Fox In A Can (TM)
You hold up the can to read the label, but it is in some strange alphabet you have never seen before. Maybe there is an English version on the other side?
You turn over the can without changing your grasp, and just as the nozzle is pointing straight at your face you accidentally push the button. The canned magic sprays right at you, making your eyes water and your throat burn as you inhale a few drops.
As you stand doubled over coughing, you feel your head getting front heavy, and as you clear the tears from your eyes the first thing you see is something big and red between them. Turning to the mirror you find that your mouth and nose have turned into a pretty vulpine muzzle, complete with black upturned snout at the tip and fangs in the mouth. And your eyes.... wow! Fox eyes to be sure.
Your fox ears pick up the sound of someone clearing their throat next to you, and as you turn away from the mirror you see the shopkeeper looking at you.
"Please continue your experiments outside," he says dryly.
"We don't want the potion to get on anything but you. Besides, sooner or later you'll want to undress, and that should not be done in public."
You ponder for a moment and yip softly in reply. Oops, looks like some of that stuff got on your vocal cords when you inhaled.
"Quite so," the shopkeeper admits. He seems to have a better idea about what you're saying with your new voice than you have yourself! "Oh, and you may want this. Just in case you haven't got any at home."
He hands you a bar of soap, and you stare at it for a moment before you realize that you don't have any magic soap at home, and certainly no one would expect you to.So that remark must mean it's ordinary soap.Which means...
Of course. You suddenly have a flashback to a story you read as a kid, about an evil witch who didn't realize her spray-on potions could be neutralized simply by washing them off with soap and water. Well, if it's that easy to cancel this magic you're going to have some fun with it! Maybe even come back and buy another can later... if it's not too expensive, but then they wouldn't be handing out free samples, would they?
The shopkeeper takes the can from you, shakes it and hands it back. "It has been used a couple of times," he observes, "but there should be enough left to cover your whole body if you spray thinly."
You want to ask if a thin layer will be enough for a complete transformation, but realize that you probably wouldn't want to go that far. And if you do it would be a good idea to get someone to help both with the spray and the cleaning up. And how are you supposed to clean your throat anyway...?
Written by Won-Tolla on 26 May 2007
