In a room
The sign reads
"Welcome all new travellers.
To continue you must go through a series of doors.
After going through you will pick a costume. You will then become a half- human and half that creature.
After a week(100 mins a hour,20 hrs a day,10 days a week) has passed you may morph and get another costume. To start of with you will only be able to become 40% human to 60% human.
If you put on a costume you will then become that creature, be teleported to it's home town and have to wait a week before being able to morph.
After 50 costumes you may change into one of your other costumes and become 30% to 70% human. When changing costumes you must wait at least an hour before you can change costumes again.
100 different species/gender costumes allows you to gender-morph and become 20% to 80% human
200 different species costumes allows you to combine costumes and become 10% to 90% human
400 different species costumes allows you to return to your world with no more morphing
And 800 different species costumes makes a polymorph and allows you to morph outside of this world.
Also if you have a costume like a centaur then the human part will always be human and is counted towards the human percentage.
Any gender/species transformation magic of yours can only change your gender(if you have at least 100 costumes) and the animal part to a different animal.
When you change into a different costume (that you already have) you may teleport to that species home town but you will have the week penalty where you have no costume changes.
If you die while wearing a costume you will be reborn at the local inn (or appropriate location ). If you have more then 100 costumes you will lose the costume you had when you died and go to an appropriate place for your next costume.
If you fail to make it out in 100 years(100 weeks in a year) one of your possible forms will be chosen and you will be permanently stuck in that form(apart from magic) until you die. Also there will be no possibility of going back to your world.
Also, one final note: should you take a female form and become pregnant, you won't be able to change your gender until the child is born, though the other aspects of your form may change (the child will change to match.) That is all, and good luck!
You realise that you have to do what the sign said to do and go through the doors and grab a costume.
Alternatively you could use the key system to determine the room
Written by Catprog on 11 February 2004
Normal Land
You go through the door.
All of a sudden it slams shut and with no handle on this side it appears that you are stuck.
There are two more doors however and both of them have a sign on them saying
Costume room for
Element: Land
Type: Normal
Gender: ????
So which door do you want
Written by Catprog on 26 February 2004
Female Normal Land
You go through the door.
All of a sudden it slams shut and with no handle on this side it appears that you are stuck.<P/>There are five costumes in this room, all of them female, all of them are normal land creatures.
- Snake <li><span class="female">Wolf</span></li>
Written by Catprog on 26 February 2004
Cheetah
You pick up the suit. The fur feels real, the suit seems almost immaculate, well-kept, and there is a vague animal scent, which struck you as very unusual, even if it were real animal fur. You feel strange, as if you’re just now remembering a half-forgotten dream you had long ago, fragments of memories of running, of feeling different, of seeing a world that was all too familiar, yet still alien to all that you had experienced before. The suit seemed to carry promise of old hidden happy memories.
The desire to analyze the situation leaves you, and you can think no other thought than to slide on the suit. You step inside, and what happens next is a strange sensation, yet something that does not surprise you, as if you knew it would happen all along. The suit clings to your body, and after a few seconds of surprising warmth that fills you from head to toe, you feel shifts in your body that actually do feel strange, that give a moment of discomfort. The sound of joints popping, much like cracking your knuckles, sound throughout the room for a moment, and then it’s over.
The changes all leap out at you, bit by bit, and you take your time to adjust. First is your sense of vision; it becomes more crisp, more clear, and you can see little things in your environment you would otherwise miss, and while you cannot see different colors, you can see variations within colors that before all seemed the same. The second is the sense of smell, as you realize everything has a scent, including yourself. You step forward, to look down at your body. You are struck by the fact that you are now a woman, completely female, yet somehow this does not give you a loss of self; in fact, now you somehow feel more complete, though you never knew you had ever felt otherwise. Long strands of yellow hair falls midway down your chest and back. Your legs are not like a human’s, either, instead bending backwards much like a cheetah’s, though with broader paws to support your bipedal weight. You experiment, first by walking, then by running, back and forth in this strange room, partly to see how the legs feel, partly because you feel this strong energy. You just want to go, you just want to do, to feel the rush of wind in your hair -- in your fur!
You look around, remembering you are trapped in this place. Somehow this has become even worse; all that pent-up energy coursing through your body, the desire to run strong within you, and now…
A doorway you never saw before lays open along one side of the wall. You never noticed it before, and a small glow emanates from within. A part of you, a rational side that recognizes that none of this makes sense, tells you that you should be cautious, but every emotion seems to tell you that this doorway is nothing to fear. You decide to trust your instincts, and step up to the doorway, peering through.
You can see nothing. Just white space. There’s a light warmth that emanates from the doorway, however, and the smell of open air and grass. You decide to step forward…
Written by Lone Wolf on 31 May 2015
The New World
The light blinds, and you squint, a hand in front of your face to block out the light of the sun. You are in an open field, and the scent of grass is strong in the air. You stand in an open field, and you can feel the grass against the soles of your paws. You take a moment to scrunch your toes within the dirt, and you can feel the retractable claws slide out, scoring the earth. Your own scent comes to your nose; you just marked the ground, and it felt right.
