Mary rifled through the vials in the dying light. She had to hurry, or risk protecting herself overnight in her current form. She spotted one vial that caught her attention.
Eagle, huh? she thought. They have good eyesight. And I think they are an apex predator. What the hell? It might make a good addition to the mix. What difference does it really make? I can change back to myself in the morning.
She easily uncorked the vial with her prehensile hands. She tried to drink half of the vial, but ended up with just a tad bit more than she expected. She sat back and waited for the changes to begin. She was eager for her wings to develop, and she hoped she might get a chance to fly.
After several minutes of no change, Mary was afraid it was a dud. The only thing she felt was a slight tickling along her neck. She reached up to feel her fur, and was surprised to feel hard stubble growing up her neck and around her head. She pulled out one of them out, and was surprised to see a small white feather.
It's working, she thought excitedly. It is finally working.
As if spurred on by her excitement and rapid heartbeat, the changes began to accelerate rapidly. The feathers grew longer and thicker. They began to spread up over her head, and down to her elbows. When they reached her elbows, the skin on her forearms began to take on a different texture. It became thick and hard, with a yellow color. The digits of her hands fused, leaving her with a four-fingered talon. Thick sharp claws grew from her fingers. As the feathers reached her snout, it began to ache. She opened and closed her jaw reflexively, trying to ease the pain. The bones beneath her lips changed into a yellow color, and began to push out from beneath her lips into a sharp beak. Her teeth shrank and became smooth as they receded into her flat but sharp beak. She tried to speak, but the only sound that came out was a shrill caw.
She was beginning to get a little worried. Maybe she had taken this too far. She had always been able to talk before. But her thoughts were interrupted by a tickling on her back. Two large wings erupted from her back, and rapidly grew in size. She flapped them experimentally, and dust flew around her, thrown into the air by the power of her strong wings.
Cool, she thought. I wonder if I can really fly?
She walked to the edge of her cave, and looked at her reflection in the stream she used earlier. Her head and chest resembled an eagle, along with the wings on her back. Her hind quarters resembled the Doberman, with the long thin tail of a monkey. She flexed her talons, and found that they still had some of the prehensile abilities of a monkey. But staring in the water, she thought her overall appearance could only be mistaken for one creature - a gryphon!
The only thing that bothered her was her size. Sharing characteristics with a bird had caused her size to diminish a bit. She still packed on quite a bit of muscle, but she wondered if she should add another predator to the mix. Maybe a lion, or another big cat of some kind. Her stomach rumbled. She was also a little hungry, and in the mood for a good hunt. She flapped her wings again. She was also eager to try flying. She could always mess around with the vials later.
She looked up at the inviting night sky, and pondered her choices.