Bosque de Las Almas Hell's Bells!

Pete had memories, buried but not dead, of her mother stringing up crepe paper banners in black and orange. Unrolled together and taped so that it looked, to an imaginative child, like the orange-banded belly of a snake. A chandelier of streamers, a front entry clogged with nylon spiderweb, studded with black plastic spiders that, if you untangled them from the webbing, you could wear like a ring. Her mother had liked to be festive. She put a lot of care and effort into these displays.

Pete liked setting up for a party too, and of course it didn't have anything to do with that woman. It was Pete stuff! And while a shifted party was admittedly going to be less festive than a human one, it was a good brain exercise. She'd spent the whole day inhaling bags of jerky and shopping, loading the back over her Vic up with a pile of pumpkins of various sizes, a lot of candy with bugs in it, and impulse purchases that the season provided: glow necklaces, face paint, giant bags of assorted chocolate. Something for everyone, right? And you had to come up with fucking something once it got cold and dark out, otherwise winter was six fucking full moons of suffering.

Around five, she parked in the lot they used and got out, leaning on the side of the car and lighting a cigarette, listening. She didn't want to take all this shit out to the woods. Who the fuck would hang out in la bosque on halloween. Except...mother fuck, maybe some teenagers they could absolutely fucking terrorize.

Well. Quiet so far, and cooling quickly as the sun faded out amid the treeline. Hell of a difference from where she was a year ago.

Logan was pretty sad that Halloween was a full moon! They absolutely loved Halloween! This was the first time ever they were alone for it, and they definitely would have still went trick or treating if they coulda! But it was okay because this Halloween they got to hang out with friends! And even though they knew they had to change out of it, they had a costume ready!

They were in a very good mood as Anthony lugged into a parking space crookedly, practically bouncing in their seat as they spotted Pete already in the parking lot. They also practically were bouncing as they got out of the Volkswagon, shouldering their Moon Bag that was decorated with enamel pins of stars and moons. In it was Moon Stuff! Like clothes and snacks to eat after! From it, though, they pulled out a wadded up white sheet. Fully visible beside the van, they pulled it over their head, the cut out eyes a little wonky in placement because they didn't measure where to cut them when they did it. It worked still! Kinda!

Feet slapping heavily (relatively) on the ground, they bounded up to where Pete was smoking a cigarette, which smelled icky to Logan but they didn't say anything about it to be nice. Instead, they grinned as big as the moon, lifted their arms up to make the sheet billow, and yowled. "Happy Halloweeeeeen."

All of Lora's proper Halloween memories were flashy and faded. She'd been a princess two years in a row as a small child, and high on acid another two years in a row as a teenager. Somewhere in her short-lived bid to get her life together through college and working, she'd handed out candy every year, dressed as a black cat or some shit. Now, it fell to the bottom of her priorities list, like a lot of shit in her life had. It was just another day, but she was feeling pretty confident that Pete would bust out something. It did leave her curious, somewhere in the mix of tension and unrest in her bones.

Still, far from festive, she looked like she did any other full moon as she came trudging up the road from the bus stop. A hoodie and jeans, aging sneakers and the same shitty drawstring backpack. No costume. Just Lora. But there was Pete with a plume of smoke around her crazy curls that made Lora want a cigarette, and there was Logan all but tumbling out of their Volkswagon, fucking utterly adorable in a god damn bed sheet ghost costume. Her heart squeezed for both of them, really, and it made her smile - small, but genuine - as she came creeping up to their blooming little powow.

Pete stayed shrouded in a cloud of exhaled smoke, observing the van, the nice bag, the...white sheet. She realized what was happening right as it played out, full Charlie Brown fucking sheet, and then Logan was clattering over and she was screaming with delight, laughing and waving her lit cigarette around. "Shit!! It's the ghost-a Logans past! My demons come back to haunt me!" She dodged around the other side of her car, giggling manically. "Go back to the light!"

Pete was enjoying herself. Becky, in the meantime, proposed sinking her teeth into the mini-yeen and get started already — oh, and there came her daughter!

Summer rolled on up in her hatchback. Full moons were a special time. She got to hang with her pals, sure, but it also always lent her an energy that would never come to her otherwise. Rabid, toothy, on edge hyena, sated with the prospect of being let out. Let out among friends was a bonus layer that gave her a sunny boldness. It was good, too. This last week had been...

