I woke up Saturday morning with two legs, much to my relief. I showered and returned to my room. As I looked through my closet I noticed the one pair of jeans I had purchased just a handful of days ago. Reaching for the jeans made me feel funny on Thursday. Today, I picked them up off the rack without my compulsions complaining about it. I put them on and still there was no problem. I had to admit I liked the way they hugged my body. When I finished dressing I went downstairs for breakfast. Mom and Daddy were already up.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Daddy asked.

"I feel pretty good, I guess." It felt good to say that.

"You're wearing jeans? " Mom asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "They don't bother me now."

"Perhaps that discomfort is a gauge of your hunger?" Daddy suggested.

"Maybe. I did wear those pajama pants that first night."

I finished breakfast and then Daddy and I went to the Clinic for more tests.

Dr. Adelaide greeted us first and we discussed my new form. The first thing she asked me to do was the thing I did not really want to do. She wanted to see my new form. Reluctantly I complied – it only took eight minutes wearing nothing but a hospital gown to figure out how to do it – and she ran me through a series of tests.

"Totally Rad!" She exclaimed. "I've, like, never seen such a totally complicated Twist. The good news is you are a metamorph, having two distinct forms, one bipedal and one snake-like, or, like, perhaps lamia-like. But lamia are like demons so you probably prefer snake-like. It also appears that you feed on a substance that doesn't exist in this dimension."

"What?"

"I know, it's far out." She said. I was finding her enthusiasm annoying. "When you, like, petrify someone something in its flesh totally interacts with the Darrington field, the quantum field, to create a vapor that is locked inside the stone. You mentioned that you could, like, change the pose of a bird. The glands we could not identify are what allow you to do that. They also allow you to release the vapor and absorb it into your body."

"What is the vapor?"

"I don't know, but it seems to build up in the statues you create, when it builds up to a certain level, it is released and the transformation is reversed. That explains why when you absorb some of the vapors from a statue the reverse transformation is delayed."

"Do you have any idea how I'm supposed to deal with the craving? Or find a ready supply of animals to drain?"

She paused for a moment. "No, but I think you need some time with Dr. Philips. That's enough experimentation here. Keep working with that friend of yours. His attempts to improve your control can't be a bad thing. Let’s go see Dr. Philips."

“Before we do, I heard you were a metamorph.”

“Tess, like, sold me out. Didn’t she?”

“Yes. Can you turn to stone now?”

“Sort of. I’m totally unaware when I’m stone. And it lasts between ten minutes and three hours and I have like no control over it,” she said sadly. “Oo, I should totally do it in front of you so you can like see if I have the same like lines inside me as people you petrify. Hang on. Let me stand over here. I can totally film myself turning to stone. Once you get a look inside me, just head on down to Dr. Philip’s office.”

Adelaide transformed into a statue. I waited a moment before opening my inner eyelid. She had all the same swirls within her as I had observed in my statues. I found some paper and wrote ‘Same swirls” on it and left the paper in her hand.

I had to ask Tess how to find Dr. Philip’s office. There, we chatted for a few minutes as I told him about being a snake. I don't remember how he did it but soon I was crying about turning into a monster permanently. He let me cry about it for a while before trying to steer my thoughts in another direction. His words were plain and logical and I guess exactly what I needed to hear.

"You need to find a way not to focus on the negative aspects of your twist. You'll figure out your need to feed and how to avoid transforming into your snake hybrid accidentally. You will." He said reassuringly.

"Now, have things changed in school?" He continued. "How were you received by your classmates?"

"Most of them seem more focused on my becoming a girl than my snakes or my trick. The jerks who use to pick on me still do."

"Let's get back to them in a moment. How do feel about being treated as a girl?"

"Well, when the other girls do it I feel included. When the boys do it, I feel like I'm just some walking collection of boobs and legs for them to ogle. I realize they're just doing what I'd be doing if I were still a guy and I have sympathy. For the guys who do more than ogle, I get angry."

"So, you're having the typical experiences of a typical teenage girl?" He asked.

"I suppose so."

"And the boys who taunted Gordon?"

"Still taunt."

"You have to stop letting them control how you feel about yourself. What they think of you is theirs to control. How you feel about yourself is entirely up to you." He advised. "You are bigger and stronger than you use to be. I'm not recommending violence, I would never do that. But, you should not feel intimidated by them."

