The Rapid Change of States

                             By

                         Fox Cutter

07/14/1999:

"So," I asked Little Fox, "What did you think of The Great
Market?"

My double smiled, and took another bite from his apple as we
continued our walk through the Market.

I chuckled. "I'll take that as a good thing."

He nodded in return.

It was kind of fun to watch some of the reactions we
garnered as we moved over the brick-paved streets. Most
people had never seen a 'taur of any kind before, so my
companions Fox'taur body was getting quite a few stares,
some subtle, some not.

He just shrugged it off. Apparently it was something he had
gotten used to while living at Metamor Keep. Every time some
new caravan went through, or he had to venture outside of
the Keep itself, he got stared at.

Even if he was comfortable with it, I wasn't too thrilled.
It reminded me a bit too much of school to settle very well.
I doubted he really was used to it himself. It was more
likely that he had thick enough skin to pretend not to
notice anymore.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" he asked, licking the
juice from the pads of his fingers now that the apple was
finished, core and all.

I nodded, "Not really, no."

He shook his head. "I don't think I've seen you eat more
than two meals since I've been here," he commented, with a
slight look of worry. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I'm not exactly up to snuff," I replied, rubbing the back
of my neck. "But I'm alright, some times I get this way. I
just forget to eat."

He huffed. "Hardly 'Forget', Fox, you are ignoring food
completely. It doesn't seem like it would be healthy, and to
be honest, you're looking a bit pale right now."

I shrugged. "Maybe."

"You really should see a doctor about it."

I nodded, "I have an appointment in a few days with Doctor
Stall. You're not the only one a bit worried."

"Oriana making you go?" he asked, as we paused in front of a
small shop that was selling various shirts.

With a slight sigh, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my
jacket. "No, I'm doing this of my own accord. At the moment
I'm not sleeping very well, either."

"She mentioned as much to me," he replied, flicking through
the shirts on the rack.

I smiled. "Having covert little chats with my wife are you?"

He paused in his browsing, glancing back at me. "She's
concerned about you, and asked me to at least talk to you
about it."

"Ah, I see. Well nothing to fear, I'm well aware that things
aren't as kosher with myself right now as I would like. I
just hope I'm not coming down with a cold."

Apparently not satisfied with the selection at hand, Little
Fox walked further into the store. "Well, a cold isn't the
worst thing you could get," he told me as he started though
another rack. "I've had my fair share of them. If you think
a stuffed up nose is bad, you don't want to know what a
congested muzzle is like."

I chuckled. "I shall endeavor not to find out. But if this
is a cold, it probably will carry over when I shift
tonight."

He stopped for a moment, turned his head back to look at me.
"Shift? Into your lioness form?"

I simply smiled back at him, I hadn't told him about my
'morphic lioness form just yet. I was saving it as a
surprise for tonight.

"Not going to explain huh?" He rolled his eyes. "I was
always one for trying to make things mysterious." He pulled
out a shirt from the rack, smiling a bit. It had a slightly
skewed map of the galaxy on it, with a little dot saying
"You Are Here," in Prid Standard.

"The pity is, as much as I like the shirt. I can't pay for
it, and I couldn't take it back with me. It would stand out
too much," he said with a sigh, then returned the shirt to
the rack.

I shrugged. "I could get it for you, not like I can't afford
it. Though you would have to wear it here, meaning you would
have to come back again."

He smiled. "I was already planning on it for the wedding,
whenever you have it."

"I don't think anyone would have much of a problem with you
stopping by every now and then on your own as well," I told
him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now that you know the
way."

"I might take you up on that, though not too often. I do
have quite a few responsibilities at the Keep."

"Like what?" I asked, as we turned to leave the store. My
double was being careful not to knock anything around with
his hindquarters.

"Well, there's an ancient elven library in the Long House
that I'm currently in the middle of cataloging." A small,
almost secret smile rolled over his face. "It's fascinating
work."

"As long as you read ancient elvish," I commented.

"I can," he replied with a sly smile. "Along with most every
other tongue I've come across at the Keep."

I laughed. "I'm impressed. I couldn't even learn Spanish."

