started.

"Do you drive Emir?" Jim asked once the initial roar settled down to a throaty rumble.

"I do not. I want to learn, but lots of buses back home. No need there."

"Well, if Ricky does well, maybe he can give you some lessons while we're stuck here."

Jim saw the two teachers glare at him and shrugged. "What? Not as if they have anything else to do. And someone's going to have to drive the school van back."

"We'll see," Andrew said. He moved to the door and checked on Ricky. "You figure it all out?"

"I think so. Just like my uncle's truck," he said, checking the turn signals and the wipers.

Beside him, Nicole eyed the back of the truck curiously. Her wings twitched and she took a few steps back. Andrew realized what she was about to do when she fast stepped forward and jumped. Her wings flapped down, lifting her higher than any of them expected, easily lifting her above the bed of the truck. She landed in the truck bed and stumbled, letting out a grunt.

"What were you thinking?" Andrew shouted, louder than he intended. He quickly lowered his voice. "We're supposed to set a good example for the kids."

"I know I know. I... I don't know, I just wanted to try. It didn't seem that high up."

"Not that high up? You cleared the side by a good few feet," Jim said, shaking his head in amazement."We might not be able to fly, but apparently griffons can jump."

Before Andrew could object, Jim followed Nicole's example. He jumped but didn't get as much height, his downflap failing to lift him much higher. He still cleared the side of the bed, but only just. Nicole caught him before he fell off the other side.

Andrew groaned in frustration and gave up. "Just be careful. We don't want anyone getting hurt." He refocused on Ricky. "Where's your cell? Give it to Emir. You should get cell service by the time you get back on the paved roads. When you do, your phones are probably going to go nuts catching up on your messages. Just leave it alone, don't even look at it. When you get to Elkwater, you should hopefully be caught up and then you can park and look at the messages, or just ignore them."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that."

"How's the gas?"

"Half a tank. Should be more than enough for a trip to town and back,"

"Right, right. Maybe fill it up if you can find a station that's open. Gods, I hope something is open....." he shook his head and refocused. "Now remember, be careful. You're driving my truck and you're carrying my wife." He nodded his head to the student, then moved to the back.

For the first time he realized how short he had become. He used to be able to easily look into the back of the truck from the sides. Now, his head was barely level with the top of the bed railings. He straightened up more so his tail feathers dragged on the ground and reached up to Nicole. She took his hands and squeezed them.

"You be careful as well. We've heard the reports on the radio, but we don't know what's really out there."

She leaned forward and nuzzled him, beak to beak. "I will. I'm sure it's fine. We're still people even if we look different."

They separated and the griffons in the back of the truck settled down as comfortably as they could behind the cab. They grabbed the railings, and Nicole tapped on the back window. "Go ahead Ricky, we're ready."

The student, visibly nervous, checked the mirror and windows one last time. He put the truck in gear and pulled out slowly, being extra careful as he eased around the van in front. Jim and Nicole waved from the back as the truck slowly went down the driveway out of sight.

Pakowki

Mike made his way to the office. He was surprised, but grateful to see it was manned, or griffoned at least. A number of griffons were in there, doing various tasks. He stopped at the entrance and waited for someone to notice him.

"Can I help you?" a griffon at one of the front desks asked. He assumed she was a receptionist.

"Hi, I'm Mike Griffith, a teacher and coach from Leo Mayes."

"Good morning Mike. What can we do for you?"

"Paul, my principal, wants to talk to his teachers caught in this mess. Is there a room available we could use? There are four of us."

"Sure, we can probably figure something out. What do you need?"

"A quiet room somewhere, preferably one with a LAN connection maybe. Cell service is still a bit spotty. We need it for 10 this morning."

"That should be doable. Give me a sec." She turned away and flagged another griffon down. They chatted for a moment and checked some details on the computer.

She returned to her desk and tapped carefully on her computer, using two fingers and the tips of her talons. A printer whirred into life beside her. "Right, I've got you booked for an hour in room 110. It's a classroom."

"Thanks," Mike said, taking the paperwork with the network information.

He tracked down the rest of the teachers, and by ten they gathered in the classroom. The team officially only had two coaches, but the school had four teachers on the trip. Stephanie Jones had a daughter on the team, while John Dyer had joined as a fan and chaperone. The other three teachers moved desks around while Mike set up a tablet in a spot that would catch all of them. Shortly after ten, they lined up a few meters from the tablet and Mike activated the meeting.

The meeting was already active, their principal and vice principals joining from their homes. When the four griffons appeared in the virtual room, the gasps were audible.

"Oh wow," Erica said. The vice principal was the first to refind her voice.

"Hi guys. We're here," Tammy greeted the room.

"Morning.... Mike?.... Glad you guys could make it," Paul said, still shocked but trying to move along.

"That's actually Tammy," Mike corrected him. "I'm Mike. That's Johnny and Stephanie."

"Wow, yeah, this is going to take a bit to get used to. Glad to see you seem to be doing okay. We'll just wait a bit longer for Brian's group," Paul said.

"Have you heard from them yet?" Johnny asked.

"Briefly last night, and he acknowledged the meeting request this morning," Paul confirmed. "How about you?"

"Only through Ryan, last night. But my phone was dying and I was scrambling to find a charger. Don't worry, this one is plugged in."

The meeting fell silent for a few minutes with everyone quietly watching the screens. Paul obviously checked other windows for messages to no avail. Finally, he shrugged. "We'll catch-" he started to say when the room chimed with new arrivals.

Three more windows popped up, showing three more griffons, obviously joining through their phones. They were all outside, the cameras showing mostly their beaks and a hint of the sky and a school roofline. The views stuttered a lot. Like the Pakowki group, the boys team had four teachers on the trip; two coaches and two additional chaperones who were along for support. In this case, two griffons were sharing the same phone.

"So- -'er late. Had a m-m-m-meeting conflict," the first griffon said.

"The Etzikom team I assume? Your connection seems a bit rough. Maybe you should turn off your cameras," Paul suggested.

The other three stuttered, and then their images disappeared one at a time. "How's this?" the first speaker asked.

"Much better. I assume you can hear us fine?"

"A little bit of stuttering but it's workable," a second griffon said.

"As I was saying, sorry we're late. I had already told the team we'd be meeting at ten. I've got the parents watching the team until we get done here," the first speaker said. His ID said it was Brian Boyd.

"Well, I'll try not to keep you for long," Paul said, taking charge of the meeting. "I just wanted to touch base with you guys, get an update, see how you are, and make sure we're all on the same page."

"Sounds good, Paul. This is Brian. The Etzikom team is fine. We have a number of parents, friends and family around, and four unchanged boys on the team itself. We're sorting ourselves out and trying to figure out what to do."

Paul wrote down some information as Brian spoke, nodding his head a bit. "Good good. Keep track of everyone out your way, especially the students who are in the quarantine, changed or not. The unchanged might be released early if they want."

"Mike here with the Pakowki group. We're in a similar state. Three unchanged girls, all younger ones thank goodness. We're giving everyone the morning to do what they want for now, but I'll be gathering them at one for a proper headcount and update."

"All younger? That's a strange modifier," Helen noted. The two vice principals were taking their own notes.

"An important one," Mike said. "Word spread quickly. There were three older girls who didn't change. It's one hell of a way to find out you're pregnant."

The principals winced in sympathy, obviously thankful they dodged that bullet. "That's good to hear," Paul said. "Are you all good where you are? Ready for the long haul?"

"Not really ready, but we're working on it. It's probably too soon to tell really," Brian said. "But we don't really have a choice." Mike nodded in agreement.

"Well, if you need anything, reach out to us and we'll do what we can. In the meantime, we're contacting the parents of all the students we know in the affected region, and setting up some mailing lists and groups. As soon as you can, send us a list of everyone with you, including any students and families that came down to watch the games. We want to know who to contact and who we can skip."

The coaches nodded. "Will do. We should have our list by early afternoon," Mike said.

"Same," Brian confirmed. "You might have trouble reaching some of the parents. I know a few of them raced down here before the lockdown started. I'm not sure where they are now."

"We had a few as well, but not as many. Pakowki's a bit further away," Mike confirmed.

Paul nodded and sighed. "We'll do what we can. For now, all we can do is gather the information and figure out what the situation is. Thanks guys for doing all this. It's a huge mess. I know you probably don't want to be stuck down there, but to be blunt, I'm a bit glad you'll be away for a week. It'll give us time to get ready up here for your return."

He paused and looked at his notes, "This is a mess to say the least," he repeated. "The initial numbers affected are scary, both for the students and staff."

"If you don't mind me asking, do those numbers include the Karnes group? I'm surprised they aren't here," Lisa Stairs said. She was the third Etzikom teacher.

"The Campers are still MIA," Erica said. "We knew they don't have cell service, so getting them online was a futile hope. But the landline is dead too, so we have no idea what happened out there. Elkwater is deeper in the zone than you guys, so we're assuming they all changed and we're contacting those families too, but it's just guesswork so far."

This time it was the griffon's time to wince. "That's rough," Tammy said. "Is there anything we could do to help?"

Erica smiled, "We appreciate the thought, but no, just focus on your groups. We've contacted the red cross and military, and let them know of the missing group. They'll send someone out to the camp as soon as they can spare a few people. It's not the best of news, but it's all we can do for now."

"Hopefully we hear about them soon then," Mike said.

"We all are hoping for that," Paul confirmed. He took a deep breath and focused on the screen. "Right, I know you have a lot to do, so I won't keep you any longer. If you need anything at all, please reach out to us, any time of the day. That goes for your students and anyone else down there that feels like they may need another channel to work through."

The griffons nodded in understanding.

"Good luck guys. I can't begin to imagine what you're going through, but we'll do our best to make your return as smooth as possible."

"Thanks. We'll do our best to get things sorted out down here. Oh! Brian! Could you ask Ryan to call me as soon as he has a minute? We talked briefly last night but our phones were dying. I just want to touch base with him; hear with my own ears that he's okay."

"Will do, Mike. Glad to see all of you at least. Wish it wasn't under these circumstances, but that's the world we're in now." Brian said.

Paul wrapped up the meeting. "Good, good. Seems like you're getting organized down there. I don't want to encumber you too much, but let's plan another call later tonight, maybe after dinner, around 7? And I want a staff meeting tomorrow with you guys and the Karnes group if they're online by then. Good luck guys."

Farewells were exchanged and the link died. Mike packed up the tablet and sighed, looking at his fellow teachers. "Well that went well."

"About what I expected," Stephanie said. "At least we only have to worry about ourselves and the teams. I can't imagine what Paul and them are going through."

"Nothing easy, that's for sure," Tammy said.

"Right. Go try to relax a bit, keep an eye on things. We'll meet everyone at lunch and make the lists for Paul, and go from there."

Spruce Coulee Camp

Andrew went back inside, heading for the kitchen where Danielle and Caleb were preparing lunch. He had mixed feelings about what he had just done. He knew they were too isolated, so getting someone out there to get more information and supplies was important. But at the same time, they knew so little about what was beyond the walls of their camp. They had the radio lifeline, but the information on the CBC station from Hat, or the stations from the States was woefully inadequate.

"I heard the truck. Are they gone?" Danielle asked.

"They're off. Into the great unknown," Andrew confirmed.

Caleb laughed, "It's only Elkwater, it's not that unknown. I hope the grocery store is open. This is all we've got left,"

Andrew looked over the supplies. It looked like a lot, but they had almost fifty beaks to feed. And teenagers still had hollow legs that had to be filled, whether they were human or griffon. "I'm sure there's something going on. They can't keep us bottled up without accounting for supplies."

As the kids decimated the last of the supplies, Andrew motioned for the rest of the adults to join them in the kitchen.

"Hopefully they'll leave something for us. But I'd like to plan the afternoon a bit. We need to do some talks with the kids. Go over basic hygiene and other things they should be aware of," he started with.

"Sure, what are you thinking of?" Sam asked.

"Divide and conquer. Girls with one group, boys with the other. At least one teacher and one parent with each group. Damn, I wish Mike was here."

"Mike?" Emily asked.

"Mike Griffith. He's the bio teacher. He's been following the Titans since the news broke, even more than Nicole did," Sam explained.

"He's also the girl's soccer coach. So he's probably an actual griffon now, over in Pakowki," Judy noted.

"In any case, he's not here, so we'll have to figure it out on our own. Just cover the basics. We've got both now; we have to assume it all works. So make sure the boys learn the basics to clean, as well as any sex talk you feel is appropriate to warn them about. Judy, I want you to basically take the lead on that. Sam and I will cover the girls group. We don't have as much to go over but best to go over the basics. Emily or Danielle could you stay with us? Caleb, I'd suggest you stay with Judy."