From there we talked about my experiments with Elliot. I was caught off guard when he asked, "How do you feel about Elliot?" As I stumbled unable to answer he added, "How do you think Elliot feels about you?"

After moment I said, "I don't know." When he did not follow up that question with another, I continued, "We've been best friends for as long as I can remember."

"Is he like a brother to you?"

"Maybe." The word escaped my lips unexpectedly. Last week I would have said "Yes" immediately. Why had I replied "Maybe?"

The session ended not long after that. My head was swimming. How did I feel about Elliot? How did he feel about me?

Daddy and I left the Clinic in silence. I was very deep in thought and I guess he was giving me some space. About half way home I realized if I went home I'd have to deal with Elliot. I asked, "Didn't you have an idea for how I could feed that you were going to share? "

"Well, sure. You just looked like you wouldn’t be in the mood to do that now."

"No, no reason to put it off."

Daddy changed direction and about twenty minutes later we were in a parking lot. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" he began.

"I guess not."

"Are you sure you want to deal with this now?"

I nodded and got out of the car. We were behind an animal hospital. I had a bad feeling I should have paid attention to what he was saying. Though, I didn’t really hear him at the time.

Daddy opened the rear door to the building for me and called out, "Douglas!"

A voice replied, "Wait in my office."

We were in a hallway of nondescript doors. At the end of the hallway was a reception area. I could smell the distinct scent of many fuzzy animals in the air. There were occasional barks and meows. Daddy led me to the second door on the right and we entered.

The office was neatly kept, with two plush chairs facing a plain steel desk. Based on the diplomas and awards Dr. Douglas Hauser was a renowned animal surgeon.

Daddy asked me again if it was a good idea to be here now.

I was vague in my nod and it wasn’t until the doctor entered the office that it occurred to me that they thought I would euthanize sick animals.

Like some monster.

Suddenly, now was not a good time to be here. "I've changed my mind, Daddy. Can we leave?"

Not hearing my whispered plea, Daddy introduced me to the doctor.

Douglas took my hand and said, "I'm a bit dubious about this my darling. I wanted you to meet an old friend of mine."

They led me to the next room where an old dog was sleeping on the floor. When he saw the doctor, the dog lifted its head and struggled to stand up on obviously arthritic legs.

"Duke, here is almost fifteen years old and I'm going to have to put him down soon because of the pain he suffers just standing like this," he began, a tear in his eye. "Your father has put into my head the idea of something better than taxidermy, which I loathe. Before asking you to do anything to Duke, I want to know that it will not hurt him."

"I've told you it didn't hurt," Daddy interrupted.

"You said being petrified doesn't hurt," the doctor explained. "I want to make sure the feeding doesn't hurt."

"I can't do that to a person," I stated. "It's too dangerous."

"Then, there's no solution to your hunger problem here. I won't allow my animals to suffer so some vain socialite can claim to have had a statue made of their old pet."

"How many people wanting to turn their sickly pets into statutes are there?"

"Once the first statue appears in one of their homes, they'll all want one."

"What will we do after everyone has one," I asked. "Fads don't last long."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out when the time comes," Daddy reassured me.

They looked at me expectantly. After a moment I said, "Okay. Where shall I petrify you?"

"Not here, not now," Douglas said. "We'll do that when I'm not on call. Perhaps tonight for dinner? Betty would love to see Silvia again."

"That's fine with me."

I just nodded and stood up. "Let's go, Daddy." I walked out. As I left I could hear the doctor ask Daddy if he was sure I was ready. Daddy admitted he wasn’t sure.

As I walked to the car, someone let out a wolf whistle at me. I spun around in fury, my head snakes flared out and hissing loudly at the man. He turned white as a sheet and for moment I thought I had petrified him. Then he screamed and ran off. I had not used my trick on him. I’d merely frightened him to near death with just a look.

I ran out of the parking lot towards a park and into a nearby woods. I ran until I could no longer hear Daddy's voice calling me back. When I stopped I was near some train tracks as they crossed over a stream.

I sat down, realizing Mom would probably be annoyed about the dirt all over my jeans. Too late to care. Several moments passed without me paying attention to them. A voice called out, "Are you a real gorgon?"

I looked up to see an old man approaching me. He was frail, poorly dressed, and I could smell him already. One of his eyes was milky white from an old injury based on the scar on his face.

"I suppose so."

