Ultimate Potion - Vacation Time pt 11
by Tal Greywolf

---

By the time Thursday rolled around, Caroline and Ryan had tried a wide range of
shapes and states of being.  In the mornings, they'd go out into the snow-
covered land and enjoy being a pair of wolves, or a pair of snow leopards, then
later on in the afternoon spend the day soaring as eagles or hawks, or even as a
pair of small dragons flying about and playing tag.

Their evenings were far more intimate, consisting of mergings as goo creatures,
or melding with the furniture.  They debated retaking android forms, but
eventually decided to experiment with such ideas later on. Together they'd be
puddles of latex, or Caroline would turn herself into an inflatable doll for
Ryan's pleasure.  Ryan in turn would become a good sized vibrator, making
Caroline go crazy from the intense sensations he'd generate inside her.

It was as if they were constantly shifting forms in desperation, as they both
knew that soon it would be a return to reality.  That fact merely added not only
to the number of changes they took, but also the intensity of their lovemaking
as well.  Their passions were powerful, demanding, intense by this point and
neither wanted it to end.

Thursday night in particular was an extremely surreal and intense time for them
both.  Ryan had stumbled across a story online, and showed it to Caroline.  She
immediately wanted to experience it with him.  So that evening they went into
the bedroom, hugged each other tightly, then their forms merged and reshaped,
becoming a large lava lamp in the corner.  The cord slithered about until it
found a wall plug and plugged itself in, turning on the heating device.

An hour later they were floating about within the lamp, a pair of blobs that
rose and sank randomly.  Two colors were visible, one red while the other was
blue, and their rather goo-like forms filled the room with a constantly changing
light show.  Occasionally two blobs would touch and merge together, eliciting a
low moaning sound from the base, then they'd separate again.  And in this state
they remained for the rest of the night, caressing, touching, melding and
experiencing a purely blissful state together

---

Friday found Ryan staring at the snows, the temperatures still rather cold and
the road still covered completely.  He had hoped by now the temperatures would
have warmed up enough to start melting the snow, but it wasn't going to be.

A strange idea came to him, and he glanced at Caroline.  "Hun?"

Caroline looked up from what she was reading.  "What is it?"

"I'm going to have to clear off the road for us to head home, and wondered if
you'd like to help?"

She looked curious and slipped out of her chair, wandering over.  "What do you
have in mind?"

"Well, come on and I'll show you."  With that, he walked out of the cabin,
Caroline following along.  He went a short distance, checking the ground from
time to time, then nodded.  "Ok, now watch what I do here."

His form blurred for a few seconds, then instead of a living person a piece of
machinery sat where Ryan previously was.  The engine came to life, and there was
a crackle from a speaker.

"Oh, this feels so strange."

Caroline giggled, then climbed into the driver's cage.  "So what do you want me
to do?"

"Just sit there, hun, as I clear off the road here."  With that, the snow blower
started to move forward, snow being scooped and blown off to the side.  For
Ryan, it felt like he was constantly scooping up the snow and throwing it
sideways, while slowly sliding forward the entire time.  Soon, he was moving at
a steady pace, Caroline's hands just resting on the steering wheel as he cleared
off the road out to the highway.

Once they reached the highway, he turned and started moving back the way he
came, only this time clearing the other side of the driveway.  After an hour or
so, the path was cleared so that they could drive out safely, and Ryan came to a
stop near the cabin.  Caroline climbed off of him, and moments later he stood
there, panting and taking deep breaths.

"Oh, I feel like I've lifted a few tons."

Caroline giggled, and kissed him.  "You were fine, love.  I loved seeing you as
that snow blower, working hard."

"It definitely was an experience, I'll say that much."  Ryan shook himself, then
started walking back to the cabin.  "Come on, let's get things cleaned up and
pack our stuff.  And head back home."

---

Ryan navigated the Taurus down the dirt road back to the main highway.
Fortunately, there was still enough snow and ice that he didn't end up stuck in
a mud hole, and felt much better once on the state road.

Caroline's voice came from the front speaker, humming a bit.  "You don't mind if
I take control for a bit, do you?"  She had merged herself with the car, feeling
the power of the engines, her hands and feet rolling along the asphalt, 'seeing'
what's ahead from the front grill and the headlights.

