Day 5 of the 25 Days of TF-mas! (Contains woman to doll tf)

Kat had been rather busy today. The creature had descended upon this bustling mini metropolis in the midst of the festive season, and already had it changed the physical forms of four people. It had begun with Vanessa, and stressed out woman looking to burn through the holiday prep time for some R&R, who now sat atop her own coffee table as the wrapping paper to a gift she is completely ignorant of. Next had been Carla - the quiet bookish girl that had become a delicious hot cocoa for Kat to rejuvenate itself. The mug her lower half had become now sat beside Vanessa on the coffee table. From the café Kat had followed a snarky anti-holiday woman named Lorrie who had blown up to become a bloated decoration pantomiming the very caroling she had made fun of so fervently. Finally, Kat had come across Helena. She now hung outside on the door to be admired by all as a beautiful wreath. And now... now, Kat was tired. It slumped on Vanessa's bed, letting its human form's beanie fall from its head and its dark hair splay out on the mattress. Exhausted from the day's activities, Kat fell soundly asleep.

The next morning, Kat rose from Vanessa's bed to the sounds of dogs barking and the inflated caroler outside. It meandered downstairs lazily and adjusted its human form's attire before heading out. It was a self proclaimed wish granter, and while one half of Vanessa's wish - the ability to sit back and relax during the holiday season was well accounted for, the other half stipulated that her home be ready for said Holiday. It did not take much scrutiny to determine the home was not ready. So, with a newfound pep in its step, it left the home, patting Helena's pine needles on the way out. Kat paused a moment to look at the unknown car parked outside. Inside was a familiar looking woman in a barista outfit, but Kat couldn't quite place it. As far as Kat was concerned, it was rather odd to sleep in one's car in the middle of a street, but hey, what did it really know about human culture? With a shrug, it set off towards a grand new day.

Connie was over it. Not the holidays, not the cold, not even the repetitive holiday music. No, what Connie was absolutely sick of was the mess. The screaming, hopped-up-on-sugar kids unleashed and unfettered by parental supervision to utterly wreck every single toy aisle in an already busy store that Connie worked in. Every toy aisle in the toy section of which Connie was in charge. Connie, who had to cover for all the teenage seasonal hires that no-call no-showed cuz the company wouldn't give 'em time off during the season. Normally Connie would be all for some noncompliance in exchange for workers rights, but she drew the line at seasonal hires trying not to work the season for which they were hired. So as Connie stooped to pick up the same action figure from the same floor and put it on the same shelf for the thousandth time this week, she found herself a bit short on her fuse. She never said anything nasty, but she let people know what she thought of their parenting styles, and chased off more than a few of the little devils before she was pulled in for a chat with her supervisor. The talk was another soulless corporate lecture on the importance of the customers and serving their every whim with a smile faker than the ones on the dolls they sold. She had half a mind to quit right then and there, but her rent was due this month as much as it was the last, so on the forced smile went and out of her boss' office came Connie, struggling through yet another day of pushing the boulder up the hill in the toy aisle.

Connie was a bit wiry, but stronger than she appeared. She handled heavy freight loads of inventory with ease and was a regular at the gym across the block from her apartment. It was a functional strength, hardly something you would clock her for off the bat necessarily. She wore her dark hair short and in a little bun, preferring the low maintenance of that style. She flashed her pearly whites at a customer, nearly straining her neck with the force of managing to lift her defeated expression to one of delight. The customer was just like most of the others in this area. Probably in her thirties but hip enough with her long coat and light beanie. Her dark hair fell down her shoulders in lightly curled waves that looked great but was way too much work in the mornings, Connie was sure. She probably came here with kids which were no where to be found. Connie rolled her eyes as soon as she was out of sight of the woman, stooping to pick up a holiday themed plastic doll that was way overpriced and set it back on the shelf.

"I envy you, y'know," Connie murmured to the doll, "Wish all I ever had to worry about was play time and when the latest accessory was comin' out." She scoffed to herself. She was going crazy with the overtime. She nearly jumped out of her skin when that dark haired woman popped in from the other end of the aisle.

