Duncan slipped into the room, a covered dish in hand, and had just started to step through the door before realizing his fatal error in logic. Hanging back in the doorway, he cleared his throat. "Dierdre? Could you please say something? I'm afraid of stepping on you or sitting on you and squashing you by mistake."

"I'm over here," Dierdre called from a dainty little jewelry box. "You certainly took long enough. I'm starving."

Duncan had already turned his head toward the sound of her voice and started toward her before he consciously realized where the sound was coming from. He took one look, then chuckled. "Poor thing." He set down the dish and reached in to retrieve his wife. "How many other rats get linen sheets? I brought you some trifle and some venison stew. I only hope they haven't run together."

"I don't care if they've run together," Dierdre answered. "Do you know, rats like foods that I would normally think are horrible run together?"

"I built a little fort between them with breadcrusts, so they should be all right." He uncovered the dish and set her down gently on the table before it. "Pregnant women are also famed for liking odd things run together," he said, "so we'll just have to see if you still like it once you're yourself again."

"At this rate, I suspect I'm going to be giving birth as a rat," Dierdre answered miserably. "How would you like a little rat baby?" she asked, before shoving her snout hungrily into the food.

He stroked her back, watching her intently as she tucked in. "You are not going to have a little ratty baby," he said firmly, "so put that thought right out of your mind."

But Dierdre's body lurched right at that moment, and she let out a cry, and then a groan, as her legs began to lengthen all of a sudden. "Duncan?!" she cried. "Duncan?!"

Duncan snatched his hand away from her and took a step backwards. His face was drawn and ill. "What . . . what's going on?"

Her body was changing-- growing drastically and violently, and the fur that covered her was slowly receding to bare skin. Her tail was shrinking, and she curled her forelegs...which were very long now-- around her belly protectively. "I don't know!" she answered, her face contorted in pain-- but it was a drastically more Tuatha face, with eyes on the front of the head instead of either side, and a very short snout.