Story by  AxiomTF - Zeydaan decides to spend the weekend with Axiom, only to find Ember's very much in the driver's seat.

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The day is a cold and grey one, with dark, ominous clouds hanging low in the sky above. Zeydaan makes their way down a country lane, tugging a suitcase behind them filled with a couple of changes in clothing, toiletries, and various other necessities one would need for a few days away from home. They’d recently gotten back from another thrilling escapade through the multiverse with the Hawkmoths. They had made arrangements around a fortnight ago to meet up with their friend, Axiom, at their place for a couple of days - mostly to just chill out, catch up, and watch some movies together. They’d been anticipating the meeting for a while now; given how hectic life had been as of late, doing something more simple and relaxing would surely prove to be a rejuvenating experience.
Axiom’s place was in a more secluded spot out in the countryside, but not far enough to be in the middle of nowhere either. As Zeydaan walks, they shoot over a text message to their human friend to inform them that they were around five minutes away - they had been a little concerned about the fact that he’d not responded to the last seven messages, though. Something of that nature was rather odd for them, though Zeydaan simply brushes it off.
It isn’t long before the wolf arrives at their destination, as they knock on the door and await to be let inside. Though as their furred knuckles collide with the front door, the sounds of clanging and crashing can be heard from within - like someone had knocked something over in shock, or was in a struggle of some sort. Heavy and quick footsteps follow this, before things go quiet… Zeydaan waits for a minute before knocking again. Nothing. They knock once more, and still… nothing.
”Axiom? Hello? Is everything okay in there?”
They call out, though no reply comes. Zeydaan begins to fear that an intruder may be inside their friend's home, as they give the door handle a quick jiggle - it’s locked. Though thankfully, they notice that the front window is open slightly. Wandering over, they find that it can be pried open just enough for them to slip inside… though what awaited them within was far from anything they could have anticipated.
Axiom’s living room has been… well, totally replaced. As soon as they pass through the threshold of the open window, Zeydaan’s senses are immediately assaulted by an atmosphere of rebellion and nonconformity - it’s as if the very air in here is charged with an anarchic energy. The faint smell of spilled ale lingers and stale cigarettes lingers in the air, with one still burning faintly in a makeshift ashtray on a nearby windowsill. The place is dim, with just the natural light coming through the drawn curtains and the TV light illuminating the room.
The majority of the furniture seems to have been salvaged from various sources, having no kind of unifying style of theme about them. A tattered leather couch sits against one wall, its once-vibrant upholstery now faded and frayed. The coffee table in the centre of the room is a weathered vintage trunk, adorned with stickers and band patches. Piles of well-worn books, zines, and magazines are scattered around - the titles cover a wide range of topics, from punk music and subculture, to political dissent and social activism. Nothing that was recognisable as Axiom’s place remained here apart from the general layout of the threadbare furnishings, and the physical shape of the room…
”Axiom!? Where are you? What's going on?”
“Y-You… you need to leave Zey.”
A voice calls out, sounding as if it’s emanating from the room over. It sounded nothing like Axiom… deep and feminine, with a rough quality to it, though Zeydaan had no idea who else it could be if they were aware of who they were just by the sound of their voice calling out. They walk through the room after having pulled their suitcase through the opening in the window and leaving it beside the wall, trying their best to avoid tripping over the various vinyl records and discarded packets on the floor as they peer around the corner, and into the kitchen.
Much like the living room, the lighting is dim here, with a single exposed light bulb hanging from a frayed wire above an island countertop. Its harsh glow casts stark shadows on the worn linoleum floor and reflects off the chipped metal countertops, flickering occasionally. Unwashed dishes and glasses clutter the sink, with a couple of kitchen’s cupboard doors hanging off loose from their hinges. However, all of this wasn’t what drew the undivided attention of the wolf… instead, that would be the raptor woman on the other side of the kitchen backed up against the wall. She wore a torn black tank top, the Ramones logo plastered upon it, with grey shorts and various studded bracelets around her muscular arms and legs.