"Emily, why don't you go with the girls. It might be a bit less awkward if the parents are not with their children," Danielle suggested.

"Sure, that makes sense."

Their ears perked up in unison as they heard the rumble of an engine approaching.

"They can't be back already, can they?" Danielle asked.

"Maybe something's wrong?" Caleb asked.

Andrew got up and shook his head. "I don't know. But that's not my truck. Let's go see."

Road to Elkwater

Nicole gripped the bedrail for support, watching Ricky through the back window of the truck. The boy put the truck into gear and pulled out carefully, clearly nervous with the responsibility he was shouldering. He started down the gravel driveway, going slower than Nicole would have, but clearly being careful.

"You're doing fine," she called out, encouraging him.

He glanced at her via the rearview mirror and nodded before his eyes focused on the road. The road itself was in good shape, a few potholes but nothing that was dangerous, especially at the speed he was crawling at.

A few minutes later, they passed the gate and signpost. Ricky stopped and signaled, taking a long time to look in both directions. Nicole looked back at the gate, shaking her head. So much had happened in just a couple of days, she could barely remember what she'd been thinking when she saw it a few days ago.

Ricky pulled onto the pavement and started heading south west, the road taking a long curve behind the ski hill on the eastern edge of the town. With a smoother ride, Nicole took her phone out of her purse and turned it on. Using it with talons in a moving vehicle was difficult, but she managed to tap in her passcode after two attempts. She kept glancing at the signal indicator, willing the bars to light up. One bar lit up and she held her breath. Seconds later her phone began to vibrate as the first messages came in. She flicked her ears, hearing more buzzing coming from the other phones. Ricky glanced down quickly but just as quickly he looked back up.

"Yes, we're back online," she called out. "Damn... Wow..." The trickle of messages was growing quickly, missed call notifications, facebook and email alerts, texts and more. Technically parents weren't supposed to have her number, but Medicine Hat was a small city and her contact had gone around. She lowered her phone and waited for the flood to settle.

"These are strange places to park," Ricky noted, almost shouting to be heard. They had just passed their third car parked on the side of the road with nothing around.

"They probably belong to people who were caught on the road," Nicole explained. "The Titans had that problem, but it was tempered because of the blizzard."

"But where are they?" Emir asked, twisting around to try and see in the car.

"Hopefully they walked back to town or something," Jim said. He didn't say it aloud, but the abandoned cars reminded him of The Walking Dead. He had to keep reminding himself they weren't about to be swarmed by zombies.

Being on paved roads that were fairly empty gave Ricky the extra confidence to speed up a bit, though he was still going well under the speed limit. He suddenly tensed up, looking ahead. "Guys, someone's coming."

The griffons leaned out and looked ahead. The road was arrow straight with a clear line of sight all the way to the intersection with the road to Elkwater. A jeep was just turning onto it.

"Watch for a safe spot to pull over, and we'll greet them," Nicole said. She focused on the oncoming jeep and it popped into clearer view, It was a dusty green, with military markings on it. She could tell there were two people in it, but the glare from the sun kept her from seeing them cleanly.

Ricky slowed the truck, signalled, and pulled off onto the shoulder before putting it into park. Nicole gripped the rail and hopped over, feeling her paws hit the gravel. Jim jumped down from his side.

"Stay inside," she ordered. She didn't know why she ordered it, but it felt right for some reason. With how much their world had gone topsy-turvy, she was feeling a bit of Strange Danger fear.

The jeep stopped a few car lengths away from them and a man and woman got out. They were dressed in fatigues and seemed friendly. The woman looked familiar, but Nicole couldn't place her.

"Ahoy there! Where yah from?" the man called out, having a bit of an east coast accent.

"Medicine Hat normally, but we're staying out at the Spruce Coulee Scout camp," Nicole replied.

The woman gasped in recognition. "Andrew? Is that you?"

Nicole tilted her head. "No, I'm Nicole, his wife."

The woman almost ran to get closer. "Oh thank goodness. We've been worried sick about you guys. We haven't heard from you since it happened, and no one knew how you were."

"The land line to the camp isn't working, and we don't get cell service," Nicole explained, still confused. "But we're doing fine, considering. I'm sorry, who are you?"

The woman stopped a few steps away and looked at the two griffons. "Sorry, I'm Nikki Gibson, Vicki's mother."

Nicole and Jim relaxed. "Oh, great! Sorry, we weren't expecting to bump into anyone out here," Nicole said.

"Yeah, things are more than a bit chaotic. If he wasn't already bald, Mr Clendenning would be pulling his hair out, between you guys and the soccer teams.... The parents haven't been easy on him, but he's been doing his best," Nikki said.

"When the forces were mobilized to move in and offer help, I jumped at the chance. I pulled some strings with my superiors to get permission to check on you guys, and here we are," she explained. "What are you doing out here? Is everything okay at the camp?"

"Everything is fine," Nicole confirmed. "Honestly, everyone's doing great considering. We're keeping the kids busy. But, we had planned to leave today, so we only brought enough food for a few days. Since we aren't leaving any time soon, we're doing a food run. Thank goodness Ricky and Emir didn't make the cut."

The boys waved shyly from the cab. "You boys can come out if you want," Jim said. "I'm Jim Anderson, Clive's father." He offered his hand.

Nikki's partner hesitated then took the offered talons. "Shaun Brodie. Pleased to meet you. You know about the quarantine?"

"We couldn't reach out, but we have power and water, and a radio. We've gotten the basics from the CBC Radio and some of the Fort Parker radio stations. It gave us a heads up about the affected areas and the quarantine plans. How bad are things in Pakowki and Etzikom?"

Nikki shook Jim's hand as well and nodded to the boys as they got out. "Confusing. Not bad, but it's a big impact. Pakowki and Etzikom were hosting the annual tournament. Teams from eight schools were there, both boys and girls teams. Half the schools aren't even in the change area. On top of the teams, there's the families and friends that went out to cheer them on too. I don't think we'll have a clear picture of how many were changed until everyone gets home."

"What a mess," Jim said, shaking his head.

"My Vicki. You said the kids are fine. Are they really?"

"They are fine. A bit subdued from shock on the first night, but we were all feeling that... are all still feeling that. But we did feel a bit better this morning, so we're just trying to figure out what to do next. Andrew and the rest of the adults are doing their best to keep them busy so they don't think to start experimenting too much."

"Good, good. Thank you. Thank you for doing this. What does she look like now?"

"Give me a sec, I can show you," Nicole said, going back to the truck to get her phone. The flood of messages was still trickling in, but she was able to ignore them to bring up her gallery. "What I wouldn't give for a good set of nail files right about now," she said as she carefully swiped through the pictures, working around her talons. She finally stopped at a picture of a griffon with head markings similar to a Kildeer; mostly brown on her head with a white band going back from her eyes, and another white band around her neck. Her ears were grey-furred with black spots, similar to a bobcat. She held a whiteboard with the number 18 written on it.

"She's beautiful," Nikki responded, peering at the screen. She held out her hand for the phone. "May I?"

Nicole handed her phone over, and the two humans huddled to examine the shots. "Once we got online and I could call Paul, we wanted to let him know what was going on out here, and who was who. So we took shots of everyone, and I've got a list to match beaks to names. Andrew is number 3. Judy Davidson is 2 and Sam Arnold is 4. His picture doesn't do him justice, he's got a lot more purple in him that the phone didn't seem to pick up.

"Would you mind if we copied these pictures? And your list?" Shaun asked after a moment.

"You can try, but I don't know how well it would work. We barely have 2 bars out here."

Shaun pulled out his own phone and started flicking through screens. "No worries, I can pair locally."

"So, you've come from town. What's it like? Can we get some food in there?" Jim asked, shifting the subject.

"It's crazy, but you should be able to. Between the number of people caught stranded, and people not expecting to have to be stocked up, we can't leave you starving. Our first priority was getting the IGA opened, and the Home Hardware and a few of the gas stations."

"Should we think about moving? Get the kids closer to town?"

"Done!" Shaun interrupted them. He handed Nicole her phone back while checking through the pictures.

"You're probably best off staying at the camp. It doesn't have cell access, but it has water and power and shelter. There were a lot of people caught on the roads who don't have a place to stay here. We're basically looking for every camp and cottage and spare room we can find to house everyone as is."

"I can get on the radio later. There are portable cell towers they use for disaster coverage. We can probably get one sent out to your camp by the end of the day so you'll have some connection again," Shaun suggested.

"That would be wonderful. Thank you," Nicole said. "I take it you are going to keep going to the camp?"

"Yeah. I've gotta see Vicki with my own eyes. I'd like to stay out there, if you don't mind. I want to help you guys as much as I can," Nikki replied.

"We have the room, we won't say no to another adult or two. Especially adults with proper hands." Nicole wiggled her talons. "These are awkward to use, in case you haven't noticed. We can't even really use scissors."

"So what's the town like?" Jim asked.

"Surreal. Most everyone still seems a bit shocked. But people are trying to sort things out," Shaun explained. "We're setting up a base outside of town, near the grocery store. I'm not sure what we're doing exactly, but we're trying to help where we can, even if it's just manning the stores while you figure things out."

"Is that all?" Jim asked. "It sounds like the Americans are doing a lot more."

"They were a lot better prepared," Nikki said. "They were caught flat footed with the Titans, but they've been planning for this ever since. For us... I don't think we expected to do anything, so we're following their lead I guess and doing what we can. Ottawa and Edmonton are arguing as usual, which isn't helping."

The adults winced in sympathy. "Thanks for the news. And thank you for offering to help," Jim said.

Shaun offered a few business cards. "You probably won't be able to reach us once we're at the camp, but that's our commanding officer. You're going to need a lot of food to feed fifty mouths, so if anyone gives you any hassle, call him. Say you met us, and he'll get you sorted out. He knows why we're out here."

"Thanks for the advice, and the news. We'll catch up more later, but for now, we'd best get going. There are going to be a bunch of hungry folk tonight if we don't get there and back."

"Of course. Of course," Nikki said. "And thank you for taking care of them. Knowing you and your husband were out here in charge did ease some of our fears."

Spruce Coulee Camp

Andrew and Sam stepped out just as the jeep pulled up behind the van. They stood at the door of the lodge, watching curiously as the two climbed out. He squinted slightly and the humans jumped into focus. The man he didn't recognize, but the woman seemed familiar. He racked his brain to try and place her face, relaxing the focus so they jumped back away. The woman spotted them and waved cheerfully towards them.

"Hi Andrew, I hope you don't mind us dropping in," she called out.

"Nikki? Nikki Gibson?" he said, finally putting a name to a face. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She reached the pair of griffons at the door, and hugged him, slipping her arms around the strong feathers of his wings. "It's a safety check. You guys are off the grid, so someone had to check on the kids, make sure you're okay."

He hugged her back carefully, his mind racing. "Thank you.... How did you know it was me?"

They separated and she smiled. "We met your wife, Jim and the boys on the way. She briefed us on how things were here, and we briefed them on where to get supplies."

"That explains a lot," Sam said. He held his talon out to her partner. "I'm Sam Arnold, music teacher... maybe former music teacher. We'll see."

"Corporal Shaun Brodie. Good to meet you," Shaun said. He tilted his head. "Funny, I don't see what Nicole was talking about. You are impressive, I'll give you that; but you look just like the picture on her phone."

"That picture? You'd have to be blind to think he looks like that. It washed all his deep purples out," Andrew said. "Anyways, come on in, I'm sure you want to see Vicki, and she'll want to see you.

In the kitchen, introductions were made, and the military pair did a really quick update on what the rest of the area was like. Nikki kept looking towards the dining room, so Judy stopped Shaun in mid explanation.

"Let's tell everyone all at once. Give me a second to get the kids ready."

Lunch was finished and the dishes stacked, waiting to be brought back. Some of the teens had gone back outside, but most were still in the dining hall. They'd heard the jeep's arrival and knew something was up, and were eager to find out what. Judy scanned the room quickly, and noted where Vicki was.

"Hi everyone. As you probably heard, we have some visitors. They have some updates on what's going on, and are here to help us." Judy said, her wing extended to hide the doorway. She glanced back and saw the humans were waiting, and lowered her wing, revealing them.

"MOM!" The air was split by an excited screech of joy, followed by the clatter of a bench getting knocked over. Vicki leaped to her feet in excitement and then onto the table. Her wings spread wide and she leaped forward, not quite flying but certainly gliding as she covered the distance to the kitchen door.

Nikki only had time to take a few steps forward before she was tackled. She oofed and hugged her daughter while struggling to keep her balance. Vicki's wings surrounded the human, hiding her and muffling their words.

"Wow, that was impressive," Shaun said.

Andrew nodded as well. "That it was. I did not think we could do that."

