"Gentlemen, please! I am sure there is a sensible explanation for what is going on. If you could please calm down, I am sure this is simply part of Mr Uxibarae's Christmas theme."

"Are you blind, man!" Vikja roared, the dragon walking over to the check-in desk and picking up a blue fox plushie which was draped over a large lion toy. "Your staff seem to be vanishing, and in their place we find plush animals with their names on the tags, and you don't think that it's mysterious?"

"You must admit it is odd, yes?" said Static, his wings rustling in agitation, "Look, you can't tell me that isn't a perfect replica of your receptionist."

Vikja shook the Flinty plush before throwing it at Vulpine, although the fox was able to catch it out of the air. Staring down at it, he pushed his glasses up his nose and shook his head. "I do see the resemblance, but what you're saying is impossible. People simply do not turn into plush animals. Now, I am going to go call Mr Doodlebug and get a proper explanation for what is going on. Once I find out then I will let you all know, but I'm sure he will have a good explanation."

Static opened his mouth to protest, but the fox turned away. "If you could excuse me gentlemen, I am very busy. Our staff are missing, as you say; I am thinking whoever led this whole plush animal decoration theme has gotten quite carried away." With that he hurried away, pushing through a door marked ‘Staff Only’ and leaving the two friends alone in the lobby.

"Huh. He couldn't be more in denial if he tried," muttered Vikja, the tall blue dragon turning to look toward the front doors, "I say we just leave now before we get caught up in this..."

The dragon was interrupted mid-sentence by the door to the lounge crashing open. "Help me!" Forest cried as he latched onto the doorpost with both hands, struggling against something attempting to pull him back into the room.

"What? Hey, hold on!" Static darted forward and grabbed hold of Forest's arms, just as he lost his grip on the lounge door post. The grey wolf was tangled in long, writhing ribbons that slid over him, trying to loop back around his muzzle and tangle up his ankles and knees. Static pulled, but the ribbons pulled back!

"Forest? What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know, but it- it ate everyone in there! Then Rufus got too close and it ate him too! And- and then it started chasing me!"
Vikja leaned down towards the pair, and his draconic claws sliced through the ribbons easily. Static squeaked, and Forest barked, and the two of them topped over back into the room.

"Eek! Get off! What's chasing you?" asked Static,
"THAT!" Forest sat up and pointed at the large bouncing present box in the middle of the room, the freshly cut ends of its ribbons flickering around wildly about it.

"No, don't leave!" called a voice, and all three of them turned to stare at a large plushie skunk waddling it's way toward them. "Join us, and we'll have ever so much fun." Beyond him the room was teeming with life; the large plush beanbags waved their puffy arms with a loud rustling, and small plushies sat up and bounced around cheerfully.

"Oh wow," Static whispered, "They're actually alive…?"

"Hey, you over there! Stay where you are!" yelled Vikja, one hand toward the blue lion who'd just come out of the store room behind the bar. The feline looked over the stacks of drinks he was carrying, and froze at the sight before him. From one side, dozens of colourful stripy-tailed possat plushies clambered over and around him to get into the store room, and he fell over with a surprised yelp and a fizzy explosion of carbonated beverages. Vikja quickly grabbed the door to the lounge and slammed it shut.

"We really, really need to..." The dragon grew quiet and still, as something soft and velvety snuffled at the back of his neck. Turning slowly, the trio found themselves staring up into the warm, plump teal snout of one of the large caribou who had been flanking the dining room door.

"Run?" Static suggested, edging away slowly from the living plush reindeer.

"But not to the front door," Forest whispered, nudging Static the other way, "Because there's other deer over there with a polar bear.... they're both very big."

The lounge door rattled and shook as something tried to pull the handle down, and all three of them bolted left. The lion and fox on the reception desk waved their soft mitten paws at the group as they ran past. Vikja took them right, and speedily led the way through a set of double doors into the banqueting and function rooms toward the rear of the hotel. The pair of caribou chuffed happily and started after them, with soft leathery hoofs clomping on the marble softly. Now this was going to be a fun chase!