"I can help with that."

"Wha-! Crap lady! You startled me!" Connie shouted, forgetting her manners for a second there.

"Your wish," the woman elaborated without being asked, "I can help."

"My what? Oh god, you heard that? Listen, lady, I'm sure you run a nice spa or something, but whatever it is, I can't afford it." Connie said dismissively, stooping to pick up another discarded toy.

"No problem," the woman said.

"Look, lady, is there anything I can... help...?" she stood and looked around. The woman was gone. Connie looked around a little bit and shrugged, figuring after the failed sales pitch she took off. Just as well for Connie, all this bending over was making her stiff and sore. The less she had to interact with customers the better.

The next few hours of her shift went by fairly quickly. It had been quiet, almost suspiciously so, but Connie wasn't one to complain about miraculously never having to see another customer in a long while. What she could complain about, though, was her increasing aches and stiffness. Where it had been an inconvenience before, it was becoming debilitating now. She had to use the shelves for leverage to straighten herself from a bending position, and she could swear her joints were creaking with the movement. She decided now was the time for a break. As Connie stiffly walked towards the back, it became increasingly creepy how desolate the place looked. She wondered if she'd missed a memo about a meeting or something. Nobody was even on the line in the back, though there wasn't a delivery today, so maybe she was just being paranoid. Her knees had become so stiff she could hardly bend them anymore, and she hurried on towards the break room.

Her body felt ready to collapse by the time she made it to the break room. Connie half waddled, half shuffled towards a chair and more just awkwardly laid atop it than sat in it proper. Just when she was finally ready to assess the pains and aches she was feeling, the woman reappeared in the doorway. A smile had spread across the woman's face and the way she regarded Connie sent shivers down her spine.

"Lady? You can't be back here," Connie said, struggling to sit up or even stand. Her knees would not bend, nor would her elbows. She had very limited motion on her neck, and when she lifted her arm to point to the woman, her shoulder creaked audibly. Her hand cramped up and was left in a very neutral, mostly open shape.

"I'm here to help you," Kat replied, approaching Connie. Kat lifted Connie with ease and set her on her feet again. Being handled like that was very strange for the woman, almost as strange as loosing most of her autonomous mobility. Connie was about to tell the creepy woman to beat it, but Kat simply took its index fingers and pushed Connie's lips up into a smile.

"Hmmm- Hmmmrmmm? MMm!" Connie proclaimed, bewildered at her mouth's lack of response to her will to move it. It was locked in place by the woman - a permanent smile just like the dolls in the toy aisle.

Just like theirs.

"Mmm! Mhmm! Mmm!" Came more of Connie's useless protests, but by the time the hourly worker realized what was going on it was far, far too late to do anything about it. Her hair turned synthetic, and her eyes froze open, replaced by detailed paint on plastic. Her body hollowed out, and in a wave of vertigo, the woman in the beanie became giant to her. An enormous hand fished her from her former clothing and lifted her to be inspected. Connie had never felt so small and helpless in her life. She wanted to scream and shout, but she stared silently ahead with that stupid smile permanently affixed to her face. From here, Kat took its time with Connie. It selected clothes for her and found a box that fit her. Once the previous doll was removed, Connie fit perfectly in its place. The clear plastic mold hugged her form tightly, and she felt the backing move into place against her back. She was a packaged doll now.

Then the woman began to reenter the store. Connie could tell she was headed for the toy aisle. Was this it? Was she doomed to be the next doll to be knocked down and picked back up endlessly until some snot nosed little girl was given her to placate her cries for a new toy? Surely this couldn't be her fate. She braced herself mentally, and then the woman passed the toy aisles. She was headed for the front. It brought a bizarre sense of relief when her box's barcode slid across the scanner and she was placed into a plastic bag by the woman in the beanie. At least this woman would probably keep her nice and safe in her box and not risk such a unique item be destroyed by some kid.

Oh and she was the only one to know Connie wasn't really a doll, though that thought never even crossed her mind...