Christmas Ewe

Please be aware that this story includes animal transformation, furry elements, and two lovely trans ladies. Please enjoy!

~

"Th-th-there!" The last batch of cookies finally came out of the oven. A dozen sugary brown circles sat on the undersized baking sheet, and to Amber's relief, none of them had accidentally expanded into another one and fused together. Clutching the thin metal sheet between her floral oven mitts, she hurried over to the dining table, which was crowded with a mixing bowl, bags of flour and sugar, a box of baking soda, and other assorted baking supplies. Amber set the sheet on a hot pad, then snatched up a bowl of already unwrapped Hershey kisses.

"Gotta h-hurry," She muttered around chattering teeth, grabbing a Hershey's kiss and pressing it into the center of one of the cookies. The still warm cookie easily yielded under the Hershey's kiss. Amber repeated the process eleven more times, until she was staring at a dozen peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies, each cooling rapidly in the frigid air of her apartment. She gave her cookies a long look of satisfaction, then set to clearing away the various ingredients she had scattered all over the kitchen in her baking frenzy. As she was stuffing the flour back in the cupboard over her kitchen sink, a loud thunk sounded from somewhere outside the apartment, and Amber snapped to attention, her heart in her throat.

Is that Maddie? She ran eagerly from the kitchen into her living room, brushing past a small Christmas tree adorned with twinkling blue, pink, and white lights. She stopped in front of a door and bent down, pressing her eye to the peephole. Beyond the door, she saw the long and narrow hallway of her apartment building. The lights were dimmed in the hallway. Amber stepped back from the doorway, shaking her head at herself. You know it's too early for Maddie to be back, she chastised herself. The store asked her to stay until 10, to meet that "Christmas Eve rush"...

Amber trudged back across the living room, hugging herself in another vain effort to warm up. As she stepped around an overstuffed couch and brushed past the tree once more, her eyes fell upon a large cast iron radiator, bolted to the floor in one corner of the living room. She made a rude gesture at the inert object, then continued on towards the kitchen.

She wasted no time in finishing up her cleaning. After the last bag of sugar was stowed, she used a spatula to lift the now cool cookies off of the baking sheet and onto a large ceramic platter. The platter was already heaped with more of the same peanut butter cookies. Amber allowed herself another moment to gaze upon the fruits of her labors. 36 peanut butter Hershey's kiss cookies, she thought proudly. And I'd better have one now, before Maddie gets them in her clutches. She popped a cookie in her mouth, sighing happily as the sugary treat melted against her tongue. Chewing methodically, she scooped up her mixing bowl, grabbed the cookie sheet, and headed over to the kitchen sink. She set it all down, then turned on the faucet and plugged the drain. Amber added some dish soap to the mix, then set to work on the dirty dishes. She scrubbed idly at the batter stained mixing bowl, enjoying the warmth of the hot water she was sticking her hands in to. The warmth spreading through her fingers was almost enough to make her forget about the stiffness in her toes, which she curled up in her moccasins. After only a few minutes of scrubbing, the dishes were done. Amber stared at the swirling water as she drained the sink. I have no idea what to do with myself now.

Maddie wasn't due home for at least another two hours. Amber looked to the platter of cookies, then out to the Christmas tree. Her eyes fell on the unusually colored Christmas lights glittering in the tree's boughs, and she smiled, remembering her discussion about the tree with Maddie several days prior...

Amber swaggered triumphantly into the apartment, strands of her waist length blonde hair tangled in a jumble of Christmas lights. "Merry Christmas!" She sang as she kicked the door shut behind her.

A tall woman was sitting on the couch, an open book sitting on her lap. As Amber strutted into the apartment, she snapped the book shut and looked up with a sigh. "Oh my God, you actually did it," Maddie said, setting her book aside and clambering to her feet, her jet black ponytail swinging. She was staring at the jumble of lights in Amber's arms. "How much did it cost?" She asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Amber waved a hand impatiently. "Less than you'd think," she said, throwing the pile of lights on the ground. She crouched down and began to try to extricate a long strand of baby blue lights from the others. "Come on, if you work on the pink strand, I'll get this blue one, and then the white one will be freed by default."

Maddie shook her head, but she came over to join Amber. "I still can't believe you actually did this. You found lights for your-"

"Trans tree!" Amber crowed. "We'll have our very own transgender themed Christmas tree!"

"But standard Christmas lights are rainbow colored," Maddie pointed out. "And that works for us too, being gay and all. Why spend extra so we can have the trans tree?"

