"Bad news girls," Flora commented as she topped up all four wine glasses. Then she set the empty bottle down on the ground next to where she was sitting and sighed, "That's the last of the wine."

Charlotte pouted, "I knew five bottles wouldn't last very long. And it's not like we can just pop out and pick up another couple bottles from the shop at the corner."

I shook my head, "I think the nearest shop that still has power would be at Hardegg."

"Unfortunately five bottles was all we had room for," Flora reminded her girlfriend. "Our bikes were loaded down pretty good thanks to the pump and everything else we needed to bring."

After a sip of her drink the tall athletic brunette gave us all a sly look as she added, "Once again I wish we had a boat. Then we could pop across the lake and visit the Czech vineyards at Šobes Hill. That's only about a kilometer east from the magic mountain, so it's probably been abandoned right? And I'll bet we'd find loads of decent wine there."

Stef laughed, "You want to invade another country just so you can steal some of their wine?"

"Ok probably not," Flora admitted with a grin. "Or at least, not until we get our hands on that boat."

I rolled my eyes but I was smiling too as I took another sip of my drink.

We were all enjoying another nice evening together, with plenty of fun conversation. It was just past dusk on Friday, and we'd all had a fairly quiet and relaxing day. The only thing Stef and I did that even resembled work was to try and get in touch with President Schulz around mid-morning.

Her personal number went straight to voicemail, so Stef and Theo and I texted her instead. We kept it short and simple, basically we pointed out that a week had passed since we last heard anything from the government. We asked if Susanne knew when the negotiations were expected to continue, and we also asked if there was a way for Theo to get in touch with Hannes. Like perhaps we could get Mr. Huber's direct contact information, so Gaia's wildcat representative could speak with his human counterpart.

Apart from that our only other big activity for the day was to spend the afternoon swimming once again. Charlotte was especially eager to get back in the water, and I was always happy to swim as well. Flora and Stef joined us, while Theo sat on the stone dock and enjoyed some late autumn sun.

Now it was evening and after enjoying another nice dinner outside by the BBQ the five of us were just relaxing and talking as the dusk started to give way to night.

"We could always swim across the lake," Charlotte commented after a half minute or so. "It's only a few hundred meters, right? Then a short hike to go raid that Czech winery?"

Flora laughed, "Perhaps, but without a boat how would we get the wine back here?"

The cute blonde smiled, "We could drink it there? Then come back here after we're done."

Her girlfriend rolled her eyes and teased, "You can't be that desperate for a drink."

"There's vineyards on this side of the river too, you know?" I commented. "If you really want some Czech wine we could try Hnanice. That's only just beyond the edge of our territory, and still well inside Gaia's no-tech zone."

I continued, "Or if you just want wine then I'm sure we can find some wineries on our side of the border. We're in the Weinviertel after all. Maybe there'll be some around Retzbach?"

"As long as we don't get too close to Retz," Flora replied. "There's bound to be soldiers patrolling since that's where they've set up their camp."

Then Stef gave our cute blonde friend a look as they pointed out, "I'm not sure it's about the wine. I think she's just looking for excuses to spend more time in the water."

Charlotte pouted and her cheeks coloured slightly as she admitted, "I'm still hoping for my own little miracle."

"We've only got one more full day here," she added, "Then Flora and I are supposed to set off for home on Sunday. Except now that we've seen you two with our own eyes, and spent some time here in your lovely new home, I'm not sure I want to return to Vienna. But if we do need to go home soon, I'm hoping I'll get to have a taste of that magic first."

The athletic brunette agreed, "Same, on both counts."

She drained the last of her wine then set the plastic glass down before continuing, "I know we've only been here a couple days, and I have no idea how things will go here in winter? Plus there's the isolation, and unless we could get magic phones like yours we'd probably go a little stir-crazy without being able to talk to the rest of our friends online. But this really is a lovely place. You two are really lucky. And you as well Theo, you all have a wonderful home here."

