Transformed Chapter Nine

A Chapter by Tabitha M.

Days passed and Deidre remained absent. Everyone in the house took that as a good sign. Larissa grew a little less scared with each passing day.

“What about this?” Olivia asked.

“Still crooked,” Larissa said. “A little to the right.”

Olivia had demanded Larissa’s help in redecorating her room. They had painted it a dark purple the day before, and now it was ready for pictures.

“Like that?” she said tilting the large frame slightly.

“Yeah, that’s perfect,” Larissa said.

Olivia stepped back and they both admired the bleeding white rose in the picture.

“It goes really good with the purple,” Larissa commented. “Kind of a dark picture for you isn’t it?”

Olivia shrugged. “Saw it in a store and it spoke to me. Had to have it.”

Larissa smiled. “Can’t argue with that. What’s next?”

They both set to work attaching sky blue butterflies to the wall with glue dots.

“Any idea what you’re going to do with your room?” Olivia asked.

“Nope,” Larissa answered, not having even thought about it. “Besides, I don’t have anything to decorate with.”

“You should be getting your allowance soon. You’ve been working on the farm, right?”

“Yeah,” Larissa said almost grudgingly. It was either that or with the animals. They didn’t seem to like her much, and neither did Teamka. So, she had been helping Sheena with the farm and green house. There wasn’t a lot to do yet, just ripping out whatever weeds decided to pop up. Sheena said the peppers should be ready to harvest any day now.

“Shouldn’t be long then. Keema should be by tomorrow. I’ll take you out then,” she promised.

“It’s a date,” Larissa smiled. As long as she didn’t have to try on clothes, she thought it would actually be fun.

“Oh, and we can get lunch at the new Italian place in town! It’s fantastic!” Olivia chatted on excitedly.

“Sounds great! Pick me up at twelve!”

They both turned to see Tyko leaning in the door way, a smile plastered on his face.

“You’re not invited,” Olivia said. “Be jealous, Tyko.”

“I’m green with envy,” he joked.

“As you should be,” Olivia said with a curt nod.

“Anyway,” Tyko said changing the subject, “I came by to tell both of you that we’ve decided to have a party tonight. Out by the pool.”

Larissa saw the immediate shine of excitement in Olivia’s eyes.

“Finally!” she said happily. “I feel like it’s been years since the last one.”

“It’s been two months,” Tyko laughed.

“That’s two years in party life.”

“Well, you shall suffer no more,” he said.

“We better bump that shopping trip up to today. Like right now,” Olivia said grabbing her keys from her dresser and slipping on purple flip flops. Larissa was half convinced Olivia would marry the color if she could. “We didn’t get you a swim suit during our last trip.”

“But I don’t have any money,” Larissa said confused by the sudden change of plans.

“Don’t worry, you can pay me back later.” She grabbed Larissa’s wrist and started to pull her out the door.

“Aw, man,” Larissa pouted. “Thought I was done clothes shopping.”

Tyko laughed at her expression.

“You’re never done clothes shopping, silly,” Olivia chuckled. “Decorating can wait.”

She managed to get Larissa out the door.

“Don’t stay out too long!” Tyko called as Olivia yanked Larissa along down the hall. “Starts at sun down!”

“Why is this party so special?” Larissa asked as they browsed racks of bikinis and one pieces.

“Every party is special,” Olivia said taking one off the rack and holding it up to her body. She made a face and put it back. “They can be magical. Anything can happen.”

“That could be good or bad,” Larissa said picking one at random and holding it up to her own body.

Olivia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Doesn’t mean it’s not magical.”

“I guess,” Larissa grumbled, holding up another for Olivia’s approval.

“Seriously?” she said raising an eyebrow. “Are you even trying?”

Larissa quickly put it back. “I’m not good at this.”

Olivia laughed. “That’s why you have me.” She picked up another, examined it closely, turning it over in her hands two times, and handed it to Larissa. “There you go. Perfect.”

“Okay,” Larissa said tentatively. It was a simple black halter top bikini. The straps were on the stringy side, but there was plenty of fabric, so it didn’t look like something a porn star would wear.

