Canir had visited the group, and much to the delight of everyone, he was alright with giving Steph the necessities to have a great life in the new world by gifting her the ability to use the language and also making her able to use magic. The magic came with a twist, though, as it wasn't his own. Instead, the goddess, or overseer of this world's magic, Mira, seemed to have taken a liking to the shorter blonde while watching the group together with Canir. She decided that she would bless Steph with a portion of her magic instead.
“Oh no, another one with way too much magic..."
“Wow, that is impressive!”
“I want Mira to get interested in me, too!” Their reactions were slightly different when they were checking out Steph’s magic that had activated shortly after Canir left. Maya had mixed feelings, but Chloe and Sophia were big fans.
“Uhh...?” The shorter blonde seemed to be a little confused. “What is going on? My body feels slightly different, but I have magic now...? Is there something wrong...?”
“Not really wrong.” Her older sister scratched her cheek. “Far from it, actually. It’s just that Canir hilariously overdid it with the amount of magic he gave me...”
“That’s putting it lightly!” The cat-girl got loud.
“Okay...? And?”
“From what I can detect, Mira gave you like 50% more authority over magic than I have!” There was a hint of envy in the tiger’s voice.
“Wow!” Steph got excited. “Well, I have not the slightest clue what this actually means...” Her excitement didn’t last too long, though.
“It’s amazing! Well, even I would have no idea what to do with that much magic, but you never have to worry about running out when wanting to play!”
“I like the sound of that! Wait!” The little sister got jumpy for a second again but then seemingly remembered something else. "If I have 50% more magic authority or whatever, does that also mean that I’ll grow 50% older than you? Err, live longer? Is that how that works...? If so, please take some! I don't want to live that much longer! You can share magic with others, right? You mentioned doing that for me!"
“Don’t worry about that.” Sophia smiled at her. "Like Canir also said, it doesn't matter anymore after a certain amount of magic. Maya has around half of my amount, but our life expectancy is supposed to be the same. I’m not entirely sure about Chloe, though. Her magic is kinda weird, like mine, but... Not sure how that translates to anything.”
“Feyfey mentioned before that I don’t ever have to worry about becoming old, so...”
“Well, that would explain why Canir mentioned everyone in this room earlier when he talked about the age thingy... Even so, Chloe would be the right girl to share some magic with if you want to get rid of a bit! Her amount is more than decent, but her ideas are amazing, and her having more to play with will guaranteed lead to something amazing!”
“I want to learn how to become fluffy! Teach me how to get a tail and animal ears!" She sounded very excited again.
“Really starting with that right off the bat?”
“Yes! I want to look the part, fluff myself a little… or a lot, and then go exploring with everyone when no one gets suspicious of me. While we're doing that, you can teach me some more magic!"
“Well, I can’t fault that logic… Fluff is justice, after all. It has to be prioritized at all times.”
“Exactly!”
"Seriously, no one will ever doubt them being sisters."
“Ahaha…” The fox-girl had to chuckle at Maya’s remark.
“I think we should still make sure your magic works properly, right?” The taller blonde tilted her head. “You don’t accidentally want to look like something hideous on your first try because you messed up, right?”
“T-True!” Steph nodded a few times. “I don’t want to wait either, though!”
“Understandable… Let’s just try something quick and easy. If that works, everything purely powered by your imagination should be super easy!”
“Okay!” She just gave her an even bigger nod.
“You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really, no.” Sophia smiled at her sister. “Let’s go! Here!” Saying so, a ball of water appeared on top of the tiger’s palm. “Concentrate, imagine this very picture, a small sphere of water, its properties, and all that. Once it looks good inside your head, bring it to reality. Make sure you are confident about it, though. You don’t want to drench us all and flood the place, do you?”
“Way to add pressure!” The shorter blonde didn’t like the last part. “How angry will you be if I flood everything…?”
“How about we never find out?” The tiger’s smile changed a little. “If you fail even that, there will be weeks of training before I let you change your appearance!”
"I better go all out, then!" Afterward, Steph held out her palm while closing her eyes, seemingly trying her best to concentrate as much as possible. About a minute later, a small sphere of water, though with a slightly odd shape, appeared on top of her hand. "That was easy! Magic is super fun!" Once she noticed something had happened, she opened her eyes again to inspect her work.
