Ranma stretched contentedly as her mind floated up from the black void of sleep and cast off the last wisps of memory of what she would later recall as only a particularly satisfying dream. She kept her eyes closed as she lay curled in a warm ball of fur, luxuriating in the languorous sensations of inactivity. A deep purr arose from her throat as she idly kneaded the cloth beneath her with her claws and her tail twitched gently as she imagined those claws sinking into her prey.
Ranma's eyes shot open suddenly as if someone had yanked on her newly acquired rear appendage. Claws? she thought in shock; Tail!
She looked with wide eyes at her fur covered hands, remembering vaguely the moments after her earlier awakening. Disjointed images and feelings flashed through her mind; the pet basket on the floor, the cage she was trapped in, the fear of the barking and, over all, the searing pain piercing her right arm. She tentatively reached out and squeezed her arm gently, but other than a slight tingling sensation there was no evidence of the previous injury.
Sitting up she inspected the room about her; it was vastly different from the one she remembered. Where the other had been dark and cavernous and full of threatening shadows this room was bright and compact with pictures of beautiful landscapes on the walls. She was still in a cage, but this time it appeared to be the only one in the room and thankfully there was no dog smell about. Her tail twitched involuntarily as her gaze passed over what appeared to be a plastic mouse toy lying on a side table, which stirred some rather peculiar feelings inside her and caused her to begin salivating. Tearing her eyes away from the object that triggered such disturbing thoughts, she returned her attention to the inside of her cage, finally facing the moment she had dreaded - it was time to examine the changes to her body.
Her arms, as she had noted before, were covered in fur, but now in the brightly lit room she had an opportunity to inspect her colouring. A patchwork of alternately black and orange-red fur coated her arms from shoulder to wrist, changing to full black on the backs of her hands with a very thin off-white fur covering the pads of her palms.
The shape of her hands appeared to have changed as well - though the basic structure was still the same, they were more delicate and flexible, and the fingers seemed slightly longer and narrower towards the ends. She flexed her right hand a little and watched her nails extend slightly into a set of very sharp claws; as the somewhat shredded blanket she was lying on could testify.
Looking at the rest of her body she received confirmation of what she had been sensing for a while, but had been unwilling to check - she was in her female form. The fur that covered her chest and belly was an orangey cream colour and extended down to the inside of her thighs. Everywhere else that she could see appeared to follow the same mixed red and black pattern of her arms, but she was distracted from further scrutiny as she gradually became aware of the presence of another being in the room.
Turning around slowly, she beheld a man sitting in a heavily cushioned armchair. He was leaning forward in the seat, propping one elbow on an arm rest and cupping his chin in his palm; his eyes - locked with her own - held a slight twinkle of mischief.
"You are up then?" he asked rhetorically, a shade of good natured humour in his tone, "You gave us quite a scare earlier; I don't think any of our other customers have had such a violent reaction to the change before."
Ranma felt a sharp burst of anger at the man; "Change?" she snarled, "Do you mean that you are the one that did this to..." Her rant trailed off as she felt her anger melt away under that gentle gaze. His eyes reminded her of Doctor Tofu and, even at his most annoying, she could never stay angry at the doctor for very long.
I wonder if he is a doctor too, she thought idly.
"You are lucky I was here today," he continued as if he hadn't heard her, "This is usually my day off, and none of the others know enough about healing such significant injuries." He shook his head in wonder, "However did you manage to keep rampaging about for so long? With all the internal bleeding and then going into shock from the broken arm, I doubt you would have survived till evening."
Ranma felt a swelling sense of pride at the awe in the man's tone, which was quickly swamped under the look of disapproval that he levelled at her.
"Never do something so foolish again!" he said firmly in quiet reproach.
She ducked her head and whimpered at his tone. Why am I cowering in front of him like this? she thought in surprise; I'm Ranma Saotome, no one tells me what to do.
The gentle smile returned to the stranger's face as he watched her reaction, "We wouldn't want to damage the stock now, would we?"
Suddenly she felt the anger she had lost before return ten-fold. "Stock?" she hissed dangerously, before opening her mouth to continue "...
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(Posted Tue, 03 Feb 2004 02:26)
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