I woke up again and was immediately met with the realisation that all that was happening was indeed not a dream. Everything was still the same, and the woman I met was sitting next to me, fiddling with her fingers anxiously. I groaned and sat up in bed, breathing slowly to try and calm myself down.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked me, putting one of her hands on my shoulder. "It's ok to be scared, it's a really big shock when you first get here."

"I just... I don't understand." I said, slowly coming to terms with what was happening. "I was just walking home. Got a headache, now I'm here."

"Hey, everything will be explained in time, ok? Just know that you being here is a good thing, you're safe and everything's going to be alright."

Her voice was calm and quiet, which really did help me calm down. I looked at her reassuring smile and smiled back. With a deep sigh I got up from the bed and looked at the mirror she had brought in, staring at my new hair color, cat ears and whiskers. My stubble was also gone, making it look like I never had any in the first place. I turned back to her as she got up and picked up her clipboard.

"How did I get here?" I asked, half expecting an unclear answer.

"Well... that's complicated..." She replied, adhering to my expectations. "I'll let the queen explain that to you, she's much better at this. I can explain the stats, though! Just walk with me to the other room, alright?"

She walked out of the room and I followed, coming out to a moderately sized alchemy lab. It was clean and organised, with many different colored bottles of liquid, boxes, jars and other strange things on top of the tables. There was a chair sitting by a full bookshelf, which she approached and gestured for me to sit down. I did so.

"Ok, so I'll just do your examination while we talk, ok?" She grabbed some stethoscopes and started to do what seemed like a routine exam. "What's your name, by the way?"

"Oh? Well, my name is... uh..." I struggled to come up with an answer, realising I did not remember my name. Only the one at the top of the stat list. "N-Naomi? I don't remember my real name, just this one. But that can't be right, that's a woman's name."

"Guess that's just what you're called here. You can change it if you want, but people mostly don't. I wouldn't care too much about that either, gender here isn't that big of a deal."

"Well..." I did not know how to reply, so I settled for the first thing that came to mind. "Okay then. What about the stats?"

"Oh, yeah. So here you can see in numbers what your skills are, your occupation, all that stuff. The numbers will be low until you get your class. Except for magic prowess, that one's weird, I'll let someone else explain it to you. We'll make sure to get you an occupation today! Anyway, the stats are pretty self-explanatory, but perks are a whole other thing. Those are how good you are with particular abilities, for example..." She pointed at her table full of strange objects and bottles, smiling widely and with excitement. "Alchemy! Anything can be a perk as long as you practice it enough, even simple things like 'playing cards' if you can believe it." She chuckled.

"So I just got here and now what, I gotta find a job already?" 

"Don't worry, you'll get time to rest and wind down. We just have to find what you'll be doing once that's done so we can prepare properly! Anyway, we should get going, you look pretty healthy."

Once again she turned around and went to the door, so I followed her. She walked quickly, making me have to pick up my pace. As we walked I noticed my surroundings, specifically how fancy they were. I was clearly inside a castle, with expansive corridors full of paintings, candles and plants adorning the walls, with a long and ellegant carpet on the floor. Even the doors seemed fancy and had beautiful carvings on the outside.

"So we'll see what you can do around here based on your stats, but you can always ask for a different position once you're settled in. What's your highest stat, by the way?"

"Uhh, hang on. If I ignore magic prowess..." I checked the list once again before answering, getting more annoyed at the name on top. "Strength is at a 6 and Dexterity at 5, is that good?"

"Oh, wow!" She exclaimed. "That's not bad at all for the starting points. I think I know just the place for you."

We eventually stopped in front of a door with the sign 'Training Room' hanging above, and before she knocked the door swang open, startling the both of us. Multiple people walked out of the room, all of them laughing and talking to each other, and most importantly all of them with animal features, one even having horns, a tail and purple skin.

Another woman came to the door, slightly taller than me and very strong, dressed in what looked like light leather armor. She had scars across her face and arms, her red eyes coldly staring at me. Her hair was red and she had huge white rabbit ears. She sized me up and looked at the alchemist, who appeared even shorter next to the two of us.