Well, after the incident with the earth shifting witch, Summer had had more than a few unwelcome nightmares, and it was a small way of saying it to say that she hadn't enjoyed those.

So she had done her makeup nice and pretty with some black and orange and gold and decided that was festive enough for things that would soon become very bristly and furry anyway. Otherwise warm, expendable clothing, just in case. Never could tell what would set a girl off before she could even get out of her pants, right?

Seeing Pete dart away from a very convincing ghost put a tight, sincere smile on her as she parked, and as she unfolded herself from her vehicle she called, "I hear if they touch ya you turn into crystal, Petes! We'll put ya up behind the counter at the shop as a fuckin' wonder of the world if they do!"

Ha ha! They shimmied under their sheet menacingly as Pete played along, bitting down giggles and hopefully making them into convincing little "oooohohohohos" that a ghost would make. Because Logan knew all about what sounds ghosts made! Summer was there, somewhere, as told by Mohawk borking in their head. They couldn't see, but definitely hear her words as she spouted off something about crystals! Whoa! "Whaoaoaoao, crystal Pete!" They chimed. "C'mere, I'll make you shiny!" They bid, staggering toward Pete to try and touch her. Instead, they just trampled their sheet, and stumbled clumsily into the car. "Oof!"

Her usual Halloween plans had to be somewhat rushed this year. Still, she’d managed to get in a call to her children to see what their families were up to today, the various costumes planned as well, before leaving a bucket of candy out for the local kids. There was excitement, however, at the realization the night would be spent in like company instead of merely watching movies and heading to bed after all the trick-or-treaters had gone home.

And soon enough Diana was picking her way up the lot, hair two toned with white and black to match the comfortable black wear and a spotted cape adorned to her as a light jacket. Even though they were bound to shift tonight, you still had to celebrate and such an easy costume of a simple Cruella de Vil wouldn’t hinder her at all.

The sounds of giggling young Logan had her smiling widely as she approached, the hyena letting out a low whoo of hello to the others as they all came into view. The start of a chase and then the ‘oof’ had her laughing. ”Hurry, catch the ghost before it flies away!”

God. What the fuck. Watching Pete shriek and run from Logan was fucking... it sort of warmed her heart. Lora caught herself giggling, too, tugging down hard against her pack strings with combustible joy. Summer's car crept behind her to park, and out came the other tall badass hyena woman, egging them on. Diana was close behind, and Lora lingered on the fringes, watching them all in their varying degrees of festivity and feeling all emotional and shit.

The hyena yearned to launch into the fray, to snatch Logan up and throw them over her shoulder. Instead, she would catch the oldest woman among them, sweeping Cruella de Vil in a firm side hug. "Good costume," she decided, not releasing her arm from around the other woman's waist. They could walk up together!

Pete's irises blackened as she goofed around, the spotted hyena inside her placing steady pressure on the full-moon-shifting gas. She shrieked again amid the hee-haws about Logan colliding with the car, and vaulted herself onto the roof of it, snatching a handful of sheet draping off of Logan's head and heaving it up and away. "Aw, shit, I been Scooby-Doo'd! It's some teeny yeeny!" What genuine good fun! Tragic, but maybe for the best that she didn't catch princess Lorena actually happy with them.

Summer laughed as they all got in on it in some way. The swooping revelation that the crystal ghost was just a little aardwolf person lifted her own hands to her mouth with a mock gasp.

"Better catch 'em anyway! I haven't seen one that small in... ever!"

And with Lora occupying their sweet old lady, Summer swept in to get a hand to Logan's head to give them a good ruffling if they didn't run away fast enough!

Oh! No!

Their cover was blown! Logan squealed with laughter, absolutely delighted by the reference that they fully understood. They freaking loved Scooby Doo! They got their van because of it!! One day, they wanted to paint Anthony like the Mystery Machine!

Anyway! Revealed, they slapped their hands to their cheeks, preparing some line about a meddling hyena. But then Summer was trying to catch! Which meant they had to run! "Aaahhh! You'll never catch me alive!" They yowled giddily, ducking away enough that they only got scruffed once before they made to thunder away toward Lora and Diana. Perfect cover to hide behind!

Lorena got to her first, the girl’s arms wrapping around her waist warmly and she leaned into it as her own arm did the same, brightening as the hyena shook out its fur in excited greeting. ”Thank you, I thought it would be a bit of fun.”

