A Summoning: Part XIX

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Part XIX
~Wheel of Fortune, Part 1~

Sam pulled at the hoodie he had on, starting to take it off before pausing. “Do you mind if I—?”
“Go ahead,” she nodded.

He took it off, revealing a gray t-shirt with a full moon photo on it underneath, and hung it over the chair before coming around to take a seat. This also freed a long, bushy black-furred canine tail to match his ears. “Haah, sweet moon, this thing's too much for the weather down here,” he said. Then, looking at Damon: “Well, uh, you know me yet? You've been sorta quiet.”
“I think I do,” she said slowly. “Somehow you don't smell like I think you're s'posed to. A-and you're another wolf!”

“Yeeaah...”

“'Down here'?” Onida pressed.
“Yeah, I'm, from up north. Drove this way for almost a day straight, eating and a hotel sleep not included. I feel pretty bad, you know; when he said something about a nasty bite I knew that might be what it was, but...not really a good way to warn someone behind the veil. Then he was gone on the full moon, and I just knew it.”

“That was Friday night,” she pointed out. “Why'd you start driving here yesterday?”
“Well, the stream—wait. Has nobody...?” He paused, leaning over to dig a phone out of his hoodie. “I'll show you, okay?”

---

Thomas had yet to find an upper limit.

Letting more and more of her strength “free” to lift increasingly heavy weights seemed effortless, not even requiring her to break a sweat so far. Using it, however, seemed to give her a better feel for its superhuman nature. It felt like this strength was coming from her other form—that of a gigantic, monstrous warm-blooded lizard beast. While little muscle was visible on her as she looked now, that “native” form's full strength and power was hers to command in any form. It was a curious feeling, to be sure, but not bad.

Setting down her latest weight, she caught sight of one of the gym's employees, a personal trainer, walking her way. In fact she knew this guy—Kyle and Thomas had spotted each other now and then, had a few conversations here and there. Only—she didn't recall him having bright red skin, pointy ears and a pair of long horns sticking out from either side of his forehead. He was tall, muscular, in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, with the usual semi-spiky, neon-blue hair she was no longer quite as certain had been dyed that color. They had bonded somewhat on both being nearsighted; he had contacts in at the moment.

“Yoo. You just join up?” he said.

“...No.” At least avoiding any strong reactions was easy enough for her. “I've been a member for years.” She set her weights down.
“No kidding?” He leaned a bit closer in and said quietly, “I'd think I'd remember if we had a dragon goin' here.”

After a second's pause, she whispered back, “Well, I wasn't a dragon the last time I was here.”

The rather..demonic looking man leaned back a bit, his eyebrows raised. “Duude, it really is you! Thomas, right?” he added a little quieter, double checking.

“Yeah...long story.”
“Well, hey, I got time! Now I'm curious.” He indicated a side room reserved for one-on-one training, and she nodded, following him into the more private room.

“You look different, too,” the dragon-girl stated.
“Naah. Maybe you're seein' me different, though,” Kyle said, pointing to himself with his thumbs. “Hope you don't have any hangups about demon, 'cause I've been one all along.”
“I don't really know enough about 'real' demons to have an opinion,” she said, her head tilting slightly to one side.

“Ah, well, there's lots of different kinds. Lesser demons are all like rabid, wild animals; if you see one here in the upper plane, you oughta run. Or...kill it quick, in your case,” he said. “Greater demons are people, though, and feed offa different kinds of...stuff. Like, I am a pride demon.”
“In a gym?”
“Suure,” he said, “it's perfect. You know how much ego people put into their fit bodies and keeping 'em that way? Anyway, that's also how I could tell who you were. Different people have, like, different 'flavors'; it's not perfect, but it totally helps.”

“Enough about me, though, what happened to you?!” he said, spreading his arms out at Thomas's new appearance.

---

Onida squinted her eyes after seeing the brief clip of video her sister had unwittingly sent out to the world two nights ago. “How did that happen? She can't even log in!”
“Uhh...well, let me just say that Windows is a really secure operating system,” Sam said with a tone of understated sarcasm, shrugging.

