"Hey Jerk," she stops just outside the front door blocked by the irritant in her way.

His smile is strained from many times of putting up with this, "Andrea, my name is Jack."

Unphased, she quips, "That's what I said, Jerk."

He shakes his head, "I don't know why you are calling me that. I'm just trying to see if Calvin is here."

She rolls her eyes at him and sticks her palm out in the direction of his face, "I see you stalking me in the halls. You are not my type, and I'm not interested."

"What? I'm not following you around campus. I'm headed to class. I can't help it if my medical classes are somewhere near yourrrrr,” Jack searches his mind for what department is near his at the college. After a moment of drawing out the ‘r’, he gives up, “whatever it is that you are taking."

She is taken aback by his comment, "I'll have you know, I'm studying to be a fashion designer."

Oh. That’s right. That department is near mine. Jack's anger dissipates as he begins to chuckle at the thought of the clothes, "I bet your new line will be terrible, so that people can rip it off your body. Get it? Tear-able?"

"What? I never--"

He cuts her off, "Yeah, you did. Calvin and some of the guys told me about the carnage of torn clothing left in your wake."

Blushing, she tries to change the topic, "Well, nevermind that. Why are you here if you aren't stalking me?"

"I told you. I'm trying to find Calvin. Troy sent me to get something from him. He's been hanging out with Megan lately, so we thought he'd be here."

"Oh. Cal. Yeah. No, he's not here. He's out somewhere with Meg. They probably won't be back until later."

"Oh, well, it that case, I'll head back home." He turns to go, "See ya, Andrea."

He makes it two steps before her stuttering voice stops him, "H-h-hey w-w-wait a minute."

"What," he asks turning, "Do you want to insult me more?"

"No. Look. I'm. I-I-I would like your help." She fingers a brown leather strap in her hands. He just raises an eyebrow in suspicion. She continues, "Would you put this on me? I can't seem to get it to latch."

"This? After pretty much calling me a pervert?" She nods. "And this isn't a trap?" She shakes her head. He takes a deep breath and sighs, "Fine, but you'd better not betray me." She hands him the collar. After peeking at it before putting it on her, "Hey, this bowtie design looks like the same kind of collar that one of the cats around the house wears. It kinda looks like a Valerie design ..."

It snaps closed on her neck, fitting just right. "Thanks. It's the perfect accessory for my outfit." She skips off leaving him alone. He turns toward the street and starts heading home.

Andrea calls back over her shoulder, "Stop following me, jerk." but the daggers aren't in the words any longer.

-=-=-=-=-=-

--A couple of days previous--

"Please do this for me," the woman in front of them is practically begging, "It'll be the best Christmas present I've ever gotten."

The young man looks to the young woman by his side. She is just as confused as he is and looks as disturbed as he feels. "Valerie," he says addressing the enchantress in front of them, "why can't you get pregnant and have babies yourself?"

"I can't." She stops herself and starts again, "Well, I can, but if I did, they would live almost as long as I will and that will start raising questions I can't answer." Valerie turns to the other female in the room, "Megan, if you saw me hanging out with younger versions of myself, would you have hung out with me?"

Megan thinks about. Valerie with other people? No. What drew me to her was how alone and friendly she was. "No, I guess not."

Valerie continues, "But you and Cal are perfect for each other and the nicest people I've met so far and the only ones that can give me my heart's desire. Will you?"

"I don't want to get pregnant and have a child. I'm still in college. I'm not ready for that responsibility." Cal nods with what his girlfriend says.

Partially relieved that they didn't flat out say no, she continues her argument, "That's okay. Once you give birth I'll be the mom and take care of them like they are my own. You guys can be god parents or aunts and uncles or whatever. They'll never know I'm not their biological mom."

"What about the baby weight and how my body will change after I give birth? What about your body not giving birth? How will you feed them milk?"

"First of all, you'll be using magic bodies, so you'll go back to your own bodies afterwards none the worse for wear. As for me, I'll use magic to prepare myself to nurse."

Cal jumps in here, "Soooooo, if she is using a magic body ..."

"Yes, you'll experience it, but your bodies will still be virgins at the end."

"But nine months! I don't want to give up a year of my life ..."

Valerie smiles. She assures herself that they won't say no. She plays her trump card, "Twenty five days. A month at most."

They both gasp, "What? How?"

Out of nowhere, Valerie gets nervous again, "You will not be giving birth to humans. Well, not entirely."

Calvin interjects, "Not entirely?"

Valerie tucks her bangs behind her ears, "Well, as a magic user, I would like magical children." More nervous now, she forges on, "I mean they'll mostly be human and we'll be able to hide their abnormalities when guests arrive, but no one will know the difference." She drops onto her knees again, "Please do this for me?"

They look at each other and then Cal looks to Valerie. "Spill it. Tell us everything."

Nervous, she continues, "Okay. Here goes. Rabbits have the shortest birth cycle, so I figured that if you gave birth as a rabbit girl, it would be fast for you and give me what I want."

Megan tilts her head, "Like a Playboy Bunny?"

"Sorta. But it would be real and not clothes."

"And how? Please don't say 'magic.'" Calvin says, "because we all know that part."

"Well, I'm going to make you into a bunnygirl mommy who is fertilized. So then all we have to do is wait for you to give birth. You can live here during that time. I'll take good care of you and wait on you hand and foot," she adds trying to sweeten the deal.

"For thirty days."

"Yeah."

"Well, I can't do it now," Megan says, "We have some time left this quarter. I need these grades. What about Christmas Break coming up?"

"That's only three weeks. Not enough time," Calvin adds.

Valerie pipes up, "We can start a little early. You probably won't show for the first week or two, except for the ears and tail that you can hide." Her eyes ask them, hopeful.

Cal looks to Megan, "Tomorrow's Thankgiving. If you want to give birth on Christmas, theeeennn," He does some mental math, "You'll need to do this the day after tomorrow?"