He shrugged, "It's a gift." The way he said it implied there
was both more to it than just a simple comment, while still
being the truth.

I nodded. "Anything else you're interested in? There's quite
a lot to do here. We've only seen a fraction of the place."

He paused a moment to think. "Perhaps some pain killers that
I could sneak back to the Keep? So when my leg is bothering
me too much, I can deal with it."

"That can be arranged," I commented. "I take it you don't go
around as a 'taur a lot at home?"

"In the library, and the Long House I do." He let out a
short sigh, "As for the rest of the keep, the 'taur form is
too new. People don't really like me being around as such,
so I stick to two legs for them."

"That's a pity, it seems to work well for you."

He nodded. "Of the few of us at the Keep who know how to
become 'taurs, I seem to use it the most. People just aren't
that use to it. In time, things will change, and I'll be
waiting."

"Perhaps you should make them change?" I suggested.

He gave me a smile. "And who said I wasn't?"

I grinned. "True, true. Come on, we better head back home. I
want to start making dinner for everybody." That was the
real reason for the trip to the market, to get the supplies
I needed to make spaghetti.

"As long as you promise to eat some."

"I'll try," I told my double, as we started back to my home.

* * *

Dinner came and went rather quickly. We almost had Rachel at
the table, but she had a last minute meeting. Still, it came
out pretty good, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, Little Fox
the most of everyone. I think it was the first time he had
eaten pasta since he got stuck on his current world.

Good to my word, I did try to eat something. I managed to
get a little bit of food down, but begged off the full meal.
I gave everyone the excuse that I had filled up sampling
things while cooking. That was usually true, but not in this
case.

What little I had eaten, was protesting the whole concept of
being inside of my stomach, and was arguing with my body
about striking in the near future. Something I wasn't very
keen on.

It wasn't anything a couple antacids didn't take care of. I
had too much to do the rest of the night to just sit around
the house, trying to be sick.

Arrogant, I know. It's going to be my downfall some day.

Either way, at the moment it was time to show off to my
double.

Oria was on the couch, gently rocking Beca to sleep in her
arms, the twins already asleep in their beds. My
granddaughter was just being fussy.

Little Fox was resting in the living room, relaxing in his
'taur form. He had leaned his upper body against the side of
the couch, and had Rhea nuzzled up against his side. She
seemed happy to have someone around her size, at least for
the moment.

He was only a bit surprised when he found out we were
parents. He knew about Naomi, but nothing past that. He
seemed to appreciate it, trying to pitch in helping Oria
with the kids. He got real pleasure from them, kind of like
he never expected to have kids of his own, so this was going
to be as close as he was ever going to get.

He looked up as I entered the room, a slight look of concern
on his muzzle. "You feeling better?" he asked.

"I'm fine for now," I said, dismissing his concern, and
moving my attention to Oria. "How's Beca doing?"

"She just fell asleep," she replied with a soft purr, slowly
rising to her feet, being careful not to wake the child.

I smiled, "You take her to bed, then stop by the bedroom.
It's time I showed off a bit."

She smiled, and nodded, then paused as she walked past me,
kissing my cheek gently before continuing on to the nursery.

My vulpine self chuckled. "I've said it before, and I'll say
it again, you're lucky to have her."

I let out a contented sigh, "You don't know the half of it."

He nodded, lifting himself up to his four feet. Rhea glanced
up as he did, and let out a soft snort, a bit displeased he
was leaving.

"Maybe I'll have someone like her some day," he commented,
walking up to me.

I smiled at him, "You deserve it."

He shook his head. "I hardly deserve anything after what
I've done, but that's not here nor there at the moment. Now
what is this about showing off?" he asked, a smile playing
over his muzzle

"I'll show you. Follow me," I said, turning to walk down the
hall. I was slightly concerned about his initial comment. He
had finally broken down and told me some about his past in
the last few days, so I knew what he had done. I felt he had
managed to redeem himself in his defense of the Keep the
winter before.

We walked in silence to the bedroom, Ravindar following
close behind as he normally did. I opened the door for
Little Fox, and followed him after, closing it behind us and
leaving my bodyguard in the hall.

A minute later Oria slipped in through the same door,
leaving Santhara outside next to Ravindar.

