Chapter 6

Thursday, October 19, 2045

I had forgotten to set my alarm and the sun was shining in through my window when I finally woke up. I had been having a disturbing dream where Wendy's face slowly changed until she looked just like a rabbit from the neck up and the sun hitting my face was a relief. As I stretched and sat up in bed, I looked over at the clock and realized that it was nearly eight in the morning.

I jumped from my bed with a curse and hurried into the bathroom. I rushed through my morning ablutions and dashed down the stairs. I had actually reached the bottom of the stairs when I remembered that today I had been asked to take Wendy to the mall and her post-MORFS clinic visit. I slowed down and looked into the kitchen.

My father was sitting at the table, looking over some paperwork, but he smiled as he saw me. He waved at my chair and said. "I was wondering when you would wake up. Laura was going to give you some advice, but she couldn't wait. Grab breakfast for now. Wendy has already finished breakfast, and is ready. She decided to borrow your civics book so that she can try to catch up on the week's worth of classes that she missed."

"Is she doing all right?" I asked as I poured some orange juice. "And do you think she'll be happy here?"

My father laughed. "She will be a lot happier if she gets clothes that fit. But she did think of one issue, which needs to be addressed and that is her name."

"Her name?"

"Yes, think about it. If she returns to school as Wendy Gerrish, her parents can still force her to return home. They might be hateful and cruel, but legally they have the right to demand that she live with them until she is eighteen. There might be problems. Laura suggested that you see if you can change her name while at the clinic. They do that for survivors who change sex, so they might be willing to do that for her," he continued, as he put the papers I had received the previous Friday down on the table.

"I think that's more for first names, but I guess we can check. I don't want her to be a Lynwood yet though. It might feel awkward if we start dating." My father started laughing as I said this, but I continued. "Do you think Evelyn would mind if I tried to use her last name? Wendy Wilder sounds nice, and we could explain that Wendy's parents, who are Evelyn's cousins, were uncomfortable with her change and the pheromones so they asked Evelyn to watch over her. Evelyn lives in that little apartment, so we took her in, as Laura will be a good influence."

My father had started nodding as I explained my thinking, and by the end was smiling. He offered a nod and then passed over a credit card. It had my name on it, and I had used it before when placing orders with some stores, but this was the first time I had been handed the actual card. "Try to keep it to clothing and don't go overboard. Wendy will need probably five outfits for school, another three or four for weekends and play and a couple of formal outfits. You don't need to fill her closet with much more than that. Save space for later gifts." He looked at me knowingly and I winked as I picked up the card.

"One garage full of sports gear and beer! No problem dad, I can purchase that," I replied.

My father roared with laughter, and I was chuckling when we both heard a small sigh from the stairway. We turned and I found myself looking right at Wendy. The feeling that I wanted to jump from my chair, rush up to her and rip her clothing off returned again. Even knowing that the attraction was going to occur, I had to use all my willpower for that first couple of minutes before I could take a deep breath and look over at her.

She had dressed in a t-shirt that Laura had purchased for me during the visit to Disneyland, over the summer. It was the largest size they had, and fit well on me, but I could never make it look as nice as Wendy did. Her breasts pushed the top out perfectly. She had not tucked it in, and it fell to the middle of her thighs, looking a bit like a dress. Under the shirt, I could see a black skirt, which came down to just above her knees. I noticed for the first time that her legs were hairless, from where the skirt ended to her bare feet. Wendy was blushing furiously as I looked at her, but otherwise seemed calm. "I feel very underdressed," she whispered.

My father just smiled. "The cavalry can fix that for you. Let him tuck into his breakfast, and you'll be at the mall just as the doors open." He slapped me on the back. "Come on cavalry, time's passing while you loiter around here."

Wendy smiled again and walked up to the table to sit next to me. I found it hard to breathe, as every step she took was alluring and sexy. It was a growl from my stomach that reminded me of my need to eat breakfast.

Finishing breakfast occurred in silence. Wendy sat and watched my father and I. She seemed to be paying attention to some inner sense as she always seemed to be able to hand something to us just before we needed it. It was fascinating to watch as I finished off a bowl of cereal.

My father pushed a stack of paperwork over to me. I recognized much of it as copies of the forms the original clinic had filled out and then forwarded to the house after I left. I had not provided my address to them, and guessed they had found it after my father paid the bill. I was browsing the forms when my father grabbed another file in preparation for heading to the office. Finally, I put the tableware I had used into the dishwasher and looked over at the clock to see that it was just a few minutes to nine, the time when the mall would open. With a final nod to my father I grabbed the paperwork and walked over to the door to the garage. "Time to go Wendy," I called out as I opened the door.

Wendy walked past me and looked around the garage. I immediately went over to the old sedan my father had bought for me, and opened the passenger door. Wendy's face was a mixture of surprise and gratitude as she slid into the seat, only to reach across and unlock the driver's door while I was walking around the car.

