Espin looked down at his contract. The raccoonfolk had worked for a variety of families over the years, having got his start as a Riveteer before eventually having a brief stint with the Cabaretti and a long time with the Obscura. After years of service, Espin decided to go freelance, which was a bit of an awkward position for many. Freelancers didn't have a reason to skip out on a contract, but in the same vein, there wasn't anything keeping them loyal. As such, some were trusted, while others were a last resort for families that didn't want to involve any of their members. 

Espin had agreed to help an old friend named Maria he had in the Obscura to get back at a member of the Brokers who had done her wrong, an aven by the name of Loruan. He had locked him into a contract that would lead to Maria to make some powerful enemies within the Maestros, something she wanted to avoid. But if Loruan was out of the picture, she wouldn't have to pay up on that debt. 

And that's where Espin came in. While he worked for the Obscura proper, he had taken a fascination in polymorph magic - a specialty of the Obscura and something that the other families didn't practice. It was Maria who help Espin to master the magic, and in all his years, he became an expert in it. It was especially helpful in his freelancing, as the people who could use polymorph magic were few and far in between on New Capenna and practically only in the Obscura so other families couldn't make use of it. It was among the most powerful kind of magic on the plane, after all, what could a simple bird do? Chirp at someone? Not even aven could understand them! As such, polymorphists were in high demand in the freelancing scene. 

In this case, Espin's job was to take care of Loruan as quietly as possible without causing any kind of mess - something the raccoonfolk could easily do. That was the beauty of transmutation magic, there weren't bodies that had to be cleaned up. Granted, actually getting to Loruan would be the hard part. He was a higher ranking Brokers official, so he'd be more protected than more lowly members. 

The raccoonfolk's first step would be gaining access to the new Park Heights. After literally getting blown out of the sky, that was much harder to do unless you were an aven that could easily fly up there. Brokers had easy access, something that Espin never was and never wanted to be in the first place. Those stuck up lawyers, care more about their pockets than actually doing anything of value. 

Espin didn't have any connections in the Brokers he could hitch a ride into Park Heights with. That meant he was flying solo. And unfortunately, that would be literally. The raccoonfolk looked up at the towering buildings, with the only way up an exclusive elevator reserved for those doing business with the Brokers - and those needed special invitations. That was out of the picture, so there was only one option. He'd have to fly up there. As he was now, that would be impossible, he was going to have to change that. 

He had to turn himself into a regular bird, couldn't have the dignity of at least being an aven. That would raise alarm bells, but no one paid a regular bird any mind. When you transformed yourself into something anthropomorphic in some way, it was easy to keep your mind in tact. With an animal? Much harder. The instincts took a lot of concentration to ignore, and if you ever fell to them, that'd be the end of your old body forever, reduced to a simple animal for the rest of your days. 

Espin had only done it once, and if it wasn't for Maria keeping an eye on him, he'd be off as a sewer rat right now. It wasn't a long time he'd have to be a bird, so it would be slightly easier, but the danger was still very much real. 

It was now or never, and never wasn't exactly an option for Espin. With a deep breath, he focused his magic on himself, feeling his body shrinking drastically as his fingers all merged together, feathers forming on the underside of his arms. His fluffy ringtail was reduced to a flat ruffle of tailfeathers, with his paws turning into talons. Espin's muzzle hardened into a long beak, with the fur now light blue feathers with white markings and wings, the former raccoonfolk now a blue jay. 

"Here goes nothing..." Espin thought to himself as he took up into the sky towards Park Heights. The feeling of the wind against his feathers felt freeing, and those blue jay instincts made him want to just be taken by the breeze and let it guide him. Luckily, Espin was able to shove those instincts down, keeping his mission at the front of his mind to overpower his animal instincts. 

