Disclaimer. Emma is not mine. None of the others are mine. I'm not making any money off them, just flinging their personal lives open for all the world to gawk at. So watcher doin' up here? Get on down t' the story already! :)

Well, I'm not entirely certain why I'm doing this. I don't generally practice what I preach, at least, not what I preach to the students. Still, I suppose this may help me to come to terms with the changes this transformation has wrought.

The students first.

Jono - Has changed the most of all of them. I don't mean the physical changes, though those are considerable, but the mental and emotional metamorphosis he has undergone in the last two months. He has gone from being a depressed, unsure, defensive boy with a subterranean self esteem to being a cheerful, open, self-confident young man with an enviable emotional stability. It is ironic that Mervyn has actually helped him more than I ever could have.

Paige - Didn't handle the change well at first. I suspect that her new closeness to Jono is at least partially responsible for her eventual acceptance of her new state, which is fine, provided that they behave themselves. A litter of kittens is the last thing we need right now. Paige hasn't really changed much, but she has relaxed a great deal, being much less driven by feelings of inadequacy, and the need to compete with her brother. This has made her much easier to live with for everyone.

Monet - Again, Monet is much more relaxed and less driven to be 'perfect' than she was before. She has opened up a little to her fellow students, and to a lesser extent, to me and Sean. She has yet to reveal any major secrets, but I am confident that she will do so in time.

Angelo - Adores being a cat. He spends at least as much time in catform as he does in human. His self-esteem has improved gradually, and he is relating to his teammates much better. An unexpected bonus is the fact that his enhanced olfactory senses in catform have necessitated that he give up smoking, which has been a relief to us all.

Everett - The biggest change in Everett has been an almost proprietary attitude towards Jubilee, which has afforded those who have noticed it considerable amusement. Evidently the transformation has clarified his feelings towards her, and though I don't think he plans to act on them yet, since she is still rather young, he certainly intends for it to be merely a matter of time. Further than that, I can't truly define the change. He is simply...more cat.

Jubilee - Hasn't changed AT ALL. Either she is totally resistant to the emotional aftereffects of the change, which I doubt, or she has simply been acting like a half-grown kitten all along, and the rest of us only now have a context for her behaviour, which I think is probably the case. For whatever reason, Jubilee no longer irritates her teachers and classmates to anywhere near the extent she used to - well, not often. Actually, on thinking about it, perhaps she has changed a little. She feels a great deal more emotionally secure than she did before, and this has reflected in her behaviour.

Mondo - Is much the same as ever. It would take a lot more than a mere shapechange to seriously affect him.

Penance - Is slowly opening up. The trauma she suffered as Emplate's slave will not heal overnight, but I believe she has taken the first steps now. She has become very close to Jono and, surprisingly, Paige, as well as to Jubilee, all of whom have spent a great deal of time with her. She is still a little cautious around the rest of us, but she is becoming more confident.

Artie and Leech - They both enjoy their new shapes immensely, although Sean and I have thought it best to restrict their shifting as a cautionary measure, until they are a little older. Like Jubilee, they seem more secure now. Leech - has forgiven me for kicking him. They know I would never do anything to hurt them if I could find another way. They know I - care for them.

I care for all my students, more than I ever realised before. They are so very important to me, I can't bear the thought of anything happening to them. I will protect them. No-one will ever hurt them while I am here.

Hmm.

That was a revealing emotional outburst.

Why is it that I have no difficulty admitting how much I love my students when in catform, but as a human, I can't even admit it to myself?

Because of the Hellions.

Because it was as a human that I failed my former students, and I can never ever forget that. Because they counted on me to prepare them for life, for the dangers they would face and I didn't - I was so busy lording it over them that I never taught them to fight as a group or to think for themselves and they died. Because I should feel guilty about it and I don't. Not anymore. I regret that they died, I grieve for them, I always will, but the guilt is gone.