"Now, what exactly are you showing off?" Little Fox asked
with a smile, and a flick of his tail. He was amused by all
of this so far.

I smiled in return, and took a few steps back, fishing the
pendent out from under my shirt. "Just watch."

He furrowed his eyebrows, and cocked his head to the side.
"I've seen what that pendent does before," he said, looking
a bit baffled.

"Not like this," I replied, and took it off. I set it on the
dresser, and took a few steps away, to be outside of its
effect, and waited for the change to sweep over me.

Instead a headache crashed over me like a wave, causing me
to stumble and nearly fall. My stomach felt like it was
being twisted into a knot, and I found myself lightheaded.

"Fox?" Oriana asked, the sound of concern in her voice.

I looked up at her, finding the world around me pale, the
colors draining from it. In a moment she was at my side, one
paw on my shoulder, and another on my back.

"Something is wrong," I choked out, looking up at her,
seeing the panic in her rapidly fading eyes. "Call Ken," I
managed to whisper before darkness fell over me.

* * *

I watched as Fox's eyes rolled back, as he grew limp in my
arms. I lowered him down to the floor, trying hard to fight
back my panic.

"Ravindar!" I yelled, as I laid my husband down on the
floor.

He was inside the room in a moment, a gun in his paw. My
bodyguard was right behind, looking worried.

He saw Fox, and was instantly at my side. "What happened?"
he demanded, his gun vanishing in a moment. A mix of anger
and worry flowed over his face.

"I don't know. Go call Ken, now!"

He jumped to his feet, and quickly moved out of the room.
Santhara joined me at Fox's side, checking his pulse. "He's
alive," she said with a frown, "but his breathing is
shallow." She placed a paw on his head. "And he's running a
high fever."

"He hasn't been feeling well," Little Fox said, not having
moved form his previous spot. "And apparently hasn't for a
while. He told me he was thinking of seeing a doctor about
it in the near future."

"Now is near enough," I said, feeling over his still human
face. I didn't understand that, why hadn't he changed forms.
The pendent was the only thing keeping him human. Being out
of contact with it was suppose to turn him back into a
lioness.

"Ken is on his way," Ravindar said, joining us at Fox's
side. "Now tell me what happened."

I did, as much as I could, but there wasn't that much to
tell. As I spoke, he also checked Fox's pulse, and a few
other things, before ordering us to get him onto the bed.

Wordlessly we complied. As soon as he was lying down, Rhea
jumped onto the bed, and sniffed at him, her tail drooping
as she nuzzled his face.

I sat on the bed next to him, taking his hand in my paw, and
holding it. It felt cold and clammy, and his skin was
starting to lose it's color.

"What happened?" Ken demanded, pushing past Sora and Kalie
to get into the room. As soon as his eyes focused on Fox, he
dashed to the bed. Settling next to him, he pulled out a few
items from his satchel and laid them on Fox's chest.

As I explained what had happened, a growing look of horror
spread over his muzzle.

He shook his head, pulling the items off of Fox. "Get me the
pendent," he ordered.

Little Fox moved surprisingly quickly for his size,
retrieving the pendent, and bringing it to Ken, who took it
from him and looked closely at it, before shoving it in his
satchel.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked.

Ken sighed, and dropped his shoulders, his wings drooping as
well. "He's trying to change, his body wants to change, but
something in him is preventing it, and it's ripping his body
apart."

"Can you do anything?" I asked, feeling like a stone had
settled in the pit of my stomach.

He shook his head. "No, I do not know what is wrong, I do
not understand the cause." He glanced down to Fox, and shook
his head. "But I know someone who does. Excuse me," he said
and nearly knocked me down in his rush out of the room.

Two minutes later he returned, coming back to Fox's side. "A
friend of mine is on his way here. He should arrive in about
fifteen minutes. Could someone please meet him at the door,
and bring him here."

Kalie nodded, and left the room.

The rest of us began what had to have been the longest wait
of my life. Each second seemed like an hour, and each minute
a lifetime. As the time ticked by, I watched Fox, for any
sign of improvement. There was none, nor was he slipping
further into his sickness, which was a blessing.