Amber's eyes bulged in mock horror. "Why wouldn't we want the trans tree?"

Maddie picked up the ends of the pink light strand. "This is one of your wackier ideas," Maddie said slowly. But then she grinned. "But I think it might actually grow on me. Just don't go crazy and bake our estrogen pills into a batch of Christmas cookies or something."

...Amber blinked, snapping herself back to the present. She couldn't suppress a grin at the memory of decorating the trans tree. It's totally wacky, she thought as she eyed the Christmas tree, its multicolored lights winking back, but I honestly think that the trans tree came out looking pretty good. Unfortunately, she thought, looking around the rest of the living room, I still have no idea what to do until Maddie gets home. A chilly draft hit her back, sending a mighty shiver down her spine, and she moved in front of the stove. Hot chocolate sounds good. Maybe it'll stave off the hypothermia. She rummaged around in the kitchen cupboards, withdrew a small tea kettle, and filled it with water. Amber turned a burner up and set the tea kettle down on it. She pulled a mug from another cupboard, grabbed her jar of cocoa powder, and set them both on the stove. All that's left to do is wait. She turned away from the stove, looked out into her kitchen, and screamed.

A tall man was standing next to her kitchen sink.

"Are you Miss Amber Mayhew?" The man asked in a nasal tone, ignoring Amber's scream. Amber's mouth worked uselessly, muted by shock. She settled for staring at the man, drinking in his appearance. He was nearly a head taller than her, with most of his height being given by a pair of unusually long legs. He wore a pair of rumpled maple brown slacks, with a matching colored polo shirt. Amber's eyes flicked to a small sleigh shaped logo near the pocket of his polo, then up to his face. His round chin was littered with the wispy remains of a goatee, and his crooked nose was a deep, angry scarlet. As Amber looked at his light blonde bowl cut, she managed to make a squeak of shock. Foot long pointy ears were jutting out from either side of his head.

Amber almost asked who are you?? Yet the longer she looked at him, the more tiny details she noticed, such as the slight tremor in his long fingered hands, or the crumpled handkerchief he had stuffed in the pocket of his polo. His emerald green eyes were lined with fatigue, and he seemed to be swaying on his feet. Finally, she found her voice, and she forced out, "uh-um, are you okay?"

The man ignored her question. "Are you Miss Amber Mayhew?" He inquired once more.

"Yes...?" Amber replied.

"Excellent," the man said curtly. "I am here to inform you that I... I..." his face screwed up, and he plunged a hand into his shirt pocket. He whipped out the long handkerchief, which matched his eyes perfectly, and raised it to his nose. "I- ahh-CHOOO!"

Amber jumped as the man sneezed into the handkerchief with the force of a tiny firecracker. He moaned piteously, rubbed at his nose furiously, then lowered the handkerchief. "Sorry," he grumbled.

"Are you okay?" Amber pressed with concern.

The man waved away her worry. "Just a head cold," he said with a sniffle. "Now, then... Miss Mayhew, I'm here to inform you that you are to be granted one Christmas wish, on behalf of the Elves LLC. of the Greater North Pole."

Amber stared at him. "Wish... elves?" She stammered. She looked at his pointy ears. "Are you an...?"

"Elf?" The man said wearily. "Yup." He stuck out a hand. "Name's Tom." He pumped Amber's arm three times, then said, "alright, we're on the clock here, so let's get to wishing. What'll we have?"

Amber wrenched her arm free. "I'm still stuck on the bit where elves exist," she said faintly. "And the North Pole thing. Do you work for-"

"Santa Claus?" Tom finished her sentence again. "Yup. He's my boss. And if I don't get another..." he looked to the seeing, apparently thinking quickly, "... four hundred and eleven wishes granted by the end of the night, he'll be all over my sorry a... my sorry ahhhh... ahh-CHOO!" He sneezed violently into the handkerchief once more. "My sorry ass," he finished, dabbing his nose.

"That's crazy!" Amber said in disbelief. "How are you supposed to get all of that done by yourself?"

"Oh, there are hundreds of other elves," Tom replied. "But we have thousands of Christmas wishes to grant. If we don't hit our quota, that's bad news for us. So, in the interest of keeping my job..."

"But you're sick! And clearly exhausted!" Amber protested.

Tom laughed hollowly. "I was scheduled to work tonight, and so tonight I work. When else are we supposed to grant Christmas wishes? Boxing Day?"

