Club Luna

Wednesday and Thursday were both quiet typical boring school days. We didn't have any more vampire news, and I didn't see any new catgirls turn up at school so I figured Kenzie's sister hadn't used her plushie yet. Or if she did, she hadn't come back to school yet. I didn't actually know what she looked like so I couldn't keep an eye out for her. And anyways she was in grade nine so it's not like I'd have much chance to see her, unless I came across her in the halls or at lunch.

Things got a lot more exciting first thing Friday morning.

I woke up at quarter after six to the sound of my phone buzzing with text messages. I was grumpy and groggy but I was awake enough to know that anyone texting that early in the morning probably had a good reason for it.

So I blinked the sleep out of my eyes as I picked up my phone, then lay back down and opened up the messaging app to see what was going on.

The first text was from Melody, posted at two in the morning. She wrote, "Second vampire attack took place about forty-five minutes ago. Victim was a young man this time. Same kind of injury, blood loss, etc. He'll make a full recovery but this is 2 attacks in 2 weeks. Sounds like the vamps are sticking around?"

The shape-shifter followed that up with a second message, "Sorry, forgot to mention the location! The victim was found near a parking lot off a service lane just north of Main & west of Second. Probably came from one of the bars or restaurants on Main Street."

Next were a few messages sent in the past few minutes from other club members, which were the ones that woke me up.

"I'll head over there as soon as I'm dressed," Melanie wrote. "Check the scent while it's still fresh. I might be able to track the vamps, where they came from or where they went."

Paige responded, "Be careful! If you find them don't confront them!"

"I know," the wolfgirl wrote back.

And finally Brooke added, "Thanks for the tip Melody! If Melanie finds anything we should probably meet up again today after class to discuss?"

Our club leader's response came through while I was catching up on the earlier messages, "I was going to suggest that too. Melanie let us know what you find, or maybe we can talk at lunch."

That was the end of the group chat excitement. There was no point trying to go back to sleep though since it was almost time to get up anyways. I had an extra fifteen minutes or so, which I wasted by taking an extra long shower.

The rest of the morning was fairly routine, after getting dressed and doing my make-up and stuff I joined mom and mum and Nina in the kitchen. I had a bowl of cereal while our parents had coffee and my sister drank some juice, then the two of us met up with my ex-girlfriend again on our way to school.

"Another vampire attack last night is pretty worrying," Kaylee commented as the three of us walked together. "Hopefully Melanie will find some clues this morning."

Nina responded quietly, "I hope she stays safe. I hope Cerys went with her, so they can look out for each other."

I pointed out, "At least the vampires aren't killing anyone, or turning them. I know it's bad what they're doing, but it could be worse."

Once we got to the school we all split up again as usual. Then as I approached my locker I realized my morning probably wasn't going to stay quiet as I spotted a very anxious-looking bunnygirl pacing back and forth waiting for me.

"Cass!" she exclaimed as soon as she saw me. She dashed up to my side and started talking, "I need to talk with you it's an emergency but it's also kind of secret so can we please go and talk somewhere private only we have to do it right now because it's really important and I'm probably in big trouble and I really really really need your help!"

She was speaking so fast the words almost blended together and I needed a few extra seconds to catch up to what she was saying.

"Ok," I finally shrugged. "Just let me visit my locker first."

Kenzie was practically bouncing around with anxious energy, while I calmly put my jacket and lunch away. Then I suggested, "We can go talk in the library, assuming you can keep your voice down? It's quiet and the study cubicles at the back are fairly private."

"Ok that sounds good let's go!" she rattled off the words all at once then turned and dashed away down the hall towards the front of the school.

I rolled my eyes and followed along at a normal pace.

It was kind of funny watching the anxious bun dash halfway to the front of the school then turn around and run back to where I was, only to turn back and take off towards the library again. She probably covered the distance three or four times over before the two of us got there.

"Good morning Ms. Sutton," I greeted the librarian as me and Kenzie walked past her office.