I tried to smile as I activated the garage door opener and seated myself in the car, while buckling my seat belt. I noticed that Wendy seemed to be a bit uncomfortable and was squirming around, as if her back was bothering her. "I'm discovering that tails are most inconvenient, and not just because of the clothing issues," she muttered. "If the seat has a back, the tail gets in the way!" After several minutes of shifting her body, she finally seemed to find a position, which was a bit less uncomfortable, and once her seat belt was secured, I started the car and began the journey to the mall.

I quickly discovered two things on the drive to the mall. First, Wendy had an insatiable need to talk to me and tell me her life story. Second, whatever pheromones she put out were amplified in the confined space of the car. The second proved to be a huge distraction, until I finally resorted to opening the window and taking a deep breath of the outside air. As for the first, I found it fascinating to listen to Wendy. It was clear that her family had little time for her, and she needed someone to talk to. What surprised and pleased me was that many of her interests matched mine, and we found the short drive passed amazingly quickly as we discussed ideas for future weekend projects and pranks. Wendy had clearly spent some time in the morning talking to Laura, as she was looking forward to joining in some of the weekly family activities that father had always insisted on. When she promised to learn to play bridge so that she and I could take on father and Laura I had to laugh. Bridge is my father's favorite way to pass an evening, and Laura knew well that the lack of a regular fourth player frustrated him.

We arrived at the mall, and quickly found a parking spot close to the entrance. Early on a Thursday there were few shoppers. I hoped that we would not encounter too many people overall. Wendy's pheromones did not appear to discriminate, and the idea that we might encounter someone who lacked self-control worried me quite a bit. I kept this worry hidden, and Wendy seemed very cheerful when she got out of the car. I waited for her to walk around the car, and was turning to walk to the entrance, when she grabbed me and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. I stopped completely to look at her, and she only smiled and put her hand in mine, before pulling me towards the entrance.

We had to stop briefly at the information booth to check a map of the mall. Some of the other shoppers looked her way, and I did see one man take a step her way before his female companion started beating on him with her purse, but the lack of a crowd meant that I was able to guide Wendy such that we rarely came close to other shoppers. The effect of her pheromones definitely decreased rapidly once you were more than fifteen or so feet from her. Wendy insisted that she desperately needed some underwear, although she blushed while she said it. Since Laura had recommended it, we decided to try the Clothing Tail first. It proved to be near the information booth and we found it without too much trouble.

The store was well lit and obviously well organized. The front mostly contained skirts and pants for ladies. I noticed a section of men's style slacks, and the back areas had his and her underwear. I did notice that there were no dresses, but Wendy seemed fascinated by all the outfits. I wanted to see how the skirts were constructed to accommodate a tail and bent to look at one when a hairless tail whipped out and slapped my arm.

"These outfits aren't for normals," a frosty female voice said. "You don't need to be here."

Wendy and I turned to look at the speaker. She proved to be an older lady who obviously had received a generous helping of rat or shrew DNA when she survived MORFS. Her face had an elongated nose and jaws, with whiskers and white fur. She retained human like hair, which might have once been brown, but was now turning grey, and had been tied up in a severe bun. Her blouse and skirt were very professional and proper. The lady's hairless tail was sweeping back and forth behind her as she looked on me disdainfully. Her name badge read Diane. I found myself wondering what she looked as a youth as the combination, although a bit unusual was actually rather attractive.

I looked over at Wendy for a moment, and then back at the saleslady. "I'm sorry Diane. I didn't mean to intrude into a private setting," I said with a bow. I turned to face Wendy. "Wendy, I can wait right outside until you have decided on what you need and then pay for your choices."

Diane seemed a bit surprised, but Wendy looked frightened for a moment before grabbing my arm and screaming. "No!" she looked right at Diane, who I noticed seemed as unaffected by Wendy's powers as Laura seemed to be. "He's here to protect me. I don't care how badly I need clothing, if he can't be here, I won't stay either."

Diane's tail stopped moving and she looked Wendy up and down, obviously taking in the clothing she was wearing. "Just woke up yesterday or this morning like that, didn't you. You'll learn though, girlie. Guys like him, they don't stay with a girl like you. As soon as they have their turn in your arms and bed, they're running back to their normal girlfriends and bragging about how they bagged a freak." I noticed that her eyes misted over a little, but she refused to say more and took a closer look at Wendy. "Very well, do you know what size clothing you wear now, or has the physical change been sizable?"

Wendy's arm squeezed mine for a moment. "I have nothing. These items were loaned to me so I could come and buy clothing today. I'm not even sure what sizes I am now. I was maybe five foot three when I got sick."

