I stared down at my phone and deleted my reply to Eva yet again. How the hell did I even tell her? One of my best friends, certainly my closest friend on an emotional level and here I was, stuck.

Eva: Itiasssss? Please reply, I can see you’ve read my message. Just tell me you’re safe, things are getting crazy and I’m scared for you.

She was right about that. It had been two days since magic had broken free from its chains, and although it hadn’t broken anything on a physical level, some people near the leylines had been badly hurt. The explosions had sort of ignored anything that wasn’t alive, just barely shaking the ground enough for people to notice. Living things on the other hand, they had been thrown all over the place. Like me, into that hunter’s face.

The aftermath was far worse. All across the globe, millions had been changed, taking on strange and non-human traits, from tails to horns to whatever else you could think of. It wasn’t just that though…

People didn’t understand what was happening, but I did. The spirits were dipping their toes back into the world. Ancient forests were mysteriously reappearing, swallowing whole swaths of farmland. Cattle farmers down in Brazil were dying by the thousands as the enraged spirits of the Amazon reclaimed their land.

So far, the world hadn’t figured out precisely what had happened, but it wouldn’t be long. When one of the gods showed themselves, it would become abundantly clear why the world had changed the way it had.

As for me, I’d spent the last few days watching my government’s handling of this new crisis. Well, I say that, but the reality was the same as it always was with this administration. They weren’t doing shit.

Thankfully, my state was in the process of dealing with it on its own. A taskforce was being set up to help all those who had been changed, but it was still early days there. Apparently I’d be able to change my name without as much red tape, stuff like that.

School had been cancelled too, which was why I hadn’t been in there yet. Mum was in the process of telling them about me, my new name and stuff. I wasn’t really paying too much attention to it, I was still a kid, it wasn’t my problem.

Which brought me back to Eva. Shit, there was only one way this was actually going to work.

Itias:  Hey Eva, sorry I didn’t reply. Things have been kinda crazy for me, and it’s really difficult to explain. I’m one of those who got changed, so is my Mum.

Eva: Holy shit, really? Wow… what do you look like now? Is it bad?

Itias: This is one of those times where you’re just going to have to come over and see for yourself…

Eva: I don’t think my parents will let me out of the house…
Eva: But I’ll ask!

I let my phone drop down beside me on the bed and lay back with a groan. I was so nervous…

She wouldn't recognize me from the protest at least, I mean… I had changed quite a bit. Still, the way she had flirted with me that night just kept bouncing around my thoughts. Was Eva into girls?

I gave a whimper and rolled sideways, crushing my new ear in the process. That turned my worry into irritation and I adjusted so that the offending ear folded comfortably while I was on my side. My fox parts were causing me all sorts of problems like that, and it would be a while before my mannerisms changed to accommodate them.

God, from this position I could see my room, and it was a total mess. I was lucky to have a fairly large room, my queen sized bed fit in nicely, leaving plenty of open floor space. My desk sat tucked in the corner, strategically positioned so that my parents wouldn't be able to see my laptop's screen when they came in.

Currently, my old clothing was strewn across the room in haphazard piles, except one neat pile on my desk chair. Mum and I had been sorting through all my clothes, finding stuff that would still work with my new, smaller body. Let's just say I was going to be rocking that off-the-shoulder look for a few weeks.

Mum had ordered some new clothes for me, doing same day delivery on my new bralettes, because I had to wear bras now. She'd decided that I was going to be growing in the chest department, so no proper bras until things had uh… solidified.

Looking down at them, I poked gently at my right one and then jerked my hand away from it. They were actually kinda fun, squishy and soft, but also very weird because like, they were attached to me. Words could not describe the array of emotions I felt about the idea of having boobs.

My phone went off, startling me and sending me bouncing backwards on the bed. God damn! Reaching for it, I turned the damned notification volume down before it ruined my new overly sensitive ears. Not a fan of how loud, high pitched noises pierced my brain like that now.

Eva: Mum said yes! She’s going to drive me over!

Bouncing up into a cross legged sitting position, I gave an excited little fist pump and grinned down at my phone. Okay, maybe I was a little excited to see my friend again. I knew she’d be chill about my new appearance, if no one else was.

