Ring 5.4: Sowing Confusion

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Ring 5.4:

Sowing Confusion

“I'm tired of this. Can we leave after lunch?”
“Aww, come on. You promised you'd come with me today.”

Sam sighed and continued looking for an empty table. “I promised to come with you, not take up permanent residence in the mall.”

“We've only been here for two hours, Sam. That's not even enough time to put together a whole outfit!”
“Maybe not for you. Your problem is—hey, look.” A tall blond-haired guy at a table by himself was waving at them.

They went over to him. “Uh, sorry, I couldn't help but notice you were looking for a table? I'm not using these seats.”
“Thanks!” said Sara, taking a seat. Sam took the other one. “I'm Sara, this is Sam.”
“Uh, I'm...Lewis. I'm a little new in town.”

“Oh, maybe we could show you around,” said Sam.

“Maybe later, we're a little busy right now.”

“You're busy, you mean. I probably have enough clothes to last me a whole year at this point.”

“Ah, well, I was getting some clothes too. Just...a few spare changes, I'm basically done myself,” said Lewis.

They kept talking and eating for a few minutes, until Lewis suddenly stood up. “Uh, e-excuse me, I have to go. I'll be back in just a minute!” he said, before taking off at a run toward the bathrooms.

Sara stared at him as he went. “Huh..?”

“What?”
“Something is up with that guy. Something weird.”
“What, like needing to go to the bathroom?”
“No, I..his hair was growing, Sam. Like, visibly?” She tugged at her own hair to illustrate. “And I swear he looked shorter by the time he got in the door.”

“Things tend to look smaller from a distance, Sara.”

“That's not what I mean! I..ugh, I don't know what I saw. But he was acting kind of weird before that too, like he doesn't know how to talk to girls or something.”
“So maybe he isn't used to doing it. Nothing wrong with a guy trying new..” Sam paused, finally noticing someone just off on the right side of her view who had definitely been there for longer than expected, and turned toward them. It was a dark-haired girl with her own tray of food, looking at both of them. “Uh, hello?”

“Excuse me,” said the stranger with a smile, “I was just eavesdropping. I can leave if you want.” It was an unusually calm smile, almost too calm, and it didn't seem to want to leave her face.
“No, there's another chair here,” said Sara, “Take a seat. What's your name?”

“Oh, I am Leiko,” she said, “and thank you for the invitation, Sara.” She pulled back the chair back and sat down. Her movements seemed unusually graceful, like she was dancing on a stage or something, but not quite that exaggerated.

“Well, what do you think? Did you see anything weird about that Lewis guy?” said Sara.
“Hm..I have yet to see him at all. But I do not doubt that you have.”
“You think people can just start growing long hair and getting smaller?” asked Sam.

Leiko shrugged. “I have learned a great many things to be possible. For instance, I hear that a boy turned into a girl recently around here.”
“Oh yeeaah, Kevin,” said Sara. “How did that happen, anyway?”

She gave another grinning shrug. “Can't say. I find it's usually best to not overthink such things.”

Lewis walked back to the table, looking to Sam just as short-haired and tall as ever. “Oh, uh, hi,” he said, noticing the new member of the table.

“Greetings. I am Leiko.” She offered him a hand.
“Oh, I'm, uh, Lewis,” he said, awkwardly taking it but recovering a more natural-seeming shake.

“Pleasure to meet you. Have you been buying clothes?” she asked.

“Uh...” Lewis hesitated for a second, but even Sam had to admit the question seemed a little strange. Besides that, she hadn't seen him, so she couldn't have heard him say something about buying clothes...right? “Y-yeah, why?”

“You might have seen my friends around. We entered the mall together, but seem to have become separated.”

“Yeah, maybe...I mean, what do they look like?”

“Hm..one of them is blonde, short and chipper, one is thin with white hair, and the other is dark-haired and well-endowed.”

Short and chipper..? “Is that first one named Aki?” said Sam.

“Ah, yes, I think so,” said Leiko, nodding slightly. “Do you know her as well?”

“Well, I've met her once. But I haven't seen her around the mall today. Would that make the other two Flora and Jenna?”

The other girl nodded again. “They're around each other quite a lot.”

“But..I thought Flora's hair was light brown or something, not white.”

Leiko shrugged. “It's always been white around me. Perhaps she had it dyed when you met her, and changed her mind?”

“Either way, I haven't seen any of them around.”

“Me either,” said Lewis.

“Oh, so you've met my friends as well?” asked Leiko.
“Um—uh, no, I just meant that I hadn't seen anyone like what you described, or anything. But, uh, wouldn't, I mean..did you not set up a place to meet when you all split up?”

“We weren't originally planning on splitting up at all. Once I finished with my purchases, I thought I might wait here, as it is a central sort of location.”

“Why don't you just call them?” said Sara.

Leiko shrugged. “I neglected to bring my phone. Rather a blunder on my part. I suppose I should just walk home and get in touch from there.” She calmly pushed the chair back and stood up. “It's been nice meeting with you,” she said, “we should hang out sometime I'm not looking for someone else.”

When she had disappeared back into the crowd, Sara said, “She's kinda weird, isn't she?”
“I dunno, she seemed nice enough to me,” said Lewis.
“Of course she did,” she answered, with a touch of sarcasm. “But look, she's all..smiling all the time. And the way she talks. And the whole..eavesdropping thing. Isn't it kinda creepy?”

“A little..but maybe she was just raised differently,” said Sam. “She was obviously trying to be friendly.”

“Well, what about her story with the missing friends? It's like she was making it up as she went along. None of us saw them all day today. How do you split up from people without noticing it? And who doesn't bring their phone?”

“W-well, the people she mentioned are real,” said Sam. “I met them at the arcade the last time there was a free night.”
“Yeah, but who supplied the names, hmm? Not her.”

“Huh..”

“A-and, you even said that Flora doesn't have white hair, like she said, right?” added Lewis.

“Yeah..you're right, that is a little strange. Maybe if I see one of those three I'll ask if they know her. If they don't, then maybe the whole thing was made up.”

“What was made up?” The sudden interjection of the new voice made all three of them jump slightly, before turning to the source: A certain tall redheaded girl who hadn't been either of those things just a few weeks ago.