Stef and I exchanged a quiet glance, then the catkin smiled to our friends. "It is lovely. And we know you both have lives and work and everything else waiting for you in Vienna. If you don't want to go back though, you're both welcome to stay here with us. Gaia provides us with food, and she's also paying us more money than we know what to do with. If you wanted to hike out to Hardegg to stock up on wine and other supplies we could give you all the euros you need to pay for it."

"My magic will keep us warm through the winter," Theo added.

I smiled, "Between his magic and that pump you brought us, we've got hot and cold running water now! All the comforts of home, right here in our private wilderness retreat."

Flora grimaced, "The three of you are really making it tempting."

"They sure are," Charlotte agreed. Then she pouted again, "Without that miracle though I'm still going to need my hormones. And eventually surgery. Which means going back to Vienna."

"Yeah. Same," the tall brunette sighed.

My smile faded too and I suggested, "We can all go swimming again tomorrow, right? Maybe we just need to give it another day."

By that point we'd all finished the last of our drinks, and the five of us ended up just sitting quietly by the fire. Stef and I were cuddling, with Theo on my enbyfriend's lap. And our friends were cuddling too, as we enjoyed the quiet autumn evening.

We let the fire slowly burn itself out, then once it was completely dark out we all finally got to our feet and made our way inside. Everyone bid each other a good night, then our guests disappeared into their room while Stef and Theo and I retired to our bedroom. There was more cuddling once we were comfy in bed, before sleep finally took us.

Despite how the evening seemed to end on a low note I actually managed to sleep pretty well, right up until sunrise. Then just as the morning light was starting to fill our bedroom I woke suddenly to a sharp stabbing pain in my lower back.

"Ow!" I yelped as I rolled out of bed.

There was a momentary wave of dizziness as I struggled to pull myself upright, while both Theo and Stef gave me worried looks.

"What happened? Are you ok?" the catkin asked while they gave me an anxious look.

The pain and dizziness were both already gone, and I had a wide grin on my face as I twisted to look back over my shoulder. Then I turned to show them as I laughed, "Ha! Four tails! I told you, the more we're in that water the more of its magic we absorb!"

"One more tail and I'll be halfway to perfection!" I added with another wide happy grin.

Stef rolled their eyes but they were smiling too as they commented, "Yes my little star, very nice. How are you going to keep your balance though, once you have nine of those big floofy tails sticking out behind you?"

I stifled a giggle as I replied, "Magic of course!"

Before my enbyfriend could comment on that we were all distracted by a surprised yelp from the far end of the house. The two of us shared a look that was part surprise and part worry, and both of us spoke at once.

"Charlotte!" I gasped.

"Flora!" Stef exclaimed.

We both scrambled to pull on some clothes, then hurried out of our room and down the hall to stop just outside the guest room door. Theo followed along, but he seemed a lot more relaxed and chill about the entire situation.

I asked softly, "Hey you two, is everything ok in there?"

"Yeah," Flora replied, although she sounded a little distracted. "Just give us a minute ok?"

"Alright," Stef said. Then they motioned me towards the kitchen as they added, "We'll go get the coffee started."

Theo and I followed our catkin into the next room, where our furry friend used his fire magic to heat the kettle after Stef filled it with water. I couldn't help worrying a little about our guests, but mostly I was excited for them. I was confident they'd both be happy with whatever Gaia's magic did for them. And I was eager to find out how they'd changed.

Fortunately they didn't keep us waiting too long. We heard someone emerge from the guest room right about the same time the coffee was ready, and a moment later Flora joined us in the kitchen. Stef and I both looked over at her, and we both froze for a moment as we stared. The tall athletic brunette hadn't actually changed too much, yet those changes were still very noticeable.

