You stretch in the warm sun, reflecting on the pavement of the road in front of your small house. You'd done it, a fine long life of moderate success that had let you retreat to Florida to enjoy your golden years. Calling it that was, perhaps, a bit presumptuous. You were pretty sure you had plenty of years left in you! You weren't that old! Well, compared to some perhaps, but you were moving around without help and rubbing your only mildly wrinkled hands. You were practically a baby!

Okay, not a baby. You brushed a hand through your grey hair, interrupted by a chirping coming from your pocket. that was a joke you played on the world before, making a chirping bird your ringtone. It was like Twitter, but it chirped for you specifically. It was funny at the time. You dug out the phone and poked the answer button. You knew the name that had flashed on the screen.

"Nickey!" you called into it, "What's up?"

"Hey! You're not busy, are you? We're having a game over at my place." The voice was younger than you. You had never asked for his specific age. Was it any business of yours? He was early middle ages, you figured, with you being at the tail end of that.

"That depends on the game." You turned to look down the road as you talked. There weren't any cars driving on it, which was fairly normal. You lived in an out-of-the-way house, almost in the middle of nowhere. But so did he. You liked the company, and so did he. "What've you got in mind? Who else is showing?"

"Thom and Jannie are ready for it. Did you hear? Jan's back in town." A mutual female friend. "It's may, so I was thinking we hit up the Wars movie in a marathon while we shoot the shit."

"Fun enough, but not a game. You messing with me?" You turned back to your small house. One story tall, one bedroom, enough for you. "What's the game?"

"Well... While that's playing, I was thinking we could play some cards. A little distraction from the Serious Business. You in?"

Cards was a popular enough game. Usually, poker, but there were plenty of options. Your schedule had room in it. "Sure. When?"

"Tonight."

Tonight?! Usually he gave more warning than that. "Shit."

"Don't have to be fancy, just be there." And the phone went dead with the click of the ended call.

Dang it... Well, Nickey was usually a good host. He got good beer and he had a quality stereo and he was a nice guy overall. So... why not? You got on a jacket for later, when things cooled down, and you headed out. You could have gotten in your car, and you were tempted, but it was a party. You might not have been in the right condition to drive back, and he wasn't that far anyway.

A few minutes of hiking wouldn't hurt you! You were there in no time at all. He was about a block away, but this was a country block instead of a city block, so that still meant something. You rapped on the door with the back of your hand. Even if he was annoying, he was a true friend. He didn't have to invite you over, or cover your back, but he did both of those. He was a good guy!

You felt a soft warmth in your chest. Heart burn? You beat it lightly just before the door opened. "Nickey!" You met hand to hand, stepping into his cooler house. He had good central AC that beat the heat of the day handily. Another reason to enjoy visiting. "Who's already here?"

"You're the slow poke." He patted you on the back and kicked the door shut in almost the same motion. "He's here! The party can get really started." Another point in Nick's favor, he always made you feel like the special one, no matter how many people were around. Why he picked you, you weren't sure. Was a grandfather thing? You were old enough to be his dad, by your figuring, but you were old enough to be most people's dads, so that meant little.

You were overthinking it! It was party time, and you were ready for it.

With a clap of your hands, you greeted your friends and joined the festivities. There was no specific holiday other than Nick's call for one. You drank and ate snacks and you weren't a bad showing at the cards.

Some time later, you requested, "Be right back." Nature was calling, and she would leave a message if you tried to leave her to voice mail. You scurried to the bathroom as the room erupted into cheers at an exciting part of the movie. You clapped the door shut and got to business, but you weren't being left alone to do that.

Your body was tingling as thoughts of your friends refused to leave you. They were kind souls, Nick especially. They cared for you and thinking about that just couldn't be shaken as the warmth in your chest blossomed outwards, penetrating out in tingling waves that felt... almost kinda good, if one could throw off the fear that it was something awful. You tried to call out, but little more than a choked gasp escaped.

You remembered something that seemed entirely irrelevant. You were with Nick, at a water park. It was a fun day. He missed a high five and hit your nose instead. It wasn't a hard impact at all, barely a brush, really. He had laughed it off, and so had you, and there it was, in your mind again.

Ripping clothes reached your ears, the sound echoing off the walls as you collapsed forward. Your limbs were changing and the clothes couldn't keep up, especially your legs, rapidly becoming pony limbs as you stepped free of your pants, wagging your short but rapidly growing tail. "Help," you tried to call, but your voice felt so small. You had only a few choices at that point.

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