“Thank you all for volunteering for today!” Aileas beamed. The arctic fox had only just finished setting up the interior of the building that was to be her new store. Her three guests were a black wolf and two red foxes: Karina, Lehua, and Chester, respectively. A fourth person, the tigress Ning, should’ve been there too, though she wasn’t. “Before we start, I must ask, where’s Ning? I know she didn’t volunteer, I’m just curious.”

To that, Chester responded, “she’s at her home planning, uh… a thing.” He looked away from everyone towards the blank walls, ears flattened. He made no attempt to hide the ring on his finger.

“So soon?” Karina asked in a teasing tone. Chester took a step away in embarrassment. He still looked like he was in a bit of pain, as if that awful headache from that event a few weeks ago.

“Wedding planning aside,” Aileas cut in, “we’re all clear on the agreement, right?”

“Alles klar,” Chester replied.

“Yes,” Said Lehua.

“Yep, all good,” Karina chimed.

“Glad you all agreed to this,” Aileas said, beaming. Her eyes flickered away from the group for a moment, then back to them. “Is Ning alright with this, Chester?” He nodded. “Good. Now, if you please, follow me into the back. I don’t want the news crew to get spooked.” So, as the reporter and associated group gathered before the soon-to-open store, Aileas led the other three through presently-empty and between shelves, passing the occasional, and ever-creepy, mannequin. Finally, they arrived at the changing rooms, into which Aileas led all of them. “Alright,” she said after closing the door. “Lehua, you go first.”

“Sure,” he said, stepping forward. Aileas touched him on the shoulder, and he immediately began to shrink, and was being swallowed rapidly by his shirt. He looked at his hands as they flattened and turned to a soft fabric, though his colors remained, albeit rearranged. The changes crept up his arms, and he watched until they suddenly bent around behind him, and what used to be the hands fused together, turning his arms into a waistband. It was then that his body started to flatten and shrink as he finally vanished from view, his legs merging, then bending around and fusing to what just were his hands. His head retracted into his torso as it, as well as the area on the opposite side, stretched horizontally somewhat, and Aileas gently caught the shirt and fished the out underwear that had been Lehua as it fell to the floor. “Perfect,” she said, examining it before gently setting it down on the bench beside her.

“I’m next, right?” Chester asked, feeling I-didn’t-transform-first envy. Aileas nodded and gently put a hand on Chester’s forearm. Which, along with its opposing limb, immediately flattened, as did his hands. Unlike Lehua, however, Chester’s arms were forced out before him instead of behind.

“You did say that being worn was like giving a continuous hug, right?” Aileas teased. It was Chester’s turn to nod. Next, the straps that used to be his arms were forced into an upward arc, as his legs and feet went through similar changes. His legs spread directly away from each other, then arced forward, and each hand fused with the corresponding foot, with Velcro forming on the end of each resultant strap. His torso shrank and flattened as it was his turn to be swallowed by his shirt, yet remained nearly all of its width, and the middle of his body along with his head pulled down and narrowed further into a strip, while what had been his ribs rounded out and formed bowl-shaped depressions. Aileas gently caught the bra as it started to fall out from the shirt and set it down on the bench as well. “Now, Karina,” she said, turning towards the wolf, “time for you to become the star of the show.”

“And I’m ready for it,” Karina chirped, exaggerating her Southern accent for effect, which earned her a few scratches behind her ear. Unlike Lehua and Chester, Karina’s clothes changed with her, merging with her fur and flesh into a fine, black silk. Her legs merged, hollowed, and spread into a conical skirt that shortened so as to go halfway down Aileas’s shins, then the hollowness crept further up into Karina’s body. Her ears folded back yet kept pointing upwards, their holes merging and expanding, consuming Karina’s head and neck. Next, her hands disappeared and her arms shortened to sleeves that went a little beyond Aileas’s shoulders, and the resultant dress shrank and changed in proportion to be a perfect fit for Aileas.

“Thank you all again,” she said, knowing that her friends were still conscious and could hear her clear as day.



* * * * * *



Wearing the outfit that she had just turned her friends into, Aileas strode out from her store and warmly greeted the news team. The black that had been Karina contrasted with the fox’s white fur to create a dazzling look, exactly as she’d hoped. “We’ll start shooting in one minute,” one of them said after the introductions rolled around. The road beyond, Aileas noticed, was very quiet. This really was the new normal, after so many people being turned into feral animals. How hard it seemed to wrap one’s head around the idea of eight billion being cut down to just under six almost instantly, and people were very afraid to leave their homes and would be for a while. She brushed that thought aside and readied herself for the interview. “We’re rolling.”

Aileas composed herself and set a smile, effectively masking her unease. “Hello, everyone. I am Aileas Evans, owner of the new store behind me, which is now known as Aileas’s Attire! As the name suggests, it is a clothing store, but not any ordinary kind! This will be a magical clothing store, where what you wear will change your very form! And once you buy it, it’s yours.”

