By GrapeHyacinth




     “This is the worst birthday I’ve ever had!” I cried, looking at the ‘You’re Eighteen!’ card in my hand.  I simply couldn’t believe that, with all my parents’ money, they couldn’t do anything else for me.  Even a gift might have been nice.

     “You don’t like the card, huh, Cor?” asked my uninterested stepfather, who was lounging on the couch in front of the television.

     “I liked it.  That’s why I bought it,” said my mom, her eyes also glued to the TV.

     My mother had married Dave the rich jerk three years ago, right after my father had died.  My parents had never had a great relationship; my mother always seemed wary of my father.  He would go out into the deep woods that bordered on our yard, and sometimes he wouldn’t return for hours.  I guess she figured he was having an affair, although my father was too sweet and honorable ever to consider doing this to her.  When she asked where he was, sometimes he would say he was visiting a neighbor.  My mother would only scoff at his explanation.  “What, crazy Roman?  A young man living in a house all alone, a hermit at his age?  You two are made for each other.”

     My mother’s distrust had gotten worse and worse through the years, and my father’s death almost seemed a relief to her.  She found Dave, and her interest in me waned.  He had a cute lawyer son who was ‘perfect for Corrie’, and I think they wanted me to get together with this guy, which in itself disgusted me.  We weren’t related, but still, the thought was rather revolting.

     “I’ll make a cake for you later,” my mother threw at me.

     I shook my head in wonder.  Dave had really messed her up.  “I don’t want one of your crappy cakes!” I yelled, and stormed out the door.

     “Right, go run around in the woods like your father!” I heard my mother yell before the door shut behind me.

                                                           ***

     Ah, the woods.  I breathed the air, which was lightly scented with pine.  The sun filtered through the treetops, and I relaxed as I crunched through last year’s leaves.  I wasn’t sure how long I had been walking, but I saw the hermit’s house in the distance, so I knew I’d gone far.  I sat down on a log to rest.

    “You’re eighteen today, aren’t you, Corrie?”

    The voice behind me startled me, yet it was familiar.  I turned to find Roman, the hermit himself, looking just as he had when I’d seen him the few times in my youth.  “Roman?” I asked curiously.

    Smiling, he sat down beside me on the log.  “It’s been a while since we’ve spoken.  Happy Birthday.  Are you having a nice one?”

    It was strange;  I should have felt odd, talking to a person I hardly knew, but I actually I felt quite at ease.  In fact, I was almost drawn to the lanky, dark-haired man.  “Actually, no.  It’s been pretty…awful.  My mom and stepdad gave me a card.  That’s it.”

    “Oh,” he looked thoughtful.  “It’s been tough for you since your dad died, hasn’t it?”

    Why was I opening up to a stranger like this?  “Well, yes, but things were always strained at home even when he was alive.”

   “I know.  I miss him so much.  Robert was a wonderful man, a great friend...  I wish I could have helped him.”

   I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I didn’t press him.  Yet he had truly been close with my father, thus my father’s explanations were true.  I yearned to speak with this man, to hear him talk about my father, to learn what they had done all those hours when he was gone…

   Roman stood up, stretching out his hand.  “Well, if you’re not too uncomfortable to join me, I can make this the best birthday you’ll ever have.”  His eyes were sparkling, and something made me jump up and take his hand.  For some reason, I totally believed him.

   I followed him into the house, which was somewhat dilapidated on the outside and rather messy on the inside.  He noticed my expression and murmured, “Needs a woman’s touch, I guess” to no one in particular.

   “And….here you go!  Happy Birthday!” he pulled me into the kitchen where a birthday cake with a big ‘18’ sat on a table.

   He knew it was my birthday?  He had a cake for me?  This should have creeped me out.  Instead, I began to cry, and all the pent-up emotions poured out.  “Oh, oh thank you… Why do you even know or care about my birthday?”

   Carefully he approached me.  “Your father talked about you all the time.  I’ve watched you grow up…” Gingerly, he placed his hand on my back.  “I wanted to share everything with you, but he insisted we wait until you were eighteen.  And now you are, and he’s not here to see you discover it.”  He turned away momentarily.

