Chapter 67 – Tiger-girl

Sophia had successfully transformed into a tiger-girl and also got relatively used to it after a while. While she was playing around with Maya during the evening, she became aware of how sensitive her new ears and tail actually were. The two then found out that Sophia had adopted basically every aspect of a feline beastperson. Instead of merely altering her looks, Sophia apparently got way more than she bargained for after she slightly messed up her magic.

"I-I turned into an... actual tiger-girl?" She looked extremely confused right now. "Is that what you want to say?"

"It appears so... you're way too much of the real deal."

"Uhh, that's kinda bad... Wait, is it...? Wait, what?" It was too much at once for her.

"Hmm..." Maya also seemed conflicted. "I'm happy that we are the same now? Mostly, at least. Generally speaking. You're also still the same person, just different... and you're still beautiful. Your new weak points are great fun, too, but I'm confused… My girlfriend has two different human forms and now an actual beast-girl version. Not to mention all your personality shifts. Just why are you so freaking complicated, Sophia?!"

"l-l'm not doing that on purpose, okay?! I'm just stupid!" She had no way to defend herself.

"I know that."

"Urgh, at least fake to deny it!"

"Sorry, I can't."

"W-What should I do now?"

"What do you want to do? I love the old Sophia, but I'm also enjoying the current tiger-girl version. I love my Sophia as a whole. I'm okay with whichever person you want to be on the outside, as long as the inside stays the same."

"N-Not helpful, but thank you very much... I love you, too."

"Ehehe~." As usual, they got a little sidetracked.

"I like this look, as well. I think it's super cute!" She happily, although still slightly awkwardly, wiggled her tail around while saying so. "But the other me is how I've been born, so I'm naturally attached to it. Not to mention that changing races is, I don't know... I'm not the least bit attached to this world's humans as of now, but I still am a human. Was? Then again, I now finally would have a place where I can fit in? Saying I'm a tiger-girl doesn't make me feel ashamed in this world. But still..." Sophia couldn't decide on her feelings for the matter.

"That's fair."

"Seriously, though... What should I do?" Sophia was at a loss. "Turn back? Stay like this?"

"Is-, Is turning to your older self an option...?"

"No, you get way too excited by her."

"Aww... But you are her! Isn't it fine to get excited?!"

"Anyway," She dropped the topic. "To turn back or not... Wait, can I turn back? What if that was a one-way ticket? Should I try? Should I not? Could it be dangerous?"

"Maybe we should ask Fen about it?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Hey, Fe-... eh?" She looked around to find the wolf but didn't see him. "Wait, where is he?"

"Huh? You just noticed? He's been gone for hours already, left directly after dinner."

"W-Wha-?! How did I miss that?!" Sophia couldn't believe that she overlooked the absence of the gigantic wolf the entire time.

"You, well, we were pretty busy."

"Ahh... I can see why he left."

"He probably wanted to give as some alone time, huh?"

"Or got fed up."

"Or that, yes." Maya found herself agreeing.

"Hmm... Oh, he's just a kilometer away. Let's go and pay him a visit." She immediately found him with her detection magic.

"Sure."

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The couple got up, pat the dirt from their clothes after being on the ground for so long, and began walking towards the wolf's direction. As Sophia still had some issues with keeping her balance, covering that single kilometer took a surprisingly long while. Thankfully, as Maya held her hand the whole time, the clumsy tiger-girl didn't trip more than three times along the way.

"Oh, Maya, what's up? Err, So... phia...?" Fen spotted the two approaching and got really confused when he looked at her. "I understand the cat's eyes, but why are yours glowing in the dark, as well?" He noticed how both had the properties of feline eyes.

"W-Well, about that..." Sophia awkwardly looked away before explaining the situation to the wolf.

"You... You accidentally turned yourself into an actual beastperson?"

"Yep."

"You're a special kind of idiot, aren't you?" He had no words.

"I am very well aware of this fact."

"Honestly, to think there would be another one to actually change races..."

"H-Huh? You know someone who did the same?"