The rest of the kids were starting to recover, picking up the bench, and mopping up a few glasses of water that got spilled from her takeoff and flight.

"Makes you wonder if we might actually be able to fly," Sam said, shaking his own wings.

"Impossible! the physics are all wrong," Judy said, but she had to admit to herself that the possibilities were lurking.

Andrew moved deeper into the room, glancing at the mother and daughter still embracing and mumbling. "As you can see, we have some guests here, people here to help us out. Let's give Vicki and her mom some peace while we clean up. We'll gather around the fire pit outside and get an update on what's going on outside."

Elkwater

Elkwater was a town of about ten thousand people, built on the shore of its namesake lake. Its economy was largely tourism based, servicing the camps and resorts in the Cypress Hills provincial park. It was also a transportation service hub, on the main route between Medicine Hat and Fort Parker, one of the key links between the TransCanada Highway and I-98. The eastern end of the town was its original core, built in the early 20th century. The west end of the town was the modern commercial district, with the highway links and other modern amenities, along with the suburban area where most of the town's population lived.

Ricky crested a hill, and the forests abruptly gave way to a view of Lake Elkwater, and the sleepy wood framed buildings of the original town mostly hidden by the forest that surrounded the lake.

"Pull into a parking lot when you get a chance. This is as good a time as any to take care of the phones," Nicole said.

Ricky nodded and pulled into the first business he found, a gas station that was closed. There were a half dozen cars in the parking lot, including two at the pumps, but a hand written sign said it was closed, with an emergency contact number.

"They must have been pumping gas when the Change happened," Jim noted.

"At least they hung up the nozzles. Take your time, guys, and call home. Let your families know you're safe and unchanged."

"Is there anything we should say or not say?" Emir asked.

"Nope. Be honest. I'm sure your family in Turkey will be happy to hear you got through this unchanged at least. Feel free to wander around a bit if you want some privacy. Just stay in ear shot."

"Ear shot?" Emir asked, puzzled by the term.

"Close enough to hear if we shout for you," Ricky said. "Come on, Let's get in the shade over there."

Nicole hopped off the truck onto the parking lot pavement. She could feel the heat and the roughness on the pads of her feet but it wasn't too uncomfortable. While it was late September, it was still a beautiful sunny day in the mid-twenties. She wandered over to the pumps so she would be shaded by the canopy, and unlocked her phone. She pressed Paul's contact and waited.

This is Paul Clendenning. I can't take your call right now, but if you leave your name and number and a message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

She stared at her phone in surprise, hanging up the call before the voicemail would start recording. She'd been dreading the call all morning, but she hadn't anticipated it going to voicemail. She flicked her ears, listening to her companions. They had all reached someone and were talking up a storm.

"Well, something's going right at least," she mumbled. She started looking up the school's phone number, hoping he might be in his office to handle this mess. She was saved by her phone buzzing with an incoming call. Caller id showed it was Paul.

"Hey Paul. We're okay. We're all safe," she greeted her principal, getting the important information out first.

"Thank god. What happened? Where the hell have you been? Where are you now?" he babbled out. His voice was a mix of stress and relief.

"You know what happened. The landline was down at the camp, so we had to head into town. We're at the Scholton's Gas station outside Elkwater right now. It's closed, but it's in cell range."

"Scholtons? How'd you get there? Did you walk?"

"No, we drove. Well, Jim and I rode in the truck with Ricky driving. Ricky and Emir escaped the Change."

"That's a small boon. None of your girls escaped?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, Rick and Emir were the only ones.... Why do you ask?"

"How much have you heard in general?" he replied, partly dodging the question.

"We have a radio. We know the size of the zone, and we know the soccer tournament was this weekend."

"Yeah. It's a mess. Needless to say, you won't be alone when you get home. I've been working with Principal Jones at MHHS and the other schools to figure out how best to handle all this. That's why I missed your call."

"Right. So why were you asking about our girls?"

"Three Grade 12 girls dodged the Change. One from MHHS, another from Coutts and the third from Elkwater."

"Lucky them. Were they young?" .

"No, they were seventeen. And they weren't late bloomers."

Nicole flicked her ears, puzzling over the mystery Paul was presenting. "But how could.... Oh!"

"Yeah. Oh indeed. They didn't even know they were pregnant. One is only a few weeks along."

"Damn.... Just... Damn..."

"Luckily, that's not one of my headaches, especially now that you've checked in. Last I heard, they were trying to get those girls out, but the Elkwater girl doesn't have an out to go to, and she's the only human left in her family."

"Sounds like you're having a fun time," Nicole said. She switched her phone to speaker mode and brought up her email program. "I'll try not to add much to your workload. We bumped into Nikki Gibson on the way in, and she gave us a bit of an update."

"Excellent. I've been blowing up the phone, trying to get someone out your way, to no avail, until she got ahold of me. She pointed out she was mobilizing to go in, and suggested she could head your way."

"Thanks for doing it. Having some human adults will certainly help. We're making due, like all of us are I'm sure. But someone who has proper hands is quite a boon. She already suggested her and her partner could stay at the camp and coordinate."

"Partner? Her husband is with her?"

"Military partner; her coworker. A guy named Shaun. Nice enough fellow. Didn't seem too unnerved by us," Nicole corrected him.

"Ah right. Well that's good. Good you're back in touch with us. It's been quite the challenge sorting things out."

She composed a quick email with a link to her photo album. The phone finally had enough bars to sync to the cloud so the pictures were available to anyone. "Well, sorry to add a bit of workload, but this will hopefully satisfy some of the parents. I'm sending you a link with some pictures we took this morning to show who everyone is now."

"Thank you, I appreciate it. It will be useful. So what are you doing now? You know about the quarantine right?"

"We know about it, and we're getting ready for it. The big reason we came into town, aside from touching base, is to get food. We were supposed to be home today after all... hell we would've been almost home by now."

"Good luck then. I'll let you go now since you clearly have stuff to do.Call me if you need anything... maybe call me before you go back to camp even if you don't need anything."

"Will do. Thanks Paul. It sounds like Nikki and her partner intend to join us to help us out. They said something about getting a cell booster sent out our way, so we might get back online at the camp too."

She hung up and sighed. Looking around the gas station, she saw the others were still talking, so she tapped her phone, sending a few quick messages to her family and friends, outlining her situation.

Duties done, she lowered her phone and stretched, spreading her wings wide. She wiggled them, feeling the big feathers catch the air and tug her body. She experimentally moved different parts of her wing, getting used to how they moved. Flying didn't seem quite as impossible as it seemed yesterday, but she had no idea how it would happen.

She walked back to the truck with her wings extended. It was a different feeling compared to how she normally held them. They caught the air, so she felt a little like she was treading water in the air. They did have a weight to them, but she didn't really notice it any more; She no more noticed the weight of her wings than she noticed the weight of her arms or legs.

Back at the truck, she gave her wings a shake and brought one forward. She ran her talons through the feathers, not quite sure what she was doing, but finding it felt nice and relaxing.

Jim was the next to return to the truck. He was pensive, tucking the phone back into his pocket.

"Did you reach Cindy?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I did. We had a good talk. She's glad we're okay. We talked a bit, and she'll spread the word to the other families for us."

"Good. Paul's got a lot on his mind as is. He's got the link to my photo album. But you seem bothered."

"Yeah, I'm bothered by what's going to happen next. What will happen when we get home? She's my wife, but we're not the same species any more."

Nicole shook her head. She knew the stats coming out from the Titans, and his future was't the best; the divorce rate of Titan-Human couples was sky high. Instead of telling him that, she tried to be encouraging without lying. "You'll have to work that out once you're together. For now, take it a day at a time, and figure out what you and Clive are now. We're all in this together at least, so you aren't alone."

"Yeah, but it's still scary. So, are we ready to go shopping?"

"First we gotta guide Ricky through town." Nicole looked to the side of the parking lot where the boys were resting under some trees. "Boys! Are you almost done? We should get going."

Ricky made a just a minute gesture and kept talking. Nicole flicked her ears and tried to listen in a bit. She couldn't make out the other person, but Ricky was clearly trying to wrap up the conversation. She could also hear Emir next to him, speaking in his own language. They quickly wrapped up their calls and soon the group was back on the road.

Spruce Coulee Camp

Once the mess from dinner was cleaned up, the griffons gathered outside around the firepit. Everyone was looking expectantly towards the adults and the two human guests, eager for news. Andrew assessed the situation and decided to start.

"Right, in case it isn't obvious, we aren't going home today. We probably won't be going home until next weekend. But don't worry, we'll look after you all. Mrs Karnes and Mr Anderson, along with Ricky and Emir, are out getting supplies we need, and everything else we'll figure out as we go.

"In the meantime, we do have some guests who will be joining us. In a moment, they'll let us know what they know about what's going on. After that, we'll break into two groups. All the boys will go with Miss Davidson into the dining hall. The girls will go with Mr Arnold...." He paused and looked around. He finally waved vaguely towards the cabins. "Over there maybe. Somewhere not near the lodge. We'll cover some basics that we've figured out, or can logically assume, to make sure we don't break our new bodies.

"After that, it'll be free time until supper time, or until Mrs Karnes and the others return. When they come back, we'll want some volunteers to help unload the truck and prepare dinner of course. Same rules as usual apply. You can hang out in the dining hall, the cabins or the fields. Stay away from the water, and stay out of the woods. And under no circumstances are you to climb or otherwise try to fly. Any questions?"

Patricia raised her hand and he nodded to her. "Would you reconsider the water? I would like to try to swim."

He bit back his initial urge to reject the request and decided a more diplomatic answer was in order. "We'll see later today. But regardless, only approach the water with an adult. We have a lot to figure out about our new bodies, and we don't want anyone to have any accidents, especially when we're so immobile. The hospitals are a long ways away when you can't drive."

She nodded and seemed satisfied with the response. He glanced around and there didn't seem to be any other questions pending. "Lieutenant Gibson, the log is yours," he said, offering a hand to help her step up.

"Thank you, Mr Karnes." She scanned the crowd and smiled at her daughter. "Hi everyone. As you may have realized, I am Lieutenant Nikki Gibson, Vicki's mom. This is Corporal Shaun Brodie. We're part of the initial response team responding to the Griffon Event that happened here. Information is still very sparse, but there are a lot of people converging on this area to try and figure things out. Here's what we know so far.

"The centre of the event seems to be the tripoint, where Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana meet. Like the Titan event, it seems to be about a 100 kilometer radius from that centre, which means it's a fifty-fifty split between Canada and the US. Since the American's have a bit more experience in these events, we're letting them take the lead in studying it, while we focus on helping you guys adjust.

"Our first priority is safety and shelter. We're canvasing the region, looking for anyone who was stranded by the Change, and helping them get somewhere safe, whether it is back to their homes or to a temporary shelter. The area is quarantined as you've heard; no one will be allowed to leave it for a week. This is mainly for your health and safety while we work out what you are now. Since you all seem to have a good set up here, we're probably going to keep you here for the week. By next week, we should have figured out how to get you home to your families.

"I realize the lack of phone services is frustrating. I've only been here a half hour and I'm feeling cut off. Repairing the phone line probably isn't really feasible, and wouldn't be near capable of handling the online needs of forty teens. So soon after this meeting, I'll be sending Corporal Brodie back to Elkwater to request a portable tower for the camp or maybe a Starlink. I don't know what we've got but one way or another we will get you back online.With any luck, you'll be back in touch with your families by tonight. Tomorrow at the latest.

"I'm sorry I don't have much more information. It's only been a few hours, not even a day yet, and people are still moving into position. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow. Are there any questions?"

"How did this happen? Why did this happen?" Varujan called out quickly.

Nikki shrugged. "No one knows. It's a mystery people have been studying since last March and no one has any idea."

"Will it happen again?" one of the girls asked.

"Once again, no one knows. It's been six months now, and only Titan's Step and now this region have been affected. It just hasn't happened enough yet for us to establish any patterns."

"Can't we be changed back to normal?" someone else called out.

"If anyone knows how, they haven't shared it. The Titans have had six months to deal with this so far, and none of them have changed back. As far as we can tell, this is permanent. You are griffons now."

That was a sobering thought that hit the students hard. The rest of the questions had a similar theme, but the only answer to most of them was a variation of I don't know. It was a frustrating session. Andrew stepped back up to break the cycle.

"I think that's enough for now. As noted, we haven't even been like this for a full day yet. Answers are going to be thin until we figure out more, and a lot of that figuring will be on our own.

"That said, there are some obvious things that probably haven't changed much between humans and griffons. Or at least some things we can infer based on our collective experiences. So we're going to break into two groups and go over those basics to try and get everyone on a similar page. Boys, I'd like you to head into the dining hall, and Miss Davidson will join you shortly. Girls, I'd like you to head over to Cabin 1 and Mr Arnold will join you. Parents, you can go with whatever group you wish to go."

