Dave had fallen asleep on her stomach, and when she woke up, something felt weird. She raised her head up, immediately discovering that her hair had turned grey and had grown long enough to completely cover her eyes. She brushed it aside, and rolled over on her back. Something felt very strange there, too. She looked around to see if Arin was home. They weren’t. 

Glancing around the room, and eventually settling her eyes on the front door, she made sure she didn’t have any intruders. Then she held up one finger, and poked herself a couple times in the chest. 

Her body was definitely changing in exactly the ways she wanted it to.

She collapsed back down on the bed and rolled around on it, her face beaming with excitement. It was happening, it was really happening! Being cursed was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her in her life.

The door opened, and she quickly threw her blankets over herself. But something was still pushing them around.

Arin spoke up. “Hey, it’s just me.”

Dave sat back up and pushed the covers off. When she did, Arin gave her a funny look.

“You seem to be excited about something,” said Arin.

“Really?” Dave hoped her excitement hadn’t just outed her. 

“Yeah, your tail’s wagging super hard.” Arin grinned.

Dave whipped around to look behind her. Sure enough, a short, fluffy, grey tail wagged rapidly behind her. She blushed, and reached for it to grab it and stop it. She missed, so she stood up to try again. It took a couple seconds of circling around herself to finally grab it. It felt bizarre, feeling her tail- her tail- from both her hands and the fluffy appendage itself.

She turned to see Arin giggling.

“What?” She asked.

“You were just chasing your tail.” Arin covered their mouth to cover their laughter.

She blushed even harder. Dave let go of her tail to cover her face. Her tail brushed against her back as it wagged even more. She buried her face in her hands as much as she could.

“So I guess we know what you’re turning into.” Arin said through their obviously choked-back laughter.

“I’m a dog?” Dave squeaked out through her hands.

“No, you’ve got this kind of fierceness to you. I’d say you’re more like a wolf.”

Dave kept her head in her hands, but her tail slowed down. “Huh. That’s actually kinda badass?”

“It’s much less so when you’re covering your face with your little wolfy paws.” Arin giggled.

Dave opened up her eyes to check and make sure she actually still had human hands. She did. And she was still blushing very hard. “Don’t call them that,” she mumbled.

“So,” they said as they walked over to the couch. “What’s got you all excited?”

Dave’s tail stopped. She wanted to tell Arin everything. She wanted so much for them to be able to share in her excitement. But she didn’t know if they would. There was no way Arin would ever outright reject her, but considering all they’d been through, she was still very worried. One year ago, she’d decided to make it so that becoming who she truly was wouldn’t ruin their relationship. By ending it before they could. It wasn’t a rational decision. It was one she regretting making nearly every night before she went to sleep, but not one she felt she could undo. The whole thing was the culmination of so many nights faking a smile after Arin called her “Big Dave” when they laid next to each other in bed. Their bright-eyed smile when they ran their fingers through her beard. How much they loved the parts of her she hated. They couldn’t have known. She couldn’t figure out how to say it. But it hurt.

Without even realizing it, tears had started to flow. She hurriedly wiped them away, trying to keep Arin from noticing. She hoped that this process wouldn’t wind up ruining their friendship, too. But she wouldn’t be able to keep herself hidden for much longer.

Her hands moved away from her face. With one arm, she held the other, and her face drooped low. “Okay, I’ll tell you. But let me see what I look like today, first. I haven’t had a chance to do that yet.”

“Sure.” Arin’s playfulness shifted to concern. They walked over to get something from the kitchen. Dave rushed into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

One look in the mirror, and Dave realized her secret would be out whether or not she wanted it to be. She had started to look absolutely adorable. Her face looked so much softer; any traces of stubble were nearly gone. There was a chance that Arin had already realized what was happening to her body, even if they might not have realized what was going on in her mind.

Her ears had fully shifted towards the top of her head, had grown thinner, and were fully covered in grey hair. They still seemed too small to be done developing, but they were recognizable as a wolf’s. She looked in the mirror, and tried to twitch them. With no effort, she moved muscles she never had before. Her ears perked up, and settled back down. She loved it.

Dave’s tail was similarly quite stubby, but seemed like it was still growing. She could move it side-to-side or up and down at will, but when she wasn’t paying attention the thing had a mind of its own. Looking over her whole body, it didn’t look dramatically different. The height hadn’t seemed to change nearly at all; the emphasis of the curse seemed to be very much on the “cuter” rather than the “smaller.” Fat and muscle seemed about the same, but she had a definite curvature that she hadn’t before.

There was no way she was going to get out of telling them today. At this rate she was only a day or two away from her non-wolf changes becoming impossible to ignore. The worry made her feel sick. She didn’t know if she was ready for the confession, or the inevitable rough conversation would follow. But she also didn’t think she could wait any longer.

She heard someone knocking on the outside door. That worried her. Their house didn’t often have visitors, and visitors were especially not welcome right now. She pressed one fuzzy ear against the bathroom door to listen closer. A few moments later, she heard Arin open the door and speak.