“Should we be worried about this?”

“Ahh, not much, no. Look—people tend to believe only what they think is possible. Plus, if you don't know werewolves are real, the ears on the video look fake. Anyone aware of magic would think this a little weird, maybe, buut..it'll blow over pretty quick. But, yeah, I was worried,” he added. “Turns out I'm the closest out of Damon's friends who are both aware of magic aand already knew where he lives, which..isn't a very long list.”

Seeing the smaller girl leaning in with interest, Sam said, “What? You recognize me now?”

“Your voice is really familiar,” she said. “...You still smell funny, though.”
“Well, I guess somewhere in there—” he said, pointing to his own head “—you remember seeing me as human, so you think I should smell human. Do I smell how you think I would as a wolf?”
“Um...” Damon sniffed the air a couple of times. “Yes! And you are a wolf, huh?”
“Yes. I'm glad you're...okay, even if you don't seem to be all there?”

Onida crossed her arms. “Most of my brother's memory is gone. Is that normal?”

“I guess?” he said, his ears folding down in obvious uncertainty. “Wolves running wild and biting people without—going through a lot of red tape—is real rare these days. Much less someone coming back to themselves after a whole day. It could also have to do with, uhh, whatever made her that way..?”

“Two witches ran into him in the woods and tried an 'experimental calming spell' or something,” Onida said. “Then they brought her back to me. I care a lot more that she's alive, with me, and, not hurting people than what she looks like.”

“Understandable,” Sam nodded.

“They did say something about side effects, but I think they said the memory loss was all because of the werewolf thing, not the spell.”
“Well, they probably know more than me if they could do that,” he said, “I'd believe it.”

Damon yawned at this point, somewhat loudly. After looking between her and their visitor for a moment, Onida said, “Look, I've got to get to work soon, and she hasn't slept. I'd like to continue this, but...”
Sam nodded. “I got it. Honestly, I wouldn't trust me to stick around here all day with how I look, either. I got a hotel to stay at today. Do you, have any contact info for those witches, though?”

“Yeah,” she said, digging out the paper with their numbers on it. “Here.” Sam took a picture of it with his phone.

“I'll come back later, if that's okay with you?” he said. “Like seven, eight PM?”
“That should be fine,” Onida said: Plenty of time to get home, wake Damon, have supper and mentally prepare for another round of trying to help her sister remember things—this time with assistance from a near-stranger. It was worth it, as long as there was a chance it would work...

---

Halfway through the beginning of her explanation, Thomas remembered that Zotha wanted her being a literal goddess to be at least somewhat of a secret—so she just described her as a friend who'd recently gained some magic power and tried pumping it into her, resulting in the “hatching”. Kyle at least appeared to believe this explanation.

“Yeeah, that kinda thing seems to be happening more often these days than it used to,” he said. “Still, a dragon? I'd say you won the lottery,” he said, pointing with both hands.

“It does feel like it,” she said with a slight grin. “But being stuck a girl will take some getting used to.”

“Compared to what all else you are, that's nothin',” he said.

“Anyway, you were—what, still exercising on the equipment here?”
“Just...curious about the newfound strength.”

“Ah. Well. Not much here can really challenge an adult dragon,” he said. “Unless you wanna go to your native form and pick up the whole gym. But I got some magic-enhanced weights in the back for all the magically super-strong.”

“I'll keep that in mind, thanks,” she said, nodding. “For now, I need to go pretty soon to get lunch before class.”

“Oh, yeah. Diet,” he said, pointing again. “Listen, I'm sure you noticed what your teeth look like?”
“Uh-huh.” She drew her lips back for a second to show them.

“You should probably be prepared to be hungry for a lot more than you used to, mostly meat,” he said. “I suggest going for organ meat to get good nutrition without having to eat veggies. Tends to help folks who are suddenly a lot more, ah, carnivorous than before. Won't be easy on the wallet, though.”