"My parents will still be in town," Megan complains.

"You don't have to give birth on Christmas," Valerie corrects, trying to make sure they agree, "As long as it's over the Christmas vacation, it will be fine. I'll take next quarter off to raise them."

Megan turns to Valerie, "Okay. I'll do it. By the weekend my family should be gone. And if it's 30 days then, it'll be just after Christmas. Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"Well, actually, you are almost ready. I just need Calvin for a bit." She grabs his hand and drags him down the hall calling behind herself, "Wait here for a while, okay?"

Megan waits and waits and then checks the time again. After an hour or more, Valerie comes back, "I'm all done with him and he's taking a nap. Do you want to see him before I change him back?"

"Sure." They sneak back down the hall to a door. Valerie opens it with a slow, quiet motion. They both tiptoe in.

The room has a slight chill to it, but Megan doesn't notice. What she does notice is a muscular bunny man that looks like Calvin but buff with bunny ears and a cute, little overbite.

After a few minutes of admiring her boyfriend, Valerie ushers her back outside. She hands Megan two brown leather collars. "Now you are both ready. This one is for you," she lifts the one with the tiara markings on it, "and this one is for him." She shows the bowtie one. "Put them on when you are ready and then come visit me."

Megan looks down at the collars then back up to Valerie, confused, "Cal is going to do this, too? I'm pretty sure both of us were expecting just me to do it."

Valerie pleads. It almost looks like she will drop to her knees and start crying, "Please. One child around here will be nice, but I'd really like two or more. Could you please convince him to wear it?"

Crap. Cal's not usually happy when I switch the collars. Seeing Valerie's pleading face, breaks any resistance "Uhhhhh, okay?" I'll have to find a way to convince him.

Missing the reason for her concern, Valerie says, "I'll send Calvin home when he wakes."

She does take the collars and heads home. A little after she arrives, Calvin stops by.

When she tells him, it's just like she expected, "What?! I thought it was only going to be you."

She nods, "Yeah, me, too. But Val wants more than one kid. I think she wants a whole dozen of them if she could."

"But I don't want to be a girl or pregnant or give birth. I'm a guy. I shouldn't need to do those things." Then he mutters under his breath, "I don't wanna do those things."

"Okay. I get that. I wouldn't want to become a man full time, but it wasn't so bad when you switched our collars. I mean, I was me, but with an extra part and a little larger. Aside from that it was the same. What about you?"

He looks to the side and down, "Yeah, I was missing my part and smaller, but it was pretty much the same."

Megan continues her case, "Plus it's temporary, like our walks. Granted, it's for a month, but still short considering it usually takes most of a year usually. You can handle a month, right?" He looks uncertain. "She said we could hang at her house full time, so our roommates wouldn't see us. And I bet she'd let us bring our game systems and play whenever we like." He seems almost convinced. "Think of it. Thirty days of non-stop gaming and eating."

"Okay. I'll do it." His determined face is tainted by nervousness.

"Trust me. It won't be as bad as you're imagining it." She socks him in the shoulder. He pretends to be in pain before they hug.

"So, when are we going to start this," he asks.

She thinks on it, "My parents leave in two days. The day after that?"

"That should work."

"Good. Let's put them on each other, and then head over to Val's."

"It's a date." They hug again and go their separate ways. Megan heads to her room to get ready for dinner with her family. As she enters, she sets the collars on the corner of the dresser just inside the door.

A short while later, she is dressed and heads right back out. She stops by the bathroom for any last minute touch ups and leaves to meet her family at the restaurant.

The front door flings open as Andrea shuffles in, juggling full bags from a local clothes store. After closing the door with her foot, she starts down the hall to her room. "Good haul this week, me. That should be enough to get me to the end of the month.

Something catches her eye before she makes it to her destination, however. "Oh wow. Those'd go with a couple of my outfits." She picks them up and takes them into her room. "I'll try one on tomorrow with an outfit."

After organizing her outfits by color, style, and matches, she crashes and sleeps in. She gets up and doodles some outfits from her dreams into her notebook. Motivated by hunger, she heads to the kitchen. On the way, she passes Jill's open door. She standing and staring at her current design.

Eyeing her roommate's tan tank top, tight jeans, and flip flops, she stops and comments, "One of those collars would look good on her, too." Andrea takes the collars out of her pocket and compares the two. Keeping the bowtie for herself, she reaches around the human statue and clicks the tiara necklace on Jill. Then she continues on to the kitchen.

On her way back to her room, Jill stops her, having broken out of her trance, "'Drea, I'm going to get some groceries. Just so you know, Megan told me that she is going out with her boyfriend then her family." Andrea notices that Jill's hair's a mess. She's a little surprised that Jill is going out that disheveled until she plops a beret on top.

After passing her, Jill looks back, "What is it, ‘Drea?"

Andrea tries to pass it off as no big deal. With a shrug, she answers, "Nothing. I'm just surprised you are going out looking like that."

"I'm just going out for a couple of minutes. I don't need to dress up to get groceries, unlike you." Jill shrugs back and heads out the door.

Andrea finishes the journey to her room where she eats her food on her bed and doodles a little more. Her phone rings. She checks it and since he's in her contact list, she answers. "'Sup?"

"Hey gurl. You want to hang out?"

Andrea considers her options. I've designed enough. Time for a break. "Sure." He's creative. Maybe I can get a few more ideas. "I'll be there in a few."

Hanging up, she hops up and checks through her closet. She feels the brown collar in her hand, she decides to complement it. She picks her newest outfit that looks as Chippendale-like as possible. "Maybe he'll rip it off my body for me," she murmurs to herself.

Then she puts on the collar. Or at least she tries to. It doesn't latch. Andrea turns it around so the clasp faces forward, so she can see it. It still doesn't connect. "Dang it," she swears, "this bowtie would be the perfect finishing touch to my ensemble. Maybe I can get my date to put it on me before ..." She chuckles as she finishes the image in her head, imagining herself only wearing the collar.

