“What do you fancy?”

Lucinda looked about the circle clearing as she considered Varmia’s question. She had no idea what kind of games might be on offer, even with the clue that they were likely to be animal-related. Other than the newly altered wall, there were a few other clues for her to ponder. A large collection of bears was hard to miss, and would have been a terrifying sight elsewhere; the large slab of ice that had appeared within the lake was also of interest, but even more mysterious in purpose. However, well before she could make any solid conclusions, a particular thought emerged within her mind.

Everyone must be here by now. Which means… more forms!

She cast her eyes about a second time, though with an entirely new purpose. It quickly became clear that the animal companions of those present were more closely shadowing their partners when compared to the previous day, or even earlier that day; a very convenient state of affairs for Lucinda all things told.

Did Yalia say something? It’s not exactly a secret…

“You want me to decide? Or you gonna stand there silently forever?” Varmia asked.

“Sorry, I got distracted…” Making a snap decision, Lucinda pointed towards one of the groups. One that just happened to have a small furry animal she was eager to meet. She was sure whatever game was on offer would likely be fun regardless.

Marrow rejoined her as she and Varmia approached the group she’d chosen. She soon gained an inkling of what might be involved in the game, as it was the area with the large number of bears; eight in total, all of the brown variety. Of the people gathered there, she immediately recognised three of the older bear-loving Druids whom she had met the day before.

“Yay, two new punters!” the woman named Mirabelle greeted. “Drawn in by the sight of our large gang of adorable furry critters?”

“Hi,” Lucinda greeted in return. “More or less.” Her eyes flicked to another nearby gathering attendee, for there was no mistaking who the small, long-tailed creature she was aiming for was partnered with. Unfortunately, the woman appeared to be occupied with the game on offer.

“Where’s the enthusiasm? This game is the best!”

“It’s like Spot the Otter?”

“It is! Well, actually it came first, but that doesn’t really matter!”

“It’s also got a much better name,” the wife of the other bear-loving couple, Aerili, called out from nearby.

“Oh?” Lucinda said.

“Where Bear,” Mirabelle stated with obvious glee. “Totally awesome, isn’t it!?”

“Umm… I guess that makes sense.”

“Noo, come on! You should be all: ‘Wow, Mirabelle! That’s the best name ever!’ You know it works on multiple levels!?”

“Don’t overdo it now. I think you’re starting to scare her,” Aerili said.

“Eeep, sorry, sorry! Uh, let’s move onto the rules instead.”

“This one!” the woman taking part in the confusingly named game announced loudly. Lucinda looked over just in time to see one of the bears pop out of existence, which was followed by a loud groan, and then plentiful laughter from the other spectators.

“Wrong again,” the familiar voice of Mirabelle’s husband, Tarilm, shouted out. “One more shot and that’s your lot! Blindfold back on.”

“A bit like that,” Mirabelle continued. “We’ve got six summoned brown bears and two real ones. You have to find the two real ones in four guesses. For extra fun, we blindfold you and shuffle them around after each guess, right or wrong!”

“Two real bears? Is that Demik, and…?”

While Aerili’s husband was an easy enough guess, Lucinda trailed off as she realised the second bear couldn’t be the bear she had gained the form of; Flarfi was too large to remain inconspicuous amongst a group of its summoned peers. A quick evaluation of the eight animals revealed the considerable similarities between them and a definitive lack of a singularly extra large individual.

“Tarilm’s companion,” Mirabelle supplied. “I’ll put you two down as wanting to play, shall I?”

“Not me,” Varmia replied. “I’ll just watch.”

Lucinda considered how likely it was that she might succeed at such a game. Her faux attempt during her time with the circle children had not gone well, and that was with far fewer animals to choose from.

“I guess I’ll try,” she said eventually.

“Yay, you!” Mirabelle replied with a wide smile. “Even if you don’t win it’ll be tons of fun! Once Janyar’s done, there’ll be two more and then you. Okay?”