"New recruit?" She said, almost mockingly.

"Yeah! This one's got 6 strength already! They would probably be a good addition, right? I was thinking maybe guard, or knight or..."

"Don't worry about it, I'll decide the position once I see what they can do. Come on, kitty, let's see if you have what it takes." She says as she walks back into the room.

"You'll do just fine, Naomi" The name still didn't sit well with me, but I tried to ignore that at the moment. "Oh, I'm Fate, by the way! It was nice meeting you, come back to my place once you're done!" She ran back where we came from before I could respond. I took a deep breath and entered the room.

"Close the door, newbie. Let's see what you can do." The woman threw me a sword, which I just barely caught. "I need to see if you have potential. Before starting your training I need to evaluate you. So go ahead and try to kill me."

"What?" I froze up, not knowing if she was joking or not, while I watched her grab a wooden sword. 

"I want you to try your best to kill me. You won't be able to, trust me. I just want to see what you're like when you're trying your hardest. Now come on. Go."

She ran towards me and swang the wooden sword, narrowly missing my chest. I gasped and put the blade in front of me, trying to defend. It was not enough, as she quickly hit it out of the way and got me in the shoulder. It didn't hurt too much, but it would definitely be enough to leave a bruise.

"Come on, newbie! I'm not seeing much action!"

I tried to move away while keeping her in my line of sight, swinging at her when I could. At first I hesitated, but slowly got more and more daring with the swings, not holding back as much. As we fought, I was getting hit by the sword left, right and center. She picked up on speed and strength, making me desperate in my defence.

At some point, however, I got into a rythm. I knew when to block and when there were openings. It felt more like a dance than a fight, and with one fainted attack and a lunge I felt the sword make contact. She then effortlessly disarmed me, making my sword go flying. I was panting and sweating, though she did not seem even remotely tired.

"Good job." She lifted up her arm, showing a paper thin cut on her elbow. "You actually managed to make contact, that's impressive. Your form, style and... everything else is pretty trash, but you're clearly fast and strong enough to handle training. Very interesting."

"So..." I said in between breaths. "I passed? Is that it?"

"Yes, you did. I'll actually train you if this is what you want. It would be harsh, so you need to be determined. At least skill-wise I know you wouldn't be a waste of time."

I lied down on my back, wiping the sweat off my forehead. I let out a small laugh, realising how fun it actually had been. If I were to stay in a castle and be trained in swordfighting, things might not be that bad after all. It was certainly better than my last job.

"Maybe I can get used to-" I stopped as I realised my voice was different. It was a higher pitch and much more feminine. "Wait, what just..."

"Oh, the changes are starting I guess. I recommend going back to your room, it's easier to deal with it in private. I'll see you later, newbie."

I ran out the door and back into the lab, finding Fate sitting on the chair, reading a book. As I was catching my breath I felt a strong pain in the chest, hips and my lower back. She jumped from her chair, coming to help me as I fell to my knees due to the pain.

"Naomi! Are you alright?" She held my chest and hugged me. "Very few people feel pain during this process, it usually means it'll happen faster. Just hold on, ok?"

I felt my entire body change at that moment. All my clothes felt tighter, especially the pants. Breathing got harder and I felt added weight on my chest, as if it were expanding. I felt my hands and face shift, getting smaller and more delicate, I could even feel my nose reforming and changing shape to become smaller. I saw in real time as my thighs got slightly bigger, and felt my hair touch the back of my neck. The worst pain was in my lower back, concentrated in one small spot.

I fell to the ground, Fate unable to hold me. The pain slowly subsided and I was able to breathe easy once again. I looked at myself in the mirror so I could see the extent of the changes and was shocked. My figure had changed, giving me what looked like the beginning of an hourglass shape. My hips were wider and my thighs were larger. I looked somewhat androgynous, maybe leaning to the feminine side. As my eyes and hands darted across my own body, I couldn't help but notice what looked like the biggest change.

I had a cat tail.