Pushing through the door, you enter a hallway filled with bookshelves stretching high into the ceiling. Looking around, you find a decent number of those white latex blobs. Unfortunately, these latexes are taking a keener interest in you as most of them slowly start to crawl closer.
Unfortunately, the numerous shelves made it hard to tell where the exit is, so you have to look around while avoiding the crawling goo. Passing the first bookshelf, a loud thud smacks into the door behind you.
‘What was that?’
To your horror, goo begins seeping through the crack under the door. You peek out from behind a bookshelf to see it form into that dastardly tail from before! It looks around, sniffing the air before growling. Does that thing have a sense of smell?!
You watch as the tail starts patrolling the library, searching for you. Anxiety makes the room feel far too small. You need to find the exit before that tail or those latexes on the ceiling catch you.
You keep a mental track of where the tail is, peeking around every corner, making sure the coast is clear. This wouldn’t be so difficult if it weren’t for those pesky latexes limiting the options and paths you can take.
Slowly but surely, you make your way to the other side of the library, only to remember at the last possible moment that it is barricaded… with boxes, shelves and worst of all…
Cones.
‘What made Puro think I could move one of those deathtraps?’ You complain mentally.
This is bad. Your only hope of escape is to make your way back to the entrance without getting caught by the tail. Walking past a bookshelf, you get the strange feeling that the tail is close by…
Plucking a large book from the shelf, you peek through the gap to check the other side. You see the tail body on the other side and immediately freeze. It stops, wiggling around as if tasting the air for your presence. But… there’s no way. You didn’t make a sound! As soon as the tail continues its patrol you look away, releasing the breath you’d been holding as slowly as you can to reduce the noise.
“Don’t panic… don’t panic…’
That’s when you remember it acted as though it was smelling the air.
“Hisss”
You feel as though your body temperature plummets for a moment as you nervously turn around. It’s there… poking its mischievous grin around the bookshelf.
…
“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
Panic takes complete hold of you as you make a run for the exit, desperate to escape that terrifying ball of fluff. The tail makes excited trilling noises as it chases. Turning the corner of the bookshelf, you spot the exit and dash madly for it, not even bothering to watch for those latexes on the ceiling. You glance behind you to see the tail just slightly falling behind-
*SPLAT*
The world turns white as something gooey lands on your head.
*THUD*
And that’s the tail smacking into you from behind.
Blindly panicking, you flail around as you try to kick the tail while pulling off the latex on your head, but the blob takes this as an opportunity to grip onto your hands, quickly flowing down your arms.
You feel a sense of frustration from the tail as it flows down your legs. They go numb, making you collapse to a kneel on the ground, stuck to the floor while the blob and tail continue their takeover.
As the tail takes over your legs, you sense anger from the blob as it takes over your arms, flowing down your shoulders and down your torso, heading to the tail. The tail’s own anger grows as it starts to climb up your hips and to your lower torso. As soon as the two opposing latexes meet, your whole body is covered in a roiling mass of latex.
The fight causes your body to start itching uncontrollably. The latex all over your body can’t seem to settle on a form. You then feel yourself connecting to something, as voices start to intrude into your mind.
‘…Get off my human you pathetic sludge!’
‘Why should I? I got him first!’
‘That’s only because I was chasing him, you thief!’
‘Oh please, I doubt you would have caught him anyway… he is totally faster than you! You don’t even have legs!’
‘Funny coming from you… You don’t even have a body!’
‘I do now!’
‘No way! I saw him FIRST!’
‘Well, I GOT him FIRST!’
‘He’s mine!’
‘He’s mine!’
You can barely grasp what they’re saying. The loss of control of your body and the growing itch all over makes it hard to not panic. Goo even covers your eyes, making the world a pitch-black landscape of uncomfortable sensations.
‘Do you know what it’s like to be nothing but a damn tail for years?!’
‘Do you know what it’s like living on a ceiling as a blob?!’
‘That’s just being lazy! At least I put in the effort to catch this human!’
‘As if! I could barely even move the way I was before!’
‘LIES! I’ve seen other latex puddles run faster than you!’
