Oro examined the strange hole in reality carefully. He seemed to be quite the expert as he nudged the strange fissure like it was cloth. There were magical lights dancing on his finger tips, as he carefully seemed to thread something across it. “Hm… the passage to your world is actually pretty good. Normally these things shift about and go a little crazy at times. With a bit of work it could even become a permanent portal.. quite rare indeed.”
“So.. it wasn’t just my trick?” the rabbit girl Alice asked a bit disappointed.
“A combination of events.. the walls of reality here was weak.. and the fact that all three of you were here at the same time. I think each of you added something to the magical combination and I don’t know if we can repeat it again.”
Anne glanced down at her snake tail. This was… just crazy. Though she was looking hopeful, even as a speck of green hair came into her vision reminding her of how different she was now. Why did these things happen to them? “Will I go back to normal?” She asked hopefully.
“Normal is relative dear. You are normal here…” Oro chuckled.
“Plus you’re so cute!” The giant’s daughter suddenly smiled. Talara still seemed to have ‘a thing’ for the snake girl but fortunately she was restraining herself; possibly because of the presence of her father and mother.
Anne didn’t seem to respond all that well to it. “Will I go back to normal!” She demanded.
“.. maybe.” Oro responded. “I can’t give you a certain answer.” He extended the magical thread across the strange hole. With a sudden tug the portal became larger, pulling outward. The centre of it expanded and the darkened park where they came from was now in full view!
“Alright kids… go on, walk through- or crawl,” he chuckled with a wink to Anne.
Anne huffed as she pulled her snake-like tail. The three girls walked across the strange portal… towards the park where all this started.
Anne glanced back as her body started to shift and change. Her arms became familiar again… with a little bit of hair, and thicker fingers. Her hair changed back from green to brown curling upwards and shortening. She felt a bit stranger as her tail shortened slowly pulling up into her body forcing her on the ground.
“Ouch!” the snake girl protested as she felt a slight stab of pain that.. indicated something else had come back. Soon the legs he had missed had come back. His clothes began to shift back to jeans and his dress turned back into a T-shirt.
Anne had become Andrew again. “I’m me.. I’m me.. I’m me! Oh thank you I’m back to normal!” He got up and was practically dancing on his new formed legs.
Mikey watched curious and was hoping the same thing would happen to her. “Come on- please go away stupid wings!” she begged and prayed for it but… nothing. “This- this just isn’t fair!” She threw her wings outward in annoyance. “Why does he get to go back to normal but I don’t!” She was evening starting to remember Anne’s name was.. Andrew? “This is so weird..”
Alice wondered what time it was. They had been gone for ages. The park looked like it was night-time. “We should get back home, our parents will be worried.”
“Yeah,” Mikey agreed. “I guess I can just fly myself back. You’ll be okay?”
“I don’t live that far from the park. I’ll just use my trick to get outside and past the gates..”
“I’m going to walk!” Andrew laughed. “In fact I’m going to run. God I missed having legs!” That nightmare was over. It was finally over!
Mikey was somewhat glad her new friend was back to normal. Maybe it gave her a bit of hope too. “Well see you in school tomorrow Alice.”
This would be hard to explain to their families..
Biff jumped out from her bed- and almost forgot she was now walking on four limbs. She felt herself slump forward, with an irritated growl at her lion body and a twisted curl on her lips. “That stupid girl- why won’t she answer the phone!” The sphinx woman felt an acute sense of fear. She knew ‘something’ was going on. It was tickling her right in her senses. If she had whiskers- well- she best not consider that but there was something in the very air that urging her faster and faster to get to Sarah’s house.
Was this a delusion? Was she going crazy? She felt herself suddenly get an acute itch on her stomach and had to scratch it. “Ah- damn it- what’s wrong with me-” She had to focus. She ran quickly down the stairs.
