Fair Fortune
A commission for CylonMaverick
Greg sniffed, his cervine nose twitching as he took in the smell of containers he carried-- Chinese, his favorite and his roommate's too. He couldn't wait to eat and as much as he wanted to just try a taste first, he figured he should be home before he indulged. He walked towards his apartment, which was thankfully located on the first floor, though he was only thankful for the time being. Living at the bottom certainly had its downsides, but for now it meant he only had to awkwardly carry the cardboard filled containers a short distance instead of up the stairs. Man, why hadn't he asked for a bag?
"Honey, do you need help with that?" His neighbor Ms. Willsbury asked as he passed her sitting on her "porch" as usual.
"No, no," Greg laughed, the big buck cradling the containers closer. "Just a few steps further. Thanks for asking!"
"Oh dear, I meant with eating it," the elderly woman said, winking. She gazed over Greg's muscle bound body. "Though I imagine it must take a lot of upkeep to stay that strong!"
"That it does, Ms. Willsbury," Greg said. "That it does."
"Bye then!" The woman said, waving. "You boys enjoy!"
Greg nodded, now at his door. It took some finagling and a bit of balance, but he managed to tuck the boxes beneath one thick arm so that he could put in his code. There was a click, the door unlocked, and he was in!
"Honey, I'm home!" Greg called, stepping in. He looked around and frowned. "Cameron? You here!"
"Sorry," a more nasally voice answered. "You know I can't just run up when you call, you big dumb jock."
"Big dumb jock?" Greg looked mock surprised as he turned towards the source of his voice--his roommate Cameron. The two couldn't have been any more different. Greg was a tall, muscular buck who stood proudly and confident and he had a deep voice that the does fawned over. Cameron was gaunt, frail, and human, and he didn't stand at all, confined instead to a wheelchair he used to wheel himself over to the buck.
"Yeah," Cameron said. "That's why you didn't ask for a takeout bag, eh?"
"My intelligence has nothing to do with that," Greg snorted, though he smiled. "I assumed they would give me one."
"Well, you know what they say about assumptions--"
"Yeah, yeah--" Greg shrugged. "Do you want some Chinese or not?"
"Hell yeah!" Cameron exclaimed. "And...thanks for picking it up."
"Of course, bro," Greg said, moving to place the food on their makeshift kitchen table. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well, once upon a time--"
"Is this another one of your fairy tales?" Greg said, rolling his eyes.
"No, no, this isn't fantasy," Cameron chuckled. "This is real, about you and us. We're not some fictional figments of some Tolkien lover. Anyways, as I was saying, once upon a time I would give you money to pick up some food and you'd go out drinking instead."
Greg paused and frowned.
"Yeah," he said. "I would."
"I didn't mean it like that. I mean--well, we're friends now. A cripple and a buck, who would've thought!"
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You have a brilliant mind."
"Yeah." Cameron looked aside. "But not a brilliant body."
"Hey, man," Greg said, moving over to put a hand on Cameron's shoulder. "Why so glum? You're best friend just brought you Chinese for dinner and after eating this delicious, nourishing meal that I'll have to work out of my system tomorrow morning, we can play Super Bash Bros."
"Smash," Cameron said, a smile back upon his face as he looked up to the buck. "Alright, you're right. Let's eat! No room for grumpy on a stuffed stomach."
"That's right!" Greg said, slapping Cameron's back and causing his roommate to wince. "Er, sorry."
"No problem," Cameron said, smiling wider. "You big dumb jock. Let's eat."
"Let's eat!" Greg echoed and so the two set to feasting, the buck doling out the containers as the two took their place at the table. Though Greg ended up with a larger share of the food, Cameron seemed to be just as ravenous as the buck, digging into his food with aplomb. It wasn't long before he was eyeing Greg's rice. The buck laughed and pushed it over.
"Eat up!" he said. "What, were you pressing your wheelchair while I was away?"
"Sure," Cameron replied. "If that's what you call studying."
"Right," Greg chuckled. "Well, I guess anything is brain food."
"Technically true."
The two went back to eating, their conversation on hold as they enjoyed the bounty the buck had brought. It wasn't long before they were sitting back, satisfied and stuffed. Suddenly Cameron sat up in his wheelchair and started shuffling through the boxes.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"Where are what, bro?" Greg wondered.
"The fortune cookies!" Cameron said. "You can't have Chinese without consuming those too!" He held up a hand before Greg could speak. "Look, I know you're going to say that they didn't originate in China, but still."