Diane looked over her, and I could see that she was considering what she had heard. I was going to say something when she nodded. "Let's start in the back then." Her tail snaked out to wrap around Wendy's wrist and without a look back Diane headed towards the section for women's underwear, dragging Wendy behind her. I hesitated for a moment and then followed, blushing furiously.

Upon arriving in the back, Diane produced a battered tailor's measuring tape and looked at Wendy. "You need to pull up the shirt so I can see your tail, dearie," she commented. "Tails aren't all the same size, and I want to be sure you don't purchase anything which will bind or pull on your tail."

Wendy started blushing, but pulled up the shirt. For the first time I saw what appeared to be a rabbit's tail emerging from her lower back. The top had the same chestnut brown pattern as her hair, while the underside was white. The tail twitched a couple times before settling down and Diane was able to start making measurements. Her motions were practiced and methodical, with quick measurements around Wendy's hips, waist and tail. She then looked at Wendy and continued by measuring above and around Wendy's breasts and along Wendy's legs. I did see that Diane's hand seemed to linger just a moment on Wendy's thigh before she gathered herself and stepped away.

"Well missy, if you wanted sexual attention, MORFS did you a huge favor. I can see why you feel you need protection, although I'm surprised he's still standing," Diane said with a smile. She then pulled Wendy's head down to whisper something in her ear. Wendy blushed for a moment and then giggled. With that Diane moved over to a rack full of panties of various sizes and styles. "Any preferences?" she said over her shoulder to Wendy.

Wendy blushed deeper, and then followed Diane over to the rack. The two conducted an extended whispered conversation while I tried to keep my attention on the front of the store. The conversation seemed to be over the style and color of items Wendy wanted. Diane seemed to extremely helpful and through the corner of my eye I could see that Wendy had over a dozen items selected, when Diane pointed towards the front of the store.

"Um. Can I, well... ?" Wendy blushed as she tried to ask her question. Diane looked at her for a moment, and then I could see the blood rush to her face despite the fine covering of fur.

"Oh missy. I should have realized," Diane huffed. "And to think that you had that animal with you. I'm surprised he could act like a gentleman."

Wendy suddenly snapped. "It's not an act! Hector is a true gentleman!" She then dropped the panties she had been holding as her hands covered her mouth. Her face turned redder than the worst sunburn I had ever received before she turned away and started sobbing.

Instinctively, I walked over to her and put an arm around her. She stiffened and for a moment I thought she might pull away, but she turned and started sobbing into my chest. Diane watched us both for a moment before surprising me by giving me a genuine smile. "You better be worth the love and trust that girl is giving you," she commented as her tail started picking up the panties from the floor. I found I could only nod.

Diane had picked up all the items, and then snaked her tail over to me. "You need to hold these," she said.

As I took the items Diane walked over to Wendy and handed her a plain set of panties, from which she removed the tag. "Sorry for all this. I'm not used to normals behaving like humans," she told us gruffly. "Now girl, I'm sure you've noticed the design, but I'll explain it one last time. All of the items here are manufactured to accommodate a tail. If you check the snap at the back, it closes around a special hole designed for a tail. You'll have to unsnap it before putting on any item, and then close it around your tail. It will feel a bit strange at first and it isn't easy, but trust me, it's better than trying to feed your tail through a hole cut into a pair of pants. And the butcher's jobs some chains do to clothing that they will then try to sell as tail friendly I won't mention. It is enough to make a skilled seamstress cry. Now, I'm guessing you are in school, probably Independence since that's closest. I can grab some skirts and slacks, which meet the uniform code, while you get into those."

Wendy nodded and slowly stepped away from me while taking the panties. She gave me another smile and then walked over to the door to the dressing rooms. As she went inside, Diane was heading to the front of the store, stopping at an occasional rack to pick out a skirt or two before continuing. I was still trying to decide what to do next when Diane turned back and then stopped in front of me. "Hold these." She said as she thrust a pile of skirts and slacks into my hands. She then continued over to the dressing room door and knocked on it, passing a skirt to Wendy when the door opened.

Shortly after Diane had passed the skirt to Wendy, the door to the dressing room opened. Wendy emerged with a huge smile on her face, while carefully folding the skirt she had borrowed from Laura. My breath caught for a moment as I saw the outfit she now wore.

Wendy was still wearing the t-shirt from before, but she had tied a knot into it so that it came down to just above her waist. She was now wearing a light green skirt, which came to just below her knees. The biggest surprise though was her tail, which was bouncing up and down as if to call attention to Wendy. Wendy came over to me and looked me in the eye.

"I'd say you like it," she flirted. She looked over the large number of items I was holding. After taking a moment to look at the various skirts and slacks she called out to Diane. "What about a few casual skirts, gym shorts, a formal skirt and perhaps a leotard?"

Diane sniffed. "A practical girl, will wonders never cease. We can do all of those. You do realize that any leotard is going to be backless right? You have fur on your back, and although your hair will conceal it some, it will be noticeable."