He watched the group split apart before turning to the humans. "I know you're about to head out, but you're welcome to listen in on either group. Frankly, the subject matter we have to cover is a bit sketchy, so I wouldn't mind a few more adult witnesses to cover my tail. But we do feel it is something important to cover, to make sure everyone starts off on the right paw."

"I might duck into one of them after Shaun leaves, but you seem to have things well in hand," Nikki said. "I want to record a message for Shaun to take back, to send to Paul and the other parents to confirm that everyone's good here."

"Sure. Do you need me for anything?"

"If you don't mind, and if the others don't need you, I wouldn't mind recording you a bit."

Andrew nodded and motioned towards the lodge. "I'm sure Sam and Judy have things under control. Let's head to the driveway."

Elkwater

Ricky drove slowly through the town, almost at a walking space. It was obvious that most of his practice was in wider open spaces and he wasn't used to urban driving. The streets were lined with parked cars, but there wasn't much actual vehicle traffic. They saw a lot of griffons, most of whom turned to watch them curiously.

"Straight through this intersection, and then it's a clear shot to the shopping area," Nicole reassured Ricky, pointing ahead. The road after the intersection had fewer parked cars and the signs for the IGA and a few fast food restaurants could be seen ahead. There was also more vehicle traffic in the area.

Ricky gulped and nodded, triple checking in both directions before pulling forward. He kept crawling until the entrance to the grocery store came up and he could pull in.

"A lot of cars in here," Jim noted.

"The change started at 10 on a Saturday. I'll bet you most of these cars are abandoned now," Nicole said. She leaned forward to speak to Ricky. "Just find a spot near the end, we can walk from there."

The boy nodded and looked around to pick his target. He pulled into one of the first available slots and killed the truck, slumping back in relief.

"You did good. Thank you, Ricky," she assured him.

She and Jim hopped off the back of the truck and stretched. Looking towards the grocery store, they could see some people, human and griffon, at the entrance. Looking across the street, the Home Hardware store was less busy but was apparently open. One end of its parking lot abutted an empty lot, and it was obvious that's where the military was setting up their camp. There was a steady stream of trucks, jeeps and buses bringing in or sending out people and equipment.

"Let's get going. You guys grab some carts, while I find a manager. Hopefully he doesn't mind us decimating his stock," Nicole said, taking the lead. At the entrance, there were a number of fresh signs up, explaining what would be covered for those in need and that amounts may be limited. She entered the building and looked around.

There was a soldier set up at the entrance, and more manning the registers. A few griffons were working with them, but seemed to be more advising than doing much work. There were a fair number of customer griffons there as well, some with younger children who hadn't changed. She approached the soldier.

"Can I help you?" he asked. He was leaning against the gates, watching the entrance.

"My name is Nicole Karnes. I'm a teacher at Leon Mayes High in Medicine Hat," she introduced herself. "I was on a school trip to the Spruce Coulee Scout Camp with students when this happened. Since we can't leave, we're going to need food."

"Right, how many are you shopping for?" he asked, sounding a bit bored.

"Just under fifty. Thirty-eight teens and eight or ten adults."

The soldier froze and looked a bit surprised. "That... That's a lot of people. Let me call the manager."

"Sure, we're not in too much of a rush."

The soldier turned away and started speaking over the radio. While Nicole could hear what they were saying, she politely tuned them out, looking past him into the store. The grocery store seemed to be well stocked at first glance, as she looked closer at the produce section nearest them, she could see it was more sparsely filled than it first appeared.

"They'll be right out," he said, turning back to her. She nodded again and soon spotted a griffon and a human officer

"Good day, I'm Sam, general manager here. I understand you are looking to do a big order?" she introduced herself. Nicole started to mentally correct her thinking, then realized the manager's name could be male or female.

"Yes, I've got a camp full of hungry teens, and no food left. We were to go home today, but that obviously isn't happening."

"Sure, we should be able to handle that. Let me call a couple helpers to give you a hand. Where are you staying?"

"We're out at the Scout camp, at Spruce Coulee," she explained.

"Beautiful area. There are certainly worse places where you could have been caught in this sort of mess." As they spoke, the manager opened the gate and waved the group to enter. They started walking through the produce section.

"It is. We've been bringing a group out there for years now. The only problem is, it's rather isolated. We haven't really heard much so far. I mean, is there anything we need to eat? Or shouldn't eat?"

"From what I've heard, we can handle anything we want. Seems like allergies were cured along with everything else. But some things are better than others. Soups are tough, but chilis and canned pasta aren't too bad. Vegetables, steaks, chops, chicken are all good. Generally pick things you don't need to chew much."

"Good to know, though I might have been hoping for some restrictions to make our choices easier."

She laughed and nodded, "Understandable. I'd suggest you go for the basics. We can get you a good selection of fruit and veggies to start; those are always good for general snacking, then I'd suggest some chops, chicken and steaks. Stuff that's easy to cook. I've heard some have tried eating raw meat, but it's probably not wise."

"We certainly won't take a chance with that," Jim said. "We'll probably want to go lighter on the pork too; we've got a few that may have religious concerns."

Sam led them to a side counter. Normally it would be filled with premade salads and sandwiches, but it was almost empty. There were a large number of fruit boxes and other containers stacked around it, waiting to be unpacked. A few soldiers were sorting among the boxes.

"Normally, we'd be chopping and repacking all this up for our lunch rush, but that's not happening any day soon. So let's load you up here," she said, grabbing an empty fruit box. She dumped in a half box of apples, followed by various citrus fruits and bananas.

"Uhm, shouldn't you be counting or weighing that or something?" Nicole asked.

Sam dropped the first box into their cart and pointed to another box, motioning for the soldiers to start filling it. She ducked behind the counter and set up a few big containers of premade salads; pasta, potato, coleslaws and similar. "No need. Our main goal is to keep everyone fed, no matter the costs. Most of this stuff would probably go bad before we could move it or prepare it otherwise, so we're literally giving it away, within reason."

By the third box of fruit, she paused, a thought occurring to her. "You do have a way to get things back to the camp right? Since you have some humans, I figured you have a vehicle, but what sort is it?"

"We've got a pickup truck. Jim and I rode in the back. But we should have plenty of room to take whatever you think you can give us; we'll appreciate it all."

"Good good. Here, try these peppers. Our taste seems to be running a bit blander than we're used to, but the spicy ones still give a nice kick."

Jim and Nicole took the offered peppers and hesitated. They were tiny, coming from a tray in the cooler with a sign five chilis as a spiciness warning. Jim nibbled on it first, crushing it in his beak.

"Mmm, yeah, it's got a nice kick. Not as strong as I expected," he said, crushing the rest and then swallowing it.

Nicole did similar, nibbling the thin pepper to crush it. She felt the spicy juice spread over her tongue, bringing a kick she hadn't realized she had been missing. She finished it off quickly, while savouring the taste.

"Wow, yeah that is better than I expected."

Sam continued to guide them through the store, loading up their carts with supplies, while sending soldiers and a few other workers to get more boxes and other things. One cart was filled with just loaves of bread, hotdog and hamburger rolls. In the butcher section, she loaded them up with various steaks and chicken, along with packages of hotdogs.

She snagged a few packs of bamboo skewers. "I'd suggest you make some kabobs. Chunks of meat, onions, peppers, and anything else you might want to try, tossed on the grill. Fairly fast to cook, and everything's a good beak-sized chunk. At least that's what I've heard. Haven't really tried it myself."

"It's a good idea. I never thought of that, but it makes sense," Nicole said. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the generosity they were being given.

An hour later they were on the other side of the checkouts with four full carts and a flatbed equally loaded. Nicole stared at the supplies, shaking her head. Sam had left them to go load up another group of griffons that had arrived.

"This is way too much. This would feed a hundred for two weeks," she lamented.

"Yeah, there's no way we're getting all this on the truck, not if we want to ride too," Jim said.

A griffon worker laughed, coming up to rescue them. "Yeah, Sam is way too generous for his own good sometimes. Don't worry, sort through and figure out what you want to keep. Set any cold stuff on the cash there and I'll run it right back, the rest you can leave in a cart and we'll return later. Or just give to someone else."

"Are you sure? We don't want to be impolite. At least we could run the stuff we don't need back," Nicole said, starting to sort through the pile of food.

"You're not the first, and you won't be the last. And it keeps us busy at least. Not many folk can get out yet, and I don't think many have realized we're still doing DoorDash, with the military running orders. It'll probably change tomorrow when people start running out," the clerk explained, helping Nicole unpack some of the boxes.

"Thanks again.... Let's see. Kabobs, burgers, hotdogs, sausages, let's keep those for dinner. The premade salads are good to have too. Buns and bread....."

Spruce Coulee Camp

Sam approached the cabin, feeling the eyes of 18 griffons on him. Emily accompanied him, the only parent he would have as back up. He, Andrew and Judy had gone over the basics they wanted to cover with each group, but now that he was about to go through it, he felt nervous as hell. The girls separated, giving him a clear path to the porch.

He stood at the top of the steps and took a glance at his notes. He took a deep breath and shook his wings nervously, before scanning the crowd again.

"Hello everyone. As you know, I'm not a science teacher, and this is not a subject I'm comfortable talking about. But it's something we felt was important to go over with you. Admittedly, we're guessing at a lot of this, so some may be wrong, but we're all learning."

He paused again. "RIght. So the basics. We want to give you a basic hygiene talk, and a... a sex talk."

He heard snickers from the crowd but mostly they were listening curiously.

"As you've noticed, you've got something new down below. From what I understand, it probably isn't doing much yet. Why we don't know, but that will probably change in time. For now, we have to assume we all are basically the same; we've got both male and female sexes, something called a hermaphrodite. How it all works is unknown, but seems pretty obvious. You've probably heard the term used with respect to the Titans, but our situation seems to be a lot simpler. Still, it does mean one important thing. Not only can you become pregnant, you can also impregnate someone else."

By the end of his speech, he was rushing, trying to get the points out before he could dwell on them too much. The last point did hit home. He saw many of the girls exchange glances with friends. Some were nervous, most of them were squirming.

"Now I'll remind you, this is still a school trip. A trip that was unexpectedly extended, but one nonetheless. We expect you all to be on your best behaviour here, and to NOT be doing any experimenting, even with the subject matter we're discussing with you today." He gave them a long look to make sure the point was clear.

"So you all have a penis now. It isn't doing much, but it's there. As far as we can tell, it is probably only there for sex; we don't use it for urination like boys used to. But that doesn't mean you can ignore it. It's still a body opening, so you'll need to make sure you clean it regularly. You shouldn't need to haul it out or anything like that. But wipe it down as part of your bathing routine should be good. You want to make sure nothing builds up in there. That way leads to potential infection and illness, and none of us want that. So get used to doing it now, and you'll be fine later on."

He paused and saw most of them seemed more pensive. Many were glancing down, contemplating what he had pointed out.

"Now, you girls were lucky. You didn't have as much to be told. The guys have a lot more to learn since they've grown a new set of rather high maintenance equipment that they aren't used to using. Speaking as a former guy, there really isn't really much more for me to say. You should be able to figure out how it works on your own, when we can leave the camp.. So I'm opening things up. Ask Emily and I anything you want, and we'll answer as best we can. These are our bodies now. We need to figure out how they work, and how to take care of them. Developing good habits now is imperative. So... ask away."

A half dozen hands shot up, surprising him. He glanced at Emily who just shrugged. He picked one at random and pointed.

"What about periods?" the first girl asked.

Sam froze and glanced at Emily again, trying to get across the hopelessness he was feeling.

"What about them?" Emily asked.

The griffon squirmed nervously. "I should have started today, but nothing happened. Did this reset things?"

"We don't know for sure, but that is probably a safe assumption. So much of our bodies have been reset, it makes sense that that has changed too. Give it a few weeks for your new body to sort itself out."

"So will we have them again?" another piped up.

Emily shrugged, "No one knows yet." She glanced at Sam, "We ALL probably will have something like periods but what they'll be like is unknown."

Sam nodded uncomfortably, feeling muscles in his loins tightening up at the thought. He pointed to the next girl. "Next question?"

---

Across the camp, in the dining hall, the boys were milling about between the tables, not sure what the adults wanted to talk about. Judy went to the head of the room and stood next to the Stevens. She waited a few moments for them to start noticing her, before resorting to Andrew's trick and letting out a short, piercing screech. The room fell silent as everyone faced her.