“Wow! You’re amazing!” Chloe clapped her hands a few times after having watched the shorter blonde use magic for the first time.
“R-Really? Ehehe~.”
"One is scarier than the other!" Maya was a little concerned about it.
“Great job! As expected of my sister! The future of playing with fun magics looks bright!” Sophia was proud of her. “You have quite the talent!”
“I like the sound of that! Does that mean I can become fluffy now?!”
“Sure~.”
“Yay!” The shorter blonde became the most excited yet. “Tell me how!”
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“In one way or another, it’s the same you just did.” The tiger shrugged in response. “Every advanced magic is based on your imagination. You think it, you do it. Get a good of how you want to look, and then use the magic on yourself once you’re ready. Be sure the image is very clear, though. After all, that is how you will end up looking!”
“That is such an interesting concept! I wonder what else you can magic into existence!”
“Asking all the right questions!” Sophia gave her a thumbs up. “One thing after another, though.”
“Right!” Steph nodded a few times. “Fluff is the number one priority right now! Chloe!” She then faced the girl next to her again.
“Y-Yes?!” She hadn’t expected to be addressed with such vigor out of nowhere. “What can I do for you?”
“I learned that touching other’s ears is no good, but what about taking a better look...? A-And maybe a light fluffing of your tail, without touching the base... To better recreate the supreme fluff!” The shorter blonde looked at her with pleading eyes. “It's probably better to pester Sophia, and I love her tail, but that's not what I want to go for. She also isn’t fluffy enough!”
“HEY!” The tiger got loud. “That is DEEPLY offensive!”
“You are fluffy, very much so, but compared to this amazing girl right here, I’m sorry...”
“I guess that’s fair.” She couldn't dream of comparing to her, after all.
"Do you want to look like a fox?” Chloe looked back at the shorter blonde.
“Not exactly, I already have perfection to look at, so there’s no need to become one myself! The same general family would be nice, though! I love canines! That’s why your tail and ears are more interesting than Sophia's!" She showed her a big smile while explaining her reasoning.
“I-I see...” Her cheeks turned a little red in response. There was some serious praise in the explanation, after all.
“If you want to look more canine, you might do well in waiting for Fen and Aura." Sophia thought the two would help her a lot in that regard. "As I mentioned before, they're full wolves. They're super fluffy, too. Especially Aura has amazing fur!”
“Hmm...” Steph tilted her head for a moment. “I’m not sure if I can trust myself with meeting a wolf with full body fur right before wanting to change my appearance... I might do something regretfully...”
“Fair.”
“Have you sisters really never heard of self-restraint before?!” Maya got loud again.
"Hmm?" Both tilted their heads in response
“...” She just glared at them.
“Anyway,” The shorter blonde faced Chloe again. “I would really prefer to learn it from you! I promise not to overdo it this time!”
“Well, okay...” The fox-girl gave a slight nod. “I do want to help, and you looking like a member of the canine family sounds really cute! So...”
“Thank you so much!” Her eyes were sparkling again. Immediately after, the little sister got closer to the fox’s head to get a good look at her ears. She was especially interested in the fluff inside it.
“Uhh...” Chloe’s blush only got stronger as Steph was right next to her while she did her best to get as close to her ears as possible while intently watching them.
"Should we, err... leave you two alone for an hour...?" The cat-girl also had some mixed feelings about the situation.
“P-Please stay!”
“I’m so sorry that it’s getting uncomfortable again...”
"I-I wouldn't say uncomfortable..." Chloe wasn't sure how to explain it. "It doesn't feel bad at all, just... just, I-I’m not sure if I’ve ever been so embarrassed before...”
“I see...” Steph continued to stare at her ears for a moment or two longer, but she eventually put some distance between them again. “I love the fuzziness of the fur around your ears and how it’s a bit longer at the tip! The fluff inside looks divine, too! Too bad I can’t touch it, but I respect that! Even looking at it gives me a good feeling of just how soft it has to be, so it’s fine! Regrettable, but fine!”
“T-Thank you. Also, I’m glad you like my ears. I am a little proud of them...”
“I love them!”
"Ehehe~." Despite her embarrassment, Chloe still liked that a lot. “You also want to get a better look at my tail, right...?” Seemingly in a much better mood again, the fox-girl moved the tip of her tail a little closer to Steph’s face.