"Yes. Back when the demons were still around here... He was an interesting guy and a real genius when it came to this kind of magic. He turned himself from a demon to a beastperson as well during his research. I'm not sure what exactly anymore, but it was some type of bird because he really wanted to have wings for some reason. He was a bit weird."

"What a fun guy!" Sophia had the feeling the two would've become friends if they met.

"Don't get any strange ideas now!" Maya stopped her before she could even think about adding wings to herself.

"So, uhh, I assume it's no problem for me to turn back?"

"..."

"...?"

"..." The three stared at each other in silence.

"F-Fen?!" Sophia turned white and began to panic over his lack of a response.

"W-Well, that demon ran into a couple of problems the moment he transformed."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Like, he felt... ah-" The wolf suddenly stopped.

"D-Don't do this to me!" She panicked even more.

"I just remembered... His new body parts felt incredibly itchy to him."

"Tell me about it!" Sophia had slightly noticed this minor issue before.

"The reason for that apparently was that his new wings and a couple of extra features became an actual and full part of his body forever. These additions apparently overloaded his brain for a while until it accepted it."

"Uhh..."

"But there was more. As he was a male demon, he had horns, which he lost after his transformation. The problem was that he could still feel them, and they hurt. Quite badly."

"L-Like phantom pain?" She roughly heard about this phenomenon before, in her previous world. Still feeling one's lost body part, them even hurting at times, was a big problem for many amputees.

"Exactly."

"B-But I lost my human ears, too... I don't feel them, though." She pointed at the now empty spot at the side of her head that was hidden by her hair.

"Ultimately, they simply got replaced by a different set of ears. Your body most likely was able to adapt to that much."

"Oh, is that why my new ears weren't nearly as itchy compared to my tail?"

"Most likely. The actual problem was something else, though."

"H-Huh?" There were more than enough problems for her already.

"After half a day, he couldn't bear it anymore and transformed back to his demon self. Fortunately, his horns immediately stopped hurting once they came back."

"T-That's good, isn't it?"

"Not really. As the wings had already become a part of his body, he was feeling a different version of phantom pain now."

"O-Oh..."

"We tried various kinds of healing magic on him, but nothing actually ever worked. You can't heal what's not there anymore unless you restore it, but that was exactly the problem in this case. You can fix brain damage, but you can't, uhh, damage it? Well, get rid of the hardcoded feelings of body parts or something like that?"

"T-Then-"

"Have fun as a beastperson." He made it quick and painless.

"..." Sophia was speechless.

"You sure messed that one up. Then again, I might come to like you even more now. This way, no one will confuse my lover as a human of this world, either. So, when you see it that way... Good job, girl." Maya was conflicted about the many sides of Sophia before, but after giving it some thought, she adapted fast.

"T-Thanks..." She still was slightly overwhelmed by the situation and unsure how to feel about it.

"I mean, you should try turning back once. Maybe the demon was a special case?"

"Y-Yeah, I'll try that. Wait, what did that guy do in the end? With phantom pain in both forms?"

"Horned bird-man demon." Fen tried to hold back a laugh when reliving those memories.

"Of course." She wasn't sure what she expected.

"By the way, appearance alteration, you know, the thing we actually talked about before, that works slightly different. It doesn't transform your body but rather temporarily alters the appearance of it."

"I see." It was too late for this kind of information now.

"It's a small but significant difference.

"Yeah... Well, it looks like you're actually dating a fellow feline now, Maya..." She was beginning to accept her fate.

"I'm okay with that. You're still mostly the same and just gained a couple of cute extras. If anything, I feel even closer to you now. Although, I think I'm going to miss the original girl from time to time."

"Hmm... Fen, could I use the real alteration magic to look like my old self without actually transforming my new body?"

"Of course. In the first place, wasn't that the plan from the beginning? It's just the other way around now."

"R-Right..." She was feeling really stupid. "Okay, I'll diligently try that later. For now, I want to find out if I actually turned myself into a tiger."

"You're going to transform back?"

"I have to try."

"D-Don't overdo it, okay?" Maya was worried about her.

"Okay... mrmngh!" Concentrating on her old self, she was soon shrouded in the usual smoke while transforming.

