As her words hung in the air, my body tensed up. How? How the hell did she win me? I looked down at my hands, trembling with the cards in them. This was supposed to be foolproof. This was supposed to be impossible for her to come back. I gulped. There’s no worse feeling than realizing cracks within plans. Small enough for others to ignore but I knew better. I rubbed against my eyes, peeking at the camera. She fiddled with her cards, before tossing them over to her left paw, “What’s wrong, Miss?” Glancing at my opponent, an anthropomorphic vixen who I could hardly believe was the same idiot that wandered here, my throat went dry. I needed to keep the pressure up. But after that loss, my threats had lost their power. “Try reading this card, alright?” I could see her sliding the King of Heart with a cocky smirk plastered on her face. One of my eyebrows unintentionally twitched upwards. King of Hearts. Her trump card played directly after that win? What the hell was she thinking? I brushed my hair to the side. My thoughts were still crowding over last round’s mystery. Was it a fluke? Just a lucky one-off? Was it though? Was I overcomplicating something so simple? Occam's Razor would definitely be the play here, wouldn’t it? She somehow mixed up the cards and now she was overly impatient to try and close out the game. Taking in a deep breath, I gently played my King of Spades. Now her trump card would utterly be shattered. Yet a strange uneasiness wrapped around my neck. Was it really that simple? It had to be right? What could she possibly do here? With all of the cameras, I would immediately see her every move, wouldn’t I? Flipping both of our cards, discomfort tightened its grip around my neck. Opposite to me, she smiled carefreely - a sign that her intelligence had decreased, “Oh Riley, did you know that you don’t have any depth?” “Shut it, Kae,” It was my win but the worst way to do so. My King of Spades against her Ace of Hearts. How? Ace of Hearts? I didn’t even see that damn card anywhere close to her King of Hearts. What the fuck was going on here? “But isn’t it good that you won, Riley?” Her pitch rose on my name, “Riley, such a cute name. Wished I had that.” Had what? This shitty name given to me by my debtors? You wanted this? I gripped against my cards, almost bending them. Fucking hell. She was starting to piss me off. Glancing back at my hand, I let out another sigh. My strongest card was gone. It was completely wasted on a shitty Ace that I didn’t even know was in her hand. Didn’t help that she was twirling around her hair, covering her muzzle with those cards of hers. But that begged the question. How? How was she tricking me? Every single card was shown to me through that camera and she somehow managed to do it to me twice. And to add salt to the injury. She knew that. She played the worst card, trying to bait out my King. My heart was pounding harder now. If she knew… how would she have known that? Was it my gaze that gave it away? It was the occasional peek at the ceiling. In her haze of sensations, she couldn’t have noticed this. No. Maybe she spotted it? But why wouldn’t she call me out? Or play her cards face down? Gahhh, that didn’t answer any of my questions, I was circling around sand that led me to nowhere. I needed to settle down, and find some footing in this game itself. “Oh Riley, what’s wrong? Your wrinkles are showing, you know?” She giggled, pointing at me, “Don’t want to ruin that pretty fa-” “Enough,” My eyes glared back, “Don’t you dare talk about this cursed body of mine.” She looked down, “Oh…didn’t think you’re like me.” The hell did she mean by that? I let out another sigh, now thinking back about the game. Since there’s only 13 rounds, the first person who wins 7 of the rounds will win this. With our hands being displayed as: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 (Attacker) Me: Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 And our score was currently 1-1, both of us only needed 6 more wins to clear this game. But thanks to her trickery, her King crushed any other cards of mine thus granting her a free win of her own. So in a sense, she only needed 5 more wins. 5 more rounds for her to turn the tides. Just the very thought made me sick. Nobody won against me, especially after the changes kicked in. It was quick sand to them as they drowned deeper and deeper inside and in their panic, their mind struggled to make sense of the world around them. Here? I was the one struggling to find my place. Why did it feel as though she had control on the game? My momentum had completely halted and reversed after just these two rounds. If this was a chess game, she had just found a fork to turn everything around. A creeping dread to draw the game closer to an end. “Are you done thinking, Riley?” She leaned against her paw, her tail now swishing at a higher pace, “I’m bored of waiting.” A card now had been placed down directly in front of me, urging me to make a move. She knew. She knew I was weak now. I wiped the beads of sweat off my hair. Now I had just been plunged into darkness where I couldn't even tell left from right. What was she playing here? A 3 to bait my stronger cards out or a strong card herself to accelerate the game state? I glanced back at her, only for her to smile back at me, “We’re even, you know. Just pick anyyyy random card and I’m sure it’s fine.” “Is