Donna grinned at the accusation in Ray’s voice.  “Not just a hazing, no.  What did you learn?”

Ray’s incipient tirade was cut off as she contemplated the question.  “That I don’t like blue.  It’s not my colour at all.  Being a furry was fun otherwise, I do like the body, though I’d like to be bigger.  But her mind...  Cobalt isn’t me.  I’m not shy.  I’m especially not obedient.  Having her take over whenever I’m not paying attention, or even when someone just asks me to do something...  It was...”

“Humbling?” asked Donna with a soft smile.

“Yeah.  I know, I know.  I could probably use the humility.”

“Think harder, little one.  Was there anything good that came of Cobalt?”

Cobalt bobbed her head.  “Oh yes, mistress.  The other girls were much nicer to me like this.  They treated me like a little sister.  We even did some online shopping for some cute outfits, and they had me dress up for them.  That was so much fun!”

“Ah, I’d have loved to have seen that.”

“Ana has pictures.  And she packed the cutest outfit for me when I left, want to see?”

Donna giggled and nodded.  “Please model it for me.”

Cobalt darted off to the changing room, and soon was back wearing the cutest Alice-in-Wonderland dress Donna had ever seen.  The pale blue and white set off her fur beautifully.  Donna clapped appreciatively.  “Lovely.  You should keep it on, Ray.”

Ray blinked, and looked down at herself.  “Oh lord, she did it again.”  She reached up to pull off the dress.

Donna’s giggling got even louder.  “You’re so cute!  Don’t take it off.”

Ray’s hands stopped hard.  “I... what?  What did you do?”

“Goddess voice.  Apparently it’s a thing.  Tell me, Ray, what you learned by being a sweet, demure girl.  Other than humility.”

Ray’s sigh came out more like a soft whine.  “That I like being pampered.  That gentleness has its own rewards.  That for all I fought it like a wildcat, Cobalt is part of me.  But I also don’t want to be her like that.”

“How do you want to be her?”  Donna’s question was soft, and had no command in it.

Ray closed her eyes in thought.  “I want enough of Ray to be recognizable.  And the taking orders thing gone.”

“Gone, or just... manageable?”

Ray whined again, and nodded.  “Manageable would be perfect.  It felt nice to do things, when they weren’t humiliating.  There’s this... joy she feels at a job well done, even a simple one.  I used to feel that, but I burned it out working eighty hour weeks for high-tech startups.  I miss it.”  If she felt the changes rippling over her body, making her taller, recolouring her fur, she didn’t say anything.  The Alice dress lengthened, becoming a knee-length black dress but otherwise keeping its style and trim.

“Not as brash as Ana?”

Ray barked a single laugh at that.  “Oh Goddess, no.  I love her, but that’s not me either.”

“Interesting.  What does she love about you?”

Ray bit her lip cutely.  “Everything.  Even Cobalt.  She did humiliate me a couple of times in the first day, but after that she was so sweet.  She’s not as dark as you think, especially now that she’s a cat.  She opened up to Cobalt in ways she never did with Ray.  But I could tell she wanted more than a little sister, if you know what I mean.  Someone who can parry her sarcasm, and give as good as she gets.”

The changes finished, and Donna nodded.  Ray was the same species as Ana, now, a Lynx-patterened catgirl.  Not identical, but close.  She put her hands on Ray’s shoulders, and turned her toward the nearest mirror.  “Take a look.”

Ray opened her eyes and gasped.  “Oh!  Yes, she’d love this so much...  But...”

“But?”

“Do I have to be... all female?”  Ray’s eartips pinked slightly.  “I want to be able to...”

“To be both male and female?”

“You could do that?  So I can switch back and forth like you do as Duncan and Donna?”

“Close.”  Donna brushed power over Ray’s chest.  “There.  You can inflate and deflate your breasts, and you have a well-hidden sheath.  It will only show if you will it so.”

Ray hugged her tight.  “Oh, this will be such fun.”

Donna chuckled softly.  “Was that Ray or Cobalt speaking?”

A pause.  “Both.”

“Then you’re ready.  Go see the Moon.”

Ray nodded eagerly.  “So I’ll stay like this?”  At Donna’s nod, the humanoid lynx scampered for the door.

“Are you sure that was the right choice?” asked Gwen.  “You didn’t even give her a mark.”