“Oh, hey Kevin,” said Sam. “Or, uh..Kell?”
“Either one's fine,” she nodded, “I'm thinking of having it legally changed..maybe moving my old name to a middle name, since I've never had one of those before.”

“Um..” started Lewis.
“Oh yeah, you're new, right?” said Sara. “Well, the gorgeous girl you see there was a shy little boy named Kevin a few short weeks ago.”

“Wow, really?”

“Um..yeah,” said Kell, blushing a little from the 'gorgeous' part. “So, what were you talking about?”

“Oh, this girl named Leiko was here a minute ago,” said Sam. “She said she was looking for her friends, but the story sounded sort of fishy.”

“How do you mean?” The tall girl moved around to an empty chair and took a seat.

“Well, she claimed to come into the mall with three people, none of which any of us has seen,” said Sara, “and even though Sam said their descriptions almost matched some people she's met once, one of them had the wrong color hair.”
“Yeah, it sounded like her friends were Aki, Flora and Jen,” Sam interjected. “But she said Flora's hair was white.”
“..It wasn't?”

“I didn't think so.”
Kell scratched her head. “Well, uh, I guess I wouldn't really know, since technically I wasn't actually there.”

“What are you talking about?” said Sara, becoming increasingly confused.

“At some point before he started turning into a girl, Kevin dreamed of being Kell on free night at the arcade,” said Sam. “But a person named Kell who looks just like she does now was there, and did all of the same things that Kevin remembered doing in the dream.”

“All the same stuff?” said Sara.

“Um, well, we compared notes, but not in detail,” said Kell. “It sure sounded like the same stuff.”
“But you remember Flora's hair being white?”
“I think so?”
“But if you remember that differently from how it actually happened, then it would be the only thing you remembered differently.”
“Ye-eah...”
“That doesn't make any sense at all.”

“Not unless Sam just remembers it differently.”
“But—” started Lewis, and then paused for a good few seconds. “But if you could find another person who was there that night, they'd be able to tell you that—I mean, whether Flora's hair was white. Right?”

“Look, maybe I'm just remembering the dream wrong. It's been a while, and I don't exactly keep a journal or anything. It's weird enough that I remember it at all.”

“But another witness would still tell us whether or not Leiko was just blowing smoke,” said Lewis.

“Or if I actually manage to run into Flora somewhere,” added Sam. “At any rate, I'm sure I'll see those three again at the arcade next weekend.”

“Uh, anyway, how are you doing?” Sam asked.

“Well, I think I finally stopped, um, growing,” said Kell, her face turning slightly red.

“I didn't mean that...just, you know, in general.”

“Oh! P-pretty well, then. The other day I punched Morley in the face.”

“Why would you do that?” asked Sara.

“He wouldn't leave me alone. I told him I was gonna do it if he didn't shut up.”

“Well..don't make a habit of it,” said Sam.
“Oh, don't worry. I swear I'll only use this fist of mine for good.”

“Being overzealous about using it for good is just as bad,” said Lewis.

“Well I just won't be overzealous then!” said Kell, and laughed.

Then she noticed someone else in the food coort, which immediately drew the attention of the other three. It was a white-haired girl in a t-shirt, some dark shorts and stockings. “Who is that?” said Sam.

“Isn't it Flora?” asked Kell.

“But—that doesn't—hold on. Hey!” She waved at the girl, who walked over.
“Oh, hey Sam, Kell.”
“Are you Flora?” asked Sam.

“Last time I checked. Why?”
“I thought..weren't..wasn't your hair a different color before?”

“Oh, yeah. I tried dying it, but I didn't really like the color. Don't you think this looks better?”

“Yeah, it looks great,” said Sara. “Hey, I'm Sara, and that's Lewis. You wanna join us?”
Sam noticed movement out of the corner of her eye Kell was in, but when she turned to look the redhead wasn't moving. “Uh, I would,” said Flora, “but I'm looking for someone. Any of you seen a, kind of Asian-looking dark-haired girl? Talks really formal, grins all the time?”
“Named Leiko?” asked Sara, and Flora nodded.

“She was just here,” said Lewis. “She said she forgot her phone, and was just going to try and get in touch from home.”

“Oh, well, that's nice,” said Flora, sarcastically, and sighed. “I guess I have to go chase her down, then. See you later.” She walked off.

“Uh, wait..have you talked to Flora at all since your dream?” asked Sam.

“No. I think she doesn't even know I used to be Kevin.”

“But you remembered her hair being white,” said Lewis.
“Well..I guess I just did remember the dream wrong.”

He abruptly stood up, his things already in hand. “Um. Excuse me, I have to go. I'm starting to get a nasty headache.” And with that, Lewis walked off.

“I think I have to go too,” said Kell. “Nice talking with you!” She stood up and walked away.

Once everyone was out of earshot, Sara said, “I tell you, Sam, there is something fishy about every one of those people. Except Kell, he's cool.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah. Just a victim of circumstance. Weird, unexplainable circumstance, sure, but still.”

“Well, I'm getting out of here, too. See you later.”
“Sure, sure. Ya lightweight,” said Sara, with a grin.

Ring 5.3: Close Enough

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Ring 5.3:

Close Enough

Rolf had been careful, this time, to really clear his mind of anything extra before putting on the ring. He made absolutely sure that his only thought to the ring was, Show me my True Form, whatever that is. And after thinking that for a few seconds or so, the ring glowed..somewhat brighter than usual. He wasn't really sure if anyone else noticed it, because they didn't react, so he wondered if he might have imagined it. It didn't really matter—if something had somehow gone wrong, it was definitely too late to do anything but stall taking the ring off. And, better deal with it now than later. So he took the ring off, and braced for whatever might happen.

His hair began to grow first. It wasn't long before Rolf could see his bangs before his eyes turning increasingly bright colors. He then noticed that his ears seemed to be moving, stretching upward, and brushing against his hair as they moved.