The sight of Pete suddenly on top of the car and ripping the sheet off the child had her laughing as they approached. Oh, how the tides had turned for suddenly Logan was running behind them as Diana looked this way and that, chuckling. Hands reaching out, she’d flair the spotted jacket out to help hide the young hyena from the two other’s view. ”You’ll have to look elsewhere, there’s no one here.”

Well, good job, Diana. It was a good bit of fun. Lora almost felt stupid for not being as festive as the rest of them, but the feeling was short-lived, the beast in her soul rocking against her companion earnestly. She was still sort of enamored with the goings-on around her, seeing Pete lunge onto the vic like a billy goat, tag-teaming Ghost Logan with a cackling Summer. Busted, the kid was screeching and rerouting, zipping towards the two women on the fringes.

Lora's grin grew without her quite realizing it, eyes blazing blue as the littlest yeen among them sought refuge. Diana meant to cover their tracks, but the younger spotted was catching the contagious thrill of a spooky full moon. Peeling away from Cruela, she turned on the aardwolf in their midst, lunging to sweep them up into her arms with a tense jaw and toothy smile. Mirroring her host, the great speckled hyena mouthed at its tiny friend in metaspace, giggling shrilly.

Pete blundered willfully as all this went down, walking into Diana and pawing her arms around behind the older woman as if to snag Logan. She felt physically high off seeing Lorena goof around like this, and the little walnut portion of her brain that could be logical told her to not draw attention to it, leave it natural. Just enjoy having four hyenas here with her, how that felt on the animal half of her soul.

Since no one escalated further, she grinned at Diana and turned the mauling to a hug, leaning on one furry shoulder as she took stock of them all. "I brought snacks an' shit for tonight, y'all ready?"

The brown hyena made plenty of metaphysical ruckus, very prepared to chase the tiny aardwolf in reality. Wasn't quite time, though, so she turned her back to the car and leaned on it with a laugh as she watched the others converge in a riotous swarm. No one seemed put out, standoffish. It felt, really really, like they were ready to fuck shit up together for as long as they could stand each other. It was great.

"Depends on what ya brought, Petes!"

But oh, she was very ready. It had taken way too long, but Summer felt like she had finally found her people, go fuckin' figure. Pushing her hair back from her face in a fairly useless gesture, she took a big, hearty breath of woody air.

Safe from Pete with the help of Diana, but they’d walked right into a trap that was Lora! Squealing in a childish way; because they felt more like a kid tonight than a teenager; Logan gripped at the tickling hands and grinned. Mohawk clucked and squealed, wriggling energetically in circles around the spotted hyena. Equal parts delighted and terrified of the bigger creature.

Once they found their feet again, Pete was announcing snacks and s word. Logan knew enough that they didn’t think Pete actually meant poop. ”I’ll taste test to make sure everything is good for everyone else!” They offered.

Pete was the first to reach her, trying to get around her amazing shield that Diana kept as much a stern face as possible forwards, a twinkle to her eye nonetheless.

Lora had a whole other plan and she couldn’t help renewing her laugh at the sight of Logan being picked up with squeals, letting arms down. It immediately had her mind wondering if her grandchildren were having the same amount of fun at the moment, dressed up and high on sugar, twirling around their parents.

A hug encapsulated her and she drew an arm around the other, the hyena ambling up to the other with a happy wur. There was a feeling of wholeness in this entire evening and she felt whatever part of her had been pacing, start truly settling into this group.

She nodded, ready to get this show on the road. ”Definitely.”

The pipe in of the aardwolf had her turning her attention back to them.

”Thank you, Logan. That’s a very important job!”

For a strange and surreal moment, Lora felt like she was just outside her own body. Watching herself and all of them, cavorting merrily under the fat moon's light. To feel so bizarrely at ease in spite of the looming promise of feral pain! In spite of the tangled mess that had gotten her here in the first place. Catching herself in this feeling, in being a little wired and zealous in the midst of this fucked up melting pot, brought a cool and crystalline moment of simply being. Belonging.

Lora released Logan and listened to chitchat about snacks, feeling like she'd just been hammered in the side of the head with a nicotine buzz. It quieted her again, and she considered their leader with still-pale eyes, expression both light and tense all at once. She meandered closer to the Crown Vic and peered at the lumpy treasure trove of plastic and pumpkins, the hyena offering a fantasy of crushing the largest pumpkin in her teeth. That would feel good!