“Okay, I don’t mind waiting.”

Lucinda’s attention was brought back to the ongoing game as the participant made her final guess.

“This one! It has to be…”

The bear the woman touched to indicate her selection did not pop out of existence; instead, Lucinda was amused to see it nod its head several times.

“Not bad babe, but maybe you should use your eyes next time?” one of the male spectators called out.

The woman named Janyar whirled on her accuser with a stormy look upon her face. “I'd like to see you do better!”

“Not a problem. Let the master show you how it’s done.”

As the confident man switched places with Janyar, Varmia moved up beside Lucinda. “Wasn’t the bears that brought you here, yeah?” she asked quietly. “Her companion sure is cute.”

“The Shifter’s curse…” Lucinda said with mock sadness. A faint hint of actual sadness reached her as she realised her words were sort of true, if for a different reason. Pushing that thought aside, she looked over at the fluffy animal that rested upon the shoulder of the woman named Janyar. “If it’s too small, I’m going to be upset.”

“Guess there’s only one way to find out?”

“Hi,” Lucinda greeted as she reached the woman in question. She was a brunette who appeared to be of a similar age to Grissa.

“Hi,” the woman replied, looking her over briefly before turning back to watch the bear seeking activity. “Lucinda, right?”

“That’s me.”

With the next participant ready to start, the animals were swiftly manoeuvred into position. Lucinda’s attention remained mostly focussed on the small animal she hoped to acquire the form of. It was similar in size to a regular house cat, but with a tail that was easily twice the length of its body. Its fur was mostly dark on top, with a creamy-yellowy underbelly that also extended to large portions of its head and face. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was; her best guess was an oversized squirrel of some sort.

“Your companion is really cute,” Lucinda said in an effort to bring Janyar’s attention back to her.

A half-smile formed on the woman’s lips. “Thanks…”

“… Bear found!” Tarilm suddenly shouted out. “And with three more guesses to go!”

Janyar’s expression returned to the familiar stormy look. “Jammy bastard…” she muttered.

At almost the same instant, the man taking part in the game turned their way to reveal a grin of overbearing smugness.

“See? What did I tell you?” he called out in an incredibly cocky tone.

Lucinda felt a pang of sympathy for her conversation partner as the woman’s face contorted into an intense grimace. She was still considering how best to steer things towards her form acquiring goal when Janyar looked her way again and interrupted her with a slight but noticeable frown.

“Soz, but I’m here with my boyfriend,” the unhappy woman said. “Even if he is a bit of an ass…” she added in a quieter voice.

“Ahh…” Lucinda stammered out. Her cheeks had already taken on a red hue. “That’s not…”

“Oh-ho,” Tarilm’s voice boomed out. “Second attempt: Wrong. Blindfold on.”

“Hah!” Janyar exclaimed loudly. “Who’s laughing now?”

Once the man’s subsequent grumbling had concluded, Lucinda tried again to get her point across.

“I just wanted to pet your animal companion…” she said. “To acquire her form…”

Janyar looked her way again. She laughed after only a brief delay, though there was a hint of embarrassment on her face. “You shoulda said. Help yourself. And he’s male.”

Lucinda barely had time to react before the small furry animal leapt from the other woman’s shoulders straight at her. It bypassed her hastily raised arms, instead choosing to land directly atop her head, somehow managing to avoid injuring her in the process, much to her relief. It soon settled into a spot upon her shoulder that seemed to please it, its tail lightly tickling her back all the while.

If only Marrow was smaller, she could ride on my shoulders. But be less useful in combat… Just like this thing. At least it looks perfect for cuddling with!

Reaching out to acquire the next form for her ever-growing list, Lucinda’s hand instead landed on her own bare shoulder. A high-pitched chittering sound emerged from the animal at the same instant, its vocalisation an obvious taunt.

Less than a minute later, the small animal had successfully proven than it was more than capable of avoiding any and all attempts made by Lucinda to capture it. It was simply too quick for her, a fact that wasn’t lost on a certain nearby Druid.