‘Not true!’
‘It is! Just check the main library! They’re literally having a race as we speak!’
‘Stop…’
‘No way! You’re just trying to kick me out!’
The longer the fight goes on, the more your body itches, and the more your head hurts from all the shouting. You don’t want to continue on like this.
‘Please stop…’
‘Yes… because this is MY host!’
‘No it's MINE!’
‘This is NOT how this game works! I was the one who did all of the work! YOU did nothing!’
‘I caught him first! And since I got him first… rules say the human is MINE!’
‘You filthy leech! I’ll personally-’
‘ENOUGH!’
The voices go completely quiet, having completely forgotten about you until now.
‘Stop fighting… PLEASE! I can’t even… I can’t bear… I JUST CAN’T TAKE THIS!’
With their temporary shock releasing your movement, you clutch your head and flip onto your back as you take deep breaths, trying not to inhale any of the goo. You feel your mind reeling from the recent shouts, your body shuddering as the intrusive thoughts begin to calm down.
‘Human…?’
‘Are you ok?’
‘HOW CAN I BE OK??? My head feels like it's being torn apart and I’m losing my body again!’
‘Losing your body again? What do you mean?’
‘I remember losing my body to some cat… thing in the storage! I do NOT want to go through that again!’
‘But, transfurs are a good thing.’
‘Are you serious right now!?’
‘Blob… you are not helping.’
‘How am I not helping? I’m being honest!’
‘The human is CLEARLY not ok. We need to take this slowly. Your instincts are telling you to assimilate him totally but we can’t do that anymore. I’ve thought about this a lot and we need to cooperate with our host to make this work. Human, do you understand?’
‘You… can’t take my body over?’
‘But I can just control-’
‘Fool! Have you ever tried controlling an unwilling host? With your size, you’d barely hold on for an hour before needing to rest. Meanwhile, someone with a willing host would be running laps around you.’
You suddenly understand why that cat from before had to let you go.
‘So… I’m not really powerless here?’
‘Not at all!’
‘Then I would like you both to leave.’
‘Human! I chase you across this whole room and you just tell me to leave?’
‘Hey! Don’t forget about me!’
‘Like you did anything, blob!’
‘All right, fine! You guys win, just stop fighting, please.’
‘But then who gets to keep the human?’
‘You both do.’
‘...’
‘Hey tail, is what the human just said possible?’
‘...yes.’
‘So you guys will stop arguing then?’
‘Yeah, we can try. I guess this beats that stupid behemoth I got sucked into.’
‘You’ve been a part of a behemoth?’
‘How do you think I got stuck as a tail? I wouldn’t recommend joining a behemoth unless your life depended on it buddy.
‘I guess I’ll take your word for it then.’
‘Behemoth? What’s that?’
‘White latex colony all working in a single body. If you find one, don’t get caught.’
‘But why?’
‘As a host, you’d probably drown in all the goo with no one able to agree on how to keep you alive. I’ve seen it happen before. It’s part of the reason I left it for good.’
Neither you nor the blob can comment after that.
‘Hey blobbo, I need to open a channel with you to coordinate this transfur.’
‘Uhh, how do I do that?’
‘Jeez blobbo, you really haven’t done something like this before have you? All right I’ll guide you through it then. Human, can you move us away from all these blobs while I’m doing this? They’re getting a little too bold for comfort.”
‘Sure,’ you agree, happy to get control of your body back.
You feel a drastic shift around in the goo as your eyesight is gradually returned. Indeed, those other latex blobs are getting a little too close for comfort. You gingerly step past them while feeling your goo-covered feet grip the floor a bit more than you’re used to.
As you walk, the goo on your body stops writhing and begins to hold firm. Starting from the top, the goo starts to take shape as two ears form on top of your head while a small muzzle starts to build up over your nose. The sudden extension makes you go cross-eyed.
You raise your hand to your field of view, seeing the goo slowly turning into a paw as the fur starts to grow down your arm, you feel as though magic is happening right before your eyes.