Her hands buzzed as she took the liberty of grabbing shit, loading her arms with goodies in an unspoken sentiment. Let's get this show on the road.

In as much as Pete was capable of feeling love or tenderness, she felt it then, looping an arm around Diana's shoulder and seeing each of her hyenas glowing. How much of that was magic stuff? How much was just people being happy? Not that it mattered why. It was just good, and maybe it had a chance of lasting for a while.

They razzed at each other, jostled shoulders; for a minute Pete held Summer's hand. They got to the place Pete liked to shift, a barren clearing in the late-autumn woods where she had done a little amateur handiwork, dragging logs around for seating, kicking a giant rock over to put the flat side on top. The pumpkin, carried all this way like a lunchbox by its handle, she plunked into the leaf litter, where it would be joined by its assorted cousins. Snacks on the ground too, glowsticks, painting kit. She rummaged in one plastic bag and ripped open a package of chocolate, peeling one out of its wrapper as she looked over her crew. Time to get started, then!

She was the hyena manager though, sort of, so it felt weird to be the first one to whip out their tits.

Summer helped gather everything up, happy for the companionship, happy to have Pete and all the others. It had been a long time coming for her, in spite of craving it all her shifted life. This moment reminded her of her time with the wolverines back home--but better, so much better, because she had both chosen them and belonged completely without question. Logan, she would protect with every fiber of her being so they could be innocent and curious. Diana, to be cherished, an ancient flower that they had the joy of witnessing as she bloomed. Lora, to her feeling like a sister she hadn't seen in years but that had just started coming back around to family functions as she got her life together. And of course Pete, with whom she would have ridden shotgun through hell with.

Kicking off her shoes, Summer could feel herself needing to get 'comfy' to really settle into what was coming. The madness of a hyena began to filter through her thoughts, eyes harsh and green to vibe perfectly off of her eyeshadow. The power of their leader encouraged the idea that rising up was a mere breath away.

"Feels like we ought to have come up with some creepy ritual for tonight, make it special." But ah well, too late, she laughed at her thought anyway, like the would have gouged a summoning circle in the dirt if she'd simply thought that far ahead. A little too late as she was crumpling her pants to put into her bag.

Logan liked being important!

For the hike out, they helped carry things and snuck candies as they walked, crumpling wrappers into their pants pockets so they didn't litter. Once they were all gathered up at their little party spot, Logan found it hard to really sit still entirely. Laughing a little at Summer, they moved to grab some glow sticks, intent on making a necklace out of one of them before they had to shift. "We can all try and wear some glow jewelry." They prompted. How cool would it be to be able to wear one as Mohawk? Probably wouldn't end up staying on, but they were gonna try! Working quickly, they snapped the sticks into luminescent glows, linking them together with plastic tubes as they crunched down on a scorpion candy.

On the way to the clearing, she managed to take a small bag of skittles, gingerly plucking one at a time to savor as they made their way. The moon bathed everything in an ethereal light with what could get passed the tree’s boughs until coming upon the spot Pete had picked out where everything sincerely felt very themed. All they needed was fog and anyone would have their movie set made with the couple of weres running around.

Nestling the small used package in a pocket, she undid the cape, not wanting to choke herself in the shift. Laying it over an arm, she gave a laugh at Summer’s comments. ”We just need to all repeat a singular word while shifting and I think we’d set the tone.”

The idea of glowing jewelry had her interest and Diana grabbed a giant pendant, cracking it thoroughly before threading it through its string as far as it could go. Satisfied, she’d find a cleared spot before pushing off shoes, laying the jacket over them. ”I don’t know about you all, but my lady isn’t very patient tonight.” Beginning to shuffle out of her pants and shirt, the hyena keened inside making bones groan. ”I’ll see everyone on the other side.” Clothes put down with the rest, she let the shift take her.

Trekking through the woods felt a lot less doom and gloom this go 'round. There was a silver strand of excitement for it all. Maybe it was the strangeness of carrying armloads of party favors through the trees. She felt like she often had as a teenager, a little bit electric, in the mood to get wild. Getting wild, of course, had a very different meaning these days. Maybe that's all it was, the hyena riding high in her mind, elated by the company and the atmosphere.