"Bro," Greg laughed. "I wasn't going to say that. I didn't even know that. Instead..." he reached into his pocket and brought out two plastic wrapped fortune cookies. "Here they are."
"They were..." Cameron gulped. "They were in your pocket?"
"Yeah?" Greg shrugged. "So what? You're lucky I remembered to ask for them."
"And yet you forgot to ask for a bag." Cameron shook his head.
"Whatever." Greg tossed him a cookie. "Open up!" He held up a hand. "But remember, cookie first, fortune after."
They unpackaged their cookies. The two quickly scarfed them down then looked at their papers.
"Huh," Greg said.
"What?" Cameron asked.
"'Don't be afraid to make sacrifices for those you care about,'" Greg read.
"'Embrace change, it will make life easier'" Cameron murmured, then look up to Greg. "Wonder what it means?"
"Same usual mystic crap that means nothing," Greg said, tossing his fortune over his shoulder. "That was a nice meal though!"
"Yeah, it was..." Cameron paused, then stared at Greg with wide eyes. "Greg!"
"That's my name," the buck said, peering at Cameron as he sat back. "What's the problem?"
"Y-you're...you--" Cameron stuttered then pointed at the buck's chest. "Look!"
Greg raised an eyebrow and looked down. His jaw dropped as he saw a silvery mist swirling out of his shirt, its trail coalescing into a wispy sphere that floated between the two. More concerning, however, was how Greg's chest had visibly loss mass. He was still muscular yet less so with every passing second.
"Yo!" He shouted, swatting at the silvery mist to no effect. "What the freak is this stuff?"
"I don't know!" Cameron said. "Maybe your sweat is having a reaction with your new detergent?"
"Are you serious?" Greg shrieked. "You can't be serious! I'm losing my gains!"
The buck let out a yelp when he saw the mist start to secrete from his arms too, their bulk likewise beginning to dissipate.
"Oh come on," he said, holding up one forearm to get a better look. "Not cool, bro, not cool at all."
Cameron stared uncertainly at the growing silver sphere. He gulped and began to wheel himself over to Greg just as a stream of the silver stuff launched right at him. It struck him straight in the chest and he recoiled, rolling back. Greg looked over and swiped at the sphere.
"Hey," he growled. "Don't attack my friend!"
"I'm fine?" Cameron said, sitting straight up in his chair. He blinked. "I'm fine! In fact I feel..." he blinked again and looked down at his hands. "Gah!"
"Bro!" Greg shouted, awkwardly walking over, shuddering as his muscles continued to visibly subside into more silvery mist. "What's--"
Greg stopped and stared at what Cameron himself was focused on--his hands, except they didn't look like human hands anymore. Tan fur raced to cover the back of his palms while his fingers were stretching longer. He groaned, his nails growing out into the beginnings of claws.
"Yo," Greg said, drawing Cameron's gaze to him. "Are you a werewolf?"
"No!" Cameron said, holding up his altering hands, showing how pads were forming on his palms. The fur too was spreading up his arms, arms that were no longer as thin and weak but were putting on a layer of toned muscle. Still, there was something sleek and slender about them, feminine even... "I swear I have no idea what's happening!"
"Are you sure?" Greg stared suspiciously at Cameron. "You're not some sort of muscle vampire?"
"No, I'm hnngh..."
"Hnngh?" Greg said, imitating his friend's groan. "What do you--oh."
Cameron was having trouble speaking since his face was visibly changing, the same tan fur covering his skin while his mouth and nose were beginning to press forward into the start of a snout. Most prominent was how two teeth stuck out of his mouth, small fangs for the time being. The buck frowned, tilting his head and gasping when he saw Cameron's ears...wiggle?
"Yo, your ears!" Greg said, pointing as tan fur covered them and they reshaped, slightly rounded yet triangular. "You look like a cat!"
"Oh really?" Cameron snarled in a voice fiercer yet higher than before. He looked up to Greg, his once blue eyes now glowing softly yellow while his pupils has started to thin into slits. Greg gaped, hardly recognizing his friend, for as he stared, Cameron's snout set into place, a small, short protruding muzzle with a noticeably feline nose to match his noticeably feline ears and...well, head. His new feline face was set in a snarl, those two prominent fangs growing out longer and sharper while his ears laid back and his original black hair lightened to blond and grew longer and lustrous. Despite his feline features, something seemed soft about his face and were those eyelashes feminine or was it just the buck seeing things? Greg blinked, and then held out a still strong hand to his friend.
