Moonstone - Chapter 16
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Donna's first topless dance went swimmingly.  When she and Kate paused by the T-shirt dousing pool, then pulled off their shirts, the crowd went wild.  They both picked up a decent amount in tips, too.

Donna was so energized by the crowd's reaction, that when Rowan suggested her next two appearances be topless dances rather than wet T-shirt ones, she was happy to agree.

It was only when Donna had made her way home, and used the Moonstone to turn herself back into Duncan, that he realized just what he'd committed to.  Still... it had been fun.

Sidney didn't take it so well when Duncan talked about it the next day.

"You're going to dance naked for money?  Really?  That's how far we've sunk?"

Duncan sighed.  "Not naked, just topless."

"So strangers can stare at your boobs."

"Well, not my boobs."

Sidney frowned.  "How do you mean?"

Duncan shrugged, and mimed cupping breasts that were much bigger than what he normally sported.  "They're not mine.  The Moonstone makes them.  I just get to show off an art project.  A pretty one, but it's not me."

"Ah.  This helps... how, exactly?"

"I don't know.  I just know that when I'm up there, I love every minute of the attention."

"You're … you're not planning to do this long-term, are you?"

Duncan studied the concern in his wife's face.  "I don't want to stay a girl, even as sexy a one as Donna has become.  But this will keep us from financial ruin until I can find a job in my field."

"Promise?"

Duncan hugged his wife.  "Promise."

Two weeks later, the waxing Moon was once again strong enough for lasting transformations.  Duncan once again changed into sexy dancer Donna.  In deference to Sidney (and the Moon's schedule), he didn't change until a few hours before it was time to go to the Blue Vixen and dance.

When she got to the doors of the club, Donna was looking forward to dancing again.  Rowan smiled a greeting, and told her when she was scheduled to dance.  Donna looked over the schedule, it seemed somewhat ambitious.  Still, more dancing was good, right?  She wished she could talk to Kate about that.

Sooner than she expected, Donna was heading up on to the stage.

"Nervous?" asked Rowan.

"A little.  It was easier when I had Kate up there with me."

Rowan smiled at Donna.  "You'll be fine.  Now go!"

Donna was not fine.  With every step toward the stage she grew more and more nervous, wondering what the heck she thought she was doing.  How was she going to face a crowd of men, then strip half naked?  It was one thing to do it as a 'prank' with Kate, but to go out and deliberately strip for money?

Donna stepped out into the light of the stage and stopped, dazed, like a deer in the headlights.  She looked out over the crowd, and remembered something.  They were just people.  Guys like she usually was.  Nothing scary.  

Donna took a moment to compose herself, and recited Pauline's advice.  "Love the attention, love your body, and they'll love you."  She marched out onto the stage, and tried her best.  It just wasn't the same.  Before, the dancing had come effortlessly.  Now, she could feel the crowd judging her, and that weighed on her.

They still seemed pretty happy to see her top come off, though.  And the tips weren't bad, just nothing like what she'd made with Kate the last time.

Rowan was there to meet her when she came off the stage.  "What's wrong?"

Donna could barely meet her eyes.  "I...  Somehow it just hit me, what I was doing.  I'll be OK."

Rowan eyed her closely.  "Are you sure?"

Donna sighed, and shrugged.  "I'll do better next time."

And she did.  A little better.  The crowd was a bit more lubricated, which helped with the tips.  Each performance was a little easier than the last, but none of them were easy.  Somehow, what had been fun had turned into work.

"Well," said Rowan at the end of the night.  "You'll do, I think.  I wish I had the girl from two weeks ago, though."

Donna chuckled ruefully.  "I wish I was the girl from two weeks ago.  I need the money."

"So you'll continue after next week, and the last prize payment?"

Donna laughed.  "You knew I would all along, didn't you?"

"I was sure of it," Rowan replied.  "Until tonight.  But you'll find that spark again, I suspect."

Donna thought of the Moonstone, and nodded.  "I'm pretty sure I know where to find it."

The next week was hectic.  Saturday was not only Donna's last dance for the prize money, it was also Hallowe'en.  Courtney was just old enough to be getting excited about the concept, and Sidney had found the cutest costume for her - a ladybug outfit.  Duncan had to figure out his schedule for the night - he couldn't miss trick or treating with his daughter, so he couldn't transform early.