Perhaps the most significant difference was her height. She was even taller than before, and now stood at least a hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall. It seemed like more than half of that growth had been in her legs too, they looked even better than ever now. At the same time she also appeared slimmer, as though her body had shed any extra fat while her muscles had grown more sleek and lithe. The shorts and t-shirt she'd pulled on still fit ok, but both seemed a little loose on her now.

Apart from her height, the next telling feature was her ears. They now sat a little higher up on her head, and their shape had changed to a pair of elongated oval cups that stuck out to either side. Each was more than a dozen centimeters long and four or five across, and was coated with a fine reddish chestnut fur.

Her hair was still in the same short style as before, but it had lightened up from its original walnut shade to match that lighter chestnut tone of her ears. And the colour wasn't solid anymore. It was broken up with some a random pattern of cream-coloured spots, which along with the ears hinted at what kind of animal's traits she'd adopted.

Finally she turned slightly to reveal her short up-turned tail, which pretty much clinched it. The fluffy chestnut fur with the black and white highlights was distinct, leaving no doubt in my mind. Flora was a deer-girl.

"Wow," Stef commented quietly.

I smiled, "You look amazing."

"How are you doing though?" my enbyfriend added. "Are you going to be ok?"

The newly-minted deer-girl reached out and helped herself to a mug of coffee. Then after a deep sip she slowly nodded, "I think so? It's a bit of a shock, but I'm sure you two felt the same way when it happened to you. So maybe ask me again in a few hours?"

"Of course," I agreed.

After a moment Stef looked past Flora and frowned, "Where's Charlotte? Is she ok? Did she change too?"

"I'm sure she'll be with us in a moment," the deer-girl replied. "She ah, has some bigger adjustments to get used to."

For a moment I worried at how that sounded potentially ominous. Then I realized Flora was smiling, and decided whatever changes her girlfriend received couldn't be so bad after all.

Charlotte kept us all waiting another few minutes, before finally joining us in the kitchen. And once again Stef and I both found ourselves staring. At the same time I thought to myself, when Flora said her girlfriend had some bigger changes, what she really meant was more significant. Because 'big' was not a word that came to mind when I looked at our other guest.

"Oh my gosh," Stef exclaimed with a wide smile. "You look adorable!"

I nodded, "You're almost too cute for words."

Where Flora had grown taller, Charlotte's changes took her in the opposite direction. In fact I remembered when we first met them on the trail and the cute blonde teased that she was taller than the new me. She certainly wouldn't be making that claim anymore. At best she couldn't have been more than a hundred and forty-five centimetres tall. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if she was only one-forty. She hadn't just shrunk though, her proportions were different too.

In stark contrast to her girlfriend, Charlotte's arms and legs seemed shorter on her new figure. She was still just as cuddly-looking as ever though, despite growing smaller she was even curvier than before.

Another striking change was her hair, which had grown both shorter and darker. It now barely reached her shoulders, and instead of a pale sunny blonde it was more of a dark sandy reddish blonde. Her cute rounded fuzzy ears were the same colour, and so was the long plush flattened tail that hung down behind her legs to about the level of her ankles.

Finally, where Flora's clothes mostly still fit, Charlotte obviously had a little more trouble in that department. Her shorts weren't so bad, they still fit her waist and hips despite being much too long on her little legs. Her shirt was also far too long, the hem came down to her hips, but instead of being loose the garment was clearly too tight for her, especially across the chest.

All that left me with one final question. Where it was obvious Flora was some kind of deer-girl, I had no idea what to make of Charlotte's changes. Her short rounded fuzzy ears didn't seem feline or canine, and while they might have fit with some kinds of rodent her tail definitely did not.

It wasn't until she moved closer so she could help herself to the last cup of coffee when I noticed there was some webbing between her toes, and that's when it clicked.

"Charlotte, are you an otter girl?" I asked as I looked down at her.

She made a face as she looked up at me. Then her thick tail swished and she flicked her little ears as she stated indignantly, "Notta otter. Imma mink!"

PurpleCatGirl

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