She exits the front door to come face to face with the idiot who's following her all over campus who's not taking the hint that he's not her type. Embarrassed and realizing that he's not the deluded pervert she thought he was, Andrea fakes some fear and convinces him to put the collar on and complete her sexy look.

She decides to walk since her destination is so close. As she moves on, her panties itch. She ducks into a disgusting alley and adjusts them. Continuing, it eases but doesn't go away. In fact, her hair begins to itch. Ugggg. I knew I shouldn't have used that dirty, garbage infested path. Now I've got fleas.

The itching flares up again, more intense than before. Desperation drives her to another dark place. This time she scratches. Her hands touch foreign things. Something hairy is at the base of her spine. Also, flesh things like rubber are affixed to the top of her head. What in the world is going on?

Andrea hurries to find a reflective surface. She finds one in a deserted bathroom near a park. Gasping at her image, she throws an arm over her head. "It can't be!" Then she scrambles out, darting this way and that without looking.

-======-

With a yawn and stretch, Megan enters her room. She flops on her bed with a smile on her face. "What a great time I had today both with Cal and my family. Tomorrow, I'll..." and sleep takes her.

Ready for breakfast, she heads to the communal kitchen and meets Jill on the way back. Megan stops in her tracks. Two dark brown ears with patches of tan drape down the sides of her head and onto her shoulders like long hair. "'Morning, Meg." She continues on past and into her room.

She stutters and tries to ask Jill about it as the door closes in her face. Knowing the dangers of entering Jill's room, Megan tries to work on breakfast for a half a second until she realizes that Jill looks like a bunny. She races down the hall to discover her brown leather collars are gone.

Crap! Where are they, she asks herself as she searches her room, but she knows where they are. Well, one of them at least. Still, she hopes that she knocked them off of her dresser or placed them somewhere else.

No dice. Even checking her relatively clean room turns up nothing. She considers her options. There are none. She has only one, head down the hall to Jill's room.

"What is it, Meg?" There on Jill's throat is the collar meant for her. Still, it's not like Jill to go into other people's room. That's more of an Andrea thing. Still, Megan decides she had better do something quick due to the frown on Jill's face.

Pointing, she asks her roommate, "Where did you get that collar?"

Confusion fills Jill's face, "What collar?"

"The one on your neck."

Jill turns away from the door to her vanity mirror. Taking the risk, she follows Jill in. After spotting and touching and trying to remove it, Jill turns back to her, uncertain, "I don't know. This is the first I've seen it."

That's it. Andrea is the one behind it. She took them.

"Have you seen Andrea around," Megan asks trying to change the subject.

"I saw her before I went shopping, but not after. She's probably out clothes shopping. You know how she is."

Megan remembers looking down on Andrea ripping her favorite green shirt into pieces. She nods, "Yeah. Okay. I'll wait for her to get back." Then she heads back to her own room.

The waiting is rough. Sitting and wondering if she should tell Cal and Val and why Andrea took them. Time passes super slow. No. I don't want to tell Valerie, she decides, I'd hate to crush her dream with my carelessness.

However she only gets to wait for Andrea for a couple of hours before she heads over to her parent's hotel to see them off. When she gets back, Bunny Jill is in her room, but there is no sign of Andrea. With a mention of a party, Megan realizes that is where 'Drea probably is and she won't see her tonight.

The not knowing is the worst. With her parents gone, though, she calls up Calvin. "Hey."

"Hey Beautiful." She smiles at the compliment. It eases the nervousness for a moment.

"I've got a problem," she says twirling a lock of hair, "I think one of my roommates took our collars."

She hears the relief in his voice, "Oh. I thought you said you had a problem."

Megan huffs a little, "I do have a problem. WE have a problem. What are we going to tell Valerie?"

"Are you sure your roommate took them," the concern returns to his voice, "I can come over and help you look," he offers.

"Thanks but no thanks. I've already checked my room a couple of times. They aren't there. Actually, I know where one is." She starts to hear him speak and finishes the thought, "My roommate is wearing mine. I'm not even sure she realizes she's part rabbit."

"Oh. This is bad."

"Yeah. I didn't put it on her, so I know my other roommate is behind it. I just have to wait for her to come home."

"What are we going to tell Valerie?"

"At the moment," Megan decides she doesn't want to let her know. Maybe Andrea didn't use the other one. Maybe this can be salvaged when she gets back. She reasons with herself, Well, she did want two people to give birth. And while she wanted, Cal and I to do it. It could be Jill and I. Having convinced herself, she finishes, "we don't need to tell her anything. You may have just gotten out of mommy duty."

"That's good. I wasn't looking forward to that but I would do it for you and Val." He pauses a moment before continuing, "Do you want me to come over and wait with you?"

The thought of being near Calvin makes her smile, but she kinda wants to be alone to confront Andrea. She doesn't answer.

"We could play games together," he says tempting her.

"But you'd have to bring the pieces of your computer," she tries to protest.

"Nah. I'll just bring a console and a game or two. We'll be fine."

"Okay," she consents.

Calvin does come, they do play games late into night, and sometime after the sun rises, they fall asleep.

-===-

Under the cover of dark, Andrea cries out a little moan. How could this day get any worse? She stirs a little rustling the bushes she's hiding in. Crap! Someone might hear me. She freezes and listens to any approaching sounds. There are none.

I'm a freak of nature. I would be rejected by humanity if I dared show my face again. Andrea clutches her head pushing her upraised ears down into her hair. She moans again in despair.

A light clicks on, shining bits of illumination on her in her hiding spot. Startled, she shifts her position rustling the foliage around her. The beam grows brighter as a nearby window slides open. Oh no. I might get discovered. Please don't see me. Please don't see me, she pleads in her mind.

"Clem," calls a female voice with a touch of gravel from being woken up in the night, "Sumpin's rustlin' in the bushes. Go check it out."

