Bob tapped on Xander's curtain, leaning in when he grunted. "Here, you have to take this." "Aspirin?" "No, Transform-Oh's. Our next place is a four-footed place." "No human leash holders?" "Leashes are for criminals and nothing on two feet." He held out the small, lurid green pill again. "It'll wear off in a few hours." "If you say so. How do you guys play your instruments?" "We have a paw-enabled set. The same as we have one for the underwater arena in a few stops." He grinned. "Doing this early means you've got time to get used to having four feet and to pee standing up." He walked off. Xander looked at the pill then took it with the last sip of his present can of soda. He watched as fur sprouted and he shrunk down to look like a bright green cat with navy blue stripes. "Interesting." He realized he was speaking with his normal voice so it was all right. He hopped down to wander around. "Will I need to take another one later?" "Double his dose now," Bob called. "If it wears off they can lynch him." He came out of the bathroom, getting Xander a second dose. "Here, it shouldn't change how you look. But cute colors." He walked off, going to take his own. His blue skin turned into purple fur but he looked more canine. The other two simply took off their clothes. Curls' orange fur turned out to be tiger stripped under his clothes. His antenna were bobbing along as he bopped his head with the music on his headset. Dick took off his clothes to become light green and furry all over except a spot on his stomach. Bob looked at him. "You're shedding?" "My girl went into heat before we left. She nibbled it off." He stroked over the bare spot. "It'll be fine. The keyboards hide it." He stretched out and looked down at Xander. "Cute markings. They're not usual so you might even get some chicks this time, Xander." He went back to his cubicle, going to brush himself. Xander looked at Bob. "Why am I the only one that shrunk?" "Human heritage. It does it to all you pure vein types." Xander gave him a confused look. "Through the multi-verse you guys are known for having a reputation for only liking your own type." "Most humans think we're the only type." "Yeah, that's the other problem," Dick offered as he came back to join them. "We'll get asked during at least one interview. If you do, tell them you live in a mixed town and leave off the hunting stuff. 'Kay?" "Sure, but I only hunt the deadly things, like vampires and others trying to eat us." "That won't go over well when we're on a vampire heavy realm and then we'll get stoned," Dick told him. "Okay, I won't mention it. What if they ask about Buffy?" "Say it's your brother or something. Not like they'll check." He shrugged, going back to his bunk. "Should we triple dose him? It wears off after four hours and we'll be there nine." "No, a triple dose together equals a permanent transformation," Bob reminded him. "I'd rather not have the girls only like me for a lap snuggle," Xander agreed. "I'll start to shed before I change back?" "We'll make sure you take another dose when we come off for a break or have Fred nearby," Curls called. "Don't stress or you'll shed and it'll make you wanna take a kitty bath, Xander. No matter how cute it is, you'd hate hairballs." "You should know," Bob shot back with an evil smirk. "Just for that I'm taking that off the roster tonight," Curls said, smirking back. Bob pouted. "Guys, no fighting or I'm withholding the soda tonight," Xander said, hopping up onto the back of a chair to look at them both. "Remember, you can always kiss and make up but breaking up is bad for the band." "Nah, I'd flip him over, prove I was the better musician," Curls said with a smirk for him. "No breaking up here, Xander. Relax." "Okay." He yawned. "Why do I want a nap? I just woke up." "It's the form's imperative," Bob said, stroking down his back until he fell asleep on the back of the chair. He shrugged. "If you do, they'll howl." "Maybe. Then again I did get the new one up. Scratch Me needs to be field tested." Bob smiled at that, coming over to grab the sheet music so he could go over it with Dick. Curls kicked back, looking very smug. Xander was good for them. *** Xander looked up from his reading when Fred rushed in and pulled out the first aid box. "They okay?" "Someone tried to jump onto the stage and missed, landing on a stage light." He hurried out to take care of it. Xander went back to his quiet reading, blinking when things started to look distorted. He grabbed for the pill the guys had left him but paws don't grab that well. He hopped down to grab it from under the table, bumping his suddenly human head on it when he tried to back out. He swallowed the pill dry, gagging at the taste, but he was on the change back when the door opened and Fred came back. "They good?" "She's fine." He stared at him. "Took the last dose?" "Yeah, I switched back." "Thanks, kid, don't need my boys stoned to death." Xander shrugged. "Being a cat isn't as bad as Oz had it when he changed I guess." "Probably true." He walked out, going back to guarding the door from groupies. There was a very aggressive tom out there who wanted to test drive Xander's tail. Even pointing out he had changed over to respect local customs hadn't helped. He moved to help Curls when he tripped. Xander looked over as the door opened, nodding at the cat. "Hey." "You are not one of us." He sniffed. "Purity monitor?" "Not hardly." He gave him an odd look. "I've roomied