that so?” “Well wouldn’t you like to find out?” I riffled through the cards. Sure she technically only needed 5 more wins but I was the same. In fact, I was in the lead. I merely needed to prevent her from reaching 6 points which automatically eliminated the possibility of that card being the King. Which meant that my Queen of Spades should defeat whatever card that was there…unless that was what she wanted me to think. I combed through my hair. Without any additional knowledge, this was an elaborate game of scissors paper stone where all of my options were weighted equally. Or was it? As I meandered on my thoughts, I glanced back at the camera. Her cards were tightly bundled together, only allowing me to peek at the top few: a Jack, a 10 and a 9. Was it arranged numerically? Was that card truly the Queen of Hearts? I shook my head, my fingers trembling a little. Hostess Riley, proceed to make your move in the following minute. If not, we will consider you to be the loser of this entire game, granting full access for the player over your entire body. Huh? There was a time limit? When I was stationed here, that man only instructed me to play this game that he had created. He allowed me to alter the room to my advantage while passing me the bare necessities like both decks and the table. Not once had he informed me of this rule. “Sounds like someone’s in trouble,” She licked against her muzzle, brushing against her canines, “Just play any card Riley, you’re winning me already.” I glanced at my phone. Half a minute left. What do I do here? I didn’t see her Queen being in her hand so maybe her card was there but what about the possibility of her tricking me for the third time? She somehow had knowledge that I was peering through her han-Wait, maybe it was a double bluff and that she was trying to pull one of my stronger cards out like before or aghh I didn’t have time. I didn’t have time here! Tossing out the deuce of spades face down, I panted. Kae giggled, “It’s only the third round, Riley. Why are you so scared already?” She leaned against her arm, scratching the underside, “Still can’t believe that I’m in this form.” I flipped over my card. My arms stretched backwards, “If you wanted, you could turn back for every round you win.” “Righttt… Or I could change you, right Riley?” She raised her pitch using my name. Riley. Seriously, why was she so obsessed with this given name of mine? “Yes, Kae. You can change me however you like.” The card flipped over to be a four of hearts, defeating my deuce of spades. Right after I said I had to try my best to prevent her from reaching 6 wins, I threw out my worst card and lost to her. 4 more wins till her victory. A doom’s day clock ticking ever so close to my defeat. Our current cardline was this: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 3 (Attacker) Me: Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 She shuffled through her cards once again, “I’m shocked though.” “Why?” “It’s so safe. So risk adverse. What happened to miss mind reader here?” “Just play your damn card already,” I paid close attention to her hand up on the camera. Her claws played back and forth between the Queen of Hearts and the Jack of Hearts. I glanced back at her chirpy expression. Calm down, Ryan. My eyes periodically checked the camera before glancing back at her. My whole plan was destroyed because of that trick with her cards. It didn’t make sense with how she slid the cards onto the table, how were the cards practically swapped with each other. If she had this skill, surely she would’ve done it in our 2nd match. But instead she just placed the cards in numerical order, making it so easy for me to win…? Wait, why did she do that? Was she betting that I would mess up? “Riley, what’s with that stare? You’re scaring me, you know? Reminds me of my father.” I raised my eyebrow, “Father?” “Yeah my dad,” Pinching the Queen of Hearts, she shoved her card onto the table while her fanned cards immediately snapped back into one, “Kept scolding me for not being ‘manly’ enough and shit.” “Ah…” I was never the best with small talk and this was something more personal than that. Surely, she could talk to her oth-Nevermind. In this form, any friends that she once had would leave her. From my experience, in the usual city, I didn’t see many of these ‘furries’ out there. I had encountered a couple of them in passing before but it was usually in the alleyways or as security guards working. In here though, my suspicions were confirmed: The existence of a black market regarding this technology. Dribbling with the cards, my eyes couldn’t be deceived about this. I saw her play the Queen of Hearts. My eyes were glued to that camera, seeing the card physically leave her hand and onto the table. No. This time I was going to win her. As I played the Queen of Spades, I recalled how miserable most of these ‘furries’ were. Most people that changed either lost their entire identity or were chained to a company (similar to me) to toil out their lives. Now that I thought about it, I never encountered one outside of work. Like in casual wear. They were either at work or going to work. “Yeah… how were yours? Hopefully better than mine,” She yipped, “It’s probably rich people's problems or something.” I gulped. Rich? Something didn’t add up. Didn’t she say she needed this money? Oh, right she was asking, “They were...nice.” “Nice only? Was expecting something better from someone working here. Bet your parents got you this job or something,” She flipped over the card, revealing the three of hearts again as she giggled, “Oh wow, guess I lose this round as well.” Staring down at her, my fury raged within my heart as I revealed my card, “Silence bitch. Keep my parents out of your fucking mouth.” She raised both of her hands, “Woah, woah. Chillllll,” Her words were slurring, drool dripping out of the side of her muzzle, “This is hitting-yip!