"No, but if I spot a trooper or cop, I'm going to at least take hold of the
wheel so that they'll just think I'm driving."  He let go of the wheel for now,
and watched as it turned on its own as Caroline took a curve.

Much as she wanted to really let go, she stayed right at the speed limit.  Ryan
was right about that much, attention was the last thing they needed to attract.
Instead, they talked about ordinary things, school, work, friends and such.  At
the mention of friends, she reminded herself she still needed to talk with Lexi.
That was going to be touchy, Caroline knew her friend's moods were very
mercurial at times.

"So are we going to go straight home?" Caroline finally asked.  Ryan shook his
head.

"No, we need to stop somewhere first."

"Tyler's place?"

Ryan nodded.  "I promised we'd see him first once we got back."

---

Tyler Adams looked up started at the knock on the door.  He wasn't expecting
anyone this evening, unless...

Quickly he went to the door.  Opening it, he saw the familiar face of Ryan and
the somewhat unfamiliar one of Caroline behind him.  Tyler chuckled a bit.
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.  Come on in, make yourselves at
home."

Ryan and Caroline stepped into Tyler's living room, while he closed the door and
walked towards the kitchen.  "Sit down, relax, and give me a moment here."
There were familiar sounds of ice hitting glasses then Tyler walked back in with
drinks.

He sat one in front of Ryan and another before Caroline before sitting down and
taking a drink from his own.  "So, I take it you two are back from your
adventures."

Ryan laughed as Caroline took a sip from her own drink.  "Yeah, it was time to
come back to reality."

"Good, glad you two had a good time together.  Especially you, Ryan.  I know
it's been a long time since you've had a girlfriend, much less a lover."

Caroline giggled, and hugged Ryan's arm.  "Oh, he's much more than just a
lover."

"That much I already guessed.  Now, talk.  I want to hear the details."

Tyler leaned back in his chair as he listened to Ryan and Caroline
describe all of the things they had done while up at the cabin.  Despite
maintaining as detached an expression as he could, he was astonished and amused
at the sheer number of changes they had taken in such a short period of time.
Finally, the pair came to a conclusion and Tyler shook his head slowly.

"Ok, having seen the videos Ryan sent me, I'm not going to say I'm surprised at
all."  Tyler chuckled softly.  "In fact, I am rather amazed at how much you two
managed to accomplish in the time you had together."

Ryan laughed.  "Well, it wasn't like we weren't always busy chasing after each
other."  Caroline gave Ryan a light swat on the shoulder, and he merely gave her
a hug back in return.

"No," Tyler said slowly, "although I'm sure you two were chasing each other
often enough as it was."  He gave Caroline a wink, then continued.  "But now we
need to talk about the reality of your situation, and what you're going to have
to do."

The way Tyler phrased it made both Ryan and Caroline sit a little more upright.
"What do you mean, the reality of our situation?" Caroline asked.

"Just what I said," Tyler replied.  "Right now, you two represent uncharted
territory.  Two real, honest to god shapeshifters, walking fantasies that some
folks would die for.  And you're going to have to learn how to live with those
abilities and how to deal with people from scratch."

Caroline blinked in confusion.  "How so?" she finally asked.

Tyler sighed a bit.  "Caroline, you've treated your previous transformations as
a fun thing to experience."  At her startled expression, Tyler managed to
chuckle.  "Yes, I know about your previous experiences, with Gena and Lexi.  And
no," he added, holding up his hand to halt whatever she was about to say, "I
haven't talked with them.  Nor have I talked with Mr. Wintergreen, either."

"How do you know then?"  Caroline was clearly startled at Tyler's statements,
and Ryan looked a touch worried at that as well.

Tyler merely smiled and sat back in his chair.  "I'm very good at finding out
things," he said.  "When I need to," he added, "and I needed to find out as much
as I could before the two of you showed back up."

He pointed at Caroline.  "You," he said, "need to start treating your
shapeshifting a little more seriously.  I know that in your case, shapeshifting
gives you a lot of pleasure, but like a drug it can be abused and become an
addiction.  But now you're in a state where shapeshifting has become a
fundamental part of your nature, and you need to start considering how you're
going to handle that.

"As for you," Tyler continued, this time pointing at Ryan, "you're going to have
to be a little more than simply Caroline's lover.  You're going to have to be
her anchor point when she starts trying to get too wild with her shapeshiftings.
She's going to need that anchor, and I know that you're capable to handle that."