Finally Kalie returned, a tall silver-gray ocelot morph
followed her into the room. He was dressed in a snappy suit,
which was open at the collar, the tie removed. He looked
both professional, and concerned. His eyes first locked onto
Ken, a look of worry on them, before falling to Fox.

He calmly walked over to the bed, bending down to rest his
hand on Fox's chest.

"It's something to do with his shape changing," Ken said in
way of explanation.

The ocelot nodded, and closed his eyes, whispering something
to himself in a language I didn't understand. There was a
slight glow about his body, which grew stronger where his
hand touch Fox.

He broke off after a moment, and shook his head. His face
cleared for a moment, before he frowned. "Your friend is
soul sick," he said.

"Can you help him?" I asked.

He paused, and shook his head. "I can't correct the
sickness, that he must do himself, but I can help give him
energy, so he can cause the change." He looked at me, and
how I was holding Fox's hand. "I can't give him all he
needs, I need to take some from someone else as well."

I offered him my paw, and he took it in his. He placed his
other paw on Fox's chest and said a few words. Both of his
paws begin to glow, which spread into my paw, and over Fox's
chest.

"What is soul sick?" I asked.

"The soul has a form, a shape it must live in." He said,
giving me a short glance with his orange eyes. "Your husband
has been out of his proper one for too long. His soul has
been stretched thin, and now he's trying to change into
something else, the wrong body. His soul can't be changed
again, except back into itself."

With his explanation done, he pulled his hand away. Most of
the color had returned to Fox's skin, but it was beginning
to fade already.

"You must wake him up," the ocelot said.

I nodded, and leaned forward, feeling bone tired as I did
so. Gently I shook Fox's shoulder.

His eyes fluttered and opened half way. "Love," he said in a
soft voice as he saw me.

Ken was at the bed now, holding a glass of something. "Fox,
listen to me, you must do exactly as I say. You must drink
this," he held the glass out so Fox could see. "It will turn
you into a full lioness again, you have to do this, right
now. Do you understand?"

Fox managed a short nod of his head. Ken handed me the
glass. I held it up to Fox's lips, pouring it into his
mouth. He managed to drink a couple gulps, before breaking
into a coughing fit.

I pulled back, as he twisted under me. With a pained moan he
shifted into his full lioness form.

She twisted once more, and collapsed on to her side. I
reached out to touch her muzzle. Everything seemed to be as
it should.

"He's sleeping normally now," Ken's friend said. "It will be
at least a day before he wakes up, and he should stay in
this form for at least another day after that, but he will
be fine."

I nodded, looking up at him, my own body screaming for rest.
"Will this happen again? Can it kill him?" I asked.

"It can happen again, if he stays in the wrong body for too
long. I will have to confer with Ken about how often he
should be changing back to what he really is." He waved a
hand towards Fox as he spoke. "Yes, it can kill him, but it
would take time. If he had remained in the state he was in
before, his systems would have collapsed in a few days."

I nodded again, pushing the hair from my eyes with a paw,
and letting it rest on my forehead. "Thank you for helping
him."

The ocelot nodded, and walked over to Ken, placing a paw on
the small of the dragon's back. "It was my pleasure. Now you
might want to get to sleep yourself. I took a lot of energy
from you, and it needs to be replenished."

I cast my eyes back to the bed, where the pair of lionesses
lay. There was hardly any room for me to join them. I could
feel that I was going to need rest in a very short time, but
I would just have to find some other place to sleep.

"I'm not expected back at the Keep for at least another
week," Little Fox said, taking a step forward. "I'll stay
here to help out, until Fox is feeling better."

"Thank you," I said, fighting back a yawn.

"Come," Ken's friend said, turning towards the door. "We
must leave them in peace to sleep." He took a few swift
strides to the doorway, and ushered people out with him.

In only a moment I was left alone in the room with Fox and
Rhea.

I turned towards the bed, and walked to the side where Rhea
lay, watching Fox sleep. She saw me approach, and slipped
off the bed, giving me room.

I gave her a small thanks, and laid on the covers, wrapping
my arms around Fox's neck, before giving her a kiss on the
nose.

Then moments later I joined her in slumber.

-----

This story is copyright 2003 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.