After washing off the mud John found the fur hanging by the door of the cabin, just as Lucy had promised. It was soft and large, like a big blanket. He didn't want to ask what it was made of, or how Lucy got it. After he sufficiently covered his nudity, he opened the door and entered the small cabin.
The cabin was small and sparsely furnished. He saw a few stumps that he assumed were used as chairs or possibly a table. There was a large bed in the corner, lined by several similar furs. The walls were lined by several parallel logs, cemented together with mud. The center of the cabin was dominated by a large fireplace. The overall effect was the feeling of a well designed home that felt cozy and inviting, not at all what he expected from an alligator.
Lucy was currently turning a spit in the fireplace, carefully cooking some fish. John walked up beside her and sat down on one of the stumps. He didn't realize how close he was to her, and when John looked up he found his face just a few feet from Lucy's cloacae. He looked down at the ground, trying to avoid staring at it.
"Sorry if this tastes a little funny. It's been a while since I cooked for a human, and my palate is a little less refined. If it weren't so late I would try to find some spices or something, " said Lucy. She continued to twist her hips as she cooked, inadvertently lifting her tail and presenting to him.
Lucy waited for John to respond. When he didn't say anything, she turned and saw him looking down in embarrassment. She stood up and pulled tail down, hiding her cloacae.
"Sorry about that. I have been like this for so long I sometimes forget what it is like to be human. I mean, I hardly have a reason to be modest anymore, not when I look like this. Nudity just seems natural. But I guess I better cover up, " said Lucy, as she walked over to the bed and grabbed a small fur to wrap around her waist.
John looked up at her in shock. "You were once human?"
Lucy nodded. "We all were once. Even poor Celia. But the longer you stay out here, the more you likely you are to .... change."
"What do you mean? What happened to you? What is this place?" asked John.
Lucy sat down beside him on another stump. "Honestly, I don't know. I just followed a path into the woods one day and ended up here. I got lost and couldn't find my way back. Eventually, I had to make a shelter, and I decided to stay by the lake. Good water supply and all that. It took a while, and I had to hunt to survive. Over time I just slowly started to change until I looked like this."
"What about Celia? And you said there were others?" asked John.
"Yeah, there are others. Celia is the one I had the most contact with. The others are too wild, or just avoid me. But Celia's story was kind of the same as mine," said Lucy.
"But what caused you to change? Why are you an alligator and she is a skunk?" asked John.
Lucy just shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, John, I just don't know. We talked it over and we just figured that the longer you stay here the more likely you were to change. As to what triggers it - what determines the animal you become - I couldn't say. Maybe it's where you spend your time. Celia hid in the forest while I set up camp on the lake. Then again, maybe it just releases your spirit animal or something and we just naturally gravitated towards where our inner animals would go. Who can say?"
Lucy looked a little strange when she was discussing her transformation, almost like she was hiding something. But John figured it was a sore subject and didn't press her. Instead he asked a different question.
"Why did you try to get me away from Celia? I thought you were friends," said John.
"We are, " said Lucy quickly. She sighed. "But Celia has been going a little crazy lately. It is very lonely out here, as I am sure you can imagine. We rarely see other people, much less a human male. I have a feeling that she wanted to take you home and keep you. Maybe as a companion, maybe as a pet. I don't know. But one thing I do know is that the longer you stay the more likely you are to become like us."
John looked at the door nervously. Lucy patted his hand.
"Relax, John. It took quite a while for me to look like this. You aren't going to change overnight. I don't know the way home, but I'll try my best to point you in the right direction tomorrow. I have a feeling poor lonely Celia wouldn't have been so willing to part with you," said Lucy.
John relaxed, but just a little. He had to get out of here as soon as possible. He didn't want to become some kind of hybrid monster.
"You said there were others.... people or hybrids?" asked John.
"Both. I rarely see a complete human come by. I try to help them, but they always run away when they see me. You are the first one to stop. Although, I guess I did have to sneak up on you a little. As for the other hybrids, Celia is probably the only one I am really close with. I see most of the others just running through the forest, probably trying to find the exit. Of course, I am an apex predator. They probably see me as some kind of threat. The funny thing is most of them appear to be female. I don't know if that is because most of the people that find their way here are female. Or maybe the males become feral and go full animal. I don't know. But anyway, that makes you kind of special. A human male is very, very rare, " said Lucy with a smile.
John blushed a little. He didn't feel special. But he understood the implication. Celia wouldn't be the only hybrid that wanted to trap him.
Lucy sniffed the air. "But enough talk about this cursed forest. It smells like the food is ready and it's not pleasant dinner conversation. I want to hear all about you and the human world. Like I said, it's not often I get company, human or otherwise, and I am dying for some good small talk."
She handed John a fish, and he greedily devoured it. Even without spices, it was still pretty tasty.