"Hi everyone. We wanted to talk to you about your new bodies a bit. So let's get the giggling out of the way early. Penis. Vagina. Cock. Clitoris. Breasts. Boobies. Labia. Pussy. Balls. Scrotum."

She paused and heard many of the boys giggling, while some squirmed uneasily. "You heard them. Now realize you've got all of them now. Well, maybe not the balls and scrotum any more, but the rest apply."

That sobered them up quickly. She could see their gazes flicking away, unable to look at their friends with the realities forced upon them.

"Right, now that I have your attention, it's time for a talk. You got a lot of new equipment yesterday. Powerful equipment that can create life. We don't know how it works yet, but we'll figure it out soon. You DON'T want to be one of the first ones to figure it out. So here are some basics.

"First of all, perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind. Don't be sticking anything up there, whether you think it can go in there or not. Not only is it the best way to avoid becoming pregnant, but it will reduce the risk you'll get something worse, like an infection."

She scanned the room and was glad that her words seemed to be sinking in. Just how much their lives had changed was starting to hit them.

"Along the same idea, is proper hygiene. How to clean up down there. I think you've all gone pee since yesterday, so you all realize it doesn't come out where you're used to. You can't shake it off any more. So try to get in the habit of doing a quick wipe when you're done. Just a little bit of toilet paper and a quick wipe will help keep yourself clean down there.

"Now, there is the matter of cleaning in general. Whether you take a shower or a bath, you should make sure you regularly clean yourself. Handling wings, feathers and fur are things we'll have to learn, but the basics should be the same. In general, soap and water should do. Lather up and rinse off like you used to; maybe using more shampoo. For your breasts, they don't really need any special attention. For down below, you should scrub it all, both your penis and your vagina. Remember what I said about putting stuff in; you don't need to scrub deep. But wash your openings, make sure nothing builds up, rinse thoroughly, dry off, and you're done."

She saw Andrew and Nikki watching from the back of the room and nodded to them. "That's the basics of what I wanted to tell you. We have a lot to learn. So as we figure it out, we'll share it and hope you'll share as well. Are there any questions?"

The boys squirmed nervously, some giggling softly, but most silent. FInally one raised his wing. "What about periods?"

"Good question. And one we don't really have an answer to yet. But you are women now, as well as men. So the monthly visiter is to be expected. But we should have a few weeks to get ready hopefully. It's going to catch us by surprise, but expect something to happen soon."

"And pregnancy?" another asked.

"It's possible. We don't know the details yet, but we have to assume it is possible. You've got all the equipment needed to make a baby now. So be careful and take care of it. Remember too, you've got both sides of the equation now too. You don't need the girls over there to make a new life; any two of you might trigger that if you aren't careful. So no experimenting here."

Andrew stepped forward. "And to make it clear, we will NOT be tolerating any of that sort of behaviour. If we hear of any trouble in that respect, we WILL remove you from the camp. There is a quarantine in place, but we can certainly take you somewhere else."

There were a lot of knowing nods as Andrew scanned the room. He didn't anticipate any trouble from this crew, but it was good to set the rules firmly while they were thinking of it. He joined Judy at the front of the group while she fielded more questions.

Etzikom

Crystal paced nervously along the side of the school, her phone ringing in her hands. She had sent a message the night before saying she was okay; but a dead phone had kept her from making this call until now.

On the third ring, the line was picked up and a man answered.

"Hi dad, it's me," she said.

"What? Who?" the man asked, not recognizing her voice. Before she could answer, he realized who she was. "Crystal? Oh my god, just a second."

She stood, twitching her wings nervously, hearing her dad shouting for someone to pick up the phone.

"Crystal? Is that really you?" a woman asked.

"It's me. Hi mom, dad. It's good to hear you," she said, her voice catching a little, choking with emotion and nervousness.

"You sound different.... You sound good," her mom quickly amended. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm.... I'm not sure." She had intended to say she was fine, but the words caught in her throat. "I'm not sure of anything right now."

Oh dear... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wish we were there. Say the word, we'll come down to you. We'll get there somehow," her mom said.

"No, no... It's okay. I'm... I'm okay I guess. I'm alive. We're figuring things out. I don't want you to get in any trouble."

"You're our kid. The trouble would be worth it."

"I know, I know you want to help, but... but we have a lot of help here already. I think we just need a bit of time to get things sorted out. Just be ready for us when we get home."

Her mother sighed softly. "Are you sure? If you insist. But if you need us, we'll be there in a flash."

"I know, I know, I appreciate it."

They were silent for a moment. Crystal closed her eyes and leaned back against the building, feeling her wings hold her up a bit.

"So how are you feeling?" her mom asked.

"I'm... I'm terrified. Absolutely terrified. I'm not even sure what I am any more. But there are a lot of others like me at least."

"I can't imagine what you're going through. I'm amazed you seem so composed."

She shrugged her wings. "Not as if I have any choice. It's exhausting. I can feel it, it's still eating away at me, but it doesn't overwhelm me somehow. It's like it's capped or something. Everyone says they feel similar so I dunno."

"You're not making it any easier for us to be staying home," her father pointed out.

"I know, I know. But really, it feels like we can't really handle any more people here. It might be easier now that they sent some of the teams home, those that could go at least. But really, we have a lot of helpers here, both griffons and humans who have come home. The best thing you can do is check with Principal Clendenning and see what you can do to help when we can go home."

"We've been in touch, and we've been helping organize the other parents," her mom said. She sighed, "It's just so hard not knowing. I'm just glad you're not there alone."

"Yeah, Ryan's here.. Well not here here, but he's here. That's a huge help. And the coaches are doing their best too. Don't worry, we'll get ourselves sorted out one way or another."

"Speaking of the coaches, I should ask in case anyone thinks to ask us... Is the costume okay?"

She laughed at her father's question. "It's fine. I got out of it almost right away. It might be a little dusty but it's intact. You can tell Mr Karnes it's fine if he asks."

"Mr Karnes? Oh, you hadn't heard? This is the weekend he took a group out to the camp in Elkwater," her mom said. "I don't think they've heard from the group yet, but they would have been changed too."

"Damn, really?... Wow... just wow."

There was another moment of silence as the news sunk in. Finally her mother spoke again, "Since you won't let us go to you, is there anything we could send your way? A change of clothes or something?"

She tugged at her t-shirt as the subject was brought up. It barely covered her torso and was bunched up at the bottom, held up by her wings. "I wish you could, but nothing really fits any more. Fur and feathers really feel strange when you squish them under a shirt or shorts, and the wings and tail just cause more problems. Give it a day or two for us to figure things out and maybe you can send something then."

"Right... right... you are wearing something right? There are a lot of boys around...."

"I am mom. They're making all of us stay dressed while on school grounds. And remember, technically I'm one of 'the boys' now too... and they're all 'the girls' now too. I have no idea how that's gonna work."

That quieted her parents down again while they struggled to understand all that had happened. "Yeah, that hasn't really sunk in for me... or most of us yet. Things are really strange."

Her father decided to dodge and change the subject. "What about eating? Are you hungry? They are feeding you right?"

"Of course they are, Dad. The cafeteria is open. I'm not sure if they know what we need to eat yet, but we've got lots to practice with. And we need a lot of practice. Eating with a beak is really strange. It's hard to describe really, but we're figuring it out."

There was another pause as they struggled to think of something else to say. Crystal saw someone come around the far corner, and focused on them. Ryan waved his wing to her, and motioned for her to come over before he noticed the phone. She held up her finger to him.

"Ryan's here now, really here now, and he seems to want me for something. I should get going and see what's up."

"Right, do what you need to do, and call us later tonight, no matter the time."

"Of course mom. Love you both."

"Love you too, no matter what you are. Be careful," her father said.

She disconnected the call and carefully slipped the phone back into her pocket. She waved to Ryan and set off to see what he wanted.

Elkwater

The shoppers managed to shrink their supplies down to two carts and a number of cooler bags to help keep the frozen food cold. They loaded as much as they could in the rear passenger seats of the truck, and the rest got piled up at the back. Jim and Emir pushed the carts to a corral while Ricky and Nicole waited by the truck. She noted him looking across the street and realized he was looking at the restaurants.

"You hungry? I just realized we skipped lunch," she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, I could use a bite. But I don't know if anything is open."

She peered across the street. Her view was occasionally blocked by a passing car, but she could tell that the Tim Hortens, McDonalds, Subway and Popeyes restaurants were all apparently open. "They're all open I think. Any preferences?"

"I'm not sure. Hey Emir, where would you like to go for lunch?" he called out to his classmate. He waved across the street in the directions of the restaurants.

"I do not know. I think I would like chicken," the Turkish student replied.

"Popeyes it is. Do you want to drive it or walk it?"

"I'll drive. I could use more practice."

The humans climbed into the truck and started it. Nicole eyed the side of the truck and gave a mental shrug. Instead of climbing over the tailgate, she jumped from the side. Her wings twitched out reflexively, and she felt them catch the air, not really affecting her jump but it felt right. She easily cleared the railing with space to spare and landed in the truck bed with a slight thump. She pulled her wings back in and looked at Jim.

"That still seems impossible," he said, shaking his head.

"Really? It feels surprisingly natural. Give it a try."

He seemed doubtful, but he took a step back. He crouched and leaped upward. Like Nicole, his wings spread reflexively, spreading and catching the air, seemingly lifting him higher while not quite letting him fly. This time, he easily cleared the rails, the top of his jump nearly lifting him over the roof of the cab. The outspread wings caught enough of the air to slow his descent, and he flared his tail feathers a bit and seemed to try to use them to guide his jump. He landed in the bed with a thump and fell forward. Nicole reached out and helped steady him.

"Wow, that was fun," he said, pulling his wings back to their resting position and squeezing his tail feathers together into their usual bunch.

"I know, I know," Nicole confirmed. "We're going to have a hard time keeping the kids on the ground."

"Only if they realize it." Jim tapped on the side of the truck. "We're ready. Go ahead Ricky."

The restaurant parking lot was half full, but they had no idea how many were actual customers and how many were abandoned. The Change had started just early enough that the restaurant may have had some customers or workers, but it probably hadn't been too busy, unlike the other three restaurants. The restaurant had the standard double door airlock that was just big enough to hold a griffon. Ricky and Emir held the doors open so Nicole and Jim could walk right in.

Inside, the restaurant was surprisingly busy. Half the tables were occupied, mostly by military folk. There was a pair of griffons with a couple of unchanged kids at a table near the soda fountain. A griffon stood at the counter with a nametag hanging around her neck. The staff in the kitchen were all human, and all had proper store uniforms on.

"Welcome! What can we get for you? For you two, I would suggest some of our spicier selections. Others have said the normal dishes tend to be a bit bland," the cashier greeted them.

"I don't know. I've never been that big a fan of spiciness. But those peppers we tried earlier weren't bad," Nicole mused.

The griffon manager grabbed a tray from the counter and offered it to them. "Here, try some nuggets. On the left are the ghost pepper sauced ones. Then garlic, then the two types of honey sauces."

They sampled the offered nuggets, the griffons picking up with the tips of their talons. Nicole pondered the flavours, not getting quite as much as she was used to. The heat of the ghost pepper was nice, but she ultimately decided she liked the honey garlic one better.

They placed their orders and claimed a table in the dining room. Someone had already cut the backs off of the chairs so there was room for wings and tails. Ricky and Emir volunteered to fill the drink cups while the griffons settled down.

"I'm surprised you took the fried chicken instead of nuggets," Jim noted while they waited.

"I figure I have to figure it out eventually. But maybe I'm pushing it. We'll see. Worse comes to worst, I'll steal some of your nuggets, even if you did take the ghost pepper."

The boys brought the filled cups back and sat down opposite the griffons. Jim picked up his cup and studied it carefully. He tilted his head back and tried to dribble a bit into his beak. It looked like it worked at first, but it quickly overfilled and started dribbling down his neck feathers without him realizing it. When he set the drink down, he noticed the wetness on his chest fur and shirt. He scrambled for some napkins and started drying up.

"Nearly had it. That's trickier than it looks." he said.

"Well we were drinking bottled water last night, though we did have coffee this morning. Granted that was in mugs, not paper cups." Nicole picked her own cup up and tried it, managing to get a gulp of liquid without spilling too much.

A few minutes later, a human worker brought out a tray with their food. "Enjoy your meal," she said cheerfully.

"Thank you. Are you from around here? Or are you with the army?" Nicole asked while the boys sorted out the orders.

"Neither actually. We're all actual Popeyes workers, from stores in Medicine Hat. I think most of the restaurants are being staffed with volunteers, looking to help out."

"Wow, but isn't there a quarantine?" Jim asked.

"It is, but it mainly applies to you guys. They want to keep you all contained until they figure you out more I think. But regular folk like me can come and go somewhat easily."