Amber pointed to her dining room table. "Sit," she ordered. When Tom opened his mouth to argue, she quickly said, "sit or I won't decide on my wish until midnight. You need a break! You're dead on your feet." With no small amount of grumbling under his breath, Tom sat down. Amber opened a cupboard back up and pulled out another mug. By now, the water in the tea kettle was quite hot, and she busied herself with preparing two mugs of cocoa. "Eat some cookies," she called over her shoulder.

"No eating on the clock," Tom replied.

Amber sighed. "Eat a damn cookie. You need energy for this hellish night you've been saddled with."

"But these are special cookies," Tom said slyly, "Maddie Andersen's favorites, lovingly prepared as a Christmas treat for her by you."

Amber finished brewing the hot cocoa and turned. She marched over to the table and placed a mug in front of Tom. "I don't know how you know all that," she said, "but Maddie doesn't need all thirty five peanut butter cookies. Eat, and drink." She sat down opposite Tom and sipped her own cocoa.

Tom begrudgingly picked up a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth. "Thanks," he muttered. "This is pretty good."

As Tom reached for another cookie, Amber said, "so... are you serious about the wish?"

"Yup," Tom said through a mouthful of Hershey's kiss and sugar.

"So... can I wish for whatever you want?" Amber's stomach felt strangely fluttery.

"As long as it won't harm others," Tom replied. "But that doesn't really seem like your vibe." He took a big gulp of hot cocoa. "I needed that. So anyways, what're we wishing for?"

"So it's magic?" Amber pressed. "Like, magic is real and can be used for this?"

"Yes!" Tom groaned. "Please just wish so I don't lose my job!"

I can wish for anything! Amber's thoughts raced. I can wish for enough money for us to move to a nicer place! I can wish away Maddie's dysphoria! I can- another wintry draft rolled through the kitchen. Amber shivered horribly. "I r-really wish I could stop feeling so c-cold," she said through chattering teeth.

"Done!" Tom said, snapping his fingers.

"What!" Amber cried. "No! I said that reflexively! It's a figure of speech!"

"You wished for something, and so I had to provide it," Tom explained. "It's part of my employment contract."

"Refund the wish!" Amber snapped. "I wish for Maddie to never feel dysphoria again!"

"I'm sorry," Tom said, and he looked like he meant it. "The wish is made. It can't be refunded or taken back. But on the bright side, Maddie is going to love your wish."

"What the Hell does that mean?" Amber raged. "This is some stereotypical trickster genie, monkey's paw bullshit!"

"Hey, now," Tom said defensively. "I'm no trickster. And actually, since you were kind to me and all with the food, I gamed the system a bit and upgraded your wish."

Amber shot to her feet and ran to the living room. She placed a hand on the cast iron radiator, which was still stone cold, and marched back to the kitchen. "What do you mean, u-upgraded my wish?" She demanded. "You didn't even fix the radiator, and I'm s-still freezing!"

"Give it a second," Tom said casually. He took another gulp of hot cocoa and stared out into the living room. "Nice tree," he remarked, nodding towards the Christmas tree. "Trans flag colors, right? I've got a buddy who'd love that idea."

"Thank you...?" Amber said, nonplussed by his cavalier attitude. She sighed. "Sorry for yelling," she said, her face going red. "It's not your fault, Tom. You don't need me being a bitch to you on top of your shitty boss." She reached down for her mug of cocoa.

"Actually, this is the best stop I've had on the job in a while," he said with a smile. "I really did need a break. I probably would've collapsed after another dozen stops or so without it." He popped another cookie in his mouth. "Ah, there we go. Your wish is finally kicking in." He nodded towards Amber's hand.

Amber looked down at her hand, and dropped her mug in shock. Cocoa splashed all over the floor, but miraculously, the mug didn't shatter. "What the Hell?" She whispered. The skin on her hand had turned a dark grey. The dark grey color began to spread, moving up her arms. Her heart thundering in her chest, she looked up at Tom and demanded, "what did you do to me?"

Tom shrugged. "You wished to not be so cold. I figured that fixing your radiator would be a pretty lame way to grant it, so I came up with another solution."

"Oh, how silly of me," Amber said, her eyes wide with panic. Her whole body felt strange. She wrenched her right pant leg up to the knee and stared at her calf. The whole calf was now the same stone grey color as her arm. "So naturally, you've decided to turn my skin grey. That's going to be an excellent help in staying warm!"