“Biff? Is something the matter?” Miss Collins asked her attracted by her bounding steps. Her fox-tail was a little lower reacting to her cautious emotions.
“I need to go!” Biff cried out. “Just open the front door- I need to talk to someone I don’t have time to explain!”
“What’s wrong-” Though she quickly opened her front door for her.
Biff ran out into the street and glanced around quickly. “Got to get to Sarah...” she muttered. It was on the way to Jon’s house but.. she needed to get there faster. She glanced at her wings suddenly as if realizing she had them. Could she.. but… people were looking- “Please let these wings actually work!” She tried to move her wings…
It was an unusual feeling. She had never actually tried to move her wings much before. Muscles seemed almost ‘glad’ to be finally being put use felt a little bit stiff. Biff hunched lower instinctively, as her wings became primarily in thought. Her eyes closed she tired to focus.“Fly…”
She felt her paws start to leave the ground. She looked startled as she realized her entire body was now up in the air! She looked down at the widening eyes of the other people on the street now watching her in shock. Her hair waving behind the lioness at the gust of air. She almost froze- almost. Her wings seemed to though think for themselves a bit, and knew she didn’t want to stop or fall down thankfully.
They moved as if with the insistent beating of her heart. A distinct rhythm that pulsed and pushed her higher and higher. She stared at the dark sky in quiet wonder as she soared hovering above the very trees and houses. How was this even possible? Her huge body shouldn’t be able to do this! Yet it was… she was flying. Her wings somehow… just somehow! Somehow doing the impossible.
She tucked in her tangling paws and started to go towards Jon’s house. She needed him first otherwise Sarah was far less likely to listen.
Though for the first time since her transformation...she had never felt so free.
Jon was just getting out of the house. He had no idea what was going on. Biff suggested it was to do with Mikey though but… how? Did she know something? He was about to get into her car when she glanced up at a flying figure. He for a moment hoped it was Mikey but it was even more of a surprise to see a huge flying lion with wings..
“Biff?!” Jon gasped.
Biff landed incredibly gracefully in front of the house. Her paws finally on the ground with a sudden gust of her wings. Jon had never seen her move her wings and they seemed to make her look so majestic to Jon. The sphinx-woman was standing on all fours again, her limbs shaking. “Jon...” Biff stammered.
Jon inched forward almost too shocked himself to approach. “What’s going on?”
“I can’t explain it but we need to get to Sarah and we need to get there quickly!”
Jon nodded. “Alright well I’ll drive-”
“No!” Biff growled. That would take too long.” Though how could they.. would she.. no- just no! She couldn’t! This- this was for Sarah she had to! She needed Jon. “.. okay, just get on my back.”
Jon looked at Biff and blinked. Did.. did he hear her right? Did Biff just ask him to… “What?” He gave a bemused look.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. Just get on my back and I’ll fly us much faster then that stupid car!” She knelt down turning around giving Jon… a bit of an eyeful of her changed body again. Her tail waving behind didn’t help his conflicted emotions.
Jon stared- but snapped out of it. He grasped walked carefully to her and slid a leg over Biff’s lion-like torso. The fur there was… kind of soft. He felt her warmth and glanced back to her tail. There was such an alluring beauty to the sphinx that he was struggling to contain- well- any indication that he was aroused by it. He begged and prayed that Biff wasn’t able to sense it.
Biff suddenly started her wings and as before flew upward. Jon screamed and put his arms around
Biff’s neck. The sphinx girl coughed. “A- little- looser.” She gasped.
“Sorry.” Jon was blushing. He could feel it… and he prayed the blood would stay at his cheeks then anywhere else.
Biff flicked her tail in annoyance. A guy was.. near her. Her… she could feel her body react to it- she could actually feel it! She ignored it- they were just stupid hormones and meant nothing. This body was making her betray herself. She wasn’t- she had no interest in Jon! Even if it seemed like.. her body might be? Was.. Sarah right? No- she couldn’t! She still loved Sarah!