   I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn’t care.  Someone was expressing concern for me, I was making human contact… I fell into the surprised man’s arms and sobbed deeply.  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I kept saying, and he continued to comfort me.  He possessed a maleness that was so appealing, and his arms around me felt so right…

   I couldn’t believe my reaction to him – suddenly my body ached for this man, yet logic dictated that this was ludicrous.  He buried his nose in my hair, kissing at it.  “No, not yet…” he tried to pull away, but he obviously felt the same pull I did.  “I waited for so long for you, but I…Oh, God…” He grabbed me violently towards him, and our lips met and locked.  My mind struggled with what was happening, but I needed him…

   But I was trying to wait, I was only eighteen…

   “No, no, Robert wouldn’t want this.  Not yet.”  Roman pulled back, his face flushed.

   Trying to gather my thoughts, I adjusted my wrinkled clothes and sat down.  “I’m sorry…I don’t understand any of this.  You’re older than me, although you look the same as you always did…”

   He smiled, looking down at himself.  “Don’t be sorry,” he said, sitting down across from me.  “I kept myself this way for you.”

   I raised an eyebrow, wondering if this perfect man was actually insane.  “Uh-huh.  You’re at least eighteen years older than me if you’ve lived back in the woods here my whole life.  How’d you stay so young?  Good skin care?”

   He chuckled.  “I’m much older than that.  But when your dad brought you out here when you were young, I felt…well, what you’re feeling now.  I knew you were her, and I knew I had to wait for you.  Your father knew too, and he forced me to wait…until you were of age.  Now you can join me, just like your father did.”

   “My father…did…what?” I asked timidly, not really sure I wanted to know.

   He studied me for a long time, and I watched a mix of emotions pour over his face.  “We changed,” he finally said.

   “You what?”

   “Changed.  Transformed.”

   Okay, he was crazy.  I stood up, wondering if this was all a huge mistake.

   “No, no, sit, Corrie.  I’m not crazy.  I have a very rare ability.  I can transform things.  I’ll show you...a funny one…”  And there, before I could even question him, the man began to change.  He held his arms in front of him, squatted, and quickly, his form began to twist and contort.  His legs melded together, his hands disappeared into fabric which now ran down his arms, joining them to his lap.  I watched his torso flatten somewhat and his head disappear into it…The man was forming into a comfortable-looking armchair.  With a final shudder, it grew still.

   I stared at it in horror.  “Oh…my…God.”  I almost wanted to laugh, the idea was funny, but that it had actually happened right in front of me…well… I didn’t know what to think.

   The chair started to laugh.  “I always felt I needed more furniture in here,” it announced.

   I looked for cameras, mirrors, nothing.  It was real, and I knew it.

    “Now, now, Corrie.  Don’t be scared.  Come, sit down, get comfortable on me.”

   Slowly I approached the piece of furniture, wondering if I was dreaming.  I reached out to touch the light fabric arm, then hesitated.

   “Go ahead, touch me.  It feels amazing when you’re touched as a transformed object.  I love it.”

   I ran my hand down the arm of the chair.  It was definitely real, and the chair was definitely talking.  “I don’t know how you did this, but I…”

   “This is what we did, Corrie!  Robert and I!  We changed into anything we could think of!  I finally had a friend to change with!  We flew through the woods as birds, ran through the underbrush as deer, we were trees for a day, rocks, bugs…”

   Openmouthed, I continued to rub him, and he let out a contented moan.  “Sit down on me, Corrie.  Let me envelop you…”  The idea sounded so strange, yet so alluring.  I carefully sat down on the living chair, and it groaned blissfully.  “Oh, the things we’re going to do, my love.  You have no idea what wonderful things are in store for you!  Your father would be so happy!”

   He was actually quite comfortable, and I relaxed and laid back on his cushioned surface.  “So my father was furniture and stuff too?”

   “Oh, your father was everything.  He came up with transformations I never even thought of.  He liked to be objects.”

   I gulped.  My father liked to be objects.  The whole thing was weird yet intriguing.  What did it feel like, to be metal and fabric only?  “Does it hurt?”

   Roman chuckled.  “Quite the opposite. It’s amazing.  Transforming is…well, better than sex…” he winked at me.  I wondered if he knew I was a virgin.  Probably.