“Thanks.”
“Yeah, just doin' my job,” he said.

---

Zotha contacted Jess at lunch. Text from someone claiming to know our werewolf friend.

I know. He sent me the same thing. Someone should meet with him...

But both of us are booked solid this afternoon—assuming my educated guesses are correct—and he wants to meet this afternoon. I'd hate to keep him waiting.

Prama's going with Anika's roommate to try to find a potions master or whatever... What about Riana?

I think she'll be busy too, and bring Cameron with her.

That just leaves Anika.

Well—is she not capable?

Hmm, capable enough I guess. Not exactly the biggest vote of confidence. The goddess got the impression that Jess saw Andrew as the least reliable of the group to handle something social, aside from maybe Cameron. But she had a little more faith in the Kitsune, who had done quite well on Sunday.

I say, ask her to meet him.

But he wants to meet with one of us.

In that case...we could trade one of our times with her. Ooorrr...she could pose as you, Zotha suggested with a hint of mischief. At least at first. Easy enough illusion to make.

Very well, Master. I'll see if I can convince her to do it. And then explain what it is 'I' need to tell him.

---

As she ate lunch alone in a half-hidden corner of the dining hall, Prama tried to psych herself up a bit. Sure, Steph wasn't someone she knew personally, but he was Anika's roommate, so he was someone who someone she knew...knew. Besides, he'd made a “Deal” with Jess to help her, and evidently Kitsune took that sort of thing very seriously. So he would be trying to help, whether he liked her or not. In short, there was nothing to be nervous about.

Naturally, when they met near the entrance to the parking deck, the bespectacled genius was expending half her effort just not to constantly shake. He'd gotten there first, and waited until she was in conversational distance before speaking. “Hey.”

“Um..y-yes. Hello.” Too quiet; not much of a first impression. She looked up at him—still very unused to other people being so tall by comparison to her.

“You're, Prama, right?” he said, offering her a hand. “Steph.”
“Th-that's right,” she said, taking it weakly. “Nice to m-meet you.”

Her hand jerked back to her side involuntarily about halfway into a normal-length handshake. “You don't seem too pleased,” he said, looking more concerned than anything.

Prama cleared her throat softly, determining to present the facts as rationally as possible. “T-traded social confidence for intellect a few d-d-days ago. St-still, working on it.”

“I hope you got a lot of brains for it, then. I'm supposed to be pretty good at making people at ease around me,” he said.

“Oh, I did,” she said, managing to project a bit of confidence for the first time in the encounter. He nodded in response, then turned.

“Let's get to the car, then. I gave Jess directions, it's about a half hour out.”

“I know. Already m-memorized them,” she mumbled.

Once they were seated and on the way out of the parking deck, he said, “I really don't know if this is gonna work. Not that I won't give it my best shot. This alchemist is an old werewolf, like—eighty-something, I think? Kinda ornery, very dry sense of humor. Seems real mean, scary almost, if you don't know him.”

“Unlikely to see much in a mouse, huh,” Prama said. Being in a very one-on-one setting felt slightly better.

“Yeah. I dunno. This guy used to run with an old-school pack. You know: Fight to join, fight for rank. Fight for fun. Old wolves like that tend to respect, you know, pluck. Boldness.”
“Fight?”

“Yeah. And they absolutely treasure honesty.”

No asking Zotha for false confidence, then—not unless she wanted to have to maintain it at all times around him until she'd learned enough. “Persistence, perhaps?”
“I'm sure that figures into it too,” he said, nodding.

“Hey, why d'you want to be an alchemist anyway?”

“Intellectual challenge. Money. Connections in the magic world,” Prama listed. “And there are some potions I assume exist which I would like to use myself, and which I assume would be much more expensive to buy than to make once I know how.”

“Oh, like what?”

“You know...confidence, until I can re-learn it for myself. Or maybe height, strength. Magic power, so I could try out some spells or something.”