Oh no. I'm in trouble. Please don't come out. Please, she begs the mental gods.

After several hobbling steps, the front door squeaks open. Then the screen door slams shut followed by the same hobbling steps down the creaking front steps. Mumbling gets louder as Andrea gets more nervous about being found out.

Her terror wins out as the boots clomp near where she is hiding. "Eep," she squeaks as she bounds away into the night.

-===-

The quiet pattering of feet rouses Megan from her slumber. She lifts her head off of the soft place and scans where she is through bleary eyes. She's on the couch, leaning against Cal also asleep on the couch. The TV is on and paused mid battle. Cords trail from there to the controller on his lap and another on the floor.

" 'moooooorning Taaaaara," he yawns her direction mangling his pet name for her. Calvin drops an arm over her far shoulder, giving her a side hug. They cuddle on the couch for awhile before he asks, "So, are you going to tell Valerie today?"

Megan struggles to get out of his light embrace and pull free of the magnetic pull of his warm, soft body. "Lemme see if she's here."

A quick look at the end of the hall at her room tells Megan that Andrea is still out partying. Maybe she spent the night. She does that for the ones she likes. Uggg, I'm going to have to listen to her go on and on about this one. At least it's better than hearing about her shopping trips.

She heads back down the hall toward the living room. On the way, she is arrested by the sight in Jill's room. Her roommate is in there wearing a skirt. That, in itself, is no big deal. She looks rather pretty, Megan thinks to herself. The back of the skirt is being lifted up by the rabbit tail that is poking a hole in her panties. Pivoting on her paws, she causes her skirt to billow as she checks herself in the mirror.

Megan doesn't want any part of this. She continues her journey arriving at her boyfriend. "Is she in her room?"

"No," she says as she shakes her head.

Calvin turns in his spot on the sofa as she sits next to him, "So, what now?"

"We wait."

"Wait? If we are waiting, we should at least tell Valerie what's happening." Concern is written on his face.

Megan uses her hands to make a calming gesture at him, "Relax. Sometimes Andrea is out this long. If she's not back by tonight, then I'll start to get nervous. But there's nothing to be worried about for now. You want me to ask Jill?"

"This is not cool. We should be communicating with Valerie. We know for sure that Jill is going to be giving birth, that leaves only one collar, at most, for you to wear." He takes a deep breath and his tone softens, "I trust you, and so I will wait. But we should tell her something is up as soon as possible."

"Trust me," she says as she flops down next to him and picks up a controller, "We'll tell her as soon as Andrea gets home." There. That should be vague enough to get him off my back for now.

They game and munch and take a walk and game some more. Dusk passes and dark descends upon them. Aside from the shuffling of three of them to the various amenities, there is no movement in the house.

Andrea should be home by now, but I'm having too much fun playing with Cal. I wonder where she is.

-===-

I'm so cold. This place has the best food and a little warmth. Andrea slices through the thick carrot in her hand with her buck teeth. She's so hungry that doesn't mind a little fresh dirt on her meal. She crunches the tasty morsel and murmurs a satisfied sigh. She even does a happy dance in the bushes she’s hiding in. Her surroundings rustle.

She stops, nervous that the sound will give her away. Peeking through the leaves, she sees that all is still dark. "Whew, I'm still good," she whispers to herself. She crunches another bite out of the juicy, delicious carrot with her buck teeth. Realizing she is making noise, she closes her mouth to chew quieter. She doesn’t want to lose her spot. It has all she needs, warmth, cover from prying eyes, and food.

“Girlllllll, you are a rockkkk starrrr,” her phone sings to her. Her eyes go wide in surprise. She slaps her body searching for the phone. She whips it out and silences it with a swipe. Putting it back the screen goes black but not before she reads the text, “Hey Gurl. Are you coming or not?”

She sighs then gasps as the light in the window lights up again. “Clem! That dang rabbit is outside again.” Andrea hears the creaking of the springs on the bed. "And I think it's gotta phone, too. Even the varmits have them things nowadays."

Her cover blown, she hops into the yard, grabs a few more carrots, and then bounds into the darkness and cold.

-===-

Tingling turns to prickling then to pain as Megan realizes that her left arm and right hand have fallen asleep. However, the rising and falling of her pillow draws her back under. Before she can return, she hears the merry little jingle from the television. She cracks an eye to see the character selection screen. Distant, foggy memories of battles waged and won. The last she remembers didn’t end. Not that it matters.

She does know that she has a few more to win to catch up to Cal. Her numb limbs insist on getting attention with the pain growing. Megan slides her arms free an inch at a time. Her pillow moves. “What time is it,” Calvin slurs under her.

She looks out a nearby window to see light out there while shaking her arms to get circulation back. “Breakfast?”

“Sounds good. Then you can pay up.” They fumble around and untangle themselves and make it to the dining room table. After a bite to eat and they are a little more awake, Calvin asks, “Did she make it? I didn’t see her while we were playing.”

“I’ll go check.” Please be home. Please be home. I’d rather face you and your pompous attitude than explain your disaster to Valerie. A quick peek shows her that Andrea’s room is the same as it has been for the last two days. Coming back down the hall, she spots a sleepy Bunny Jill rubbing her eyes. “Any word on Andrea?”

“No. She’s usually back by now.” The bunny girl stifles a yawn that shows her prominent buck teeth.

“Thanks.” Megan leaves her roommate alone and slows her steps back to the dining room, trying to figure out what to tell her boyfriend.

“Not there,” he asks once she makes it back to him. She nods. “Well, we can talk about it after our walk. Ready to be collared?” She nods again and turns her back to him and lifts her hair. The leather tightens around her neck it snaps and then it loosens.

Her body tickles as hairs spring out of her pores. Her fur runs down her arms and legs. Her body, used to the change, shrinks faster and consumes all of her clothes. Gravity takes her down onto all four paws. A few seconds later, she is a black cat with a ring of white spots on the crown of her head. As per the leash laws, he hooks one to her collar and they head out.

