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The Victoria Chronicles

**Chapter 18

Girl's Day Out**

Vix started to stir from what turned out to be thankfully a dreamless sleep for once. It started with a few ear twitches, then her nose started sniffing the air. What was helping to waking her up was the heavenly smell of eggs, cheese, but most of all, sausage! And coffee! She rolled over and before her eyes opened her nose zeroed in on the breakfast sandwich sitting on the coffee table.

"Good morning!" Kristine said cheerfully. "How do you feel?"

Victoria didn't say anything at first as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. She was too focused on the delightful smells coming from the bag. So focused in fact that as she sat up and the blanket fell away she wasn't thinking about that fact that she wasn't wearing anything on her top half. Nor did she care. She wanted that sausage!

"Ask me when I fully wake up." Vix said staring at the bag. She glanced over to Kristine and noticed that she already had a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She then looked back to the bag. "Is that for me?" she said hopefully while licking her chops.

"Pops got us all breakfast. That one's been waiting for you to wake-up." Kristine replied after taking a sip of her coffee.

"You could have woken me up when he got back." Vix said, "I wouldn't have minded."

"You looked like you needed the sleep." Kristine said kindly, "So we decided to let you sleep. Besides, Pops only dropped it off ten minutes ago, so it should not have cooled that much. The coffee's fresh too. Creamer is in the bag, and there's sugar in the cabinet above the sink."

"Yeah," Vix started as she reached for the bag and remaining cup of coffee, "Sleeps been...troubling lately."

"Anything you want to talk about? Might help." Kristine asked.

Vix thought for a moment as she unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. She savored the flavor of the sausage, the way the eggs had been cooked just right, and the mild cheese that had been used. Had food always tasted this good and she had been just too taste dumb to notice? After swallowing the first bite she answered Kristine's question. "No. Not really. I'd rather forget it ever happened."

Kristine nodded sympathetically before asking another question. "So, do you always sleep without a shirt? Or do you prefer a nightshirt that went missing?"

"Never worn a shirt while sleeping. Too warm." Vix said taking another bite, chewing slowly to savor the flavor before continuing after swallowing. "Why do you ask?"

Kristine didn't say anything. She just pointed towards Victoria's chest while keeping eye contact. Vix looked down briefly before saying, "Oh." Then she pulled the blanket around her shoulders and cinched it around her chest. Her tail wrapped around her waist unconsciously despite the shorts she was wearing. "Sorry."

"It's ok. Just wasn't expecting a show." Kristine giggled. "Besides, having worked in the hospitals during school, and following my mother who was a nurse while I was young, I've pretty much seen it all." Kristine commented lightly, "Although, if you prefer not wearing anything to bed I'll have to remind some people to knock then wait for a response before entering."

"I'll...keep that in mind." Vix said, her hears folding back a bit in embarrassment.

"May I ask another question?" Kristine asked.

"Didn't you just ask one?" Vix quipped.

"Besides that one and this one I mean." Kristine laughed.

"Sure." Vix said, taking another bit. This sausage really was good. It tasted better than she remembered breakfast meat tasting.

"Why were you hugging those two shirts in your lap?" Kristine asked pointing to Victoria's lap.

Vix looked down briefly before looking back up at Kristine. Kristine just had a polite smile on her face with no hint of mockery or judgment. She finished chewing then swallowed before answering. "They--they belong to my friends. They remind me of how they smell and make it seem like they are still here." Vix said looking away.

"Does having them help you sleep?" Kristine asked in a motherly calm and tender voice.

"Somewhat. I...I just like having them near me." Vix said embarrassed. "It must seem strange, huh?"

"Not at all." Kristine said kindly, getting up from her chair and walking over to the couch. She moved some blankets then sat down next to the vixen. She smoothed some hair and fur from Victoria's face. "If it helps you to sleep then do so. No one is going to judge you." Kristine said. "Oh look at you, your furs all messed up. Did you have another nightmare?"

"No. just the one." Vix said talking a sip of coffee. Bleh! When did coffee become so bitter! Vix reached into the bag and after thinking briefly dumped every creamer from inside the bag into the coffee cup. She then took another sip before making another face and putting it down. Maybe she would try again later. The only thing she could think of to kill the bitterness would be adding an obscene amount of sugar, and she wasn't one for sweetening coffee in the first place. She missed drinking coffee.

"Now finish you breakfast hun." Kristine said giving the fox's head of hair a ruffle. "We have work to do, and first, we need to get you cleaned up."

"What?" Vix said in surprise. "I need to get to the scrapyard. Frank will be expecting me in--" she looked down at where she would normally have a watch, forgetting that Percii now occupied that space. But the AI choosing to be helpful displayed the current time on a small holographic screen projected just a few millimeters above the surface. "--in a few hours."