"Yay!" The shorter blonde got even happier. “I just want to ensure I get the divine levels of fluff right, so I don't want or need to be rough, don't worry!"
“G-Go ahead.”
“..." Not wasting another word, Steph gently reached for the fox-girl's tail and brushed over the fur several times. “It’s sooo amazing! The fur itself is pretty silky, but the sheer mass and the volume makes it so fluffy and spongy! It's unbelievably soft to the touch, as well! T-This is perfection!”
"I-It takes a lot of work, though... I use many different conditioners, and there's lots of brushing involved..."
“B-Brushing!?” Steph’s eyes got wider. “That’s also pretty intimate, right... T-There’s nothing I would like to do more than brushing your tail!”
“T-That is a little...” Once again, Chloe’s cheeks turned redder.
“Too bad!” She looked rather disappointed. “Well, for now, can I count on you to show me the best care products and how to take care of a tail in general later on?”
“Of course!” The fox-girl nodded a few times. “You can count on me! I’ll gladly help you as much as possible!”
“Thank you!” With a big and happy smile on her lips, Steph then looked at her older sister again. “Alright, I think I have everything I need! I’ve reached enlightenment when it comes to fluff! All I have to do is to create my own looks, as detailed as possible, and then pour some energy, err... magic into it like with the ball of water...?”
“You really have to make sure your details are sound! Everything will affect your looks. You can try as often as you want in the end if you end up looking not like you wanted, but it’s still a definite recommendation of mine.” Sophia didn’t think it would be much fun doing that. “Also, take absolute care that you think or use the right words when you change your looks!” She suddenly looked a lot more serious.
“Meaning?” The shorter blonde tilted her head.
“Remember this! Make absolutely sure you listen to me here! There is a huge difference between wanting to look like the thing you want to imagine and wanting to become it! Do not make a mistake and use the wrong one!” The tiger-girl had some experience with that, after all.
“What’s the difference?”
“When Maya and I visited the old world yesterday, we changed our looks and hid our animal features. Beneath, we stayed a part of the beastfolk, though. If you adjust your looks, you only change, well, your visuals. If you become what you're thinking of, your entire being changes. You will stop being a human and change into an actual hybrid like the three of us are.” The tiger does have some experience with that, after all. “Your ears will be relocated to the fluffy ones, your tail will become a permanent addition to your body, and you will never be able to get rid of it again. It becomes one with your being instead of just a nice visual addition. You will also gain many traits, feelings, and instincts of whatever animal you borrow stuff from. You will understand why we are so fussy about our ears and tails because you will feel it, as well. Your senses might improve or change, like being able to smell or see things better or in a different way. You might gain new instincts like the urge to hunt or mark things or others... As a cat, p-purring might also happen unconsciously... stuff like that.”
“Wow, that’s something!”
“Exactly! That’s why you have to make absolutely sure you use the right wording!” The lack of this very thing was the cause for most of Sophia's catastrophes, so she wanted to make sure Steph knew what she was doing. "Seriously! Depending on your wording, you will forever become a hybrid because this change is irreversible!"
“I get it! I will make sure not to mess it up!”
“Good!” The tiger was glad she understood her concern.
----------------
Afterward, Steph closed her eyes and took her time to concentrate on her new looks. It wasn't any day that you could change yourself to however you wanted with little to no consequences, after all. It took her about 20 minutes before she opened her eyes again while showing everyone a confident expression.
“I got it! Chloe, I need your input on it later, but I think I came up with something cute!”
“I look forward to it!”
“Sis, now, while thinking about my, uhh... new self, I just have to pour a good bit of magic into my thoughts?"
“Yes.” She nodded a few times. “Just make sure to follow what I said earlier about the very heavy difference between looking and becoming!”
“Alright!” Confirming that she did indeed listen to the tiger, she got ready to use the magic. “Hair, color, fluffy tail, ears... Okay, I want to BECOME a dog-girl!" Steph made sure to put extra emphasis on the most crucial part.
“E-EH?!” Sophia obviously got loud. “W-What did I just- Ah.” She didn’t even have time to finish her complaint as her sister was immediately swallowed by a cloud of smoke, indicating her change.
“I can’t say I’m surprised...” Maya just shook her head. “These sisters...”
As there was nothing there could be done anymore at this point, the girls just waited for Steph to finish changing.