“What do you want?” The irritation in Arin’s voice immediately told her who their guest was.

“Hey, chill. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t serious,” said Chad. “Where’s Dave? You said he was sick.”

“Yeah, and he just left to go get some medicine from Charlene’s place,” said Arin. The two of them had never established an alibi, and Dave was glad they’d come up with something.

“I just came from that direction.” Chad accused.

“Well then you missed him, or he went somewhere else, or is still hanging out at Charlene’s. How would I know?”

“Listen,” Chad suddenly got quieter, and Dave had to focus harder to make out what he said. “I’m only here because I’ve got something important to tell you. Both of you.”

“Yeah?” Arin asked, not following Chad in whispering.

“There’s a monster on the loose here.”

If Arin made a reaction, Dave couldn’t hear it. 

Chad continued. “Larry says Kyle saw it last night. It’s some kind of werewolf creature. Looked like it was breaking into the sheep pens. He didn’t see it much, said he was scared it would attack him if he went outside.”

Dave didn’t know whether to cry, laugh, yell, or get sick with fear. She hoped Arin was staying calm.

“Huh.” replied Arin.

“Let me tell you something else.” said Chad. “I think that monster might be Dave.”

Dave stepped back from the door, hands over her mouth.

Arin replied with an angry, “What?”

“Think about it, though. Dave goes to a witch’s hut, he comes back saying everything’s fine, everything’s cool. The witch is such a sweetheart. The next day, he’s sick, nobody sees him around-”

“- I saw him like ten minutes ago.” Arin interrupted.

“But you live with him, he’s gotta act normal around you.” Chad chided.

“Wow.” Arin’s disgust was palpable.

“And then! There’s a werewolf creeping around town. Don’t you see? The witch turned Dave into a werewolf, and is gonna use him to tear apart the town!”

“By having him try, and fail, to get into the sheep pen?”

“What happens if he succeeds next time?” Chad was outright shouting at this point. “You might not care, but I’m not gonna let some witch turn Dave into some kind of hellbeast. He may not exactly be chipper towards me all the time, but we grew up together. He’s still a good friend of mine, and the second I can find a way to free him from this curse, I’m going to.”

“Well, you better start searching.” Arin took a couple loud steps.

“You just want me to leave,” Chad sneered.

“Yes. You’re right. I do. Get out of my house.” Arin sounded angrier than Dave had ever heard them.

“Fine.” Chad stormed off and slammed the door behind him.

The sound of the door reverberated through the house. When it died down, neither Dave nor Arin had moved. Dave didn’t know what there was to say, or if there was anything to do. After a moment, she took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door.

Arin was already standing right outside, hand raised to knock on the door. As soon as they saw each other, the two hugged. Once again tears began to fall from Dave’s eyes. She hadn’t had control of that lately. She looked down and noticed she was getting the shoulder of Arin’s blouse wet, and broke the hug away to stop.

“I know you’re probably not doing amazing. But I guess I want to know your thoughts.” Arin said, wiping another tear from Dave’s face.

“That was scary.” Dave said as she flopped onto the couch.

Arin sat down beside her, not saying anything.

“I mean I don’t think there’s a thing that punk could actually do to me, but...” Dave trailed off. 

Arin nodded, and hugged her again. “I get it.”

Dave returned the hug. “I know you do. I’m sorry.”

She took a moment to relish the hug, then took a deep breath. “So, about the curse.”

Arin moved back to look at her.

“I’m definitely turning into some kind of wolf-person. A pretty distinctly feminine one.”

“Do you feel alright about that?”

Dave nodded, her stomach churning. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Yeah. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, I want to try out the wolf thing.”

Arin looked approving, but also unsure. They might have been thinking long and hard about their next question. “What are your feelings on the feminine thing?”

“That-” she paused, her body trembling. Tears welled up again. “- is something I already know I want to keep.”

They hugged even more, even tighter.

Dave said, “So, yeah. I’m a girl.”

Arin kept holding on. “Really? That’s awesome!”

“You really think so?” Dave let go and scooted back on the couch a bit. 

“Of course! I’m so glad you’re figuring out such important things about yourself.” Arin was already smiling, but their face lit up even more. “And oh my gosh, you’ve already got access to magic to help your transition along. That’s so wonderful!”

Dave wirled a strand of hair between her fingers. She kept looking between the ground and Arin’s joyous, adorable face. This might not have been the time to talk about their relationship. But once she opened the floodgates of confessing, it felt impossible to stop. 

“This is what I couldn’t tell you last year.”

Arin took her hands in theirs. At first Dave instinctively wanted to pull away, but she chose to let them continue. They said, “Oh my gosh. You’ve been keeping this hidden within you for so long. I’m so sorry you had to do that. And I’m so glad that you feel comfortable sharing this with me now.”

She had never really stopped crying, but it continued even harder. She wasn’t sure that they had understood. “So that’s the real reason I broke up with you. Because I didn’t think you’d want me if I was this way. You liked me so much the way I was. I couldn’t stand to disappoint you.”

