I went through the clothes trying to find a style that fit me. In all honesty, I was excited to try anything at all, and once I finally allowed myself to relax, I started to really enjoy the whole process. I picked out a few clothes I liked and went to the mirror. Fate was staring at me with anticipation.

"Can you turn around? So I can... You know."

"Oh!" She blushed and covered her eyes with her hands. "Yeah, of course!"

I put on a cute short black dress, with a purple ribbon around the waist. It fit perfectly, much like all the other clothing items in this kingdom. I began wondering if maybe that was a general spell around, for all clothes to fit all people. To go along with the dress, I also got a big pair of black leather boots. It was pretty simple, but I really liked it.

"Alright, you can look!"

Fate let out a small, high-pitched scream. I struck a few poses, still feeling a little bit silly but enjoying the moment surprisingly more than I expected to.

"I love it! You can keep those, they look great on you!"

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask." I pointed at my clothes and finally asked a question that had been burning in my mind. "How do your clothes and the uniform I got all fit me? You're much smaller than me, and I hadn't given anyone my measurements for the uniform."

"Yeah, that's part of the Lumalight magic!" She said proudly. "The queen specifically made it so all clothing in the kingdom will automatically fit anyone! That way everyone, no matter if they're big, small, tall, short, or how many limbs they have, it'll fit like a glove!"

"Neat!" I looked again at the pile of clothes and already started to pick out a couple more that I was interested in. "This is all so pretty!"

I tried on another outfit, this time going for something a bit more 'cutesy'. A long dark blue dress with frills on the bottom and sleeves, white thigh highs, some cute (but surprisingly modern looking) sneakers and a soft ribbon around my neck. I looked in the mirror and couldn't contain my excitement. This actually made me feel happy. I liked the way I looked. The cat ears, the tail, the feminine features, everything. I spun around in place and looked back at Fate, a wide smile on my face.

"You... You look so pretty!" I didn't know how to react to those words, but I must have looked quite flustered. "I'm so happy you're enjoying this! You know, I went through the same thing when I first drank my potion. It was just wonderful" She lets out a quiet, nostalgic sigh.

"I... I can't believe I've gone through with all of this." I sat down on the bed and adjusted my dress carefully. "I wasn't expecting it to be this... Fulfilling I guess."

"You just got here. That's just what this place does to you." Fate sat down next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "You learn about yourself. A lot, actually. When you think you're done, here comes another epiphany that keeps you on the move."

"Sounds... Stressful."

"It sounds worse than it is. It's a pretty reassuring process, fun at times even. Considering everyone here lives for a long time, I see it as a blessing."

"Hm? What do you mean with the 'living for a long time' thing?"

"Exactly that!" She chuckled. "I told you, the queen is much better at explaining these things than I am. Just know that you're going way, way past one hundred years old."

"Wow. That's... A lot to process." She tried to comfort me again with a soft hug. It was a successful attempt. "I'll be alright. Just gotta sleep on this whole situation."

"That's all it takes?" She laughs a little bit harder this time, and I couldn't help but smile. 

"Yup. Some sleep, company and good food does wonders for existential crises." Seeing her laugh was quite calming, and made everything seem just a little bit easier than before. "And a good glass of water. Where can I get some?"

"Right there on the table, the square glass."

I got up and walked over to the potion making station where the glass of water was. Right next to it was a beaker sitting on top of a small flame, the transparent liquid inside starting to boil. I grabbed the glass and downed it quickly, but immediately after I felt this metallic aftertaste. I felt a tingling going through my whole body and felt shivers going down my spine. That was not water.

"Oh! Wait, not the square glass, it's the b-" She looked at me wide-eyed. "Oh no."

"What did I just dri-" I was interrupted by a strange feeling through my entire tail. I looked back only to realize it had become a wolf's tail.

The changes kept coming, but thankfully they didn't hurt like the other potion did. I felt myself get taller and heavier, fur suddenly grew around my neck and on my hands. Honestly it was more accurate to call them claws after the changes. My ears went through the same changes, becoming more wolf-like. My teeth changed into sharp fangs, and at last the transformation was over. I didn't even notice my clothes changing to fit me better like last time, so I assumed the process was slow enough to not cause any problems. 

Stopping in place, I waited to see if the changes had stopped, and thankfully they had. I turned around to face Fate.

"I have a feeling this isn't gonna be the last time something like this happens... How long is this gonna last?"

"Shouldn't last more than a day or two!" She scrambled to stop the potion in process on the table. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to happen, I forgot and..." Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"Hey, now." I held her lightly and tried to give a reassuring smile. "It's alright. It's actually kind of a fun way of exploring my identity, you know? Just be more careful next time." She hugged me deeply and held me tight, so I did the same. 

Before any of us could say anything else to one another, there was a heavy, angry knock on my door. She looked worried, and I was terrified. I put on my best poker face and went to open the door. On the other side stood Robin, her left eye twitching and her fists clenched.

"Newbie. Follow me. Now."

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

"One of the invaders knows you. The queen wants you in the interrogation, and for some reason-" She gritted her teeth and stopped for a split second to look at me. "Not behind bars."

"Look, the only reason we have a prisoner is because I took a shard of ice to the ribs for it! This is-"

"Enough! Leave it for the queen. She wants to speak to you after this is done."

I decided not to keep prying. I walked with her back to the ground floor and into a dimly lit, narrow hallway. My tail brushed against the walls as it swayed. I hadn't realized how used I was to my previous tail, learning how to use this one for the short time I'd have it was yet another challenge.

Once we had reached a set of stairs, she pulled out a keyring. On the bottom was a single metal door. It was scratched beyond belief and needed three different keys to unlock. The noise it made when it opened was ear-piercing.

"Look, I told you! I don't know how-" A deep voice cried from within the room, stopping once they saw my face. "Wait, is that... Naomi?"

Sitting in front of the only table in the room was the attacker I managed to knock out, still wearing his robes and still very hurt by the boxes that fell on top of him. The person sitting right in front of me, the same masked individual who was set on killing me not too long ago, was none other than the only friend I'd had back in the other world. Before I could respond, the splitting headache came back, and I fell to my knees. My mind was once again filled with that horrible laughter, mocking me. But this time it was clearer somehow, as if it was quickly getting closer to me. The laughter only got more intense, until finally it turned into words.

"Go ahead and resist, darling. I'll be taking over that pretty little mind of yours soon enough."