“You can't ask your goddess for that stuff?”
“I..could, but everything has a price,” she said. “Permanent gain could require me to trade something back, but I like my intellect where it is. Temporary gain may require upkeep which I don't want someone else to foot. I would rather stand on my own two feet as much as possible, and utilize the boon I was granted to benefit both myself and her. I'm sure potions cost something too, but it would be something I paid for myself.”

“Guess I can respect that.”

“..We're still more or less trying to keep Zotha a secret from the world at large,” Prama stated. “If possible, I'd like you to introduce me without reference to her, or the..change I've been through.”
“Fair enough. I don't see any reason I'd need to tell him that info anyway,” Steph said.

“Jess said that you were something of a regular,” Prama said.

“Yeah. Sometimes I wanna do a trick that takes a lot of power and leaves me drained, so I like to have a supply of magic replenishing potions handy. That stuff's pretty basic, so it's not too expensive.”

“How does running out of magic work, exactly?”
“I dunno..you spend a bunch, and then you feel like you can't anymore,” he said with a shrug. “It's not too different from physical exercise. Like: If you run enough you eventually have to stop and take a breather. And also like exercise, stretching out to your limit and then recovering will expand how much you can do next time. Oh, but if you do start trying to learn spells, you should know that's also physically taxing. So you might wanna work on your body's stamina at the same time anyway.”

“Good to know,” she said, nodding and filing that information away.

“Hey, you seem a lot better,” Steph commented after a moment's pause.
“I feel better, for now. Confined space with only one other person makes it much easier.”
“You know if this guy does let you work for him, he'll probably expect you to handle customers too. I mean—for that matter, you'll need to do that eventually anyway.”

“I'm aware of that,” she said. “It'll be part of my practice to get used to people again. However, I'm hoping to handle potion sales mostly online once I'm on my own, assuming there is a way to do so.”

“That'd be a new one,” Steph said, “Convenient, even. I don't really know if it's something that hasn't been allowed 'till now, or if it's just that alchemists tend to be pretty rare and traditionalist enough to only sell to folks whose faces they've seen.”

“'Allowed'? You think it would hurt the veil?”

“Ehh, probably not,” he shrugged. “It'd be pretty easy for anyone not in the know to write off a 'potion selling shop' as bogus. But those in charge of keeping it up might feel differently.”

---

The goddess's prediction had been correct; no sooner than 24 hours since her first visit to Rachel and Graham's house, she received a text with the former's decision. She still very much wanted to be a Neko, and the white-haired catgirl wanted to speak to Zotha as well. So she appeared in front of their door not long afterward, ringing the doorbell. Graham answered, wearing a tight blouse and short skirt; it seemed like she was already quite comfortable with femininity.

“Welcome, miss Zotha.” She paused, one of her ears lowering. “Ehh, Lady Zotha? Is there a right title for a goddess?”
“I'm not really hung up on that kind of formality,” the goddess said, shrugging. “And I'm still younger than you are, anyway.”

“A'right. Please, c'mon in.”

Once the door was shut, Zotha went over to Rachel, who was standing near the middle of the room. “Okay, Rachel. You've said it once already, but I'd like to confirm one more time that you're sure about this,” she said.

“I'm definitely sure!” she said nodding. “I really thought about it, too. It's definitely worth it.”
“Heh, okay. In that case, just hold still a moment...” Taking a lesson from the night before, the goddess simply reached over, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, and gently pushed magic into her until she started to awaken. The girl's ears stretched out past her hair, growing black fur and fluff on the inside, and then a tail spread its way out from her back already twitching. At the same time she grew taller, gaining a few inches of height over the change, and her chest visibly puffed out just a bit. By the time Zotha withdrew her hand, the girl's eyes were shut and she was softly purring, clearly enjoying the feeling of being part cat.