"No, you're shadowing me this morning. Then you, Katie, Edna and I are going cloths shopping for you."

"What?! Why can't I work with Frank today like was planned?" Vix asked pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her tail around herself.

"Because he had to go out of town today. Pops and Earle are busy, and you need something to do." Kristine said in a slight motherly tone as she collected the trash and put it all inside the discarded food bag."

"But I already have cloths." Vix protested.

"No you don't. You have a few hand-me-downs and a bunch of men's clothes that don't fit you." Kristine said, her tone suggested that Victoria had little she could do or say to dissuade Kristine. Yet she wasn't quite ready to admit defeat yet.

But before she could protest further there was a knock on the outside door. Kristine went over to answer it and when she opened the door there was an older lady standing there. She was reasonably thin, but also showed that she kept active. She was dressed in a blouse and a pair of khaki slacks. Her grey hair was tried back, and from what Vix could see would be just a little longer than shoulder length if allowed to flow naturally. She had a pleasant smile on her face, but her eyes betrayed a sharp mind.

Kristine allowed her inside and then led her to the sitting area. "Victoria, this is Edna. Mom, this is Victoria." Kristine said introducing the two.

"Hey..." Victoria said, giving a weak little wave.

"Ah, so you're the fox that had been taking up all of my husband's time." Edna said, but in a friendly and understanding way.

"I don't mean too." Vix said meekly.

"Oh it's ok. You're not in any trouble." Edna said while she took a look of what could be seen of the vixen as she wrapped the blanket tighter around her. "I'd box his ears if wasn't helping you. And besides, seems you've been helping out too." Vix wasn't sure how to respond at first, but before she had a chance to think of a response Edna came over to stand in front of her, "Now stand up, I want to get a good look at you."

"I, I'm not exactly dressed." Vix said nervously.

"That didn't stop you from flashing me earlier." Kristine said with a laugh.

"That wasn't intentional! I, I wasn't awake yet!" Vix protested.

"Relax hun. I'm just messing with you." Kristine giggled. Vix scooted further into the corner of the couch in embarrassment. Wait! Why was she embarrassed? She had been sleeping without a shirt for years, why was now any different? She glanced down at her chest, admittedly she wasn't as well-endowed back then.

"Come on. Up you get." Edna said giving Kristine a look that stopped the giggle fit she seemed to be in. reluctantly Vix stood up from the couch, but kept the blanket tight around her shoulders. Edna gave a twirling motion with her hands, indicating that she should drop the blanket. Reluctantly Vix slowly unwrapped herself from it and placed the blanket on the couch in a pile. Covering her chest with one arm she reached into her pocket and slowly withdrew a tank-top that was a few sizes too large for her from a pocket too small to contain it, and taking a glance at the two women in front of her pulled the top on over her head then threaded her arms through the arm holes. Then she adjusted the shirt to make it fit better. After she was satisfied that she was clothed she stood straighter and waited while Edna took a good look at her.

"That's a neat trick." Edna said raising an eyebrow with mild surprise.

"I've learned a few, things, since becoming...whatever I am." Vix replied lowering her eyes to the side momentarily.

"That fur covers everything dear?" Edna said not unkindly.

"As far as I know." Vix replied, Edna arched an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "I imagine Pops has told you a thing or two about me?" Vix asked.

"I thing or two. But don't judge him too harshly. We don't keep things from each other." Edna said.

"Just as a good marriage should." Vix smiled, Edna returned it.

"Ok, let me see it." Edna said suddenly.

"See what?"

"Pops said you could look human. I'd like to see that." Edna said, she had a polite but serious look on her face. Giving a slight sigh Victoria closed her eyes and focused her thoughts. The effect was near instant as the fur disappeared and her face flattened as her muzzle withdrew into a beautiful face. When her eyes opened again they were still emerald, but looked human instead of the vulpine slits they normally were these days.

"Damn girl," Edna said giving Victoria another once over, "You're beautiful in either form. How do you do that anyway?"

"Damned if I know. I just give it a thought and it happens." Vix said. "Sometimes it's instinctual."

"How long can you hold it for?" Edna asked politely with some curiosity. Vix didn't blame her.

"I'm getting better at it. I can hold it for longer before the headache starts." Vix said, "Then I have to take a short break. Percii says that I'm forcing it and not to concentrate so hard. But I can't do it while asleep. I have to give it some concentration." The vixen said humbly.

"You can relax dear. I just wanted to see it." Edna said kindly. She waited for the vixen to go back to her foxy form before continuing. "I'm told that you said that you didn't look like that before."

"No. I didn't." Vix said flatly.

"I won't ask you how you looked before deer." Edna said compassionately, "I know it's a sore subject for you."

