=::= Tally's PoV =::=

I had my tail wrapped around so it was kind of on my lap, and even though I tried not to I found myself petting it and playing with it. It felt sort of relaxing or soothing.

Doing it myself wasn't anywhere near as good as when Bethany did it, but it was better than nothing. The main thing was it helped me with my nerves. Like I could either be anxious and uptight and tense, or I could focus on my long soft fuzzy floof as I stroked it and pet it.

All in all things actually hadn't gone that badly this afternoon. I had a good lunch with Beth and Jen, and I got to know Jenny a lot better. There was a run-in with my big brother right before English, but it ended quickly and I got to meet Sienna, the non-binary fox-kin from grade twelve.

English wasn't too bad either. The teacher deadnamed me once but I actually had the confidence to stand up for myself and she left me alone after that.

The last period was harder because I was alone. Beth and Jenny were taking art together and I was in a programming course. My buddy Steve was in that class with me, but I was all on my own when it came to reintroducing myself to the teacher.

I did it though, and Miss Cafarata didn't give me a hard time. So it felt like things were going to be ok in that class too. Except halfway through it I got called down to the principal's office, and I had no idea why.

Then I found out after dealing with my brother, Mrs. Chaudhri talked to my mom on the phone. Apparently Dylan had been given a one-week suspension and the principal had to inform my parents about that.

Except as soon as I heard she'd talked with my mom, I felt a huge wave of fear come over me. I was terrified my mom was coming to the school to get me, that my family were going to haul me away and try to force me to un-change my name and stuff. Luckily it wasn't anything like that.

The principal was actually worried for me, she realized my family were unsupportive and she was concerned about my safety. So I had to explain I was staying with the Watsons, that Ms. Watson was looking after me and stuff.

Mrs. Chaudhri apparently knew Ms. Watson, or at least she'd heard of her. So after that conversation, I was left to wait in the reception area of the office while the principal called my girlfriend's mom to discuss all that stuff. Like part of her job was to make sure all her students were safe or had a safe place to live and stuff like that.

So I was sitting on the uncomfortable wood bench in the office like I was in detention or something, with nothing to do but stress. Except after playing with my tail for a few minutes my nerves were settled enough that I started feeling bored instead.

There wasn't really anything for me to do while I sat waiting, so I dug my phone out of my bag. I found a message there from Steve, he wanted to know what was going on and why I got called down to the office.

I messaged him back that it was because Dylan tried to bully me in front of the principal and that I was stuck in the office while Mrs. Chaudhri was dealing with that stuff.

Then I sent a message to Beth as well and let her know where I was and what was going on, since I knew she'd be worried if we didn't meet up after our last classes.

As I finished that, my eyes kind of drifted from the phone to my wrist. I found myself staring at that magical tattoo, the one Beth said nobody else could see. It reminded me of the other one on my ankle, and suddenly I realized why it didn't hurt when my brother yanked my tail so hard he pulled me off my feet.

It almost left my head spinning as it dawned on me. I had an actual magic tattoo on my ankle that protected me from my brother. He couldn't hurt me anymore. Or at least, not physically. Neither could my mom or dad, or anyone else.

That realization made me think of this morning at that big house at the vineyard, and Ms. Watson being a witch, and now I was one too. Or at least I was going to be one.

And that led me to suddenly think about how much had happened in just the last couple days.

I accidentally turned myself into a foxgirl. I was a cute petite girl, I had a large floofy tail and fox ears. My girlfriend accepted the new me, so did her whole family. I changed my name, got more or less kicked out of the house, and got taken in by my girlfriend's mom. I got a whole new wardrobe, found out my girlfriend met the legendary Cindy who created the spell that changed the world, and found out Beth's mom was a witch. I got taken to the coven, got initiated or something, met some priestesses, and got a couple magical tattoos. Then I got bullied and threatened by my brother, and made friends with Beth's sister Jenny. I was pretty sure somewhere in all that there was even talk of a Goddess or something too.