Courtney had a lot of fun walking around with her Daddy.  She didn't really get the whole 'Trick or Treat' idea, and had to be prompted at each door.  Getting candy was the best part, as far as she could see.  Soon, however, she was too cold to continue, and had amassed more junk food than she'd be able to eat in a day or three anyway.

Duncan was very careful to keep the Moonstone hidden away that night.  Sidney would kill him if he turned his daughter into a ladybug.  And there were lots of other costumes out there tonight, too.  He had his own - dancer Donna's performing outfit, panties and bra.  As he put it on, he reflected that if he was going to get serious about this, he'd need to talk to Pauline about getting a few more made.

Soon enough, Duncan had become a sexy female and was driving toward the club.  He hadn't had enough time to really settle into the mindset, though, and the drive was not the time to be focusing on that.  As a result, he still thought of himself as Duncan when he walked into the dressing room.  If he'd had his usual equipment, he'd probably have embarrassed himself.  As it was, it took some time alone in a corner to stop blushing.

That's where Rowan found Donna, a little while later.  "Are you OK?"

"Just... adjusting.  Going from taking my daughter around the block trick-or-treating to this is a bit of a shift."

Rowan handed her a small bag.  "Some extras for your outfit.  Everyone has to have a costume tonight."

Donna took a moment to look around the room.  How had she missed that every girl there was wearing some kind of animal ears and tail?  Most of them had cute paw-gloves on as well.  There were a variety of cat-ears to be seen, and a few tails that were definitely vulpine.

Inside Donna's costume bag she found a set of blue paws, a blue fox-tail, and blue ears.  "So... I'm the mascot?"

Rowan grinned.  "I hope you don't mind.  First come first served, and you're the last one in tonight.  Ana made sure to be here first, it's the earliest she's showed up in ages."

As if she'd heard her name, Ana waved at the two from across the room.  Then she went back to prancing around in a very feline fashion.  Her jet-black ears and tail were complemented by both paws gloves and little paw-booties.  It was by far the best-made set Donna could see in the room.

Donna shrugged.  "It'll be fun, I think.  I just wish I had a blue outfit to go with these."

Rowan laughed.  "There's the spirit.  Have fun out there, OK?  Hallowe'en is a big night here, and they love the costumes."

Donna perched the ears on her head, and strapped the tail on.  "I'll do my best."

Rowan was right - the crowd was energetic that night.  It might have had something to do with the bowls of candy liberally scattered about the room, too.  Donna tried to play with the theme, prowling around the stage like an animal, making sure to flirt a little with her tail.  Rowan was right, that was popular.  Her tips were way better than last week.

Still... that spark still wasn't there.  Pleasing the crowd was work, something she had to put effort into.  As Donna drove home, on the night before the full Moon night, she was pretty sure she knew what had given her that spark.

The next night, the night of the full Moon, Duncan saw only thick, darkly overcast skies.  Every hour he would step out onto the deck, stare up at where the Moon should be, and sigh.  Nothing, not even a slight hint of light.  He knew he was staring at the right spot, he could almost feel the Moon, but he couldn't see a thing.  About three in the morning he gave it up as a lost cause.  Worse, the Moonstone was running low on charge, its glow reduced to a pale shadow of itself.

November was a difficult month to face, as a result.  Duncan changed to Donna Tuesday night after dinner, and stayed that way until Sunday morning.  Five shifts dancing was about as much as she could handle in a row.  The only bright spot was that Kate was dancing some of the nights, and she had fun chatting with her friend.  None of the other girls were willing to talk to her much.

The tips mid-week were pretty thin, and Donna had to get to the club early to keep her tip-out low, so that the night would be profitable.  Understandably, Sidney wasn't very happy about all this.  The money wasn't enough, even with unemployment insurance still coming in.  Neither of them was happy about cheating like that, but it wasn't likely they'd be found out.  After all, who would be able to connect Donna's tips with Duncan?

Sidney made Duncan go through every job listing he could find, and even brought up a few he'd rejected.  He dutifully applied to all the programming jobs that needed languages he'd only read about.  He even applied for a sessional instructor position at the local college.  He had the credentials, after all.

Duncan thought about that one for a while.  He'd never had much interest in teaching, though he had some experience tutoring others way back in his university days.  The main thing against it was the whole lecturing in front of a class... but after dancing half-naked in front of a crowd, was that really a stumbling block?