Taking stock of your surroundings, you realize you are surrounded by flat grassland. As you look around, however, you see buildings in the distance, more or less flat buildings with some distance between them, seeming to form a small town. You also notice three people on the front porch of a medium-sized building -- your new, keen eyes pick out their forms, and you see they are much like yourself, cheetahs that walk on animal-like legs. Two are standing, one is sitting, all male.
However, unlike yourself, they are wearing a little bit of clothing; light shorts, primarily, and no shirts or shoes. You start to wonder if they would really care if they saw you naked, but you realize that is one social faux pas you want to avoid if you can. Instead, you head away from them, as they have not looked in your direction yet, but still towards the town, where you come to the closest building.
Up close, you see the building is made of wooden planks, and you notice the windows have no glass, kept open to the air. The building itself isn’t that sizeable, and only has a single floor; it could hold maybe a small family, or a medium family if they were squeezed in tightly. You can’t help but notice the strong smell coming from the window; not a stink, like an unkempt house, but instead the various scents of other cheetahs like yourself. The smell is not very comforting, as these are the smells of strangers, and contain an element of the unknown.
As you peer around the wall, you catch a glimpse of a female cheetah in the distance, running. Around her chest is a simple tight wrap, keeping her breasts in place, but her shorts are no different than what the men wear, seeming designed to be comfortable, yet not get in the way of running. The only other thing the female cheetah wore was a backpack, held tight against her back to keep from jostling. You don’t want to step out yet, and move to the other side of the building, peering around -- and then you see a clothesline leading from the wall, with strips of cloth and some shorts held to dry in the breeze. You take a pair and a wrap, though you cannot figure out how she had wrapped her own breasts; after a few excruciating minutes, you manage a simple wrap that you would not want to run in. The feeling is embarrassing and constraining. Not only that, but now that you are dressed, the next stage is revealing yourself, which is a stressful concept.
Written by Lone Wolf on 01 June 2015
Towards the Males
You don’t know where the running female cheetah went, so you decide to move towards where the three males were. As you come closer, you notice that the one sitting is on a rocking chair, and though his hair isn’t gray like one would expect in a human, his posture and muzzle gives him the look of age. One of the standing males seems more mature, perhaps looking the equivalent of being in the mid-30s for a human (you ponder if they age like humans or not for a moment), the other being much young, in his 20s at the very most, and a medallion hangs around his neck.
They notice you, staring openly. There is no hostility in their gaze, but the quizzical looks still give you pause, and you try to find something to say. Do they even speak English? You have to find out.
“Hi,” you say quietly, giving a small wave. The young cheetah gives a nod, the other two still keep up with the quizzical look, obviously trying to place you. It’s a small town, so you know they’re unlikely to know strangers. Feeling embarrassed you said something so silly, you try again. “I’m, uh, not from around here.” You try to think about how to expound on that, and decide the reality would be far too difficult to explain. Or were they all humans like yourself? If they were, they’d show it eventually, right? So you continue on. “I’m from far away, and I, er… got a little lost. Mind if I ask where I am?”
The cheetah in his mid-30s still has a questioning look as he answers, “Well, yer in the town of Elkbank, miss.” For the first time you hear their voices, and they have a certain accent to them; a slightly higher pitch than the average human voice, but other than that, what one might expect in a rural American town. As you digest this, the cheetah continues on. “Might I ask what yer name is? Haven’t seen you these parts.”
“Oh!” Name. Name. You never did come up with one. You quickly think. You put on a suit… Sue? “Sue. My name’s Sue.”
“Sue? That’s a strange name,” said the youngest one. He crosses his arms along his chest, and now you realize that he looks very attractive to you; you blush in embarrassment, in spite of yourself. Even the arrogant look you recognize on his muzzle is attractive. “Mine is Swiftfoot. Earned it two years ago. Have you not earned your name yet, or is that just a short version?”
“Um…” You stare at him, and feel all the dumber, the blush deepening.
“Where you from, anyways?” said the oldest cheetah, looking quizzical all the more.
Written by Lone Wolf on 02 June 2015
Beachbrook
“I uh… from Beachbrook,” you say, spouting out the first name that came to your mind.
“Haven’t heard.”
“It’s really far away,” you stammer out, feeling your tail twitch in irritation. They notice the tail and move on.
“Well,” says the eldest, “My name is Far-Runner, ‘cause I’ve been out quite a ways, and I know some places ain’t like ours. Don’t be worried, Sue, you’re welcome here.”
“I’m Herder,” says the one in his 30s while giving you a nod. “Mostly do the huntin’ and herdin’ ‘round here.”