It was overwhelming.

My phone ended up in my bag again as I went back to hugging and playing with my big floofy tail. I could almost forget about all that other stuff as I stared at the long soft floofy fur while I held and stroked it.

I wasn't paying attention to the time, so I was still holding and stroking my tail fifteen minutes later when the door next to me opened and Steve walked in looking for me. He stopped in his tracks and stared, and I felt my cheeks going red.

We ended up staring at each other for a few very awkward seconds, before he finally said "Hey um, Tally. You didn't text me back so I came to see what was up. Are you stuck waiting here for a while?"

I was still blushing as I nodded, "I think so? Mrs. Chaudhri said for me to wait here, and nobody's said anything else."

"Then I'll wait with you," my buddy said as he slumped down on the bench beside me.

He gave me a sort of funny look, like a quick up and down with a longer stare at my tail and how I was holding it. Then he ended up staring at the floor. In a quiet voice he said, "It's gonna take me some time to get used to seeing you like that, you know? Like... Yeah. It's a big adjustment."

I hugged my tail a little tighter to my chest and nodded slowly. "I get that Steve. Thank you for trying. Like I said though, this is the real me. This is who I was keeping hidden inside. Everything else was just an act."

"I get it," he started to say. Then he frowned, "I mean I don't get it. Like there's no way I'd ever do something like that. I don't wanna be a girl or have a tail or any of that weird stuff? But I mean, I remember when they taught us about that stuff in health class. Like about being trans and all that."

"Thanks Steve," I said quietly as I continued hugging my tail.

There was a minute or so of awkward silence, then he asked "So um, what's it like? I mean, being a girl, having a tail and everything?"

It took me a few moments to find a way to describe it.

"You know when your mom goes clothes shopping without you, then expects you to wear a brand-new outfit that you don't like and you've never seen before? And like, the pants are kinda stiff and don't fit right, the legs are too long, and the fabric's all rough and leaves your legs feeling irritated? And the shirt has one of those super-itchy tags at the back of your neck, and another one on the side? And it's too tight, plus your mom insists you button it all the way up so it feels like it's choking you and you're sure you can't breath right?"

Steve gave me a really worried look but he nodded as he listened.

"It feels like ripping all that off and putting on your favourite beat-up old jeans and that old faded t-shirt your mom tried to throw out like four times. It feels like the best, most comfortable thing you could ever imagine. It feels like for the first time in my whole life, I can actually breath and move and feel. It feels like for the first time in my life I'm actually real, instead of a ghost."

My friend stared at me for a couple more seconds, then finally shook his head "Holy crap. That's messed up, but I'm glad things are better for you now."

I smiled slightly, "Thanks Steve."

He hesitated slightly then asked, "So um, sorry if this is weird but are we still friends? Like can we still hang out and stuff? Or will that be strange now that you're a girl?"

My smile grew a little wider and I told him, "I'd like to stay friends. And I've always been a girl, I just had to hide it for most of my life, ok? I'm the same person as before, I just don't have to hide who I am anymore."

"Right," he nodded. "Sorry."

There was another little pause before his next question. "So um, maybe another awkward thing? But are you and Beth still together? She's ok with you being a girl? Or are you into guys now or...?"

I rolled my eyes, "I wasn't into guys before, not into guys now. Sorry Steve."

He blushed brightly but I just grinned and continued, "Me and Beth are still together. Now we're girlfriends."

It made me feel almost giddy just saying that. I was a girl, I was Bethany's girlfriend, and it was amazing.

Almost like she knew I was thinking of her, the office door opened and Beth walked in. Jenny was right behind her, and the two of them moved to join us on the bench. My buddy was at my left, my girlfriend sat on my right, and Jen sat to the far left, on the other side of Steve.

"Are you ok?" Beth asked in a worried tone. "What's going on?"

"I'm ok now," I replied. Then I told her and Jenny what happened with Mrs. Chaudhri and that the principal was calling their mom since I was staying at their place and everything. And I mentioned that Dylan was suspended, so we probably wouldn't have to worry about any more trouble from him till next week.