The sphinx flew quickly, darting past all the buildings in a direct route towards Sarah’s house. She then smelled something in the air.. “What the… someone is.. near...”
Jon looked ahead. He was still scared of heights.. the only thing preventing him from falling was literally a flying lion. He was holding on very tightly but opened his eyes to see… a flying harpy? “Mikey?!”
Mikey gasped and.. flew past them. “Sooorrry!” She cried out. Damn it- Biff was flying too slow! How was she supposed to sync with her and.. why was her brother riding Biff?!
Biff started to turn, to fly towards Mikey… and once again they seemed to miss each other, it was almost like weird dance in the air. Biff suddenly had the vague.. thought. “She’s going to turn left...” she wasn’t sure how that information came to her but.. maybe it was instinct. She turned left to meet her on a new approach.
Now Biff was struggling to fly faster… while Mikey was trying to fly as slow as her body would allow, at right angles to the wind. Both fliers were very new and it wasn’t exactly an exact science.
“Where- where have you been!” Jon asked his brother turned sister as they finally managed to synchronise their flight.
The young harpy pointed with a Talon. “At the park- you wouldn’t believe me. Where are you going?”
“To Sarah’s house and- ah!” Jon grasped tighter onto Biff.
“Again- too much-” Biff coughed. “Jon I’m going to kill you!”
“We- we should talk once we land. I’m getting bugs in my mouth.” Mikey flapped her wings faster finally angling herself better against the wind. “I’ll see you at Sarah’s house!”
Jon was amazed as the two fliers in very little time landed close to Sarah’s house. “Man- I can’t believe it. You really found Mikey. Biff I’m so… you’re so...” He owed everything to Biff at this moment. Everything!
“Yeah- uh.. your welcome.” Biff didn’t have time to admit that was just a very good coincidence. “Just talk to Sarah. She isn’t going to talk to me for some reason.”
Mikey looked very guilty. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to be out so late. We.. we found this weird place and.. it took a while to get back.”
Jon sighed at Mikey’s explanation but nodded to Biff. At this point he would do just anything the Sphinx wanted. He approached Sarah’s house and knocked.
The lights came on and in mere seconds Sarah’s father opened the door. “Uh, yes?”
“Can we talk to Sarah?” Jon asked.
“… do you know what time it is? She’s sleeping.” He sighed rubbing the back of his neck. “You can talk to her tomorrow.” Did Sarah get a new boyfriend?
“It’s.. it’s really urgent.” Jon persisted. He glanced back to Biff and Mikey. Biff seemed to be doing something with her paw but gave up- was that a thumbs up attempt?
Sarah’s father sighed. “Uh, fine, let me try and wake her up-” then there was the sound of a scream. It sounded like something had fallen from upstairs. “What the- Sarah?!” He ran back inside but not before Jon and Biff also walked in. Biff had been here before and knew which room Sarah’s was in.
“Sarah are you okay?!” Sarah’s dad shouted as he knocked on her door.
“I- I’m fine!” Sarah said. “What it is!”
“You.. you have friends from school who want to talk to you.”
There was a pause.. Sarah opened the door partially. She looked to see Jon.. then downward to see Biff. “What?”
“Sarah.. are you okay?” Biff asked.
“I’m fine!” She said. “I just.. dropped my alarm clock-” She stammered. “Look- I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m just.. really tired.” Sarah looked as white as a sheet.
Biff looked to her.. and smelled the air. “Well.. okay.. we’ll talk tomorrow..”
Sarah closed the door. “This can’t be happening...” she stammered. “There is no way this is happening!” At the small of her back was a strange.. fluffy looking wolf tail! It was a snowy white in colour. She stared at it with some concern. Nothing else seemed to have changed but her new tail would be very difficult to hide. She fell into her bed crying. “This can’t be happening… please let me wake up and let it be over...”
She could imagine what they would call her..