“Just… stay over there okay? I… don’t want to change you as well.”
Zeydaan stops approaching them, standing around ten metres away from the dinosaur as they pause for a moment to gather their thoughts. Whilst it was hardly unusual for them to encounter this sort of thing in their day to day life, it was a rare occurrence to come upon anomalies such as this whilst at home, and not out exploring the multiverses.
”Who are you? Where’s Axiom?”
“Listen… I know this is going to sound crazy… oh, who am I kidding. Knowing the kind of shit you get up to with your mates this is probably just a regular Tuesday for you. It’s me… at least, I think that was me? Axiom? I can’t seem to keep my old name in my head… Ember just replaces it every time.”
”Ember? How… how did this happen?”
”I mean, I can’t really provide the scientific reason - that’s the job of your egghead doctor friend to figure out. All I know is that I was out at a club a few days back and… this happened to me. I can’t go anywhere without changing things… other people… and I can’t do anything about it.”
”Okay… okay then… well, just don’t worry, okay? I’m sure that we can take you over to Mailor and get you sorted out. I’ve seen plenty of transformative curses like this, and been under the effect of a dozen too - as you well know! Just stay calm…”
Zeydaan tries to reassure Ember, as they start to approach once more, though at a slower pace this time. The energy that they’d felt when first entering the house was considerably stronger here - they could feel it reverberating within their very being, intensifying as they drew closer and closer to Ember…
”Hey! You heard me, right!? Stop getting closer! I dunno know much about this… this t-thing that’s happening to me, but what I do know is that shit changes quicker and stronger when it’s closer to me.”
“It’s alright, just relax. I mean, I’ve gotta get closer anyways if I’m gonna take you an- AGH!!”
The wolf yaps, cupping their snout with both hands as a sharp, but brief pain is felt inside of their nostrils. Ember’s eyes widen in response, as they jolt forward before holding themselves back; it was their natural response to want to go over and help her friend, but she didn’t wish to risk the consequences of getting in closer proximity to them and just making things worse. Zeydaan moves their hands away as the pain subsides, only to find that a thin, metallic ring is now adorning their canine nose.
“Woah… heh, you look pretty sick with that in… now you only look a bit like a dork.”
“Ah… I see what you mean now, Axiom.”
“Axiom? Who’s Axiom?”
“What? That’s… oh, right. You can’t keep your old name in your head for very long… I suppose that I can just call you Ember until we change you back, rather than having to remind you of your own name every minute, heh~”
“Uh… well, since Ember’s my name, yeah I guess it’d make sense that you’d call me that, mate.”
Ember answers with a scoff, crossing her arms. Zeydaan decides to just ignore the remark, knowing that it was purely an effect of whatever curse was upon their friend right now. They think for a moment, deciding what would be the best course of action to take from this point.
“There’s just one issue… I don’t think that the team gets back home until around midday tomorrow, and I’m not too sure about just… leaving you here during that time. So, I think it’s best for now if I hang out here. And before you mention it, yes, I know I’ll undergo some changes. But it’s nothing Dr. Redford can’t fix, I’m sure! And besides… I don’t have breaks too often, and if you do as well, I wouldn’t mind hanging out still!”
Ember takes a moment to think, as she looks down at the floor, and then back up at Zeydaan - in that brief time alone, they’d gained a couple of extra piercings around their snout, along with a black choker around their neck which was adorned with sharp metal studs. This was only the beginning of their makeover should the wolf choose to remain here. Nevertheless, Ember could see that they had already committed to this plan, and even in their altered state of mind, they still wanted to chill out as well.
Pushing herself off from the wall she had been leaning against, Ember makes her way over to Zeydaan with a cool and confident stride. Being so close to her… that energy was almost suffocating to Zeydaan now, though it felt far from being an unpleasant sensation. Ember’s scaled, reptilian hand is placed upon Zeydaan’s shoulder, allowing them to feel some of her raw strength as she smiles down at them before giving a playful wink.
