[quote=Mach2]
Just for curiousity, what exactly happens when someone changes to their shifter form? Is it a very quick thing, or does it take some time? Does it take energy or focus to do so, or is it fairly instinctive and effortless?
[/quote]

It's sort of an instinctive thing by the third year. It doesn't take a lot of energy, but you will feel the changes happen, although not painful. For example, my character would feel the tails grow rapidly, her canines elongating and her human ears getting replaced by the fox-like ears as well as... whatever other changes and "boosts" she gets. 

In the beginning, however, it takes a bit of effort, but the time it takes to change depends on what kind of Shifter you are. A Dragon, for example, would take significantly longer to change because of the sheer size (perhaps 5 seconds in total), whereas Lily would only take one second or so. If you wanted to, I guess you could slow it down, but not really speed it up.