Olivia spent a few more minutes browsing for herself, and finally decided on a strapless purple and silver bikini. They checked out and Olivia sped home like she was on a mission. That mission happened to be dolling Larissa up for the party. They spent the next two hours painting nails, and applying waterproof eyeliner and mascara. Larissa went into the bathroom to change, pausing to study her reflection in the mirror. There was a big difference than when she had first looked into that mirror, and not just because she was clean this time. Her hair had a healthy shine, and no more dark circles adorned her eyes. All her bruises had healed, and all that was left of her lacerations were scars. The puncture wound scars would probably fade, but the actual cut scars would be there to stay, she knew. She turned to the side, and looked at her stomach. She’d gained back a healthy amount of weight. She no longer felt like a fragile stick.

“Come on!” Olivia called. “Did you fall in?”

Larissa turned from the mirror and exited the bathroom, turning in a circle so Olivia could examine her handy work.

“Ah! You look fantastic!” she said excitedly, pulling Larissa into a hug.

“Thanks for everything,” Larissa said hugging her back tightly. “Don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Olivia said pulling away and taking Larissa’s hand. “It’s my pleasure. Let’s go.” She led her out of the room, through the house that was in dire need of elevators, and out to the pool. Everyone else was already out. Music was playing, people were dancing. Larissa was surprised by how pretty and lit up the place looked. There were string lights that looked like little copper flowers around the perimeter of the whole area, and wound around the umbrellas on the picnic tables. A few tiki torches helped light random places among the rocks. There was a light that went along the edge of the pool, making the water light up green, then blue, then purple. There were also a few people here she’d never seen before. In fact, Tyko had just excused himself from one of those people to come greet her.

“Hello, Mange,” he said with a smile, looking her up and down. “Nice elbows,” he added with a wink.

Larissa felt her cheeks grow warm, and was thankful for the dim lighting.

Olivia rolled her eyes, “Have fun you two.” Then she was gone with a short wave.

Larissa looked him up and down too, noticing there were dolphins on his trunks and severely aware of the fact that he was shirtless. “Nice knees.”

“I thought you’d never notice,” he said offering her his arm.

“It’s not my fault you’re always hiding them behind pants,” she said sliding her arm into his.

“You’re right,” he said starting to lead her around the pool. “What was I thinking? How about this? I’ll wear these once a week, if you wear that?”

She laughed. “I don’t need this to show off my elbows.”

“It’s not just your elbows I like,” he said with a flirtatious grin.

Her cheeks grew hot again, and she tried to pay attention to where he was directing her. He was leading her around the pool, walking slowly back to the group of people. She looked closer at the people, noticing some of them were in their animal forms. Some were subtle changes-black stripes or brown spots on their skin, sharp nails, random patches of scales. Others were more intense-big ears, snouts, reformed feline legs, tails. She spotted Sheena. Larissa paused to study her, never having seen her animal form. Sheena’s skin was covered in the black spots a snow leopard has. She also had the long, thick tail of a snow leopard. Larissa could faintly see the same color blue in her hair dyed along the sides of her tail.

“If you’re into tails, I can show you mine,” Tyko said.

“You have a tail?” Larissa said ignoring his teasing. “I wonder if I do.”

“One way to find out,” he smiled. He unlocked their arms and took a step back.

“Right now?” she asked nervously, looking around anxiously. Nobody was looking at her, but she felt like her change should be more private. Like the act of changing skin was the same as changing clothes. Maybe she just wasn’t use to it. She had only changed once before.

“Why not? It’s a part of who you are, don’t be afraid to show it,” he said. “Here, I’ll go first.”

Larissa watched with amazement as his body transformed before her eyes. It started with his face. His features became more feline, while still looking like himself. His eyes turned more round and cat-like, while his face barely shifted to become slightly more angular, and the classic black cheetah tear drops extended from his eyes down to his jaw. The backs of his arms, legs, and back sprouted tan fur, while his chest and inner arms remained smooth. His hands stayed normal, but his nails became sharp points. His legs took a feline curve that gave him another couple inches of height.

“See?” he said turning around to show her his back and tail, which he waved back and forth. He had the three, dark and distinct black lines of the king cheetah down his back that led to his tail. The dark splotches on his tan fur were thicker and more shapely than a normal cheetah. The three dark lines ended at the base of his tail, where five dark rings took pattern.

“That’s a very nice tail,” Larissa said, still in awe.

“Your turn,” he said excitedly, turning back around.

“Okay,” she said nervously, taking a deep breath.

