Friends Close, Enemies Closer (Patreon)

The storage room of the University of Visual Arts smelled of damp cardboard and old dust. Fluorescent lights flickered with an irritating hum, casting long shadows among shelves piled high with plaster casts, frames, and boxes labeled with works by students from previous years.

Tori wrinkled her feline nose in obvious displeasure. Having an animal's sense of smell was not an advantage in this situation.

"I can't believe they sent us together," she huffed, her pink tail twitching violently with irritation. "You could have done it by yourself; I'm sure you're better suited to these kinds of simple tasks."

Raven, leaning against a metal shelf, looked at her with her cold, calm, slitted eyes.

“It's ironic that someone like you would talk about simplicity,” she said sarcastically “And believe me, if you're bothered by being here with me, I assure you the feeling is mutual.”

Tori’s cat ears perked up proudly as she rummaged through a few boxes. Raven, tall and slender, with her long black hair falling like a smooth curtain to her waist and iridescent scales subtly marking her cheekbones, was scanned through a list.

"The professor requested antique anatomical models," Raven said in her typical flat tone. "They should be in section C."

“The section labeled “Anatomical Models”? Thanks for stating the obvious,” Tori replied and smoothed her perfectly styled pink hair.

"Sorry, I thought you couldn't read," Raven replied with a sarcastic smile. Tori just glared at her.

The two had been searching separately, scanning bins and shelves, but at one point turned simultaneously and their eyes landed right on the box containing the very things they were searching for. Both darted for it as quickly as they could, colliding with the other in the process.

"Hey, be more careful, lizard," Tori complained.

"Look who’s talking, you mangy cat," Raven replied. "Now let go of my arm."

“Let go? You're the one holding my arm,” said Tori.

They both looked down at their arms only for their jaws to drop open when they both realized that they were no longer two separate arms, but some strange blob of a fusion of the two.

"W-What...?" Tori tried to back away to no avail. Their arms couldn’t be separated anymore!

Slowly but steadily the strange blob fused further, pulling their bodies closer together.

"No, no, no! Let me go!" Tori tugged desperately. "You're sucking me in, you damn witch!"

Raven gritted her teeth. "Stop moving. I'm not absorbing you, we're merging."

"That can't be, we both already mutated," exclaimed Tori. "It must be a secondary mutation of yours."

“Me?! Why is it my fault? Could just as well be yorus!”

As they argued, their bodies continued to draw closer, causing both girls to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Their arms continued to merge until their shoulders collided. Their legs began to merge together the second they came in contact with each other, their pants and panties splitting and falling to the ground.

"Shit, we're screwed!" Tori gasped, tears welling in her almond-shaped eyes.

"Stop pulling, you're hurting us," Raven replied between tense breaths. "Listen... we need to take our clothes off."

Tori looked at her in horror. “You damn pervert, are you crazy?”

“If we keep going like this, the fabric will be inside when we finish fusing. Do you want polyester embedded inside you?”

“…I use fine cotton things, but of course you'd use polyester,” Tori protested. Still, the lizard had a point.

The girls undressed as best they could, have fused and with minimal use of their freshly fused parts. It was absolutely going to take some getting used to doing things together. And not just with anyone but with the lizard of all people. Why did it have to be her?

Their sides were already fusing as they came in contact, and the warmth of the other’s body was slowly spreading through the other. Anytime they tried to pull away from each other, a sharp pain shot through both of them and they cried out in unison. At least they could agree that caused a lot of pain.

“SHIT, that hurts” Tori said between sobs.

"I told you not to move!" Raven held her tightly. "Our organs and our bones are still mixing. Our ribs might even be embedded right now. If we make a wrong move, we could puncture an internal organ and die."

Tori, panting, rested her forehead against their shared shoulder. “Maybe… maybe that's better than being merged together.”

Tori heard the slap across her cheek echo through the cellar before she registered the pain from it. "Don't ever say that again," Raven demanded. She tried to hide it but there was fear in her own eyes.. "We may not like each other, and we may not know what we're going to be. But I refuse to die here. And if I don’t die then you can’t die." She lifted what remained of their fused arm for emphasis.

The pair fell into silence as each absorbed what was happening. The only sound in the cellar was that of the slurping of the merging flesh.

“I'm sorry, I just… got scared for a moment” Tori said eventually. “I didn't think you were so attached to life.”

“Just because I wear black and keep to myself?” Raven was truly surprised by Tori’s statement.

“Well, yeah. Always thought you just read horror novels and thought about death all day. You kind of come off like you’re annoyed by everyone. Kinda like you think you’re better than them.”

“Well, I do enjoy a good horror novel, but I don't dwell on death. But I don’t think I’m better than other people, nor do I find them annoying.”

"Not even me?" Tori asked defiantly.

“It's… it's different. I mean, yes… I admit that sometimes you can get on my nerves, but it's because you're loud and popular and perky.”

“You're describing me as a dumb idiot…” Tori protested, but a strange sensation beneath her skin interrupted her thoughts for a moment. “You always look at me and roll your eyes.”

Raven felt a little sheepish. She did do that. “I’m sorry. I just don’t see how anyone could be so perky all the time. But you also look at me like I’m the crazy one.”