Lora took in the little clearing, the lumpy treasure trove of pumpkins and candy. She grinned to herself at Summer's comment. Full moon ritual - wouldn't they make the perfect little fucked up coven. Hyena witches. It inspired her to grab one of the smaller pumpkins, less orange than green. She tried to dig her fingers into it, and for all she probably had the strength to do it, it just sort of hurt more than anything - so she smashed it open on a rock, eyeing Logan stringing together glowsticks, listening to Diana announce her own takeoff. There was a sense of wonder in seeing a sixty-year-old woman naked. Skin was a strange thing. Wrinkles stretching out to accommodate a new form. Bizarre.

Alright, don't stare, you fucking weirdo. Instead, with her pumpkin smashed open, she loomed up to Summer. She dunked her free hand into the little gourd's guts and reached to smear sticky strings and seeds across Summer's cheek with a feral grin, eyes glowing blue. "There, you're christened."

Pete leaned against a tree, bending forward to unlace boots and kick them off into the clearing. Then shirt and jacket next, and she worked the zipper of her jeans down as Diana's shift hit, as Lora smeared pumpkin guts over Summer's face in what was perhaps her first truly good joke. She beamed, her smile at full horsey capacity, and wriggled out of her jeans. A Satanic ritual, that was fucking perfect. Laughing, she pumped her fists in the air in front of her, "Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!"

Summer was distracted by Logan being the cutest thing the world had ever seen, only to get completely blindsided by LORA!

Shrieking in delight and wheeling away from the sticky, stinking guts of the gourd, she threw back her head in a laugh as she tried to wipe it off the with back of her wrist. "Gonna be the pumpkin king tonight!" she howled, sweeping a good glob that had dropped into the dirt up into her hand and hucking it at Lora in retaliation. But with Diana shifting, there wasn't time! Hunching her shoulders, she moved far enough to grab one of the glowstick necklaces and don it--the only clothing a good hyena needed on such a spooky night. Then she threw her arms up and shouted "BLOOD!" with Pete.

Then, already cracking, teeth aching, eyes bugging, she whirled anew on Lora and dove at her, whether her friend was already shifting or not. Just felt like time for-- "Blood!!"

---

she miss unless kiew really want that hit

The energy rose, and Logan rose with it. Now sporting a necklace that was probably going to be even too big for Mohawk, they giggled and grinned as the others got ready to shift. Bones broke and a chat started, striking some kind of elated fear in their stomach. This was much, much different than the quite coddling of the family's shifts back home. Some part of them wanted to back petal and run from it, but that was the baby in them. They weren't a baby! Logan was eighteen and strong and part of a whole group on their own!

So they scampered not too far away to pull off clothing, piping up occasionally to join in the chant of, "Blood, blood blood!" Turning their back, they shimmied out of their baggy pants and sweater, peeling off the compression tank top they wore today instead of a binder underneath. It did feel kind of weird still to get naked in front of people that weren't their parents, but they decided they could trust everyone here.

Soon enough, they were shrinking up, trying their hardest to not break the glowing necklace around their neck.

It was nice to be surrounded by merrymaking, even if it was punctuated by calls for ‘blood’ while the hyena gripped her tight and took its rightful place in the current moment. Grey, tan, and black fur sprouted as Diana’s back arched and cracked, large ears sprouting, and a grizzled muzzle erupted full of velveteen textured fur. Several long moments later and soon pastel pink eyes were taking in the pumpkin and candy smelling clearing, a pink glow illuminating the beast’s face from where the necklace hung against fur.

A low hoo escaped as she gingerly began to pick her way around the still changing group, already sniffing out the promise of something sweet and hoping that maybe she could grab some before the others took it all.

Dirt hit her in retaliation, and Lora cackled for perhaps sheer surprise. Those remaining chanted blood blood blood, a sentiment that seemed to resonate deeply with very serious thoughts her own beast had had over the last year. It was just good, creepy fun, here, though. Where Logan was hobbling off and Pete was stripping and Summer was moving frantically, snatching a glowstick and launching herself at Lora like a madwoman.

She could have dodged it, but some animalistic thought kept her planted, welcoming the tackle. She squawked gracelessly, tumbling to the earth with a thud that knocked the wind and the hyena right out of her. She scrabbled at Summer with blunt nails and a choked laugh that caught in a sound of pain, wrenched from the moment's joy by sheer dumb pain-fear. This time, it wasn't in her hands, but her head definitely screamed with the ache of the beginnings.

