Trust Machines - After The Dance

“Welcome to the last week of classes before Christmas,” crackled the principal’s voice over the intercom.  The usual announcements echoed through the halls of South Hawkley High School, but what caught everyone’s attention was the last one.  “Due to popular demand, Friday will be more casual than usual, even for the last day of school before a break.  The student council has requested a ‘Come As You Aren’t’ day, where all students and staff may attend while transformed by the so-called ‘Venn Machines’.  As long as you are capable of attending class and taking notes, anything that passes the local decency laws is acceptable.”

Danny stared at Sarah with a huge grin.  “How on earth did you pull that off?”

“Well, it might have helped that I rescued the entire student’s council from spending the Winter Social as Allie’s bracelets.  So.  What do you want to be on Friday?  Dani, or something fancier?”

“Definitely fancier,” mused Danny.  “But Dani, as well.”

Sarah pondered this for a bit, then spotted a new friend.  “Hey, Annie!  Over here.”

The shy girl grinned, and dashed over to Sarah’s side.  “Did you hear?  Did you hear?”  Her eyes were gleaming with excitement.

Sarah and Danny laughed.  “We heard.  So are you going to come as a catgirl on Friday?”

Annie’s expression fell.  “I’m going to...  But I’m worried how others will react.  Frannie really took the teasing hard at the dance.”

Danny and Sarah looked at each other, and nodded in unison.  “What if you had two more friends as catgirls?”

Annie grinned hugely, then hugged them both.  “You’d do that?  Oh, this is going to be the best day ever!”

The bell rang, announcing the start of classes for the day, and the three scattered.

Friday morning, four catgirls with perky ears, feline muzzles and sinuous tails walked proudly into the school.  Despite the chill, they were wearing nothing but white tank-tops and shorts, and they turned heads wherever they went.  Each was covered in snow-white fur, except for their perky ears, their hands, and the tips of their swishy tails.  Three of the catgirls had red fur on their extremities.  Dani had gone over the top.  She had bright green tips to match her slitted green eyes, and a spiral of red that wound over her entire body.  It made her look like a living candy cane.

Dani’s seasonal look drew the most comments, though surprisingly few of them were negative.  Someone mocked, “Look, it’s a candy cane catgirl!”  Dani turned toward the general direction of the person who’d said it, and curtsied elegantly.

The name spread like wildfire.  While it had started as an insult, Dani’s reaction had turned it into a badge of pride.  As she walked the halls to her first class, Dani’s catlike hearing picked up murmurs of ‘candy cane catgirl’ over and over in her wake.  She grinned.

In first-period English, Mrs. Dworkin tried to take attendance.  Dani peered about curiously to see what her classmates had become as each name was called.  Most looked like idealized versions of themselves, though there was one surprise when a clear female voice answered to ‘Tom’.  When Danny’s name was called, Dani raised her green-furred hand and answered, “here”.  Mrs. Dworkin stared at her in wonder, momentarily mesmerized by the spiral of colour on her arm and body.  She shook her head, sighed, and continued.

Others in the class were staring at Dani, too, murmuring as they realized just who the candy cane catgirl was.

“Gary?”  No answer.  “Gary?”

Kari spoke up softly.  “He’s with me, Mrs. Dworkin.”

Mrs. Dworkin gave the student council president a sharp look.  “Is he now, Kari?  You heard the rules, can he take notes?”

Kari held up her pen, a flowery pink one that looked soft and comfortable to hold.  “Yes, he writes very well.”

The teacher sighed heavily, and dropped her attendance sheet on her desk.  “I don’t know why I’m even bothering.”  She launched into the day’s lecture.

Dani found that the class was more engaging as a catgirl.  Mrs. Dworkin had a bad habit of talking to the chalkboard while she was writing on it, and Dani’s new ears picked up every word easily.  Not having to strain after meaning was a welcome change.

When class let out, Dani noticed that there were more pointed ears in the hallway than she’d seen in the morning.  There had been a few people looking like elfin versions of themselves, but their numbers appeared to have grown.  She passed short elves, barely four feet tall, and others so tall their eartips brushed the doorway.  Then she saw a pair of furry pointed ears, and grinned.  But when she approached their owner, she realized it wasn’t one of her friends from the morning.  Someone else had turned themselves into a candy cane catgirl, too!

Dani approached the new catgirl curiously.  The crowd swirled around them, and the ‘candy cane catgirl’ murmurs got louder.  “Hi,” she said quietly, knowing the other would hear.  “I’m Dani.”

“Rebeccah.  Candace thought you looked cute like that, and couldn’t resist... so we cut class early and got changed.  She’s even swirlier than I am.”

By the time lunchtime came around, the hallways looked vastly different.  At least half the people Dani passed on the way to the lunchroom had pointed ears, and a good half of those were feline.  Only a fraction were candy-striped, but most were in seasonal colours.  She’d seen two that were red all over, and one that was grass-green with jet-black eyes.