"Thank you." Vix said in a small thankful voice.

Edna came closer and gave Victoria a motherly hug. Victoria stiffened a bit before relaxing and resting her head on Edna's shoulder but didn't say anything. "It's been tough, hasn't it?"

"It has." Victoria sniffed.

"I won't pretend to know what you've been going through." Edna said rubbing a hand soothingly down the vixen's back. "I don't think anyone could, could they?"

"No." Victoria said quietly.

"It's alright. Go get cleaned up, ok. Then we can get on with the day. Maybe have some fun later. Ok?" Edna cooed.

"Ok." Vix said as Edna released her. But she grasped her arm and felt the fur under her fingers.

"Dear? What have you been using to wash your fur with?" Edna asked, "It feels coarse and dry."

"Uhm, the shampoo that's in the bathroom?" Vix said as Edna ran a hand through her long red hair.

"The same you use for your hair?" Edna asked.

"Er, yes?"

"Ok, we'll work on that too. Go on, go do what you need to do." Edna said shooing the vixen off. "We'll meet you in Kristine's clinic then get on with our day."

Edna watched the vixen disappear into the bathroom then motion for Kristine to follow. They left the apartment and headed down the stairs before crossing the yard to the vet clinic. Once they were sufficiently far enough away Edna spoke.

"She's very stressed." She said to her daughter.

"I know mom, but we're unsure what to do." Kristine said, "She's also not told us everything."

"Yes, so your father has told me." Edna said thoughtfully, "He told me that there are a few things that trigger a panicked response."

"Yeah, Katie asked her about a person named Victor yesterday. She didn't react very well to it." Kristine said, "She's been more stressed and jumpy since. But to be fair she did have a really bad day yesterday."

"The poor dear seems like she's not comfortable in her own skin, er, fur I guess." Edna remarked.

"Well to be fair mom, she's only been an alien/fox for a couple days. Last week she was a human like us." Kristine pointed out.

"No. There's something else." Edna said thoughtfully. "Something that makes her more uncomfortable than the fur. I think she's afraid of something, but I don't know what." She was quite for a bit while she thought about something before saying anything. "Well either way, we'll have to wait for her to come to us. The poor thing has enough stress already. We don't need to be adding to it any more than she's already dealing with."

Vix walked into the apartment's bathroom and pulled her shirt off. Glancing at the mirror she looked at the cracks that spread from a single impact point. Oh, right, she'd have to fix that at some point. She hadn't been in a particularly good frame of mind yesterday when she looked at herself in the mirror. Then again, she still didn't want to look at herself in the mirror. Only now there were more of her in the mirror to look back. The effect stirred something in her and she looked away quickly before grabbing a towel and covering the mirror with it.

She didn't need any more reminders of what she now was. She'd rather not have to deal with certain aspects of her new self.

But that meant that after she stripped down and stepped into the stall she went through another awkward shower of trying not to touch certain parts of herself. At least, not with her bare hands. A washcloth used like a shamy-cloth kinda worked. But the feeling of the material rubbing across her chest felt alien and weird. Calling them her chest helped. Calling them breasts was still a step too far, even though she knew the truth. She just pushed those thoughts away.

Downstairs was worse, and not to be thought of at all outside the bare minimum.

Getting out she dried off her fur after first shaking herself from her head to her tail. That wasn't so bad. The amount of towels it still took after though was not. Giving it some thought while looking around the bathroom and working the towel through her long red hair she had a few ideas on making a full body drier. Shouldn't be that hard, just needed to gather the right parts. She could probably do it with a number of squirrel-cage blowers and some old HVAC ducting. She'd have to ask Frank about the parts later.

Satisfied that this was as dry as she could get Vix dropped the towels in the hamper and went in search of clean underwear. Poking her head out she made sure nobody was still in the apartment before quickly sprinting to the sitting area and rummaging through the pile of donated garments.

Thankfully she found another sports-bra and a pair of panties. Sighing she run back to the safety of the bathroom and closed the door. At least in here she felt that anyone would knock first. She used a claw to cut a hole for her tail in the plain panties, and sighing heavily, she pulled them up. They fit alright, but being her first time wearing actual panties, and not boxers, it felt weird and alien. Having to thread her tail through the newly created tail hold didn't feel quite right either, but it passed once everything was in place.

The sports-bra she was at least a bit more familare with by now, but not any less awkward to put on.

After that the rest of the clothing was pretty straight forward. Shirt, jeans, flannel. For her boots however she noticed that she had done some damage between all the shifting between digigrade and plantigrade when going between human and, whatever she was now. So instead she scanned her old boots with Percii's help and used the abilities of her suit to have footwear that would morph along with her.

And so far that was the least weird thing she had dealt with in the last 24-hours. Vix just had to shake her head at what her life had become.

