Kristia had already been lurking around the Alleyway, pressed up against one of the back doors with a smug look on her face. ?Excitement in the West End.? She muttered irritably, reading the words from the wrinkled copy of the Oracle in her hands.

He comes treading down the alley in search of his mistress. He looks around worriedly as his pace quickens, in a hurry to get from one end of the alley to the next. This place made him nervous. Upon seeing her, he breaks into a smile and races up to her. ?Here! Here I am!?
Taking in the last bit of the column she was reading, Kris folded up the paper and stuck it under her arm. ?Ky! Any trouble getting here??

Quick shake of his furry head. ?Nope!? He couldn't help shake off the grin on his face. He was excited about this whole experience.

?Perfect.? She began peeling off unwanted materials. Paper down. Coat unbuttoned and dropped onto the ground, nudging it with her foot against one of the walls. ?I would have suggested doing this at home but I'm afraid something might go wrong. To be perfectly honest, Ky. I think this is a wretched idea.? However this statement was made as she reached into the handbag she'd brought along.

Another wild shake of his head. ?No, Mistress, it's...? He then stops himself short before coming off demanding. He coughs into his hand, ? I mean, I know. But you have no idea how much this means to me.?

?I'm aware.? She crouched over to set the bag down and pulled out the 'secret ingredient.' A thin, circular tube that held some strange green substance. Harmless enough. Then came the needle. The metal end was almost as long as a finger and had the width of a pen's tip. Even Kris grimaced, ?You sure about this?? She looked to Ky again, this time with some concern.

He looks at the needle and whimpers. Instinctively, his tail shoots between his legs and his ears flop downwards.?Uh.. Wow. That thing is huge.?

?It is. Ky??

?No, no! I'm okay! I'll just. uh.. not look!? He winces visibly. ?Where's it gotta go??

?Your arm.? Pointing the needle downwards, the Dhampire closed the distance between them. She took one of his arms in her hand, fingers curling tightly around his forearm. Concern was written across her face. ?You know that you don't have to do this. I keep hearing you say that you want to but if you're doing this for me..? She trailed off. It made her uncomfortable getting so close to Ky. They'd always had a sort of bond that just simply wasn't discussed. In her line of work it was inappropriate.

He thinks about it for a long moment as he stares at the needle. It looked awfully long but any hesitation he had fluttered away the moment he feels her hand on him. He looks at her hand, nestled within the locks of fur that cover his body and nods. ? I know. I swear it's for me.? He wasn't the best liar but now wasn't the time to spill his thoughts. He raises his head upwards and squeezes his eyes shut. ?Okay! I'm ready.?

Watching his eyes clamp shut, Kristia couldn't help but roll her own. What a baby. She kept the comments to herself though and twisted his arm so that she could better see. Thumb pressing down into the center, she was trying to get a vein to pop up. ?Here we go.? Pearly whites nibbling down on her lower lip as she brought the needle upwards and onto his skin. Quickly for his benefit, she pierced his skin with the needle and slid the metal in. Pushing down on the syringe end, the green ooze filtered through the needle and into his system.

He squeaks as the skin breaks but that was it. As she finishes, he even manages to pop one eye open to look at her. ?Hey! That wasn't as bad as I ex-..? He appears to continue talking but his words come out like gibberish. A second later he curls his arms into his body and falls over like a cut-down tree trunk. ?Oooooouuww?

Best place to stand in times like these? Far back. Disposing of the needle to the side, Kristia watched on from a safe distance. ?She did say it was going to sting a little.? She was trying to be encouraging. ?Just try not to fight it! It'll just make things worse.?

He continues to howl in pain. He drops down onto the ground now in one swift motion, hugging his stomach. Roll to the right. Roll to the left. He flails his legs out like trying to kick at some imaginary aggressor. It was the only thing he could do to try to shake off the unbearable burning sensation that felt like it was enveloping his entire body. ?Make it.. Ooou.. Stop..!? As he keeps rolling, patches of hair begin to fall off his body.
?It's working. Just hang in there.? Kristia's helpful words from her corner. Nope, she wasn't moving one inch.

He still flops around as the fur dropped off in big heaps. Along with the removal of the hair, his tail appears to be shedding off inch by inch into nothing. His ears, too, seem to blow off from his head like they weren't even real. Finally the pains begin to subside and Ky rolls around, face-down, onto the ground.

Blinkblink. Kris was going to be furious if this stuff ended up killing him. ?Ky? You alright?? But there was no response. ?Shit.? She raced over to crouch down besides the fallen Ky, her hands to his back and giving him several gentle shakes. ?Ky. Wake up. You okay?? Then a little harder shake. ?Seriously. Get up.?

The is a lull between her words and his response but eventually he groans. ?Ugh.? He rolls around to face her and brushes the hanging fur from his face. The concoction had worked. No longer would Ky be called an anthro. His tail and pointy feline ears had completely disappeared and his body which was moments ago covered in fur, now had a smooth canvas of tanned skin. As he brushes his fingers across his face, he stops and stares at his hands. ?Whoa.?

Her initial response was to slap him on the arm. ?That's not funny.? She followed his gaze downwards to his hands and then back up to his face. Reaching outwards to pick off some of the gravel that he'd plowed his face into, her fingers knocked against his newly acquired mess of black hair. ?It certainly worked.?

He grabs her hand. ?I can feel you.? Blushing instantly, he releases her hand just as quickly. ?I mean, everything feels different without all the fur.? Sitting upwards, he touched his face with both hands, feeling around, ?How.. How do I look??
?You look like a man.? She nodded firmly, easing back on her feet to give him some space.

?Good? Bad?? He was still touching around his face like on a treasure hunt for something. Square-shaped face, defined chin with a hint of shadow, everything felt rough to the touch. No longer soft and fluffy, Ky's smile began to widen.

Standing upwards again, Kristia was considering him. He certainly wasn't unpleasant looking by any means but she was having a hard time with this. This attractive fellow was Ky? Her Ky? It just didn't sit well in the pit of her stomach. She feigned disinterest and looked off, shrugging. ?You look like a man. Let's not overdo it, hm??

?Sorry, sorry. Of course not.? He stops pawing long enough to push upwards from the ground and struggle onto his feet. Rolling around had made his side sores so he moved slowly, ?Mistress.. Would you be horribly displeased with me if I went home? I'd like to clean up and look.. if it's not too much to ask.?

?Go ahead.? She watched him almost suspiciously, ?And it's not a bad look for you but don't start getting cocky or I'll knock you down a peg or two.? Pointing at him, ?And don't think I won't.?

?I would never.? He bows down to her. ?Thank you, Mistress, thank you.? Then as quickly as can be, Ky spins around and races off.

?Yeah, yeah.? As she watched him off, Kristia considered that this might not have been her best decision ever. Brow furrowed in thought, she walked over to gather up her things and headed back towards the Inn.