Soon the hair framed his face, and everyone else could see that his face's skin had become a bit smoother, and its shape was becoming shorter and rounder. Once he blinked, and his eyes turned a bright purple. Rolf noticed that his shoulders were narrowing as the now pure-white hair fell across them, his arms starting to get thinner. His shirt turned white with black at the edges, split into two sections held together with small buttons down the middle; it then seemed to grow a purple tie around his neck, followed by black collars folded over the sides and back. Next he felt another collar, the psuedo-pet-collar-type, squeezing his neck slightly before seeming to settle in and become strangely comfortable.

“Uh..why am I..?” he started, and paused at noticing that his voice had shifted up in pitch, now sounding like a deeper female tone.

Eyes were on Liam, who tilted her head a bit to the side, thinking. “That's..interesting.” She watched very closely as Rolf's stomach pulled in at the sides, the shirt tightening enough to show it, and a long-sleeved black jacket found its way onto his shoulders, growing down a bit past the hips. “Hmm, yes,” she said with a nod, and moved over, closer to Rolf. “Now, do me a favor and don't panic yet. I think I'll be able to explain when it's done.”

“O-okay,” said Rolf. By now his ears had become large triangles covered in fur the same bright white as his hair, poking up from the corners of his head. One was straight up and the other was horizontal, both making slight movements every now and then. His hair kept on growing down his back to the hips. His jeans turned into black cloth and split at the thighs, the leggings pulling down slightly. His legs became slimmer and his hips widened as the cloth pulled tighter.

A tail pushed out from Rolf's back, growing long and thick with the same white fur as his ears, and he started to awkwardly stumble around. Liam took a hand and helped him down to a sitting position while the shorts pulled increasingly close between his legs.

Rolf could feel his underwear turning to panties again, followed by a bra forming under the shirt. He could feel the soft cloth pulling tight between her legs, and the odd sensation of suddenly being a girl again. Then she could feel her chest gently pushing its way out. Her hair finally stopped growing out, and she got a hold of the tail to take a look at it, her other hand running through her hair.

Liam sat down in front of her. “Well, how do you feel?”
“Uh..kinda weird. I think I should be more upset about this, but something feels right. Is..my 'true form' really...female?”
The fox-girl shook her head. “No, but the ears and tail you've got are part of what your true form should look like. Probably the hair color, too, I think.”
“Okay..so, if I'm not supposed to be a girl, why did it happen? I made sure to only tell the ring to turn me to my true form.”
“Well..remember that the ring acts using your magic. Normally your magic should know even better than the ring what your true form is, but I think it got confused because of the way your powers work.”

“What do you know about how my powers work? Are they like yours?”

Liam shook her head. “No. I think yours are a little different. I think you can sort of absorb enchantments to your own body and then use them yourself. And the ring you've been using, that turns you into Flora, is an enchantment. I think your magic is used to that enchantment turning you into a girl, so using a similar enchantment to take on your true form got that form tangled with the original one.”
Rolf grabbed the other girl's shoulders. “W-well, how do I get it untangled? I don't want to be stuck as a girl!”
“Easy, easy, champ.” She patted one of Rolf's hands. “I think if you hide your ears and tail you'll turn back easily. And if you can get a feel for your powers, you should be able to untangle things to where you can turn back into a guy separately from hiding them.”

“O-okay.”

“First let's get you a sense of balance with that tail. C'mon.” Liam stood up, and grabbed Rolf's hand, pulling her up to her feet.

“Now, just try to stand normally and ignore the tail for a minute.” She let go of Rolf's hand, and she carefully adjusted her stance. “It moves to help you balance, unless you tell it to do something else. See?”
“Yeah..okay. This still feels kind of weird.”
“I know, I know. But try walking a bit.”

Rolf took a couple of experimental steps, and then just walked normally a bit. “Okay. Yeah.”
“Great. Now, try to get rid of your tail.”
“Um..how?”
“Try to kind of..pull it back in. The way it felt coming out, but backwards. Same for the ears.”
“O..kay..” Rolf's ears and tail slowly began to retreat, and then her clothes body started changing back as well. Before long Rolf was male again, and back in his original clothes.

“Hey! I'm back to normal!” he said, grinning.

“Well, mostly,” said Cole.
“What do you mean?”
“Your hair's still white,” said Akio. “And your eyes are purple.”
“Purple?”
“Well, they turned purple when you used the ring.”

“Ugh..well, I guess I can always dye my hair..or say I dyed it. But I don't know if anyone will buy that I wear contacts.”

“Don't worry about it,” said Kell. “I've actually heard of people changing eye color before. You can probably shrug it off, say you woke up that way one day. Anyway, everyone we know has already seen something way weirder than a little eye color change,” she added, poking a thumb up at her own head.
“Yeah..I guess so.”

“Rolf and I are going to sort his magic out over in another room. You guys hang out till then.” Liam started on her way out, and Rolf shrugged before following her.

A few rooms away, Liam stopped, and Rolf followed suit. “So, can you still feel the tail now?” she asked.
“Uh..Yeah. My ears feel kind of weird too. Like I just folded them away somewhere. It's kind of uncomfortable.”
“You'll get used to it. For now though, try to let your ears, and only your ears, back out.”

“Okay..” Rolf's ears pushed their way up, growing back into big fuzzy triangles. His hair grew out slightly, almost framing his face. “I..” He reached up and felt of his hair, “I think it's still confused.”
“That's okay, we're making progress. Try going back and forth a few times.”

After a few more tries, Rolf finally manged to make his ears grow and shrink without any change to his hair.

“Good. Now..try making your hair grow out without changing anything else.”

“Okay..” Rolf, currently with normal ears, tried to make his hair grow it. It grew all the way to his hips again. Then, with another of the same kind of thought, it shrank back to its original length. “Wow. I guess I can save on haircuts.”

“Now try just growing the tail.”

Rolf did that in one try. “I think I might have the hang of this.”
“Can you turn back into a girl without the ears and tail there?”
“I can try.” Rolf concentrated. His tail retreated, but his hair grew out and his body and clothes quickly shifted back into the female form again.

“This is kind of nice,” she said with a smile. “I don't have any of the weird mental compulsions I get when I turn into Flora, and I feel..I don't know, more athletic than her? Actually, I don't feel any weaker than I do as a guy.” She pushed her ears and tail out again. “It's weird, I've lived my whole life without fuzzy ears and a tail, but having them feels more..natural somehow. Do you mind if I stay like this for a while?”
“Not at all,” she said with a smile, “I'm doing it, after all.”

