Jev rested in a happy pile. He, Sam, Dione, and Cyd had been enjoying the benefits of a charm given by Manica, the harpy owner of the local charms shop, to enhance his longevity temporarily. He'd now tested it in most of the rooms in his house, as well as one surprise encounter when Dione caught him outside for a breath of air. Now the four of them rested in a pile on the couch, shagged out and content. From the back door, the sound of a phone's alarm started going off. Cyd got up to address it.
"Ah, damn. Sunset soon. Mind if I change in your room?"
She was unscrewing the barbells of her nipple rings, removing them ahead of her transformation. Jev motioned to her his assent but then sat up.
"Hey, Cyd... Could I watch you change? If it's not too personal, of course."
She paused, taken aback.
"Why...?"
Jev shrugged.
"Just curious how it works. I was asleep when you changed the other day. I've seen Manica cast spells and the like, but it just looks like glowing paper. This just feels like it would be real 'magic' — behold and watch as the beautiful woman becomes a beautiful werewolf!"
Cydwen's guard seemed to drop. She smiled at him.
"Alright, ya flirt. You can have your peep show."
Jev stood up from the couch and joined her in the bedroom. She was taking out a few of her earrings which potentially would have caused issues as her form grew. He sat on the bed, admiring her nude form.
"Do you have to take those out every time?"
She shrugged.
"It's not the end of the world if they stay in and I change, but some of them can be pretty uncomfortable."
She indicated the barbell through her ear that she was removing.
"This one especially is annoying 'cause when my ears grow it holds them in place and makes them fold over. Depending on how it happens it can really hurt."
"Isn't it a hassle to have to take them out every night?"
Another shrug.
"Yep. The things we do to look pretty."
She sat beside him on the bed.
"I don't usually let people watch. Even people who're used to seeing me naked. Werewolves... we don't really have a great reputation, so the wolf, well, it kind of scares people."
"What do you mean you don't have a good reputation?"
She shifted awkwardly on the bed, not meeting his eyes.
"Just... It can be hard to keep the wolf in check, especially when we're young. Even now— You saw what I was like on that first night. So, people tend to associate us with what they see when we're at our worst. I grew up in the house I live in now, on the outskirts of town so I couldn't cause too much trouble. People know me here, so I don't raise too many eyebrows, but I'm sure if I lived in Severna or something I'd have a few more stories."
There was a loud crack and her fingers started flexing, the bones starting to grow and shift beneath her scarred skin. Fingernails grew into thick claws, and chestnut hair started sprouting from her arms. Jev watched it happen, enraptured.
"Does it hurt?"
She shook her head.
"Not really. If you've ever had a muscle twitch it's kind of like that. Mostly it's just annoying when it starts and you're carrying something."
Her legs started shifting and warping, the middle of her feet stretching out to accommodate her new posture. Her shapely tattooed calf bulked up and swelled as the muscle grew denser, the art becoming hidden under more fur. With the transformation of her limbs mostly complete, she stood, her torso lengthening even as she rose. Her face was beginning to bulge out into a prominent muzzle, and her tailbone extended into a proper tail, replete in roan fur.
The whole process took little more than thirty seconds, but Jev watched it with utter fascination. Finally, Cyd stood before him in her full lupine form.
"That was so neat!"
She looked at him quizzically.
"You really think so, don't you?"
He gave her a disbelieving look.
"I've never seen anything like that. Your whole body just became something different, all in less time than it'd take me to make lunch. Of course it's amazing!"
She sat back down beside him. The bed shifted substantially more with her return.
"It's just... Look, some guys get off on that, like it's some sort of fetish to watch werewolves change shape. It's why I was cautious when you asked to see it happen. Others think it's gross or weird. Some people are scared. So I try to mostly keep it hidden when I change. I think most werewolves do."
He looked at her earnestly, sensing he was treading around something she felt vulnerable about.
"I don't think you're weird or scary. I think you're amazing. Look at what happened last night. You thought I was in danger and you handled it. Sure, it turned out to be ok in the end, but you didn't know that at the time."
She muttered something under her breath.
"What's that?"
She grumbled a bit before repeating louder.
"Still gonna pick Dione over me, though."
He was confused. Cyd had been pushing him to be with Dione, now was she resentful of her?
"I don't get it. How do you mean?"
She sighed, tapping a balled-up hand against her temple.
"I don't even know if I know what I mean. It's just that I see the way you are with her. And it's sweet and romantic. What am I? I'm here for a good fuck. And even that, now you have an almost literal sex goddess. I like you, Jev. You're sweet and you're kind. I like spending time with you. And I kinda want to be more to you than just another set of holes to fuck."