Espin made it to the back of Park Heights where there was no security, and once he made landfall, Espin used more of his magic to slowly grow back into his normal body. While staying a bird would make this mission a LOT easier, it would also make it much more dangerous. If someone tried to chase him out, the bird mind was sure to take over. He'd rather be in danger in his normal body instead of in danger of losing his body forever! 

The raccoonfolk-turned bird would stand up once more on two legs, losing his wings and feathers with his original fur and size returning to him as Espin reverted back to his normal raccoonfolk self. He was clothed when he turned back to his usual self, something that took a while to get the hang of, and multiple embarrassing training sessions to master. The easy part was over - now Espin had to reach Loruan without getting captured himself. The Brokers weren't exactly light on this kind of thing, although it was much better than getting captured by the Maestros. Espin shuddered at the thought. There was a reason he was given this job to keep Maria safe from them! 

Sometimes the height of a raccoonfolk made things harder, but when it came to sneaking around, it was perfect to stay out of sight and keep his paws light to avoid detection. He crawled on all fours, something that was often demeaning to raccoonfolk, walking around like a feral animal. But they had the height for it and it only made sense in this scenario to do that! 

Espin scurried from cover to cover, crouching behind the various planters and corners while Brokers agents passed by. Luckily for Espin, no one noticed him, and that made it easy for him to make his way into Loruan's chambers without any interruption. He didn't have a lot of magic energy in reserve, and had to save it for the big man himself. Loruan wasn't a high-ranking Brokers officer, but high enough in the family to have his own office. Far from a grunt, but far from being in a meeting with Falco Spara. 

"Scurrying in like an animal? Do have some dignity." Loruan spoke from behind his desk, hardly looking up from the paper on his desk. 

"Much easier than coming in the hard way." Espin answered, pushing himself up. 

"You could have just scheduled a meeting with me." the aven looked Espin up and down. "Though, I have no interest in hiring a freelancer. If this stunt was meant to impress me, you've failed. 

"Not quite why I'm here." Espin walked over to his desk. "I'm here on behalf of a friend, Maria. Nice cephalid girl. You have her locked in a contract that would make some powerful enemies, and I can't be letting that happen." 

"How sweet of you but as long as I'm here that contract is staying bound." Loruan looked into Espin's eyes coldly. "I suggest you leave before things get very bad for you freelancer." 

"Can't do that to my client. She taught me a thing or two to make it in the freelancer business. Didn't scam my way up like you Brokers do." 

"You don't know a thing about what being in a family means." Loruan scoffed. "But you know, maybe you should. It'll give you some new perspectives. The Cabaretti have been looking for new dancers, bringing them a new dancer with a bright future would do good for our relations with them. Thank you for volunteering." 

"I ain't gonna look good in a dress looking like this." Espin motioned to his body. "That ain't happening, but you're going to rip up that contract before I bring you to the Cabaretti. I do think they'd love someone new in their ranks for parties. Thanks for the idea, makes my job easier." 

"Agreement is sometimes all you need for a contract." the aven grew a smirk across his beak as he stood up. "Thank you for doing so." he snapped his fingers, revealing a contract where Espin's name magically signed on the bottom before he rolled it up and placed it on the desk. "Now then, I get to sit back and enjoy the show." he crossed his arms and leaned on his desk as Espin transformed before his eyes - a transformation that the polymorphist didn't trigger himself! 

The raccoon's fur was becoming much rougher to the touch as its light brown colorations were all primarily transferring into a bright, white colors as it transitioned into feathers. These feathers replaced nearly all of his fur, with it completely overtaking his head, arms, and torso. The fluffiness of Espin's tail was lost in favor of layered and flat tailfeathers that were only a few inches long. 

The one place feathers didn't form would be at Espin's legs downward and his muzzle. For his snout, it hardened, revealing a bright yellow beak underneath it. His nose was practically all gone now, reduced to simple nostrils close to the tip of it. The upper half hung over the down in a downward shape, much of his teeth now erased from his new beak. As for Espin's legs, they were bright and yellow like his new beak, but had thin lines that could be made out that made it look like it had segments. The digits of his paws spread out, with one going all the way to his heel as they became curved. The claws on them became sharper and more pronounced as they became avian talons. 