You nod, not thinking of what else to do. After a moment of awkward silence, Swiftfoot speaks up again, “So, you here for the race?”
Deciding immediately that that’s a good explanation as any, your questioning look immediately falls to a fake smile and quick nod of your head. “Yes! I heard there was a race here.”
He nods, smirking. “Thought so. Elkbank isn’t known for much, but we got the Spring Race.” He looks you up and down. “You look like you’ve been preparing, too. You sign up yet?”
You hadn’t thought much of it before, but you realize now that your body is quite fit; the muscles lean and hidden under the fur, but obviously still visible to someone that knows what to look for. “Um… not yet. Where do I go for that?”
“Here, I’ll show ya.”
Written by Lone Wolf on 03 June 2015
Fitting In
You came to learn a lot over the next few days. This world has many other humanoid animal races, from other kinds of big cats to wolves, foxes, bears, otters, and many others. Not all species has the same culture or naming conventions, so you can often tell who was what species by name alone. Sporting competitions are common and constant, even between species, though every species has their specialty, that made beating them by another species a major event. Bears are famous for wrestling, for instance.
For cheetahs, there are the sprinting competitions. They are the primary method of demonstrating one’s ability among other cheetahs, but even more so, they prepare one for running as an occupation, which is the primary occupation among young cheetahs; the society you have somehow been thrust into has very little advanced machinery, including automobiles. Runners are used for delivering packages too small for a carriage, as well as messages. Challenges are constant, between personal challenges (and impromptu practice) among two competitors, to monthly town contests with various rewards, and then one contest between towns spring and autumn to celebrate the coming of new seasons. Prizes range from as little as bragging rights, to cash prizes along with trophies, as well as the fame that comes with success.
Elkbank has the Spring Race among the cheetahs. Fastbrook has the Autumn Race. The one event everyone strives for, however, is the Long Run. The Long Run is a biannual event much more a marathon than a sprinting competition, meaning that other hardier races like wolves have a much better chance at winning. So far there have been thirty Long Runs, making it a tradition going back 60 years. Cheetahs has won a third of the trophies, most of them towards the beginning of the Long Run; recently the wolves have started picking up trophies, however.
Fitting in is difficult for you, but you manage. Of course, you need a place to stay, and Far-Runner had some space, though he often asked probing questions that makes you uncomfortable and force you to come up with explanations; most of them you’ve manage to avoid by saying you don’t want to talk about it, that the memories weren’t pleasant. So far as they know, you’re a runaway trying to make a name for herself somewhere else, from a family that restricted you in some fashion. Fortunately the cheetahs seems accepting and inviting, and it isn’t long before you are challenged to races. They seem reluctant to call you “Sue”, as such a naming convention makes little sense to the cheetahs, so you say you want to earn a new name. When Far-Runner asks why you want to forsake your old name, you go silent, partly in thought, but they take the silence as your unwillingness to talk about why you left home, and the conversation is dropped.
Your new body is sleek and powerful, and you constantly feel the urge to run. Your endurance is incredible, and running brings a new high each time. Still, Swiftfoot lives up to his name. He is faster, stronger, and seems more driven to excel. It is obvious he was really in it to win. He and you grow closer as time pass, and his passion is infectious. You learn to push your new body even harder, to lengths you never even realized.
Food is primarily preserved or fresh meat, and drink primarily water. Sugar and spices aren’t an important part of the diet of the animal-people in general, though there are new spices with names you never heard before. In spite of this, the taste of meat and fat tastes better than before your transformation, and you feel no craving for soft drinks or junk food.
There is a form of currency, though even this was built around money. A sash around the torso carries lightweight coins and paper money, distributed around the body to allow for running speed. You are pushed to start earning money very early on, but work is easy; there are always deliveries to be made, especially for cheetahs. You still remember your first time, having to deliver a message to someone in a town called Meadow. As it is your first time, you are not expected to make it all the way to there yourself, but to drop the message off at a messenger station. Some cheetahs are known for making the whole trip themselves, but they are the hardcore runners like Swiftfoot. You weren’t considered quite a hardcore runner yourself, and your first run still took a lot of you; a full day’s run, and then most of the night back, taking some time for a quick nap -- something you are also pushed to do, to take little naps called “run naps”, snaps of sleep that last at most 2 hours. You are trained and drilled to make every bit of sleep count. You still are yet to see Meadow, nor many other towns for the time being.
The Spring Race are only a few weeks away. Training for it are not easy, and Swiftfoot has been pressing you to practice day and night. Running is the primary method of practice, but occasionally you are required to run while wearing ankle weights; which makes you feel all the more free when they are removed. He has made a point of seeing you nearly every other day for practice, which makes you feel glad as you increasingly became attracted to him. Still, his mind is always on the race and practice, and he doesn’t open up to you; you know hardly anything about him besides his passion and drive for racing, and you can’t help but hope there was a little more to him than that.
Written by Lone Wolf on 04 June 2015