With so many similar-looking catgirls about, Dani had trouble finding her friends.  Eventually she resorted to calling out Sarah’s name, and seeing which pair of red-tipped ears perked toward her.  Sarah had already found Annie and Frannie, the two original catgirls from the Winter Social dance, and the four of them headed off in search of a free table.

Annie chatted excitedly, more animated than Dani had ever seen her.  “Can you believe this?  Two weeks ago, everyone called me a freak for looking less catlike than this... and now we’re a trend!  It’s insane.”

Frannie giggled.  “I know.  This has been like a dream come true.  Look, even some of the teachers are in on it.”  She pointed to one of the teachers watching the lunchroom.  Mr. Mason was wearing his usual shirt and shorts over golden brown fur.  He had a lion’s mane, and the regal look suited the Physical Education teacher’s muscular body well.

Dani spotted Kari at one of the tables, and waved.  She grinned and waved back, so Dani approached them.  “Hey Kari, Hi Stu.”

The guy sitting opposite Kari laughed.  “I’m not Stu, I’m Suzy.”  He hugged the girl sitting next to him.  “This is Stu.”

Dani smiled.  “Whichever way around makes you happy.  Speaking of which, how’s Gary doing?”

Kari giggled, and turned to face Dani.  The top of her pink pen was poking up from her cleavage.  She gave her breasts a squeeze around it.  “I think he’s pretty happy.”

Sarah looked puzzled, until Dani told her who the pen was.  She blushed, and Dani kissed her on the cheek.  “Maybe you can turn me into a real candy cane after, and do that,” Dani whispered, which made Sarah blush even more.

Unfortunately, Kari’s table was full, so they had to move on.  Dani noticed someone sitting alone, and dragged Sarah over to the table.  “Mind if we sit here?”

Allie looked up.  She was unchanged from the dance, still in her plain mousy-haired body.  “What?”

Sarah hissed into Dani’s ear, “What are you doing?”

“It’s Christmas.  Nobody should be this alone.”  Dani sat down.  With a sigh, Sarah sat beside him, and the other two catgirls flanked them.

“Here to gloat?” pouted Allie.

“No.  Here to offer you a chance to participate in ‘Come As You Aren’t’.   Want to be a candy cane catgirl?  One of the faceless crowd, so nobody will know it’s you for the rest of the day?”

Allie’s smile was guarded.  “What’s the catch?”

“Eat up, I bet the Venn Machines will be busy so we need to get going.”

Sarah stared at Dani all through lunch as if she’d grown an extra head.  But she stuck with her as Dani and Allie went across the street to the Venn Machine.

“How can you trust me?” asked Allie as Dani put a bill in the machine.

“I can’t.  But Sarah is here to put things to right if you betray me.  So I’m willing to take the risk.”

Allie nodded, and stepped into the machine.  Dani gave Sarah a brief hug, and a whispered thanks, before doing the same.

Inside, Allie clutched her hands behind her back to keep from touching the interface.  “Stupid reflexes.  I almost turned you into a bra.”

Dani laughed, as he worked through now-familiar patterns.  “I wouldn’t have minded.  But if you had, you would have missed out on this.”  He hit the green button with a flourish.  Allie stared at her new body, seeing the mirror image of Dani, except she had red-tipped ears and a green spiral stripe instead of Dani’s green tips and red stripe.

When they emerged, Sarah started giggling.  “Really?  You made her your evil twin?”

“Appropriate, don’t you think?  Go have fun, Allie.  Nobody will know it’s you.”

Allie hugged both of them tight.  “I’m so sorry I was such a bitch to you guys.”

Dani heard Sarah whisper something in Allie’s ear, but couldn’t make it out.  As they walked hand-in-hand back to class, Dani asked what was up.

“You’ll see after school,” was Sarah’s enigmatic reply.

The rest of the day sped by.  By the time classes let out, Dani was sure over half of the school was catgirls of some type or other.  The only way to find Sarah in the seething mass of candy-stripe fur was to head to her locker.  There she met both Sarah and her ‘evil twin’, and they were grinning with mischief as only cats can.

“Am I going to regret this?” was all she asked.

Sarah shook her head, then led the other two off to the mall once more.  A line had formed at the Venn Machines, and it was growing longer by the minute.  While they waited, Dani listened to Sarah and Allie chattering like the old friends they were.  Allie had enjoyed her afternoon of anonymity immensely, and was much more cheerful than Dani had ever seen her, even before she’d been forced back to her boring normal body.

When they finally got a machine to themselves, Sarah set the time.  Allie stared at the display in awe.  “A year?” she whispered.  “What are you...”

Sarah smiled at her lopsidedly.  “Whatever you want to be.  I’ll make you pretty again.”

“But how can you possibly trust me for that long?”

Sarah looked back at Dani significantly.  “I’ll be OK, whatever you do.  If Dani likes it enough, I’ll stay that way a while.”

Allie looked at Sarah, studying her feline face.  Eventually she nodded, and hopped into the Venn Machine.  Sarah gave Dani a quick kiss, then followed.