At Espin's head, his large ears slowly shrank until they became buried underneath his feathers, being reduced to simple holes that despite barely being visible, were still able to hear. Behind Espin, he would gain an entirely new appendage - two in fact. They were about as large as his torso and covered with light brown feathers, muscles in them strong enough for Espin to fly his body around as he now had a set of wings on his backside. Espin's limbs began to grow substantially, causing his height to shoot up. The raccoon was only around four feet tall originally, but an extra two feet formed onto his body and left the raccoonfolk was a white-feathered aven that resembled an eagle. 

The changes didn't just end with Espin's species, however. Espin's shoulders slimmed down, as would his arms noticeably so until they were sleek and slender. The overall size of his hands was smaller, with each finger thinner and longer. There was a large indent that formed into the new aven's back to leave a deep arch there. Similarly, he would have his sides push inward. This was complimented with the widening of his hips and swelling of his rear. Espin's thoughts widened as would his calves, his legs becoming curvy and completing Espin's new hourglass figure. 

Espin's facial features softened, with his eyelashes increasing in size and becoming more noticeable on his face. On the contrary, the thickness of his eyebrows were lost and became pencil-thin. The lump in Espin's throat shrank substantially, causing his voice to drastically rise up in pitch to give it a soft, feminine soprano to match his new face and figure. 

At Espin's chest, two lumps amassed underneath his feathers, rapidly growing as both weight and sensitivity formed onto them. This ultimately left Espin with an ample bosom residing at his chest. Between his legs, Espin's manhood was reduced to nothingness, leaving only a flat opening behind as internally more major changes were happening, the workings of the opposite sex replacing what was just lost. With that, Espin was a raccoonfolk man no longer, but an even woman. 

Espin's new body would be given a drastically different outfit. His coat would come off of his body and wrap around his neck, the material turning into feathers while the coloration turned white, shifting into a feather boa that hung over his shoulder and wrapped around parts of his arms. As for the rest of the outfit, it became one garment that was black, with the legs merging together and forming into a skirt. At one side of it, a deep slit that reached all the way up to Espin's hip formed to show off his legs. The collar lowered halfway down his chest and loosened while the sleeves were reduced to thin straps. This showed off a hefty bit of cleavage while the slit showed off his legs, the coloration turning primarily black with gold accents near the chest. Extra accessories formed on Espin's body, primarily in the way of a silver necklace hanging loosely around the neck and dipping into the cleavage, along with silver bracelets on each of his arms. 

"There. Perfect. No more freelancing. Now you can follow your passion of entertaining, am I right Elanor~?" Loruan smirked. 

"That I can! I always dreamed of workin' for the Cabaretti! They got the best parties in all of New Capenna! Well, they will once I'm with 'em!" Espin, or rather, Elanor answered with confidence in her voice. 

"I find that hard to deny." Loruan laughed. He wasn't expecting this spell to work so efficiently! This new aven had no idea that she used to be a raccoonfolk guy just moments ago! 

"Thank ya' for setting all of this up, hun'!" Elanor cheered. "It's hard ta' get yer feet in tha' door. If signin' a contract with you Brokers lot that's fine by me if it means I get ta' be the star I deserve ta' be!" 

"It's what we do. Us Brokers have good relations with the Cabaretti. Handing them a new entertainer as fiery as you is only going to make that better!" 

"Sounds like we both win then..." Elanor trailed off, slowly sauntering over to Loruan, making sure to sway her hips wider than average to draw attention to herself. "But you're not done winning yet handsome~!" she cooed. "How about a private show before I go public as a thanks~?" she said, running a finger down Loruan's chest, licking her beak and staring into his eyes as she did so. 