   I felt his form tighten around me, almost as if the chair were embracing me.  “Are you ready to explore, my dear Corrie?”

   My mind was going a mile a minute, but I knew what was coming next, and I wanted it.  “Change me, Roman.”

                                                   ***

   Roman, now very human, was in the middle of the room, and I stood quaking beside him.  I wanted this, but I was still apprehensive.  “Now, what will we make you?  Usually it’s easier to be an animal for your first time.  You can move and think…”

   “Think like an animal?”

   “Well, if you wanted that, you could, but I like to keep my mind human and just change my form.  Much more fun that way.  Now, what do you want to be?”

   “Um…you choose.  But make sure it doesn’t hurt.”

   “My dear, if you don’t mind me getting a little personal, I will make it an… enjoyment you have never experienced before.”

   I nodded worriedly and steeled myself.

   “Become a fox!” he demanded, and a touch of his hands sent an energy through all of me that I could only describe as pure ecstasy.

   “Oh!” I yelped, and it was all I could do not to touch myself as the feelings of my changing body became overwhelming.  I was shrinking, growing furry, my hands retracting into paws, my ears rising and elongating…

   Roman pushed his hands down my swiftly changing chest.  “I can make it even nicer,” he whispered, and his hands reached between my shortening legs.  His touch made me reach heights of pleasure I did not know were possible, and, now on all fours, I laid down on my side as his ministrations guided me through the rest of my transformation.

   My transmuting body trembled as it reached orgasm, cementing me into my new form, making me scream in bliss.  Roman continued to stroke me, smiling happily.  The immense pleasure was still coursing through me, and I could only lie helplessly, panting through my new snout.

   Presently he removed his hands.  He examined my shiny coat, nodding to himself.  “You came out beautifully, my love.  Absolutely lovely.  Are you ready to try out your new form?”

   I stretched, my body still tingly and new.  Everything looked less bright, in fact, I now seemed to be color blind, but my hearing…I could hear the very leaves outside swaying in the breeze.

   I really, truly was a fox!

   I glanced down at my paws, my fur, and I swished my bushy tail back and forth.  I looked up at him now, Roman, my love, my god… “It’s so wonderful…” I stuttered.  My voice sounded slightly odd.  “I can talk?”

   “Yes, I made you a fox that can talk.  Did you enjoy your transformation?” he asked with a sly look.

   I only gaped back at him, blushing.  “Yes,” I finally said.  No other words could be said.  “Yes.  I…thank you.  I…just thank you.”

   He sat down on a chair.  “Changing does tire me out a bit, so just give me a second.  In fact,” he tapped his lap.  “Come on up here.”

   Carefully I walked up to him on my new legs, which took a bit of work.  I jumped up and settled on his lap, and he ran his hands through my fur.  I moaned; it felt wonderful and relaxing.  “Enjoy, my dear.  If you’d like, I’ll join you in a moment.  We’ll run through the woods as foxes.  Just like I did with your father.”

                                                   ***

   Roman made a handsome fox.  We ran through the woods, playing, chasing, and eating.  Hours later, we curled up together in a hollow to rest.  It was late, and I knew my parents would be angry that I wasn’t home.  “I need to leave soon, Roman,” I snuggled against his furry side.  He smelled wonderful, and, unfortunately, I was growing quite aroused.

   He looked at me, and the humanity was quite evident in his eyes.  I could see a hunger there, and, as he had explained, the longer one was an animal, the more of its instincts one gained.

   The fox instinct to mate was quite strong.

   “Oh, God,” he moaned.  “You are so beautiful…”

   My mind shrieked no, but the fox part of me was too overpowering.

   He mounted me, and I can only say that my first time was probably unlike anyone else’s.

                                                   ***

   We lay under the moon, panting, flushed, and still in fox form.  “I know you wanted to wait,” Roman began apologetically.

   I laughed.  “Well, I’m still virgin as a human.  Just not a fox.”

   “If you liked it this way, and you’re willing, I’ve got some other great suggestions.”

   “I bet,” I giggled.  “And I’m game.  I want to do this stuff forever.”

   After a brief silence, Roman uttered, “I’m going to marry you.”

   “I know,” I said.    

