Tiffany drank the cocoa. The warm drink was incredibly comforting, as it ran down her body. Whatever it was that had happened to her, she felt like she was slowly getting over it. The horn on her head wasn't exactly making her mood any better though... but she recognised that as changes go, hers was quite moderate. Considering what other people had changed into...
At this point, she was starting to feel a strange sense of sympathy for her fellow students. Sure she had to out compete them. That was the system in place. Tiffany was a winner, she knew that from the start and she proved that throughout her time in school. People cried, but it wasn't her fault that for every winner, there had to be a loser...
... right?
Though perhaps, there was such a thing as taking it too far. It's not as if she 'won' in what she became. This strange, surreal body with luminous skin. The pattern around her body had a way of still making her blush if anyone saw it. That kind of shame was still foreign to the rather proud girl. She also thought of Sarah... and there it was. More regret. Were they not civil to each other in the past? Why did they fight like that- and why did Sarah seem to genuinely care for her? Why did she feel her initial transformation was 'better', given what it did? Who was she? If a winner was someone with friends out of all this, she had to admit that she had no friends at all. The only person who really stuck by her in all this was... her father.
... and her teacher. Mary Summers.
What kind of a teenager can only count on adults to help her out? Only one who had to be a spoilt brat... and that isn't who Tiffany was. So the only conclusion she could draw on was that... she really had to be ill. That her transformation had done something so crazy to her, that it made all the students change from respecting her to fearing her... and only those of a stronger mindset, could help her. Someone like Mary. When she was so enraged that she felt like she could rip apart the very world she was in-
But that wasn't her... was it?
She finished her drink, setting it aside. She wrapped her clothes around her tightly, as the glow increased just a little, reacting to the pleasant warmth she was feeling from the chocolate. Her father knocked again, entering her room. He gave his daughter a little smile as he took the cup away.
"... dad?"
He stopped half way on the door. "yes?"
"... Thank you."
Mrs Gordon looked at her daughter wondering how best to explain the birds and the bees to her. She never had to originally. The school tended to take to that topic first before parents really told them anything. Mrs Gordon actually preferred that. But now her daughter had asked her the question. Where did a baby come from? She decided Lilly was just too young for all the details, so gave the simple explanation first.
"Well sweety, it happens when a man and a woman love each other, and decide they want a child. I'm sure they will teach you in school the rest though. Okay? Now... mummy really needs to get some rest. I've been awake for almost 3 days straight."
Lilly frowned a bit disappointed that she wasn't going to know it all right now, but trusted her mother. "O-Okay" she said before going back, still carrying the strange pink cat. The cat immediately jumped under Lilly's bed at all the various artefacts. The squirrel girl felt an instinct as if telling her an 'intruder' was taking her things but she let that feeling go. It was a rather misplaced feeling.... the cat emerged and dragged out the blue stick the squirrel girl had taken from the tree.
"Oh... you wanna play Sakura?" She smiled a bit going into her drawer. Having a pet would take her mind off her troubles. She took the blue stick, and tied it with a string before setting it on the ground. She had seen people do this in the park... Sakura looked at it with eagerness, ready to pounce. Lilly pulled the string, as they pretended the stick was some kind of strange animal. The cat's instincts guided her as she hunched low and started to try and grab it. Lilly giggled, and pulled the string up in mid air... then noticed something strange.
The blue stick seemed to be 'pointing'? Much like a compass.
She tapped the stick making it spin in a circles. but it slowly, and very strangely, started to align itself to a 'direction'. Lilly had a vague idea where North was, and wherever it was pointing that wasn't it. she walked around the house, still holding the stick on the string. Sakura followed behind her with a little meow. But at every twist and turn, the stick was still pointing 'somewhere'...
A new mystery, but it was getting very late.
Lilly yawned and realised she had to get some sleep now anyway. She went to the bathroom first- and remembered she had to sit down. She didn't know quite why that part of things was still awkward for her. She had always stood up, and that was highly ingrained into her. Girly parts were a mystery to her and she was always too nervous to look- and it was all covered in fur anyway. She also kind of wished she could still stand up, as sitting down on a toilet with her two tails to find space for, was a chore on what used to be a very simple task. Of course it wouldn't matter in the more 'natural' world... but that was a step she didn't want to think about. She idly wondered how her brother managed being so big- then promptly slapped her head to push out the image. Eww...