"I see. You hear that boys? You could go home if you want," Nicole said. "Home's in Hat, well Emir's home is in Turkey, but he's staying in Hat. We're part of a group from Leo Mayes."

"Really? That's near where my store is. How many of you are there?" the worker asked.

"Forty four in our group... but there's apparently another big group affected as well."

"Well, I'm sorry this happened to you. Hopefully you can sort things out fast. And I look forward to seeing you back home when you can go there."

"Thanks. We're a bit eager to be able to go home too."

The worker left, letting them dig into their meals. Nicole looked at the two big pieces of chicken in front of her, coated in crispy fried breading. She nibbled on a fry while she figured out how she would approach the meal. Beside her, Jim nibbled on a nugget, a bit of sauce dripping onto his talons.

Finally, she picked up the leg, figuring it was the safest piece to start with. She brought it up to her beak and bit into it. The skin crumbled, dropping flakes into the box. The meat was juicy and hot but not unbearably hot. She couldn't sense much heat with her beak, but her tongue could sense it. She tugged a chunk of meat off with her beak, using her tongue to pull it in. It still felt strange not to chew, and to just swallow directly, but it was what she had to do.

She tore a second piece off and held it a bit, getting a hint of the fried chicken flavour through. It didn't take long for her to get the easy meat torn off. The trickier parts she had to nibble and tear at, pulling the smaller bones and gristle parts out. She realized she swallowed more than a few chunks of gristle without intending to.

"See? It's not so bad," she said, dropping the bone into the box. She wiped the grease off her beak with a napkin and took another careful gulp from her drink.

"Still looks strange to me," Jim said. '”But I'll get used to it I'm sure."

She nibbled on the biscuit and looked at the boys. "So I didn't give you a chance to answer. Do you want to go home now?"

Emir and Ricky paused and exchanged glances. Ricky nodded to the other boy. "I want to stay," Emir said, picking his words carefully. "Want to help you as long as you need it."

"Thanks guys, we appreciate it. But if it gets to be too much, we can get you home. No one will think any less of you."

"Thank you, Mrs Karnes. But my... our friends are here. We want to keep helping them," Ricky said.

She nodded and picked up the second piece. It was a bigger breast piece, with more meat, but she felt she was getting the hang of eating with her beak. She thought she swallowed a few more pieces of gristle and at least one small bone, but by the end she felt she'd managed to strip the meat off in decent time.

They finished up their meal and saw the rest of her group were done. She stood up and started reloading the tray. "Right, we should probably head back. I don't think there's anything else we need in town for now," Nicole said. "I've got to give Paul another quick call. If you guys want to check in again before we get out of range, feel free."

The group headed outside and scattered a bit, taking out their phones again. She retrieved her phone from her purse, checking for new messages. There were a number of them, but none she felt the need to answer right away. She tapped her principal's contact. This time, she got through right away.

"Hey Paul, we're about to leave town," she greeted him.

"How did your trip go?" he asked, still sounding frazzled.

"It went well. The IGA was open and the manager literally gave us enough food to feed an army. We left most of it behind, but we're in good shape for the week."

"Good good. Glad some things are working out."

"Is something wrong? How are the families handling the news?"

"They're supportive for the most part. Some have gone dark though. I'm hearing some... concerning rumours, but nothing you guys should worry about yet."

She glanced around, but the boys were out of earshot. "Dark in what way?"

He sighed reluctantly. "There are a few families that aren't answering my attempts to contact them. And when I check online, they seem to be acting like they are in mourning."

"Mourning? You mean they're acting like their kids are dead?" Nicole's anger surged. Her ears pressed back and the feathers on the back of her neck lifted a bit.

"It seems that way. I've reached out to CPS so we can sort things out before you guys can come home. Hopefully it'll be sorted out."

"Good idea. But you may not have that much time. Nikki Gibson said she was going to try and get us connected as soon as she could."

"We'll handle it when it happens. I'm still identifying the families that might be ghosting their changed kids, so I'm not sure who to warn you about yet."

"We'll do our best to keep them busy. And to stall if needed."

"Thanks Nicole. I can't wait until you guys are home."

"We can't wait to get home. It won't be much easier, but at least we'll be home."

"Take care. Touch base when you can, and if you need anything, just ask."

"Will do. Bye Paul."

"Bye Nicole."

Spruce Coulee Camp

The adults retreated to the kitchen to recover after the talk with the teens.The teens had free reign on the rest of the camp, gathering in groups to sort out their own thoughts and feelings, or to distract themselves with the balls and other toys available..

Sam rested against the counter while gulping down a bottle of water. "Thank god that's over. I don't ever want to do that again," he grumbled.

"You did well," Emily reassured him. "Especially handling the questions. They were surprisingly insightful."

"Kids... teens often are," Andrew said. "I don't think the boys fully realized it until we pointed out the details. I just wish we had more answers to give them."

"Yeah you just need to get past the roar of hormones somehow. Frankly, I'm always impressed you guys can teach them anything," Danielle said.

"It can be challenging sometimes," Andrew said, laughing. "Speaking of hormones though, I don't want to begin to think of what's going on in our systems right now."

"Best not to dwell on that. Leave it to the experts down in the States," Nikki said. "For now, just get used to your new yous."

There was a quiet knock at the doorway of the kitchen. Six pairs of ears swivelled to the noise, followed by head turnings. Patricia stood in the doorway, looking nervous.

"Hi Patricia. What can we do for you?" Judy asked.

She flicked her wings, then focused on Judy. "I know you said to stay away from the lake, but I was wondering, could we please be allowed to go swimming? Or... how do you say it? Walking in the water?"

"Wading," Judy said. She looked back to Andrew. "I don't have a problem with it. I could be a lifeguard for them."

"I don't know. We don't know how we are in the water yet," Andrew said doubtfully. "Or how we would handle any emergencies."

"I promise, we will be very careful. I just want to try the water." Patricia said.

"If you want someone normal down there, I have water safety training too. I could go watch them," Nikki offered.

"I don't really like it, but we can't be overprotective," Andrew said reluctantly. "Nikki and Judy, you're on lifeguard duty. Anyone who wants to go swimming has until Mrs Karnes returns. No jumping or diving, stay close to shore. So go get into your bathing suits, or bathing trunks, and have fun."

Patricia bowed slightly, spreading her wings. "Thank you, Mr Karnes. Thank you." She backed out of the kitchen and ran for the exit.

Nikki retrieved her bag from near the door. "Well, I guess I better get changed too." She paused, "Except, I don't have anything to change into. Didn't think I'd need a swim suit."

Judy chuckled, "Well if you don't mind, you can try mine on. I think we're about the same size, or were before. Not like I can wear mine any more anyways."

"Sure, lead the way."

---

Sam went to his room and retrieved his guitar. He sat on one of the logs around the firepit and started practicing, a bit frustrated at first while he sorted out how to use his talons. Some of the teens hung out near him, listening and watching as he worked on his skills. As he figured out the new fingering, he turned it into a lesson for anyone who would listen; covering the basics of playing a guitar. It helped calm him, and remind him of the basic chords and movements.

For those who weren't interested in music, many of them jumped at the chance to go swimming. Word spread quickly around the camp and many raced to the cabins to get changed.

Soon enough, Judy and Nikki were ready, joined by Danielle and Caleb Stevens. They carried some towels with them and went to the dock. A dozen students joined them; the boys had proper swimming trunks, while the few girls, aside from Patricia, just went with the shorts or cut pants they'd been using.

"So no ones been in the water yet?" Nikki asked. She kicked off her borrowed flip flops and sat on the end of the dock.

Judy shook her head and crouched down, dipping her hand into the water. It was cool, but still nice. "Not yet. We've been busy. And cautious. Maybe too cautious."

She straightened up and looked at the mob coming her way. "Remember to empty your pockets! We don't want any waterlogged phones!" she shouted.

A few paused and checked their pockets. A couple looked surprised and retreated back to the cabins.

Judy chuckled and turned back, looking out over the water. She twisted her tail to the side so she could sit next to Nikki. She dipped her paws into the water and looked down, wiggling her toes, flexing her claws in and out, feeling the water soak into her fur.

Behind them, there was a lot of splashing as the teens ran into the water. There were some squawks of surprise and a lot of laughing as they waded in deeper. Caleb and Danielle stayed on the shore, watching the swimmers.

"Be careful!" Danielle shouted. "Watch your step. Look out for sharp rocks. And leave your tops on! Guys too!"

The adults watched the swimmers in silence for a moment. Patricia was one of the strongest ones, moving deeper into the water and starting to experiment. She did some breast strokes to start, trying to keep her wings lifted from the water. Soon, she shifted, dipping the wings into the water and trying to swim with them. It didn't seem to be very effective, partly because of how high her body floated in the water.

"I admit, I'm getting impressed by you guys," Nikki said once they were sure everyone was safe.

"Impressed by what?"

"By how well you're taking all this. You've got those huge wings, and actual tails now, with metre long feathers hanging off of them. But you're walking around like they aren't there. If I had a tail like that, I'd be tripping over it every other time I turned."

"We were last night. Not quite tripping over them, but they felt like they were in the way a lot while we were moving around." Judy shrugged her wings. "Today, it doesn't seem as bad. They still get in the way and are awkward, but working around them just feels more natural."

"Better than figuring it out on your own I guess."

She nodded back and scanned the water. Most of them were staying near the shore, belly deep in the water. Some were using their wings to splash and otherwise have fun.

"Another thing that impresses me is how you can tell them apart. The guys from the girls. No offense, but you all sort've look the same to me."

"It's memory mainly. I know who's who and call them that way. Technically speaking, we don't really have a boy-girl split any more, but it's handy for now."

"Ah, so there isn't some subtle aspect of you guys that I just haven't noticed yet," Nikki said.

Judy laughed and shook her head. "Nope, not that I've noticed at least. When we regrouped yesterday, I had no idea who was who, let alone who was a guy or a girl."

"So when you start meeting more griffons?"

"I have no idea. I'll probably call them girls mostly I think. It's one of those things I'm not thinking of."

"In any case, seems like you guys can handle the water just fine. That's good."

Judy nodded, "Yeah, that's good."

Elkwater

Ricky drove slowly through the town, both due to inexperience, and also due to traffic. Not only were there more people around, but there were more vehicles on the road. Nicole watched him carefully at the start, but relaxed after a few blocks.

"A lot of people outside," she noted, looking around.

"It's a beautiful day. I don't blame them," Jim said.

"Maybe. But that may not be the only reason. The Titans tended to do the same thing in the days after their change. Their homes were just too claustrophobic."

"Yeah, but Titans are huge. We're still mostly human sized."

"But not human proportioned. We're a lot longer, and our wings reach higher. We don't need to rebuild as much as they do, thank goodness; but I think we'll settle on something different eventually."

Jim sighed. "Great. Now you've got me thinking of what we'll need to do back home for Clive and me."

"It's only day one. Focus on yourself first."

They passed the still closed gas station and got onto the roads east of town. The roads weren't very busy as they just serviced the camps in the region; the main routes to the States and to the other towns were to the north and east of the town. Ricky picked up speed as they reached the empty roads.

"We're being followed," Jim noted after a bit. They were both facing backwards, so they clearly saw the jeep at the far end of the road, passing the gas station they'd passed minutes before. They zoomed in on it.

"Too much glare, I can't see who's driving, but they're alone," Jim said.

"I think the driver's male. It might be Shaun. Maybe he had to leave the camp for something? I can't remember the numbers of their jeep but they look familiar."

"You want me to stop?" Ricky called back.

"Keep going. We'll tell you if he wants us to stop," Nicole said. She raised her wing to wave to the distant jeep. It caught the wind and felt nice as the wind pulled on the feathers. She refocused on her new limb and twisted it a little, getting a sense of how the air flowed over it. Jim watched her curiously, but kept his wings in.

A few minutes and a few turns later, they reached the camp entrance. Ricky slowed and turned onto the gravel road, once again slowing to a crawl. The jeep was still following them, slowly gaining on them but seemingly not rushing to catch up to them. So they had a clear view of the jeep turning into the driveway after them.

"Yeah, it's Shaun," Nicole confirmed. The sun glare was down enough that they could finally see the driver clearly. Now that he was close enough, Nicole waved again, with her hand. She saw Shaun wave back.

Rick parked the truck behind the van and killed the engine. He slumped back in the seat, clearly exhausted.

"Thanks Rick, you did great," Nicole reassured him. She hopped off the back of the truck, wings fluttering as she landed. She shook her tail to resettle her feathers. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Mrs Karnes. It was just more stressful than I expected."

"No problem. Take a few moments to recover. We'll handle things from here."

