Chapter VII

    “Who ARE you and how do you know my name?!”

    The chubby, aged, Mexican Cecelia laid bonelessly on the carpet, still quivering with euphoria. She slowly raised her head, her eyes rolling to look back at Kahri’s. “I... I am C-Cecelia...” she finally stammered. “Your best f-friend. I didn’t th-think you were still here.”

    Clamoring to her feet, the shapeshifter stood her bulky body upright, proceeding to strip herself of her maid outfit. She closed her eyes and sighed as if she were deflating. Her mass collected at her torso and slimmed her down to her regular appearance while she clothed herself in the original articles she had been wearing for the occasion. “I’ve been thinking about telling you for months...” she said in a soft voice. “I can... look like other people... by changing my body to match them.”

    “I’m gonna fucking faint.”

    Cecelia’s arms were quick to intercept the weakened woman facing her. Extending behind Kahri in a flash, they interlocked and multiplied to form a rigid screen, catching her as she began to drop. “Wha-ha-whatareyoudoingtome...?!”

    “Kahri,” said Cecelia, her tone even and composed. “You were going to fall, I’m only helping you back on your feet.”

    “H-how... can... you...”

    “I’m just... I’m really malleable. I can shape myself into whatever I need to be...” replied Cecelia, her arms transformed into multiple tentacles. They adapted to the weak points on Kahri’s body, using pressure to support her limp pose.

“I... I need to sit down...”

 

Δ

 

    The two hobbled to the couch, Cecelia disinfecting herself by absorbing any liquid, metal or not, through the pores on her skin. Her friend was obviously still in shock; her arms were wrapped around her knees, her lips were quivering... she wanted to hug her, but she knew it wouldn’t be the right move for Kahri’s sake.

    Her butt stretched subconsciously, pulling Cecelia to the other end of the sofa. Turning away from her companion, she started to bite her nails with greater and greater force, eventually chewing her fingers like taffy without even realizing it. A chirp from Kahri snapped Cecelia out of the vortex she’d sucked herself into.

    Her neck swiveled and the women met eyes. Cecelia couldn’t prevent her fingers from elongating and weaving together. After an eternity, she spoke: “Kahri?” She took a breath.

    “I’m very sorry I didn’t tell you about this sooner. I was wrong to hide mys—“

    A breathy cough escaped Kahri’s lungs as her head turned from the gaze. “It... it’s fine,” she only muttered, sinking Cecelia’s heart.

    “Um...”

    “Cici, it’s fine.” She stood up like a soldier and marched back to the bathroom, from which Cecelia could hear water start running. After only a few seconds, she found herself fighting every instinct spurred by her pliable essence to just crumple up into something small and insignificant, something that wouldn’t have to deal with pitfalls and screwups like this one. A shard of glass, a pebble, a scrapped Post-It...

    As her knees lifted up to her body, she could sense that her limbs were coagulating and waning in size. The prospect of living out the next few hours as something like a shred of paper was very attractive to Cecelia within that moment...

    The bathroom door rolled open. Seconds later, Kahri strode out into the living room to see her friend shrunken and sticky. A expression of alarm showed clearly on her face. “Cecelia... are you okay...?”

    She shook her slightly deformed head, feeling tears spring up, but she compressed into a small stone before she could shed them. Still shuddering uncontrollably, she tried to get a grip on her feelings and steel herself out of motion, but simply couldn’t rid her shaking.

    As a rock, Cecelia’s conscience scolded her for her impulsive immaturity, as well as for possibly spooking Kahri a second time. Quivering in anxiety, the former human packed down and into herself until she was but a pebble. Cecelia then felt a touch on her sedimentary body...

    A newly curious Kahri began gingerly examining this petite manifestation of what was a beautiful lady just a few seconds ago. At first, all she would do was tap the stone, but this advanced to picking it up. Cecelia was then rolled around Kahri’s gentle hand, followed by the starkly dissimilar rush of the sofa cushion thrusting up at her. Once settled, the pebble splayed into an abstract, radial image resembling a sun with six thick rays. The rays drew inward on the core only to rocket up toward the sky and unfurl like the trail of a comet, manifesting into the naturally lovely image of Cecelia.

    Her jaw slack, it was beyond obvious to anyone that Kahri had had her mind blown by her friend’s impossible pliability. “That... was...” she managed to sound out, fumbling her words. A faint smile presented on Cecelia’s face. Now at much more ease with the notion of purposefully exhibiting her abilities to Kahri, she began to transform a second time.

    Her arms stretched to the carpet, the firmness of wood washed over them while they slimmed out, deleting her hands in the process. Her breasts melted into her torso as it too became wooden, molding like clay into a flat, rectangular surface. With a hop, Cecelia flipped her body over what were her arms, her legs landing on the ground and duplicating what they morphed into. While she posed for comfort in her latest form by adding curvature to her legs, she never neglected detail; small but intricate old-timey designs carved their way into exhibition at her four feet and joints. Her head and neck devolving into a simple stalk, she reeled this unneeded structure into where her collar once was, vanishing her sensory organs with it and rendering Cecelia as a rather ornate end table.

    The table top slightly swirled, displaying her grin by a small mahogany carving that subtly rose up on the tabletop. “Do you like... all this?” the shapeshifter shyly inquired, her mouth articulating accordingly.

    “I... love it...” crawled Kahri’s reply. Her body shuddered in anticipation, bewilderment, and even arousal. Cecelia relished the fact that she’d elicited these emotions from her.

    “Maybe then... you’d like to see a little more?”

  This end table form conveys emotions that are so contrasting to those she just felt when Kahri first discovered her abilities; placid, careless, unassuming. Cecelia is certainly driving along a winding highway.