- me harder than I expected.” I slammed against the table. I watched her every move and she still managed to do her trick. What the fuck was going on? No. I clearly saw the Queen move away from her han- Wait, I couldn’t see it actually. I only saw the picture frame surrounding the royal card. I blinked. Regardless of how many times I saw it, I couldn’t trust the reflection any longer. She merely snickered before bursting into laughter. Or maybe she was acting like a couple of drunk college kids. 3 rounds remained. My stomach twisted up in knots. Was this game always this sickening? This nauseating? I covered my mouth. Could feel the acid climbing up my throat, threatening me to puke it all out. She knew. She knew my plan, didn’t she? But I still couldn’t decipher anything at all. Currently with the cardline of: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (Attacker) Me: J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 I glanced away from her eyes. Even as her intelligence and mental capacity had decreased, Kae now felt scarier. The curtains that she had once placed around her were slowly unveiling itself; the knife that she held in her hands was now cutting close to my throat. Metaphorically speaking. But if I just abandoned this system that I had built up for myself… Isn’t this game just a gamble? Just a reckless game of chance that I couldn’t understand or rationalize. I of course still had the advantage as the attacker yet this mounting dread was starting to suffocate me. She threw out another card while placing the rest face down. Wasn’t it worse for her? Losing her gender, humanity and now even her intelligence. How could she still be fighting back without any hesitation on her part? All my other opponents would be panicking and irrationally stirring themselves to death. Granted it was a small sample size under 10 but Kae felt different. She had been pressuring me even at the very start with no hesitation. Going back to my cards, my nerves were on edge. She won’t play King or Queen here. Which left her with the highest card of Jack. Let me slow down first. At this point with an unofficial 2- 4 scoreline, it would essentially inch her closer to winning this game, leaving me at arm’s reach. I grabbed onto my arm. What was she going to do to me? Change me? She had been asking that question, asking what I was wagering and demanding to know what I was risking. Was this all planned? Hostess Riley, proceed to make your move in the following minute. If not, we will consider you to be the loser of this entire game, granting full access for the player over your entire body. The robotic voice shook me out of my thoughts. Fucking dammit. Why couldn’t that bastard tell me how much time each of us had? I glanced at my cards. No. I couldn’t play the Jack of Spades nor any small cards here. Any small cards would accelerate her game plan even further. Slamming the nine of spades onto the table, her ears perked up, “Looks who's finally playing!” “Whatever, let’s just get this game over,” My nine is a decently strong card, eliminating most of her options, aside from the top premium cards. This would at least even up the game. She giggled, “Alright then. Whatever you say,” She revealed the Jack of Heart to my utter dismay. Why? What was she even thinking here? Why did she play such a strong card at thi- “Riley, your wrinkles are showing. For such a quiet beauty, you shouldn’t frown so much. Or are you thinking why was I playing the Jack so early?” I flipped over my nine. This loss only ticked me closer to my demise. Once again, she managed to get ahead of me. What could I even do here? Try to outsmart her? I was on her palms, walking around aimlessly. “Answer is prettttty simple if you think about it,” She tapped against her head, “Both of us know that I’m not playing my top two cards and you being the coward that you are, will be playing something strong here, wouldn’t you? But you don’t want to waste your Jack like the previous two rounds so like… doesn’t that leave the 10 or 9 left?” Her tail now wrapped around her as she smiled at me, “Was I right, Riley?” Leaning back on my chair, the light in my eyes faded out. She read me like a book, with the plans completely written on my forehead. Now with our unofficial scoreline being 2-5, two wins were left. She threw another card onto the table, “Isn’t this nice? Playing such a spicy game between the two of us?” Her last few words slurring as she scratched her orange fur. I held my cards weakly by my side. This was almost the end. Two more wins for her and it was over. My goosebumps appeared throughout my arm. Was this another trap? Or was she putting this match to an end? I don’t know. I don’t know anything at all. Was there any point to me finishing this match? Currently with the cardline of: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 (Attacker) Me: J, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 What option did I have left? She had that scary 10 looming over my head, threatening to destroy most of my entire stash. No, wait. She made a mistake there. She played her own Jack which gave my 10 of spades some leeway. Not all hope was lost, right? Mustering my strength, I played my 10. This has to go through. Unless she was using her most powerful two cards, this card surely could destroy her. Or at least halt her destruction. I glanced back at her, “So what brings you here?” “Ka ching. Ka ching,” She rubbed against her fingers, “Isn’t that why anyone is here?” She revealed her card first, showing off her five of hearts. Tilting her head, she asked, “What’s yours?” “Ten,” I grabbed hold of both cards to my side. Her eyes dilated slightly, couldn’t keep her focus on her cards. Effectively the scoreline was 3-5, “But you said your parents were rich?” “My Daddy is. Not this failure like me,” She played the top card face up, revealing the nine of hearts. Huh? What was she doing? Was she actually drunk here? At the current state, our card line up was this: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 (Attacker) Me: J, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 But that card was forcing me to play my Jack wasn’t it? I stared down at that 9. Fuck sake. Even if I won this round, she would have three free wins from the King to the 10. Was there even a point to play the Jack here? And if I didn’t play the Jack here…this would still be a win for her, making her reach even closer to her win. A hole opened up in my stomach. I had to risk it. I had to try and save my Jack to crush her 10. I dealt my 3 out, granting her the win. Now with the effective scoreline of 3 - 6. I had to win everything starting from now and especially when her intelligence was compromised now. This might be the last round I was playing… Clenching my fists, I kept track of the last card lineup: (Defender) Kae: K, Q, 10, 8, 7, 6 (Attacker) Me: J, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 The critical point was that I had to play my Jack against her 10. Else I would lose regardless of what I did. Kae yipped and grunted, fanning the cards out facedown, “I…I pick you!” Without looking at her cards, she glanced back at me, “So… let’s play.” I gulped. Was she straddling against me in this final round? If it was just possibility wise, then my 8 was the best card to play. Half the time, I would win the round while the other third of the time, her offence would be delayed. Only the 10 would defeat me. A one out of six chance She giggled a little, “What’s taking so longgg… Riley…” It wasn’t as if I had any other option. I had to just trust in myself and put an end to this. One out of six chances of losing. That was less than a 20% chance to lose. With a deep breath, I pushed forward my eight hearts. “Yipee,” She flipped over her 10 hearts. My shoulders relaxed. There was nothing left that I could possibly do. Like a deer frozen as it stared down at the headlights, I could only resign to fate. She won here. Luck was a cruel lady, immediately shifting the tides to hers. Kae didn’t even see her damn cards and she still fucking won from a one out of six chance! In a hushed voice, I announced, “I forfeit this… this match.” Instantly, she sat up straight, wiping the drool off her muzzle, “Took you long enough, Riley.” Beneath the table, my legs quivered. I didn’t want another change. Different possibilities soon popped up. An animal like her? An actual animal? Losing my sense of self? Why wasn’t she saying anything? “So miss peepster, how did you like looking at my hand?” “...when did you find out?” She pointed to my camera, “2nd match onwards when you started panicking where I washed the cards. Now as for my prize,” She spun her finger around in which I closed my eyes. Fuck. Please. What was she thinking now? “Pass me ten grand first.” I heaved a sigh of relief, “Alright will pass it to you once the game ends. Now le-” “What’s with that sigh? Did you really think I’ll change you now?” “Well since you’v-” She stood up and leaned into me. Her muzzle barely an inch away from my widened eyes “I’ll change you once I completely crushed this little gambit of yours,” I gripped against the handles of my chair, trying to cover up my fear. “Or,” Kae took a pregnant pause, “You could just forfeit the entire game and become my little bitch.” Bitch? Was she serious? Was she that depraved of human connection? Kae retreated back to her chair, passing the cards to me, “If you forfeit the game, I’ll make you my precious little bitch. Just a carefree pet that only devotes yourself fully to me, like my little pet.” “What was in it for me?” “Want to do an experiment of what bug the injection can change you into?” Her eyes glinted with mischief, “What about a worm? Or a feral bird? Do you want to be the first?” “Huh…?” was all I could mutter out. I never saw a feral animal escaping out of the facility, just changed furries into their new rich owner’s vehicles. That fact didn’t reduce the fear factor from me, it only strengthened it. Turned into a worm and forced to dig my way through the dirt for the rest of my life? I rubbed against my face, feeling sweat dripping from me in buckets. Kae tilted her head to the left. Her paws now held onto the deck of spades, “Let’s make this 4th match a quick one,” In