She focused all her energy into changing, even imagined herself changing as Deidre had told her back at the hospital. She felt the pain radiate through her body, but she clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. It only lasted a few moments, then it was gone. When she opened her eyes, Tyko was smiling broadly at her.

“Gorgeous,” he said still grinning.

Larissa blushed for what felt like the millionth time tonight, but pushed the feelings down. “What do I look like?” She looked down and studied her toes. Her legs and feet were a mishmash of white, yellow, black, and a mixture of different browns.

“You look like you,” he laughed.

Larissa glared at him in response.

He laughed harder, and said, “Okay, Mange.” He took her hand, and led her through the people and back inside the house. They went in through the bottom floor and straight into the workout room. Before they entered, Tyko moved behind her, covering her eyes. She started to protest but he interrupted her saying, “I want to see the look on your face when you see yourself for the first time all at once.”

She opened her mouth to protest again, but he cut her off again. “Hush. You won’t win. Just walk.”

So she did.

She walked forward, trusting Tyko to guide her around all the workout equipment, which he did. Matching their steps was awkward at first, but by the time they stopped in front of the tall mirrors, they were in sync.

“Ready?” he asked, almost whispering in her ear. His breath tickled her neck.

She took a deep breath, and nodded. “I am.”

He removed his hands, and she opened her eyes. She gasped. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the giant ears. That would explain why her head felt heavier.

“My ears are huge!” she exclaimed, touching them gingerly. When she spoke, she felt her tongue hit extended canine teeth. She would have to get use to that, but she didn’t feel like it altered her speech.

Tyko laughed. “They are not! They are proportioned perfectly. I mean, have you seen an African Wild Dog?”

“Of course I have,” she said, “but still.” She studied her reflection more closely, leaning in closer to the mirror. Her face had no fur, but there was a dark brown, almost black line starting at the middle of her nose that disappeared into her hair line. The line was thinner at her nose, and grew ever so slightly thicker on her forehead. The rest of her face just looked slightly more tan. Her neck was the same tan color, but the blotches of color started on her chest, mostly white, with abstract lines of black and faded around her stomach. She turned around, and looked over her shoulder to get a better look at her back.

“Ah!” she said excitedly. “I have a tail!” She swished it lightly back and forth. She heard Tyko laugh, but kept her attention on the mirror. There was more color on her back, but no fur. Yellow was more concentrated around her shoulders and upper back. White and black adorned the lower part, with light and dark brown spots on her sides and faded into her natural skin color when they met her stomach.

“I still can’t get over how this is possible,” Larissa said turning her front back to the mirror. Olivia was right. Parties are magical.

“I think that every time I change,” Tyko said.

She turned to look back at him, and he was back in his human form, a smile shining in his eyes. She closed her eyes, and changed back as well. When she opened them she asked, “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Best I’ve seen in a long time,” he said, eyes glowing happily.

She didn’t realize how close they were until his hand was on her hip, and his lips were on her’s. Something in her sparked, and her senses caught fire. Every thought in her head burned away with the heat. Her arms found their way around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He pushed her against the mirror, his hands holding tightly onto her waist. Larissa’s body was alight with a fiery passion, every fiber of her being burning, and she didn’t want it to end. She didn’t know how long it took, but it finally did. Tyko rested his forehead against hers, both breathing heavily. She stared into his eyes, saw the fire still raging.

It was a while before either spoke, but it was Tyko that broke the silence.

“We should go back to the party,” he said in a tone that made her believe that was the last thing he wanted.

She swallowed. “Yeah. I think we should.” Larissa didn’t think her tone sounded very truthful either. She didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to ruin this feeling, her stomach and fingertips were still burning. She really was starting to believe in magic.

“People will be wondering where we are,” he said. She thought he was trying to convince himself more than her.

“Probably,” she agreed. She looked into his eyes, and she could almost see the internal struggle he was fighting.

“Screw it,” he said. “One more won’t hurt.”

It did anything but hurt. Fires roared once more, driving her body crazy. He lifted her up easily, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her back still against the mirror. She lightly dug her nails into his back, and he kissed her harder in response. There were no thoughts, just burning emotions.

“Okay,” he said barely breaking away. “Need to stop now. This is not the place for what will happen if we don’t stop now.” He kissed her between every few words.

Larissa smiled against his lips. “I don’t know, seems like as good a place as any to me.”