"Heh, heh," he cackled. "Nope, I don't think so. If'n you were I'd be all statue-like already. You're just a girl with a weird hairdo. Must be."

"Maybe I don't feel like turning you to stone."

"Nope, gorgons hate all livin' bein's. They's ugly to the bone. And they'd never con-verse with a lowly retch such as me. Heh, heh. Nope. You're no gorgon, girly," he kind of danced in place at he made each point. "And you be too beautiful, too, girly."

I stood up, "Beauty means I'm not a gorgon?"

"Damn, you is tall, girly," he said looking like his neck hurt to look up at me. "Damn right, you too beautiful, though I prefer my ladies a smidge shorter. No offense."

"What if I weren't beautiful?"

"How?"

I turned around and pulled off my jeans.

"What you be doin'? I be far too old for you girly."

I snickered as the snakes showed him turning as if to look away, but he was definitely staring at my ass. With the pants off, I transformed into my half snake form. I turned back around. "Are you sure I'm not a gorgon?"

"Heh, heh, I still ain't no statue, girly. That's a good trick. But, you ain't no gorgon."

"That eye of yours works, right?"

"Heh, heh, yes, it do. Can you lower your head so I don't have to look up?" As I complied, he continued, "You might look monstrous, snake girl, but you ain't no monster. I ain't dead or made of rock. You don't hate all livin' bein's. In fact, I bet you love a few, girly. And more than a few love you; I'd be a fool not to bet ya. What are you doing trying to convince a daft old man that you's a monster for anyway?"

"I didn't expect it to take so long," I joked.

"Heh, heh," he laughed as his laugh dissolved into a coughing fit. "It's too bad you ain't a gorgon. Petrifying can't be the worst way to go."

"I'm told it gets boring."

"Ya, I could see that. Heh, heh, told by who?"

"Just because you believe I can't petrify people doesn't mean I can't. It just only lasts about an hour."

"You see what I'm saying. What kind of monster petrifies only for an hour, girly?"

"I guess you're right."

"Medusa," a voice called.

I flattened out down on the ground. I don't know why and I felt silly almost immediately. "I should get going."

"Heh, heh, yes, you should. Me, too," he announced after looking at his unadorned wrist. "I got to go convince a man over on that ridge over there that marriage will be wonderful." And he walked off in the direction of the ridge.

I transformed and quickly put on my pants. I walked back to the park. When I saw Daddy's determined grimace as he searched for me, I turned to look for the old man. He was not where I expected to see him. He was at least a mile further away talking with a man.

Maybe he was Twisted, I thought.

"Medusa," Daddy called out as he started running toward me. "You had me..."

I cut him off with a gesture and gave him a big hug. "Yes, worried sick. I'm sorry about that. Let's just go home."

Caught off guard, he replied, "Um, okay." I stood there holding him for moment. "If we're going home, you'll have to give up this hug," he interrupted.

I let go and we walked back to the car. It was a longer walk than I expected. As he saw me looking around he said, "Didn't think you ran so far, did you? You were moving extremely fast. Not as fast as your mother, but you sustained a higher than normal level of speed for a relatively long time." He laughed, "I tried to run after you. But, I was gasping for air after a few minutes. That's why it took me so long to catch up with you."

"I had no idea," I replied.

"I don't want to jinx it, but running off actually seems to have helped."

"It kind of did," I replied. "I met someone who seemed to know just what I needed to hear. And he said it in manner that I was willing to listen to."

"What's his name?"

"Heh, I didn't ask."

Later at home, I was in the garage. I felt like challenging myself so I took an old T-shirt and ripped it into strips. I carefully threaded it through my head snakes, blindfolding myself. With my head snakes it seemed like I could see perfectly all around me. The only real difficulty was remembering which direction my legs were facing.

I sat down at my desk and worked on some sketches for Marie's bust. The door to the breezeway opened slowly and Elliot asked, "Can I come in?"

I nodded without looking up from my sketchpad. I tried to minimize the snake's tendency to track movement, allowing Elliot's passage through the room to pass from one snake to another.

"How's it going?"

"Not bad," I replied curtly.

"Are you blindfolded? "

I tilted my head up. "Cool, isn't it? What do you think of this sketch of Marie?" I asked turning the pad around.

