starlightcafe | New, and a bit alarming, who'd have ever thought that this could be?

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New, and a bit alarming, who'd have ever thought that this could be?

Lexi's first crush had come when she was about eleven, and had ended before she was twelve. Webby's interest in her and her family, though unnerving, had been flattering - and she was nice to Lexi. That went a long way to a kid who'd barely had friends outside of family prior to that. But, ultimately, it had been a passing infatuation with someone who she wasn't suited for, and who wasn't suited for her.

There had been other people in her teenage years - crushes and relationships alike - with all kinds of people, and plenty of meaningless flirtations in addition to those. For a while, she'd thought that was what she'd been doing with Gobo - flirting harmlessly. It was certainly fun, but he was, well, Gobo. It clearly didn't mean anything.

Right? The thing was, she found herself thinking about Gobo a lot, even when they weren't together. Notable experiences left her eager to tell him, and she often wondered if he'd like this or that thing... He was becoming a big part of her life. That was still a bit scary to Lexi with anyone, but in this case? Doubly so.

At least she knew who to go to when it came to any sort of strange thing like this. And she knew Louie was in town for a bit, so off to Donald's place she headed.

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Gobo took the device first, looking it over. It seemed like a squat pair of metal scales, though one side was a claw-like form made to hold the enchantable object, empty at the moment. The other side was like a normal weighing tray but more conical in shape and turned up on its side, wide end facing out. He could almost imagine something flowing in through that and to the object that'd wait on the other side. All along its antique surface were runes he couldn't even begin to decipher, and as he held its weight he seemed to really feel it. Magic had always seemed a vague part of his life, though it wasn't until recently that he had started actively taking part in it, and seeking it out. Everything was magic when you saw it that way, but then some things were.... Magic. Capital M. And this was one of those.

Handing the object to Lexi, he looked up at her. "I think we should do it."

She took the device, weighing it a bit in her hands and inspecting it briefly. "Copper-heavy brass, with a zirconium inlay, and a high-quality silver," she observed, smiling at Louie. "If what you do didn't sound so exhausting, you'd have yourself a business partner."

That established, she crouched down closer to Gobo. "If you're sure. I mean, I definitely want to."

Edited 2020-01-22 13:19 (UTC)

"I definitely want to, too." He smiled at her, putting his hands over hers where they rested around the device. Behind him, his tail waved back and forth.

"Imagining you as a Fraggle is my second favorite thing about today."

She smiled softly, and gave him a quick kiss. Of all the sweet things-

"Then we're doing it."

He smiled just to see that, then leaned over a bit to lightly touch Lexi's shoulder, though it was Gobo he looked at.

"I just need to talk to her real quick, alright? Go ahead inside to the livingroom, we'll be in in a moment."

Once he was gone, he led Lexi a bit further away from the door just in case- Fraggle ears were sensitive, so who knows -and still waited a moment before he said anything. Still, his expression was neutral-positive, so it couldn't have been bad.

"I wanted to give you a heads up. This kind of transformation magic is a pretty close brother to what you've already got, with the merduck form and whatever else." No need to go into detail on that one, they both knew. "It won't give you any problems, but it might take just a bit longer for everything to really configure and fall into place, alright? And, like Bridge had sometimes, you... might get stuck as a Fraggle for a few days until it sorts itself out. Thought you should know before going into it."

Lexi watched him carefully, even with his expression not being negative, some of her older skepticism kicked in. When he'd said his piece, she considered the implications.

"Thanks for the heads-up, Louie. I'm still game. I... Don't mind being stuck as a Fraggle for a bit. I've dealt with weirder stuff. Bad-weird stuff. This is, you know, good-weird. And if things take a little longer to settle with this, that's okay, too." She smiled. "It'll be worth the wait."

He smiled, patting her shoulder and giving her a nudge toward the indoors.

"That's what I was hoping to hear. Now go make out with your new boyfriend while I clean up out here real quick and then go in myself. And I'll even knock on the wall to let you know I'm coming."

He winked, then laughed.

Lexi's expression went flat, and she slugged Louie on the arm.

"You suck, man," she said lightly - she wasn't really mad, of course. Louie was just like that. It was exasperating, but she was used to it.

Besides, she thought as she headed inside, it wasn't the worst idea he'd ever had... Although, considering one of the reasons why Louie had pulled her aside to bring that up...

Yeah, she probably needed to talk to Gobo about this.

He laughed again, and the 'crank' of his arm and rubbing the spot, as he walked over to his blanket, was exaggerated.

Though only just.

Gobo was waiting in the livingroom, comfortable on the couch with his feet resting together, and the bulk of his guitar in that space made. He was idly strumming the strings, and when Lexi appeared he looked up with a smile.

"Hey! Everything good?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Louie was just letting me know how it might go, but everything's good."

She took a seat beside him, leaning against him just a bit. "I wanted to talk to you about something, though. I never brought it up because, well, it's a personal thing! But..." She trailed off with a shrug. She still felt a bit bad, now, that she'd not mentioned it earlier.

Edited 2020-01-22 13:51 (UTC)

He returned the lean, blinking up at her in curiosity. Sensing something serious here, he stilled his hands and rested them on top of the guitar.

"Personal things are hard to bring up." Goodness knows he had one or two of his own... "If you don't wanna say it yet, you don't have to."

"Yeah?" She relaxed at that easy out being presented to her. She didn't want to overwhelm Gobo with information and new developments, anyway... If she was stuck as a Fraggle for a few days, they'd have plenty of time together that would offer chances to discuss it, anyway. "Thanks, Gobo. I will tell you - I promise - and it's not a bad thing."

She wasn't worried that Gobo - with his Fraggleish focus on a good sense of self - would have a problem with it. She was just worried he'd be confused.