swift motion, she played all 13 cards from left to right with a little smirk, “So what’s your choice, Riley?” I shook my head, my throat tightened up. What do I do here? Do I trust her words? Or should I just fight on? I was still up 2-1 on her in terms of matches. She needed to win 2 more matches and here she was, seizing control of whatever confidence that I initially had. Yet the possibility was running wild within my mind. This vixen was staring down at me and I had no way of guessing which cards were with which. I was going to be stabbing in the dark if I were to continue. This was myself at stake for crying out loud, one wrong move and my humanity would’ve been robbed from me. My hands were now clammy while I could barely stand on my two feet. The risk was so high. The return was pathetic, allowing me to maintain my current life… Maybe her proposal wasn’t so bad. Humiliating? Most definitely. But at least I could survive in one piece, right? “Say just for fun,” She looked up at me, brushing against her tail, “Imagine if you had a button. If you press this red button, you have a 10% chance of getting a billion dollars.” “What’s the catch?” “No catch. But on the 90% chance, you’ll owe someone ten million dollars, forcing you to become his slave for the rest of your life. Would you still press it?” I glanced around the room. Why was she asking me this? Obviously, I wouldn’t press it. Why would I take so much risk just for a billion? “Cause I would,” Her eyes glinted red. “Are you crazy?” I said it out loud, “9 out of 10 times, you’ll be shackled with all that debt and to become a slave forever. What is wrong with you?’ She chuckled at a higher pitch, “Ah crazy? I suppose I am. Coming all this way to gamble my entire body just for this. So what’s your choice?” I widened my eyes before covering them with my hand. She wanted this? She was betting for herself to win this gambit and make it out as the victor after losing the first two matches? Just for her ideal form? I felt sick. Sick at knowing someone would do this deliberately. She was playing with the deck stacked against her for crying out loud, she surely must be mad to do such a thing. Absurd. Irrational. Nonsensical. This person before my eyes was either stupid or daring to even go for her ideals. What about me? If I wanted to, I could have just stopped gambling as a whole. I could have just been working somewhere else that guarantees me money. Instead I kept returning. And at that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s so funny, Riley?” “Everything just makes so much sense now,” I grabbed the cards on the table and glanced at them. What was I even thinking about? Maintaining my current life? No! The whole point was to return back to normal. To become a fucking guy once again, damn it! If I concede here and become her little bitch, I’ll rather die than to give in now. Not when I had the advantage. Not when I still had that bastard out there in my sights, “Let’s end this.” Her eyes lit up, "Alright then. Just waiting for you.” Sealing my way out, I took a deep breath. The air around me seemed chillier than usual, especially with all of these face down cards. Do I just wing it and let fate take the wheel? I mean, that seemed like the only way out from here. All 13 cards face down with hers having the spades. I scratched my head. Surely, she must have some plan, right? She was betting her existence on this game of chance? Impossible right? But that’s what I said before she revealed her colors. Sitting back on my metal chair, I tried to see the bigger picture again. She came from a rich family while coming here to play for money? Yet, she also wanted to lose the first two rounds to become a vixen. Why couldn’t her parents just buy her this service? Rich people often have connections, don’t they? Gah, the more I think about her situation, the more questions I have. Sounded like she fell out of her parents or something of that sort. Sure, she wasn’t exactly young with her appearing to be in her early 20s but why couldn’t she ask for money from them when she needed it? Parents cutting her off? Going back to the game, it was clear that her only way out was to win the next two matches. And she had already placed the cards face down without giving much thought. Right, being the attacker right now gives her a major advantage. I gulped, feeling the weight of this round. I just needed to win this round. And this nightmare would be over. Else… I’ll be at her mercy. She was friendly enough (from the few conversations that we had when she was dumbed down) but I wasn’t sure if this friendliness would persist when she had all the power donning over me. I panted out, feeling tingles down my fingers. The cards definitely saw better days, her claw marks and tears into the cards completely ruined both the front and back. Shoving down my worries, I could only entrust fate to decide this. I spread the cards, matching her cards. It wasn’t anything special. A numerically ordered set descending from the King. What are the chances that she matches at least 7 of my cards? It would have to be a miracle for that to happen. She squinted at my cards for a tad longer than expected, “Do you mind if I swap the cards around?” “Swap?” I raised an eyebrow, “Why would you want t-” “I mean it doesn’t matter, does it? It wasn’t as if I had a camera behind yo-” “Fine, fine, I get it. You