Leaving the apartment by the outdoor entrance she made sure the door was fully closed, then headed down the stairs and crossed the yard towards the onsite vet clinic. Stepping up to the door Vix was tempted to knock for some reason, then shook her head and stepped inside. Both Edna, Kristine and Katie were inside as well as Kristine's two younger children.

"--so you're going to behave for dad and grandpa while we're in town right?" Kristine was prompting her two youngest.

"Yes." They both said in that slightly monotone kids get when they think adults are becoming tiresome with questions when they feel they should be playing somewhere.

"Alright. Give me a hug." Kristine asked of her two children. The girl hugged her first and readily where the boy was more reluctant, especially when he noticed the fox in the room.

"Why can't I go with you? I want to hang out with the fox lady too." Jimmy whined.

"Because this is a girl's day out. You'd just get bored." Kristine said with a motherly smile.

"No I wouldn't." Jimmy protested.

"Oh, so you want to try on dresses too?" Kristine teased, knowing the exact response she would get. She wasn't disappointed.

"Eww no! I'm a boy!" Jimmy cried out.

"Well that's what we're going to be doing." Kristine said before giving him a quick hug while he was distracted. He just squirmed in her grip and made the face of all children who would rather their parents not give them this kind of attention in front of others. "All right, off you go."

The two youngest kids made their way quickly towards the door. Vix stepped aside to let them pass and they both stopped briefly to say "Hi, bye."

"He fox lady!" Jimmy said on his way out the door.

"Hi Vix!" the girl said as she followed her brother.

The door slammed shut because, children, then the room became a bit quieter as their voices disappeared while they went to wherever Pops was to watch over them.

"There. All set?" Kristine said looking over towards Victoria.

"As ready as I'm gonna get I suppose." Vix replied reluctantly.

"Why? Don't like cloths shopping?" Katie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's alright. Just wished my old cloths still fit. There not all that old, and I see it as a bit of a waste." Vix said with a small sigh. "But, I'm not blind to the obvious."

"Speaking of which." Kristine started, "Any idea what your mesurments are?"

"I knew what they were before...this happened." She said motioning with her hands her overall body. "But now? Not a clue. Bigger in some areas, smaller in others. I think I'm the same height."

"In that case," Kristine said stepping over to a desk and rummaging in a drawer, "I think it would be a good idea to measure you before we go. I noticed you don't have much of anything, so besides shirts and pants and whatnot I think underwear is a good idea too."

"Yeah..." Victoria said before continuing more reluctantly. She already wasn't likening any of this. "These sport bras are ok and all, but they are a little snug on me."

"How big were you before?" Edna asked off to one side. She was leaning against the doorframe to one of the exam rooms.

Vix thought for a moment before answering. "Uhm, smaller than I am now?" She answered nervously.

"Then let's start there." Kristine said finally finding a cloth tape measure in her desk. Why she just so happened to have one in her desk, in her clinic, Vix couldn't guess. "All right, follow me." Kristine said as she walked over to one of the two exam rooms.

"Why are we going into an exam room?" Vix asked.

"Because I figure while Edna measures you I'm going to give you a check-up." Kristine replied.

"Why? I feel fine." Vix said as she reluctantly followed Kristine into the room. Kristine patted the exam table with her hand. Indicating that Victoria should get up on it.

"Because when you first came to use you had three bullet holes in you. Since then you've had a wall fall on you, been in an explosion, and shot at some more. I want to make sure that physically you are ok." Kristine said with a look of mild concern on her face.

Vix looked at her then the table. "But I--" She started to protest but the look on Kristine's face stopped her. She looked over to Edna but soon realized she wouldn't get anywhere from her either considering the serious look on her face. So, giving a small sigh she hopped up and sat on the edge of the table.

"Off with the shirt please." Kristine said as she retrieved a few simple instruments. Vix pulled off her flannel then her t-shirt. "Bra too." Kristine added when it was clear that Vix was done undressing her upper half.

"Why?" Vix simply asked.

"You said that the sports bra was a bit tight around your bust. That means it is likely squishing them a bit. You don't want to get bras that are too small do you?" Kristine explained.

Vix gave another sigh as one of her ears twitched nervously after thinking about this for a second or two. There really wasn't anything for it. The logic made sense. So resigning herself to the facts she removed it too with some awkwardness. Edna quirked an eyebrow at this, but otherwise made no comment on it as she took measurements and wrote them down in a little note pad she had. Vix was surprized when Edna didn't just measure across her breasts, but also above and beneath as well. She thought about asking about this, but decided against it as it would likely raise questions.

At least it was just Kristine and Edna in the room with her. They had both worked in the medical trade so she didn't really feel bothered by the two of them. Katie was waiting patiently in the front office.