Jenny scowled slightly as she commented, "That's the main reason I haven't broken his nose again. Me and my sisters all got suspended when I did it the first time, even though it was self-defence. Him and his asshole friends were picking on Beth, so I had to do something. But now I'm on record with a suspension for fighting, while him and his buddies got away with bullying."

"Sounds like Dylan," I replied with a scowl of my own. "He pulls that on me all the time at home. Picks on me, bullies me, but if I ever try and fight back then I get in trouble."

"He didn't get away with it this time," Beth reminded me. "Thanks to Sienna and Mrs. Chaudhri. So try not to get too stressed about it, ok? Both of you."

Jen grinned, "Yeah I know. I'm not stressing."

Steve got to his feet and said, "I'm glad you're ok Tally, and I hope things go all right with the principal and stuff. I'm going to get going now, but I'll catch you tomorrow ok?"

I figured he was starting to feel out of place, with Jenny and Bethany both keeping me company. Or maybe he was just scared of Jenny the way I'd been. She was tall and had that rep as a tough girl after all, and Steve was kind of trapped between Jen and me when he was sitting with us.

"Ok," I told him. "Thanks for not being too freaked-out by all this stuff. I'll text you or something later, or see you tomorrow."

He nodded then headed out of the office, while me and Beth and Jen continued to wait together.

My tail somehow migrated from my own lap onto Bethany's, while Jenny slid a little closer on my left side.

"What are we waiting for again?" the tall blonde asked after another minute or two.

I shrugged, "Mrs. Chaudhri said to wait here while she talked with your mom."

Beth added, "She probably called mom into the office."

Jen grimaced and commented sarcastically, "That always makes mom happy."

That made me cringe, but Beth ran her hand along my tail as she reminded me that none of this was my fault.

We all waited quietly for another five or ten minutes, before Ms. Watson arrived. Sure enough she'd been called in for a meeting with the principal. And she looked really stressed. Like she looked even more uptight than I felt.

Beth and Jen noticed it too, and Bethany asked "Mom? Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine hon," Ms. Watson replied. "It's been a very stressful day."

Luckily the meeting with Mrs. Chaudhri only took a few minutes then we were all free to go. Ms. Watson's minivan was parked out front, and when we got to it she handed the keys over and said "Jenny why don't you drive us home?"

Jen grinned as she got behind the wheel, while her mom took the passenger seat. Beth and me got in the back as usual.

As we started for home Ms. Watson said, "Sadie and Amanda are going to join us tonight. We're ordering Chinese for dinner, I hope that's ok with you Tally? And after dinner the two of them will give you girls your first lessons in magic."

"Sweet!" Jenny grinned.

That left me feeling a couple conflicting emotions. Learning magic sounded really cool and exciting, and I liked Chinese food so that was nice too. Meeting my girlfriend's older sisters was probably going to be awkward though, and having to go through all the introductions and explanations and everything yet again made me a bit nervous.

On top of all that, I couldn't help noticing Ms. Watson sounded tired as well as stressed. And Beth noticed it too.

"Mom?" my girlfriend asked. "Are you sure everything's ok?"

Her mom sighed but nodded, "It's been a difficult day Bethany. Two difficult days in fact."

She quickly added, "Not your fault Tally, I'm referring to work. Yesterday we found out the government is looking into some of QSAW's activities. Today I was asked to mediate a reunion between some er, rather difficult sisters. That's why I've asked Amanda and Sadie to join us. I think I'm going to have an early night, while the two of them deal with you three."

"Ok mom," Beth said as we pulled into the driveway at their house. "I'm sure we'll all try and keep things quiet, so we don't disturb you. Right Jenny?"

Bethany did that mom-voice thing at the end, and it made Jen cringe slightly.

The taller girl agreed, "Right. We'll keep quiet so mom can rest."

"Thanks girls," Ms. Watson smiled.