may swap your cards,” Ugh. Now she had that argument loaded up just for me. It was weird that she was swapping the cards, especially since…well it didn’t matter. It was all just a blind game of chance. With her claws, she shifted the cards around, “Now that I think about it, why are you stuck here in the basement?” “Why would I tell you that?” “Just some small talk” Kae shrugged, passing along the last card to the middle, “I mean,” She glanced at the door, “You’re kinder than the rest.” Hm? Kind? Me of all people? I sent people to their demise and here she was describing I was kind? How much worse were the others? “What do you mean? The rest?” “Yeah there were a couple where I walked around the level,” Her eyes glanced by the door, “You’re the only person that tried to warn me.” Interesting. I rubbed against my stu-right I didn’t have that. Assuming that they were in the same spot as me, they were also riddled with debt, causing them to pull others in their gambits. I wonder if they were being paid out for defeating their opponents… a much better offer than my fixed salary. “Also you’re easy to read,” She giggled, flipping over her cards in one fine ribbon spread. I blinked multiple times. My arms limped by my chair. I coughed, covering my mouth. Fear was now choking my throat. Tears brimmed at the edge of my eyes. She grabbed my cards and flipped them in an array, “Oh wow, you learnt this trick from me in the second game, didn’t you? King to Ace all in numerical order.” My whole body was trembling. I wasn’t expecting this at all. An absolute wipe of 13-0. Each of her spades matched against my hearts. Regaining some of my composure, I realized my mistake: allowing her to switch around with the cards. She somehow knew my position, but from what? I glanced behind me. There was no reflection of any sort. Nevermind that, what about my fate? My throat tightened. Was I even going to finish this game or was this my last? “Just asking, is it possible to remove my opponent before the game ends?” She asked out loud. Her sharp yellow eyes were staring down at me, like a predator ready to strike on its target. You are prohibited to morph your opponent to a state where they are unable to play. This includes feral animals without the ability to hold cards and play them accordingly. She rubbed between her paws as I heaved a sigh of relief. At least I was safe for this round. But the next would definitely be my demise if this kept up. My body relaxed while I reached out for her set of cards, “Ah. You know during those first two games, I felt as though you were looking down on me.” “Wait… please Kae. Don’t you want another 10 grand? I think I c-” “When 45 grand is awaiting me, why would I even need that?” She flashed her teeth, “Am I right, little peahen?” A prickly feeling emerged from beneath my arm. Scratching against it spawned a feather, replacing the smooth skin I had. Even just a slight touch was enough to make me wince in pain. Christ. My nails sharpened into talons with the skin around it becoming rough like sand paper. Felt kinda nice to be honest, especially with how similar it was to my old hand in a weird sense. I stretched my fingers out, rubbing against one another. This was me now? Suddenly, my throat felt like it was on fire. I scratched against the skin, showcasing my new barrage of brown feathers. Gagging within my throat, my voice rose by more notes while Kae watched me, “Yeah, that’s how it felt just now. Isn’t this nice?” “Fuck you.” “Nice rack you have there,” She pointed at my growing chest. Shit. I thought birds didn’t have breasts? My bra snapped, revealing my tits out naked. A blush soon surfaced as I glanced away, “Damn, they look bigger than mine.” Feathers soon travelled downwards as my neck stretched out. Glancing down, I noted a tinge of green feathers around my neck, like I was wearing a scarf. Admittedly, I had kinda gotten used to the foreign feathers invading my skin. With how thick my feathers were, the warmth was getting unbearable for me, especially with my shirt on. I sighed. My tits were already out, might as well take this tight shirt off. Plus, she was naked herself… Somehow watching my skin turn into feathers was making me horny. Fuck, if she wasn’t here, I’ll go ham with it. On the plus side, I was getting stronger with my muscles around my legs growing slightly. My talons ripped through my heels, now torn and tattered, leaving only my pants hanging by a thread. Stretching my new talons out, tears brimmed by my eyes. This… was it. My humanity was fading away just like that. “Ah?” I quickly covered my mouth. The sudden pain from around my lips were becoming apparent as my skull shifted and curved inwards. I closed my eyes. Could still hear the cracking but I calmed myself with my breathing. It happened in a blur. First, my lips hardened and sharpened, causing me to screech a little. My teeth were all pushed forward by a force. Immediately after, my hair thinned out into feathers, while leaving a few strands standing. My eyes enlarged as the world around me appeared to gain more color. Meanwhile, my nose shifted forward, right on top of my new beak. My feathers quickly conquered my nether regions, sending jolts of pleasures as they ruffled inside my panties. With a single gulp, I laid back in the chair, exhausted. Was it finally over? Wrong again. In both of my arms, I could feel tingles