After transforming about a dozen guests of the Blue Vixen, the line dwindled.  The last was a shy young man who had difficulty meeting Gwen’s gaze.  She smiled at him kindly.  “What would you like?”

“T..to talk to girls.”

“Look at me.  I’m a girl, and you’re talking to me.”

He lifted his head slightly.  “I guess.  Not the same.”

Gwen chuckled.  “Now you’re looking at my tits.  Try the eyes.  Girls do prefer that.”

The young man smiled nervously as he raised his head.  “I know, I’m just not good at...”

“Practice helps.  Is there somewhere you can go to meet people face to face and just... talk to them?” asked Gwen.

“I go out bird-watching a lot.  My grandparents were big on it, and got me into it.  But there aren’t many others my age, they’re mostly older folk.”

“You like birds, do you?”

The young man nodded.  “Yeah, there’s all kinds of birds around here.  So much to learn.”

Gwen grinned as she noticed how animated he was becoming.  “Got a favourite?”

“There’s so many... but I’m kind of fond of mallard ducks.  That pretty green sheen...”

“Want to be one for the night?  Hang out with the girls in the green room?”

The guy blinked at her in confusion.  “Seriously?”

“Yup.  Silvie’s half bird, she’d probably get a kick out of the company.  And if all you can say is ‘quack’, it won’t be hard to think of what to say.”

He chuckled, then shrugged.  “Sure, why not.  Sounds more fun than just hiding in a wark.  Wark wark?”

Gwen giggled as the guy dwindled.  “Cat got your tongue?  Well, duck in this case.  C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

She tucked the Dia sculpture under one arm, and scooped up the duck under her other, then headed off to the green room.  Once there, she sat the duck on a countertop, beside Silvie’s parrot-self.  The two birds chirped and warked back and forth, almost as if they were conversing.

“Did you do something?” asked Gwen.

Dia chimed merrily.  “Made it so they understand each other.  Backchannel crystals, tied to their speech centers.”

They watched the two birds chatter back and forth for a time, then were interrupted by Kelly.  “Is Duncan around?”

Gwen held up the crystalline sculpture.  “Duncan, Donna and Dia at your service.  What would you like to be?”

Kelly gestured to her red chitinous body, still looking monstrous from her performance earlier.  “Can I keep this body as part of my collection?  My brothers would love a toy like this, it looks like one of the bad guys on their favourite show.”

“Already set up,” chimed Dia.  “I can set you up with a sizing enchantment on it, so you can pick the right size when you get home.”

“Oooh, cool!  Pity I can’t use it on my brothers.  They’d be so much easier to handle mouse-sized.”

A tinkling giggle answered her.  “I could send you home with a shrink ray, but your father might not approve.”

“Please?  Pretty please?  I promise not to abuse it too much.”

“Define ‘too much’.”

Kelly looked away.  “Um, not on my brothers?  I... could turn my real body into a toy, too.”

“But your real body is the pendant... oh, your organic body.  Right.”

“Yeah.  Still feels like that’s my real body, and the toys are just... something I look out of.”

Dia buzzed softly as she thought.  “You’d like the toys to feel more real?  How would that work?”

Kelly’s insectile body sat down, and her human one strode over to pick up the conversation.  “I don’t know.  Is it just familiarity that makes this body feel more real?  Or something about...”  She looked down at the insect body.  “Is it just about having soft skin?”

“Easy enough to test,” chimed Dia, as Kelly’s skin started to harden, acquiring a glossy sheen.

“Hey!  What are you... ooh, this is nice.”  Kelly rubbed her hands over her forearms.  “Shiny.”

By the time the change had run its course, Kelly looked more like a mannequin than a real person.  She was soft enough around the joints to still move with a little effort, but the rest of her skin was hard as plastic, and gleamed under the lights.  Kelly posed in front of the mirror, lips curling into a grin.  “Oh, this is so perfect.  I never thought I could look beautiful.”

“Seriously?” asked Gwen.  “You needed to turn into a mannequin to acquire some self esteem?”

“Well...”  Kelly looked down at herself.  “I may have internalized something while working with the store mannequins.”

“You think?”

“Can I keep it?”

Gwen studied the girl.  “You’d have to dial it back a few steps to be able to go outside.”

“Her father would not take it kindly if I sent a mannequin home in her place,” grumbled Duncan.

Kelly sighed mournfully.  “I guess.”

Gwen’s head took on a thinking tilt.  “So this body feels like home, despite not being squishy?”

Kelly nodded.  “Yeah.  Everything feels like it’s in the right place, still.  Oh... is that the problem?  The bug thing felt closer than the dinosaur, and definitely more so than the truck.  Is it because the body plan is so different?”

“That would do it,” chimed Dia.  “I only meant for you to animate the toys, not become them.”

“Please?” begged Kelly.  “I’d love it if the toys felt like my real body when I was inside them.”

Dia and Gwen chirped at each other for a little while, discussing the design at a rate far too high for mere humans to follow.  “Okay,” chimed Dia after a bit.  “You’re all set.  Try the insectoid, or the rubber ball.”

“What rubber ball?” asked Kelly.

Gwen held one up, and when Kelly’s eyes went glassy she squished it a few times.  “Oopsie.  Looks like someone’s stuck bit got flipped.”

Kelly wobbled then blinked.  “Hey, what was that?  I couldn’t go back.”

Gwen pointed to her pendant.  “There’s a gem there that’ll turn red at random.  Tap it to unlock.”

“How can I do that if I’m a ball?” asked Kelly.

“You won’t be stuck forever.  Just until your body gets hungry or thirsty enough to feel it.  Or if someone pinches you, anything that causes discomfort.”