“That’s why?” Arin looked the saddest they had ever seen them. They looked towards the floor, and after a moment, tears started flowing down their cheeks.

Dave nodded gently, and some of her hair slid in front of her face

“Sweetie,” Arin reached over to move the hair back, but paused to wait for Dave’s permission. When Dave nodded, they brushed it aside and continued. “That never would have mattered to me. I always loved you for being who you are. You’re so caring. You’re so caring that you even try to help people you can’t stand, yet at the same time remain so strong in your convictions. That’s what I always loved about you. I liked your body, but I loved your heart. And the changes you’ve made seem so good for you.”

Dave smiled, but the smile dropped instantly. Her hands snapped to cover her face. “I ruined our relationship for nothing.”

“No,” Arin hopped up more on the couch. “You didn’t ruin anything. I’m so sorry I didn’t help you feel comfortable talking with me.”

“I should have been comfortable. I should have known there was nothing to worry about. I don’t know why I ever thought there was.” Dave shook her head. “I hurt you so much.”

“I can’t say it didn’t hurt, but I understand. I completely understand.” They hugged Dave again. “You know, I never stopped loving you.”

Whatever will Dave had to keep herself upright escaped. She fully collapsed into Arin’s arms. She tried not to sob too much into their chest. “I always loved you too.”

Arin eventually fell against Dave as well. The two laid together on the couch, embracing. Feeling the warmth of each other’s bodies, the rhythm of their breath, and the connection they’d held back from for so long. Both of them had missed this so much. Eventually, Arin reached down and started petting Dave’s head. It felt amazing. Dave never wanted to leave that moment, but she knew she still needed to.

“So, um, is this us getting back together?” Dave asked, reaching to rub Arin’s neck.

“I think it is if you want it to be.” they said, rubbing Dave’s wolf ear between their fingers. Joy filled her head and her heart.
“Are we too emotionally vulnerable to make that decision right now?” She asked, looking up for their response. “Is there a possibility we’re rushing back into this too quickly?”

They looked surprised by the question, but definitely stopped to consider it. They said, “Maybe? It is super quick but it also feels really right to me. But do you want to wait and see how you feel later?”

Dave wondered for a second, then shook her head. “I already know I’m going to feel the exact same way tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that.” 

Arin nodded and petted her some more. “I don’t know if it’s going to be the same as it was right away. I think it may take some time.”

“That’s fair.” She snuggled into their chest more. “That’s more than fair.” 

“But also, I feel like we may be getting even closer? I mean, you’re already sharing so much more of yourself than you were before.”

Her tail wagged a bit. 

“You know that’s really cute right?” They grinned.

She blushed, and her tail wagged even harder. “You’re so wonderful.”

Arin made a surprised face, like they had a sudden realization. “Hey, before I say the wrong thing, did you have a different name picked out?”

She thought about it for a moment. “I’d like to try out ‘Madeline.’”

They leaned over and rubbed their forehead against hers. “Madeline is a really pretty name for a really pretty girl.”

Madeline reached her neck up and licked the tip of Arin’s nose. They both giggled.

They stayed lying together on the couch. After a long time, Arin’s head began to droop. 

“Getting sleepy?”

They nodded.

Madeline looked outside, where the full moon now peeked through the window.

“Hey,” she said. “I’ve got a goofy idea.”

“Can it happen in the, like, ten seconds before I involuntarily fall asleep?” They mumbled.

“It’ll freak out Chad.” She grinned, showing off her wolf fangs.

Arin smiled wide. “Now that is something I can stay up late for.”

The two of them got off the couch, and started heading for the front door. On the way, she put out the candles keeping their house lit. Madeline considered grabbing her cloak, but left it. She wouldn’t be outside long anyway. Arin followed her out the door as she stared up at the moon. The moon had decided to stay full, big, and bright. It watched over Madeline through her trip to the witch’s, through her transformation, and into the rekindling of a love she thought she’d lost. Madeline had a small way to offer her thanks.

Off in the distance, in some forest far away from town, a wolf howled. Then another. Then another.

“AWOOOOOOO!” Madeline shouted in praise of the moon, in the tradition of those like her.

  She grabbed Arin’s arm and dragged them back inside. By the time the two of them had gotten back to the couch and into the comforting darkness of their home, the town was alright busy with the lights and noise of concerned citizens.

Arin snickered and rubbed Madeline’s ears. They whispered, “Oh, wow. I wonder what Chad and the lads are gonna do about this vicious, terrifying werewolf?”

Madeline wagged her tail, said “Arf,” and licked Arin’s cheek.

After a short time, the people outside all went back home. Arin, unable to keep awake any longer, made their way to bed. Madeline settled into her bed, which now seemed much too far away from Arin’s, but they would have to fix that later. She picked up her book, and started reading again. For the first time, she started feeling a bit sorry for Magdalene. The heroine of her book didn’t get to be an awesome, adorable wolf girl. And Ser Cline was nowhere near as much of a sweetheart as Arin.