She waved to Shaun who was parking behind them, leaving enough room so the truck could be unloaded. Jim hopped off the other side and waited while Emir opened the door. Andrew and Emily came out.

"Hi guys. How was your trip?" Andrew called out.

Nicole grabbed a few bags and lifted them up. "Very successful. And all on the house. Come give us a hand, we've gotta get this stuff in the fridge and freezers."

"Aye aye, Ma'am," Shaun said, grabbing a few bags as well.

With seven people, it didn't take long to get the truck unloaded. As they unpacked the bags, Nicole flicked her ears, listening. She could hear someone strumming a guitar and a few others chatting and shouting, but there didn't seem to be too many around the actual lodge.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Down by the coulee. Either on the beach or in the water. Judy, the Stevens and Nikki are watching over them."

Nicole paused and glanced at Andrew. His back was to them so he didn't notice it. "Is that safe?"

"We were worried too, but it seems we take to water like a duck to water. Though they may have regrets when they come out and have to figure out how to dry all that fur and feathers."

"Rick, Emir, could you guys give me a hand please? I've got a bunch of boxes and equipment in the jeep to bring out. We need a spot with a clear view of the sky near a power outlet. Preferably a south facing area."

"The coulee is south of the camp so if you face the water you'll have your south face. Anywhere outside the lodge should give you the clear skies, and a few handy outlets," Andrew said. "What have you got?"

"It'll probably be a day or two before we can string out some cell phone boosters out this way, but my superior managed to free up a Starlink for us, along with a simple wifi hub. So we should have you back online by dinner time," Shaun explained.

"Excellent. Just ask if you need any help."

Etzikom

The Etzikom high school had an outdoor basketball court near the bus drop off area. It was separated from the vehicle traffic by concrete barriers. Crystal, Ryan and some of their classmates claimed this area to pass the afternoon.

The school was much emptier now. A steady stream of trucks and other vehicles had been taking people home. Anyone who lived in a changed area was sent home, including the teams from Elkwater and Pakowki and other affected teams.

That left the Leo Mayes and Coutts students, coaches, and anyone else tied to those schools to figure out what they would do for the quarantine time. Some of the unchanged had a chance to leave as well, but most were staying with their friends and families.

Ryan and Crystal were sitting side by side on a concrete barrier next to the basketball court. Their tails hung over the back and they occasionally surprised each other when their wings would twitch and bump.

On the court, a couple of the soccer players had a basketball. They were practicing dribbling and handling the ball. They discovered that their talons often got in the way, but with practice, they could still dribble and pass the ball and even shoot at baskets.

"It's gotta be aliens right? How else can you explain it?" Andy asked. The other soccer player was standing with the group, watching the ball players. Talking about the change was the obvious topic of the day.

"But why would aliens do this to us?" Crystal asked.

The soccer player shrugged. "Who knows? They're aliens. Maybe they want us to be used to different species before showing themselves and inviting us into their Federation?"

"Or maybe they're alien nerds, looking to set up a fantasy world," Chris suggested.

"A fantasy world?" Ryan tilted his head.

"We've got centaurs and griffons now. I wonder what will be next? Mermaids? Minotaurs? Satyrs? Cyclops?"

"That's rather scary. You really think there will be another?" Crystal asked.

"It's happened twice now. I'd say it's a good chance it will again."

"That's scary," Crystal agreed. "Surely there's some other explanation?"

"Dad's read a lot about the Titans, and he says we've got a whole lotta nothing. What happened to us is impossible. How we changed, how they changed, is a mystery. Hell, how they work, how we work even, is a mystery. There are a lot of theories out there, and no evidence for anything," Ryan said.

"What other ideas are there?" Chris asked.

"Aliens is one of the biggest ideas. Blaming God or the Devil are also common theories. Some think we are in a simulation, not even real people, and for some reason the simulation's being manipulated."

"Weird. I think I'd rather the aliens."

"Heads up!" one of the ball players shouted.

Everyone looked up and realized a ball had escaped someone's control and it was flying towards Chris. The soccer player turned slightly and flicked his wing out. The ball bounced off the edge of the wing at a strange angle, sending the player running to retrieve it.

Chris looked surprised, his wing still extended. He reached up to rub the feathered appendage curiously. "Well, guess these are good for something."

"Are you okay? Did it hurt?" Crystal asked.

"Not really. I felt it, but it was just like it hit my arm."

The ball player had the basketball, but he was taking his time returning. He stared across the field towards the elementary school. "Hey guys, something's going on over there."

All heads turned towards the other school and they did the visual zoom they were getting used to doing. Dozens of griffons were gathered outside the school, carrying their bags and other gear. They didn't recognize anyone, but there were a few obvious leaders organizing the crowd. Soon after, they were on the move, heading for the high school.

"They're coming this way. I wonder why?" Ryan mused, relaxing his zoom. He blinked a few times to refocus at a more normal distance.

"It's the other schools," Coach Boyd explained. He had snuck up on the group while they were looking away. The coach glanced at the coming group again, then at his students. "They've decided to consolidate the teams that can't go home here at the high school. So Hat High and Bow Island are joining Coutts and us here. If needed, the elementary school will be used for random stranded folk instead."

"That makes sense. Is there anything we need to do?" Ryan asked.

"Not really. We'll be mingling together all week, so be friendly. If you know anyone on the other teams, maybe seek them out."

"Is there any new news, Coach Boyd?" Crystal asked. "Are we really still stuck for the week?"

"Sorry, no nothing new, or at least nothing important. We've been in touch with Principal Clendenning, and we're contacting your parents. After dinner, we'll bring all the Leo Mayes folk together to go through what happened today and what's going on tomorrow and beyond. Until then, keep doing what you've been doing."

Spruce Coulee Camp

Down at the coulee, the adults had joined the teens in the water. Judy floated on her chest, feeling the water soak into her fur and feathers. She'd tried to duck under the water and didn't like it; she was too buoyant, and she'd never liked the feel of water in her nostrils. Now that her nostrils were part of a hard beak, plugging her nose was no longer possible, so she avoided going under. Somehow, the water didn't seem as cold to them as it had the previous day. It was beautiful to swim in, even as she figured out which limbs to swim with.

She lost track of how long she was in the water, but she was thoroughly soaked by the time she returned to the shore. She swam to the shallow area and stood up, feeling the weight of the water held in her fur and feathers.

Nikkii looked at her and clasped her hand over her mouth. She let out a snort. "Sorry. You look like my pet cat when we have to bathe her. Only slightly less pissed off."

Judy chuckled and spread her wings, trying to figure out how to wring herself out. "Only slightly less. The swimming is great, but I have no idea how to dry off. I feel like I've got half the lake caught in my fur and feathers."

She started with her head and just started pressing and combing through the feathers. She hadn't paid them much attention since growing them, but now they had her full attention. The outer feathers seemed to dry fairly quickly, but there was a layer of feathers below them that had soaked in the water. She ran her talons through them, trying to go with the pattern while squeezing the water from the down.

The soaked t-shirt was heavy on her shoulders and breasts. She wanted to take it off, but she knew she had to set a good example. Instead she squeezed out as much water as she could, and also worked on her fur. She discovered it had a similar underlayer, not quite down but it was a thick layer that held water like a sponge and was just as hard to wring out.

"Damn, this is a lot of work," she grumbled. She was rubbing her legs now, getting a bit more water out. She still felt heavy and damp, but she could move somewhat normally again. She felt the urge to shake, but aside from wiggling her tail and wings she resisted it.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted just watching you," Nikki said. She'd gone for a dip as well, but she'd climbed out and resumed her watch on the end of the dock.

"Part of it is just not being used to what I'm doing. And part of it is trying to maintain some degree of modesty in front of the kids. What time is it?" Judy glanced up at the sky and found the sun. It was further west than she expected. She looked up at the lodge and noticed Shaun had returned and was setting up a device near the door. Emir and Ricky hovered near him, watching.

"It's just after five," Nikki said. "Think it's time to throw in the towel?"

"With how long it takes to dry, that's probably a good idea. Especially since everyone's back."

"They are?" Nikki stood up and shaded her eyes as she looked back to the lodge. "Oh, you're right, I think I see Shaun. He must have a Starlink."

"He's setting up some antenna or something." Judy focused on the device and it became clearer as more of the world faded out. "Yeah, I can read the brand name on it."

"You can do that? Damn...." Nikki shook her head and turned back to the coulee.. "All right everyone! Time to get out of the water!"

Some of the teens had already gotten out. The rest grumbled and made their way to the shore. As they discovered how much their fur and feathers held, their grumbling changed in tone. Some removed their tops to wring out the fabric and their upper body fur. Judy resisted the urge to call them out on it for now, as long as they were dressed by the time they left the shore.

Back up in the lodge, Nicole oversaw some volunteers who were carefully cutting up the vegetables and meat into chunks suitable for kabobs. The meat chunks were tossed into a bowl with sauce to marinate while the onions and pepper chunks were left to the side. Emily was at the stove, standing watch over multiple pots for the rice.

Andrew showed up in the door to the dining hall and looked around. The kitchen felt too crowded for any more griffons to help out. "The swimmers are coming back. They look rather waterlogged."

"Thanks Andrew. Can you turn the grills on? We'll start building the kabobs shortly."

An hour later, the cooking was done and a table was filled with trays of kabobs, bowls of rice, salad bowls and rolls, ready for people to take their pick from. The dining hall filled with the campers, many of them still looking damp. Hungry eyes took in the prepared mill and there was a sense the hungry mob was barely restrained..

Andrew went to the front of the hall, and waited to get everyone's attention. He didn't need to screech this time.

"It's now just after six. We've been griffons for over a day now. The first day of the rest of our lives. Despite the impossible situation we find ourselves in, we seem to be adapting, which is good. I'm sure we're all starving, so we'll get to the food in a minute, but first a few words."

There were a few groans from the crowd. He waited them out before continuing.

"Quarantine has been confirmed. We can't leave until next weekend. So get comfortable here. It's only a week, and we'll probably need most of that time just to figure things out.

"That said, we are not cut off. Between Mrs Karnes and Lieutenant Gibson, your families do know what has happened. They know you are alive and well, just different, and we'll get you back in contact with them as soon as we reasonably can.

"You may have seen Corporal Brodie working on a device this afternoon. It's a Starlink Internet device. We should have it working soon. For tonight, we'll limit its use to the adults, but we'll give you the connection information tomorrow after breakfast.

"Food and supplies shouldn't be a problem. We did a run into Elkwater today and loaded up, so we have plenty of food and some other basics available. And if we need more, we have some mobility. So if there's anything you think you need, within reason, let us know.

"Finally, for tonight, we will have a bonfire. If anything, it'll help some of you finish drying off."

The crowd chuckled a bit and a few shook their wings again, sending a mist of water into the air.

"We've got supplies for s'mores and hotdogs, and Mr Arnold has been practicing his guitar playing all afternoon. Be very careful around the fire; we don't want anyone to burn their feathers. Bed time will be at 10, with lights out and devices off by 11. You must stay in the cabins you've been in so far. Sleep as late as you want to or feel you need to; we have plenty for breakfast when you wake up.

"Any questions?" Andrew looked around the room, but no one spoke up. He pointed to the first table. "Okay then, that table can go first. Two kabobs each at most. Bon appetit!"

Pakowki

Coach Griffith stepped into the dining hall, carefully balancing a tray with his dinner while scanning the room. Over lunch, the dining room had felt deserted as the local teams that could leave were sent home. Now that the other teams that couldn't leave the area had moved over, it made the school feel packed again.

He spotted a few distinctive griffon plumages in one corner of the dining room and figured out it was where the Leo Mayes group had staked a claim. He found Tammy's table and started carefully weaving his way between the tables, dodging wings and tail feathers. He made it to the table with only a few stumbles and almost spills.

"Hey guys," he greeted the other adults. He set his tray down at an empty spot on the table and pulled his wings in tighter so he could squeeze in next to Tammy.

"Hey Mike, how's your day been?" John asked.

"Busy," he replied. He picked up the bottle of water and cracked the top off. He gulped down a quarter of the bottle before continuing. "Talked with Paul earlier; he wants another conference call with us after dinner, probably around seven."

The other teachers nodded in agreement, and Mike continued. "Talked to Ryan, Crystal and Susan. Sue's stressing out and on the verge of trying to break in to join us, but I think we convinced her she was better off at home. Ryan and Crystal are doing well up at Etzikom with the boys teams." Mike paused and studied his plate of food. The cafeteria was serving beef stew with side salad and rolls today. While they were hearing the griffon diet was as flexible as humans, no one seemed to want to serve difficult food yet. He stabbed a chunk of potatoes out of the gravy and put it in his beak, using his tongue to get some of the tastes he remembered.

"How about the Camp group? Is it true we heard from them?" Tammy asked.