"Well, dark colors absorb sunlight better," Tom said. "That's why black clothes get so hot during the summer."

"Of course!" Amber cried hysterically. She peeked down the color of her shirt. Her entire body now seemed to have grey skin. "I'll make sure to install skylights in here! Maybe that can be my wish for next Christmas!"

"Hey, there's no need to be so sarcastic," Tom said. "I know this probably seems a bit strange..."

"Just a little," Amber seethed. "So what exactly is happening to me-eee?" She clapped a hand over her mouth. Her voice had suddenly become higher pitched, rather weak and tremulous. Her hand slowly fell away, quivering. "What was that?" She whispered.

"I believe that you humans call it a bleat," Tom said. Two more cookies disappeared into a mouth.

"A... bleat?" Amber gasped weakly. "Why did I-ohhhh..."

A feeling of trickling warmth was spreading up her neck. The warmth moved into her cheeks, seeping up to the crown of her head. Her ears seemed to be the warmest, and she raised her quivering hands to them. Her eyes widened as her fingers brushed against something thin and velvety. She grabbed one of the velvety "somethings" and tried to pull it under her nose for inspection.

"Ow!" She gasped as she felt a pain blooming in the side of her head.

"Careful!" Tom admonished her. "Are you trying to rip your ears off?"

My... ears?

Before Amber could process that, she felt the trickling warmth gather in her nose. Her attention snapped to her face, which was slowly extending outwards. Her nose widened, becoming flatter and rounder. Amber felt an odd scratching in her mouth, as if her teeth were dulling, moving, changing...

Before her eyes, Amber's face had pushed out into a short muzzle, almost entirely grey except for her nose, which had lightened to a bubblegum pink hue. Amber sniffed her new nose experimentally, and gasped as she was assailed by a barrage of new scents. The heady scent of pine needles filled her nostrils, as if she was standing right next to the Christmas tree. She could clearly detect the peanut butter she had baked into the Christmas cookies. She felt as if she could detect, interpret, and catalogue the scent of every object in the apartment without moving.

As she sniffed the air wondrously, amazed at the sensitivity of her new nose, she realized that she could hear things as well. Things she had never been able to hear before, like the footsteps of passersby on the sidewalk outside her apartment, three stories below. She could hear her next door neighbors, separated my several ways, playing soft Christmas music as clearly as if it was in her own living room. Hidden behind the music, she could hear muffled gasps and cries of passion, along with a low electric hum. Her cheeks reddening, she looked back at Tom once more.

"Are you turning me into an... aaa-aaanimal?" She bleated. To her surprise, she wasn't upset by her bleating, or by the transformation. In fact, Amber thought wildly, this is kind of cool!

Tom raised a hand and waved it half heartedly. "Sort of," he explained. "More like an anthropomorphic half woman, half animal."

Amber felt a sudden pressure in her feet, as if they were swelling. She kicked off her moccasins, and watched with wide eyes as her feet transformed. Her toes were shrinking, retreating back into the main parts of her feet. The feet in turn were rounding, smoothing out, their grey skin becoming black and hard. A small cleft plot down the center of either foot. Amber tried to flex her feet, and found that she no longer could. She pawed at the kitchen floor gently, eliciting a soft scraping noise.

"H-hooves?" She wondered aloud, her new teeth chattering. "I'll admit, the hooves and the upgraded ears and the sense of smell and aaa-all is cool..." she trailed off as her calves began to slim, extending, an odd bend developing several inches above her hooves. Her lower legs bent back slightly, giving her a new center of balance. "...B-but I thought this was about granting my wish to stay w-warm?" She shot Tom an inquisitive look. "What sort of animal am I turning into, anyway?"

Tom chuckled. "I thought it was obvious by now." He nodded at Amber's arms and took another gulp of cocoa.

Amber looked down in time to see white hairs poking out of the grey skin on her forearms. Fascinated, she watched as the hairs lengthened, spilling out, rapidly joining with other hairs to create long, curly clumps of hair. Or is it... fur? She wondered. All across her body, she could feel the white fur pushing its way out of her skin. A tuft of curly, creamy white fur pushed its way over the collar of her sweater. The fur was impressively thick, and Amber felt as if she had gained several pounds. She could see more hairs poking out from under the hems of her pants. The fur traveled up here neck, wrapping around the sides of her head and framing her new muzzle in a fluffy white hood. Her hair felt itchy at the roots, and she grabbed one of her waist long locks in alarm.