"Looks just like her," he replied after a moment. "You seem more relaxed, even sure of yourself. Did you learn something at the Clinic? "

"Not exactly," I began. I told him about visiting with Dr. Adelaide, skipping over the entire visit with Dr. Philips. I detailed the visit to the animal hospital. I was a little embarrassed talking about frightening the guy who whistled at me, though I noticed Elliot became a little agitated when I mentioned the whistle. Finally, I told him about the old man.

Elliot looked surprised as I told him about the old man. "Wow, I didn't think it was true. You must have met The Advisor."

"You think so?" I asked. The Advisor is a legendary figure around town. Most presume he was Twisted with a trick that attracts him to people who need advice, or vice versa, and the trick makes it so he always knows exactly what to say. "He did seem adamant that I not refer to myself as a monster. And I do feel more comfortable with my twist than I ever have."

"Guess he's not a myth."

"Are you going to leave the blindfold on all the time from now on?"

I laughed, "I forgot I was wearing it."

"Really?"

I started removing it. "Maybe I've discovered the latest women's fashion trend."

After a few questions and answers to clarify parts of my story, there was a pause in the conversation. I closed the sketchpad and rearranged my legs to put the pad away without falling off the stool.

Elliot took the opportunity while I seemed distracted to check me out. I watched as his eyes ran up and down my legs and lingered on my breasts. I leaned forward more than I had to and was oddly delighted to know I had drawn his eyes to my ass as I turned it toward him unnecessarily.

How did I feel about Elliot? How did he feel about me?

As I sat back in the chair, Elliot shook his head and turned away from me. His expression was a mix of confusion and surprise. He managed to keep both feelings from his voice as he asked, "You want to experiment today?"

"Do you like me?" The words spilled out of my mouth before I realized I was going to say them.

He looked as surprised and nervous as I felt as he managed to nonchalantly say, "I wouldn't be here if not. We're best buds, aren't we?"

In for a penny, I thought. "Elliot and Gordon were best buds. What are Elliot and Medusa?"

"I'm not giving up over twelve years of friendship over your twist." He began and then I could see from his expression that something unexpected had just occurred to him. "Wait. Are you suggesting we might become less than best buds? Or more?"

I looked downward, my snakes scrambled behind me in a flurry of movement, putting Elliot out of sight. There it was... out in the open... and we could no longer ignore it.

I heard him move and he took hold of one of my snakes, turning it toward his face. "I would prefer to tell you this to your beautiful face but I'll settle for this little guy's face if I have to as long as I know you can see me."

I looked up at Elliot and he dropped my snake to look me in the eyes. "We have loved each other for many years. We never considered acting on that love romantically before because for most of those years we were just kids and presumably two straight guys. Circumstances have changed so maybe we will reconsider romance in the future. I doubt either of us are ready to take that step anytime soon, if ever. If we do, it will be when we are both ready. You still need to learn who you've become and I'll be here to help you as much as you will let me."

Tears were welling up in my eyes and whatever vestiges of manhood remained inside me made me want to look away but I held my gaze on him and said, "That is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me." I felt like such a girl as I said it and more so as I continued, "You’re right. I wish I had the courage to have said anything nearly that honest." I reached out and hugged him close, his head next to mine, and whispered, "I truly do love you, Elliot."

"I love you, Medusa," he whispered back. "But, could you not wrap your snakes around my head?"

We let go of each other and the few snakes that had coiled around his head let go. I laughed, "They wanted a hug, too." I wiped my tears away.

"Let's do something else before we start to feel awkward," Elliot suggested.

"Okay, but it won't stop us from feeling awkward later."

"Okay, you obviously want awkward. Turn into your snake form."

"Why?"

"It's a test."

"I can't in these jeans."

"I'll step out while you wiggle out of them and transform," he declared as he left the garage.

I watched him leave with my jaw slacked open. Resigned to whatever he planned-- after our declarations of love I could not claim not to trust him-- I took off my blouse and bra. Then I shimmied out of my jeans and panties. I don’t think I had ever been naked in the garage before. I stood with legs together and willed the change to begin. For the first time I really watched the transformation take place. My hips shattered painlessly and started sinking down my legs toward the floor. As the remains of my hips descended, they gained mass from the mass of two legs combining into a single cylindrical structure that wound up narrower than even one thigh by itself. Around where my knees had been my body was around six inches in diameter.

While this process turned me from two legs to none, green color washed around from my back to my front. My breasts flattened. As their mass was redistributed my flesh became more scaly. My arms narrowed and became longer as did my hands. I think my neck expanded.