"Gah!" Greg cried, stepping back as he looked down at himself. He still looked mostly the same, but his musculature was reduced and still in the process of reducing. His shirt hung loosely on a much less broad chest and his legs were looking skinnier. More and more of the mist was flowing from and into Cameron. He took a step towards his buddy, feeling much lighter on his feet.
"Ok buddy, I believe you but...uh, any idea in that brilliant brain of yours as to what's happening?" Greg asked.
"I have no--" Cameron paused, one hand going to his throat as the fur spread down it, his Adam's apple sinking out of sight. "I..." he shrugged, what little broadness in his shoulders slimming away. "I have no idea but I sound like a girl?"
"And look like a cat," Greg said. "And...er, um..."
"What?" Cameron asked.
"Are those...boobs?" Greg pointed at his roommate's chest.
Cameron looked down and saw two protrusions at his upper chest, soft rounded mounds that pushed at his shirt. He could not only see it but feel their growth. He yelped and shot up out of his chair, holding the burgeoning breasts in his hands.
"Tits!" He exclaimed. "I've got tits!"
"Dude!" Greg said. "You're standing!"
"I am?" Cameron looked down at his feet just in time to see the fur wash over them, his heels lifting as claws grew out of his toes. He blinked and, suddenly dizzy, fell back into his wheelchair, his legs aching as they stretched slightly longer, his newfound fur warm underneath his jeans. He held his head in his hands, trying to understand what was happening even as his breasts rounded out their growth into a moderate but noticeable size and his hips pressed out wider apart.
"I just..." he blinked his slitted eyes and looked up to Greg. "I just stood."
"Yeah, you did," Greg said, nodding. He gestured to himself. "And I just lost a lot of weight." He sighed. "Mostly muscle."
"This is--agh!" Cameron squealed, his hands flying to his crotch. He stood once more, quickly bending over as he felt a tugging at his groin. He wheezed, suddenly feeling warm all over as the rest of the mist shot into him, warm tan fur spreading to cover what it already had not. His stomach slimmed, now smooth and toned while his hips finished pressing out into childbearing width just as his sides pressed in. He huffed and panted as his manhood shriveled away in the front while in the back his rear was rounding out plumper and more pleasing to his eye, a small, short feline tail growing out above it. It slithered out over his jeans and into his view as his masculinity ceased to be; in the next moment, he was now a she as womanhood formed between her legs, her fingers brushing against a flat crotch. She blushed and stood up straight, relocating her hands to her widened hips. She turned around when she felt something sway behind her, realizing a moment too late it was her tail. Meanwhile, Greg stared stunned at the sabertoothed feline female that stood before him. She looked fit and toned, her muscles showing even beneath her clothes, and what wasn't covered show off her fur that looked soft and warm. Greg stared too at her tight rear framed by a small tail that the jock couldn't quite tear his eyes away from, at least until Cameron turned towards him. Greg blushed and looked away, but not before noticing her bosom and curves.
"I'm standing," Cameron said, awe in her undoubtedly feminine voice. She purred and patted her legs. "I'm standing!"
"You're a girl," Greg observed.
"I...I am." Cameron blinked and looked pointedly at her chest before looking to Greg. "You--where's all those muscles? You look strong, but not like a big dumb jock!"
"Seems like you inherited them," Greg said. He tilted his head. "Huh. 'Don't be afraid to make sacrifices for those you care about.'"
"What?" Cameron asked.
"Magic is what," Greg said. "Those cookies had to have been magic. Or the fortunes at least."
"That's hardly logical," Cameron said.
"You have a better explanation for why you've got boobs and aren't bound to a wheelchair? Oh, and the whole you not being human anymore deal?"
Before Cameron could answer, someone knocked at the door. The buck and tiger froze.
"I'll get it," Greg said. "I look the least different!"
"It's not like they'd know who I am anyways!" Cameron replied, but Greg was already at the door. The buck opened it part way and peeked through it.
"Ms. Willsbury?" He said, opening the door further.
"Good evening, Greg," the elderly woman said, smiling. She held up a plate of cookies. "I made these for you and Cameron. I know chocolate chip might not go with Chinese but--"
"Oh. Oh, thanks!" He said, taking the plate. "That's so kind of you, ma'am. I need to bulk up after all."