He growled deep in the back of his throat. “Don’t tempt me, Mange.” He kissed her fiercely once more, then gently put her feet back on the ground. He sighed deeply, and it sounded full of remorse. He took her hand and led her back up to the party.

Larissa had outwardly composed herself by the time they reached the crowd, but on the inside, she was a mess. Thoughts whirred, emotions were on high. She wasn’t sure what just happened. But she knew she liked it... A lot. She was so distracted by her thoughts, she just barely heard Tyko when he introduced her to someone.

“Larissa, this is Miranda,” he said. “She was the rescue before you.”

“Oh yeah?” Larissa said, snapping from her thoughts. “Where did he save you from?”

Miranda was a short girl with blonde hair and red highlights. She laughed lightly, and said, “I wouldn’t use the word rescue. More like ‘rehabilitated’.”

“We pulled her off the streets,” Tyko explained.

“Yeah, this placed helped me out a lot. I thought I was insane. Turned to drugs, thought they helped,” she said with a shrug. “But they just made it worse. But enough about my story, what’s yours?”

Larissa shifted her weight anxiously. “Oh, you know. Locked in a cage for a week by an evil doctor.”

Miranda lifted her brows in shock. “Seriously?”

“Not even kidding,” Larissa said with a stiff smile.

“That’s rough man,” Miranda said sipping from her red solo cup.

Larissa shrugged. “What can you do?”

Miranda gave her an encouraging smile. “Move on and live your life. Don’t let it hold you back.”

“It takes time to fully heal,” Tyko said smiling at both of them.

“That it does,” Miranda said tipping her cup to him.

They spent the next hour or so socializing. Larissa met a few new people, and got acquainted with people she forgot she lived with. A couple of them worked third shift so she never saw them. After the crowd thinned out some, Larissa and Tyko stepped into the pool. He dove under the water immediately, while Larissa sat on the stairs, watching him with a smile. He broke the surface, spraying her with water. She gasped when the cool water hit her face.

“Come on in,” he said. “The water is great!”

“I thought cats didn’t like water,” she said splashing him back.

“If you’re a measly house cat,” Olivia said, appearing out of nowhere, joining them in the water. Sheena followed suit, still in her animal form. Her eyes looked silver, almost glowing. Now Larissa understood Ant’s nickname for her. Olivia dunked under the surface, and swam back towards Larissa. Olivia resurfaced, and offered Larissa a hand. Larissa took it reluctantly and walked further into the cool water with her.

“So,” Olivia said floating on her back, “have you enjoyed the party, Liss? Was it everything I said it would be?”

“That, and more,” Larissa said cutting Tyko a quick glance. Their eyes met for a split second and he smiled smugly at her. Her cheeks burned with a blush.

Olivia smiled proudly.

“Well,” Sheena said abruptly. She had been turning in slow circles, letting her fingers drag along the water. “I’m drunk. And I think I’m going to be sick. So, I’m going to bed.”

“Oh, dear,” Olivia said standing up and going to her side. “How many times do I have to tell you not to overdo it?”

“Can’t help it,” Sheena said. “I get carried away. These things don’t happen often enough.” She giggled.

“It’s not fun and magical if you overdo it,” Olivia chastised as she helped her up the stairs.

Sheena laughed. “I disagree.”

“I didn’t even know she was drunk,” Larissa commented. “She handles it well.”

Tyko laughed. “She does indeed.”

Larissa pushed herself up on the smooth concrete, letting her feet dangle in the water. “I should probably head up too. Might have a big pepper harvest tomorrow.” She widened her eyes with fake excitement. “And I think I still have a date with Olivia.”

“Sounds like a fun filled day,” he said making his way over to stand in front of her. He ran his hands along her calves. His warmth against the cool from the water made her shiver.

“Should be,” she said with a fond smile.

“It’s missing one important factor though,” he said.

“Oh yeah? Picking hot peppers, payday, Italian food with a friend.” She counted them off on her fingers as she went. “What’s missing?”

“This.” He smoothly pulled her back into the water and she shrieked in surprise. That shriek didn’t last long. His lips were on hers within seconds. Larissa’s body came alive again, fire burning in her veins.

She broke away long enough to say, “I didn’t put that on the list?”

“Must have slipped your mind,” he said gruffly, pulling her closer.

“How silly of me.”

“Don’t let it happen again."

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