Before the shape shifter left, Chuck was shown back to the main street and he said goodbye. The children had scampered away once they had finished their snack. Instead of continuing to wander around, Chuck headed back to the guild. He had a lot to think about. He was worried about meeting the next shape shifter. Chuck had never had a girlfriend and was generally nervous around girls and never knew what to say. It was even worse since they would be completely different species from different worlds. Even after meeting the first one, Chuck didn’t know what they might like or be interested in. What if the second one thought he was a pervert too after seeing his memories. It didn’t sound like there were many others that were interested. Chuck got back to the guild and flopped down on his bed, not sure what to do. At times like this he wished he could still talk to his friends back on Earth.

Instead of wallowing in indecision and what ifs, Chuck got up and went to his pickup. He wanted it to look presentable or at least not dirty. It needed a good wash after his road trip to get the dust off. He used the magic water skin and a rag and got to work. There were also blood stains in the truck bed that he wanted to clean while he was at it. The interior was kind of dusty as well since both side windows were now broken. Chuck idly wondered if he could get a glass maker to make new windows that would fit while he cleaned. His front windshield was also cracked so it would be nice to get it fixed, but he figured it was a long shot and the glass quality would probably be poor. He had almost considered just removing the front windshield but then decided not to for now. If it got any worse though, it would need to go.

While he was cleaning the interior and listening to music, someone walked up to the truck. “Oh, sorry. If the music is too loud, I can turn it down.” Chuck said, not looking up. “No, it is interesting. Is this what music sounds like in your world?” The stranger asked. “This is called heavy metal. I have some hard rock, punk, and even some pop music as well but there was a wide variety back on Earth.” Chuck continued, finally looking up. “I would love to hear more.” The stranger said while Chuck stared open mouthed at the black furred cat girl in a maid uniform. “The clan leader said you liked this appearance.” She said, twirling around. “Um, that is, so you are…” Chuck stammered, his brain trying to catch up with what was going on. “My name is Tessetty, let’s get along.” She said bowing. “Oh, right. Um, my name is Chuck. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You don’t really need to wear a maid uniform, that was just a test of the clan leader’s abilities. I don’t expect you to be a maid or anything. Also you don’t need to be a cat girl. I didn’t know it was the clan leader so I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Chuck said hastily. “Do shape shifters even have genders, I only know what little the clan leader told me.” Chuck continued in a rush.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“We don’t until we form a bond with someone.”Tessetty chuckled, amused at Chuck’s nervousness. “If it isn’t too much trouble, can I see what you really look like?” Chuck asked, slowly calming down. He had been wondering ever since he first heard about them. “I don’t mind, but you might find it repulsive.” She said, tilting her head. “I can handle it, unless you look like a spider. I hate spiders.” Chuck said, suddenly concerned. “We don’t.” She said laughing. Her form melted away and changed into a pale blue, translucent blob. It was a little taller than Chuck and had a single eyeball floating in the gel about head height. Two tentacle like arms appeared and a mouth formed. “Wow, so you are like slimes.” Chuck said, studying the blob. “Mind if I touch you?” Chuck said, then his cheeks blushed when he realized what he said. “My, my, so bold. Go ahead.” Tessetty said giggling and holding out a tentacle. He poked it tentatively. It was squishy and cool to the touch but not at all slimy. “What are slimes by the way?” Tessetty asked. “They are fictional creatures from my world and look a lot like you. Sometimes they are portrayed as creatures that swallow you whole and dissolve you with acid and other times they are friendly companions.” He replied, pulling his hand away. “Well, we aren’t made of acid so we must be the friendly kind.” Tessetty replied sounding pleased that Chuck wasn’t afraid.

“Now it’s my turn to touch you.” Tessetty said playfully. “Sure.” Chuck said, holding out his hand. “Where did the cat girl come from by the way? The clan leader thought it wasn’t native to your world.” Tessetty asked before beginning. “That’s true, it’s fictional like the slimes and is from a type of entertainment called anime. There are a lot of cute girls in anime.” Chuck said, embarrassed that he had watched so many. Tessetty grabbed his hand in a cool embrace and spent some time looking through his memories. It soon morphed into a fox eared girl with a fluffy tail wearing adventurer garb. “There certainly is a lot to choose from. I can’t wait to try them out. It was so boring changing into the same things over and over. This is just what I needed, your world is amazing.” Tessetty gushed. Chuck was a little concerned that she liked his world more than him but it was a good start nonetheless. “May I call you Tess?” Chuck asked, scratching his head. “Oh, giving me a nickname already. I like it.” She said grabbing his arm, which sandwiched it between her ample breasts. It was strange, her body temperature seemed to be normal now instead of the coolness of the slime body. It must have something to do with their ability, Chuck thought while trying to distract himself from the wonderful sensation. “Would you like to pick out some music?” He asked, grabbing the CD case. Chuck had a fun time after that telling her about the bands they were listening to and about his world. It looked like she was having fun also. It sure was nice having a cute girl around.