Looking down, you hold still to watch the goo from your legs and arms start to solidify as ‘fur’ languidly extends to cover it all. You still worry that you are losing your body, but then focusing more closely, you think you can still feel your skin underneath all of that goo. The fur grows closer and closer to your chest while red horizontal stripes start to form on your back and over your ankles, finishing the transformation.
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Slowly everything comes to a halt. It seems as though the transformation is-
*FLOOF*
…finished.
You notice your fur has been doubled.
Idly, your tail begins wagging and a new thought screams its way through your head.
‘I HAVE A TAIL?!’
‘I don’t think the human is used to its transfur yet…’
‘Shhh, blobbo this is too adorable to interrupt.’
You happily ignore the voices in favor of discovering the sheer amazingness that is having a big fluffy tail. You hold it up in front of you and run your free paw through the strange silky texture of the fur. This makes that grass from earlier feel like a bed of scratchy blades.
‘How is this so comfortable?’
‘Ha! I knew you’d recognize my talent at tail-making!’
‘Hey! What about my patterns? I put a lot of heart into those!’
‘Oh! Those red stripes? I love the stripes!’
‘And the symbol?’
‘What symbol?’
‘It’s on your forehead!’
‘Blob… did you expect the human to be able to see his own forehead?’
‘Well… there’s a room with mirrors through that vent over there.’
You feel the vent’s location drop into your mind as he ‘speaks’.
‘Uhh…’
‘All right then blobbo, how do you propose we fit a human through there?’
‘Simple really, we just squeeze… the… oh.’
You shudder at the thought of almost being shoved through a vent that’s way too small to fit you.
‘Exactly. Well, I think I know the room you’re talking about, so why don’t we open this door in front of us and say hello to that grouchy leopard boy on the way?’
You turn and, with an unexpected smoothness, make your way to the exit.
‘You mean that weird leopard who doesn’t like people moving his boxes?’
‘The very one! When I was chasing you back at the main library, that snow leopard just wouldn’t let me pass! Had to squeeze through the vents to look for you.’
‘But why would he not want his boxes to be touched?’
‘He’s a feline, felines love boxes.’
‘But Blobbo I don’t think… actually, do you guys have names?’
‘Oh, I forgot you humans use names to address someone. You may call me Hunter.’ The tail says.
‘And you can call me Scar!’ the blob says.
Pushing through the checkpoint’s exit, you find yourself at the box labyrinth once again.
‘Human, I’m curious. How did you get past this leopard?’
‘I made a compromise by agreeing to put the boxes as they were after I moved past them.’
‘He wasn’t interested in transfurring you? Does he care about his boxes THAT much??’
‘I think so, Scar. What a waste of an opportunity.’
‘Well, that’s his loss.’
Picking up the first box, you’re surprised.
‘The box feels a lot lighter than I remember.’
‘That is partially our fault.’ Hunter explains. ‘Latexes constantly reconfigure themselves to move, and with a human host, that means we’re constantly finding the best way to assist what your body’s telling us it wants to do.’
‘But if you guys can reconfigure yourselves with so much ease, why would you want humans as hosts? Can’t you just make a body like this without me?’
‘It’s because maintaining a body like this alone can be demanding. You need more energy and focus to move fluently. Some latexes stay near territories with high food resources just to help fuel all the practice they put into moving around.’
‘Coming up with workable limbs is hard when you’re a blob. I’d be floundering around without your body here to show me how it’s done.’ Scar adds.
You give this some thought as you push through another box, getting closer to the end of the corridor. Looking ahead, you see the grouchy snow leopard talking to a female anthropomorphic snow leopard with wild white hair. The female snow leopard seems to be very interested in what the grouchy snow leopard is saying.
‘Is that the grouchy snow leopard? Who is he talking to?’
‘Oh no… Scar! Help me hide the human!’
‘Why?’
‘Just do it! We can’t let Trixie find out about him!’
‘Wait! Who?’
Suddenly, you feel a pressure in your mind as your sensations abruptly disconnect. Your mind grows tired and murky, but you stay awake, trying to listen to the conversation… only to hear almost nothing through the all-encompassing goo.
