Thar the stoat was pretty pleased with the gift he'd managed to find for Lemurr. It had come from an odd little shop he'd never seen before, full of all sorts of interesting presents: ornaments, sweets, furniture, books. No brands, no obvious order to things, with ever more surprising items on each shelf. One such find was a lemur plushie, very soft and detailed; grey and brown and white with bright cute eyes and a long stripy tail. It was perfect. The helpful porcupine shopkeeper had bagged it up - no, she didn't know if they'd get any more toys in like this. Their selection was a bit unpredictable. Still, Thar was welcome back any time! She said something else, but he didn't quite hear what it was.


As his car reached home, the brown and black stoat headed back inside and took a look at the time. Still an hour or so before he expected his lemur friend to arrive. Perhaps he'd just leave the plushie in a seat for Lemurr, imagining the conversation: "Oh, I thought you'd already arrived," he could say. "And he drank your coffee, too."


Thar lifted the toy out of its bag, and felt a little shiver at the tip of his tail. All of the stoat's magical senses were concentrated there, so it served as a little warning ahead of what was to come, as his paws and head began to itch and change; digits getting longer, ears getting bigger. His tail stretched longer and longer, spilling onto the floor and turning a stripy black and white. Thar put the lemur toy down, but it didn't seem to stop the change.


A little tingle on his nose, tickling and tugging on his feet, brown colours becoming more muted and monochrome. Looking in the screen of the TV like a mirror, seeing round orange eyes. Were those hands where his feet were? Nimble, useful toes. Stoatiness left him, aside from the black tip on his tail; from top to bottom Thar was entirely a lemur. Like the toy? Oddly, perhaps appropriately, the plushie had become a stoat; detailed brown white and black, whiskers and little ears and short tail.


Even after his change seemed to be done, inside Thar felt warm and silky and strange. It wasn't unpleasant, as he went to the kitchen for a drink before settling down in a chair. Blink blink. Nope, still lemur. Lemur feet and belly and tail and snout. It'd certainly be a surprise for Lemurr when he arrived, if not the one he'd anticipated.


Buzz buzz. Thar's phone shook around nearby, bringing him out of his distraction. The fresh new lemur picked it up, seeing it was Lemurr and answering it.
"Hey? Y- you ok?" said Thar, stuttering just at the surprise of a new voice, and putting it together with the warmth felt all over. A lemur girl? That would take some getting used to!
"Hi! I'm running a bit early, is that fine?" Lemurr spoke over the noise of the road, it sounded like he was on the way.
"Oh! Yeah, no worries, I'm not busy or anything," said Thar, trying to sound more like a stoat.
"Though, yeah, I was just about to grab a shower. I'll leave the door open."
"Sure it's okay? You don't sound sure."
"No, stuff is pretty great. Well, I mean, you'll find out all about it when you get here. Nothing bad, just, you'll see," she said. She was starting to settle into her new self the more she thought and spoke, and that seemed to do the trick for Lemurr.
"Pretty mysterious! Well, I'm not far away, see you soon."


Thar had considered getting a quick shower in, and it still seemed like a good idea, but mostly her thoughts were on surprising her lemur friend. The stoat plushie went on the table as she made coffee, just to leave sitting there to make sure Lemurr didn't miss seeing the new toy. In between the plushie transformation and the little twitch in her tail, she'd had a fairly good idea for something that would happen which he was unlikely to expect…


#


Lemurr knocked, and opened the door after a short wait. "Hey, it's just me."
"Be right there!" called Thar, muffled by the water. It must have covered her voice enough, as in went the lemur without thinking more of it; tan and white, long striped tail coming in after him as he turned to close the door. Perked black and white ears, orange eyes, carrying a drink.


Though the water was running, the lemur girl wasn't in the shower, she was just inside the slightly-open door so she could see what would happen. If anything? It was just a hunch.


Lemurr put down his bottle and picked up the waiting coffee, having a sip and noticing the new plush. At least, it wasn't one he'd seen before, but there wasn't much else on the table to see at the moment, other than what seemed to be Thar's tea. The lemur picked up the toy, looking at it up close, and nearby Thar felt her tailtip twitch in a familiar way. Ooh, so the toy wasn't just a one-shot magical item, this would be fun to see!


The shiver through his fingers came first, and Lemurr dropped the toy onto the table. The soft stoat bumped into his bottle, spilling it and leaving the plushie in a purple berry pool. Oh, that wasn't good, a fluster to his cheeks as he picked up the toy and started for the kitchen. He wasn't going to make it, as his toes clicked and his tail bunched up, and walking felt very strange. Lemurr's ears tickled and shrank, and his fingers swelled up as hands and feet seemed to shorten. Where was his tail going? As it reeled itself in, the lemur felt himself get broader. Short violet and white fur crept up his arms and down his legs, the purple colour in place of a stoaty brown pelt.


"Uhh, Thar?" Lemurr called out, looking up at the bathroom as though it'd help. The lemur girl was there, orange eyes looking through the door, just enough for the changing lemur-stoat to notice something wasn't quite right. Smaller eyes, swishy tail, claws and stubby muzzle, and the unexpected violet fur - but definitely a stoat, as the plushie changed into a lemur right there in his paws. It didn't seem to be wet any more, like the colourful stain had just gone to Lemurr instead. The new violet stoat looked very confused, blushing at the heat continuing though his body as Thar turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathroom, giving a wave.


"Umm, surprise! I found this plushie at an old magic shop, and I didn't realise what it was until, well, until I was a lemur girl," she said, sheepishly. "Though I didn't know about the colours thing, that's new. I like it though."
"Y- wha- but- but what happened to my voice?" said Lemurr, looking and sounding very different. "I'm a stoat girl now? Maybe, um, a little warning?"
"Well, but then it wouldn't be a surprise," grinned the lemur, putting her tongue out. "And you know I'd hate for you to miss out."


As the heat started to fade and Lemurr felt more complete, she turned and sat back at one of the chairs around the table, putting down the lemur plush and picking up her coffee. "Hmm. Well, you know, stoats are nice, girls too. I'll just tell everyone I'm you. But violet."
"Mmm. I could do the same, though I'm not very like your colours either," said Thar.
"One thing though," wondered Lemurr. "How exactly are we changing back? Like, it didn't seem to matter I was holding the plushie, and if you touch it you'll just be a lemur again."
"Aww," said the lemur, putting her feet up and using one to grab at her lukewarm tea. "Maybe. But that's a future problem! I'm just going to enjoy it for now."


Even with both of their transformations, the pair were still quite chatty and keen to hear how it felt to be like each other. Thar pointed out that Lemurr might now be a confusing name, but she grinned and waved it off; pretty sure they'd know which of them was which. Later on, there were quite a few photos too, just to capture the moment. Thar always liked a change, and Lemurr was coming round to the idea that it would be fun to hang out like this for a while...


-fin