---

“Hey, I have an idea,” said Akio after the two girls with tails left the room.

“I'm not going to like it,” said Cole.

“Aww, how do you know?”
“Your tone of voice. You never have any ideas I like with that tone of voice.”
“Hey, that tone of voice got us into the arcade, right?”
“Yes,” said Cole, crossing his arms. “I still didn't like it all that much.”

“Are you gonna get to your idea or should I go get some popcorn?” asked Kell.

“Yeah, yeah, just get it over with.”
“Well,” said Akio, holding up his ring, “I think we should have a sleepover here as girls. You know, since Kell's a girl, and everyone can be girls, but none of us have ever done that before?”
“We've stayed over at each other's houses before, Akio,” said Cole.

“Yeah, but as guys, and this is different. Besides, Liam's house is huge. I bet there's all kinds of cool stuff here we haven't seen yet. And it'd be kind of awkward if everyone was a guy except Kell, right?”

“I wouldn't mind that much,” said Kell.

“Well, I still wanna do it,” said Akio.

“I don't,” said Cole, “but it will be awkward for me if I'm the only guy left, which I'm guessing you're already making sure is gonna..yeah.” Akio had already put on the ring by now.

When he took it off, his clothes immediately turned into bright pink cloth. The shirt sleeves grew out as his body started shrinking, and it all began to pull tighter against his body as a pattern of little red hearts appeared on it. Akio's arms and legs slimmed, his face shifted to a rounder shape, and his hair grew out.

“Sheesh, could you look any more obnoxiously girly?” said Cole.

“I'm sure I could~,” answered Akio in Aki's high voice, “but I can be as girly as I want when I'm a girl~.” His hips pushed out as the pants pulled tight between his legs, showing that he had crossed over. She grinned as her chest pushed out against the tight shirt, which pulled closer against her slim stomach. She gave a quick spin around to take a look at herself, and then tossed the ring at Cole, who caught it with a sigh.

“Hmm..” Kell walked closer to Aki. “You know, you look a little..bigger every time I see you.”
“W-well, I didn't like being short,” she said. “And I figured a, uh, a little more figure would fit better if I was taller. You think it's bad?”
“Nah, but don't go too far overboard. I think being small makes you look a lot cuter,” she said, ruffling the other girl's hair.

“H-hey!” She stepped back away from Kell. “No fair, I can't reach your head.”

Meanwhile, Cole examined the ring for a bit before finally putting it on his hand. It glowed, and he took it off again, and found himself shrinking, too. His hair flowed out, his stomach and limbs slimmed down, and his face shifted. All of his clothes except for the underwear joined together into a single piece of white cloth. The sleeves pulled in and the collar sinking a bit, leaving straps on his shoulders; the pants spread out into a skirt and then shrank up to just above the knees. Then he turned into Jenna, and her chest pushed gently out into a bra underneath the nightgown.

Rolf and Liam returned before long. “Hey,” said Aki, “we're having a sleepover!”

“We are?” said Liam.
“W-well, I mean if it's okay with you.
She shrugged. “I suppose it's fine. As long as you have your parents' permission, mine won't care either way. I would not mind hanging out a little longer with you three.”

“What, you don't like me anymore?” said Kell.

“Aww, I'm always hanging out with you,” Liam answered with a grin. “I'm..going to change to some less formal clothes, however.” She took out Kell's ring again, and put it on to shift back.

“Hmm,” said Rolf, “I wonder if I can change what these clothes look like..”
“Welcome to try,” said Liam. “I don't know what all your powers can do, so I can't very well tell you what won't work.”

She closed her eyes and concentrated. The stockings shrank into normal white socks, her shorts became gray gym shorts, and the shirt, jacket and tie shifted into a simple, slightly loose white t-shirt. She opened her eyes again to take a look at the results, and smiled. “Well, what do you know?”

“Good.” Liam was back to himself, but still with the fox ears and one tail, and put the ring on again. “I have ta wonder what the limit is for that, but you got plenty of time to mess around with it later. Here ya go.” After it glowed, he handed it back to Kell.

“Hey, Li,” she said. “You figure out a name to use as a girl yet?”
“Hmm, I hadn't really thought about it much,” he said, already back to female height. His clothes were simply shrinking to keep fitting until now, but as his stomach pulled in and hips pulled out they started to get tighter. “Maybe..Lia? I'm sure if Akio can get away with just dropping a letter, so can I.” He became female, and the jeans turned into blue cloth, their leggings pulling up as far as her knees. “It's sort of boring, though. Mia, perhaps? Or..” Her second tail grew out as her breasts pushed back out again, then it receded back as soon as she had stopped changing. “I think I like the sound of Leiko, actually.”

“Are you going with that one, or going to keep debating all night?” said Jenna.
“Hmm, Leiko's fine.” she said, with a nod. “What about you?” she asked the other girl with a tail. “Still going by Flora?”
“Maybe? Do I really look similar enough?”

“Hmm...” Aki walked over to take a closer look. “You're taller, your bust is a little smaller, your hair's a different color and way straighter, and you don't act much like her. I guess you could say you had a makeover or something for the hair thing, and the rest someone who's just seen you once might think they remember wrong. But if you've hung out with anyone not in this room as Flora it may be a little hard to convince them you're the same person..”

“Well, just Lauren, besides the night at the arcade,” said Jenna. “I really doubt anyone would expect to know someone all that well after talking to them just one or two times. Frankly, I think you could get away with a hidden depths angle if you still wear frilly clothes half the time.”

“Yeah..I guess that's worth not trying to maintain two different alternate identities for you guys' sakes,” said Rolf (or perhaps Flora), trying not to smile too much at a mental image of herself in a 'frilly outfit'.

Ring 5.2: Resistance

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Ring 5.2:

Resistance

Kell (or mostly-Kell, at least) showed up at Liam's house Friday afternoon looking unusually pleased with herself. “Hey, what's up?” said Liam.