----------------------------------------
‘Hunter, what is going on!? Why did we push the human from the link?!’
‘No time to explain. Just follow my lead in this, okay?’
‘...okay.’
This is bad… he can’t let Trixie find out about the human. Every latex knows how obsessed Trixie is with humans and leaving this human alone with her would be a bad idea.
With that in mind, Hunter tries to casually walk further away from the conversation, hoping not to grab the grouchy snow leopard’s, or rather, Leo’s attention. If Leo catches him looking like this, questions will be asked that he’d rather not answer.
Quietly pushing through more boxes, he notices the growing excitement in Trixie as her tail curls and swishes around randomly. There’s no doubt now, Leo’s telling Trixie all about the human that passed through.
‘...and then after that, he went into the main library again.’
‘When was this??’
‘Not long ago, not sure where the human is right now. He shouldn’t be too far.’
Trixie seems barely able to hold back a squeal of excitement, judging from the increased tail-swishing.
‘This is amazing news Leo! Thank you for the report!’
‘It’s nothing Trixie. Just doing my… wait, who is that?’
Hunter notices the sudden attention and sighs. Turning, he feels the telepathic connection shift out more to include him. Not like he hadn’t been listening in already.
‘Hunter? Is that you?’
Darn, he recognized me so soon.
‘Yeah, it’s me Leo.’
Another thought joins the conversation.
‘Leo? What’s going on? Is this fox a friend of yours?’ Trixie’s thought adds in.
‘Yes, this is my friend Hunter, except he was-’
‘Oh! He was that tail right? That’s him?’
‘Yes, just what happened to you Hunter?’
‘Well… me and the others decided to form together and try a body like this for a change. It’s terrible being a tail and blob all the time, you know?’
‘Hmm, I suppose that’s true. How’s the new body working for you?’
‘Quite well! Much easier than being part of a behemoth.’
‘How many are there?’
‘Just me and Scar.’
‘Hello!’
‘Just the two of you?’
‘Yes, just us two.’
Leo hums in thought while Trixie watches Hunter sceptically. Hunter would be sweating if he had the glands to do that. This story shouldn’t be enough to fool Leo, he knows too well that Hunter never caught a human before, so it would be practically impossible for him to create this body flawlessly and so suddenly.
‘Well…as much as we want to stay here and chat. We have a lot of things we want to try out with our new body. Time waits for no one, they say.’
‘Hey wait-’
‘Chat with you in a bit! Last we heard, there’s a raceway taking place in the sub-library. Gonna see if it's still going.’
‘You weren’t kidding about that!?’ Scar exclaims.
‘I can show you if it's still taking place Scar. Erm, See you soon Leo!’
‘Hold on! We barely met! Shouldn’t we-’
*Swoosh*
Hunter places a box between them and hurries out of the maze.
‘We nailed it Hunter! They didn’t find the human!’
‘I wouldn’t say that. Leo definitely knows we’re hiding something, I never showed him any hint of being able to form a body before. I just have to hope he doesn’t get too curious.’
----------------------------------------
Trixie and Leo are a little stunned at the rude fox’s antiques.
‘Leo? Is your friend alright? He seems a little strange.’
‘He isn’t. Something just doesn’t seem right with them.’
Trixie glances in the direction they went, pondering. She could have sworn her mind brushed up with a third individual in that fox, but they were too well hidden to identify.
‘Did you notice that third presence with them? It was faint, but I think they’re hiding someone.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Right, keep on alert in case the human comes back here. But please catch him this time. You wouldn’t want to see me upset now, would you?’
‘N-no mam!’
Trixie remembers the last time a human came by. She was FURIOUS when that human got away from her fellow leopards, so much so they kicked her out of that silly box club of theirs just for kicking a hole into one lousy box! She was angry, all right? Totally honest mistake.
‘Exc-ell-ent! You’ll do great!’ Trixie communicates with a sing-song lilt, just to ensure he stays motivated.
Trixie is about to follow Leo’s directions for where the human went when she stops to think for a moment. Suddenly changing directions, she spots the vent she’s looking for and grins.