Itias: Yooo! Nice! See you soon!

I was up and down the stairs to the living room in like five seconds flat, colliding with every single wall on the way. Not that I could move with enough force to break myself, this body was light as heck.

“Mum!” I exclaimed, bounding into the kitchen area, out of breath and panting. “Eva is coming over to see what I look like now! Her mum is driving her!”

Mum, who appeared to have gotten a heart attack from my sudden entrance and was now leaning back against the bench with a hand over her heart, frowned over at me. “Iti— Tia, please move with slightly more grace than that please. Just because you have fox features doesn’t mean it's time to suddenly become hyperactive and rowdy.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, toning myself down a little. She was right, being loud and fast and boisterous was definitely out of character for me. “Just excited to see Eva again.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re excited,” she smiled, giving me a fond look. “It’s been a while since I spoke to Velvet too, I might invite her in for coffee.”

Velvet was Eva’s mother, and while they weren’t a match in looks, the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree in the personality department. Eva’s parents looked relatively normal on the outside, but they were huge lefties on the inside. I’d heard rumours that during her college days, Velvet had chained herself naked to some old tree that was going to be cut down in order to save it.

“She’d like that, I think— wait, what about covid and stuff? Aren’t we meant to be like, staying in a bubble or something?” I asked, excitement coming crashing to a halt as I remembered that the world worked different now.

Mum just rolled her eyes. “They haven’t cancelled in-person school, so it won’t do us much good. If the government has given up on containing it, even requiring you to go to school where you could get infected, I don’t see the difference between seeing Eva here or there.”

I have a sigh, then grinned. “Awesome! I’m going to go and wait by the door!”

Off I went, rushing to the front door. Then, because I realised I’d left my phone in my room, I scampered up the stairs on all fours, retrieved it, then began my camp out.

I was excited to get Eva on my side, because she was sort of the glue in our little friend group. If she was chill, then she’d make everyone else be chill.

Noah probably wouldn’t give two shits, so long as I kept talking about games with him. Actually, me might be better than that, simply because having a girl who you played games with would make him cool with his internet friends.

Doug, on the other hand, might be a little weird about it, simply because he was always weird around girls, with the exception of Eva. She’d somehow managed to avoid our friend’s weirdness, so here was hoping some of her success would rub off on me.

The rest of my peers could get fucked for all I cared. The popular cliques would make fun of me for suddenly becoming a girl, but I could handle that. I’d always handled it, and hell… my new body was faster and stronger than the last one. At the very least I could run away if someone tried to get physical with me. Not that they would, bullies didn’t hit you like they did in the movies and in my parents’ time.

A text came in on my phone, interrupting my thoughts and causing me to get all excited again.

Eva: Almost there!

I felt a big grin return to my lips, and I typed out a series of exclamation marks and hyperactive emojis. A thought occurred to me as I was staring down at my phone. Should I get into nicer clothes?

I was wearing one of my old T-Shirts, now too big for me and hanging slightly off my left shoulder, bra strap peeking out from the collar. Down below, I had a pair of dark blue denim shorts on, now a bit tight thanks to my wider hips. Nah, Eva would be chill, she dressed pretty much the same, although her shirts actually fit her.

The moment I heard that car engine pulling into our driveway, I just about leapt up and attached myself to the light fitting. “Mum! They’re here!” I called excitedly back into the house as I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet.

“Coming!” she called, rounding the corner into the hallway while drying her hands on a hand towel.

The doorbell went off with a gentle chime, and I lunged for the door handle, yanking it open in a rush. Eva stood behind it, a smile on her face and her mother behind her. Our eyes connected, and it was as if time stood still, breathless and waiting.

“Hey Eva,” I smiled, a little shy all of a sudden, ears drooping a little along with the emotion. I was going to suck at poker now.

Watching the understanding dawn across her face was nerve wracking, and I almost slammed the door shut out of sheer anxiety. That anxiety fled as a smile bloomed across her expression, quickly transforming into a massive grin.

“Oh. My. God!” she exclaimed, nearly exploding my eardrums with the force of her squealing. “You’re a girl now! A-a fox girl!”