<div style="text-align: justify;">In reality, Becca wasn’t nearly as confident as she seemed. She felt tense and even somewhat scared. Still, she felt it mattered - for both of them. And she decided to suck it up and act confident. Of course, curiosity did play a role too, as she really wanted to see something she had never seen before.<br/><br/>When Ash started removing his clothes, Becca felt her cheeks getting warmer. Trying not to think of what she was thinking about, she took a deep breath and tried to pay attention to the matters at hand.<br/><br/>“Damn”, she murmured when he said he wouldn’t show everything. “All right. Fair enough”, she replied to his explanation on how changing affected his clothes. As he looked at the curtains, Becca braced herself for what she was about to see.<br/><br/>Standing on the couch to watch him better, Becca paid close attention to every step of the change. It was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. She was seeing something she had always believed to be the stuff of legend - or nightmares - and at the same time, seeing her best friend, the guy she cared more about than any other, changing into something completely different. It was impossible to explain all of the emotions she was feeling. Fear, fascination, and a pang of grief for Ash, who hadn’t had a say in any of this.<br/><br/>When the change was completed, Becca let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. It was Ash’s tail wagging that brought her to the realization that he was still her Ash, under all of that fur and that scary exterior. <br/><br/>“Well… it’s you”, she finally said when her ability to speak returned to her. “Under all of that, you’re still Ash, and that’s what matters”.<br/>After some hesitation, Becca held out a hand carefully, placing it very gently between Ash’s ears. “I… my God, Ash, it’s…”.<br/><br/>She stopped mid-sentence when she heard footsteps outside - the building was pretty quiet by now - and then a key being shoved in the lock. “...it’s my roommate”, she explained, eyes widened in a sudden panic. “Hide, go into my room… <span style="font-style: italic">do something</span>”.</div>