“Oh, that Morley guy decided to follow me off the school grounds today and start calling me names and stuff. So I punched him.”
“You punched 'im? Great! Where?”
“Just square in the face. He nearly fell over, and then said something about me hitting like a girl, I said 'I am a girl, you jerk', and then he started walking off, muttering something about getting me back later. I called after him, saying to put some ice or meat on his cheek, 'cause I'm pretty sure it was bruising up.”

“Hah! Serves 'im right. Oughta keep 'im off your back for a while, at least. So long as ya didn't do it unprovoked.”
“Nah, I gave him like five whole minutes to leave me alone. I think once I even said I was gonna punch him if he kept it up.”

“So, how's the progress with the ring?”
“Um..I barely notice any changes when I put it on, but it still glows. I'm sure it'll do something different when it's all done. I'm more curious what you're gonna look like as a girl..”
“Ah, don't worry about that. We have ta wait for the others anyhow.”

“Why don't you just use my ring and do it now?”
“'Cause I wanna use it as a demonstration for somethin'. A little bit 'a magic education for those guys.”

Akio was late, so the other two had to wait for him before heading off to Liam's house. Cole had a question. “Hey, Rolf. What do you think of Liam?”

“How do you mean?”
“I mean..you deal with a lot of bullies. He's kinda..isn't he?”

Rolf shrugged. “He's not a bully, if that's what you're asking.”

“Well I know that. But don't you think he could be, if he wanted? He has kind of a way of dominating people.”

Rolf nodded. “He does like being in charge of things. But he doesn't do it like your average bully. He talks people into doing things, keeps secrets and tells 'em when he wants 'em known. But..the best way I can put is, so far it looks like he uses his powers for good.”

“Yeah. I'm glad about that, at least.”

The missing member of the trio finally came running up, and stopped, panting. “Hff..hey, sorry I'm late!”

“What'd you do this time?” asked Rolf.
“Do? I didn't do anything. I just had to finish something in my last class, is all. No big deal.”

“Well, then let's go.”

Rolf led the way, and before long they were at the door. Liam opened it. “Welcome. C'mon in.” And then he led them to where Kell was waiting. “You bring your ring?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, I have it here,” said Akio, holding it up. It occurred to Cole that he didn't remember handing Akio the ring the other day, but since he'd managed to not lose it, he decided not to bring it up.

“Alright, lemme borrow it then.” He held out his hand, and Akio gave him the ring. He put it on his index finger and a few seconds later it glowed and he took it off again, handing it back to Akio.

“Now, consider this a demonstration,” said Liam. “As you c'n see, I ain't changing much at all. Folks with talent in magic, and who are magic, have a lot of resistance this sorta thing, and I've actually trained my own past that small bit 'a talent.” His hair was very slowly growing out—well, slowly compared to the explosion of hair that Akio and Cole had seen when changing, at least. “But it's my own magic workin', and I want it to happen, so it keeps goin' anyway.” Now he started to get shorter, very gradually and slightly.

“However, since I know how ta use magic, I can actually turn down that resistance and make it go as fast as someone not so resistant,” he said. “Watch.” He made a slight sweeping gesture with his hand, and suddenly his hair growth and height loss sped up. Within seconds he was reduced to about Akio's height, and his hair was down to his stomach on the sides and back. His eyes' color shifted to a bright purple, and then the more specific changes began.

His shirt turned black and pulled tighter on his stomach as it got slimmer. His shoulders pulled in, and his arms and legs thinned; his sleeves broke off at the shoulders while his jeans split at the thighs. The denim turned to white cloth as the leggings combined with his socks and pulled tight on his legs. His skin became smoother and paler all over, and his face shrank a bit, becoming rounder and softer-looking. His eyes took on a slightly more slanted shape; a pair of hair ornaments that looked like small leaves appeared on the sides of the top of his head, each bringing a lock of hair up and apart from the rest of the hair. Meanwhile, the sleeves grew longer, bits of purple cloth and a nature-themed pattern appearing on them.

Next, Liam's hips pulled their way out and back. Still standing, he took the change of balance gracefully, moving the position of his feet as necessary. The remainder of his jeans spread out into a skirt, the denim softening into purple cloth. His shirt split in the middle, turning to a sleeveless kimono top, and then her chest began to swell into it. A tall belt appeared around her stomach, along with a purple rope around its center held by a large purple ribbon near the front. Her breasts stopped growing at a medium size, and bounced slightly from the force of their rapid growth.

And then, Liam's ears suddenly grew, pulling their way up to the top of her head. Black fur appeared on their outside, and tufts of white appeared on their inside, and within seconds they had become two tall triangles. Then a long, wide tail burst out from her back, covered in thick black fur other than a white tip..and then another one came out, and all of a sudden Liam lost her balance, flailing slightly before falling over on her face.

She quickly pushed herself up to a sideways sitting position. “Do not worry, I'm all right,” she said, in a higher alto tone, and grinned. “It has been a while since I had to deal with these tails..”

Akio walked over and offered a hand to help her up. “Ha, you almost stayed standing the whole way through,” he said.

She took the help, but glared once she was standing up. “You have no idea how difficult just one of these is for balance..much less two.”

“Wait, you've had a..you've had tails before?” asked Cole.

Liam nodded. “I usually hide them, for obvious reasons. But it was much easier to make a disguise which more closely reflected my true appearance in that regard.”

“Um..Liam, you're kinda talking different,” said Kell. She was right; Liam's usual accent was missing, and her speech had a kind of crisp exactness to it instead.

She shrugged. “It is part of the costume. I believe I was thinking of an older, more traditional look, so this result makes sense. Anyway,” she said, Liam's usual accent reemerging, “I c'n stop anytime I want.”

Cole had another question. “Okay, how do you hide something like that? Can you just transform at will?”

“To an extent.” The fox-girl demonstrated, pointing at one of the tails as it seemed to shrink away into her lower back again. “Seems like anyone magic can look non-magic if they want. I am not sure whether it is something magic people could always do, or if we adapted it at some point. But my ability is limited to just hiding my unique traits; I can not even alter the length of a fingernail at will without help from something like this ring.”

“Are you gonna get rid of your other tail, too?” said Akio.

“Hmm..it's safe enough to keep it around here. Why?”

“Uh, no reason.” Akio's face was slightly red for a second, and Liam's ears could pick up his heart beating very slightly faster.