Mike nodded and gulped down a chunk of beef. "Yeah, Nicole reached Paul this afternoon and gave him an update. They were affected just like us, but they're off line. Supposedly they are just getting back on tonight, hence why Paul wants to talk to all of us at once."

"Sounds like a plan. What do we tell the kids?" John asked.

Mike shrugged his wings, "We'll play it by ear I guess. See if Paul has any suggestions. But mainly we'll leave them to their own devices for now and tomorrow we'll figure out what to do next."

John stood up with his tray. "I'll spread the word then. Where are we going to do the call?"

"I'll find a classroom we can claim and let you know. Thanks," Mike said.

By seven, the four teachers were gathered outside a small classroom. A fifth griffon was awkwardly flipping through the keys on a keyring until she found the right key. She opened the door and the lights turned on automatically.

"Here you go. Just pull the door closed when you're done, it will lock automatically and the lights will go off by themselves," the janitor said as she stepped back.

"Thank you," Mike said. "We appreciate the space."

"No problem, anything to help you guys," the janitor replied, waving as she walked away.

A few minutes later, the quartet had a tablet set up and had joined the scheduled Zoom call. They were the first ones in the room. A few minutes later, a few more windows opened up, showing the principal and a couple of the vice principals.

"You look like hell, Paul," Stephanie noted. She was the fourth teacher with the Pakowki group.

"It's been one hell of a day. One hell of a weekend," he confirmed. "And tomorrow's not looking much better. Good to see the four of you at least."

Before anyone could say more, another window opened up, showing a couple more griffons, with a hint of two more just off camera. "Etzikom group, checking in," Brian said. "Hi guys."

"Hey whoever you are," Tammy said.

Brian blinked and looked surprised. "Oh right, it's Brian."

"Let's save introductions for a few more moments, to see if the Campers can get on," Paul said, trying to keep some control over the meeting.

As if on cue, a final window opened, showing two griffons in a kitchen. Their images stuttered a few times before stabilizing. "-an.... -ear us?"

"Sort've, can you hear us?" Paul asked.

"We can... a little rough but doable," the new griffons said.

"Good, glad you could make it, Andrew?" Paul asked, leaning forward to study the view closer.

"It's Nicole, and Judy. Sam and Andrew are entertaining the kids," Nicole said.

"Right, glad to see you online," Paul said, leaning back. "Let's get the introductions over with first. I don't want to keep you long; I mainly wanted to talk to all of you, get a feel for how this day went, get some ideas for what you plan to do for the week, and maybe schedule a staff meeting tomorrow."

After a quick round of introductions, Paul focused on the griffons. "Right, so we have to figure out what to do in the coming week. You guys are stuck in three places with a good chunk of our senior class. So we need to figure out what you are going to do, and what we'll be doing. We'll also need to take the time to figure out what to do when you return."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Tomorrow is going to be a strange day. For the earlier grades we'll try to keep things going as usual, and get subs in for you guys. For our seniors, we'll consolidate the classes and just focus on the basics. We'll have counselors available for everyone. We may need you to make some lesson plans for your subs for the week.

"What I don't really know is what to tell you to do for the week. Have you thought of that yet? Do you need any help with anything?"

"We've been talking about it a little, once we realized we were stuck at camp. I think we're a bit more desperate than the others since we have fewer resources. But we have a few ideas. We can't really run classes, but we'll try to keep the kids busy somehow. We'll have to get back to you tomorrow I think," Nicole said.

"We've got a fair number of parents to share the load down here, and I assume Brian's in a similar situation," Mike said. "So technically a bunch of our kids are out of our hands now. But I've still got about a dozen girls who are technically under our supervision now and Brian probably has a similar number of boys."

"If that distinction still matters, yeah. I do have a few unchanged too," Brian noted.

"Right. In any case, we need to keep them busy. Classes are on hold here for quarantine, so we can't throw them in with the locals, so, well I guess we haven't really figured out what we're going to do." Mike glanced around him to the other teachers, who mostly just shrugged their arms or wings.

"Right, we'll take it a day at a time," Paul said. "While you don't have local classes, you are at the school. We can probably cook up some lessons for them for the week; some projects or something for busy work. I'll check with the teachers we have left here tomorrow and we'll get back to you."

"Tomorrow is only Day Two. I think we can keep busy through then at least," Brian said. "It's still sinking in and all that. After tomorrow, well, then things might get a bit antsy."

"Right, we'll figure something out. Maybe we can try to consolidate groups a bit, so you aren't as spread out, and are closer to home. Etzikom might be where to go, for all of you," Paul suggested.

Mike and Tammy visibly winced, "We'll wait and see. You didn't see how they got the locals home. Crammed in the back of pickups and in U-Hauls basically. It's doable, but I'd rather stay here and maybe there will be better options at the end of the week."

"That's what Nikki advised when we met up. We've got a good setup at the camp, especially now that we're online; we'll probably stay here for the duration," Nicole said. "It's private enough for us to figure things out, while close enough to town we can get supplies and news."

"Have you discovered anything useful yet?" Jacob asked.

"Apparently we can still swim quite well. We're quite buoyant, though the wings make the strokes awkward. And drying off after is a pain."

"You went swimming?" Mike asked incredulously. "Is that safe?"

"Some of the kids wanted to, and they wore Andrew down. We figured with Nikki here, it would be safe enough and something worth figuring out," Judy explained.

"Right, in any case, if you need anything at all, let me know and I'll see what can be done," Paul confirmed."For tomorrow, do whatever you want or need to do. I'll set up a staff meeting for four to get everyone here up to speed and to work out the rest of the week a bit."

They chatted for a bit longer, sharing their experiences so far. The camp group disconnected first, wanting to rejoin their campers.

The rest of the evening was basically spent trying to keep everyone occupied. Every TV in the school was found and set up in various classrooms and other public areas. Some were tuned to various TV channels. Others had Playstations, XBoxs and Switches hooked up so people could play games. Game playing had the added advantage of helping the griffons figure out how to use their changed hands without damaging the controllers too much.

Those who weren't interested in the screens tended to hang out outside, in small groups of friends, both old and new. Some tossed various sports balls around. Most just chatted or kept to their own thoughts.

Around nine, Mike gathered all the Leo Mayes students together. Their group had grown from the initial team as affected family members and spectators hung out with them. All told there were around fifty griffons and humans.

"You all look as tired and exhausted as I'm feeling, so I won't take long," Mike opened, looking the strange group over. He was getting used to seeing griffons and could recognize many now, but he was still figuring out who was who in general. Beside him, Tammy was doing a headcount to figure out how many cots they would need. "We're camping out in the gym again, unless you've made other arrangements. We're going to try and keep our group as intact as we can, so we're claiming the back corner of the gym, near the girl's changing rooms."

He glanced at Tammy who nodded, her count finished. "I know many of you are wondering what we're going to do. A week is a long time to sit around doing nothing. And frankly, I don't have an answer for you yet. I've talked to Principal Clendenning, and we're going to try to figure out some things to do. That means you will have some homework and remote learning exercises to do this week."

Many of the kids groaned and booed. He smirked and shrugged his wings. "Learning has to go on as best we can. But our first priority right now is figuring out what we are and how we work, within reason. Today was a good start, tomorrow will be better I'm sure. So tomorrow will mostly be like today and we'll go from there."

He scanned the group again. "In any case, that's all I have for tonight. Lights out in the gym will be at 10. If you want to stay up later, they will have escorts available to get you to your cots, but I'd suggest most of you should get ready to bed down. I know I'm feeling dead on my feet as is.

"Thanks everyone, and have a good night," he wrapped up.

He stood with Tammy and the other teachers at the front of the group for a few more moments, to wait and see if anyone had any questions or concerns to bring up. Most of the group just wandered away. Tammy left first to get their area of the gym prepared.

When he was sure no one was looking for him, Mike decided it was time to get ready for bed himself. He went to the men's bathroom and found an unoccupied stall. Pissing still felt strange and awkward, but it was doable. He wiped up carefully and backed out of the stall.

At the sink, he washed his scaled hands and splashed some water up onto his beak and feathered face, ignoring the reflection in the mirror as much as he could. When he realized what he was doing, he stopped and forced himself to look in the mirror. The face looking back was still foreign but becoming more familiar. His feathers were mostly brown, like a falcon or hawk with some white and black patterns along their lengths. His ears were grey, reminding him of a cat he'd had when he was a teen. Looking a bit lower, he was wearing a cut up t-shirt that covered his shoulders and breasts, hiding them somewhat, but he knew what was under the fabric. He shook his head and turned away to dry up.

He claimed a cot in the middle of the gym, at one corner of the Leo Mayes territory. The gym itself was quickly filling up as griffons and a few humans found their beds for the night. He sat on the cot, his tail hanging off the far side, and pulled out his phone.

Ryan answered first, voice only. There was a lot of extra noise coming through his connection.

"Hey Dad, we're just getting ready for bed," the younger griffon greeted him. "Crystal's next to me, and the rest of the team's around here."

"Yeah we're-" Mike started to say when the third line was answered. "Hello? Mike? Ryan?" Susan answered, her voice sounding stressed.

"Hey dear, it's us," Mike said. "I'm fine, I just wanted to give a quick call before we go to bed."

"We're fine too," Ryan confirmed. "Still feels like a dream, but I think it's starting to sink in a bit. We'll see what tomorrow's like."

Susan sighed, relaxing a bit. "Thank goodness. I wish I could be there to help. But I'm glad you seem to be doing okay."

"I wish you were here too; but we have a lot of help already. You're better off getting things ready for our return," Mike said.

"I wouldn't exactly say we're 'okay', but we're getting by," Crystal chimed in. "Hi Mrs Griffith."

They chatted for a bit longer while the gyms filled up around them.

"Attention everyone, Attention please," a man called out. He was standing midway up the bleachers near the front of the gym. "It's now just before ten. We'll be turning off the main lights shortly, so please find your beds for the night and get settled. We have night lights turned on so it won't be completely dark, but if you need to move around, please watch yourselves. We've got volunteers who will be keeping watch through the night and available to help if anyone needs anything."

"I guess that's my cue to go," Mike said reluctantly.

"Yeah, they just made a similar announcement here," Ryan said.

"Okay, good night you two. I love you. Call me in the morning," Susan said.

"Night mom. Night dad," Ryan said.

"Night. Sleep well," Mike said. The line was silent for a moment, no one really wanting to disconnect, but nothing more needed to be said. Finally, Ryan's link died as he hung up. Mike waited a moment longer, but nothing more needed to be said. He disconnected and stood up to pocket the phone.

He looked around, doing another headcount and figuring out if anyone was missing. Midway through his check, he saw John coming his way.

"Alison and Sarah are the only ones missing," John confirmed.

"There they are now," Tammy interrupted, pointing her wing towards the entrance as she joined the other coaches. Stephanie was already heading to the arriving pair to guide them to available cots. "I think we're all ready for a good night's sleep, even on these things," she said, lightly kicking the nearest cot.

"Right, thanks guys, for all your help," Mike said.

"We're all in this together, one way or another. What a team building exercise," John said, chuckling.

The teachers spread out among their charges, helping them get settled on the cots. Most were going face down, pulling their tail feathers in tight over the back of their legs, their wings held somewhat upright. A few were trying to sleep on their sides, their wings tending to hang more into the lanes between cots, but there was enough space to get around mostly.

Mike retreated to his cot and stood next to it while doing a final check. He gave a thumbs up towards the man who had made the announcement earlier. Like most of the griffons, he left the blanket on the floor next to the cot and climbed onto it. It tilted and creaked ominously while he positioned himself as best he could.

He chose the face down sleeping position like most others, his head hanging a little over the top of the cot with the pillow tucked under his beak and chin for support. He had expected his neck to feel a bit strained with his head tilted that way, but their new posture made that angle surprisingly comfortable. He lifted his wings and shook them a bit before pulling them back in, feeling the feathers rustle into position. He did a similar shake of his tail feathers before laying them flat over the back of his furry legs. He tried not to think much of the strange padding on his chest and the unusual pressure of the cot on his breasts.

"All right everyone, have a good night," the man announced again, and the main lights went out. Dimmer lights were set up around the edge of the gym to provide enough light for people to move around if they were careful.

Mike laid on the cot, ears twitching as he listened to the full room. Some were having whispered conversations with their neighbours or on their phones, the glare lighting up their strange faces. Most seemed to be falling asleep fairly quickly. He wiggled on the cot to try to get more comfortable, fluffed the pillow as best he could and fully closed his eyes.

Preceded by: School Daze: Day 1

Paradigm Shift: Griffons{{#if:| (First: {{{first}}})}}

Succeeded by: School Daze: Day 3