Do you Believe in Magic?

[Marky]

Steve pauses for a moment, staring at the orb of pure red light and the writing etched in the bottom of the statue. "O...kay?" He says, looking between the two, a bit confused, but also slightly worried at the fact the orb was shaking, trying to escape, especially with as close as he was to it, now. Taking a step back away, Steve pauses, the etching going through his mind. "Take this gift...and be wanted forever?" Shaking his head, he sighs a little. "This has got to be a joke. Really? That's like a fable, fortune cookie, or something."

However, as Steve continued to stare at the red orb, he began to think to himself. 'Well, I do kind of want to be wanted, though...especially for a job...but...' Slowly...ever so slowly, Steve began to reach his hand out toward the orb, before, finally, touching it with the tip of his index finger.

[Victorious]

Well, it wasn't a pager, that much seemed certain. No, it was something far stranger.
Picking the hairband out of the box, Paul flips it over in his hands, as if to make sure that it really was what it looked like.

"...Must've got the wrong box by mistake."

That made more sense, didn't it? Walking back into the kitchen, Paul pours a lukewarm cup, shaking his head. It would be polite, probably, to head back, at least to return the box--given how quick the guy had pulled it out, he clearly couldn't have prepared it especially for him.
While he was at it, maybe he could get out of this 'job'. He must have been crazy before for signing up so quickly--something about that place had put him off-balance...but the whole place was weird and suspicious, Samuel Winters most of all.

"What kind of uniform is this, anyways?"

Sitting down, Paul brings the headband to eye-level, frowning slightly when it fails to explain itself. Why would a girl be worried about it looking ridiculous, anyways?
...Unless it wasn't a mistake of course, but that was a stranger explanation then the first.

Still. He had signed a contract, hadn't he? Not that he would end up working there for real probably...but might as well follow the note before returning the hairband.
Rolling his eyes, he shoves it awkwardly on his skull.

[Mystic Mina]

"I can assure you, sir, that every item in this store is guaranteed to be magic... Except this cash register here." Samuel motioned towards the machine sitting on the top of his counter. "But I have plans to retrofit it into a magic-powered one in the future."

---

The red ball of energy froze when Steve presses his finger against the glass. It simply floated there for a moment, as if it were contemplating on how to deal with this new situation, when it suddenly burst into action and slammed itself against the walls of its confinement, creating a tiny crack. From there, it squeezed itself through the exit it made and flowed into Steve's hand as though it were water. A shocking, slightly discomforting sensation shot through his body, then.... Nothing. Despite being assaulted by a glowing sphere of burning red energy, he felt perfectly fine.

---

As Paul stood there with a woman's hair accessory stuck on the top of his head, he couldn't help but feel rather silly... And also rather cold. Very cold. He was sure he set the air conditioner in his apartment to its normal settings, but still felt like he was freezing. He unconsciously started to rub himself in an attempt to stay warm, but he could feel something off about his arms. They were far too small, far too smooth... If he looked down at them, he would see that not only were they much thinner than usual, but they were also completely pale, almost pure white.

[Victorious]

Silly indeed. Shivering, Paul goes to take it off...before he notices his arms.

"What--what th' hell?"

Dropping his coffee, Paul forgets the hairband for the moment, in his shock--what happened to his arms...!?
...
A mirror--that's what he needed. Got to see what happened...

Standing, he goes to run to the bathroom!

[Mystic Mina]

Paul almost tripped on his now rather loose pants in his haste to reach the bathroom, but he managed to make it to the mirror unscathed. What he saw in the mirror, however, scarred him deeper than any physical fall ever could.

The person he saw in the reflection looked more like a ghost than his usual self. His skin, normally quite tanned and healthy, was colored a light gray reminiscent of stone statues. The clothes that once fit him quite snugly now struggled to cling on this shorter, thinner stick of a body. But what disturbed him the most was his head, which was now topped with dark red hair styled in a short, but girlish cut. The new hairstyle perfectly complemented his face, which was becoming more and more feminine by the second.

[Victorious]

This can't be happening.

This was a line that most people know--they've heard it before, seen it in movies, read it in books, maybe. But who ever uses it?

This can't be happening.

Staring into the mirror, the line echoes through his...? mind, again and again and again.

"This--This can't be happening...!"

This was too real to be a dream, but...

This can't be happening.

Was it--was it the hairband? A magic shop...a magic item? Paul had a hard time swallowing that, but...After a moment, he reaches up to try and pull it out of his new hair!

[Mystic Mina]

Paul's attempts to pull the hairband off his head were futile; they only served to make him cry out in pain with a high-pitched, yet soft voice that should belong to a woman, not a man. His body was in the middle of fixing that mistake, however. Underneath the loose clothing that hung over him, his body underwent rapidly changing as bones were shifted into new configurations and old, familiar organs were disposed to be replaced by new, foreign ones. He could literally feel his insides turning in on themselves as he waited for what seemed to be an eternity for this strange metamorphosis to be completed....

He almost relaxed when he thought the changes were finally over, but his body had one more surprise for him. Two lumps, small but still rather noticeable, rose up from beneath his shirt, signaling the end of his transition into womanhood.

[Victorious]

For a very long moment, silence fills the small bathroom. Paul stares at the woman in the mirror, meeting and matching her terrified gaze.
This can't be--this couldn't have just happened!