* * *

Emma tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Giving up, she kicked back the covers and padded across the floor to the huge windows which dominated one wall of her room, letting in the pale moonlight. Resting her hot forehead against the cool glass, Emma gazed out at the setting moon. She had always loved the moon. It seemed so pure and distant, so clear and untouchable, and it had reached out to her whenever things seemed worst. Other young girls had dreamed of being princessess or film stars - Emma Grace Frost had wanted to be like the moon.

She sighed. She had indeed achieved her dream. So why wasn't she sure she wanted it anymore? "Because I'm tired of running away." She whispered sadly. "Because I've been ice and snow and stone for so long that now I want to be a woman again, I'm not sure I know how. Because I changed inside as well as out when Mervyn transformed us, and I'm..." her voice trailed away. Lonely. She completed the sentence silently. I'm lonely.

Suddenly she spun around, sensing a presence near her. She couldn't see anything, and, reaching out with her mind, couldn't sense anything either. Except... On the very edge of thought -

"Teacher?" Came a soft voice off to her left. Emma turned slowly, and her ice-blue eyes filled with tears as she gazed at the tall purple haired girl standing before her.

"Catseye..." she whispered, one hand going to her face as she stared at the student she had believed she wouuld never see again. They stood frozen for a moment, then Emma held out her arms and Catseye leaped into them, the two hugging each other as if they would never let go.

"Catseye missed teacher-furfriend. Teacher is cat now too?" Catseye asked, looking inquisitively at her former headmistress. Emma smiled tearily.

"Yes, that I am. See?" She shifted into her cat form. Catseye did so as well, and they looked at each other and laughed.

~Teacher is so small!~

~Catseye is so big!~ Emma purred, snuggling down and absently washing the top of Catseye's head. ~Teacher missed you too, kitten. Teacher misses all her kittens.~

~Really?~ Catseye said, twisting around to look at her. ~Catseye is Teacher's kitten in heart? Teacher still loves Catseye?~

~Very much.~ Emma confirmed. A lick from her former student washed approximately half of her entire body clean in one stroke. The girl once known as Sharon Smith purred softly.

~Catseye loves Teacher, too. Catseye doesn't like having to be away.~ Emma looked at her.

~How is this happening? Where did you come from, to get here?~ Emma asked curiously.

~Don't know where. Otherplace. Fun there.~ Catseye struggled to put words to her thoughts. ~It is...otherplace. Other world. Or not. Maybe. Catseye doesn't know.~

~It doesn't matter. Teacher is glad that Catseye is here.~

~So is Catseye. Catseye saw that Teacher was sad, so asked if could come and visit. Said yes, just for tonight.~

~Who said?~

~Not allowed to tell. Secret.~ Catseye blinked at Emma, her whiskers twitching.

~It doesn't matter. It's enough that you're here.~ She purred a soft half-murmur, half-song, a cat's lullaby she had instinctively used to soothe her kittens often since the change. Catseye sighed contentedly.

~Hellions miss Teacher. What happened wasn't Teacher's fault. Teacher not be sad.~ Catseye closed her eyes and purred softly.

Emma opened her eyes and looked around, disoriented. She was in human form, lying on the window seat, with the sun shining in the windows onto her face. Had it been a dream? Her eys filled with tears. She didn't want it to have been a dream. She wanted Catseye and the others to love her, as she still loved them.

Resting her hand on the cushion where she and Catseye had lain and purred one another to sleep, she felt something. Looking at her palm, she saw a few purple cat hairs, as well as some of her own white ones, sticking to it. She smiled. Real enough.

*Give it back!*

*No! You'll only squirt me again!*

*Knock it off, guys, you're gonna-*

*My breakfast! You die...*

Emma sighed, and went to separate her current students.

* * *

Oh well. Past is past. I will just have to do better next time. Learn from my mistakes, and so on. Reading back over this document, I have just realised that I have made no mention of Sean.

I'm not even going to think about going into that.