She went back to her bedroom to see Sakura sleeping on her bed. She joined the cat, allowing herself to blissfully sleep on what seemed to have been a very busy day for her.
Steve had to admit she had really enjoyed herself. Meeting the other flower changed was nice... and made her appreciate the fact that she still had legs more. Although the rooted one seemed happy? Steve didn't think she would be, but it worked out for her. Also being with that large rooted flower has somehow rejuvenated her body. She felt... great? No, Amazing... all charged up. Her pink petals were no longer dull, but had returned to a naturally strong colour. Even the rip she had intentionally caused had completely healed up. She glanced down at her flowery body, and raised one of her feet off the ground. This was really strange... her balance was beyond anything she ever had before. She held her leg at a full ninety degree angle, and found she could hold this position for... a minute passed, and she was still not tired. Then a further few minutes and she realised she still wasn't tired...
She angled her leg again, moving it with some curious autonomy that would have normally been the skill of a contortionist... she slowly sank down onto the ground, stretching her legs doing the splits as if she had done them all her life. glancing left and right at her pink toe nails she realised this was starting to get more then a little freaky... at a thought she then attempted a handstand. This- was probably the strangest feeling of all, as her flowery dress inverted itself over her body, and her dancing legs were fully exposed. She wasn't sure what she looked like... but this position had a strange 'naturalness' to it as well. Her body was so light, and her arms just didn't tire at all... she felt a strange sensation- like 'liquid' flowing down her body...
... the the phone rang.
She quickly got up- almost twirling as she did so and answered the phone. "H-hello?"
"Hey Steve!" said Ben, her rat boy friend. "We missed you in class. You okay?" he sounded a bit concerned.
"Oh yeah I'm just peachy." she said rolling her eyes.
"What- your growing peaches?" asked Ben in shock over the phone.
"No!" The flower girl said annoyed. "S-shut up. I'm not doing anything like that!" Honestly Ben had no 'tact'. It's not as if she would ask him if he's been going around the garbage cans!
"Sorry dude- er dudette- er-" Ben groaned a bit.
"Just 'Steve' if you don't mind. I'm still the same guy. What do you want anyway?"
"Just checking up on you- mate," he said adding the last part in hesitantly. This was getting more awkward by the minute. "I didn't mean anything. Just I know you were down, and wanted to cheer you up."
"What can possibly cheer me up?"
"Well- I figure we could go to a costume party. I'll be master splinter, and you can be a pokemon."
Steve blinked... then laughed. She laughed really hard. Normally this kind of thing might have been insulting, but the two of them were friends. This was just something the two of them shared as an interest, and the joke genuinely tickled Steven. "Y-yeah... you know- that isn't ever happening," Steven said flatly.
"Okay I'll be rat-man you can be poison Ivy then?"
Again Steven laughed. "Yeah okay okay... you cheered me up. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Happy to help bro," said Ben smiling. He put the phone down, very glad.
Jon was glad to see Karyn again.
"I've been meaning to ask you Jon," said Karyn after a thought.
"Ask what?" the slug girl asked. She was adjusting her hair a bit as she looked to her friend, walking back to their respective houses. Having stayed so late, they were drawing more then a few looks from the normal humans. This felt strange to the two teenagers. Being one of the few changed among a lot of humans...
"Well... it can wait, don't worry" She smiled again shaking her head. Did Jon know how much she had changed since all this happened? For some reason Karyn wasn't overly worried. Indeed slug-girl Jon was just as much Jon just.. a little different? But what was the cause of that difference? Social cues? Chemical messages in the brain? Magic? The cecaelia girl thought about that last one with a bit of a scoff. As much as she knew magic was real, she didn't think it could create an entire person... maybe it could open a door, but the person had to still go through it. Jon wasn't some magic 'pod person'... and neither was she, or anyone else. Her friends were still her friends...
Jon held one of her tentacles. The old Jon would have done the same too, whenever she said 'don't worry'.
"Karyn? You're a great friend in all this, you know." Said the slug girl.