                                                   ***

   My parents were angry that I was so late.  Once I started college, I’d have to be more responsible, my mother informed me.  Except that I was going to a local college, so I was still stuck with them.  But that was fine, as long as I was near to Roman.  I needed him.  Like I needed oxygen.

   The very next day I was at his door, banging as hard as I could.  He opened it, an amused expression on his face.  “Turn me into something, Roman!” I begged.  “Please!  Change me!”

   He laughed, ushering me inside.  “Uh-oh, have I created a transformation addict?” He kissed me on the cheek and nudged me into a chair.  “Would you like to eat the birthday cake we never ate last night?  I made it myself.  Well, I transformed an orange into it, but still – the thought’s what counts.”

   I grabbed his hand.  There was an unspeakable urge in me – I needed to change, to feel that…energy running through me…sculpting me, making me something else… “Just…transform me!”

   “Okay, okay!  Since I knew you’d be back, and soon, I thought about what you’d enjoy next.  Become a hawk!”

   “A hawk!” I cried in delight as his hands introduced the idyllic energy that began to fashion me into my new form.  As I changed, his hands ran down me, calming me, pleasuring me, coaxing my arms into wings, my toes into talons…

   Another explosive burst set me into my small body, and I flapped my wings excitedly.  Having a beak felt odd, and the sensation of feathers was almost ticklish.  Roman bent down and petted my head.  “You’re beautiful in any form,” he murmured, as he began to transform himself.

                                                   ***

   We soared high in the sky, the air currents holding us up effortlessly.  Roman had given me a quick flying lesson, and we had taken to the air, with me screeching in glee.  Like anyone else, I’d always wished to know what it was like to fly, and here I was, a hawk!

   My stomach growled, and something stirred below me.  Without quite realizing why, I plunged to the earth, trying to spear a rabbit with my sharp beak.  Thankfully I missed, and, as Roman dove down beside me, I shook my feathered head in disbelief.  “Roman, I need to kill it.  I need to eat it!” I cried in dismay.

   “That’s the hawk urges kicking in.  Let’s change you back before you do something you’ll regret.”

   I didn’t want to change back, but I had such an urge for raw meat, that I let him.  I stood there in the small clearing outside his house, dejected.

   “Why the sad face?  Wasn’t that exhilarating?  Your dad loved to soar like that.”

   My dad loved to be objects, too.  “Turn me into an object now.”

   He laughed.  “I’ll turn you into a bunch of stuff if you want.  Just try this first.”

   “What?”

   He put his hands on both sides of me, settling my shoes into the dirt.  “Become a tree.”

   My feet shot into the earth, snaking deeper and deeper as they became roots.  I stretched into the sky, my arms shooting up, elongating, branches growing from them….My torso thickened, and I moaned contentedly as my body became living wood.  Roman ran his fingers down my forming bark and I gasped with delight as my leaves burst forth.

   My God…This is, phenomenal.  Roman, can you hear me?

   “Yes, my love.  You don’t have a mouth, but I can communicate with you telepathically.”

   Oh, Roman, I feel the sun on me…It’s warm, and there’s…energy going through me…

   “You’re photosynthesizing.  Nice, isn’t it?”

   Amazing.  And the water…I’m drinking it from the ground…with my roots…

   “You’re quite majestic.”

   Mmm.  Touch my bark again, Roman.

   The feeling of being touched when one was made of wood…it was indescribable.  I was all…radiating…pleasure.

   Roman lay below me in my shade for a while.  He was storing up his strength for more changes, if I wanted them.  Finally I knew it was time for something else.  He changed me back.

   “Your turn to pick.”

   I looked around.  “What else did my dad like?”

   “Being a rock is fun.”

   “Do it.”

   I shrank down, my body forming into a ball and then growing solid.  Harder and harder I became until my changes were complete.  Mmm, feels nice.  I glanced up at him.  Can you make me bigger?

   He nodded, and I felt my solid form growing.  It felt, well, explosive again.

   “Good?”

   More!  Make me bigger!  Bigger!  I grew larger and larger until I was taller and wider than Roman himself.  More!  More!  The growing feels so good!

   “My dear, if you want me to turn you into a mountain, we’ll have to go somewhere where you won’t be noticed!” he laughed.