After Edna was done measuring her bust Kristine came in and examined her chest where she had originally been shot after parting the fur around the injury points. It took her while to do so as Vix's body had healed to the point that there were no marks or scaring.

"Amazing! You can't even tell where you were shot." Kristine remarked. "Mom, come and take a look at this." She said pulling Edna closer to look at the spot where she had parted the fur.

"Are you sure this was where the wound was?" Edna asked mystified.

"I'm quite sure mom." Kristine attested. Vix confirmed it a moment later and clearly pointed to the three areas as when as the small graze she had gotten yesterday from the sniper.

"I wish all my patients heal this fast and cleanly." Kristine remarked.

"Same." Edna replied, "Would have made those years as a nurse in the ER a lot less painful and busy.

"Believe me. There was plenty of pain from those three shots." Vix said firmly, "The fall down the hill wasn't fun wither. Or the long walk through the woods while I bled. After that my memory gets a bit fuzzy. But the whole experience was very painful and unpleasant."

"That sounds horrible honey." Kristine said sympathetically as she picked up an otoscope, an instrument for looking inside ears with a magnifying lens and a bright light, and turned Victoria's head so that she could look in first one ear, then turned Victoria's head the other to look in the other. "Ear are clean and clear." Kristine said mainly to herself. Then turned Victoria's head back to face her and used the instruments light only to shine into one of Victoria's eyes, noting as the eye's pupil shrank to just slits then back again as they opened back up each time the light was taken away. Then she did the same to the other eye. "Dilation is good and eyes are clear." Kristine said to herself again as Vix blinked her eyes to clear the temporary blindness away from the bright light. Vix noted to herself that, at least to her, her eyes seemed to clear faster than they used to. Was that from her vulpine half or her Vivudrosian side? She'd have to ask Percii or Visalth about that later. Preferably Visalth.

Kristine put the otoscope down on the tray and picked up her stethoscope. She held it against Victoria's chest and listened to her heart for a few seconds before muttering, "Hearts strong and regular, that's good." Before asking Victoria to take deep breaths while she held the stethoscope against her back in a few spots while she listened to her breathing. "Lungs sound clear and breathing is regular. Ok, you can stand now. Mom, you can finish measuring her and then we can go."

Edna nodded as Kristine put the instruments away then left the room to the front office. Edna proceeded to finish her work by first measuring Victoria's waist, then her height and instep.

"I'm beginning to feel like this is more than just buying simple cloths." Vix said with some suspicion.

"Well, you know how women's clothing sizes are." Edna said conversationally. "The dresses tend to be the worst."

Vix's ears splayed out in apprehension. This was exactly how she did not want it to go. "Can't we just stick to simple cloths? Jeans, shirts, underwear?" She hadn't noticed that her tail had started twitching nervously behind her till Edna asked her to either quiet her tail down or hold it. Considering she hadn't been aware of it she opted for the latter.

"How tall were you before dear?" Edna asked while holding one end of the tape with her foot and stood up to measure Victoria's height.

"5'-10", why? Don't tell me I'm shorter or something." Vix said with some trepidation.

"Nope, still 5'-10". You were tall back then too huh?" Edna asked.

Before Vix could answer Kristine came back over. "Oh, nearly forgot. Open your mouth and say ah." She said while holding a tongue depressor. Vix opened her mouth and complied. Kristine gently held Victoria's lower jaw and moved it side to side as she first examined her throat, then checked her teeth.

"Iss ish eely essesary?" Vix asked while her mouth was held open by Kristine.

"Just checking everything." Kristine replied. "Huh, your teeth are like brand new."

Kristine let go of Victoria's mouth and Vix worked her jaw a bit before saying anything. "I think the change made everything new." She said. Then she had a thought. Vix reached into her jeans pocket and withdrew her multi-tool. Working a few controls unseen in the handle the holo-display fired up and she ran it over her right wrist. The display showed an x-ray of her wrist in real time, showing perfect bone structure. "Here, you see? I broke my wrist when I was a kid. There should be some extra calcification from the bones knitting back together. But here there is nothing but normal bone now." She put the device away and flexed her wrist a few times. "My range of motion of better now too. I didn't notice that before."

"Sounds like you hit a bit of the lottery." Kristine said.

"I don't think I would go that far." Vix said enigmatically. Yes, some things were better now, hearing, taste, smell, sight, strength, dexterity, speed, just to name a few. But she wouldn't go as far as to say that her life in general had improved. Just changed in a bunch of ways. Some of which she still wasn't happy about.

"Well we're done here. You can get dress now." Kristine said snapping the tongue depressor in half and throwing it away in the bin. "We'll be in the front room waiting for you dear."

