It didn’t quite hurt. More of a stretchy feeling as my body inflated with qi. My core and channels hit capacity, then swelled and grew as my physical form did the same. My mind opened up, and I understood more about myself, my path, and my nature. I liked to fight, I liked to cultivate, and more… I liked proving that I wasn’t to be ignored. Maybe it’s not the most noble of dao, but I know how to keep the darker edges in check… well, okay. I didn’t always want to. But I wasn’t about to become some power-mad mass murderer, and that was good enough.
The power settled, and I opened my eyes to see that my fur, previously a fairly normal light brown with darker tips on the ears and tail, had turned bright pink with red tips. Huh. Odd coloration, but I thought it looked pretty nice, and it’s not like I needed to worry about blending in with the scenery anymore. Besides, I could already tell how easy it would be to change colors to blend, or even use qi to hide more effectively than any normal rabbit could ever hope to.
I could also visualize a humanoid form, as well as a fox form. Guess what I got depended on what I understood best. I closed my eyes, and let my body shift toward something human.
When I opened them, I looked down into the mirror and… wow.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still not very fond of humans. But my shape was still basically me, just… human-ish. Where the fur wasn’t, my skin was a dusky brown color, turning darker around… well, certain areas you humans like to pretend don’t exist. I still don’t understand that, but I’ll gloss over it. The gem in my forehead didn’t seem as big on a human head, but it still showed a bright red between my golden eyes.
And my hair… good, comfortably short. And I still have my ears. My tail vanished, but it was mostly a redundant stub anyway.
“Um… wow. Looking good, Xiang.”
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I turned around, and looked… wait, down? It seems I was taller than both the Mistress and Kaoru in human shape. And that was with my feet uncomfortably flat against the floor. I raised my heels up a little to alleviate the pressure.
“Hm… you are quite stunning by human standards. Fortunately, I have some heeled sandals that you can wear so you aren’t uncomfortable standing on tip-toe all the time, but I think we’ll need to go to the nearest town to get you some shoes that actually fit. And a simple turban should hide your ears readily.”
“Must I?” Wow. It was odd actually speaking, instead of using qi to imitate speech.
“Initiate Li’s views on ‘beasts’ is quite normal outside the monastery. You’d be attacked as a demon if you didn’t hide your ears. Fortunately, wearing a gem against the third eye is a common enough fashion, so no one will question that. Kaoru will have to focus a bit harder on blending, but I think she can hide her tails with a little extra training. How are you both feeling?”
I thought about it as I examined myself.
“Stronger. More solid.” I punched out a few times, then winced. “How do humans deal with constantly being engorged?”
Mistress Song chuckled. “Most aren’t as… well-endowed as you are. But I have some support garments you can borrow. We really will have to take you into town for fittings though. Six feet even without the ears, and with curves most women would kill for. I won’t say I’m not a little jealous, but I can set that aside and simply admire you. As a human, I can say that you are every bit the pinnacle of beauty you were as a rabbit. And of course, you can change back at any time.”
I did think about it, but shook my head.
“This feels more comfortable, at least for now. And I’d like to work out the kinks on how to fight like this. Got any robes I can wear?”
Thankfully, she did. Kaoru went over her own sense of change, how she felt faster and more clever, when suddenly some idiot started bellowing from the training yard.
“Song! Mistress Song Mina, get out here this instant!”
Sensing Idiot Li’s smug self-satisfaction, I sighed. Seems he’s been causing trouble again.