As their eyes met, he resisted the urge to look away from the new-found intensity of those yellow orbs, instead looking harder into them. The click he had felt just before the prompt appeared to notify him of the new form happened again, this time followed by a pricking sensation on the back of his neck. The Necrologist and the feline held the gaze and the tickling on his neck began to spread. Within seconds, his whole back was tingling, then his limbs. The sensation continued to spread over his head and to his front. When his whole body was consumed by the feeling, he began to feel himself changing. As much as he wanted to look down to see what was happening, he somehow knew to continue looking into Tarzan's eyes until, instead of looking down at her standing on the bed, he was looking up to her on the bed. Her penetrating eyes relaxed and she almost seemed to nod approvingly.
*About time...* said the cat, her enchanting voice echoing with sarcastic boredom in Garath's befuddled mind.
He looked down and saw two furry white paws, he felt the carpet below and awed at the comforting sensation of spreading his toes as he kneaded his sharp claws into it. Never in his life had he felt so sure of himself, so athletic and powerful. The muscles in his hind legs coiled as he prepared to leap onto the bed, tightening then releasing in a quick burst. He overshot his mark, flailing wildly in the air. As he began to descend, his body twisted and lurched instinctively to land on his feet.
"Meoooooowww," he meowed. Oh for fuck sake, he thought.
*Don't meow... do you really think that is how cats communicate? We meow to get the attention of humans, so they will feed us or clean our litter box or let us inside... or outside,* Tarzan explained, her entire tail flicking now with irritation.
*Tarzan?* he asked, projecting his thoughts outward.
*Now he's got it...*
*This is so weird,* he said.
Garath walked in tight circles on the bed in an attempt to get a better look at himself and noticed the lack of light was far less inhibiting to his new, feline eyes. From what he could see, his whole body was a smooth white and seemed miniscule standing next to the fluffy, black behemoth next to him. *Tarzan, you're huge.*
*I am not huge, G. I am a maine coon... and you aren't much bigger than a kitten.*
‘Seriously? I acquire the power to shape shift and my only form is a (probably adorable) white kitten. At least it’ll be fucking precious when I cast Death Bolt,’ he thought to himself. ‘Speaking of…’
*Do you know a way to get to the roof without having to go through the living room?* Garath asked his feline roommate.
*Of course I do. What do you think I do when you're gone all day?*
*Honestly? I assumed the same things you do when I'm here. Sleep and lick your...*
*Do you want me to show you or not?* she interrupted.
*Yes. I'm sorry, Tarzan.*
*Then follow me.*
Chapter 4
Preparation
Atop the apartment building's roof, the adorable white kitten skittered along in pursuit of the stronger and more agile Tarzan. The continual sheet of rain pouring down from the ominous, dark clouds above had chased the fluffy, black maine coon across the slick, white rooftop until she came to a stop below an awning leading to the stairwell, then turned to check on Garath.
‘Okay,’he thought. ‘Time to be a human again.’
He closed his eyes and fixed the image of his body as it was before the transformation in his mind. The pricking tingly sensation from his first transformation returned and spread quickly over his miniscule form, growing in intensity as his body transformed into his true form... TrueFormed? He opened his eyes and examined himself. Everything, including his clothing, was in its proper place.
‘Learned it!’ he thought to himself gleefully.
Before he started slinging spells around on the roof (for science!), it occurred to Garath to look over the stats listed on the Profile partition of his MENU. He willed the MENU open again and selected Profile. The image of Garath's avatar appeared once again on the semi-transparent panel occupying the left third of his vision. Seeing the staff and wide-brimmed wizard hat, the Necrologist remembered to equip his items - even if they weren't anything exciting, any gear was better than none.
'Equip Novice Necrologist Staff. Equip Novice Necrologist Cap.'
The gnarled, black staff appeared instantly in the grip of his right hand and the hat fit so comfortably around his head that he barely noticed it. Garath realised he hadn't checked the details of his hat and pulled it off to will more information from the item, then read the text that appeared in response.
Novice Necrologist Cap
Raiment Slot: Head
Armor: +7
Quality: Poor
Durability: 19/20
Item Score: 6
Type: Cloth Armor
Magic Resistance: 0%
Rarity: Common
+30 Maximum Mana
**A necessity for all novice Necrologists.
Item Requirements:
Level: 1
He re-equipped the silly hat then turned his attention back to the Profile partition of his MENU encompassing the right hand panel. He perused the list of information to the side of the holographic representation of himself.
Garath
Race: Human
Class: Necrologist
Level: 1
Age: 29
Health: 90/90
Stamina: 98/100
Mana: 90/90
Experience to next Level: 0/1000
Attributes
Vitality: 9
Wisdom: 9
Regeneration: 3
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Garath was more than a little disappointed that the Attributes in this system didn't display the hard numbers they represented. In fact, he had been similarly frustrated by the fact that every prompt and MENU option had the same lack of details. It was easy enough to see that each point of Vitality was
