V. Blinding

Her ears twitched as she stirred restlessly in sleep.

Ryli woke with a start and shot into a sitting position, the quick movement causing her vision to blur and the drumbeat in her head to pound all the harder. She glanced around; the room was dark, its ceilings were high. She could see a tiny beam of light sneaking in through the curtains of the large window at the wall. Getting up and walking slowly to the heavy drapery, she flung the thick fabric aside, only to be assaulted by the blindingly bright daylight that proceeded to crash into the room.

After blinking several times and adjusting to the light, she looked back over the large room. It was simple- all grey stone with several soft rugs, a tall wooden door, and two other big windows along the wall. A pair of sturdy-looking beds were set against the wall directly across from the windows. In the bed next to the one she herself had turned into a disheveled mess was a sight that managed to somewhat relieve her. Shadoe lay curled in a ball beneath the blankets, and after dashing quickly to her friend's side, Ryli shook the other's shoulder. "Shadoe, wake up! we have to get ou-"

Shadoe uncurled stiffly, putting a hand to her temple and squinting up at her friend. "You..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"You sort of have animal ears on your head..."

"Wha- Well, so do you!"

"What...?!"

At the same time, their hands flew to the top of their heads, patting at their hair and new ears.

"Ohhhh!" yelled Ryli.

"Ohhhhhh!" yelled Shadoe in echo. Neither of them were really sure what else to do. Most people wouldn't know what to do if they gained some sort of strange, unexplained mutation overnight. High school just doesn't give training for that sort of thing.

Shadoe had just taken a breath and started to gain perspective when she saw something flick behind Ryli. "Uhmm... Don't yell again... But... What is that?!"

Ryli spun around in a tight little circle, looked behind her, and saw what appeared to be a cat tail. She grabbed at it and stared at it for an uncomprehending moment. Its soft fur had puffed up in her agitation; it reminded her of that stray kitten Dirk had brought home a year ago. The poor thing had taken to hiding beneath the couch whenever the band practiced, its fur all on end as the group ran through the loudest songs, where the drums shook the windows and occasionally annoyed the neighbors.

"Oh my god..." But as Shadoe got out of bed, Ryli's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, you have one too!"

Shadoe screamed first this time, grabbed at her fluffy tail, and held it tightly. She loosened her grip a bit, as the tighter hold had sent a sharp sensation through her nerves.

There was a soft noise as the door swung open on its hinges. The pair froze as two young men walked in. One of them stopped short at the door, his eyebrows knit together and ears laying low down against his long hair, as if he couldn't bear to step in any further. The other wagged his own bushy tail, and with one push off from his powerful legs, he leaped and landed a foot away from the two girls- the two flinched, but held their ground.

Both boys were tall and fit looking. The one that had hung back had an uncomfortable look on his face, but the tail-wagging one wore a small grin that revealed a set of sharp canine teeth.

He tilted his head to the side, and with a mock frowny face that only disturbed his smile for a moment, he whimpered, "We leave your side for hardly five minutes and that's when you decide to finally wake up?"

Shadoe blushed at the stranger's smothering familiar attitude and his proximity to her face. He seemed to be examining her and she thought she could hear him murmur something like "Huh... They are blue..." In that same moment, she managed to realize she was in nothing more than boxers and an undershirt, as was Ryli. And beneath the eyes of two somewhat handsome and also slightly odd guys, she felt fairly exposed.

"Uh... Who are you...?" Ryli, seemingly unphased by her own state of dress, frowned at both of the intruders.

"And where the heck are our clothes?" Shadoe crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, you see, my brother is a bit of a perve--"

"Don't listen to him!" The cranky one jumped closer, shoving the other, presumably his brother, aside. "I had one of the servants take care of that. Your clothes. Now you can pick out something less... conspicuous..." His grey eyes glanced out the window, searching for anything else to look at than the girls that apparently caused him a large amount of unrest.

"Conspicuous...? Well, yah, we were in pajamas, but does it get any more conspicuous than fox ears or cat tails?" Ryli scoffed, her aforementioned tail flicking back and forth. "How bout you explain some things first?"

Shadoe leaned towards her friend and whispered, "You sure we can't get some of these clothes they were talking about...?"

"Oh cmon."