Rachel slowly opened her eyes; they'd turned a golden yellow, with tall slits of pupils like her grandfather's. The two of them looked even more like siblings now; if anything, the slight growth spurt had also further enhanced the impression that she was the elder one. “Waa~ah!” She turned all around, examining the tail and reaching a hand up to feel an ear. Then she tackled Zotha with an enthusiastic hug. “Thank you, Lady Zotha!” she said while the goddess chuckled, returning the hug with one arm and letting the girl nuzzle her cheek a moment before gently setting her down again.

“Heheh, you're quite welcome,” she said, enjoying both the gratitude itself and its display.

“Now, what was it you wanted?” Zotha asked, turning back toward Graham—who had on a grin of what appeared to be either pride or satisfaction at seeing her granddaughter's change.

“Oh! Ah, yeah. It's, uh, a bit petty, but I don't fit in the driver's seat of my pickup all that well,” she said, looking a little embarrassed about the request.
“I can always make you a little taller, I guess.”
“Nah, I—rather like this look, really. I was more just wondering if you could change the seat a little for me, so I don't have to buy a new car or somethin'.”
“Oh. Well, I haven't done something like that before, but it should be easy enough. Would you mind showing me the truck?”
“Certainly. I-I mean, not at all!” she corrected after a second. “It's just in the garage...”

Zotha had the curious sense that the white-haired catgirl wanted some private conversation as she followed her around to the door leading out into the garage, so once it was shut she quietly gave them some selective privacy—being well aware that Rachel's ears would be perfectly able to hear them. Anything relating to the truck would go through; anything else wouldn't.

“I went shoppin' for new clothes this mornin',” Graham said, opening the pickup's door. “Haven't done that in ages. It was pretty exciting, tryin' on all these totally different clothes. Small stuff that'd never have fit me before.”
“I guess that's when you found out it wasn't exactly built for someone your size,” Zotha said. “Think you could sit in it for a moment to show me?”
“Sure.”

After climbing in, she said, “I couldn't help but notice Rachel, ahh, grew a little from that.”
“Yeah. Seems like some physical change is normal with most awakenings, even if it's not as extreme as yours. On the bright side, I think it was a small enough change that most of what she has should still fit. Maybe some new bras, at most.”

“Heheh, I could imagine,” the Neko said.

By now she was finished making the adjustment to the seat's mechanics. “It should be able to scoot forward more and go up and down now. Try it out?”
“A'right.” Graham began fiddling with the controls.

“I couldn't help but overhear there, a girl named Damon and her sister talkin'. She looked sorta...well, as doggish as I am cattish,” she said. “You know anything about that?”
“Mmaybe. Why?”
“Oh, it just made me curious, is all.” Zotha could feel some of the Neko's emotions surrounding Damon and concluded from them that this was a lie. But there was no need to tell Graham she knew that.

“Well—first of all, she's more wolf than dog. Werewolves are a thing in our world,” Zotha said. “Damon was human last month, but a werewolf bit him and he nearly lost his mind. I employed some of my power to try to fix it, or at least give him back some self-control, and it wound up turning him into a girl too.”
“I see...”
“What you really should know about her, is that she's not in the best mental state right now. The new 'wolf' side taking over for so long screwed up her memories, and she's still having a lot of trouble controlling those instincts. I think she's on the road to recovery now, but there's no telling how long that road actually is.”

“Ah. Well. I do hope she gets better, then,” Graham said; this part she meant. There had been some disproportionate sadness from hearing that a complete stranger wasn't well, too.

“Looks like it works,” the catgirl added, leaning back and demonstrating that her arms and legs reached the car's controls properly now. “Thanks a heap.”

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything else, but you should be aware I have lots of followers and there might be backlog for smaller stuff,” Zotha said. “Oh, but Rachel does have my number if you're curious about anything else.”
“I got it,” Graham said, hopping back out of the car. “I'll try not to make my request so petty next time, eh?”

“It's not petty to want to be safe on the road,” the goddess said. “But, you know, as long as I was already here. Now, I've got another appointment to make, so I'll need to say bye for now.” She headed back toward the door, and the Neko followed, shutting the pickup's door on the way.