Rather than comment on that, she moved on. “All right. Now..there is something I want to tell you. I believe I have mentioned maybe once that I have a certain extra sense, being magic. It lets me get a sense of what sort of magic potential other people might have. When I met you three in that restaurant, my extra sense pointed out something to me about one of you that I thought you ought to know..but I wasn't certain which one at first.”

“And..what is that?” asked Rolf.

“Well, Rolf, I think you might be magic.”

“What? You mean like you are?” He was still calm; after all, Liam certainly made it seem like being magic was really not that big of a deal.
“Hm..not exactly. There are many different kinds of magic people. And I'm not terribly surprised if you didn't know. After all, a magic human sometimes marries a non-magic human and hides being magic for their whole life, and the children are born with the more obvious traits hidden.”
He looked more concerned about this. “You think my--”
“Hold on now, I'm not done. It might not even be your parents. After all, a person born and raised looking and acting like a non-magic human might never find out, and their children might not find out, and so on. So..maybe that didn't happen with your parents, or even with anyone still alive, but it probably happened somewhere up the ancestral line. Of course, I might be wrong. My sense for magic isn't perfect, after all.”

Rolf nodded, looking thoughtful.

“And..how would we test whether you're wrong or not?” said Cole.

He looked up again. “Yeah, I dunno how to grow a tail or whatever like you do.”

Liam scratched her head, thinking. “Hm..well, I was born with a tail and learned to hide it. And you might not even have a tail, so even if I tried to tell you how to make one appear it might not work. But..I thought about that, and had an idea.”

She held out a hand to Kell, who handed over her ring. (“See, some people know how to take cues,” said Akio, and Cole replied “Shh!”)

She walked over toward Rolf, saying, “Hiding or revealing one's magical traits is a change of form, and these disguise rings are able to change one's form. So if you ask this ring to turn you into your 'true' form, then whatever that is, it should do that. And..it shouldn't be very hard to figure out hiding whatever unusual traits that might give you.” Then the fox-girl offered him the ring. “Would you like to try it?”
He thought for a few seconds, and then nodded, taking the ring. “...Yeah, okay. But if it turns out I can't figure out how to hide whatever, though, you're gonna be responsible for the mess.”

“Sure, but I doubt that'll happen. After all, you have me to help you.”

“Yeah..sure.” Rolf put on the ring.

Ring 5.1: Clearing the Air

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---

Ring 5.1:

Clearing the Air

Liam leaned against the wall, sighing a quiet “Phfff..” This would be fun to watch, but he suspected it would get a little bit tedious for him personally. And waiting around beforehand was kind of boring. Maybe he shouldn't have run the whole way, and maybe he wouldn't have if he hadn't been convinced the next part would be so much more fun if he made it here first.

He didn't have to wait all that long. Pretty soon he could see four figures making a turn around another house and heading toward him, the guys looking pretty surprised.

Especially Cole. “Liam? Wh--. How did you--? Gh..”

“One question at a time oughta help ya,” he advised.

“Okay, what are you doing here?” said Cole.
“Waitin' for you guys. I'm sure ya know I don't hang out here all the time.”

“Well I should, considering this is my house.”

“Calm down, Cole, he probably knew to wait here 'cause he's magic,” said Akio.

“Nah. I just took an educated guess.”

“But how did you know where his house even is?” said Rolf.

Liam pointed at the mailbox, which had Cole's family name on it. “Knew it was 'round here somewhere. I just had to look a little bit.”

There was an awkward pause after that. Fortunately, he was an expert at ending those. “So, c'n we go in already? It's way too hot out here.”

“..Sure, fine.” Cole opened the door, and everyone spilled into the living room. On the way in, Kevin gave a small giggle. “You ran all the way here to do that, didn't you?”

Liam shrugged. “Maybe.” He remained standing, and so did Rolf; Kevin took a chair, and Akio and Cole opposite sides of the couch. “So, we're here 'cause you guys have somethin', huh?”

“Yes!” said Akio. “I'm sure you guys remember last Friday. I was a girl.”

“You told them it was you?” said Cole.

“No, of course not. Liam figured it out.”
“'Cause I'm magic.” He pointed a thumb at himself, leaning against a wall again.

Cole gave Liam a look for a few seconds. “..Would you stop saying it like that?”
“Like what?”
“You keep saying you're 'magic', but when you say it like that it sounds like you're claiming to somehow be the embodiment of all magic everywhere.”

“So what if I was?”
“I don't even have any reason to believe something like that exists. Could you just say you're magical or something?”
“Hm..nah. You c'n say it that way if ya want, though.”

“Guys, we're getting off track here,” said Akio. “Yeesh, I thought I was the one who ran off on tangents all the time..”

“That's because you are,” said Rolf.

“Whatever. Anyway. The way I did that was..” he held out a hand to Cole and started trying to grab something out of the air. “Was..” After waving it around for a few seconds, he turned toward him, glaring slightly. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing?”
“That's your cue to give me the thing, so I can show it to everybody. Duh.”

“You'd just drop it again.” Cole held up the ring himself. “What he's trying to say is, we found this.”
“You mean, I found it and I bought it. With my money.”

“Yeah, that. Anyway, this is supposed to be a 'perfect disguise' ring. It literally turns a person into whatever they think of when they put it on...with maybe some limits we don't know about.”
“The first time, at least,” said Rolf.

Kevin looked like she was about to say something, but Liam looked at her and shook his head slightly.“Ya wanna demonstrate that?” he asked.

“Well, um,” said Cole, moving the ring back into the palm of his hand. “I should warn you we sorta didn't know it 'saved' a form like that, and also we weren't sure it actually worked the first time, so we kinda used the amazing power for something sort of silly.”

“Silly?” said Akio. “Free arcade night is serious business, man.”

“Yeah, that. So the 'disguises' the three of us have are all girls. Do you want to..?” Now he offered Akio the ring.
“Nah, you go ahead,” he said, waving.

Cole sighed, and put on the ring, waiting quietly for a few seconds until it glowed. “It does that to say you've decided what disguise to turn into,” he explained. “And you actually take the ring off to change.”