Unsurprisingly, there were no responses to his resumes that week, or the next.  So Donna reappeared, and danced her heart out.  The kids were getting used to Auntie Donna being around, which was a small relief to Donna, but a bit of a worry to Sidney.  

After five days of dancing and modest tips, Donna opened the Moonstone to change back to Duncan.  Nothing happened.  The stone was dark, out of charge.  If it wasn't for the fact that a full Moon was only two days away, Donna would have started to worry.  Instead, she took advantage of the problem, and put in two more shifts.

When the night of the full Moon fell and the skies were still thick with clouds, Donna began to worry.  Being stuck as a woman wasn't the problem.  That would resolve itself in a little over a week, once the Moon waned again.  The fact that she was on that clock was the problem.  She was finally starting to make half-decent money, enough that what was left of their savings were no longer plunging at an alarming rate.

When Donna reverted to Duncan, that would be over.  Christmas would devastate what was left of their savings, and … frankly, Donna didn't know what was next.  Sidney could look for work, but after four years out of the workforce she probably wouldn't be able to get anything that paid well.  Their parents would help, but Donna shuddered at that thought.  She owed them so much already, she didn't want to make it worse.

So.  Somehow, some way, Donna had to find a scrap of moonlight.  That would make everything better.  She bundled up warmly in several layers of Duncan's old sweat-shirts and pants.  She dragged a deck-chair to a somewhat sheltered spot where she could watch the moon.  The Moonstone in its box came with her.  Donna watched, and waited.  Waited and watched.

She knew exactly where the Moon was in the sky, she could feel its presence.  There, above the clouds, just out of reach.  She stared at that spot, as if her gaze could bore a hole in the clouds.
It didn't.

Hours passed.  Donna ducked inside very briefly to make a thermos of hot cocoa, then returned to her vigil.  She didn't want to miss the slightest break in the clouds.

By one in the morning, Donna was starting to really fret.  What if the Moon never broke through?  

Donna refused to let that stop her.  She stood up, and reached out for the Moon, both with her hand and with that part of her that could feel the Moon's power, could feel its place in the sky.  She reached, felt the shock of contact, and pulled.

The Moon's power rushed into and through her, filling her mind with its glow.  Donna dropped instantly into the familiar embrace of a Moon-trance.

"This is new," Donna thought.  There were two figures in the trance with her, standing at ease and facing forward.  Both were quite naked.  One was Duncan, male as usual.  The other was Donna's lithe dancer body that she'd come to know so well.  Both bore Moon-marks on their chest, glowing softly.

Donna paced around both, examining them.  The decision wasn't hard to make, she could make far more money as Donna than as Duncan.  Being able to be female through the new Moon would double her working time.  Donna glanced back at the Duncan-figure apologetically, and it was already gone.

She wasn't done.  She'd watched the girls dance, and seen what was popular.  Donna was bigger than most of them, for one.  The figure lost a few inches of height.  Her waist narrowed, her hips widened a touch.  Not much.  The skin became smoother, flawless save for the Moon-mark and a single freckle over her jugular.  Lips, just a hair poutier.  Nose, a touch smaller.  Eyes, bright glittering green.

Oh, and the hair!  She needed longer hair, that was certain.  The figure's hair spilled down its back to the waist.  Hm, perhaps that was too much, Donna mused.  The hair retreated to shoulder length, with a little more wave and body.  And a hint of copper to it.

Stepping back, Donna admired her handiwork.  This new self was sexy, alright.  But it needed a bit more.  With that thought, her already ample breasts grew two cups larger.  Another thought - that she'd need a new outfit - supplied panties and a bra that would fit this new shape.  The bra had the image of the full Moon printed on each cup, and the panties had the same on the back.

One last step.  Donna whispered into this other-self's ears, "Love the attention, love your body, and they'll love you," willing her mind-set to change.

Donna's first words when she emerged from the trance were, "Oh wow."

Shortly followed by, "It's fucking freezing out here!"  She was wearing only the panties and bra she'd envisioned in the trance, all her old warm clothes had changed into two scraps of moon-patterned fabric.  Fortunately, she'd had the foresight to leave the door unlocked, and her keys inside.

Donna made enough noise setting the Moonstone on her dresser that Sidney stirred.  She'd left a light on, as she often did when waiting up for Duncan.  Sidney blinked blearily at her 'husband' a few times.  "Oh no, not again."