The person standing beside the cameraman asked, “what kinds of clothes are sold there? And how much can one be changed by them?”

Aileas’s smile became more genuine, as she loved talking about transformation. “Any and all clothes, from footwear to headwear, can be found in my wares!” She didn’t notice the pun she had just made. “And the changes they cause can vary from something as trivial as changing one’s fur color, to outright changing one’s species or gender!”

“How interesting. And how does the change work? How is it triggered, and how can it be reverted?”

Aileas held up her hands, palms facing the camera. “I can enchant – or curse, pick your verb – objects simply by touching them. I can also directly transform people if they so wish. It’s an incredibly useful ability. The changes kick in thirty seconds after you don an enchanted article. To revert the change is very simple: just don’t wear whatever changed you for twelve hours and you’ll turn back without fail. And, if none of your clothes fit, simply pick any garment, say what you need, and, while you’re under the spell, that garment will change into what you state. Said garments will turn back with the wearer.”

“And what about the volunteer-for-change system? Would you kindly explain that, please?”

“Well, it’s simple in theory. If someone so chooses, they can choose to become any article – or even set – of clothing for a day. If they get rented, however, then they’ll stay as what they’ve been turned into for as long as a full month. Once that time is up, they’ll be teleported right back to my store to be turned back.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything that can go wrong.”

She nodded. “It’s very beneficial when all of your closest friends are magic-users. And I have thought of it all. In fact, one of my oldest friends helped me with the teleportation system, though he’s unfortunately not available for comment at this moment.”

“And, now, for our last question, when will you open for business?”

The fox was truly beaming now. “I’ll be open for business tomorrow!”

The interviewer nodded. “Thank you, Miss Evans, have a good day.”

She nodded back. “You, too. I look forward to my first customers tomorrow.”

The camera was turned off, and the news crew started packing up.



* * * * * *



“Hey, Aileas,” Chester said. The store had opened for its first day a few minutes earlier, and there were already a few customers milling about. Aileas was standing behind the counter, checking something, though she did look up.

“Morning, Chester,” she replied as she looked back down at whatever it was. “You here for something, or just here to talk? I’m a little busy right now.”

“I’m looking for something to buy.”

“Alright, feel free to look around.”

And so, Chester wandered throughout the store, and his eyes eventually landed on a summer dress hanging near the back, white and black with an up-down oriented floral pattern that spiraled from the right shoulder to the end of the skirt. It looked a bit baggy around the chest and below the waist, which, of course, piqued his curiosity, so he looked at what the tag said would be the resultant form. Female, large features, no species change. $15.99. 20-day rent. His curiosity bested him and he picked it up off the rack, folded it over his forearm, and headed over to the counter. Aileas was done with whatever she was doing, and seemed to be waiting for him. “I’ll rent this,” he said with a grin. As Aileas nodded and started running the register, Chester took note of the sign behind her. You MUST be a legal adult to volunteer. He figured as much, since aging spells were very easy to see through. Still, for the sign to be that apparent, maybe Aileas thought somebody below the required age might try anyway. He hoped that didn’t happen.

“There you go,” she said, carefully folding, bagging, and then pushing the dress back towards him. “Enjoy.” She gave him her characteristic sweet smile.

“I will,” he turned to leave, waving to her over his shoulder. “Have a nice day!”



* * * * * *



“It looks nice on you already, dear,” Ning, a Bengal tigress and Chester’s fiancée, teased. “Now, how long do we wait?” She put her arms around his abdomen, resting her chin between and behind his ears. They were staring at themselves in one of Ning’s full-length mirrors. Ning was wearing one of her own dresses that just so happened to have the same design as Chester’s, but the base color was scarlet.

“Uh, shouldn’t be more than another ten seconds.” He put his hands over hers. Right at that moment, Chester’s waist suddenly contracted a bit, kicking off the changes. He grunted as his manhood turned into a womanhood, followed by his – her – hips and thighs ballooning out, along with her rear becoming much more defined. Her shins and feet got a little slimmer and smaller, respectively, then the changes turned upwards. The dress’s bagginess at the chest was filled out by a large pair of breasts, with the bra that Chester had borrowed from Ning enlarging to fit. Her shoulders contracted and shrank, her arms slimmed, and her hands became a bit smaller. As her Adam’s apple vanished, the fur on her scalp lengthened and turned a shiny black, only stopping when it went halfway down her back. She pulled some of her hair out in front of her to marvel at it, finding it to be just as soft as Ning’s white hair.

“You turned out wonderful, Chester,” Ning said with a grin.

“Thank you, dear,” she replied. “However, you should remember…”

“Ah, yes. Call you Catherine while you’re a woman. I haven’t forgotten, honey.” Catherine stepped aside to let Ning stand beside her, and the couple admired themselves for a bit, arms around the others’ waist. “And, honey?”

“What is it, my dear?” The two looked at each other, and Ning grinned even more.

“I’ve finished planning our wedding.”

Catherine couldn’t think of a reply, so she simply pulled them both into a kiss.