with vampires in the past. I'm dating a vengeance demon." The tom sniffed again then purred, coming over to sniff closer. "Um, what are you doing?" "You are an unaffiliated tom in my lands, boy. You should know better than that." "I'm here working. Get off my tail." He moved his tail away, glaring. "Don't make me hiss." "You couldn't work up a good hiss if you wanted to," the other tom sneered. Xander looked at his claws, then at him. "Oh, really?" "Boys!" Bob yelled as he came in. "Out! He's our tom!" The local one huffed off. "You let in a groupie?" "No, the groupie snuck in and tried for my tail. I don't think I want to experience gay kitty sex today." "There's some cute females," Curls offered. "We've got an after party." "I just had to take a third dose." "We'll make sure you get the next one too," Bob said, changing straps around his chest. The other two headed back out after him, all of them glaring at Fred. "You nearly got our assistant claimed?" He groaned, going to make sure the tom wasn't back again. They went back onto stage, listening to the thundering howls that rocked the stadium. Fred looked in, finding Xander on top of the other tom. "Comfy?" "He tried to bite my tail. I am not up for gay kitty sex today." He looked at the struggling tom, licking his ears to calm him down. "Technically I'm housing a hyena spirit I got possessed with in tenth grade." The tom looked back at him, giving him an odd look. He nodded. "I live in Sunnydale." "I'm so sorry. You roomed with vampires?" "Yeah, Spike. He was staying with someone else and their girlfriend came over so I kinda got him shoved at me. He's a bad roomie too. Had to keep him tied to a recliner for days." He licked his ears again, letting the cat calm down. "You know that Buffy creature?" "My sibling does." "Pity." "At least she only goes after the hunters." "What right does she have?" Xander looked down at him. "The same one that's keeping her from being bitten. They're insane there. We had an ascension during graduation." He nuzzled his ears again, getting a light purr. "Now, if I release you will you leave my cute tail alone?" "I should still claim you so others won't try." Xander stared down into his eyes from overtop of his head. "Let them try." The cat laughed so he got off him, watching him trot out. He shook his head, looking at Fred. "That good?" "That's fine," he agreed, smiling at him. "Spike's rep might be trashed." Xander shrugged. "We'll all be happier when he gets that stupid chip out and goes back to his normal self. It's harming what he is and it's unnatural to see a vampire who can't hunt. Besides, he makes me miserable when I have to room with him." That got a knowing smile. "It does! He steals my cereal to put blood in." "Spike was always a bit odd. That whole family is like that." "I know. Buffy dated Angel. Met Dru a few times." Fred shuddered. "If we run into her, I can hide, right?" He nodded. "Thank you." He settled down to nap on his book, waiting on the guys to get back. Fred made sure he got his next pill on time and the after party was a hoot. He got to talk to a lot of interesting demons or whatever. He had one female that kept nuzzling him until he let her drag him off for some kitty mating. It wasn't quite as fun as doing it as a human. He couldn't grope this way. He finally got off and she settled in to nuzzle him then ran off when her watch went off. He strolled back to the party, letting Fred pick him up. "Was I late? Where's my book?" "Bob picked it up already." He tossed him onto the bus. "Stay in there. She came with a tom." He closed the door, going to encourage the other boys to leave now. Curls came back onto the bus, petting him. "Did you get a pretty kitty?" he teased. "Yeah but Fred said she came with someone. She scampered off when her watch went off." "Those are fertility monitors," Curls told him. "It means you caught her at the right spot, no kittens." He grabbed a soda, handing over a small bowl of it. "Drink that once we take off. The caffeine will make it end faster." "Thanks, Curls." "Welcome. Feel better?" "Not really. I like to grope and I couldn't with her. No breasts, nothing like that." "Needed the orange worms?" Dick teased. "No, then I might've had to give it up to the tom earlier." They laughed. "Not kidding!" he complained. "I'm not really into gay kitty sex today. I'm not sure I want to know if it hurts or not either." They all grinned and the bus took off so he drank his soda down, stretching when he came back to human. Naked human. But human. "Where's my clothes?" he complained, heading for his bunk so he could put on something. "Probably at the laundry in the back of the bus," Bob said, patting him on the back. "Good to have you back, Xander. I put your book on the usual table. This one's going to be a bumpy road so climb in and ride it out. Don't puke on it. The foam will smell forever if you do that." Xander nodded, getting in there with another two sodas and something for his stomach if it got upset, going to write down the details and his impressions of being a green kitty with navy stripes. It had been...odd. He definitely did not want to taste his fur that way again. He coughed, then drank another soda. "Coke eats rust, it'll eat furballs," he said grimly. The bus lurched, making him drink more of it so it wouldn't spill. This was definitely a bumpy road to wherever this time. TBC... |
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