Megan enjoys the walks. She let Cal win a few times because she knows that it’s not his favorite. He’ll do it and do it without complaining, but if the choice is him or her, he’d prefer her do it. Still, she doesn’t let him win very often as the both need the exercise from the walk. Because when he is walking her, he is still walking.

After a while, she notices the direction they are headed. They are only a couple of blocks from Valerie’s house. He wouldn’t. Calvin would. When they are about a block away, she starts tugging on the leash in a different direction. Please don’t make me go there.

“Oh no. Next stop, Valerie’s house. It’s time to face the music.” Megan stops while Calvin continues on. When the leash tightens again, he turns to face her. “You need to stop running from this. Val won’t be happy, but she’ll be glad to know. And if she knows, she can do something about it. Maybe she has a spell that will bring the collar back to her.”

Megan resigns and allows herself to be directed to her friend’s house. Valerie is delighted to see them, “Are you guys ready to begin?” Megan cowers behind Calvin’s leg. The sorceress looks over the pair and how one is already a cat and adds, “Or perhaps you’ve already started?”

Calvin laughs a mirthless chuckle, “Something like that.”

Valerie looks over the pair and senses something awry. Looking over them again with suspicion, she asks, “What’s going on?”

Looking down to the side where Megan should be, he sees that she is behind him. He steps to the side and gestures to her, “I’ll let Megan tell you.”

As Valerie crouches down toward her, Megan skitters behind Cal again. “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” She giggles at her own joke and then touches the cat on the forehead. “Seriously, what’s going on? You make it seem horrible.”

Megan bows her head in shame, “I’m sorry, Val. I’ve totally screwed up your dream.”

“Now, now. It can’t be that bad,” she says petting the cat.

A low rumble pours from the pet as she tells all about the events since they last saw each other including her suspicions about Andrea. She ends with, “…and now, Jill, our roommate is in full rabbit mode with my collar. And I’m not even sure she knows she’s a bunny-girl yet.”

Valerie stands back up as she thinks, “And you say that this other roommate, Andrea, who you think has the other collar, hasn’t been back for two days.”

“Usually, she’s back by now,” adds Megan, looking up, concerned for her roommate.

Calvin, trying to be helpful, asks, “Is there anything you can do? Maybe magic it back?”

A nervous chuckle escapes from Valerie’s lips. “Eh heh heh. It’s not quite that simple. I figured you two would be here, so I didn’t put a traceable spell on it. Not only that, but I’m a little out of practice on that school of spells.” She stops there, but then forges on to defend herself, “It’s not like I’m a spy or something where I need to follow people from afar. Or. Or.”

“It’s okay, Valerie. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Right. Sorry. I’m beginning to feel the stress. Okay, okay. First things first. We need to figure out what to do with Jill. She will give birth to baby rabbits in a month. Why don’t you go get her and bring her here? Since this is my idea, I’ll explain everything to her.” She gulps. “And we’ll go from there.”

The back door creaks open, even though no one is there. A voice familiar to Calvin speaks from the outside, “Thanks Diane. It was good talking with you again. It’s been too long. Let’s do this again soon.” A young man about Calvin’s age walks in. The door closes behind him, although he doesn’t touch it.

Calvin cocks his head to the side, “Jack? What are you doing here?”

Before he can answer, Valerie rushes over and wraps him in a giant bear hug, “Jack! It’s been forever.”

Since they are being ignored, Megan whispers to Cal, “Is this Jack your roommate?”

He whispers back, “I didn’t know that he knew Val.”

Jack breaks free when she loosens her grip and asks him, “What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“Man, you look just like the last time I saw you.” Then he answers the question, “Well, I’ve been deep in my studies for far too long. And it’s Thanksgiving and I thought it of you and how thankful I am for you.”

“And Diane,” Valerie prompts.

Jack averts his eyes and adds, “And Diane. And I decided to stop by again before I’m engrossed in my studies again.”

“Well, as you know, you are always welcome here.”

“yeah, i know,” he mumbles out.

Sensing the conversation ending, Calvin pops in with a question of his own, “How do you two know each other?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” the doctor says brightening, “She was my 4th grade teacher.” Calvin tries to calculate how old Valerie is, but Jack continues before he can, “In fact, she was the one that got me interested in being a doctor in the first place.”

“You mean,” Valerie corrects, “that Diane got you interested in herbs and medicines.” Jack looks away and blushes furiously.

Megan is perplexed. All these things coming to light that she doesn’t know about Valerie. Who is this woman?

Valerie breaks the ensuing silence as they all ponder this turn of events, “Jack, would you do me a huge favor?”

His face blossoms into a huge smile, “Of course. Anything for you. If I can pay you back even a little bit for all that you’ve done for me.”

“Great!” Valerie’s excitement almost becomes tangible. Then she goes thoughtful, pointing this way and that. She mumbles, “Jill” then “need Megan”, “But need Megan”, “Send boys.”, “no good.” Finally, she looks back up, “Okay. I’ve got it.”

“We have two missions. We need to send a search party after Andrea, wherever she is and whatever state she’s in AND we need to get Jill here to explain to her what is going on and what she wants to do about it.” She pauses here making sure everyone is listening. “We’re going to have to do this in waves. Megan, why don’t you bring Jill here while I do something with the boys. While you are there, grab something of Andrea’s that she’s worn recently.”

“But she hasn’t worn anything for three days,” counters Megan.

Calvin continues the thought, “And when she does, it usually gets ripped off her body.”

Valerie thinks this over for a second, “Do your best. When you get back, I’ll discuss our next step.”

Two steps and Megan turns back around, “Collar please?”

“Oh, sorry,” Calvin apologizes removing it.

Clumps of fur begin falling off as Megan grows taller and starts returning to her human form. Jack’s eyes go wide in surprise. Once again in her pajamas she was playing games in with Cal, Megan heads out the front door.