“Having fun?” Varmia asked, her laughter halting temporarily.

“…Mostly,” Lucinda replied, giggling as she did. “I do kind of want his form eventually though…”

With the help of her innate ability to calm the critter down – which she was mostly sure had actually helped – the second round of their struggle ended in Lucinda’s favour, with her hands finally landing upon the soft fur of the agile beast. From there, a few strokes of its hide was all the time it took for a new notification to make itself known.

Shapeshifts Name Base Attributes Attribute Bonuses Base Level Rank Bonuses STR AGI END STR AGI END Giant Squirrel 12 17 12 1.0 1.1 1.0 2 1 Arboreal Agility Arboreal Agility (Giant Squirrel)

Improves climbing ability and grants increased agility while climbing. Only applies to trees and tree-like objects.

A giant squirrel. Should have known…

Taking a moment to sample the softness of the giant squirrel’s incredibly bushy tail, Lucinda then encouraged the small animal to assault Varmia instead. It took very little work to instigate her plan, while the surprised yelp its completion produced brought an unavoidable bout of giggling from her. Still giggling, she began shifting into her newest form.

Once complete, she looked up at the other woman, marvelling at the sudden difference in their respective sizes. Without even moving, she realised the form wasn’t as similar to a house cat as she’d imagined; the increased flexibility and control of her tail primarily, but her lower body and hind legs also.

Seeing Janyar’s companion had secured a position on Varmia’s shoulder, Lucinda decided to put her form’s ability to the test. Unfortunately, her plan lasted as long as it took for her to reach Varmia’s leg and place her forepaws upon it.

This isn’t going to work, she’s not wearing enough clothes. Damn…

Lucinda’s despondency was abruptly forgotten about when a pair of soft hands gripped her body. The slight shifting of Varmia’s feet had served as prewarning, yet that didn’t prevent her from releasing a squirrely squeak as she was effortlessly hoisted up into the air. Her aerial journey ended with her being held a short distance from the young Druidess’ smiling face.

“You’re definitely the cuter of the two,” Varmia said, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Just begging to be cuddled…”

As suddenly as she had been removed from the ground, Lucinda found herself being brought straight towards the other woman’s body, or more accurately, her bosom. The squeak she voiced in protest did nothing to alter her fate and was barely concluded when she felt the warmth of Varmia’s body envelop her.

Ahh, this doesn’t mean anything… Not like this…

Pressed up against the cushiony flesh, Lucinda’s squirrel body quickly relaxed as one feminine hand began stroking her back. It was a slightly awkward position to be in, and far removed from what she had intended, yet it wasn’t all bad.

Comfy. Really comfy.

“Time for our next participant!” a familiar voice called out. “Lucinda? Has anyone seen Lucinda?”

And now it’s even more awkward…

Lucinda was standing in front of eight brown bears in human form. The bears were arranged in two neat rows of four, each staring ahead blankly. She had mostly recovered from the embarrassing situation moments before, but it mattered little as she had absolutely no idea which of the eight animals were the two she needed to point out.

“How long do I have?” she asked of Tarilm.

“Just under two minutes left for this guess.” He pointed to a small hourglass resting nearby.

Crap…

Spurred into action by the announcement, she hurriedly conducted a detailed investigation of each bear. Down the first row, and then the second she went, her eyes sweeping over the large, furry animals as critically as she could manage.

They all look the same! Same size, same brown fur… Maybe their faces?

She dashed back along both rows of bears while paying closer attention to the finer features of their faces. As she finished with the last bear, the conclusion she reached was not a happy one.

Okay, they’re actually all different. But that doesn’t help at all…

Taking a deep breath to release a frustrated sigh, a new idea came to her; brought on by the musky scent of bear her nostrils had caught.

“Can I shift?” she asked.

