Sylvia frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror, taking in her white and pink fur, her short but fluffy tail, and her ribbons, moving around with her thoughts. A deep breath entered her muzzle before she spoke, only to quickly be interrupted by her friend.
"Sorry again about the spell thing." Micheal said, twiddling their thumbs on their own newly pink-coated paws. "I didn't realized-"
"That it would affect me too, yeah." she finished, sighing. "Look, it's fine. I don't like it, but I can't really fault you for this." she explained, more annoyed by how Micheal was still blaming themselves over the accident. Micheal, a fan of Pokémon, turned themselves into a Sylveon anthro on purpose; they'd grown in new longer ears, human hands and feet turned into soft paws, and they had a muzzle with a small frown now. They'd even managed to grow a bit taller, some muscle growing in as a side effect.
Unfortunately, despite her name Sylvia was far less enthused by the changes she'd accidentally shared. While Micheal's tail wagged excitedly until they realized their mistake, she was immediately displeased. Sure, this body was still different to her old human one; being taller felt nice, and she was fine with her ears and tail in theory even if she disliked the specifics. But this wasn't really her vibe for a form, nor did she want the baggage of being a fictional species belonging to someone else.
"Um, I might have, well, made this change our default forms." Micheal said, still nervous and upset on their friends behalf. "So I can't really turn you back, unless I get like, a really skilled mage, or a literal god, or something."
"Of course." Sylvia was less than impressed by how Micheal knew enough to help with this unwanted change, but hadn't had enough foresight to prevent it. She turned back to the mirror, looking at her dark clothes and tight fishnets, seeing how they worked with her new body. "You know, the pink isn't too bad... it gives me some nice pop with my clothes. Gotta get rid of the white, though."
"Oh, maybe I can help with that?" Micheal asked, before immediately clarifying. "Well, I can get someone I know to help- it's really good at dying fur, so it will be able to help a little at least."
The following day, Micheal eagerly waited as their former business partner ran dye into Sylvia's fur. Given her full-body dye job, she opted for privacy; a benefit of this was that when she stepped out, not only bearing black and pink fur but also with a trim to her ears to make them look harsh and pointed, Micheal was surprised by her new look. It worked surprisingly well, despite making it harder to see her now fur-coloured clothing, and she seemed happy about it. "Thanks, Jean!" she said.
"Of course." it replied, smiling and nodding. "Feel free to come in if you need another trim."
Sylvia wasn't unaware of her current clothing issues; now it was her turn to take the duo to someone she knew, a tailor who specialized in refitting clothes for anyone who recently changed. "Ah, John, good to see you!" she said, tail wagging at the sight of her friend.
"Oh? You're..." he replied, needing a moment to process who this was. "Ah, Sylvia! I didn't expect you to want to change your species." Micheal looked on a bit sheepishly before they spoke.
"Well, it wasn't really on purpose..." they said. "Anyway, uh, only the clothes she had on at the time got changed, and since she got her fur dyed she needs some more colours." As they spoke, they handed John a large bag of clothing, all in need of fitting. "Oh, and I can pay, it was my fault..."
"Ah, it's fine. I'll just take some measurements and whatnot, and get to work." John replied, and so Micheal found themselves waiting once more, reading books and looking up local mages to pass the time. Eventually, their friend once more stepped out of the private rooms and did a small spin to show off her refit clothes, now fitting nicely against her fur and given pink and blue trims to match her undyed fur.
"What do you think?" she asked, and Micheal smiled.
"You look great!" they said. "Better than I'd look in that, at least."
"Black was never your colour, was it?" Sylvia replied, and the two once more left, separating as Sylvia made to handle the largely boring task of updating her identification in the face of her species changing; thankfully a smooth process.
A week passed, with the two meeting sometimes infrequently. Sylvia was happy with her dyed and trimmed fur, but as time went on some things still felt off; her tail was too short, and her ribbons were impossible to safely trim without surgical work. Losing digits in her three-toed feet and four-fingered hands was also not to her tastes. And so, she turned to her friend Micheal, hoping they could help.
"Oh, I mean... if I made a spell that changed your default form before, I can probably do it again." they said when she asked about it. "I've been practicing making things, you know, single target." they added, demonstrating by switching the pinks and blues of their own body- turning themselves into a shiny Sylveon briefly, before returning to their own colours. "It shouldn't be too hard."
"Thank you, Micheal." she replied, idly tapping a dark, spiked boot against a frilly pink seat that stood in stark contrast to her own looks. "Longer tail, jagged- and symmetrical- ribbons, and restored digits. I've got it written down-"
"Oh, I also wrote it down." they interrupted, the two comparing their handwritten notes. "Maybe I can replace the ribbons on your ear with some on your back?" Micheal asked, and Sylvia shook her head.
"Nah, I was thinking above my tail." she said. "Kinda like Suicune."
"I thought you didn't like Pokémon?" Micheal asked, confused.
"I don't like it now." Sylvia clarified. "I used to like it, when I was a kid. Then I just... lost interest, I guess, I don't really know why."
"Fair enough, you don't need a reason to dislike a game." Micheal responded. "Anyway, give me a few days, and I can probably get your requests ready."
A few days passed, and indeed Micheal excitedly called Sylvia up. "Alright, I got the potion ready!" the Sylveon said, and soon Sylvia was back at Micheal's home, ready to test out the new spell. As she stood ready to be hit, they noted "I've separated the change itself and making it your default form this time, in case something goes wrong."
As they cast the spell, Sylvia relished in the feelings. Her toes and fingers were restored, shoes making space for them; her dyed fur turned a natural black, faded portions turning deep jet once more. She blinked as her eyes turned crimson, and her tail wagged as it grew longer and more flexible. Easily the strangest change was the fact that her ribbons on her neck were growing shorter, jagged points forming along the edges, while the ones on her ear shriveled and faded entirely. Above the base of her tail came a new pair, unfurling already with the required points, and she happily looked over herself in a mirror.
"This is... perfect, I think. Thank you." she said, and Micheal smiled, happy that their prior accident had worked out so well. With Sylvia's consent, they cast the spell to set her new form as a default, locking it in as what she'd return to under normal circumstances.
Of course, she would need to call Jean now to cancel her appointment for fresh dye, and schedule new ones with John and the city again. But that would wait, because for now she was happy to explore her new body, striking poses and taking pictures.