It’s not long after that she heads down the hall at her house and checks in on Jill.

Megan finds her door open and Jill standing there holding something up and staring into the mirror. Not this again. I need you, Jill. With no other options, she slides down the hall wall and sits there waiting and watching.

After what feels like an eternity, she stands, writes a note on a sheet of paper, and tapes it to the mirror in front of her roommate’s face. Then she goes to the living room to play a game on Cal’s system.

She’s in the middle of her fifth match when Jill asks her, “You wanted to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah. Are you doing anything? ‘Cuz a friend of mine would like to meet you,” Megan explains.

“Is it important? Does it have to be now? I’m in the middle of an important project right now.”

No good. No good, Megan thinks, What am I going to do? What would Val do?

”Just do your best,” she hears Valerie remind her.

Megan takes a deep breath, smiles, and tries, “It’s my friend, Valerie. She’s heard about you and wants to meet you.” Jill looks unconvinced but a little curious. “It’s just a quick little meeting, and it looks like you just finished a piece. Why not take a quick break and come meet her?” Then she throws in, “It’s not going to be a two day party, like Andrea goes to, so you’ll be able to get right back to it.”

This takes the seamstress over the top, “Okay, fine. I’ll take a break.”

“Great it’s just a short walk from here,” Megan says leading the way to the front door. Upon reaching there, Megan turns back, remembering the other reason she is here. “Hold on a sec. I gotta get something.”

She heads back into Andrea’s room, not wanting to be there. Her eyes roam the unmade bed. This is in direct conflict with her closet with is neat, clean, and organized. Megan imagines that Andrea was in a hurry to go somewhere as there is a towel haphazardly dropped on the floor. Megan goes for the nearest piece of cloth which seems to be her roommate’s pajamas. She scoops up the matching pattern, loose fitting t-shirt-like top and long leg bottoms. She crumples them up and heads to Valerie.

Upon reaching her destination, Megan slows her steps. She looks around trying to spot this ‘Diane’ that Jack mentioned earlier. There is no one there hiding in or around the various flowers and trees. Maybe he meant the landscaper? Who’s gone now? The yard looks great.

Valerie meets them a little after they enter, returning down the main hall of the house. Megan remembers being ushered down that hall on Halloween to meet her boyfriend. “You must be Jill.” She throws her arms around the newcomer and hugs her. She tightens up.

Then she takes a step back. “Where are my manners? I’m Valerie, and I’m the reason you are like that.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Jill says automatically then adds with a head tilt, “I’m like what?”

“My dear,” she says escorting the rabbit girl to a mirror and Megan trailing behind, “You are part woman and part bunny.” To drive the point home, Valerie lifts one of the drooping ears up out of her hair. She turns it so that the pink, inner ear shows to them all.

“Where did this come from? Get it off my head.” Jill jerks her head away from Valerie taking her ear out of her hand, then she tugs on both of them wincing in pain with each attempt.

Trying to calm her friend, Megan speaks up, “It’s not only that. Jill, if you turn sideways.” She helps Jill spin. “and look in the mirror. You’ll see your bunny tail.” Jill blushes at the image of her tail lifting her skirt. “It’s not a costume. You have rabbit feet and buck teeth, too.”

With each body part mentioned, Jill’s face turns a little redder and her attempts to pull of the ears increases. Tears roll down her face from the pain. “What is happening to me?”

“You’re going to --” Megan shuts Valerie down with a stern face and a shake of her head.

Megan looks at her roommate with trepidation, trying to gauge how angry she is. Taking the risk, she wraps an arm over Jill’s shoulders. Quiet, she says, “You are a rabbit girl for a month.” She takes a sidelong glance at Jill. She doesn’t seem to be getting worse, so she continues, “Valerie made that collar for me. I’m supposed to be the bunny girl that you are.”

When Jill turns to look at her, she adds a little more, “This is also my fault. I was busy with family and didn’t lock the collars away. And someone, not me, put that collar on your neck. Since you don’t remember it, it means they probably did it while you were working on one of your outfits.”

“So, all I have to do is remove the collar,” Jill’s face is more calm as she asks. She curls her fingers around the leather band and feels for the latch.

Valerie wiggles and twitches. When no one answers, she speaks, “It’s not that simple. The collar has a purpose.” She looks to Megan who gives her a cautious nod. “It cannot be removed until that purpose is completed.”

Silence reigns for a moment as Jill processes this. Her fingers leave the accessory and drop to her side as she faces the two others, “So, what is the purpose?”

Megan looks to the sorceress who looks back begging Megan to tell. She shakes her head sending it back to Val. She takes a deep breath and then blurts out a nervous, “IwantedabunnygirlbabyinmyfamilyandImadethecollarsforthat.”

After another silence, Megan says, “I’m the one who signed up for this. If there was any way I could switch with you, I would. But you are stuck like this for a month. Then you’ll give birth.” She watches Jill’s calm face for any signs of a volcano eruption. Nothing yet. I think we are safe.

But just to be sure she adds, “Plus Valerie here promised us food and a place to stay for the duration. So, if you want to stay here, I’m sure you’d be welcome.”

Megan breathes a sigh of relief, thinking that all is taken care of. “And what if I get an abortion? Or maybe stick a coat hanger up there and swirl around? Will I be free of the collar then?”

Valerie gasps, and Megan is startled. Both look to the bunny girl who is looking back deadpan. “That’d probably be a bad idea, right Val,” prompts Megan

She thinks on the question then responds, “Uhhh, that’s never happened before, but since the spell on the collar is for having a baby, it wouldn’t release until you had one.”

“So, what you are saying is that my life is over for the next month? I can’t make money, I can’t go to school, and I can’t live my life.”

Megan looks to Val as she asks, “That’s not what you meant at all, riiiight?”