-0-

Vulpine muttered at hearing yet another voicemail, and hung up his phone. The fox flicked through his notebook in a futile attempt to find another number for the event runners. He'd called every one of them - Garn and Ross Uxibarae, Dalis and Florin Doodlebug, with some urgency he had even tried the home number for Garn he had been given, but no one was answering right now.

"This is frustrating," he muttered to himself as he went back to dialling Garn's mobile again. Once again, it rang on and on before returning to voicemail. "Mr Uxibarae, this is Vulpine once again, I'm the manager at the Grand Floret hotel. Can you please call me back as soon as you get this, I do rather need to talk to you about your plush toy decorations."

That was his last message for a while, and Vulpine leaned back in his office chair, pulling off his glasses so he could rub his muzzle. "Ugh, this is not going well at all."

"Hee hee..." giggled a voice.

Vulpine froze, slowly lowering his hands as he peered around his office. It looked as it always did, professional with everything neatly tidied away in filing cabinets. Closing his eyes, rubbing his muzzle, the fox let out a long sigh and let his head rest back against his chair.

"Hee hee hee…!"

This time, the laughter was much closer, Vulpine sat up quickly, his desk chair rising as he looked around. All was quiet though; the room was empty, and the door was shut. Vulpine leaned back in his chair, and started to close his eyes, but he was just waiting for the next giggle.

"Hee hee-"
At that, he sprang back up suddenly and looked around.
"Gotcha- ahhh!" His arms were up as his chair rolled back away from the desk, the wheels on his chair squeaking harshly as every filing cabinet burst open and all his paperwork exploded into the air! Reams of paper crashed into the ceiling, only to gently flutter back down as brightly coloured scraps of cloth.

"Oh my, look at the mess in here, Mr Vulpine! This simply will not do," a cheerful voice whispered in his ear. The fox squeaked and tried to get out of his chair, but a pair of small fuzzy paws pushed at the back of his neck and his body became limp and helpless. "Oh no, don't leave now, Mr Vulpine! You'll miss all the fun if you do."

The figure perched on the back of his chair was very soft and warm, and the fox could feel their body curling against his neck, but he was unable to move and look at what it was.
"W-who are you? Are- are you behind all of this?"

"That’s right, well done! And here you are as the manager, is that right? Being all boring and work work work and refusing to enjoy yourself in our little games. That sounds no fun at all, but- but, heehee, I had myself a lil peek inside those nice fox thoughts of yours, and I know exactly what you need to relax."

"Wh- what do you mean I'm... oh no... no no, you can't mean that! That's a private thing…"

"Whenever there’s a mess, you call someone from housekeeping... well, they’re all busy, Vulpine, so you'll just have to be a nice helpful maid instead!" The fox whimpered as his limbs twitched all by themselves, and he clambered up out of his chair against his will. The creature draped about his neck seemed to be controlling his body, as with quick and twitchy movements he started to strip off his own shirt and tie.

"N-no, stop! You can't do this, I won't do it, you can't make me!" Vulpine whimpered, his words seemed hollow as he realised his unseen assailant could very easily make him do whatever he wanted. Piece by piece, he removed his clothes; shirt, trousers, and underwear were all put to one side as he finished pulling them off, standing naked in his office now.
"Please... don't make me, I-I don't want to..."

"Oh? I think you do want to... of course you do, be a good little fox. I've got a nice outfit for you here, I think you should put it on!" The unseen figure suddenly let go of Vulpine's limbs, granting him control over his body once again. The creature slipped along his back and hopped over to land on the desk, revealing himself as a warm, cinnamon-coloured pine marten plush. The familiar Nall toy had cream and black stripes around his tail, and bright green eyes. His muzzle was stitched in a happy smile of mischief, and as he stood up on his hind legs his little ears twitched softly. With a flick of one of his mitten paws, the outfit he had mentioned floated down to land in front the fox.

"Put it on Vulpine... go on, pick it up, go slide your way into it. Now I could make you do it, but I happen to know know you want to do it yourself."