When the remains of my hips reached my feet I became unsteady as my feet were absorbed into the mass. I seemed to sink down into that mass until all at once the mass became my coiled lower body. The urge to stretch out overcame me and I slithered around the table.

The whole process took less than five seconds. I put my blouse back on. Nothing else I had been wearing would fit now. "I'm ready," I called out to Elliot.

He reentered the garage and walked straight up to me. Without warning his hands grasped my upper arms and he pulled me down to eye level with him.

I was about to ask him what he was doing when he leaned in and kissed me. It was not a passionate kiss, he did not try to push his tongue into my mouth. It was soft and warm, gentle I suppose. Our eyes were open and suddenly I needed to stop.

I pushed him back and exclaimed with more indignation than I felt, "Elliot!"

"Let me explain," he requested holding his hands up in submission. "First, I warned you it would be more awkwardness. Second, it was a test. It was a test you would have been giving to me forever if I hadn't just done this. When I said I loved you, I wanted you to be clear that I meant all of you, including this you."

He was going to continue complementing me so I stopped him. "Yes, yes, you don't care if I can devour someone's life force, have a scaly face, or started wearing nothing but pink. I know this. That's why I trust you implicitly."

"Oh," he replied. "Sorry about the kiss then. I did have a backup plan." When I just looked at him expectantly, he continued, "Let's go to my house and play video games. You and me will leave the garage right now, head down the sidewalk and enter to my house."

"Looking like this?"

I thought I would be afraid to go out in public like this but the thought of being seen like this no longer bothered me. I was a little nervous. In the spirit of his plan I said, "Challenge accepted." I turned and slithered to the door.

"Really?" Elliot said, a look of shock covering his face.

"Sure, I should get out more." In the breeze way I called out, "I'm headed over to Elliot's house."

"Call if you'll be late for dinner," Mom called back.

“I won't be late,” I replied. “We're going to Dr Hauser's for dinner tonight.”

I reached the breezeway door facing the front yard and was suddenly overwhelmed by the vast openness of the public road and sidewalk. It's not the mall, I reassured myself as I swung the door open and slithered forth.

Elliot held the door open and I turned to see why he had not followed me out the door. "I didn't think you wanted me to let the door slam on your tail," he explained.

I forgot it was trailing so far behind me. I coiled up my tail a bit until the tip was only a couple feet away.

Elliot closed the door and joined me halfway to the sidewalk. Though I towered over him, he gallantly hooked his arm around mine. Conveniently my long arms put our hands at about the same height. "It's a lovely day for a leisurely... ambulance along the sidewalk. Wouldn't you say?"

"You were going to say walk."

"No, no. I was going to say stroll."

I laughed. "This is weird. I can feel the texture of the sidewalk as I move along it. At the same time I am receiving that sensation from what my mind usually thinks of as my stomach, thighs and shins all at once."

"That makes sense," Elliot said. "Your current abdomen is composed of elements of those three body parts."

The walk of four house lengths was over quickly and we entered Elliot's house. His mother entered the living room as we arrived. She did not hide the shock from he face upon seeing me. She smiled warmly as she said, "Medusa, it is wonderful to finally meet you again. Elliot however did not tell me you would be in this form. I was under the impression you were unhappy with this one."

"Given the choice, I'd still be a guy. I have been working to become use to being a girl and I figured out that I need to get use to this form, too."

"It is striking," she said. "I love the richness of your coloring."

"Thank you."

"We're going to play some video games in my room," Elliot announced as he headed for the stairs.

Winding my way up a flight of stairs was a little tricky until I figured out how to do it. Elliot's room was clean as usual. I moved into a corner and wound myself into a coil with my torso perched at the top of the coil. It almost felt like I was sitting.

We were playing for about ten minutes when the door was flung open and Elliot's little brother Todd burst in. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me and declared, "You look awesome." Todd was a typical eight year old boy, full of energy and questions.

"Thank you, Todd."

"Are you really Gordon? "

"I use to be Gordon. Now, I'm Medusa."

"What's it feel like to be a snake?"

"Todd!" Elliot admonished.

"It's okay," I stated. "He's just curious. Todd, I'm only half snake so I don't necessarily know exactly what being a snake feels like. Snakes don't have arms, for example. For me it feels a little weird when I'm stretched out. My head's here and my tail could be far away."

"Is it true you can turn someone into a statue?