Valerie looks a little panicked as she waves her arms back and forth in a ‘No’ gesture. “That’s not it at all. You can stay here if you like, like Meg said earlier. And they were planning to play games here all day, every day. Right?” Megan nods. “So, we can do whatever you like here.” Gaining her confidence, she says, “And as far as school goes, you can cover all those things and go to class. And around Christmas, you’ll be able to remove the collar and get back to the life you knew.”

Silence fills the air as Jill absorbs all that was said. Finally, she speaks up, “I’ll do it on one condition. Give me a sewing room and bring all my supplies from my room here, so I can finish all the projects that are due.”

Valerie bites her lip, “Okay. I can handle that, I think. I’ll give you the room across from my lab. I’ll need to clean it out to get it ready for your stuff, but it’s do-able.” Turning to Jill, she says, “Most everything will have to wait until we solve this other problem. Speaking of which, Meg, could you come with me? The boys should be ready soon.”

The two of them leave Jill as she plops onto the couch. Sure enough, once they reach the lab, it is as Val said. Calvin and Jack are standing around talking about how they met Valerie. She shoos them out but not before Calvin and Megan share a kiss.

Once they are gone, Valerie confesses, “I need to put you to sleep and do some magic on you. Okay?”

“Sure, Val. This is for getting Andrea back, right?”

“Right,” she says as she guides her to the table.

Megan nudges her friend, “And to get more rabbit children, right?”

Valerie looks away, “Something like that.”

After lying down on the table, she is soon fast asleep. Then before she realizes it, she is waking back up. “Did you get what you needed?”

“Yup. I’ll hand you your collars in the living room once I have you all together and explain the plan.” Then she steps out to let Megan get herself ready.

A few minutes later, Megan exits to find a frustrated Valerie in an empty living room. “Jill took them to grab some of her stuff,” she explains. “Don’t they know how important it is to get to Andrea?”

She doesn’t answer Val. So, they sit, until Valerie asks, “Did you get Andrea’s clothes?”

Megan looks a little sheepish, “I got some of her clothing, but I don’t know if it will work.” She hands the ball of clothing to Valerie who sniffs it. She pulls the top away and keeps checking. She reaches into the pants to find a black lacy undergarmet. She holds it up a little and exclaims, “This will do perfectly.”

Desperate to change the topic, Megan struggles to find something to talk about. Then she hits on something. “Who’s Diane?”

Valerie looks to her confused. “Didn’t I tell you about Diane?”

“No. I heard about her for the first time tonight when Jack mentioned her. She is a she, right?”

The sorceress brightens, "Oh, Diane's great. She's a dryad who lives with me."

“A dryad?”

“She is a tree person,” Valerie struggles to put into words for her friend. “She lives in a tree, but she can come out. She can control plants, but she has to stay close to her tree.”  Exasperated, she heads out the backdoor with Megan trailing behind.

“Diane,” she calls out, “Are you back here or in the front?”

One of the larger trees in the backyard peels back its bar taking the ivy and moss with it. From the bark a face emerges, then a head. As body part after body part exits the tree it changes from a tan to a green. Before long, there is a tall, sinuous, slender woman who looks more tree than human.

For a moment, Megan feels a little envious of the dryad, but then she remembers Calvin. “I can’t believe I forgot to introduce you two. Diane, this is Megan. Megan, this is Diane.”

The tree woman smiles before saying, “It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”

“Pleased to mee--” Megan begins but then realizes what she’s about to say, but then questions it, “Have we met before?”

The wooden face bends and reshapes into a smile. Diane’s word come out soft and smooth like a gentle breeze blowing, “Yes, two cats bound onto my branches from the fence before leaping down to the grass in the morning before becoming human again.”

Megan relives the morning she met Calvin all over again. Because Diane mentioned it, she remembers using the tree to get closer to the back door. “You? Felt that? Saw that?”

“Of course. I see everything that enters my domain.” As if to prove the point, she speaks again, “Jack and Calvin and Jill are at the front door.”

Excited, Valerie takes a step toward the house before turning back. “Thanks Diane. See you later.”

“Of course.” The tree woman steps back into the tree with the bark returning to its place. Megan sprints to catch up to Valerie. They stop in the living room.

Jill enters first, carrying her sewing machine. Calvin and Jack enter next each with a stack of bolts of cloth piled high. They each bump the door on their way in. Stepping out of the way of Jack, Calvin sets his to one side of the door and massages his arms. “I can’t believe we have to go back,” he moans.

“That’s not all of it,” asks Megan.

He shakes his head as he says, “No. We haven’t even started on the closet.”

Valerie boggles, “The closet? What is she bringing here?”

“All of my bolts of cloth and spools of thread,” Jill says reentering the living room after having dropped of the sewing machine, “How am I supposed to work without all my tools?”

Valerie’s eyes dart around settling on the entrance to the hall and the pile of bolts of cloth by the front door. “Uh. Okay. There should be room.”

“Great. Let’s go, guys.” Calvin groans. Jack heads toward Jill.

Sensing things getting out of hand quick, Megan speaks up, “Ummm, I thought we were going after Andrea.”

Val takes the opportunity and jumps in, “Yes, that’s correct. That is the other mission we are planning for today.”

“Oh yeah. Let’s do that,” agrees Calvin.

Jill looks to Jack and he looks back. Neither want to help Andrea. “Jack, this is what I wanted you to help me with.”

Remembering the agreement earlier, he turns to the rabbit girl and asks, “After we get back, we can finish?”

She frowns but agrees, “sure.”

Jack joins the others as Valerie explains, “Okay. I’ve got a collar for each of you. Jack, I’m giving you this one that will turn you into a partial dog. We’ll need your nose to track her by her scent.” She turns to the other two. “Megan, Calvin. I’m turning you into cats. If it gets dark, we’ll need your eyes to follow Andrea if she runs.”

She places the leather collar with a paw print on it on Jack’s throat. As she approaches the couple, Calvin sees the collars and balks. “Uhhh? It’s not dark out,” he says looking out the window at the sun near the horizon, “We don’t need to wear these, right?”