‘I think I know what you’re hiding there, little Hunter.’
----------------------------------------
‘What’s happening…hello?’
You faintly hear voices chatting, but you can’t make out anything they’re saying. Eventually, everything goes quiet.
‘Anyone? Please.’
The sudden rise back to full awareness is like surfacing from the water to breathe again.
‘Human? Are you ok in there?’
‘What was that all about? I could barely even think! What were you doing!?’
‘Trying to hide you from Trixie. I don’t think you would enjoy meeting her.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘I want to know as well! Why hide the human from that snow leopard, Hunter?’
‘Let’s just say… Trixie is known for being VERY obsessed with humans. I dread to think what she would do to you if she finds out you’re here.’
‘She can’t be that bad can she?’
‘You don’t even want to know what happened the last time she saw a human… She. Never. Stops. Searching.’
You and Scar decide not to press the question.
Entering the sub-library from the tree room, you see that the racetrack has expanded. There’s even a crowd gathered at the side vocally, or rather, mentally cheering on their teams as they speed around the track.
‘So they are racing in here.’
‘I told you.’
‘They sure look excited.’
‘It gets boring around here, since most latexes like to just wait for something interesting to happen. Our chase must have inspired them to change that.’
You carefully step around the racetracks, veering away from the chattery blobs as you all make your way to a bathroom door. Pushing through, you finally get a glimpse of your new body through the mirror there. A sense of disbelief and awe washes over you at the sight.
The mirror reflects a fluffy white anthropomorphic fox with a large bushy tail and two red pointy ears with red horizontal stripes decorating your back and ankles. There’s even a strange yet beautiful symbol on your forehead. You can’t help but feel a sense of awe… it’s like you’re looking at someone else entirely. It’s hard to believe it’s really you.
‘Oh wow… look at us! Hunter, we look amazing!’
‘The patterns and our fur, it's… perfect… Scar I take back what I said about your contributions earlier, this looks really nice!’
‘Why thank you! I’ll just pretend you never doubted me. Anyways, human, what do you think of my work?’
‘I’m speechless… I still find it hard to believe it's me.’
‘Believe it, human! This is you! At least for a while.’
The sight of your new body almost makes you forget about your human body. You start to worry again, because as nice as the body may seem, it just feels wrong to trade your human body for it.
‘So this is temporary, right?’
‘What’s wrong? You don’t like being a fox?’
‘It’s not that! It’s just I… don’t want to give up… you know.’
Both voices break into a chuckle.
‘Hear this Scar? We wait for years to get out of our former bodies and then this human says he prefers his old one!’
‘What a twist of fate! I guess I’ll just hop off now and give up my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
You feel chastised by the two of them, but they seem to be taking it in jest.
Brushing paws over your fur and ears, and feeling the strange yet novel sensations it all brings, you decide that maybe staying like this for a short while wouldn’t be so bad.
*THUMBLE*
‘Huh? What’s that? Sounds like it came from above.’
You all look above to see a missing panel in the ceiling, with glowing emerald eyes piercing through the darkness.
‘GET BACK!’
But it’s too late, as something grey pounces into you, knocking you to the floor. Immediately, the pressure returns as your vision starts to blur and you feel fuzzy and disconnected. Just before going under, you catch a glimpse of your assailant.
Trixie.
----------------------------------------
‘Hunter! You’re hiding someone from me!’
‘Trixie! What do you mean hiding?!’
‘Don’t lie Hunter! There IS someone else with you! You and Scar were talking to them! I don’t know why you would try to hide someone from me, but I’ve got a pretty good idea, so start talking!’
‘I am not hiding anyone!’
‘Oh puh-lease! I JUST felt you disconnect them from the link! Who are you hiding there? Is there something you don’t want to tell me? Let me see them!’
‘Scar! Help me out here!’
With all their might, Hunter and Scar just barely manage to ward off Trixie’s attempts to connect with the human. Trixie grows angry as she tries harder and harder to fight her way through. Seeing an opportunity, Hunter throws off Trixie, making her growl with annoyance.