Ryan looked at Caroline, her expression having gone from being playful to
something more serious.  "He's right, you know," Ryan said.  "We do need to be
more careful now that we're back around people."

"I know," she sighed.  "I don't like it, but I know."  She turned to Tyler.
"Ryan warned me that you can be rather blunt at times."

Tyler merely grinned back.  "Oh, I can be very blunt.  Ryan can tell you how
blunt I can be when I need to be."  His grin faded.  "Now I want you two to
remember that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here no matter what time it
is.  Doesn't matter if you're having a crisis of conscience, or just want a
friendly voice to hear."

"Thanks."  "We'll need it."

"All right, enough of this."  Tyler stood up from his chair.  "Now I've got a
few things to go deal with, so you two can head back homeward."

Ryan stood up and shook Tyler's hand.  "Thanks, you don't know what it means to
have someone else who understands."

"Oh, I understand, believe me."  Tyler grinned wide, gave Caroline a warm hug,
then made a shooing motion.  "Out, you two.  Go enjoy the rest of the weekend."

They both laughed, and moments later Tyler was left alone.  He waited until he
saw Ryan's car drive away, then picked up his own car keys.

---

A bell jingled as Tyler walked into the Potion Place.  He knew of its existence
for a while, but never had a need of its services.  There was a spell on the
door, one that ensured only those who truly desired the various potions that
were available would be allowed entrance.

An old man sat behind the counter, his attention more on the item he was working
on.  Tyler stood there quietly watching, unnoticed by the man until he was
finished working.  Only then did he look up, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Tyler!"  He clearly was surprised by Tyler's presence.  "What brings you here?"

Tyler smiled.  "One of your problem children, Lance."

Lance Wintergreen raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?  Which one?"

Tyler pulled a small bottle out of his pocket, the contents shimmering in the
light.  "Recognize this?"

"Ah, Caroline.  One of my best customers."  Lance smiled a bit.  "She's done
quite a bit with my potions."

"Well, she seems to have done a little more than what you expected."  Tyler
placed the bottle on the counter, and Mr. Wintergreen picked it up to peer at
it.  "So?" Tyler asked bluntly.

Lance blinked at he peered at the potion.  "It's mine, but... it's slightly
different.  She came in here two weeks ago, asking for my Ultimate Potion, but
one that'd last a little longer.  But this..."  He peered at it again, then
realization hit him.  "No... she couldn't have..."

Tyler sighed and nodded.  "She did.  I don't know how, other than maybe it was
an effect of previous potions, or perhaps her subconscious had enough ability."
He took the potion back from Lance.  "But she and the young man she shared it
with are now permanently changed."

Lance Wintergreen groaned.  "Can we do anything about it?" he asked.

Tyler shrugged.  "I don't know.  I'm going to work with them to start, but
you've got to be more careful.  The last thing the High Council needs to find
out about is your actions of late.  It's fine that your potions are used
strictly for fun, but this is potentially going over the line.  If anyone on the
Council finds out that you've created something like this and it's been used by
normal people, they'll have a literal cow."

"Maybe they should have a cow."  Barbara Wintergreen came out from the back of
the store.  "We can't remain segregated from the rest of the world, much as the
High Council wants us to be."

"Barbara, dear, I don't debate that fact."  Tyler sighed audibly.  "I do admit
this has been a good way of hiding your abilities, though."

Barbara nodded, and gave Lance a hug.  His form wavered, and he became a much
younger looking gentleman,.  "Any suggestions as to what we should do?" he
asked.

"I'll deal with the pair," Tyler instantly replied.  "And if I need to, I'll
deal with the Council.  I know I can handle Ashcroft easily enough."

That got a laugh from both Lance and Barbara.  "You really are a troublemaker,
you know that?  No wonder the Council hates it whenever you're involved." Barbara
said lightly.

"I've never denied it.  And the Council knows that if I'm involved, things will
be taken care of.  Much as they hate to admit it, I'm probably one of their best
troubleshooters.  Now I've got things to do, so I'll see you two later."  With
that, Tyler headed out of the shop, whistling an old Irish tune to himself.

**Oh yes, life is going to be quite interesting,** he thought to himself.