"You do?" Ms. Willsbury looked at him quizzically. "Never figured you as a musclehead!"
"What?" Greg blinked. "But..." He shook his head. "Thanks for the cookies, ma'am! Cameron isn't feeling well right now, but I'll save some for him!"
"Oh, does she have a cold?" Ms. Willsbury asked. "Whatever is it, you'd best go get her some medicine. Got to treat your missus right, ya hear?"
"Missus...?"
"Oh, are you two no longer dating? Shame." Ms. Willsbury sighed. "You two make such a cute couple!"
"Uh..." Greg shook his head and smiled. "No, we're still..." He paused and scratched his head. "Together? Yeah. Anyways, thanks, Ms. Willsbury but I've got to go! Thanks again for the cookies!"
He slammed the door shut and walked back into the kitchen where Cameron stood, turning her hands over front and back.
"Uh, Cameron," Greg said. "We might have a situation."
"You mean aside from me being a cat woman now?" Cameron asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Though..." she purred. "That's not really a problem to me. Is that weird. Huh." She shrugged. "So what is it?"
"It's just that Ms. Willsbury thinks that we're a--"
"Couple?" Cameron completed.
"How did you--?"
"First it was this picture I found in my wallet," Cameron said, holding it out for Greg to see. It showed them standing very close together smiling on the peak of a mountain. "Oh, and also because your contact name changed in my phone." She dug into her pockets and showed the screen to Greg. The name of the contact read "HOT STUFF" and below it was his number.
"But--"
"What does your phone say for me?" Cameron asked.
Greg gulped and pulled out his phone. He went to his contacts and then paused. He looked up to Cameron.
"How will I know?"
"You'll know," the tigress said, smiling toothily.
Greg did find it and his face went hot. He gulped and put his phone away.
"Well?" She asked coyly. "What did it say?"
"Something...inappropriate," Greg replied. "A euphemism. You know. Because you're a cat. A...girl cat so you have a--"
"Pussy," Cameron finished.
"Cameron!" Greg protested.
"What? Isn't that what it said? Something along those lines." She purred and sidled up to Greg, who stiffened. "What's wrong, big boy?"
"Nothing, it's just that--" Greg gulped. "You're just so much more confident and stronger and...I'm not much of a big boy anymore. Also you should totally be freaked out by this more."
"'Embrace change, it will make life easier.'"
"Huh?"
"Oh, you big dumb jock," Cameron sighed, rolling her eyes. "You were right. It was magic. I'm a woman now, a sabertooth tiger, not a cripple and you're a little less muscular. What are we going to do about it?"
"Find the cause and undo this?" Greg guessed. He snapped his fingers. "Oh! I bet it's because I didn't ask for a bag! Perhaps if I go back and recreate the order we can--"
He paused as Cameron went around him and began rubbing his chest.
"But do you want to go back?" she asked.
"What?"
"I mean, to how things were. Do you really want to?" she repeated. "You're still a hunk and--"
"Wait," Greg said, turning around. "Hunk?"
"Yes," Cameron said, hands by her sides. "I'll admit you're quite cute. Just the right size for me. You look good, Greg, good. Look, things have changed but..." she looked away and then back at him. "Maybe they're for the better?"
"You're..." Greg gulped again. "You're ok with this?"
"Of course! I'm not saying this is perfect--there's a lot to figure out, like is my whole family cats now? Are my brothers my sisters?--but this is good! I can walk, I'm strong, and I've got...you, you big dumb jock."
"Oh." Greg blinked, then slowly started to smile. "Well, if you're ok then...I'm ok too. And if you're ok admitting I'm cute, then, well, I'll that you're...that I'm attracted to you."
"Pfft," Cameron snorted. "You think I didn't know that? I know you were starting at my butt earlier. And..." she winked. "I can tell you're interested right now."
"How?" Greg asked, then he covered his crotch. "Damn thing..."
"But let's start this slow, ok?" Cameron asked. "Like I said, there's a lot to figure out like..." She glanced about. "Where did my wheelchair go?" She shrugged. "Would've been nice to keep as a souvenir but oh well. Point is, we've got to figure this out." She held out a clawed hand and looked deep into Greg's eyes with her feline own, her ears laid back in concern. "Together?"
Greg felt his heart skip a beat. He took Cameron's hand, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had brought her close into a warm embrace. He smiled down at her and she up at him.
"Together," Greg affirmed.