"Who am I to say no to such a lovely offer?" Loruan smirked. This day just kept getting better! 

"Atta boy~! Now let's get the REAL fun goin'~!" Elanor put her arms around Loruan's neck, leaning in close to the point where their beaks were practically touching. "Before I go further, I do have to ask you just one thing sugar." Elanor said, her sultry voice never wavering. 

"What's that darlin'? If you want to do more after this, the answer is yes!" Loruan gave a hearty chuckle. 

"Nothin' like that doll." Elanor giggled, bringing the back of her hand up to her beak before going serious. "Did you REALLY think that was going to work?" 

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Loruan stammered out, the tone of Elanor's voice made her sound like a different person. Wait...

"I havtta admit, being a gal just ain't for me! 'Specially if I gots to talk like 'dis!" Elanor, or rather, Espin said, the former raccoonfolk still mostly himself mentally. "But it was either talk with this 'ere accent, or give inta' that mind permanently. The Cabaretti ain't for this dame!"

"That's impossible!" Loruan insisted. "There's no loophole in my contacts! Your mind should be erased!" 

"Maybe ya' not as good as this as ya' think!" Espin taunted. "And it was oh so easy to get my fingers on 'ya! I do like tha' idea of turning someone in as a gift. After the stunt ya' pulled, you'll be must betta' off in a Maestros gallery as a permanent exhibit! See ya doll~!" he gave a wave of his fingers before flicking it upward. 

Suddenly, the aven's body rolled up from his feet all too quickly. Loruan starting to fold in on himself quite literally. 

"Wh-what are you doing!? You can't do this! The Brokers will avenge me! Fix me! And make you rue this day!" 

"Please hun, ya' barely anywhere in tha' family. Ain't no one is gonna miss ya'!" Espin winked. "I wouldn't havta be so harsh, but afta' the stunts you been pullin'? I say it's justified sweetheart!" 

Before Loruan could curse Espin out, the entirety of his form was rolled up, being converted into slightly yellow-tinted paper with Loruan's form reduced to nothing more than paint on it, a stoic aven sat behind a desk in his Brokers attire signing a contract. One that would keep Loruan as a simple painting. If there was one thing a Brokers would never break, it was a contract they signed! And with Loruan out of the picture (metaphorically, anyway), Maria would be freed from her contract. 

Espin sauntered over to the new picture of the aven man, rolling it up and tying a knot around it. "Done 'n done!" 

*****

"Mission accomplished." Espin said, tossing the painting on Maria's counter. 

"Thanks, I...I...pft...HAHAHA!" Maria tried to hold it together, but seeing Espin like THIS was something that was just too funny! 

"Yeah yeah, get yer' laughs out while ya' can." Espin rolled his eyes. "I ain't stayin' like this! Soon as my magic reserve is back it's backta' my normal self." 

"Awww, come on! You look cute like that! A dress really suits you!" Maria said through her laughter, teasing her friend. 

"It's only gonna be fer a few days! Mentally magic is a 'ell of a hard time 'ta hold back. Why I'm still talkin' like 'dis! Havtta wait for the rune 'ta wear off that Loruan made." 

"That's enough time to pick out some new clothes for you! I always wanted a girlfriend to go shopping with! And I know for a fact you have money to buy some new clothes!" 

"I ain't need new clothes! I ain't staying this way!" Espin stomped his foot, which was only met with more laughter. 

"Aw man, with that voice you do not sound threatening at ALL!" the cephalid wiped the tears from her eyes from all the laughter. "Come, just onnnne makeover! As a thank you! Then we'll go to a bar and have a good time!" 

Espin thought for a few moments. For now, he was stuck like this until he could let his magical guard down when he knew Loruan's magic fully faded along with the aven himself. Until then, may as well have fun with it! Especially being taller than Maria for once, looking down at her rather than craning his neck up just to make eye contact with her. 

"On 'un condition. Yer' buyin' the halo!"