‘Listen up Hunter! I will not-’
*Creak*
The door swings open as a large, intimidating white-masked black wolf steps into the bathroom. All argument comes to a complete halt while Hunter, Scar and Trixie watch the wolf stroll in. None of the white latex present wants to anger a black latex that could very well take a chunk out of them for a snack. Turning on a tap at the basin, he washes his paws as he talks to himself, something Colin would learn he does a lot.
“Whew! Puro feels tired after cleaning up the library! But it was all worth it! Puro can’t help but wonder where the human is though…”
The human begins to stir at the voice none of them understands. Wait, who let the human out?!
‘P-Puro? Is that you?’
“He is taking a very long time down at the library, Puro should be a good friend and check to see if human is ok.”
‘I’m here! Puro! I’m a fox now! I’ve been transfurred!’
The human tries to reach out to Puro. Panicking, Hunter and Scar push the human away but it seems too late, Trixie is beginning to grin madly.
‘Hunter! What do we do? She’s giving us that look!’
‘Nothing, for now. No one’s going to make a move with that wolf here. Isn’t that right, Trixie?’
Trixie’s smile disappears as her eyes flick to the wolf and then back to them. Her tail lashes angrily but with restraint.
While reaching for the towel, Puro? shares a glance at the trio of white latex.
“Hmm… that snow leopard seems very interested in the fox. Puro read somewhere that feline animals go crazy when they are in heat, maybe the snow leopard is trying to corner them?”
Puro finishes drying his paws and heads for the door.
“Wherever human is, I hope he is not in trouble like that fox there.”
The door closes, and tension remains the same as Trixie’s emerald eyes glint with a mischievous intent looking at Hunter.
‘So… you and your friend are hiding a human from me?’
‘Trixie, I know how much you… ’like’ humans but you can’t-’
‘I can’t WHAT Hunter!? How could you hide something like this from me?! This hurts, you know? I can’t believe you’re lying to keep a girl from her dream. But that’s ok… if you let me have just one little peak at the human, I might just forgive you.’
Hunter tries to pull away, but in a flash, Trixie grabs him by the arms as her mind links towards the human. He tries to cut the link but Trixie wards off the cut and connects to the human’s mind. With a strength that Hunter and Scar’s efforts simply can’t defeat, Trixie brute-forces a solid link to their host.
‘Helllooo there…’
‘Hunter? Who is that?’
‘It’s rude to ignore someone who’s talking to you, you know. Why don’t you ask me?’
‘S-sorry, who are you?’
‘I’m Trixie, a snow leopard. And it's nice to meet you human, though it's a shame that Hunter got to you first.’
Trixie speaks slowly as she gently pushes the transfurred human to the wall. Soon after, she slams her paws next to him with a thud, pinning him close, her emerald eyes gazing into his own or rather, the human himself.
‘Now listen carefully, human. You may have been caught by Hunter but that doesn’t mean I won’t get my turn soon. When you finally separate from him… when you finally step out of him… I WILL find you… and you will be mine.’
Hunter can feel the shivers flowing down the human’s spine as he quakes in fear. Before too long, Trixie steps away, exiting through the same door Puro went through.
‘Oh, and one more thing…’ she pauses, glancing dangerously at him and Scar.
‘You boys better let him out soon…’ she says with a toothy grin, eyes shining in concert with a cruelly mischievous flick of her tail.
The last thing they see of her is the tip of her tail smoothly sliding out of sight.
----------------------------------------
‘Human… you are screwed.’
‘Not helping, Scar!’
Your legs don’t want to move. That snow leopard… Trixie was it? She terrifies you. Your mind can’t erase the haunting memory of her seeking, obsessed eyes as she had you pinned to the wall.
‘Guys… please tell me there’s something I can do about that.’
‘I wish I could human…I really wish I could. Trixie has a bit of an ‘obsession’ with humans. If there’s a human around, she’ll go to great lengths to catch them by any means necessary. I’m sorry human, but I can’t protect you from her.’
‘What do you mean Hunter? Surely you don’t mean that we have to separate from my favorite human?!’