Vix put her bra back on then her shirt, tucking the t-shirt into her jeans before putting the flannel over the t-shirt. Then she left the room to join the others in the front room.

"Alright, everyone have everything?" Kristine asked as they files out the door and headed for her truck.

Vix thought for a moment then remembered something. "Hang on, let me go get my wallet."

"Ok. We'll be waiting in my truck for you." Kristine said.

Vix ran up the stairs to what was becoming her apartment and headed inside. Walking over to the end-table near the couch she picked up her phone and wallet and stuffed both into her 'pocket' where they both would be safe. Then headed back out the door.

By the time Victoria came down everyone was in Kristine's large four-door SUV that she used for her vet work. Vix walked over hesitantly. She wasn't thrilled about going cloths shopping, but she knew they were right. Her old cloths didn't fit anymore, for a variety of reasons. She needed new cloths.

Getting into the back with Katie she closed the door and put her seatbelt on.

"Everyone belted in?" Kristine said cheerfully in the motherly way mothers have.

"Yes." Both Vix and Katie said in unison. Ok, that feels weird, Vix thought.

"So where to first?" Vix asked.

"I have a few check ins along the way for a few clients. Then we can hit up the thrift shop in town. Is that alright Victoria?" Kristine asked as she put the truck in gear and started down the driveway. "We're not that small of a town, but anything more mainstream and we'll have to drive out an hour to a larger city."

"Thrift shop sounds fine." Vix said from the backseat, "I'm not broke, but funds are a bit limited till Frank pays me at the end of the week."

"Oh, don't worry dear. This will be our treat." Edna said.

"No. You've all done so much for me all ready. I can at least pay for my own cloths." Vix said as she fidgeted with the seatbelt across her chest. She knew from observation how a female should have it, but it still felt alien to her. At least in Frank's tow truck the seatbelt was more optional than required seeing as the truck was so heavy that an impact would likely be lessened from its mass. Plus he didn't drive that fast.

"So, how did you learn about fixing tractors and stuff?" Katie asked turning to face Victoria.

"Oh, the usual way." Vix stated humbly. "School, work personal stuff, a little from my uncle."

"That must be rough on your nails." Katie said glancing down at Victoria's claws. Vix also glanced down momentarily at her hands and flexed her fingers a few times before saying anything.

"Never really been a problem." She said. "Never paid it much mind actually."

"Oh, my, god!" Katie explained before giving Victoria a light punch to her arm. Vix suddenly felt nervous, "You are such a Tomboy!" Vix relaxed again slightly before giving a nonchalant shrug.

"It's not that big a deal." Vix said, glancing out the window at the passing scenery. It was mostly open fields at this point, so it wasn't that exciting. So she ended up spending most of the time talking with Katie. It wasn't really that bad she had to admit, so long as the topic of fashion didn't come up the conversation was kinda fun. They talked about mainly about recent TV shows, favorite music, Vix didn't much care for the more recent music, but she kept her opinions to herself. Katie even asked her more about how Vix had made the bike that was now sitting under the stairs.

Soon enough though they came to their first stop. Parking the truck Kristine told them she wouldn't be too long since this one was just a quick check-up. So they went back to talking again, or rather, Katie went back to talking and asking questions while Victoria and Edna mainly listened with Victoria answering the odd question. The conversation had moved on to popular media at this point and Katie was asking Vix if she had seen the newest comic book movie. Vix replied that she hadn't seen the newest one, but did comment that she had seen a few of the previous ones when time had permitted. She remarked that although the movie companies had changed some of the original books to keep with the younger audiences she could see that they had at least tried to remain true to the original intent. For the most part anyway.

Kristine soon returned and they headed to the next stop on the way to town. And a few minute later they reached their next stop.

Twisting around in her seat Kristine looked into the back seat. "Ok guys, this is the last one. I just need to drop off some horse medication to the owner then we can head to town and get some lunch." Kristine then got out of the truck and headed over to the barn where she met with a middle aged man, and after a bit of chit-chat headed into the horse-barn.

Meanwhile Katie continued to ask Victoria questions about her interests. Now that it was established that Vix was something of a tomboy Vix found the answers were a bit easier as she really didn't have to change her interests all that much, maybe just a little here and there by omission.

Kristine seemed to be taking more time at this one, so Vix had a lot more questions to answer.

"What do you think of the new album put out by that new pop group Victoria?" Katie asked.

"Meh. Other than what's been played on the radio I haven't really heard much of their new stuff. But what I have still convinces me that I prefer the older rock music. But to be honest I tend to listen to a lot of the older music from a broad spectrum of genera. Except for a few types that I really can't stand." Victoria explained in what she hoped was a general and not opinionated way. "My taste in music tends to be a bit eclectic.