Thrashing in the dirt, both shifting and wrestling, was a new activity.

Her body hurt, like the shift was starting, except it didn't actually seem to be breaking out anywhere. She walked naked and chilly to Logan's pile of glow-jewelry, spinning a necklace around her wrist and breathing heavily, hurting, also happy. It felt a little like being on pills somehow? Reality was just a little bit altered. She shivered and looked at Diyeena tearing candy out of the package, at Logan disappearing into long fur, the writhing mass of Lora and Summer. Her goddamn girls, man. She finally had it, all hers, and no pissfucks around to say otherwise. Maybe the human Pete was finally dead, the one who had raised a kid and made 40k a year and only whipped out the beast a couple times a month. Maybe now she was mostly Becky.

Pete thought it, and Becky agreed, finally cranking the lever and sending that pink human body on a crash course to hybrid town, for some reason. Her skin blackened in patches as underneath them, muscles began to clench and double. Exhilerating!

Something about being active during a shift was helpful. Instead of just flopping pitifully in the dirt, she tangled with Lora. Ridiculous in every way, yelling about it. Shouting BLOOD had stopped being a good option, but that didn't stop her from yowling as she twisted and turned into a stripe-legged mop. So much fur, at first like needles and then more like a tickle as it came in thicker, softer.

The glow necklace got stuck in her ruff for now, a yellow hue that accented the tan fur. Whole and herself within a couple of minutes, she was still trying to put her teeth on Lora's arm-leg and give her a chew with fresh and clean teeth. Gentle and sweet, like the candy she could smell nearby!

Logan scrabbled and squeaked, shrinking down into Mohawk shape. Soon, they were just a small aardwolf among big and growly girls. Shaking out their fur, Mohawk peered over at their companions for a moment, spectating from a safe spot. They saw playing! They wanted to play! They went to waggle their tail, which was always real floofy and long. Except. Except? Except!

There was no tail. Ears slicked down at that realization, and Mohawk turned to look behind them. There was no tail. In fact, there was no fur on their butt at all! What! What! Mohawks mohawk stood on end as they ignited with sudden surprise, scrabbling in a tight circle to try and get a better look. What was happening! What! What! Mohawk clucked out a startled sound, possibly loud enough to be heard. Anyone that looked their way would realize that Mohawk was sporting a pair of pasty white human butt cheeks.

Her sniffer allowed the hyena to find a welcome package of poprocks, teeth shredding into the plastic wrapper with ease. The candy was overwhelmingly sweet and she drooled for it, but the sudden popping of air that seemed to rattle emptily into ears had her stopping after a few bites. Echos of it all around had the hyena shaking its head, ears flapping, slowly the noise settling down. Back to the meal at hand, her mouth chomped the rest of the package, the plastic and candy going down the same gullet. But then, there were the sounds again and that severely uncomfortable feeling of her mouth crackling between teeth and the bottom of her palette and tongue. Growling, colored drool escaped that equally seemed to pop as it spilled. Shaking her fur out as spit went flying, trying to quiet the uncomfortable situation, she only paused in the antics when an alarmed sound disturbed the air pushing Diana frontward in concern.

Pink eyes looked around at the scrambling into being hyenas as the soft air pockets continued to go off in her head only to fall on their youngest member who had something amiss. The hyena curiously padded forward, fur shivering up as she let out a low coo, trying to get a better look only to realize there wasn’t a tail or fur where it should be. ”Not done shifting,” she asked, colored spit pooling past lips and down onto the ground.

Fucking weird, to not be just... writhing and crying as the shift tore her apart. She was focused on trying to throttle Summer with every playful, violent ounce in the hyena's brain. It seemed to make it go faster, a blurry transition as the others around them snapped and cracked and chirped and whooped.

Something felt amiss. Her head felt soft, and where she struck at Summer with the remaining three of her four legs, she found... fucking... hands, on the ends of her front legs. The hyena shrilled intently, thrashing with alarm so that she could get to all fours. Fours? Sure.

The earth was cold and uncomfortable on her weird human hands, which stretched awkwardly to try to mimic the stature of paws despite the face that the hyena seemed to completely end at her wrists. And then there was Diana, drooling rainbows, and Logan with their literal little ass hanging out. Her ears, additionally, were cold, and where she tried to flatten them into her head, she found no mobility.

Hands and ears were... human.