“Ray will have one soon enough,” said Donna.  “You know how badly she wants it.  I can’t make it too easy for her, she needs to find her own path, and to know that she did it on her own.”

Donna watched the door, smiling at what she felt from the other side of it.  “As I thought.”

“What?”

Ray bounced through the door grinning.  “I think She likes me.  After the month, She could tell I wanted something different.  When asked for Her help, this happened.”  She turned to show off her new body.  It looked at least as feminine as before, but taller – she could look Donna in the eye.  She was much more muscular, too, looking more like a body-builder than a dancer.  Underneath the skin, Donna could feel the changes were even more extensive.

“She marked you, I see,” said Donna, gesturing to Ray’s forehead where a bright white opal sat nestled in the fur.

“Sparkly,” added Gwen with a knowing look to Donna.

Ray rushed to a mirror to check herself out.  “Oooh, I hadn’t thought that bit was real.  What do you mean, marked?”

Donna gestured to Gwen’s chest, where a patch of white was almost lost among the rainbow rosettes and variegated fur.  “The Moon touches her own.”

“Does that mean I can do the stuff you two do?”  Ray asked eagerly.

“No.  The spark is there, but it will need more time to kindle.  You can’t hold enough power to affect a normal person, even a small part of their body.”

Ray turned a speculative eye on Donna.  “Normal person?”

Donna giggled.  “Some of us are rather abnormal, you may have noticed.  I think you could make small changes to Gwen.  And large ones to me.  Careful!”  Donna cautioned as her height abruptly doubled.  She quickly countered what Ray had done, and returned to normal size.  “If you want to change someone’s size, don’t just think ‘bigger’ or ‘smaller’, that tends to overshoot.  In some cases very badly.”

“I noticed.  Duly noted.  But if I wanted to change you... oh!  That was quick.”

Donna looked down at her scaly body with its long naga-like tail and four arms.  It was familiar from her first night with Ray.  “Yes.  This is... less me than it was, that night.  But still very well done.  Your attention to detail is remarkable.”

“But I still can’t change myself,” said Ray disappointedly.

“Not like this.  Yet.  You will be able to in another month or two.  But in the interim, I believe your current body has some features along those lines.”

“Right!” chirped Ray, and she turned back to the mirror.  She grimaced in concentration, but nothing happened.  “How do these inflatable bits work, anyway?”

“You can’t just visualize the change like that.  For one, it wastes power, and for another it would override what you’re trying to use in the first place.  Try sucking a deep breath into your lungs, but keep your mouth closed.”

Ray squeaked softly as she tried that, then let out a sudden gust of air.  “I think it worked a little...”  She peered at herself critically in the mirror, then cupped her breasts through the sparkly black fabric of her dress.  “They feel a little smaller.”

“Give ‘em a good push, while doing that,” suggested Gwen.  “A little external help until you get the hang of it.”

Ray did so, squeaking and sighing then letting out a resounding belch as her breasts suddenly disappeared.

“That was well brought up,” laughed Gwen.

Ray chortled.  “This will take some getting used to.”  He pushed inward on his hips, and then surveyed his form in the mirror once more.  The dress was quite stretchy, and had shifted to conform with his changes.  “I like it,” he intoned in a pleasant tenor, half an octave below the contralto voice she’d been using before.  He flexed, showing off his muscles.

“Needs a little something, though,” mused Donna.  She spun a black sporran out of the air, and added it to the dress.  The combination made the dress skirt look very vaguely like a black kilt.

“Perfect,” said Ray.  He hugged Donna and Gwen.  “This has been an amazing night.  I can’t wait to get back and show Ana.”

“Do be careful about that,” cautioned Donna.  “You’re the same species as her, despite the bonus features.”

Ray stared at Donna uncomprehendingly for a moment, then his eyes lit up.  “I could get her pregnant?  Oh, you have no idea how happy that would make her.  It’s the one thing she regrets about her new body.”  He hugged her tight, and Donna made good use of her four arms in returning the hug.

“Now how do I flip modes again?” asked Ray.  “Just... exhale into them?”

“Pretty much.  Relax the muscle that was keeping the air in, and...  Wow, quick learner.”

Ray giggled and cupped her breasts.  “I don’t feel overly stretched-out... can I go bigger?”

“Try not to hurt yourself.”

Ray’s chest and hips expanded further, the dress keeping up with ease.  “Oh wow.  I could dance here like this.”