Looking down to herself, and back up to the mirror, Paul would pale, if her new skin tone really allowed for that.
Slowly--unbelieving, the new woman can't help but veery carefully prod a breast, jerking at the alien feeling of the touch, and pulling back almost immediately.

"Sam--Samuel Winters!"

Speaking the name, she shakes her head quickly, wincing at the unfamiliar feeling of her hair. Could he really have done this? Magic...it was ridiculous, but...so was this! He--she'd changed so quickly--and her whole body was so different. Even her age seemed to have dropped...

Rushing out of the bathroom, the girl pauses, frowning only slightly at the spilled coffer all over her table, before heading to her bedroom and pulling out a pair of sweatpants--not a perfect fit, but her old clothes were hanging off of her. She needed to go out though, despite the fear of being seen like this.

Pulling on her coat...now far too large, Paul bundles it up around her stickish body, and rushes out the door! Only by the time when she's halfway back, awkwardly riding on her ill-adjusted bicycle, does she recall the line saying that she might be heading back 'sooner then expected'...

[Mystic Mina]

Paul's bicycle ride back to the store was uneventful... Or rather, it would have been uneventful if it wasn't for that accursed black hairband still affixed in her hair. There was still one final magical task it needed to accomplish before Paul reached the store...

While Paul waited for a traffic light to allow her to cross, she felt a sudden cold wind pass by her legs. Looking down, she realized that baggy sweatpants she had thrown on in her apartment were slowly creeping up her legs, exposing more and more of her soft skin to the air. She also noticed that her comically large coat was changing as well; the sleeves were slowly fading away to nothing, while the top of the coat seemed to hug her new body closer and closer. The bottom, however, remained flared out, acting as a sort of skirt for the man-turned-woman.

[Victorious]

Her heart already beating like mad, Paul blinks...and nearly falls off of her already-precarious bike as she sees...and feels her poor old sweatpants undergoing a change not so different from her own. The hairband--it could even do that? And--was it changing her coat too?!
Looking around wide-eyed quickly to see if anyone was watching, Paul does the only thing she can in the situation besides stripping--and starts to hurry up!
Unfortunately, with the changing wardrobe, this can be troublesome...not to mention the new breeze.

[Mystic Mina]

Fortunately, there was no one around on the streets to witness this strange event. Unfortunately, her clothes continued to transform as Paul raced to reach the magic shop. In fact, they seemed to speed up when they sensed the change in pace.

Her sweatpants were now out of view, completely hidden underneath the dark expanse of the coat... But one could hardly call what she wore a coat. The frilled helm of the "skirt," the lack of sleeves, and the lady-like sash around the waist, and the intricate maroon and black design made it obvious that it was a dress, one a lady would wear for a formal event and NOT for a speedy bike ride on a windy summer's day.

Paul finally arrived at the magic store, but it was too late. Just earlier that day, she had stepped into the shop a tall, straight-faced man with a somewhat rugged appearance. Now, she walked in as a pale-skinned but beautiful young woman dressed in an outfit straight out a of a gothic fantasy.

[Victorious]

Trying to ignore the increasing chill from her vanishing jacket, Paul pulls up up to the shop pale-faced and out of breath, not bothering to lock up even before rushing inside, rather less collected then the first time she'd wandered into the shop.

"What's going on here!?"

The question maybe, was an obvious one, but can she really be blamed?

[Harri-chan]

Mandy stood behind Christine as the sight of the teacher brought back all those long forgotten memories, and she felt her heart sink as the cone was placed upon her head. Her cheeks burned brightly as she briefly lifted her gaze from the floor to glance at the rest of the class. She wasn't used to people looking so much taller than her, so it made the adult teacher more imposing than he'd been the first time around, and she quickly stumbled her way through the desks to reach her seat. He knees felt weak and she was dizzy from the shock of what had happened, her skirt swishing upwards as she collapsed into her sear with a sigh....

[Evra]

Rein continues rummaginf through the shelfs looking for something not really thinking of what he could be looking for as he looks through the stuff he eventually gives up and turns to leave but as he walks towards the door he catches a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye turning he walks over and picks it up it being a necklace ( not sure if your suppose to pick the item so yeah :S )

[Mystic Mina]

Paul entered the shop just in time to see Samuel, who seemed to be holding a paper list of some sort, walk out from the back of the store.

"Ah, you're back, and you've come at a good time! I just finished today's itinerary for you. Don't worry, I made sure your first day of work is light so that you are not overwhelmed." The well-dressed magician says, oblivious to Paul's panicked state of mind and completely ignoring her question. "... Oh, could you close the door please? There's a cold draft coming in."

---

Mandy, stuck as a cone-headed freshman in the class she remembered as the worst she ever had in her high school life, was in the deepest pits of despair. As she sat there in the classroom, her spirits at the lowest they've possibly ever been, she heard a voice. It was a familiar one, one that belonged to a person she kept close to her heart.

"Uh, hey. Hello?" A younger teenage Brian, dressed in a sports jacket and jeans, waved a hand in front of Mandy's face to get her attention. He was sitting right next to Mandy's desk. Her dizziness earlier must have kept her from noticing. "My pencil's next to your foot. Can you pick it up?"

---

The necklace Rein held was quite a beauty. If he inspected it more closely, he would see that pristine silver chains were latched onto the image of a sparkling goddess's head. The armored helmet that she wore gave her a dangerous, but graceful, appearance. There were some words etched into the back of the image, but they were in a language that Rein had no hope of translating.