“That's not it, it's just that… you're weird, you look like a sexy witch and are covered in mystery.”

“I'm not trying to be mysterious, it's just that I find it hard to talk to people.”

“So, is it because you're an introvert?”

“I am, yeah. But also people always avoided me. Even before I dressed like this. I guess I’m a little jealous of you because you seem to make friends so easily.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, breathing through pain as they lungs pushed together and began to merge. It forced them to recalibrate and synchronize their breathing as best as they could.

Tori cleared her throat, taking another breath. "Heh it’s not always easy. I fake it sometimes. Only those close to me can tell when I’m wearing a mask."

“Well, you’re really good at it, mask or no. I wish I could do that. Or at least that I was better at communicating how I feel.”

Their torsos began to fully merge. Their ribs aligned. Their hearts beat out of sync but then after a quick stutter it settled into a new rhythm once fully merged. Their breasts slid along their new merged torso, Raven’s on top and Tori’s just beneath them. Their arms followed a similar movement with Tori’s sliding just beneath Raven’s.

Their stomachs fused into one, causing them to burp rather loudly. After a moment of embarrassment they both dissolved into giggles.

Their waists narrowed and their hips widened. Each of their legs merged together into a new single pair of toned legs, while a new vagina formed in their new crotch. Their tails, behind them, also began to merge together into one.

“W-we should call someone” said Tori. She’d done her best to hide her fear up to this point but it was starting to get the better of her. “My phone must have fallen around here somewhere.”

"We gain nothing by doing that," Raven said. "We can’t really stop the fusion at this point.”

"Lucas…" murmured Tori, as her head moved until it was next to Raven's head.

"Lucas? What about him?" Raven asked, her voice trembling as she felt their necks begin to come together.

“I…told him I liked him yesterday. He wanted to a night to think about things since we’re such good friends and escalating things could jeopardize that. He was supposed to get back in touch with me today about it all.”

Raven chuckled and averted her eyes. “I envy you, ya know. Not just because you have such an easy time making friends. But I could never have told someone I like them. Especially Lucas. I do like him but I’m too afraid of rejection.”

Tori turned her gaze. "What? You like Lucas, too?"

“Yeah,” Raven said. “Though I never dared to speak to him. He’s so smart I was always intimidated by him.”

“And he's also hot and funny.”

“Yeah, he's definitely hot,” Raven smiled.

Their tender moment was interrupted when they felt a tug that made their heads bump lightly. Their cheeks began to soften where they touched, to blend together. The heat intensified.

"Well, looks like we won’t be a two headed woman. Our heads are merging, too," Tori said, trying to keep her composure.

Their lips were centimeters apart when they began to melt at the edges. The sensation was warm, intense, not painful.

Raven slid her two hands down their shared torso, sensually caressing it.

Tori shuddered “H-hey, what are you doing?”

“I once read that the final sensations before merging are what will predominate in the fusion. If we are terrified… she will be a frightened and anxious woman. If we are calm and relaxed, she will be, too.”

Their fingers traced the new skin, exploring the firmness of their muscles, the softness of the fur beginning to cover their merging tail, the contrast of the scales climbing their forearms. One of their hands moved toward their groin, searching for their new vagina. They ran a finger along their slit, making both girls moan with pleasure.

Tori took a deep breath. "Then... we'd better be okay. Think about Lucas, after all. Maybe we’ll both end up dating him.."

Tori also began to move her arms, touching their body with curiosity and growing acceptance of the powerful silhouette that was taking shape. The tension gave way to a strange complicity. A different kind of warmth. A shared emotion.

They closed their eyes as their skulls slowly melted together, blending their features into a new, curious amalgamation.

And they became one.

The skull expanded gently, rearranging memories, thoughts, emotions. Their hair exploded in a dual cascade: pink at the crown, turning black halfway down. It was still long and reached down to their shared narrow waist.

When the transformation was complete, an imposing figure took a deep breath in the middle of the cellar. The new girl tried to stand, clumsily at first, but quickly gained control of her new body. She stood in front of an old dusty full-length mirror in the corner of the cellar.

Tall. Toned. Four arms: two ending in elegant feline claws, two others with scales that shimmered in the dim light. Four harmonious breasts on a well toned torso. A lizard-like tail tipped with fine pink fur moved gracefully behind her.

Cat ears stood out from her two-toned hair. The edge of her face was decorated with iridescent scales.

She looked at her hands. She touched her face. She smiled.

“We are… incredible” she said to herself. “Or at least more beautiful than we had thought.”

The voice was a perfect fusion: Tori's haughtiness softened by Raven's depth.

She gathered the scattered clothes and, with improvised ingenuity, fashioned a form-fitting outfit that barely contained her new body: Tori's pink blouse on top, Raven's black stretch top paired with it. Raven's elastic skirt managed to fit her wider hips. Her feet were slightly larger than either of the original girls', but Tori's platform sandals were only a little too small.

"This will do for now," she told herself, looking at her reflection with satisfaction. She picked up Tori's phone from the floor and saw that almost half an hour had passed since they'd come down here. "I think our teacher is going to be a bit annoyed by how long this has taken us.”

She took the box of anatomical models in her upper hands while with her other arms she gathered the remaining clothing. She was going to have a lot of explaining, and even more adjusting, to do.