Cross-Posting this series from DeviantArt!

(And here's the last part of Festival of Change, the first arc! I already uploaded the epilogue here back when I first released it, so all I have left to cross-post is Rainy Revelations 1-4.)

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Story starts here:

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Alyssa was having a bit of a night. Her transformation hadn't worn off yet, so she was forced to try and prepare a midnight snack with paws. After failing to open her fridge, she settled on grabbing some chips. It took some effort to jump onto the counter, but she was able to remove the clip with ease, and decided to forgo a bowl in favor of eating directly from the bag.

After that, as well as a bathroom trip that shall not be recounted here, she decided she was too tired to read, so she headed to her bedroom to get some sleep. She had to admit, lounging atop her sheets like a cat proved rather comfortable, and she was able to fall asleep quickly.

Her transformation ended rather suddenly at about 2 AM. Unfortunately, when her normal body returned, she found half of it dangling off the edge of her bed, the resulting tumble rudely awakening her. She huffed and climbed normally into her bed, taking another 45 minutes to fall back to sleep.

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Gabby stirred to the sound of her phone ringing. She looked around drowsily; she was at Caddie's house, where she'd requested to be dropped off at. Caddie himself was right behind her, acting as the big spoon despite his size.

She stretched her wings, then flinched as her ringtone went off again. She got up, careful not to disturb Caddie, and looked over at the caller ID.

Christopher Skylar. Her father.

She gasped, startling Caddie awake. Quickly noticing that his girlfriend was in distress, he scooched up to wrap her in a feathery hug. "What's wrong?"

"Father's calling."

Caddie snapped wide awake at that. "What'll you do?"

She took a deep breath, then ran her wing across her head to settle herself down. Carefully, she grabbed her phone with her wing, moved it over to the bed, and used the soft part of her foot to answer.

"Gabby, you never came home last night." Caddie flinched at the voice. It didn't sound accusing, angry, or even worried; his tone was almost completely matter-of fact.

"Mother didn't tell you?" Gabby asked, her tone trained down to be almost completely flat as well. Even so, Caddie could still hear the nerve seeping through. "I got caught up in the festival, and decided to stay at a friend's house for the night."

"Which friend?"

Gabby gulped a little. "Alyssa."

A pause. "Your GPS says you were at the condemned Miller Warehouse."

Gabby paled. In the heat of the night, she'd completely forgotten that they shared GPS. "I-I...." she tried and failed to come up with an excuse.

"I'm disappointed in you; that's not how I raised my daughter. Now, thank Alyssa and come home right away."

Gabby visibly deflated. "Yes, sir...."

With a beep, the call terminated. Gabby let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding, then began to quietly sob. Caddie embraced her as her dam broke, releasing tears powered by almost a year's worth of stress. She tried to vocalize her worries — about her relationship with Caddie, about the expectations her father had for her, about anything — but all that came out was more sobs.

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As soon as Gabby had let out enough to calm down, Caddie flew next door to Alyssa's house, while Gabby took a bath in the kitchen sink. As she washed herself, she gazed down at her reflection in the water — at her exhausted avian face. She hadn't even gotten to enjoy half of the experience before her dad came in and ruined it.

At times like this, she almost forgot why she valued his opinion so much.

"Dad, what's that one called?"

"That one's Jupiter."

Almost.

Two kangaroos exited a planetarium, holding hands. Six-year-old Gabby was excitedly carrying a paper gift-bag; her father was looking out at the parking lot, trying to see where his wife was waiting for them.

Suddenly, from out of the crowd, a large hand reached out for Gabby's bag, snatching it away. "Hey!" she cried out, catching her father's attention. The thief, a lion with a dark gray hoodie on, bolted in the direction of the nearest cover - a topiary two dozen feet away.

Christopher sprang into action; with two bounds of his mighty legs, he cleared the distance. He reared back and sent a powerful kick into the thief's back, sending him sprawling flat onto his chest. The bag hit the ground with a soft 'thunk'.

Christopher placed one foot onto the winded perpetrator's back as he took out his phone to call the police. Gabby ran to the bag, checking to make sure its contents were alright.

She sighed in relief; the necklace was only slightly chipped. The crowd around them, now realizing what had happened, began to cheer. Gabby looked up at her father; he looked back down at her, a soft smile on his lips.

Gabby sighed, glancing over at the necklace lying atop her belongings. What had their relationship become? Could they fix it?

Was it even worth trying to fix at this point?

Caddie's return roused her out of her thoughts. "You doing okay?" He asked gingerly.

"Yeah," Gabby replied, her tone neutral.

"Alyssa's back to normal. I filled her in, and she's agreed to give you a ride back home. She could even try and come up with a cover story for—"

"No, that's okay," she replied. "I'll take the ride, but lying any more will only make the punishment worse."

Caddie frowned. "Gabby...."

"Don't worry; he'll probably just make me clean all the floors in the house for the next month."

This did nothing to ease his worries.

Before he could argue, a car horn caught both of their attention. Caddie guessed that was Alyssa letting them know she was ready to go.

Gabby got out of the sink, drying herself with a towel as she put on a weak smile. "I'll see you soon," she promised, then gave him a quick kiss as best she could, before hobbling over to her stuff. Caddie, still filled with doubt, headed over to help her with her things.