He smiled and nodded lightly after a moment.

"Alright, I trust you. Take your time."

Hearing a thump from the other room he looked up curiously as Louie walked in a few moments later.

Walking into the room, he picked up the device and smiled.

"Alright, you guys ready to do this?"

While she didn't have a chance to respond to what Gobo had said, she did reach over for his hand as Louie entered the room, and smiled at him, then up at the other.

"Yup. Let's go for it."

He nodded and smiled, then gestured for the two of them to stand up. Moving so he was between and to the side of them, he held the device out in midair.

"Alright. A Fraggle's core magic is in their music. Gobo, start playing something, it doesn't have to be anything concrete yet. Just start noodling away on that guitar."

As Gobo, though somewhat perplexed, picked his guitar up and began strumming notes, Louie balanced the object in one hand and held his other over it. He moved his fingers, starting to cast the spell. The different runes lit up, reacting to Louie's magic and to the music filtering through, and slowly a soft light built around it. He shifted his hand, letting it drift up an inch or so from his hand, now floating in midair.

"Okay. Gobo, play whatever song sings up from your heart first, the magic will choose the one it needs. Lexi, hold your hands out right here," he gestured them to hover over where the soon-to-be charm was held in the claw, though without touching it, "good, just breathe and concentrate, it's got to read you too."

Lexi didn't hesitate to do as Louie instructed, her eyes closed so she could really focus her energy and thoughts. Even as she did so, though, she couldn't help the small but excited smile on her face.

Gobo watched in fascination for a few moments as the magic did its work. Engrossed in it he could hardly tell just when he started playing a definite song, at least not until he could feel energy moving through him. He drew in a long breath and closed his eyes, his fingers working on their own as they went through the music, the magic.

As he played, a gentle light faded into being around him, and soon swirled up from the floor and around him, bringing a light, buffeting wind with it. Though Gobo's guitar was one instrument, soon others filtered in and began playing with it, a mystical horn above all the others. It was only the melody, but he heard in his heart the words, seeming to surround him and fill the room as well, and wondered for a moment if the others could hear that too. The light gathered above him and spiraled into the conical receptacle, the runes shining as the magic fed through the device. The song continued playing, carrying the light along to the other side, where the charm soon lit up with a bright, colorful glow. Whether it was Louie's hands pushing Lexi's down or the moment pulling them in, they'd be drawn to cup the charm like one catches a butterfly, tender but complete all in one. It wasn't long into the contact that the shine intensified, starting to feed down her body with warmth and buoyancy, all while the song continued to play...

The music was beautiful, and instantly had Lexi entranced... Then, after
a moment - and though Gobo didn't so much as open his mouth - she heard; she felt words, and more instruments, all of which left her feeling awed, but also... Comforted.

When she took the charm gently in her hands, the music seemed to intensify, at least for her, and that could have been the source of the warmth just as much the charm's magic, she felt, though she supposed they were quite connected.

There wasn't much chance to ponder it as she felt something in the pit of her stomach twist, a moment of discomfort as her body started to change shape and size... But a brief one only; it passed far quicker than the discomfort of her first merduck transformation. She could feel her feathers smooth down, almost melting away, it seemed, and then there was a cozy prickling as the fur took its place.

As the transformation continued, the view the other two would get would only be the faintest outline of Lexi's shifting body within a blinding light, until that brightness faded away and...

There she was, no longer a duck but a green-haired, orange-furred Fraggle. She kept her eyes shut even as the warmth and that general feeling of magic faded away, basking in what was left of the feeling.

The light and magic didn't so much die as simply pulled away, hands of its own releasing the butterfly back into the wild. Still it buzzed in the air as Louie caught the device, and as Gobo opened his eyes to look.

Whether Lexi had opened her own by then or not, the next thing she'd feel after the exhilaration of the transformation will be a bodily hug, as Gobo all but launched across the space and scooped her up in his arms. A joyous laugh went with that, words inadequate for now, and then he kissed her- and words weren't needed anyway, as he held her there with him.

She opened her eyes as she was hugged, not that she needed to to know who was hugging her, and who she was hugging in return. He was so happy, and honestly, so was she - just seeing him so delighted warmed her heart.

After the kiss ended - far too soon, no matter how long it had been - she leaned back to look at Gobo, her snout scrunching up in an amused way. "What do I look like?" she chuckled.

"You look like me!" A happy, bubbly sort of laugh. "You look like you! Hold on, hold on-"

"Full body mirror in my bedroom," Louie volunteered, and Gobo was off like a shot, tugging Lexi by the wrist. The excitement of the moment had infused him completely, coupling with the joy of the day overall. A girlfriend- a Fraggle form!- The promise of how much they could share now!

In Louie's room, he practically pushed Lexi up to the mirror so she could see her reflection, standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

Lexi laughed as well, letting herself be pulled along, even running to keep up. His joy was infectious.

Once in front of the mirror, she beamed. Being a merduck hadn't come with overall dramatic differences in appearance, not like this - and yes, just as much as then, she still saw herself. It was wonderful... And then her eyes wandered to the reflection of Gobo, and how excited and pleased he looked, and she whirled around to kiss him.

There was a surprised sound at that, but he kissed her back a moment later, wrapped his arms around her and spun her around once, taking advantage of the fact that now he could really interact, could get a proper embrace, could even pick her up if he wanted.

When he set her down and moved back, he put his hands on her shoulders again and looked her over.

"How is it? How do you feel?" It would be slightly incorrect to call it worry since it wasn't a negative feeling, but this Fraggle form would be so different from what she was used to- fur and fuzz, a completely different sort of body style, the long tail, and more. It must feel totally foreign, in a way he couldn't even guess at! He was wondering how she was holding up, but he was also intensely curious.

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