“Cool.”  Kelly held her hand out for the ball, then blinked when Gwen handed over a silvery looking gun as well.  “What’s this?”

“Shrink ray.  Only works on inanimate things.  So you can pick the size of your new toy body.  Changes only last a few hours.  There’s a lock button, but it only has enough charge to make a couple of permanent changes.”

“More than that if it’s something small,” amended Dia.  “Toy size, maybe six?”

Kelly squealed happily, and used the ray to shrink her insect-body down to a convenient size for taking it home.  “You guys are the best.  Thanks so much!”

“Ah, one thing first,” said Duncan.  “Back to normal, I’m not sending you home looking like a mannequin.”

Kelly pouted, but agreed that her father would be happier that way.  She hugged Gwen, and gave the Dia-statue a quick cuddle too.  “Later!”

A minute after Kelly had left through the back door, Dia chimed for Gwen’s attention.  “Could you go fetch Kelly?  I think she’s stuck.”

Gwen patted down her ears and fur, and got rid of her rainbow stripes.  Once she was looking human enough to get past magic censorship she opened the door.  Standing outside it was a very realistic looking mannequin with a familiar face.  Gwen sighed, and carried Kelly inside.

Once the door closed, Kelly came to life.  She glanced down at herself and her eyes went wide.  “That was real?”

“Looking at the moon and then editing your body?  Yes, very real.  And now we have to figure out how to get you home without freezing up.”

“Why did I freeze, anyway?  I felt this flash of panic, then I couldn’t move.”

“Look in the mirror.  What do you see?”

Kelly tottered to the mirror on stiff joints.  “A mannequin...  Wow, I even have a neck joint.”  She made faces at the mirror.  “Though other than the gloss and the seams, I look... mostly human?”

“And to keep from revealing magic, what do you need to do?” asked Duncan.

“Cover up or... stand very still.  Cool!”

“Cool?”

Kelly nodded eagerly.  “I could get stuck.”

Gwen rolled her eyes.  “Kids these days.  A little powder, a scarf, and some gloves, and you should be good to go.  Just be careful with the scarf, OK?  I don’t want to find you stuck in an alley somewhere.”

“Yeah, I’d much rather be in a shop window,” giggled Kelly.

“This is serious.”

“Seriously cool!” crowed Kelly.  “My job’s going to be way more fun.  I suppose dad’s reaction will be serious, though.  I thought you said you wouldn’t send me home like this.”

Duncan sighed. “I’m not the one sending you home like this.  The Moon is.  I won’t change you back, that’s on you now.”

“Is this going to happen every time I look at the moon?” fretted Kelly.

Gwen shook her head.  “No, just the once per full Moon.  And unlike the usual changes here, you won’t change back.  This is you for the next month.”

“But the pendant still works, right?”

“Yes, it’s all still set up,” chimed Dia.

“Whew.  I’d miss not being able to change.”

Gwen chuckled warmly.  “Magic for a month and you’re already so used to it?”

Kelly nodded eagerly.  “My life is so much cooler now.  Thank you both.”

After a few minutes of makeup tests, Kelly agreed that her face looked human enough to pass.  Dia created a wide black choker and some shoulder-length silk gloves for her.  Kelly gave the statuette another cuddle, then headed off once more.  This time, she didn’t need rescuing.

Dia and Gwen returned to enabling fantasies.  After their stunt on stage, there were many more people wanting to spend a little time as something wonderful and strange, and enough clothing requests that Gwen did a turn at dancing wearing a half dozen people.  Bra, panties, stockings, shoes, and even a feather boa.  Afterward, the boa asked if it could stay on a little longer, and since it promised it wouldn’t be missed for a week, Gwen kept it.

Before long it was time for Crazy Eights.  Dia could tell Gwen had a plan in mind by the way she smirked as she gathered up the girls.  Once the players were in place, Gwen set the statuette in the middle of the table.

“Tonight’s stakes,” announced Gwen.  “You’ve seen and most of you have enjoyed what this little statue can do.  Yours for the rest of the night, to use as you see fit.”

“Do I get a say in this?” asked Duncan.

“No,” chimed Dia.  “Besides, you know this will be fun.”

“Yeah, don’t spoil it,” added Donna.

Duncan chuckled softly.  “Outvoted, am I?”

“Not at all,” said Gwen.  “We all know you’ll enjoy it.  Still, I won’t force you.  Admit that you’ll enjoy it, or this goes back to regular Crazy Eights.”

There were mutinous murmurings from around the table at that.  Duncan laughed.  “Right then.  I guess it’s a night for revelations.  Or something of the sort.  I’ve had fun being used as a magic talisman.  Hopefully that will continue with whoever wins.”

“So be nice to D-three or you’ll answer to me,” declared Gwen.  She grew taller, and horns curled from her head imposingly.

The women around the table nodded eagerly.  Soon the cards were flying, and competition was fierce.  In the end it was Silvie who threw her last card to the table with a resounding cheer.

The bird-winged girl grabbed her trophy, hugging it to her chest.  “Oooh, we’re going to have such fun with Harold.”

“Harold?”

“That guy you turned into a duck.  He has a wicked imagination once you get him going.  I’m going to take him upstairs and turn him into all manner of unspeakable things...”

“Can we join you?” begged Carmen, pulling Tawny to her side.

Silvie hesitated.  “I wanted to...”

“As lube,” suggested Tawny.  “Or condoms.”

“Oooooh, yeah.”  The two girls swiftly dwindled before Silvie could even think of the change.  “Hey!”

“Freebie,” giggled Dia.  “Let’s get the duck out of here.”