   I giggled to myself as he climbed onto my surface.  The feeling of his fingers clinging to me actually tickled.  “Corrie, you are a big one!” he grinned.

   And I love it.  Have you been a big boulder before?

   “I’ve been everything under the sun.  And perhaps a few things beyond it as well.  When I discovered my transformation ability, once I learned to control it, I was…well, anything I could think of.  I’d go through a dictionary and turn into each noun I came across…well, the ones that were do-able at least.”

   I giggled again.

   He kissed me, inserting his tongue into a crevasse on my surface.  “My giggling rock.”

   I see why my dad liked to be objects.  It feels good not to be flesh and blood.  For a moment I was worried it might be scary not to be able to move, but I’m so big and powerful like this!

   Roman jumped up then, as if he had thought of a great idea.  “Listen, you get another change, then I have one for us to share.”  I grew smaller, forming back into a person, and Roman grabbed my hand and brought me inside.  “Okay, pick one more thing.”

   Now I wanted to be something soft.  “Um…turn me into a cupcake.”

   He raised his eyebrows.  “Don’t get any ideas.  If I ate you, you’d die.  Cupcakes get digested, no matter what they were originally.”

   “No!  I don’t want you to eat me.  I just want to know what it feels like to be…cakey.”

   “Oh,” he grinned secretively, “Soft forms can be quite stimulating.”

   His hands sent me into a transformation unlike the others.  My limbs fused to my body, and I melted to the floor, softening, rounding out, sending me into uncontrollable giggles.  “It tickles!” I gasped from my icing-face.

   “Told ya!”  Roman held me up to a mirror, and I beheld a cupcake with a smiling face on it.

   “I’m adorable!” I cried, watching my icing-lips move in delight.  “Roman, you’re amazing!”

   He blushed, squeezing me slightly and making me gasp.  “Mmm, you do smell delicious.”  He placed me down on the table and gave me time to simply enjoy my form.



   The day was coming to an end, and, as fun as it was to watch Roman do his chores while I remained as a pastry, we both knew I had to go home soon.

   Roman brought me back to human form, which almost broke his kitchen table.  I hopped off.  “Okay, what’s the change you want to do to us now?”

   He placed his arms around me and held me tight.  “This,” he uttered.  Our shapes began to mingle and join as our bodies shrank down, mixing with each other and hardening into a lovely oval shape.

   What are we, Roman?

   We’re each other, Corrie.  We’re a ming vase.  One vase.  I’m all of it, you’re all of it.  See, you can feel we’re hollow inside, you can feel all around our surface.  We are one object.

   And indeed we were.  If being jade wasn’t enough, the feeling of being melded together as one was indescribable.  A huge wave of pleasure rocked through us, and we moaned at the same time, nearly toppling us to our side.

   Oh, God, Roman.  Let’s stay like this forever.

   We remained as one for many hours.

                                                   ***

   “Roman!  Quick!  Open up!  My stepdad’s after me!  I crashed his car, and he’s seriously after me!”

   Roman pulled open the door and shut it behind me.  “Are you kidding?”

   “No!  This isn’t the first time I scraped it up, and he’s had enough.  I ran off, and he started coming after me.  My mom then followed him, screaming, ‘she’s seeing that crazy hermit!  I forbade Robert from ever taking her back to him!’”

   Roman looked at me sadly.  “That’s true.  She did.”

   “Corrie!  Where the hell are you?”

   “That’s my stepfather!  Change me!  Quick!”

   “This is a quickie.  Sorry.”  Roman’s powerful hands grasped me, and I suddenly thinned and hardened into an ornate lamp.  Distractedly, he ran his hand down my smooth brass surface and picked me up just as his front door smashed open.

   “Where’s my stepdaughter?”  growled Dave, standing angrily in the doorway.  “Her mother says she’s with you.”

   Roman gave his best innocent look as he lovingly placed me on the side table.  I giggled again to myself from both the sensations running through me as well as the situation that was at hand.

   “Um, couldn’t you have knocked?” asked Roman.  “I was in the middle of dusting my lamp here.”  He deliberately ran a towel over me, sending shudders all through my form.  I wobbled on my pedestal, and Roman steadied me, hoping no one noticed.