Whimpering gently, the red fox picked up the dress and gave it a closer look. The black fabric rustled lightly, and the fabric felt so smooth against his paws. With his cheeks burning from blushing so much, Vulpine slipped his arms through the open back of the dress and pulled it tightly against his chest. As soon as his hands popped through the sleeves, the fabric twisted itself out of his grip and sealed itself shut. No zipper, no buttons, just a nice silky dress.

"There we go, such a pretty maid you are," Nall cooed, teasingly. The plushie marten waved both of his arms, causing a fleet of glittery sewing needles to rise up into the air. Each one trailed a different colour of thread from its eye. The fluttering patches of fabric that had once been his files rose up as well; bright, colourful scraps of cloth that twisted through the air behind the needles, "Now, lets finish you off."

He clapped his paws, and the needles shot forward; Vulpine squeaked as they were about to hit him, but they turned away at the last moment. Bright silver flickered along him, weaving together each piece of the fabric. The mixture of patches wrapped all around his arms and legs, wriggling under his black and white dress. They plastered his face and coated his ears, a pair of magically animated scissors snipped and trimmed, while needles led thread in and out of his softening body.

All of his fur and flesh was covered over by swatches of coloured fabric that coated him up and down. As the last patch of light was hidden by the flickering of a needle, the whole baggy piece of clothing contracted. Vulpine squeaked and squirmed in the tight grasp, swaying from side to side as a warm feeling flooded through his body. He was growing thinner and shorter, and all his senses were feeling softness and warmth. The needles returned, but they did not bring pain as this time they sewed into him. The multitude of needles felt oddly relaxing, and each one was followed by the smooth tug of thread which pulled the different patches closer together. Inch by inch the fabric tightened and fell into place, until nothing of a flesh and blood fox remained! Everything he was became woven into dress and fabric, squeezing and squashing as Vulpine collapsed to the floor with a soft whimper. He had no stuffing at this time, he was just a ragged shell of shapely fabric inside a maid's dress.

Nall drifted down and lifted the head of his newest plush creation, pulling open the mouth to give the head some shape and see what had been made. Big handfuls of cottony soft wool stuffed into that mouth, revealing the new shape of a plushie patchwork deer girl! He- or rather, she- squeaked and squirmed as her limbs were plumped up by each new stuffing mouthful, her short little spade of a tail flickering frantically as it gained shape and form. Inch by inch she was steadily stuffed and filled, until she was as plump, as squishable and as huggable as she could be! With a nod of his head, Nall stitched the back of her muzzle shut himself to keep all of her stuffing in, and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

Where once there had been a stuffy, tie wearing hotel manager, there now stood a squishy, huggable patchwork doe, so cute to the eyes and soft to the paws. She had small ears and a heart shaped deer tail that wiggled from side to side. Her body was a bright mixture of colours and fabrics that had been put together in a cheerful, quilted manner. It was a good contrast to what was otherwise quite a plain black and white maid's outfit. Beaming happily, Nall handed Vulpine a big feather duster to complete the image, and bounced from foot to foot eagerly.

"Oooh, there we go, that’s a good girl! Hey, lets go clean up whoever is left!"

-0-

Wandering across the lobby, Randall watched with amusement as a giant blue plush reindeer and a big white polar bear did their best to intercept him. Waving a paw, the raccoon shook his head. "Later! I'll play with you two later. Right now, I just want some lunch!"

The giant plush animals stopped short, and stood there in the lobby watching him as he slipped past them into the dining room, The grey and white raccoon bounced along quite happily, leaning on the maitre'd's stand as he looked around eagerly for someone to seat him. Drumming a black hand on the wooden lectern, he thumped his tail impatiently from side to side as a few minutes ticked past. He could see lunch already, it was right in front of him - being laid out on a massive trestle table running down the centre of the room.

In fact, the room appeared to have been totally redecorated since breakfast. All the plush toys that were previously hanging from the tree by their tails were now hopping about on the floor and up the tree branches, playing catch and scampering around. Every table now had a mixture of plush toys of so many sizes. One group sat playing poker using smaller plushies as chips, and a miniature football game was underway on another table. A group of tiny rodent plushies were playing against a huge purple, blue and pink scolipede plush who appeared to be cheating outrageously. It all looked like so much fun, but here he was stuck at the door waiting for someone to give him a seat.