She smiled and waved back, then gave my companion a funny look that left me wondering if she hadn't noticed there was a bunnygirl in school before. There weren't any questions though, and Kenzie and I picked a study cubicle in the far corner to have our talk.

"So what's wrong?" I asked quietly as I stood leaning against the wall. "I'm guessing your sister used that plushie and now your parents are mad at you?"

The bunnygirl shook her head, "No! Kimmie didn't use it at all. This is way way worse Cass! Is there any way to reverse the magic? Like totally?"

I shrugged, "Probably not. Everything I've heard about those things says it's permanent. Why? If your sister didn't use it then..."

Suddenly I realized what the problem was. "Oh. Your sister didn't use it, but someone else did?"

Kenzie nodded. Her eyes were wide and her tall beige bunny ears were drooping to either side as she looked up at me and gulped. Then in a half-whisper she stated "It was my dad!"

She continued, "I don't know what happened or how dad found it! I left the capsule on Kimmie's bed Tuesday night? Then nothing happened. Kimmie never said anything. She was her normal self Wednesday, and yesterday. Then last night after dinner... I swear I don't know how it happened! But my dad must have found the plushie and maybe it was a mistake or something?"

The bunnygirl was obviously upset, scared, probably in big trouble with her parents, but I still had to struggle not to smile or laugh. Plus I put instructions in the capsule with the plushie, so there shouldn't be any excuse for someone accidentally using it.

I just barely managed to keep a straight face as I asked, "So your dad turned himself into a catboy? I guess your mom's freaking out a bit over that?"

"Huh?" Kenzie gave me a quizzical look and tilted her head slightly. Then she shook her head quick enough to make her ears flop around a bit before stating in another half whisper, "Not a catboy! Cass my dad is a tiny catgirl! She....he... Dad's almost as small as me! And the plushie made dad young again too, like our age!"

She sighed loudly and gave me a pleading look, "Cass my dad is a tiny teenage catgirl and my whole family is freaking out! You have to help us!"

This time I couldn't suppress my giggle, while Kenzie stared at me in a mix of shock and anger over my laugh. I pulled out the chair and slumped down into it as I commented, "I bet she's cute. Did you get to see her cat form? That's probably adorable as well. Hey, you and your dad probably look like sisters now, right?"

By that point Kenzie was glaring at me. She stomped one of her feet and insisted, "Cass! This isn't funny!"

I rolled my eyes, "I mean, it's a little funny. There were instructions and warnings in the capsule, so your dad couldn't have done it 'by mistake'. And everything I've heard about those plushies says they do what the user wants, they make the user happy. So if your dad's a tiny teenage catgirl, it's because she wanted to be a tiny teenage catgirl."

The bun tried to argue but I cut her off, "Has your dad said she's unhappy? Has she said she wants to go back to her old masc body?"

Kenzie opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again. She frowned, then her eyes widened.

After a few seconds she slowly shook her head, "Dad hasn't said that, no. Mom's been freaking out and wants dad to change back to normal. Kimmie's freaking out about it too. And dad's worried about stuff like work? He...she was going to take a sick day today and stay home. And she's kind of freaked out a bit? Maybe? But she never said she was unhappy and she never said she wanted to change back..."

"Oh my gosh," she added a moment later. "He...she had to borrow some of my clothes, and she actually looked kind of happy about it?"

Kenzie gave me another wide-eyed look, "Cass does this mean my dad's trans?"

I was still smiling at her as I shrugged, "I think that's something only your dad can answer? But I'd say it's certainly a possibility. She might also be gender-casual, or maybe she's just really happy to be small. Or young. Or have a tail."

The bunnygirl continued staring at me for a few more seconds, then finally sighed. "I guess I need to try and talk with dad, without my mom and sister around. To find out what he really wants."

"Probably a good idea," I nodded. "And find out what pronouns to use, and if there's a new name your dad wants to be called."

She nodded slowly, then sighed again. "If dad's freaking out though, is there some way to undo the plushie magic?"