Eventually though Kristine returned and got into the truck. "Ok. That was the last one. Now who's ready for lunch?" She said enthusiastically.

"Oh! I am!" Katie said gleefully.

"I could eat." Vix said a bit more reserved.

"Then let's get moving." Kristine said as she turned the key in the ignition and put the truck in reverse. She turned the truck around then headed back down the road towards town.

Soon enough they pulled into a familiar looking diner. The same in fact that Pops had brought Vix to yesterday. Kristine pulled up and parked the truck on the left side of the building along the street. Vix got into her disguised form and the four exited the truck and entered the diner. Just inside the doors they were greeted by the hostess and told to sit anywhere. Deciding on a booth they filed onto the benches Kristine then Edna on one side, and Katie then Victoria on the other.

Shortly after sitting down a hostess came up with four waters and four menus and asked what they wanted to drink. Katie and Kristine ordered soda and Edna and Victoria asked for coffee. Vix was determined to get used to coffee again despite her recent experiences with the bitter beverage. Then the four looked over their menus while Katie and Kristine talked about something that Victoria found boring, so she just studied the menu.

Five or so minutes later the hostess returned with their drinks and asked if they were ready to order. Edna got a roast beef wrap, Kristine ordered a fish and chips, Katie asked for a cheese burger with fries, and Victoria after some thought decided on a prastrami on rye that came with fries.

After the hostess wrote everything down on her order pad she took back the menus and politely excused herself to get their orders to the kitchen. With that settled the four got back to talking.

The subject was pretty standard fare as Katie and Kristine talked about what cloths they thought would look good on Victoria so Vix tuned them out and instead talked to Edna for a bit.

Turns out that Edna had used to be a nurse in her younger days while Pops was away in the service then after moved on to psychology, now retired of course. Seemed that the Crawford woman leaned towards some sort of medical profession.

The psychology part made Vix just a little nervous, considering...

"Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to...um, powder my nose?" Vix said before getting up from the table and heading to the restrooms. There was a brief "Hey!" as she entered the wrong door out of habit before quickly apologizing for not paying attention to which door she was opening before she nervously went to the right one.

"So what do you think of Victoria grandma?" Katie asked after Vix had left the booth.

"Seems like a nice enough girl. If a bit strange about a few things." Edna remarked politely.

"Oh she's just adjusting. It must be tough going through what she's gone through." Kristine said in defense of Victoria. "Can't imagine how I would react if I'm being honest."

"Call me intrigued. Tell me more." Edna asked resting her chin on her hand.

Vix washed her hands in the sink without looking at the mirror once and taking great pains not to do so. She didn't want to break another one if she got mad again. Nor did she want to look at herself in the mirror. If she didn't acknowledge it she could safely ignore it.

Leaving the restroom she walked back over to the booth to find that their meals had arrived and they were politely waiting for her return before eating.

"You didn't have to wait for me." Vix said as she sat down in her seat.

"It's no problem dear." Kristine said, "We were just talking, and anyway they just arrived. So it's no big deal."

After Victoria sat down they all dug into their respective meals. Vix took another sip of her coffee, just to make a face as she put it back down.

"What's wrong dear?" Edna asked, noting Victoria's expression.

"Just...getting used to the bitterness again." Vix replied before taking a bit of her pastrami, at least her sense of taste made the sandwich oh so much more enjoyable now.

"If it bothers you so much then why drink it?" Kristine asked.

"Because I...like it? Or at least I used to." Vix replied after swallowing the perfectly salted meat and cheese. Ok, maybe some things about this new body of hers weren't so bad.

"Meh, it's alright. I just use it to wake up in the mornings." Kristine said dismissively. "Never became a connoisseur of it outside of that."

"It used to mean more to me I guess. Reminds me of the camping trips my uncle used to take me on." Victoria replied. "Of course his camp coffee was burned most of the time. He always left it on the fire too long."

"I don't mean to interrupt Lady Victoria, but you have an incoming call from a certain Robert Reynard." Percii said interrupting the conversation.

"Ugh, now what?" Vix said pulling her phone out of her 'pocket'. She hit ignore then opened her text messenger app.

Vic: Can't talk now Bob. What's up?

Uncle Bob: Hey, how's it going sport? How's the camping trip going?

Vic: It's been,,,eventful. Can't get into details now. Having lunch with friends. Can I tell you about it later?

Uncle Bob: Sure, no problem. Have fun and stay safe.

Victoria put her phone away and went back to eating. "Well that's just great." Vix thought to herself. That was yet another conversation she was going to have to have that she didn't want to have. Problem was though that she would have to have it eventually. She couldn't keep this from her uncle forever.

"Who was that?" Katie asked.

"Oh, just my uncle." Victoria said before picking up a french-fry and popping it into her mouth.