"Ah, there she is again, the usual Sophia." The cat-girl was looking at the Sophia she originally got to know. The roughly 15-year-old, beautiful human girl with ash-blonde hair and greenish-turquoise eyes, who also was ever so slightly flat. Not that Maya would ever mention that part again. Ever. Probably.

"..." She didn't answer. Instead, she sank down on her knees a little while later with a few tears in her eyes that slowly ran down her cheeks.

"S-Sophia?!" The cat-girl panicked and rushed over to her. "W-What's wrong?!"

"M-My tail... it's still there... but it's not... M-Moreover, it hurts!! My tail hurts! I-It feels like someone is sticking... red-hot needles in it!"

"Ouch!" Maya yelped in pain, just imagining someone doing that to her tail. Fen, too, grimaced after hearing those words.

"F-Fen..." With a pained expression, Sophia faced the wolf. "Did-, Did that... demon ever try to... s-sit out... the p-pain?"

"Yes. He tried to wait for a couple of months, but nothing ever changed."

"I-Is that so...? Wow, I'm really such an idiot... Thankfully, I like my new form because it's cute... Argh! I-It hurts! O-Okay, time to transform... b-back..." The pain was getting more intense, and she didn't want to bear it any longer.

"A-Ah, can I make a little request before?" Maya stopped her from turning into the tiger-girl again.

"W-What is it...?"

"That really dark orangey hair you used with your transformation... It's cute, but I don't think it fits you that much. I know you did that to better fit the looks of a tiger, but I like your original color much more... Ah, but the black highlights were adorable. You should keep them."

"Hmm..." Sophia didn't seem convinced.

"Oh, how about the honey-blonde from your adult version? I liked that color even more! I think that should work well as a base color for a tiger, as well. It's somehow kinda orange, too, isn't it? Well, just much lighter than that of a tiger, thanks to the blonde and brown parts."

"Ah, you're right about that. Alright, I'll do that for you. I like that idea... as well... O-Okay, now I better transform back... I feel like I'll pass out from the pain... any second! It almost feels... like it's at a p-point where my... boosts are kicking in... and making it.. w-worse... B-Boosted phantom pain… That's another punch… C-Canir!" Sophia's face had a seriously unhealthy color while saying so.

"Then hurry up already! Sorry for stopping you!"

"Haa..." After a last sigh, she closed her eyes and focused on turning back to a beastperson. A short but painful while later, once the usual smoke had vanished, Sophia's new and improved tiger-girl version appeared. Her body, tail, and animal ears remained unchanged, but her hair color and fur on the ears and tail had changed. Instead of the deep orange hue of her hair and furry tiger parts, it was now of a honey-blonde color. It almost looked like the hair of her adult version in her previous world, just with a light tint of orange now. The black stripes and highlights stayed the same, though. She also made her hair a little longer. Instead of just around her shoulders, it now went almost past her shoulder blades. Remembering that tigers often also have some white parts, Sophia had made the fluffy bit inside her ears and the tip of her tail snow-white. She was a big fan of that color, after all.

"Yeah, that was the right decision... Such a lovely combination. The white accents are a nice touch, too." Maya was staring at the tiger-girl's new hair and tail. "S-So, how are you feeling now?"

"Let's see," The pained expression on Sophia's face was gone. "Ever so slightly itchy, but..."

"Business as usual, then? Great. Is the pain gone?"

"Yeah, everything's good again... My tail's-" She turned around to watch her now blonde and black, ringed tail move around a bit. "Yep, perfect... and cute. You were right, Maya. This color is much better. Ah, now that I think about it, that's why I became honey-blonde before in the first place... I'm also pretty proud of my idea with the white bits~."

"Ehehe~." She was happy that she liked her suggestion. "I love it, too."

"So, what's the plan now?" Fen stared at the new Sophia.

"That's a good question. I have no idea. Also, I'm honestly too tired to think about anything anymore."

"A lot happened today, huh?"

"I'm exhausted... I just want to sleep~." Her brain had burned all of its capacity and then some more.

The group went back to their campground, and the girls got ready to sleep. As Sophia had the strong urge to sprawl herself out over Maya's lap again, their usual sleeping position was reversed this night.