Lucas grinned at his picture - it almost looked like a whole lion now. The face and arms were all wrong, though - the six year-old decided he would finish out the picture of the lion. Picking out the black and orange crayons, he changed the dots and squiggle that were supposed to be Neill's human face and created a black nose and whiskers on a protruding muzzle. There! That looked like a real lion's head now.
Downstairs, Neill blinked and rubbed at his face, suddenly having pains in his teeth and jaw. Was he getting a toothache? The sensation passed quickly, and he felt the long fangs in his muzzle curiously. Everything felt fine now. In fact, he felt wonderful. A little fuzzy-headed - that made him grin, since his head was covered in fur. An old joke he'd lived with all his life. He stopped to look in the mirror and admired the golden eyes, tawny fur, and handsome features of a lion. If he had to be a freak of nature, at least he was one that people admired. It was sometimes frustrating to have his comprehension of symbols limited by the partial animal intelligence that went along with his appearance, but he could read and write almost as well as Lucas. He wasn't embarrassed by this - heck, the doctors had told his parent's he'd never be able to read or write at all. Neill glanced at one of the old family pictures on the wall, taken so long ago that Lucas was not in it. The happy lion-boy standing with his parents, before they finally ahd a 'normal' son.
Upstairs, Lucas admired his artwork. Just a few finishing touches left.