“Far be it from me to deny a Shifter her ability to shapeshift,” Tarilm responded, his voice tinged with mirth.

“What!?” the voice of Janyar called out from nearby. “Isn’t that cheating? You never said we could do that.”

“Time’s three quarters gone.”

Crap… Something with a good nose!

With almost no time to consider the relative strengths of her myriad forms, Lucinda chose the first that came to mind: Boar. She willed the shift to begin, and then willed it to finish more swiftly. The usual few seconds later, with her vastly improved nose fully formed, she set to work. She began trotting down the rows of bears once more, sniffing each one deeply as she passed, praying there was some difference for her heightened sense to detect.

They smell like bears…

Lucinda’s frustration grew steadily as she continued from bear to bear, her nose returning the same result for each. However, as she reached the latter half of the second row, a fresh waft of a new aroma made its way through her olfactory system.

Yuck. That’s a bear that really needs a wash! I guess that must be one of them.

“Time’s almost up.”

After emitting a piggy squeal of distress, Lucinda hurriedly shifted back to human form. As soon as her mouth was in a more suitable form for actual speech, she made her declaration.

“This one!”

There was no need for Tarilm to confirm her selection, as the bear nodded its head several times shortly after she’d chosen it.

“That’s a bear found!” Tarilm shouted. “A good start, but can she succeed a second time? Blindfold on.”

“Nice one, Luci!” Varmia called out. “Show them how it’s done!”

Despite the encouragement offered, the following two rounds ended with Lucinda failing to find the remaining bear. The sense of smell of her boar form was powerful, but could not detect a discrepancy that simply wasn’t there. Even trying some of her other forms did nothing to bring success her way, and neither did her idea of utilising Marrow’s vastly superior vision.

“Last guess. Time starts… Now!”

Dammit… How am I supposed to find him? He doesn’t smell different, he doesn’t look different… I can’t even use my innate ability on him! Calling a shapeshifted Druid a real bear doesn’t seem right. …No, wait! He’ll be the only one my ability doesn’t affect!

Argh, but I can’t affect them all at once. Can I? I’m still not even sure how well it works on higher-level animals… I have to try anyway! One at a time? Something simple?

Moving to the first bear of the eight present, Lucinda considered her options.

Sleep? Like with that black bear I got the form of? No, that’ll take too long… Maybe, a yawn?

Lucinda began utilising her innate ability, projecting her thoughts outwards to the target bear with the hopes of stimulating a desire to yawn within. A few seconds passed before a troubling realisation popped into her mind.

This won’t work… If Demik sees them all yawing he could decide to play along. Okay, okay… I still have time, I think? Just need something more subtle… And silent… Ah! Blinking?

“Time’s halfway up.”

Noo!

After a stretch of time that felt painfully long, the first bear succumbed to her mental suggestion as she’d hoped. The rapid series of three blinks was an obvious indication, prompting her to move onto the next bear immediately, where she elicited an identical reaction without difficulty. But by the end of the first row, no shapeshifted Druid had revealed themselves, and before she could start anew on the second, the dreaded words reached her ears.

“Time’s up!”

“Shit…” Lucinda cursed in a low voice.

That should have worked. I just needed more time!

“Can I try again?”

“Mirabelle can sign you up for another go. You’ll likely have to wait a spell though.”

“Of course…”

Head hung in defeat, Lucinda wandered back over to where Varmia and Marrow were waiting.

“Cheer up, Luci,” Varmia greeted. “Almost no one gets it first time. Not without actually cheating anyway.”

“I had it… I just ran out of time…”

“Yeah? You wanna come back later and try again then? If you can’t stand having lost at this silly bear-related game.”

Lucinda laughed despite the lingering disappointment she felt at her recent failure. “Maybe I was taking it a bit too seriously… But I do want to try again.”

“Don’t worry about it. Seeing you try so hard was all sorts of adorable.” Lucinda’s cheeks flushed faintly as Varmia beamed a wide smile at her. “Next game?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll choose. I think I know someone else with a companion you’ll want to grope.”