With that, he stood up, took off the ring, and immediately started visibly changing. His hair grew out and his face changed; his stomach drew in, his hips pushed out, and his arms and legs slimmed down. His shirt shrank up against a flat, slim inward curve of a stomach and his jeans' leggings pulled up to just above the thighs, the remainder pulling tight, particularly between Cole's legs. Then her chest burst out into the usual fair-sized breasts; the tight shirt seemed to stretch out with them, the collar opening down until it showed a little bit of cleavage, leaving Jenna in a girl's t-shirt and denim shorts.

As usual, she managed to hold on to the ring the whole time and remain pretty calm. “So..yeah,” she said, putting a hand behind her head. “Sometimes it doesn't go as fast as that..but this ring is pretty amazing, right?”

“Heh, I'll say,” said Liam. “Pretty complex enchantments goin' on with that. It probably wouldn't give ya powers if you tried to disguise yourself as a superhero or somethin', though.”

“Um..” Kevin looked at Liam, and this time he nodded. So she got up. “I think I should probably show you guys something, too..”

All eyes were on Kevin while she dug into her pocket and pulled out a ring, looking just as cheap-plastic as the one Jenna was holding, but of a slightly different shade. She quietly, shyly put it on, waited for it to glow, and then started to change..it was pretty slow, and the differences in the end result were relatively small: Her figure became more pronounced, the breasts especially growing out, and there were some more subtle changes to her limbs, skin and face that all made her look decidedly more feminine. Her clothes didn't change at all, or at least not the shirt and pants. After a minute or so of silence, the person standing in the room was unmistakeably Kell from the arcade.

“So..you were lying earlier about having some dream, I guess,” said Akio.

“Yep. I mean, I didn't really want to lie to you guys but I also didn't want to tell everyone all the details, either. I was pretty sure you'd do this at some point, and figured it would be a good, private place and time...”

“That's fine,” Rolf said, “but..so, wait, you actually wanted to turn into a girl?”

Kell shrugged. “Sure. Well, not exactly. I mean, the first time I used the ring I just wanted to turn into someone who was the opposite of me..in all the good ways, that is. But the ring interpreted 'opposite' to also mean..” She made a slight sweeping motion over her body. “..And taller, I guess. But I really liked being not totally paralyzed by other people, and I started using the ring a lot..”

“So..that's what 'becoming the mask' means?” said Jenna, sitting back down again..and getting a slightly concerned frown on her face.

“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it kind of messes with your head a little bit, too, but probably nothing too bad if your disguise thinks a lot like you do. Oh, but you guys don't need to worry; the only reason I've actually changed this much, this fast is because I've been using the ring, like, two or three times every day. Once or twice a week is probably perfectly safe..right?” She directed the question to Liam, who put a hand against his chin for a second or two.

“Hmm, yeah, prob'ly. Now that I've seen it in action myself I got a better idea of how it works. The ring uses the magic of the person usin' it to do all the work, which's why it don't need a power source. Problem is, when you're not yourself often enough, your own magic starts forgettin' details of what ta turn back to. There are a few ways it could screw up and not work like it's supposed to, but they don't apply to you four..or me, for that matter. 'S long as I don't ask for the wrong thing in a disguise, at least.”

Akio said, “So wait..we all have magic?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, sure, everyone's got magic. Some more'n others.”

“Neat! But uh..Kell. Or, Kevin. Kellvin. Whatever.”

“Yeah? You might wanna get used to the first one.”

“If you could turn back into a guy, and still be all confident like you are now..?”

She shrugged. “I never really put much value in being male, and I like how I am now. If I suddenly decide I hate being a girl for some reason..and yes, I can think of a few possible reasons but it might be worth it..then I might consider it. But not as an impulse decision or anything. I mean, I kinda decided to become Kell after a lot of thought and discussion about it.”
“Mostly with me,” said Liam.

“Plus, at this point it'd be kinda suspicious, don't you think? I mean, people would start asking me how I managed to turn back, and I might not be as good at coming up with a consistent lie this time..

“Anyway, didn't you promise you'd try something if they did have a ring, and told us about it?” Kell looked at Liam.
“I didn't promise nothin'.”
“You said it'd be 'too interesting to pass up'. You've never passed up anything interesting before.”

“Yeah, well..it's a Monday. Not a whole lot of time when ya get right down to it, and what I'd like to do might take a while. How 'bout we save that for the weekend, huh? Ta have somethin' to look forward to.”

“What are you talking about exactly?” said Akio.

“Aw, nothin' major,” said Liam. “Just maybe borrowin' your ring. Or Kell's. Comin' up with a disguise to use next week.”

Jenna thought for a second or two. “..What's next week?”

“Arcade night. Duh!” said Akio, standing up. “But what are we gonna do now? I mean, we're already all together here and stuff..”

“I dunno. You wanna play some games or something?” said Kell.

Everyone said yes or nodded, but Jenna qualified her agreement. “Well, I have to change back before my parents get home.”

“But then Kell'd be the only girl. What if we just relocate?”

“Yeah, everyone'd fit just fine in my house,” said Liam. “Or..I ain't seen you as a girl yet,” he added, looking at Rolf.

“I'd rather not,” he said, speaking for the first time in a while.

Liam shrugged. “Eh, suit yourself. My house it is, then. I'll lead the way in case anybody don't know it. Or forgot.”

---

Great to have this out. But if you think everything will be 100% resolved after the next weekend, you might have missed some foreshadowing...

Ring 4.4: Kellvin

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Ring 4.4:

Kellvin

Liam was waiting at the court by the time Rolf got there; they started playing right away. He reserved conversation for when they had a break, concentrating instead on the game. By the time they were exhausted, an hour had passed, and they had managed to get an even tie.

They sat down on a bench. “Whew. Man, you're better than I thought you'd be,” said Liam.
“..Yeah. You too,” said Rolf.

They sat in silence for a minute or two, each catching his own breath. Then Rolf said, “Hey, uh. I've been wondering about something..”

“Yeah? Wha'd that be?”
“Well, it's about Kevin. The stuff that's been going on, with his body changing and all. I figure you're around him a lot more than I am.”
“Yeah.”

“Do you think..I mean, he looks kind of like a girl these days. Doesn't he?”