"You could have taken the call if you needed to talk to him." Kristine said, "We wouldn't mind if you needed to talk to him."

"How would I talk to him? I don't exactly sound like I used to. I'd just sound like some random female he's never heard before." Victoria pointed out pointing a french-fry towards Kristine before eating it.

"Hmm. Good point." Kristine conceded. "What are you going to tell him when you do talk to him?"

"I don't know." Victoria said after washing her last bite down with some bitter coffee. Bleh, still too bitter. "I'll figure that out after I figure out how to explain this to my friends."

"How do you think they're doing?" Katie asked innocently before she realized what she just said.

Vix put her half eaten sandwich down and pushed her plate away. She was done eating for now as just thinking about her friends had ended her apatite.

"Oh, are you done dear?" Kristine asked concerned. "You've only eaten about half of your lunch."

"Yeah. I'm just not hungry anymore." Vix said gloomily.

"Well! Isn't that just typical!" They all heard an annoyed voice say. "Some stick of a girl not finishing her meal in order to stay skinny!"

Vix looked up to see a middle aged women striding over to their table and giving her in particular an angry glare of disapproval. "Now what?" Vix thought to herself as the women came up to their table.

"What's wrong?! Food not good enough for 'Miss Perfect Body'?" The woman said as she invaded Vix's personal space.

"Leave her alone!" Edna warned. "She's having a bad enough week without you making it worse."

"Yeah! Beat it Beakface!" Katie added defiantly.

"It just makes me sick to see good food go to waste by some skinny-girl more concerned with her looks than eating healthy!" The woman continued as if she hadn't heard anything said by the others as she was focused on Victoria.

"For your information, not that's it's any of your business, I did not choose the body in have, It was decided by the universe, not by skipping meals." Vix said to the harpy. "And besides, what I eat and how much of it is my business, not yours. If you are so concerned about food going to waste than you can have what's left." She said then held her plate under the woman's nose, who just pushed it out of her way, nearly making Vix drop it and make a mess.

"I don't eat handouts!" The woman said, "I'll be watching you little Miss Perfect!" Then the woman stormed out of the restaurant.

"What's her deal?" Vix ask as she cleaned up a few errant pieces of food that had been knocked off the plate.

"Oh, Karen? Just ignore her. She's the town's busy-body." Edna said dismissively. "No one really listens to her."

"Wait, wait, wait. Her name's Karen, and she 'is' a Karen?" Vix rolled her eyes before adding. "The universe really does have a sick sense of humor."

Vix picked up her coffee and took a sip. Bleh, still bitter. She looked at the sugar packets at the other end of the booth. No! She would beat this hurdle without sweetener!

"I need some fresh air." Vix said putting the coffee down and getting up from the table.

"Oh, we're almost done with lunch." Kristine said. "Then we can go and hit the shops together."

"You three finish, I'll just be outside. Take your time." Vix said as she put some cash on the table and walked away from the booth before anyone could stop her.

Leaving the diner Vix stepped out the door and out to the sidewalk. She walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, resting her elbows on her knees and putting her face in her hands. What was she going to do? It had been a couple of days and she was no closer to finding her friends. And, she was saddled with this new body and its strange powers that she didn't fully understand. How was anyone to lead a normal life with this kinda shit!

Up the road Vix suddenly heard the sound of screaming. Vix looked in the direction of the noise. Up the street a women was being dragged out of a building by two very familiar men wearing black suits. Vix recognized them as Larry and Curly, or at least that's what she called them, she didn't really care to learn their actual names. Vix gave a small growl, if those two were here then where was Moe?

"You two! Freeze!" Vix heard Sheila's voice yell. Looking across the street she saw the sheriff stepping out into the street for a clear view of the two 'suits'. A brief moment later Vix's question of where Moe was answered when she heard squealing tires as a van came around a corner. Looking between the van and Sheila Vix quickly realized Sheila hadn't noticed it yet. And if something wasn't done quickly she'd be run down!

But before she could say anything she noticed that they weren't slowing down or trying to avoid Sheila. They were instead speeding up! And if they kept their course she would be run down!

"Look out!" Vix cried as she dropped her disguise and ran towards the sheriff. Just before the van could run Sheila down Vix shoved her out of harm's way and instead bore the brunt of the impact with the van.

There was a loud Yipe! That was abruptly cut off before the sound of something being run over by the van was heard, followed by a thump _, thump,_ thump_ ,_ thump _,_ thump_ ,_ thump, sound of something softly rolling to a stop.

"That asshole almost ran me down!" Sheila said getting up angrily. "Thanks for pushing me out of the way--" Her voice trailed off when she looked back to the road. "Oh my God! No!"

Out in the middle of the road was Vix's unmoving body.