Had they seriously fucking cursed themselves.

Hybrid shifting went fast. In hardly a minute, she had stretched out to teeter at the edge of seven feet, her leaf-shaped black ears getting her there in a technicality. Her face was alive with muscle, and she yawned to get her jaws in order. Sweet, springy balance of a whole great body poised on tippy-toes. Baring her teeth into a wrinkly smile, she looked again to see who was finished, and.

No one.

Something.

Was weird.

She had definitely just seen Logan’s human butthole on an aardwolf. And Lora, oh my god, had little doll hands coming out the legs of her hyena. They had done it. Magic powers! "MAGIC POWERS!" She cranked her arms into the air, pumped!

There was a weird undercurrent of anxiety to it, though, which she ignored, looking down to check her own self out and immediately belching out laughter: her arms and torso were piebald, the thick spotted fur patched with alopecia-like patches of smooth white skin. The problem got worse as it went up both arms, one shrinking to full human shape and size above the elbow, the other halfway down the forearm. She looked like a deformed, hairy fucking t-Rex! "Aw, shit!"

Summer was fine and didn't notice anything amiss until there were human hands on her, encouraging her to let go. With a little shock, she popped up to her paws, mouth hung open in a happy pant as she swung her gaze down the length of her spotted companion. No more cracking, no more changing--Lora was done, but also not.

The ears were what really got her, and the brown hyena was instantly cackling. Both alarm and amusement, and she swung herself around in a circle to see herself, but felt and saw nothing wrong. Then, out towards Mohawk, who was somehow even more ridiculous, showing off their little moon. It made her want to... bite it. But it was good that she was distracted by the mega-sight that was BECKY.

Big tall and terrifying, Summer's legs went rigid for a moment, and then she was on the move again and the loping right for the mess of woman and beast, yapping and giggling manically, her head ducked in submission even as she came over to check it out. To sniff and nip around ankles of the hybrid horror.

Blood, blood, blood!

HEY WHAT THE HECK!!!

It was COLD. Their butt was COLD.

Mohawk blinked up at the approaching Diana, who made noises that they barely could understand. Shifting? They were shifting! Except they weren't, because one part was stuck right now! They were working making those words when Pete bellowed out, and they looked up to the monstrosity that was the King. What the heck was that!! What the heck was everything! Whipping wide eyed away, they bolted for the most familiar hyena there, which was Lora. Only to come skittering to a halt as they saw what was happening there.

"WRONG FEET!" They yelped in horror.

The words from Pete had Diana’s grey head swiveling back. If hyena’s eyebrows could gesture up, her’s would, mouth opening somewhat in an entirely human display as the animal was at a loss. There were a lot of human parts, unfinished shifts, and it seemed only Summer and her had been unaffected.

Tail whisking, she kept her head low, a breathy laugh escaping, taking in the towering figure and misformed smaller others as she pranced around them all to get a better understanding. ”Ho oh weeeeen.” Another laugh, not entirely concerned about the predicament for the moment. Life had a way of working things out, they would be fine.

Holy fuck. Pete was a Frankenstein monstrosity, cranked up on two legs with fucked up arms and a bad haircut. Really bad. Summer was unscathed, trotting up to their gloriously fucked up leader. Logan came skittering up to Lora, and screamed about her feet, which would have been comical if Lora hadn’t been mildly horrified. What the fuck was this. How was she meant to run and hunt like this.

She would be frowning if she could, hobbling upright on her awkward joints and letting out long, distressed whoops. The hyena wanted to chew her own hands off where the earth and wind made them ache. All but pouting, she sat back down, and with one fucked up arm-hand combination, made a grab at Logan. To bury her fingers in their fur, and also to protect their chilly little ass from the elements.

>:[

Pete couldn't stop laughing. Her stupid arms were different lengths. Summer's mangy wig vulture hyena was nipping at her heels, and Lora, oh my god Lora, she had stupid human ears along with the hands. Seeing her grab poor Logan was so freaky that she just had to fuckin' laugh. Diana'd nailed it. "Fucker," she growled at the whole situation, swatting at Summer and stomping over to investigate the pair of yeens who'd fucked up so bad. "It hurt?"

Wrong feet, Halloween! What a theme. Only she and the old lady had come out completely unscathed, which was a wonder in and of itself! What had they done right that the others had done wrong? Or was this not like that?