“Do you know how to pole-dance?”

Ray shook her head.  “Nah, but I want to learn.  Where’s Neysa?”

Donna followed Ray to the older dancer.  “Got a new kitten for you to teach, Neysa.  Think you can handle teaching your boss a few new moves?”

“When she looks like that, sure!  Though not in that dress, I’d hate to ruin it.  There’s outfits of all different sizes in the changing room, Ray.  I’m sure you can find something there.”

“And if it doesn’t fit, I can adjust,” added Ray with a grin.  “Be right back.”

“Speaking of changing out of clothes, I need your shoes back.”  Donna pointed to the ruby heels that Neysa was still wearing.

“Aww, so soon?  I love these.”

“And they need to be on a plane Tuesday.   And not in a FedEx box.”

“So you could change them back on Sunday night?” wheedled Neysa.  “C’mon, you know I’ll make sure he has a good time.”

Donna chuckled.  “I guess I owe you that much for taking care of Chuck and Jim...  Speaking of which, I should probably go wake up sleeping beauty.”

When Donna picked up the mannequin, Cherry noticed and came over to see what was going on.  “Donna?  Oh, hey, that’s a cool look on you.”

Donna flexed her muscles and slithered her tail.  “You’re one of a few that appreciate it.”  She gave a flirtatious wave to the other one, and Dave waved back at her.  Then he turned to the bar to pick up a fantasy request slip, which made Donna grin even wider.  “C’mon, let’s get her back to the green room before we change her back.”

Cherry tagged along, and gave Jim a hug once he was his normal self again.  “Did you have fun?”

Jim shrugged.  “It was different.  Strange to be so aware of everyone looking at you, and unable to do anything about it.  Great way to people-watch without being seen, though.  It’d be great for a stake-out if I had some way to communicate.”

The three of them discussed various options like internal radios and removable video recorders for a time, then Donna suggested she should take them home.  “This get even crazier after midnight and Crazy Eights.”

“The card game?” asked Cherry.  “Why is that crazy?”

“The stakes.  Winner gets turned into whatever she wants, and gets to pick the loser’s form.  Recently the stakes have gone even higher, and both changes are permanent.  Though in practice, that usually means they get to change back the following full Moon.”

“Usually?”

“Well, if you get turned into a corset and your new owner doesn’t come back to the Blue Vixen next month, you’d be stuck for longer...”

“Or forever,” said Cherry softly.

“Potentially.  If someone asked, I could track the person down and restore them.”

“Can I go back to being me now?  This was fun, but I’d like to be sure...”

Donna chuckled as she started the change.  “I didn’t make your change permanent.  You’d have changed back as the Moon wanes, a little after the third quarter.”

“Oh!  Not like I could afford to miss a week, but that makes me feel better.  I managed a week as a girl before, I could do it again.”  He looked down at his mostly-changed body.  “Probably easier as Cherry than as Charlie, for that matter.  I feel like I’ve missed an opportunity to really get to know...”

“Once this is all over, book some vacation time starting on the full Moon.  I can give you a full month as Cherry, if you like.  And you’re welcome at the club any full Moon night.”

Chuck nodded slowly.  “I may just take you up on that.  But for now we should probably head back home.”

Donna nodded.  “Going to try a new trick this time, a dart-sized supersonic flyer.  So you won’t vanish away, just be really small for the run.  Okay?”

Both of the agents nodded, and soon they were shrinking.  While they were doing so, Donna formed a tiny jet out of crystalline magic.  A dwindling Jim pointed out that if it looked like a model airplane it wouldn’t arouse as much suspicion, so Donna gave it a coat of silver paint and some Canadian Forces markings.

“Hah!  It looks exactly like a CF-18,” said Chuck as they started to bard.  “Nice work.  Even the cockpit feels familiar.”

“And off we go,” said Donna from the console.  “Please leave your seats in the upright position, because...”  The G-forces that kicked the little jet once it was outside the building forced her passengers deep into their seats.  Donna throttled back when she realized, but still pushed the acceleration to a couple of g’s.  A bubble of magically structured air kept the worst of the wind at bay, but the tiny craft still left a crackling sound in its wake once it passed the speed of sound.  

A few minutes later they were debarking in a hedge near their offices, and growing back to normal height.  “G’night boys,” said Donna in their ears.  “Do you want to tag along tomorrow, or just get the debriefing afterward?”

