Jessica looked inquisitively at the thatch of brown hair that had sprouted between my pectorals, and which was growing thicker by the second. "Mmmm. I'd call it the makings of a pretty sexy mane, Mr. Lion" she responded with a giggle. The giraffe woman craned her long neck forward and buried her muzzle in my chest, taking a moment to inhale deeply through her nose. "Ohhhhhh Mark, yessssssssss" she groaned, her eyes clouding over for a moment, "that's definitely the scent of a strong, male lion you've got there." I took a hesitant sniff of my own and even with my still human nose, I was able to catch a whiff of the deep oaky musk that was rising from my mane.
"But...but...but this is crazy! I'm not a lion. I'm just here on vacation" I stammered, trying to make sense of what I was seeing even as I felt myself grow more erect than before. My body was clearly aroused by the strange metamorphosis I was undergoing, even while I grew increasingly frightened as my arm hair began to thicken and transition into a dusty golden fur. "I don't want to become an animal" I whimpered.
"Shhhhhhh, it's okay sweetheart. Don't be scared. There was always a lion inside of you. Circe just uses the island to help bring it to the surface." Jessica was obviously trying hard to calm me but this was a lot to take in. I could feel her arms wrap around me as she suddenly pulled me in for a deep hug, my face squished between her large breasts owing to the significant difference in our heights. We stood there for a moment and I took several deep breaths to try and gain back some level of self control. As I did Jessica began to run her grey hoof-tipped fingers through the section of my mane extending halfway down my back in a soothing gesture. I admitted to myself that it felt good, really good actually, especially as she began to pet the shorter fur that was now sprouting down the small of my back and across my sides. But the thought that I was now being 'petted' by my date caused me to blush in embarrassment.
"Is this it? Am I going to turn all the way into a lion?" I asked, wondering whether I'd lose the power of speech and cognition and become nothing but an animal driven by pure instinct. The thought that I might lose everything about my personality inside the brain of a beast was far most terrifying than any of the physical changes to my body.