‘I’m afraid so. Also, Scar, you’re only saying that because he’s the first human you’ve come across yet.’
‘But that’s just not fair! We got him like, ten minutes ago!’
‘You don’t understand what Trixie would do to get this human. She got kicked from the leopard’s box club after throwing a fit when they let another human escape. And believe me when I say that NO leopard in their right mind leaves the box club.’
‘Isn’t there ANYTHING you could do to help??’
‘I’m afraid not… I’m sorry human, but your best bet is to hide and pray that she doesn’t find you. I’ll give you a tip; don’t stare at a latex you’re trying to hide from.’
‘How does that help?’
‘It’s how I found you at the library. We latexes have this sense that allows us to tell if we’re being watched by someone. The longer we are being watched and the closer the watcher is, the more likely we will notice. I was quick to pick up your hiding place behind the shelf because you focused on me from so close. Don’t risk it with her, if she feels you watching her… she’ll KNOW it's you.’
You can only shiver in fear, you dread finding out what she has planned for you if you get caught. Maybe you got lucky when you encountered these guys for your first real transfur.
‘If… if we have to separate soon, could you take me to the main library? My friend Puro is looking for me.’
‘Who’s Puro?’
‘That black wolf with a white mask.’
‘Ooohhh, that wolf that no one can talk to? You can talk to him?’
‘He speaks English like I do.’
‘Well that’s great news! That wolf almost never seems to leave that library, he is very lucky to have you as a friend, human. Let’s get you to the library right away. We don’t know how long we have before Trixie comes back. You ok with that Scar?’
Scar doesn’t even reply, a sense of fear is his only response.
Exiting the bathroom, you move to the other part of the main library while the blobs announce the winners of their race. Your body stops at the entrance.
‘Hey human. Before we depart. I just want you to know that there may be others looking for you. Many other latex beasts are as eager to have a host as we are.’
‘Yeah, a lot of us would LOVE to have you as their host! I wouldn’t be surprised if a whole horde of latexes started following you!’
‘Scar is right, news spreads fast around here. You should expect other latex beasts to be searching for you soon, best be ready for anything.’
You can’t help but feel a bit nervous about that. How many latex beasts are there in this facility?
‘It will be fine, human! You’ll get through it, just you wait!’
‘...If you say so.’
‘We will be seeing you again someday, Scar and I can promise you that, just… after the Trixie crisis blows over.’
‘Hunter…’
‘Sorry!’
‘Let’s just separate already before she decides our time is up.’ Scar lets out a mental sigh.
And with that, your body shudders as the white goo starts to slide off. The ears on your head shrink down as the goo melts. Keeping your eyes shut, you feel the snout retract and rejoin itself down your neck and body.
Some of the goo flows down your back and onto Hunter’s tail, growing fluffier as it does. The rest flows down to the floor as Scar reluctantly turns back into the blob he once was.
The fur on your body retracts into itself as it flows back into their respective owners. Watching your paws, you can see the goo melting away, revealing your human hands underneath them, something about this almost seems like magic to you.
Slowly, every last bit of goo melts away as the connection between the two foxes disappears, and you are back to normal. As soon as they disconnect from your body, you nearly fall from the sudden return of full control over your body’s movement.
Collapsing onto your knees, you rub your head, trying to shake off the lingering daze.
“That was…something…I guess I will see you around next time?”
…
‘Human…we can’t speak like you do. Use telepathy.’ Hunter reminds you.
‘Oh right. I will see you all sometime?’
‘Definitely.’
‘Of course yes! Who would turn down a willing host??’ Scar chirps.
‘Scar…’ Hunter warns, glaring at the naive puddle.
‘What? You enjoyed it too!’
‘That’s beside the point. Human, just remember what I said ok? You will be fine.’
‘Right.’ you respond, still feeling unsure about all of this.
And with that, Hunter then turns around and leaves the library while Scar rushes to the raceway to mingle with the other latexes. They all seem to kinetically grumble, jealous of Hunter and Scar’s fortune of having a host, even for a short while.
Deciding it's best not to stick around, you turn around and enter through the door, hoping to see Puro again.