Meteor Effect

Fluffy Ears And Tails 1: So Fluffy!

Trigger warning: There is a discussion about docking tails.

Zedaph's laughter echoes off the walls of the cave of contraptions. His armor stands are working perfectly. He puts the final finishing touches on the stands before heading outside to his garden area. As he walks outside and over to his waterfall he stops and feeds his cows. As he walks over he sneezes.

He rubs at his face for a second mumbling something about allergies, before continuing his work. If he hadn't left his communicator inside he probably would have noticed sooner and Impulse and Tango wouldn't have been the ones to tell him.

As he walks inside he scoops up his communicator opening it and looking for new messages and alerts. In bold red letters, the Device announced that the meteor had been giving off a signal. Zedaph shrugs it off deciding that it was someone else's thing to deal with because normally when someone gets affected there's something obvious that happens.

A few hours later Tango comes over dragging Impulse along with him. Once inside the cave and they're looking at Zedaph they freeze, "Um, Zed are you aware of..." As he trails off Tango Motions to his ears as his tail flicks behind him.

Zedaph squints at Tango a bit confused before he raises his hand to his ears. The moment he touches his ear he gives a small screech of surprise. As he realizes exactly what had happened. He shakily raises his other hand and runs his fingers down the length of his ears. They were much longer than they were previously and they had a thick layer of white wool covering the outside. They look exactly like sheep ears, the insides where a soft pink and the wool was incredibly soft.

Impulse walks up to Zedaph and hugs him, Tango joins in a few moments later. As they break apart Impulse asks, "Can I touch them?"

"Um, why not," Zedaph answers, allowing Impulse to reach over and stroke the ears.

"Um, Zed, can you come over here for a moment?" Tango asks from over by Zedaph's sleeping corner.

Zedaph nods and walks over, almost tripping on the way.

Seeing this Tango hums thoughtfully, getting up he meets Zedaph at the halfway point, herding him over to his bed, "Lay down."

"Tango, what?" Zedaph asks as he complies, laying down on his stomach.

"Sorry, I don't know something just seems off," Tango explains as Impulse comes over and sits on the floor next to his friends.

A few minutes pass before Tango is proved correct in his assumption. Zedaph, who is resting his chin on his arms, suddenly gasps in pain. A tail grows from his tail bone. Bones cracking and popping as they shift location. By the time it finishes growing, the tail comes down to his knees. It thumps softy on the bed as the pain slowly resides.

Impulse looks a bit surprised at the length of the tail, "I didn't know the tails were that long."

Zedaph gives a slight nod before replying, "Most of the time the tails get docked. Not all the time, but it's really common."

"Why? Isn't that kinda mean to the sheep?" Tango questions as he helps Zedaph sit and shows him how to position his tail so he doesn't squash it.

"It's done most of the time because sheep are so fluffy and if you have a big fluffy tail that doesn't get washed that often it can cause some pretty bad infections. It's mostly used for big flocks in huge pastures where they can't perfectly monitor all of the sheep," Zedaph answers, tail slowly flicking, as he gets used to its movements.

...............

Zedaph snickers as he runs across the front of the Toon Towers, Tango is flying after him attempting to corner him. Zedaph rounds a corner and slips as he hits a muddy patch of grass. He slowly sits up as Tango carefully lands next to him stifling his laughter.

"It's not funny," Zedaph grumbles, his ear flicking mud everywhere, "I'm covered in mud."

"Do you want to use my shower?" Tango offers as he helps Zedaph up.

Zedaph nods thankfully that he wouldn't have to walk home covered in muck.

After Zedaph gets dressed his tail is still drenched and dripping water. As he leaves the bathroom Tango hands him a brush and a hairdryer.

"Thanks," Zedaph says as he starts brushing his tail out as he blows dries it. Tango helps brush the tip of the tail as Zedaph starts works on his ears. Once everything is all thoroughly brushed and dry, Zedaph bursts out laughing, "Tango, look how poofy I am."

Tango looks over and gently pats Zedaph's tail, as his gently flicks, "It's super soft." He gently takes the brush from Zedaph and thoroughly comes through the wool on his ears. Albeit this was done in a rather odd position as not to pinch his wings or feathers.

A few hours later back at Zedaph's base. Zedaph is sitting on the floor scratching at his ankle. It started itching not too long after he returned from Tango's base. Eventually, he decides to go to sleep and deal with it in the morning.

The next morning Zed rolls off his bed and immediately regrets brushing the itch off. He lets out a sigh before fumbling around looking for his communicator. Once he finds it he messages impulse and tango asking them to come over.

Before they arrive Zedaph struggles to stand up legs bucking or swaying every time he tries. He eventually was able to stand up enough to collapse back into his bed. He wraps himself in blankets as he waits for his friends to arrive.

Impulse runs into the cave and over to Zedaph once he sees him he freezes before rushing over to help untangle Zedaph's legs from within the pajama pants they were trapped in. As he works Impulse starts asking questions, "So, when did this happen?"

Zedaph gives a look of mock offense before answering, "Last night, I guess, happened while I was asleep."

Impulse bits his lip a little as he finishes untangling Zedaph's legs. Which had been turned into sheep-like legs with only a thin layer of wool coating them. Even though the fabric that was entangling his legs was gone it still felt weird to have fabric encasing them, "Hey Impulse, can you hand me a pair of shorts?"

Impulse nods, pulling a pair of shorts out of the dresser and handing them to Zedaph. Who motioning for Impulse to leave the room for a moment puts them on.

Impulse walks back in the room a few minutes later this time with Tango in tow, "Is that better?"

"Yep," Zedaph replies as he attempts to stand up. He's able to stay up this time without falling or swaying. Tango's in the corner silently freaking out about Zedaph's legs. Clutching desperately at Impulse's arms, Zedaph slowly starts walking.

He slowly starts picking up how to balance and is able to make it around the room without falling.

By now Tango has left his corner and is helping encourage Zedaph. After a few hours of work, Zedaph can walk somewhat normally but still falls down and trips if they try anything faster.