“You can probably move faster without us slowing you down.  Just tell us before you head out, so we can keep an eye on the news.”

“Sure thing.  One more thing before I go.”  Donna formed a briefcase-sized box and filled it with compact spheres of magic.  “Can you send this ahead to St. John’s?”

Jim took the box, and nodded.  “What’s in it?”

“Stored magic, more or less.  It doesn’t look like much, just a bunch of small marbles.  But I can use it for power if I run out, and need to get home.”

“Will do.  I’ll email you the address to pick it up tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks!  I’ll be in touch.”

Donna flashed off, back toward the club.  Jim was right, she was able to accelerate much faster without passengers.  Or with crystalline ones.  Donna tested out design variations on the flight back, working out how to minimize her magic use while in the air, to figure out how much fuel she’d need to reach the other side of the counter, and how she’d store it.

Thinking about passengers made her drop by Arwen’s offices on the way.  When she tapped on the door, Arwen called out softly, “Come in.”  Bunhill was sleeping on her lap, after having had a long cry.  Arwen explained that they’d had a very productive session even so, and insisted that Bunhill return as soon as possible.  “She’s in a lot of pain.”

Donna winced, and nodded.  “I haven’t always helped with that.  After what she did, I did some terrible things to her.  She’d just killed two friends, and several hundred bystanders, I wanted her to suffer.”

“And I did,” whispered Bunhill.  “But that was nothing.  Less than nothing.  And once your anger had passed, you made it right.  How can I ever make it right?”

Donna went to one knee before the two of them.  “I will help.”

Bunhill chuckled weakly.  “Tonight helped.  Not just Arwen, but the work.  Can we do more of that, please?”

Donna nodded wordlessly, and gathered the bunny-girl into her arms.  “Of course.  But not tonight.”

“Why not?”

“Because the timing of the exact full Moon is weird tonight, it happens an hour before noon tomorrow.  So here, tonight is the night of the full Moon.  East of the Rockies, tomorrow night is...  So if I fly out that way now, I won’t be able to do much.”

The way Bunhill looked at her after that statement made Donna cringe.  She could see, now, how Bunhill’s master had treated his apprentice.  “Do you seriously think the Moon will stop providing just because you move a few miles?”

“It’s more than a few.  It’s a few thousand.  Canada is huge.”

“And it’s still the same moon.  Ask her.”

“I used to sort of commune with the Moon but after what happened when I met you I...”

Bunhill rolled her eyes.  “You’re now in continuous communion with the moon.  Just ask.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I was in your head as much as you were in mine when I tried to take over, remember?  The memories are fuzzy now, your mind is far too... everything, when you’re like this.  But that much I do know.  Ask.”

Donna nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to compose her thoughts and imagine how Ray would address the Moon.  She smiled at the thought, shaking her head.  That didn’t seem her way.  Greeting the Moon like an old friend...  She could feel Her presence immediately.  And that She already knew what Donna was going to ask.  The answer wasn’t so much words as a sense of amused exasperation that Donna could think moving elsewhere on the planet would get her a second night of magic.  Donna chuckled, apologized for doubting Her, and offered a hug which was gratefully accepted.

“Well?” asked Bunhill.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, and very little time to do it in.  The Moon sets in Newfoundland in a little over three hours, and even as fast as that little jet will go, it’ll take an hour to get there.  On the plus side, as we work our way back we buy more time.”

Bunhill clapped her paws.  “Then let’s get going!”

Donna held up a hand.  “I’ve made promises here.  I’ll see those dealt with as quickly as I can, then we go.  I want Gwen along, too.”

“Promises that matter more than dealing with ghouls?” asked Bunhill, incredulously.

“I keep my promises.  So, yes.  The renovations at the club won’t take long.  I’ll save the hospital trip for after we’re done, I suspect by then I’ll need it.”

Donna made two brief phone calls.  One to tell Agent Mackie to hold on to her package, as she’d be dealing with the eastern ghouls sooner than she’d planned.  Another to Dr. O'Brien, to warn him she’d be later than planned for their rounds at the hospital.  He told her not to worry, and to do what she needed to do.

“So.  Off to the Blue Vixen to see just how fast I can renovate a dozen apartments.  Hopefully there’ll be time left for Crazy Eights!”

“What?”

Donna ignored Bunhill’s protest, and the two of them started to shrink.  “Bye Arwen.  We’ll come see you tomorrow.”