surrounding my arms. Stretching it out, my tail bone followed along, penetrating through my pants to reveal itself. While not as expressive as Kae’s it still wiggled a fair bit, much to my embarrassment. Meanwhile, my talons explored the thickness of my arm, pushing a couple layers out and fanning it into wings. My brown wings. Finally, I glanced down at my new form. My humanity was now gone. What was left of me..? Was I supposed to feel sad here? Happy that I was closer to my male self? Of course fucking not, I should be seething with rage, right? This disgusting body that I call my own… Yet, this was only the start of my torment. I still had one last round and I couldn’t change back regardless of what I did, only cap- “You alright?” Kae asked. Alright? Me? Really? Adding salt to the wound now aren’t we? “Better than ever. Let’s play the final match.” “Your voice is trembling,” She said, slowing down her words. “You wanted this.” She averted from my eyes, “...yeah, I wanted this,” She tossed each card onto the table in a similar fashion, “Let’s end this.” Gently, I picked up the cards. My talons threatened to cut them, they were now bigger than each of the talons. With my other hand, I wiped away my tears. These emotions were still gnawing at me, taking up space in my thoughts. I glanced down at her cards. It was no wonder why they were all in such condition. Especially with how sharp her claws were. They could easily leave scratches behind just from sheer contact. Heck, I was strugglin- Scratches on the cards? I riffled through the cards. Each of them had scratches. Wait. The cards she was playing were my cards, weren’t they? Kae smirked a little, “So Riley, I’ll give you the luxury of choosing what anima-” “Don’t speak so soon, Kae. I’m still playing, you know?” “What difference will it make?” “Wouldn’t you like to know?” I smirked. I split my cards in two sets. One for me to examine both sides of the cards while the other acted as a decoy. My eyes glanced downwards every so often while the vixen yawned in front of me. Honestly, I was impressed. How did she manage to think about such a plan within all of the discomfort? Whatever. This discovery revived my current game plan; finally I could use her trick against her. Browsing through a few of the cards, it was apparent how I didn't notice it the first time. There were many miscellaneous scratches but they were a ruse to hide the actual one. The ones in the corner were tally marks of the actual number. Like morse code, she used a combination of dots and dashes. A dot represented one while a dash represented five. I gritted against my teeth. This was my answer key to success. Sure, I was now stuck as a peahen but I had a chance to turn it around. And it all started here. This final game to seal her fate once and for all. Never would I have guessed she was this dangerous but it was over now at least. I leaned back, staring at the light. God, it was going to be over now, right? No more overthinking over my every move? She yawned, “Riley, what’s wrong? Thought you wanted to win this match?” “And I will,” I read her board. It was randomly shuffled but I couldn’t care less. And this time, I was not letting her rearrange the cards after I made my move. Sliding the cards, worrisome thoughts soon bubbled up. But I swallowed all of them down. Let’s just call this a tactical gamble and pray for the best. Once all set, Kae’s eyes lit up, “Oh Riley, I knew you could do it.” “Oh shut it, I am not letting you rearrange the cards this time. This is the final arrangement whether you like it or not.” “Why don’t you flip your cards first?” I nodded, flipping it from left to right. My confidence wavered a little, like a gust of wind brushing by my sticks. Why was she so confident? I was assuming she was pulling the same trick as the previous match. Yet, she was oddly glad? Once all my cards were revealed, she started to clap for me. Another nauseating feeling sunk deeper into my gut. What? What did I do wrong? I read her cards perfectly. Why was she acting thi- She flipped over the first card, unbending a corner of the card. Oh fuck… “You don’t watch magic shows often, do you?” Her cards revealed themselves to be greater than what I had read. Cold sweat ran down my back. She planned for this, bending the original corner while marking a new one, just one number above the actual card. I blinked with the life fading from my eyes. I lost… I had completely lost… Regrets were calling out to me, asking me why did I not accept that offer? I slammed against the table. Fuck sake, what could I do there? Guess that she was planning that? I didn’t even notice the bend of each card… And these damn feathers were still sending me sensations and I… had nothing left. I slouched with my head lying on the table, “So what now?” The Player may now claim their one last reward and the grand prize of 45 grand. Kae’s tail was like a metronome wagging while mine just hung there dead. I closed my eyes. Please don’t let this hurt. I knew whatever I said was pointless now, I… I was there to accept fate. An awkward silence hung in the air. I didn’t want to break it. Just wanted my thoughts to silence themselves. Then she broke it, “Pfft.” “What?” “Nothing. Just seeing you depressed is oddly entertaining,” She said. Was she mocking me now? “Get it over with.” “Alright then I would like you to become a man then.” I