   “Where is she?” Dave screamed, and then my mother walked in behind him.

   “Is she here, Dave?” she looked at Roman with distrust.

   “Please, do a full search of the house.  She’s yours if you find her.”

   Annoyed, the couple swept through the few small rooms.  “You leave her alone,” my mother warned.  “Whatever twisted stuff you did with Robert…well, I don’t want her involved in that!”  she stormed off, and Dave followed.

   “Now who’s going to pay for my door?” Roman turned to me.

   “Turn me into your door!” I volunteered.

   “You’d like that, huh?” he picked up my plug and fingered it.  “You want to be my lamp a bit longer?  I could use you to read by.”

   “Actually, I had a graduation party to go to tonight.  Now I have no way to get there.  I’m sure my parents won’t let me go anyway, but I have to try.”

   Roman’s face slid into a cunning look.  “Just one more, thing, my dear lamp.”

   “What?”

   “Let’s plug you in.”

   I gasped in fear as my tines were inserted into the socket, but I should have trusted Roman.  Here, I was thrust into a new and different plane of heaven.  The electricity surging through me was a continuous euphoria, and I don’t know how long I remained suspended there.  

   “Nice, huh?” Roman unplugged me, and I almost cried.

   “You have a party to go to.  Become yourself.”  My lamp-body softened and stretched into humanity.  I walked back home, every step away from Roman another eternity.

                                                   ***

   My parents were going to let me go to the party if I could get a ride.  I got all prepared, and then my friend Lavinia cancelled last minute, so I was stuck at home.  I sat at my dressing table, staring at the wall.  I realized that I didn’t really care now about seeing my friends.  All I cared about was Roman.  I needed him, loving me, changing me… The feelings of being a vase with him came back to me and I yearned for him…

   “Corrie!” I heard from outside.  I looked into the darkness to see the outline of a powerful stallion in my yard.

   “Roman!   You’re beautiful!” I gasped in delight.  I’d always wished for my own pony.  Now I had my own horse.  And he was magnificent.

   “You need transportation tonight?  I’m it!”

   “Oh, Roman!” I cried.  “I’m coming!”  I quietly made my way downstairs.  “I’m leaving,” I called to my parents, and received some kind of groan in answer.  I ran outside and the horse approached me.  His black fur shimmered in the moonlight, and his body was lean and muscular.

   “Hop on!” he said, and, despite having never ridden, I climbed onto his back.  “Hold onto my mane.”  I grasped the silky hair running down his long neck, and he began to gallop.  “I love being a horse!” he whinnied as we careened through the night.  “Where’s this party?”

   “Oh, forget the party!” I decided.  I loved the thought of riding a horse that was really a man, and I knew he loved feeling me on his strong back.  He continued to race us through the night until he requested a break.  He lowered us both to the ground and we stopped for the moment.

   I studied his sweating form and petted him.  “Thanks, I needed that,” he panted.

   “You really made yourself a gorgeous animal,” I commented.

   “Your father always said you wanted a horse.  I offered to be one for you, but it would have had to be for a long time since he wouldn’t want to ‘take the horse away’ from you.  I was quite willing, but your father refused to let me waste years of my life as a horse.”

   “But years don’t mean much to you, do they?”

   “Well, not really, since I can turn into anything.  I wonder if I can even die?” he nuzzled me.

   “Roman?”

   “What?”

   “Turn me into a horse too.”

                                                               ***

   We trotted through the night, he a magnificent stallion, me a beautiful mare.  We coupled several times, and, well, the saying ‘hung like a horse’ definitely has truth to it.  Roman, in horse-form, was quite well-endowed.

   The night was like a wonderful dream, and I never wanted it to stop.  We stood nuzzling each other as the dawn made its appearance.  “Roman, don’t let this ever end.”

   “It doesn’t have to.  Marry me.  We’ll run off together.”

   “First let’s be horses a while.”

   “Well,” he smiled as best as he could.  “If we do for too long, you might have your pony after all.”

   I thought about this, and the idea was quite tantalizing.  Being a horse for several months?  Mating like this?  Giving birth as a horse…Having a baby horse?

   “Yes, Roman.  Let’s do that.  Let’s make me a mom.”

   He whinnied.  “Then let’s start right now.”