“Okay… well… if you’re insistent on staying… are you good to crash on my sofa tonight? I ain’t got another mattress.”
“Oh… yeah, that’s fine!”
“Mega. Now then… how about we get some tunes on? I gotta say that my taste in music has gotten considerably better in this form, and I’m sure you’ll come to appreciate it too over the rest of the day…”

Zeydaan slowly opens their heavy eyes, their whole body sapped of energy. Their vision is blurred - obstructed by something dark. They groan, pushing their lethargic body up a little before letting it crash back down onto the torn up leather beneath them. The texture of the leather reminds them that they’d dozed off on the living room sofa, with their face looking into its backrest.
“Hey - you up yet?”
They hear the now familiar voice of Ember asking, prompting them to shuffle around a little and spin their body to look outwards towards the open room. Ember grunts, sitting on her exercise bench whilst curling dumbbells; they give Zeydaan a quick glance, before returning their gaze back down to her biceps. Droplets of sweat ran down them, as she grunted softly with each rep.
“Ugh. What happened… I feel… hungover? I dunno… spaced out or something like that. I could use a glass of water, if you wouldn’t mind?”
“Heh… I guess hanging out with me just has that sort of effect. And yeah, no worries. Just sit tight, I’ll grab something for you whilst you’re still getting your bearings.”
Ember suggests, as she tosses the weight down onto the floor with a clunk, whilst she rises up and wanders over to the kitchen. Her footing is heavy, with those curved, sharp claws of hers occasionally catching against the wooden floor and scraping it. Meanwhile, Zeydaan sits themselves upright, wiping the sleep from their eyes only to find that there’s something… off about the fur there. Or more accurately, the lack of fur there.
A large gash can be felt around their left eye, running from their forehead down to their jawline, along with a few smaller but still prominent slices around their snout. This prompts the wolf to pick themselves up, as they wander away from the sofa and towards the window they’d clambered through the previous afternoon. They see themselves in the reflection… their resting expression seemed to have shifted into a slight scowl, as the gashes they’d felt moments ago could now be visualised in the form of prominent scaring across their face. Not only that, but they now wore a series of steel chains which hung loosely around their neck, with an enlarged black choker with shiny spiked lined around its circumference.
Their attention, however, is soon drawn to the suitcase they’d tugged along to Axiom's house. It remained in the place they’d left it, but it wasn’t the same - not by a country mile. The fabric had darkened to an ashy grey - frayed and torn around the corners, as if it'd not been handled with care and taken numerous bashes during its lifetime. They grab the case, noting that their nails have been painted black as they unzip it. Stray threads snag in the zipper, resulting in Zeydaan having to stop and dislodge them as they kept unzipping… this only added to their anticipation as to what had become of the belongings within. The case is opened at last, and what Zeydaan feared had seemingly come to pass in the night.
Once plain shirts had morphed into grungy, punk themed tank tops and overalls - it was hard to tell if they were dirty or just well-worn… or maybe both. It seemed as if nothing had been added or removed from their case, only updated and replaced with something that well-suited the cursed house.
“Oh, there you are. Thought you were gonna chill on the sofa for a while so I left your water over there.”
“How… how did this happen? What did you do to my shit!?”
Zeydaan cries out, turning to face the raptor with a vexed expression. Ember raises their brow in response to this, both due to the fact that they’d already explained their unique situation to Zeydaan and that they were hardly the type to use expletives when talking to others.
“Uh… you forgot that whole curse thing I explained to you last night? I recall you saying that you were cool with undergoin’ a few changes.”
“I… I… yeah, we need to get this sorted before it spirals out of control. My mates should be back at HQ now. C’mon, let’s go and fix this.”
Zeydaan affirms, grabbing their back and striding past Ember… only to be stopped by her clawed hand holding them back by the shoulder. They swat her hand away with a huff, continuing to pace as their mind is clouded by a newfound angst and temper that wasn’t there before.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
Ember responds in a very matter-of-fact tone, as she walks up to her friend with a scowl.