immediately faced her, eyes wider than ever. Huh? What was this? Wasn’t she going to turn me into some feral creature where I couldn’t do anything? Or change my mind? Why was she changing my gender all of a sudden? My exposed breasts started to sink back, “Wait, why? Why are you doing this?” “Seemed like you hated being a woman so I just wanted to fix that” She chuckled, “Such a shame I couldn’t play with th-” “Was it out of pity, seeing how pathetic I was? Or was it because you're looking down on m-” She crossed her arms, “Let’s just say it's out of respect,” My shoulders broadened, the feathers on my torso began to brighten up blue. I covered my beak. Holy… I had been dreaming of becoming a guy for so many nights. And now it was finally coming true, “So what’s your name?” “Ryan,” My tears wouldn’t stop streaming down the bright blue plumage, equal parts relieved and grateful for still being here. My arms strengthened up back, regrowing the muscles that I had once missed. Talons now larger than before, I rubbed the tears off my face. She leaned forward as my throat bulged forward, creating an Adam’s Apple in the middle, “Damn, I definitely didn’t make the mistake of making you a peacock.” “Why?” My face sharpened, the skull around me extended larger. But hearing my voice gave me back so much relief. My tail fanned out, changing from the dull brown to an emerald green shade. Each of them has some markings behind it, appearing as eyes. I closed it back out of sheer embarrassment, “Was this always the plan or…?” “Nah, you just got on my nerves. You were so damn cocky that I thought that peacock suits you like that tail of yours.” I blushed red. Never liked being the centre of attention but my entire body was screaming for eyes to look at me. Definitely had to learn how to cover them up once I was back. Once my breasts flattened completely, my stomach enlarged slightly, breaking the hourglass shape that I had. My fury was fading, replacing it with gratitude. Yes, this form was troublesome but at least I was back to being a guy. I stood up and stretched my body. Maybe this wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. At least better than being that peahen. “So how did you do that trick in the third match?” I asked. The changes were now around my waist, narrowing it slightly while my ass retracted. She shook her head. The chains now unlocked for her, “I said it before, you had no depth didn’t you?” She went over and grabbed a deck of my cards and took the top card of the deck: 4 of Spades. There she slid that card on the bottom of the deck and snapped her fingers. Kae then sighed and flipped over the top card to still remain the 4 of Spades, “Are you seriously telling me you never seen this trick before?” “Err no?” Tingles were now spreading around my groins. My cunt dried up and remerged together, a pair of nutsacks began to grow right behind it. Heat emanated around the region as my organs shifted around. I went back to my seat, feeling my dick returning. “No wonder you lost,” She flicked open two cards after grabbing the supposed top card, “This is called a double lift, holding two cards at once..” Ah… so she was cheating like me. I let out a groan with my cock returning back to me. This time an extra inch longer than before, my face reddened. She leaned by the table, leering at the bulge formed from my pants, “Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself.” “You don’t have to say it like that…” “Regardless, I had a favor to ask. Could you let me crash at your place?” “Errr sure? I mean my apartment’s pretty tight but it should be fine.” “Don’t worry, I’m sure we could make something work,” She rubbed against my chin, with her claws sliding down my jawline. Normally, I would be flustered over such an advance but I had been desensitized after the last five matches, “Didn’t work eh?” I shrugged, “Not in the mood unfortunately.” “On that second note, where do I get the money?” Hostess Riley has insufficient funds to pay it in full. As such you may either take 10K and repay Riley’s debt in full (45K) or make Riley enter a debt of 90K while you withdraw the money from our nearby ATM. Yikes. 90K. How much longer was I going to be stuck here? I grabbed onto her hand, “Guess it's my turn to ask for a favor.” “Damn, immediately cashing out that favour, huh?” She rolled her eyes, “So what happens if you owe them this much?” “Yeah so I am here because I owe them money. 45 grand to be exact. So now I was basically working for them for free till my debt was cleared.” “So if I just leave you right now, you’ll be working here for even longer?” I nodded. Surely, she wouldn’t be so mean to leave her roommate here, would she? By this point the changes had finally stopped. I was now fully fledged an anthro peacock as embarrassing as that was, “Think of it like a downpayment to living with me.” “Ughh fine. Your apartment better be good,” She said before moving on with the robotic voice, “I’ll repay Riley’s debt in full then.” Very well. After collecting your clothes, you may proceed to withdraw your winnings in the ATM outside the casino. Thank you for playing with us. While we were escorted to a dressing room, my emotions were still running high. All in a mix together from embarrassment to frustration. Eyes soon swooned towards me for my stature. My heart was still thumping against my chest. Finally, this war was over.