Dani waited nervously.  She was pretty sure Allie wouldn’t do anything too evil, but they were taking so long...

The doors opened, and Allie emerged.  She was human again, and much prettier than she’d been earlier in the day.  Dani studied her as she posed.  She wasn’t as tall as she’d been before the dance.  She did seem to have gained a few inches, but then Dani realized that was just the heels she was now wearing.  As Dani continued to study the transformed girl, she realized that she hadn’t been changed in any radical way at all.  This was still Allie, just... airbrushed, and a little curvier.

Allie gave Dani a quick peck on the cheek.  “Thank you for making this possible.  Your present is in the other side.”

Dani darted into the Venn Machine, and scooped up what she found there.  “Allie!  What... why?”

Allie took the giant candy cane out of Dani’s hands.  “She couldn’t stop talking about this, after you suggested it.”

“But she’s stuck like this for a year!”

Allie pulled Dani aside, and the line advanced.  A pair of catgirls headed into the vacated Venn Machine, holding each other’s hand until the last moment.  “No,” Allie answered.  “Just for an hour or so until the line goes down.  You’ll change her back.”  Allie tucked the candy cane down the front of Dani’s top.  It was long enough that the curved top ended up just below Dani’s chin.  “Just... get her good and sticky first, OK?”

Dani’s blush showed through her fur.  Allie laughed, and hugged the candy caned catgirl tight.  “Not like that!  Well, not unless you want to.  Merry Christmas, the both of you.”

As Allie walked away, Dani called out after her.  “Is it safe?  To... lick her?  It won’t hurt?”

Allie turned and winked.  “She’ll love it.”

Behind Dani, the Venn Machine opened on a guy and a girl.  They looked at each other, and laughed.  “That was you?”  Then they took each other’s hand again, and walked on into the mall.

Dani looked down at the candy cane doubtfully, then up at the line.  She sighed, then smirked and gave the candy cane a lick with her long, raspy tongue.  Sarah was delicious.

Dani strolled through the mall, sucking softly on her girlfriend, and giggling to herself.  She hoped Sarah was having fun too.  She window-shopped from one end of the mall to the other, and resolved to return for the cute candy-striped plush kitten she saw in one of the shops.  It would make a perfect gift for Sarah...

Sarah!  Dani had half-forgotten that her partly eaten candy cane was actually a person.  She rushed back to the Venn Machines, relieved to see that the lines had cleared.  She grinned impishly, and set the machine for two days before placing the remainder of the candy-cane inside.

Dani found a bemused look on Sarah’s face when she entered.  “You’re not mad?  At me, or Allie?”

Sarah shook her head.  “Nope.  Did you really... eat me?”

Dani blushed, and nodded.  “Allie said to.  What was it like?”

“Scary, but... a good kind of scary.  Then... warm, wet, and... mmm, cozy.  So.  Two days, hm?  Is that your way of making up to me?”

Dani smiled.  “Yeah.  I’ve got the weekend free.”

“Hm...  Do I want a snuggly sweater for the weekend?  Or maybe a sweet little kitten to keep me company?  Decisions, decisions...”

“Kitten?” asked Dani, wonderingly.

“You’re right, that does sound more fun.”

Sarah carried Dani home in her backpack.  Her mother was quite amused once she heard the tale of candy striped catgirls at the school, and let Sarah keep her new ‘pet’ for the weekend.  Dani ate with Sarah’s family, lapping up her food neatly.  She spent two wonderful nights curled up with Sarah in her bed.  

Sunday afternoon the candy-striped kitten changed back into plain old Danny.  He sighed softly, then gave Sarah a proper hug.

“What, you miss having fur already?”

Danny kissed her cheek.  “A little.  But it’s nice not getting hairballs when we kiss, too.”  He turned to face Sarah’s mother, who was watching with a smile on her face.  “Thanks for letting me stay, Mama Crane.”

Mrs. Crane smiled fondly.  “You’re welcome here any time, Danny.  And in any shape.”

“I’ll probably be taking you up on that sooner than later.”

Sarah laughed.  “I still need a Christmas sweater, after all.”

Christmas morning, Sarah found a box from ‘Dani’ under the tree, as well as a plush kitten from Danny.  She opened the box curiously, and found a lovely warm sweater inside.  It had a candy-striped cat on the front, and she looked up at her mother, questioningly.

“I don’t know, dear.  Danny’s Mom dropped it off late last night.”

Sarah immediately put the sweater on, and hugged herself tight.  “I don’t believe he actually did it.”

Her mother laughed warmly.  “Oh, sweetie, that boy is so in love with you.  Be careful what you ask of him, he’ll do anything for you.”

“Oh...  Wow.  I hadn’t thought...  I wonder how long he’ll be like this.”

“His mother said to set an extra place for dinner.”

Sarah hummed happily to herself, brushing her hands over the impossibly soft sweater.  “So he’ll change back this afternoon?  Perfect.  I can’t imagine a better Christmas.”