“Pet. You mean pet.”

Varmia laughed loudly. “Come on, this way.”

“Are you sure this is safe?”

Across from where Lucinda stood, some ten metres away, one of the local Druids by the name of Zarzel stood against the outer wall of the circle clearing. He was of middling years, with his dark hair tied in a lengthy ponytail. Upon his head rested an apple; in Lucinda’s hand, a knife.

“Not even a bit dangerous,” the man replied to her question. “Told ya, didn’t I? Wooden Flesh and healing magic. Just make sure you throw it at me, or forwards at the least.”

Lucinda hefted the knife again as she wondered not for the first time what her chances were of hitting the distant target. Even with the pointers she’d received from the woman running the so-called game, she wasn’t feeling confident.

“Can’t believe you’d be so cruel as to force us to play just so she can touch your animal companion,” Varmia said while taking a moment to send a playful grin in Lucinda’s direction.

“Force you? Come off it! Who doesn’t like throwing knives at people?”

“Don’t you mean the apple?” Lucinda asked.

“Hah, yeah… That’s what I meant.” Zarzel burst into laughter. “Go on then. Get throwing already.”

Varmia shrugged at Lucinda. “He’s asking for it. Together?”

“I guess so. On three?”

“Yeah. One… Two… Three!”

As the all-important number was reached, Lucinda unleashed the knife in the strange Druid’s direction. Or tried to.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” Zarzel called out. “I know you’re both girls, but come on!”

“Hey! No insulting girls!” Varmia shouted back. “We’re still warming up…”

“Hah! Well, don’t take too long or we’ll run out of knives.”

“Don’t let him get to you,” the female ranger who had previously introduced herself as Kellon said. “Or do, and focus that anger into hitting him. …By which I mean the apple. Of course.”

“We won’t actually run out knives will we?” Lucinda asked as she eyed the bit of tree-wall her first throw had ended up disappearing into.

“My animal companion is in charge of ensuring that never happens. Keep throwing with impunity.”

Many knives later, the seemingly impossible goal was in fact reached. Lucinda’s accuracy had steadily improved after the first few embarrassing misses, but although she managed to hit Zarzel’s body more than once, it was one of Varmia’s that clipped the apple atop his head. That Lucinda had technically failed her second game of two would have annoyed her more if not for the surprising amount of fun she’d had lobbing pointy objects, and for the reward that awaited her.

“Alright, girls, here he is,” Zarzel announced while pointing to the approaching animal companion that was his.

Lucinda’s heart sunk as she saw it, for it was nothing more than an ordinary-looking deer.

“Aww…” she uttered. “Thanks, but I’ve already got deer form.”

“Luci, take a closer look before you get too upset,” Varmia suggested with an accompanying smile of encouragement.

She did so. The lack of antlers upon the animal’s head was obvious, but not an impossible state for a male deer. Despite Varmia’s words, the unfamiliar shade of its fur, and relatively small size, seemed to be the only other differences.

“…It’s a normal deer,” Lucinda said unhappily.

“You sure about that? Because it’s totally not.” Varmia sent a confused look her way that Lucinda returned for seemingly different reasons. That then changed when the Druidess’ eyebrows shot upwards. “Oh!” She laughed loudly. “Move a bit this way.”

Still highly confused, Lucinda did as she'd been bid. Her doubts about Varmia’s sanity lasted for approximately two steps, whereupon she saw an unusual addition to the otherwise normal-looking deer, that had previously blended in with the light fur underneath the animal’s head.

“Fangs!?” she exclaimed. “What kind of deer is that?”

“Sheesh, took you long enough,” Zarzel mocked half-heartedly. “Couldn’t you have just touched it anyway? That’s how you evil Shifters conduct your sinister business, is it not?”

“Zarzel. Stop being an ass, yeah?”