“Well, of course not,” Val says, but her face shouts the opposite.

Megan joins in trying to back up her friend, “It’ll just change us into partial cats, right? we’ll be able to take them off?”

Something flashes across Valerie’s face, but it is gone before Megan can decipher it. “Yeah. Sure.” She wouldn’t lie to me, right? She’s never lied to me, but I’m sure that face I just saw...>/i>

With less resolve than she’s feeling, Megan announces, “Okay. Let’s start the mission and if it gets too dark, we’ll put on our collars.”

“That should be fine.” This time she has a harder time hiding her disappointment. Then she remembers something. “Megan, we need the clothes now.” A little distracted, she fumbles and drops half the bundle on the floor before offering what’s left. “Now, Jack, your nose should be heightened. Smell those. They should have Andrea’s scent.

He huffs in irritation. She bugs me enough. I should already know her scent. Still, he leans in and the familiar smell trickles off, but his nose goes down to a stronger version. He sticks his face in the pile on the floor. His mind reels as it becomes everything. He stands back up and hears snickering. Opening his eyes, he spots black cloth dangling in front of his eyes. Even removing the panties with a sheepish smile, he realizes that he can track Andrea wherever she went.

They step outside to the setting sun. Megan can’t believe they’ve been with Valerie the whole day, but then realizes that she was asleep part of that.

Jack sniffs around but the majority of the smell is behind them. He checks in the immediate area and expands his search in an ever widening circle. "I can't smell her anywhere but on her clothes."

"Oh yeah, she probably doesn't know Valerie, so she'd have no reason to come by here."

"That sounds like her," mutters Calvin.

"I saw her by your house," mentions Jack, "Let’s check there." They agree and make their way there. Jack's tail slips out between his pants and shirt. As they approach, he slows, but his tail speeds up. His nose, that has grown longer; wider; and more wrinkled, waves in the air.

They stop at the walkway up to Megan’s house. Jack points one way while smelling another, “I saw her go that way, s that’s probably where we are going. I’m just checking to see if that is the freshest smell.” It is.

After a moment, Jack darts that direction. Calvin and Megan have a hard time catching up. It’s only when he stops at intersections to check do they manage to get to slow down. They dart down an alley which lets them view the beautiful colors of sunset.

Further into the chase, they pass an electronics store with televisions in the main window. “Jack, wait,” the two stragglers call to him between heavy breaths. As they catch up, Megan begins to notice that things are changing on Jack. His clothes are slipping into his doggie hair. His butt seems bigger and his top button and collar are all that is left from the absorbed button up shirt. Not only that, but his hands and feet have changed to paws and he runs on four legs instead of two, in a strange gallop-like gait. His snout has filled out to become a full bloodhound muzzle.

“How much further,” asks Calvin doubled over trying to catch his breath.

“I don’t know,” Jack answers. Megan notices that his voice is a little higher, confirming her suspicions on what Valerie was doing with them. She wants dog hybrid children, too? I hope Jack is okay with that. “But the smell is getting stronger even if it is still weak.”

Calvin gets a moment to look around. The businesses are few. Even houses are beginning to spread apart. The pinks and blues in the sky have shifted to purples and navys. The street lights illuminate less and less and the darkness fills the gaps between houses.

The hound begins to pick up speed, but Megan calls out between labored breaths, “Jack. Stop.”

“But we are almost there. The scent is strong.” As he turns Megan notices the ill-fitting clothes he’s wearing. She did it. Valerie actually did it.

“Yeah, but we are tired. Give us a second to rest.” Megan continues her line of thought. Jack is turning into a dog girl. Valerie probably wants one of those, too. Which means ours are probably ready to give birth to cat girls. She looks up at the night sky and around to the minimal light. Crap. We should put on the collars. But if we do that... With that thought in mind, she considers her boyfriend. I don’t know how long it takes to give birth to a cat, but I’m sure it’s longer than a month.

Something rustles a nearby bush. All eyes turn toward the sound but only a few leaves of a dim plant can be seen. We need to be able to see. Jack’s nose will only help us so much. She gauges her boyfriend again. But Calvin doesn’t want this. And I don’t want to do it to him. But I need to do this, even if it messes up my school schedule. “Cal, I think it’s time for you to put a collar on me.”

She hands him the tiara one and he puts it on her. Having become a cat many times since Halloween, her cat features take over her body, with black tail whipping out back and ears flicking up top. She’s not even surprised at the fur and paws. The extra clothes are uncomfortable but necessary.

Calvin turns his back to her and offers his neck. “No, Cal. This’ll make you a pregnant cat girl. You don’t want that.” He turns his head to see. “We can do with just one. And you can hang with your favorite cat girl until this is all done.”

That settles it. With a nod, he turns back and Megan puts the collar back in her pocket. “She’s here. Cal, you take the sidewalk where it’s lit. Do what you can. Don’t let her pass if she comes your way. Megan, keep your eyes peeled.”

They nod their assent and Megan creeps forward with Jack while Calvin watches them go. Instead of heading toward the front door of the older, one story house, Jack heads toward the side yard.

Megan’s cat eyes adjust to the ever increasing darkness with each step. There, up ahead, she spots a bunny tail and a pair of rabbit ears poking out of a bush. She did wear it, after all. “Jack, stop,” she whispers to the dog-girl. One of the rabbit ears flicks in their direction.

The cat-girl takes a few silent steps forward, ready for her roommate to bolt at any moment. When she thinks she’s close enough to tackle, Megan speaks so only the two of them can hear, “Andrea? Andrea, it’s me, Megan. We are here to--”

Almost faster than she can react, that which was hiding in the bushes slams into Megan knocking her off her feet. With her cat reflexes, she turns in air, landing on the rabbit girl pinning her down. Despite this, Andrea reaches up and hugs Megan, “Oh how, I’ve missed you. I’ve been all alone and scared out here. I didn’t think I’d make it another night. Let’s go home.”