Either way, she snapped at the hand that swiped at her but danced backwards. Like a horrible dog following, she circled and went along with Pete, riveted, amused--but loyal. She came in sniffing, trying to see. And even leaned in to try and get a lick at the little aardwolf. What was personal space, right?

Aaahh! Wrong feet grabbed Mohawk, and try as they might have to wheel around, they were tiny in comparison. Like a small dog, they accepted their fate. Eyes wide and blinking, spiked tongue caught between their lips, Mohawk hunkered down in the weird grasp. Peering up, they watched the massive Not-Pete-Not-Becky lumber. In their panic, they missed the source of what had happened. They just knew something went wrong. Still, Pete was laughing, Summer was happy and having fun, Diana was relaxed. Maybe it was... well. Mohawk didn't know. But their panic did settle.

"Cold!" Yipped the bare butt-ed aardwolf. "Wrong... butt?" Wrong butt :(

The more she looked, the more it really was a giant mess, but her lips couldn’t help stayed pulled back in a wide grin at it all.

Did it hurt? No, just cold. Her fur fluffed up against the biting wind in sympathy before grabbing at the next chunk of candy that she happened to pass by, skittles this time. Bag swinging around with her gait, she slowed to chomp through a few inches at a time, watching the situation with an amused gaze while fruity sugar and paper caked her mouth.

So much for feeling like she was getting the hang of this shit. At least the people were decent... ish. Gathering around, a clump of semi-monstrosities. Logan wasn't hurt, and really, Lora wasn't either. She cranked her mouth open, and in lieu of words, unleashed an indignant, wailing whine. This was bullshit.

Huffing and puffing, she stood up and scrambled over to their ridiculous treasure pile, hands hurting with ever god forsaken step. She'd been through worse, right?! She had opposable thumbs with which to snatch up candy for herself, too, but. Not that it mattered, because she stuffed the pieces in her mouth with their wrappings still on, much like Diana did. Also, the pumpkin she'd attacked Summer with. Munch, munch, munch.

Maybe she could just hang out here with assless-chaps Logan and wait for the others to bring back a real meal. :(

Pete's laughter continued, a high, grating sound. She stooped to pick up Mohawk as Lorena abandoned them for the candy hoard, tucking the little animal into one patchy armpit and springing in place on her pogo-stick legs. Then, lurching back to her clothing pile, she fished out the t-shirt and flapped it awkwardly in front of their faces, thrown off by her own arm length. "I'll make you a diaper. C'mere."

She crouched down and set her aardwolf onto the ground, flopping the t-shirt around some more until she had the bottom hem of it, holding it open. "Back in."

There was a good chance she'd have to carry Logan around like a shaky little nude chihuahua all night regardless, but honestly, she wasn't sure she could do that and remember not to, like, throw the kid into a tree when the mood hit her. Diaper shirt seemed better.

Summer really wanted to run! But all their things were right here for chomping on, and it seemed that Pete needed to take care of their baby first. Her tail swayed in curious watchfulness for a few moments, until she got the gist of what the messed up hybrid intended, and then she was turning away, only to find--hey, they were eating all sorts of things without her!

As she often did, Lora got a good deal of her attention, and it was Summer's hopeful intention of swooping in and stealing smashed pumpkin from her--as if there weren't others to have. Lora clearly had the best one, and if she could get a good chunk of it into her own teeth she would run a bit further afield with a big hyena taunting laugh.

Life was tough, when you were small. Lora moved away, taking warmth away too. But then Mohawk was up! Picked up! They hadn't been picked up since they were smaller! But their body knew what to do, going all limp in Pete's hold. No fighting, it only made pain. Though, they did peer out with bugging eyes, watching as a shirt was retrieved. A diaper! Mohawk coughed a laugh, eyes squinting as they pressed a narrow paw into Pete's ribs. Back on the ground, they realized that Pete was for real. Mohawk in a diaper! Wearing a glowing necklace! Now that was a good Halloween costume.

Giggling in a sound sort of close to the bigger hyena's sounds, Mohawk complied. It wasn't a perfect fit, and the material was weird against their bare cheeks, but it covered well! They just kind of couldn't run around in it. That blew. Running was the best part. At least they could eat! Waddling stiff-legged, they made their way to the pile of candy, remembering the bugs. Life was tough, when you were small, but at least it was easier when you could just eat bugs for dinner.