[for Layla] Powers Plot

[howmanylives]

Mornings in the Hut of M ran along a series of predictable outcomes. Layla usually woke first, for example, followed by Richards, and then, finally, Jamie. Even on those days where he needed to wake up early, whether it be for a class or his rounds for the IPD, he tended to be the last to rise, though given the difficulties he often had falling

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[butterflyfactor]

Layla felt happy, in a floaty sort of way. She was warm and curled up and the world felt soft. Not bad.

And then someone jammed a nail into her ear.

She scowled and curled in more tightly on herself, burrowing into the silky fold of what felt vaguely like a mink stole.

"What the crap," she snapped, hands darting up to cover her ears. That weren't there. She stopped, going still, hand sliding up through her blond hair until they felt a totally different texture of hair. It was short and fine and soft and growing out of her new ears, which were roundish and sticking out of her head too high up and at a strange angle and way too far. Layla's body unfurled as she sat up, eyes extremely wide, and went rigid when she saw her tail.

"..." She looked at Jamie. Her lips seemed to work for the briefest of moments, and something there felt odd, too, before she eventually worked out a strangled, "What-"

[howmanylives]

Jamie's hands came up in an immediate show of both surrender and innocence.

"I don't know."

It was the truth, though he could he could make a few guesses. That the Island was behind the transformation, for example, was a no-brainer, though the underlying purpose remained, as ever, a mystery.

"It's temporary, though. It has to be."

[butterflyfactor]

"Am I a squirrel," she demanded, loudly, digging her heels into the mattress and trying to scoot herself away from her own tail. It didn't work.

"Jamie am I a @&*#$%! squirrel."

[howmanylives]

"No," said Jamie, but the answer was both too quick and an obvious lie. Giving comfort was not high on the list of things he excelled at, and while he'd improved, slightly, over the years, that improvement was hardly about to help him, now, particularly with Richards barking his head off, and Layla being a @&*#$%! squirrel.

"...yes."