"Yes, now can you let me and Elliot get back to our game? "

"Okay," Todd said. "Can I watch? "

"If you're quiet," I said.

He sat down in front of the bed and was quiet for a few moments.

"Can I feel your skin?

"Why do you have little snakes on your head?

"Is it true your wee-wee fell off?"

"That's it!" Elliot declared. He call out, "Mom, Todd is asking rude questions."

"I'll be quiet," Todd pleaded. "I want to stay."

"Give him a chance," his mother called back.

Elliot leaned down and whispered, "If you aren't quiet I'll ask Medusa to turn you into a statue. Statues are very quiet."

"You can turn me to a statue right here? That would be great. Do it." He was jumping around excitedly.

I stared at Elliot in annoyance. "First, you need to ask your mommy if it is okay for me to turn you to stone. Then, I'll think about it."

"Moooooooom," he called out as he ran out of the room.

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded.

"What?"

"Be good or my monster friend will get you."

"That's not what I..." he paused dejectedly. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking about how you would feel about it."

"Why does Todd want to be a statue?" Asked his mother as she stepped into the room.

I looked at Elliot meaningfully.

"He won't keep quiet so I kind of implied..."

"You threatened your brother with petrification?"

"It didn't sound so bad when I was saying it. Besides, it would only last an hour."

"I'll deal with you later," she told him. Then she turned to me and requested, "If Todd manages to ask you politely, would it bother you to fulfill his request? "

"Not at all," I replied. After she left I turned to Elliot and said, "Since petrification is apparently a valid means of punishment, you aren't leaving the room when I use my trick on Todd. I will try my very best to only affect him, like we practiced in my garage yesterday. But, if I mess up, the worst case is I get an hour of uninterrupted solo game play.

Todd returned, walking slowly and deliberately. "Excuse me, G-, Medusa," he began. "I want to know how it feels to be a statue. Would mind using your trick on me?"

"Do you understand that it will last for a whole hour whether you like it or not and that I can't undo it earlier? "

"Yes. I will be stuck for an hour."

"Do you want to face the TV so you can watch us play our game? "

"I'll be able to see?"

Elliot replied, "And hear and even feel if someone touches you. Now stand how you want to be posed."

I drifted my upper body toward the TV and turned to face them both. "Are you ready?"

He had his arms straight out and his body tilted like he was an airplane making a banked turn, "Yes."

"Are you looking at the TV screen? "

"Yes."

I immediately concentrated my focus on just him as I flashed my inner eyelid open and close. The color drained out of Todd, leaving him a white statue. "There you go, Todd. You are a statue. And you are not."

"Wow, you did it," Elliot was surprised.

We resumed our game. A little while later, Elliot's mother poked her head in, saying, "Sorry, I just had to see Todd."

We paused our game as she entered with her phone. She spent a minute making a video of Todd as a statue and asking us questions.

"Yes, he can hear us talking. He can probably see the TV," I told her.

"I've never had the sensation of needing to scratch an itch when I've been petrified," Elliot explained.

After she left, I asked, "Do you think she was wanting to get stoned?"

"Maybe," he shrugged.

An hour later, Todd returned to normal in silence.

"Well?" I asked. "Did you enjoy it? "

"It was okay," he answered. He turned and gave me a hug. "It was a bit too boring."

"You don't want to go another hour?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "Maybe some other time. B-bye." He ran from the room calling his mother and asking her about the video she made.

We finished playing several hours later. Since I didn’t have any pants with me I had to slither home. After spending so much time relaxing in this form, it was not as big a deal to slither home as it had been to come here. Mom just said hello without commenting on my form as I went up to my room. I returned to human form to get changed for our visit to the animal doctor. I chose a dark green blouse to go with my jean skirt.

We got in the car and arrived by six. The doctor apparently was well off. The house was not quite a mansion. But, it was set back from the road with a long driveway. It looked like it might have five or six bedrooms.

An obviously Twisted woman, a humanoid cat really, answered the door. Her face was mostly human with a faint coating of light orange fuzz, though her pupils were like cat's eyes. Cat whiskers hung stiffly straight out to the sides from the edges of her nostrils. Cat ears with leopard patterned spots were atop her head poking through a normal human blond head of hair. The fuzz on her face thickened and gained a leopard spot pattern all over her body. She seemed short because she was standing with bent back legs and it seemed like her limbs were shorter than her body height would suggest. A long tail swung lazily behind her. She was wearing nothing but a small blue bikini and a gauzy, white jacket.