Rather than be chastised, the deer’s partner laughed at the warning. Fortunately, with her renewed interest in the animal before her, and her previously made conclusion that the man was decidedly weird, Lucinda was happy to largely ignore him.

“And how about answering her question?”

“Alright, alright. He’s a vampire deer. Not related to the undead creature obviously. There might be some other name they go by too, but who cares about that? Glad you took the time to throw knives at me now?”

Lucinda offered Zarzel a friendly smile. “It wasn’t so bad,” she admitted. “I’ll acquire him now.”

“Acquire away!”

Approaching the ominously named deer, Lucinda couldn’t resist a quick shake of her head.

How did I not see those things? They’re huge! I hope it has some ability to do with them… That could be really strong. Who needs antlers when you’ve got fangs!?

Zarzel’s companion revealed himself to be a deer that enjoyed being petted, as even before Lucinda’s hand had reached him, he tilted his head to direct her efforts. She acquiesced with a smile; one that grew wider just as soon as the new notification appeared before her eyes.

Shapeshifts Name Base Attributes Attribute Bonuses Base Level Rank Bonuses STR AGI END STR AGI END Water Deer 14 14 12 1.1 1.1 1.0 2 1 Essence Drain Essence Drain (Water Deer)

Bite into a target to drain small quantities of health.

Effect scales with Base Level and Spirit.

Cost: 5% Base Mana

Ooo, nice! Although why is it called a water deer when its ability involves draining people? Oh well, not really important. Time to try it out! Shapeshift: Vampire Deer! Mmm, or not… Shapeshift: Water Deer!

Lucinda’s second attempt triggered the desired result. She had no expectations of the process being different for her newest acquisition; even with the protruding teeth it bore, its similarity to a regular deer was hard to refute. However, just before the transformation completed, she did experience a burst of excitement as she felt the one unusual aspect of it take place.

“Well, would ya look at that,” Zarzel said. “A perfect example of why girls can’t fight.”

“You better not actually think that,” Varmia replied with considerable anger in her voice. “I sure as shit won’t stand for it. Gran won’t either.”

The male Druid chuckled heartily. “You're right, I don't. But! In her case, it’s actually true. Turn those pretty eyes upon your friend and you too shall see.”

Varmia’s responding scowl to the man’s taunting words was of a potency rarely seen; however, she did eventually turn her gaze upon Lucinda’s new form. For her part, Lucinda was sadly re-evaluating her opinion of the most recent Druid she’d met, and not for the better.

“Shit,” Varmia cursed, a troubled frown appearing on her face. She half-turned towards Zarzel, who was smirking with obvious glee. “That doesn’t make you right!”

What…?

Lucinda’s answer-demanding bleat successfully brought Varmia’s attention back to her. The young Druidess moved to her knees and brought one hand to Lucinda’s furry head. A few strokes later a grimace appeared on her lips.

“How excited were you for those fangs?” Varmia asked.

Aww… Really?

Unable to voice her concerns, she released another bleat and tilted her head in an inquisitive manner.

“Yeah… They’re there, but… well…” Varmia’s pained expression remained as she held up two fingers before Lucinda’s eyes; they were spaced apart with only a depressingly tiny gap between them.

Not even big enough to bite anyone?

“I’ll be off then,” Zarzel said. “Well past time I had more knives thrown at me. Come give it another try if you feel the need!”

“Sorry, Luci,” Varmia said without acknowledging the departing male Druid in any way. “I didn’t know…”

Shifting back to human form forced the petting to an abrupt end. “It’s fine,” Lucinda said placatingly. “Huge fangs would have been nice, but I still got a new form. I might have missed the chance entirely if you hadn’t said anything. It's also only got a base level of 2…”

Varmia sighed quietly and then smiled. “Next game? It's your choice.”

“Sure… Unless you know of any other animals I might want to ‘grope’?”

“That depends. Are humans animals?”

The sudden brightness of the Varmia’s eyes said it all.

“…No.”

“Heh, was worth a try.”