"Not that I know of," I replied as I shook my head. "Everything I've heard says it's permanent. But like I said, it's also supposed to give the users exactly what they want or need to make them happy. So I'm pretty sure if you can get your dad to give you an honest answer, she's going to tell you she doesn't want to give this up."

Kenzie grimaced, "I know I never want to give up being a bun. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. If it's the same for dad then... The problem is mom's still going to freak out."

I asked, "Your mom accepted you didn't she? Maybe once she understands your dad's happier like this, your mom will accept that too?"

"I don't know Cass," she said with a worried look on her face. "I guess we just have to hope?"

The first bell rang before I could respond, but after it was done I gave her a hopeful smile. "Talk to your dad first Kenzie, and find out how she feels? Then the two of you can try and talk with your mom and sister. I need to get to class now or I'll be late. Good luck, and let me know how it goes."

Without waiting for a response I turned and headed away. I was still grinning though, since the whole thing seemed pretty funny to me. And more than that, I was happy that it seemed like another trans girl got her miracle. That was a better use of the plushie, in my opinion.

The rest of my morning was incredibly boring after all that, and I ended up daydreaming through my first two classes. Lunch was better, most of Club Luna sat together to discuss the vampire stuff. Nina Melanie and Cerys were on one side of a table, while me and Paige and Kaylee sat across from them on the other side.

And as we all started eating, Melanie and Cerys talked about what they found first thing this morning.

"So it was the same scents from the park," the werewolf announced. "I assume that's good news, like we're only dealing with two vamps rather than a whole bunch of them?"

She continued, "And it's definitely two. The scents were fresh enough I could tell the difference. It's not a great smell by the way, y'all are lucky you don't have a nose like mine. Anyways, I found the spot where the attack happened. Same as the park, there was a pool of scent from the vamps and the smell of blood in the air, along with an 'herbal' scent. We followed the trail from there, but it didn't go far."

"Looks like they had a car parked back there," Cerys took over the explanation. "After they fed on the victim it was barely fifty meters from that spot to the parking lot where Melanie lost the trail."

After a gulp of water the wolfgirl spoke up again, "So we went the other way, back to the scene then followed the scent to where they came from? Which no surprise, was a bar on Main Street."

Once again her girlfriend took over the story, "The bar closed at one AM, and based on when Melody said the attack happened I bet the vampires and their victim all left when the place closed up. So they probably met the victim in there."

With a grin Melanie announced, "We saved the best part for last. We found something they left behind in the parking lot, next to where their car was? I have it carefully wrapped up in my locker, but I figured Brooke should be able to use it to scry for them."

She made a face as she added, "It has their scent all over it, along with some other unpleasant smells."

"What is it?" Kaylee asked warily. "Or do I not want to know?"

The wolfgirl half whispered, "Disposable vape pen. That's where the 'incense' and 'herbal' scents came from."

"One last thing," Cerys spoke up again, "The town has some security cams on Main Street, and one of them covers the front of the bar, including the doors. So there's probably some footage of the vamps and victim exiting the bar. There's also a camera on the parking lot, which might have caught them and their car."

Kaylee frowned, "The police could be ontop of that already. Which means the authorities might find the vampires before we do."

"What happens if they do?" I asked.

Paige sighed, "It probably won't end well for the police. I'm pretty sure vampires won't let themselves get arrested."

My ex-girlfriend shook her head slowly as she stated, "We need to find these guys, and get them to leave town."

"Agreed," Melanie nodded. "If they're making mistakes like stalking victims in view of cameras and leaving evidence behind, they're either sloppy or they don't care if they're caught."

I added, "Or they know they have nothing to fear even if they do get caught."

"Melanie, can we meet at your place again after school?" Paige asked. "So Brooke can try to scry for them with that vape?"

The wolfgirl shook her head, "My dad's off today, he's going to be home all afternoon and evening. Even if he doesn't come down into the basement I'm not comfortable doing club stuff while he's around."

I volunteered, "We can meet at our place? Our mom will be home but I'm sure she won't mind."

"Thanks Cass," Paige replied. "I'll text Brooke and Melody so they know."