“Hah! Directly to the point, huh?”
“I don't mean it as an insult, I mean..the way his changes make him look actually is kind of like a girl. Isn't it?”
Liam nodded. “Yep, you got it on the head there. We're pretty sure that's what's goin' on too. 'Specially since he told me yesterday he actually is a girl now.”

“Um..he is? Or, she is? Or..?!” said Rolf, looking flustered. “I-I mean..should you be telling me this? It seems kind of..”
“Nah,” said Liam, shaking his head and waving a hand. He was grinning, apparently enjoying Rolf's confusion. “She gave me permission to tell you an' Cole this mornin'. Pretty soon your whole school'll know about it. I mean heck, her chest's getting' kinda hard to hide, you know?”

“Well, okay. But, um. Is..is she okay with this? I mean, if there was some way Kevin could not have to be a girl for the rest of his..her..life, would--?”
“I dunno, man. That's a pretty personal question. She seems pretty okay with it right now, though.”

“So..if I ask her that..like..Monday afternoon. Is that okay with you?”
Liam shrugged. “Sure. I mean, as long as you ain't plannin' ta tease her with the idea and not be able to follow through on it.”

“I don't know how it all works. But..I think we have something that could help.”

“For that, ya'd need some kinda magic, wouldn't ya?”

“Sure,” Rolf nodded.
“Are ya admitting to having some kinda magic, then?”
“I don't know..would that be a bad thing?”

“Nope,” said Liam, standing up. “Kev won't have much trouble believin' it either.”

“..Why not?”

“'Cause I'm magic, m'self. Don't feel like goin' into detail 'bout it now, though, I can explain it to all three of you guys later if ya like.”

“I think that would clear up some confusion, at least.”

“Sure, sure. For now, how 'bout another match, eh?”

Rolf stood up right away. “You're on.” Liam nodded, and walked back to the court.

After all this time alone with him..Liam was sure of it now. This was exactly what he thought he'd sensed before..the only question was when, and how, to break it to him. Not now, he decided at once. Not here. Not yet.

---

“Hah! No way.”
“Yes way! And then he was all like, 'You didn't win! Youuu cheated.' And I tell ya, if you haven't seen the look of stone cold righteous fury on Rolf's face..it's pretty terrifying when it makes sense, but it's just hilarious out of context.” Akio was hanging out Lauren again, out at the arcade. They weren't playing anything just now, instead leaning against one of the walls on the side and just talking. Really, they were waiting for the game they wanted to play to be open again. And since they'd already paid, nobody was going to kick them out for loitering or anything.

“But you really did win. Nobody ever said you couldn't set traps,” she said.

“That's what I said. 'Just because I'm being creative with water balloons, and you're not, doesn't make me a cheater.' And then Cole shot both of us with a hose.”

When Lauren finished laughing, she said, “They both seem like pretty cool guys, you know.”
“Sure. I mean, they are, once you've known 'em for a while.”
“It's too bad, really. A lot of the girls think he's kind of a jerk. I mean, he's cute, and on five or six different sports teams. He could have a date every Saturday for all of high school if he wanted, but he just shuts down anyone who even tries. I mean, I didn't think he was a jerk. I know what jerks act like, and he's different from that. I thought he was just shy or something.”

“Hmm, nah, he isn't shy. He's just focused. If he wants to do something, you know, he has to go in and do it all the way, no distractions.”

“...Say, have you ever wanted to be a girl?”
“Uh..” Akio just managed to hide the real source of his surprise under a layer of confusion at the question's sudden, random appearance.
“I mean, like, not forever. Just sort of, temporarily, to see what it's like.”

“Well, maybe it'd be fun or something..um..why?”

“I just wanted to know what you thought. I mean, anyone can describe what it's like, but it's not the same as actually being one for a little while, you know?”
“I guess so. I mean, I wouldn't know unless I'd actually turned into a girl at one point,” said Akio.

Lauren shrugged. “It was just something I thought of, is all. Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, you're fine. Uh..just threw me off a little bit, is all. Wasn't expecting it. Yeah.”

“Well, to be honest, I actually started wondering about it after watching Kevin the last few days or so..uh, you know who that is, right?”
“Sure.”

“I thought he kinda looks like he might be turning into a girl. And it got me wondering, I mean, if it's possible for that to happen to him, what if something like that happened to me or..I dunno, one of my friends? Turning into a guy somehow. I think it'd kind of suck to have it forced on you, and permanent, though.”

“Sure. Or at least, it'd be really weird and awkward.”

“Mmhm. But yeah, that's where that came from. Oh, I think he's getting off now.”
“Is he? Good, my fingers are itching.”

---

Monday morning came along, and Kevin walked into school wearing clothes that weren't big and baggy for the first time in a while. It was just a t-shirt and jeans, both clothes he'd worn plenty before the last few weeks. But now it was rather hard to miss that the person wearing them bore little resemblance to Kevin, or any male, for that matter. The bright red, long hair framed a decidedly cute face; the shirt hung over a pair of unmistakeable breasts, now about average size for an adult; and the jeans hugged wide hips and hung a bit awkwardly loose between the legs.

She was blushing now and then, but spoke with only slight stutters or nervous pauses, and in an undisguised, lilting alto tone, explaining when asked that yes, this had actually happened. Kevin had somehow slowly turned into a girl. Many people had suspected it by now, but the conversation brought quite a bit of talk to the school. The faculty had been notified ahead of time, and while there was some talking between them, they kept the students busy with classes as usual.

After school, Kevin walked out of the building to find Rolf, Akio and Cole all waiting for her a few steps outside. “Hey,” said Rolf, “can we talk?”

“Sure,” she said, smiling, “what about?”
“Well..not here,” said Cole. “We kind of want to show you something, but it's still at my house, so we'll need to talk about it there.”

“Sure,” she said, nodding. “I don't have any plans this afternoon.”

“All right then, follow me,” said Akio, starting to walk immediately. The other two glanced at each other before following him, and Kevin fell in behind them.

---

I know, this one's pretty short compared to all the other parts. But what comes next really, really needed its own section, and it couldn't be jumped straight to without this setup. Not that all of this section is setup for that specifically, of course.