"Come on, give me a table already,!" Randall called out as a big, plush yellow rabbit scampered back out of the kitchen carrying a cake. He had been back and forth, and seemed rather busy. At the raccoon's shout, the fuzzy bunny came to a halt and turned to look at Randall, one big mitten paw catching hold of his over-sized chef hat to stop it falling off.

"Ooooh, sorry! Sure, sure, one moment!" The bunny bounced over and took hold of one of Randall's paws, dragging him on toward the big table in the middle. "Sorry to leave you waiting, all my waiters are too small to serve you right now!"

Pulling out a chair from the table, Randall sat down with a smile and gave an expectant look to the lemon yellow bunny. "I am liking the festivities here, they are so vibrant and original! Ooh, what's for lunch, and can I get a drink?"

"Of course! Morty, come here and pour the nice raccoon a coffee. I'll be right back with our special lunch, just for you!" With that he turned away, and a little squirrel shape hopped up onto the table. It appeared to be made from a soft transparent latex, and on closer inspection seemed to be entirely full of coffee! His tail bent over and Morty poured a mug nice and full for Randall, pushing it along the table to the raccoon's paw with a cheerful squeak.

"Wow, aren't you handy? You should hang around, I think I may want more!" He sipped his coffee approvingly, and patted the little squeaky squirrel on the head whilst he waited for the chef's special lunch. Randall managed to get through two mugs of that squirrely fresh coffee before the big bunny plush returned from the kitchens. He was moving quite slowly in an effort to not hop about, as he manouvered and slid a large dark chocolate gateau onto the table.

"Here we go! One special cake, all for you! But there is a fun rule to this cake, in that you aren't allowed to use your hands to eat it!"

"Ha, challenge accepted!" Randall cheered excitedly, and planted his whole muzzle right into the middle of the cake! Cream and chocolate flakes and sponge and icing, all smooshed over his face and fur, tucked around his nose as he eagerly started to munch his way through the cake. "Mrrfff, oooh this is actually really good!" he said, giddy with so much coffee and cake in him.

"Chef Skyler! Heehee, you are full of mischief today! This is the fifth cake you've made someone eat without using their hands!" Morty chirped while bouncing up and down, causing what remained of his coffee filling to slosh from side to side.

"Yeah, I know, but it's silly! And much more fun this way,"

Randall gulped down another mouthful of cake, and tried to use his hands to push himself up. This didn't seem to work, and a warm pinching seemed to block the movement of his fingers; all he could see were soft velvet wings twitching helplessly against the edge of the table. It seemed he now had no fingers to grip with. "Ooof, w-wha?" He lifted his head and tried to get a better look at his arms, but Morty bounced on top of his head and pushed his face back down in the sponge.

Spluttering and squirming, Randall managed another big mouthful of cake as he clawed at the ground with what were suddenly more like talons, those sharp plastic claws raking along the carpet. He froze at the sensation, flapping his wings. Feet shifted as he lifted his beak out of the cake, tingling all over as he stared down at what remained of himself! Most of the mess and cream had now gone and soaking into his plush, black silky velvet feathers shone in the light as he settled backwards in his chair. Randall's plastic beak clicked loudly, glass eyes looking outwards. That was him now, a silky plush raven.

"Woah, that was one interesting cake," he muttered as he slid sideways off the chair, landing with a soft whoomph on the floor. His legs were now bands of soft cotton filled up with stuffing, his body was coated in faux feathers made of black velvet, and he felt rather too heavy right now to get up and finish off the cake.

"Well, drat! I can't reach the cake from down here," he glanced at the yellow rabbit who clapped his mittens together gleefully. "But it's good! Very special indeed…"

"That's ok, let me help with that!" Skyler slid the cake towards the edge of the table. Randall's head went back, and his beak opened wide as the bunny tilted the cake over the edge! The bird toy swallowed whatever landed in his mouth, wings pulling sweet and tasty cake from his face so he could much on it more. The rest splattered over his fake feathers and soaked in, adding yet more plump plush volume to his velvety shape.

-0-