"Betty, it is so nice to see you," Daddy said to her with a sociable hug.

"Gregory, Silvia, it's good to see you again." She looked up at me. "And this is certainly no longer your son."

"I'm Medusa," I replied shaking her hand. I have to admit, I only shook her hand to find out if it were a hand or a paw. It was a fuzzy hand with rather short fingers.

We went inside and met Dr. Hauser before we all sat down in a formal living room. Daddy and Douglas talked about their old college friendship while Mom and Betty talked about how long it had been since Betty had seen me. I had been three years old they decided. After a little while, Betty stood up to excuse herself so she could check on dinner.

Mom took my hand and stood up, "Would you like some help?" I was forced to stand up too.

"No, you're our guests," Betty replied as if reading from a script.

"I insist. Besides I've heard all their stories before."

"Well, I wouldn't want to subject you to them again," Betty agreed.

Mom pushed me in front of her as we were led to the kitchen.

Betty spent all of a minute checking dinner. She then grabbed a bowl and poured a dish of pasta into it and handed it to Mom. "I know you probably need this," she told my mother.

Mom said, "Thanks."

The three of us sat around the kitchen table to talk while Mom ate.

"Seeing you wearing a skirt and heels, I guess it is okay to ask you how you feel about being a woman?" Betty asked.

"As long as I get to hear what it's like to be a cat."

"Oh, that's not even close to the same. Although it's taking all my willpower not to swat at your snakes. Their movement triggers my cat compulsions fiercely." Her eyes were obviously tracking one of my snakes and she was leaning forward in her chair.

"Well, warn your cat instincts that my snakes have a paralytic venom and they can react to perceived danger before I'm even aware of it."

She sat back and pulled her knees up. "I better keep my distance," she laughed. "I was about to do it."

I reached up and took one of my snakes in hand, "This one?"

"Wow, how'd you know?"

"I can see through their eyes," I explained. "That has nothing to do with being a woman. I've been concentrating on the more exotic parts of my twist at the expense of exploring my gender change."

"If you can see through their eyes you've already mastered having eyes in the back of your head." She laughed. "Given how quickly you're adapting to those exotic changes, you should have no trouble with your other new parts. Are the clothes a compulsion?"

"Partially. I can change into another form, basically into a snake woman."

"No way," she interrupted.

"Yes, but when my legs merge and turn into a snake abdomen and tail, clothes between my legs are destroyed. I have a slight compulsion against wearing pants."

"At least you can wear clothes," Betty laughed. "Anything I wear makes me itch so bad that after a few hours I go absolutely crazy and rip them all off. In a bikini and wrap like these I can get through an entire day. But, that's about all I can wear."

A timer rang and she got up to get the food out of the oven. As Betty and mom brought dishes of food out to the table, they sent me to bring the men to the dining room.

Dr. Hauser stood up as I entered the room. Daddy followed his lead eventually.

"Dinner is ready," I announced.

When we got to the dining room the men sat down. I went into the kitchen and mom handed me a platter. "Go set this down on the table and take your seat. We'll be in right behind you."

I returned to the dining room and took my seat.

Douglas asked, "What was it like hanging out with the ladies? "

Daddy laughed, "Don't bother, Douglas. When Medusa first changed I asked her to report on what she might learn about the other half. But yesterday she told me it felt awkward talking to me about girl stuff."

"Surely she was only talking about sex stuff and boys. What girls talk about in private can't be an issue."

"That would be true,” I said. “Except that most of the private, girls-only talks I've been privy to were about boys, or sex. I didn't contribute much to those conversations."

Betty and Mom entered and dinner conversation drifted through recent local events. At the end of the meal, Douglas and I went to the backyard patio. "I thought I might stand here and watch the sunset."

"It is a lovely view. Are you ready?" I was nervous. I hoped I could control myself and feed the smallest amount.

"You have an excellent bedside manner," the doctor noted. "I'm ready."

Without preamble, I flashed my eyelids open and close. He turned to stone within a second. I reached out and placed my palm on his chest. I opened my eyelids again. The taste of his life energy was tantalizing my tongue. I held back. I left the ambrosia like substance remain where it was, confirming I was in control. "Douglas, this is what drinking feels like." Then, I took a small sip of it.

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