“You better.  And save some magic for my sweetie and me.”

Donna winked at her before winking out of sight.  Two points darted out of the office and raced to the club, where they reformed next to Gwen.  “Ready to make your apartment?”

“Finally!  I have so many ideas...”

“Hold that thought.  Round up everyone who’s got one of the new places, I’m going to try to do this in bulk.  We’ve got less than twenty minutes ‘til midnight and Crazy Eights, and I mean to get it done before then.”

Gwen nodded, told Donna to go find Ray, then went in search of Neysa and Rowan to help round up the girls.  

Donna found Ray in his office, watching over the club.  “Ready for the renovations?  I hear you’ve got a couple of the apartments in your name.”

Ray grinned.  Despite his transformations, that grin hadn’t changed one bit.  “Only one, really.  The other’s a spare for whoever happens to need crash space.  There are ten apartments, and only six takers so far, so I figured why not.  The last two can be left plain for now.  I’m sure they’ll get used soon enough.”

“No doubt.  Plain’s easy enough.  You’ve got the electrical checked off?”

Ray nodded.  “Kitchen appliances are in place, too.  Just need... counters, cabinets, furniture and all that.  Bathrooms.  Partition walls, too.  We ripped out everything except the structural walls.”

Donna grinned as Ray led the way to the new door to the apartments.  She rubbed her hands.  “Blank canvas to work on?  Awesome.”

The girls gathered up by Gwen met them there.  Nissa, Tawny and Silvie were hardly surprises, they preferred non-human forms and the apartments would let them have a life at the club while they were changed.  That newly-minted catgirls Erin and Sandy had already planned to share an apartment made Donna smile.  “So it wasn’t all me?”

Erin and Sandy shook their heads.  “We want to change each other into weird stuff, and still be able to work.  It’s great!”

Donna chuckled.  “You should be able to change each other with some practice.”

The last one surprised her.  “Beth?  Why are you here?”

Beth fingered her new bunny-ears.  “I want to keep these.  And my old place is tiny and ratty and Ray’s renting these to us for only a little more than I was paying there.”

“You want room for two, hm?” asked Donna with a grin.

Beth grinned back.  “I’m hoping.”

Donna clapped her hands for attention.  “OK, everyone has their keys?  If you could all head into your new place...”  There was a chorus of dismay as they all opened up on bare open spaces with little more than a stove and fridge in them.  “Don’t worry.  We’ll get the rest sorted out exactly as you like.  Stand in the middle of your apartment, close your eyes... and think about how you want it to look.  Tell me when you’re ready.”

Once everyone had called out, Donna let her power flow out to them, through them, and into the rooms.  In unison, all seven occupied apartments started changing.  Ray’s stayed open plan, and acquired a door to his adjoining apartment.  The walls turned sandy brown and acquired row upon row of empty bookshelves and a scattering display niches.  The ceiling looked like varnished wood, matching well with the warm brown tiles on the floor.  Several large comfy couches helped break up the space.  One was big enough for a centaur to lie on.  Tucked into a corner was an oversized bed drowning in pillows.  Almost an afterthought, the kitchen became a small bar.

Gwen’s apartment acquired partition walls, separating the space into an open plan kitchen / dining space, a cozy bedroom, and a living room with a giant TV.  Donna took a moment to figure out how to make the latter functional, cloning circuitry from a TV in the restaurant below.  She took a little extra time with Gwen, making sure to fill the closet with all kinds of pretty clothes.  Tucked onto a shelf was a box full of jewelry, a king’s ransom worth of diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.

Gwen noticed it, of course, and darted out to give Donna a hug.  “It’s awesome.  Thank you so much for this.”

Donna grinned.  “Least I can do.  It’ll be weird not having Auntie Gwen around the house all the time.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be over to visit lots.”

“You better.”

The rest of the girls came out then, having explored their new apartments and chattering excitedly about them.  They all got in on the hug and thanks for Donna as well.  Then one asked, “Where’s Beth?”

Donna sought her out, then giggled.  “Oops.”  She led the group into Beth and Clarence’s new bathroom, where two huge fuzzy pink towels were hanging side by side.  One was monogrammed with a B, the other with a C.  “I guess they got caught up in their own image of this place.”

Erin and Sandy giggled.  “We could use a shower.  Can you leave them like this a little longer?”