"Let's begin with non-human primates, as they are fairly similar to humans in structure, and differ mainly in proportion," Lawson instructs, opening one of the large books to show you hand-drawn diagrams of the various body components of a gorilla. You have had enough biology classes to recognize the accuracy of the illustrations, but you still stare blankly, as you have no idea why Lawson is showing you this.
"What does this have to do with anything?" you finally ask, not seeing what you were supposed to get out of it. Lawson sighs impatiently, but gives you a look which tells you he is about to try to explain things simply enough so that even an idiot will understand it.
"Think of your body as made up of little balloon-like containers - your bones, your muscles, your skin, your hair, everything. Like a balloon, if you add more magical energy, the container will inflate, growing larger. However, unlike a balloon, if you want it to contract, you have to add magical energy as well to compress the containers, " Lawson states flatly and slowly. "So, if you add magical energy to one of the 'bone' containers, that bone will get larger or smaller, depending on what you want it to do. However, if you don't know which containers to add energy to and just move it around your body haphazardly, you will end up with something disproportionate, like your attempt at shifting yesterday." You remember how your first try at returning to your original body ended up mishapen, and nod in agreement.
"Therefore, you need to know exactly where you need to shift your energy to achieve the desired result," Lawson continues. "Hence, you need to study the exact structure of the form you wish to shift into: which bones are larger or smaller, the size of the muscles, the texture of the skin, the amount of hair, fur, or scales, and so on. Then, through practice, you will get the feel of exactly how much energy to use and where to use it to achieve that result."
You finally get an idea of how this shifting thing works, but studying anatomy books for a bunch of creatures sounds like a total drag. Wasn't magic supposed to be something like, "Poof!" problem solved? What was the point of learning all this stuff? You never wanted to be a familiar in the first place!
"Even if I study all this stuff," you grouse, "I still have no idea how magic works! Even if I know anatomy, how do I know how to move all this 'magical energy' you keep going on about?"
"What did you feel when I cast those transformation spells on you before?" Lawson asks sternly. You recall the sensations of weightlessness, the stretching of muscle and bone.
"It was weird...like vertigo almost...but it was different when you just gave me a tail..." you ponder.
"That's because when I changed your entire body, you felt the motion of magical energy throughout your whole form. However, when I only gave you a tail, I only added the energy to certain parts of your body. I extended your spine and added bones to make up the tail, grew nerves, blood vessels, muscles, fur, and of course, added the nerve connections to your brain," Lawson explains. "That's what happens when you move magical energy into specific areas."
"Yeah, but you are the one who moved it," you reply doubtfully. "I still have no clue how to do it." Lawson frowns, then indicates for you to get up.
"Stand over there. Oh, and take your shirt off," Lawson orders. You give him a dirty look, embarrassed at standing there half-naked, even though he had seen you fully nude multiple times already. He ignores your discomfort completely, so you finally acquiesce and remove your shirt, coming to stand before a full-length mirror placed in the corner. "Now, I'm going to do a partial transformation spell. Concentrate on feeling the flow of energy and how much travels through your body."
Before you can ask any questions or object, Lawson points at the brand on your chest, and you suddenly feel that recognizable sensation of your body shifting. However, this time, it is concentrated on your arms, which seem to elongate and swell up, consisting of thick muscle covered by black hair. Your huge arms how hang to about your knees, and the weight alone is surprising. You know understand why Lawson wanted you to remove your shirt; the seams would have split, as your arms are now indistinguishable from that of a gorilla. A sudden realization pops into your head.
"Wait...did you study the anatomy of every creature you turned me into?" You ask Lawson a bit incredulously, and begin to feel a bit of relief when he shakes his head. However, your hopes are soon dashed, as he points to a wall full of books.
"I studied the form of every creature in Grovesend," Lawson says evenly, and you raise your huge hand to rub your temples, forgetting how large it now is, nearly covering your entire head instead. "For now, start with these," Lawson directs, pointing to the books on the desk. "We'll practice moving magical energy later." Irritatingly, he leaves the room without changing you back. Mortified at the idea of sitting there with gorilla arms, a tail, and no cover, you grab the shirt - which no longer fits over your arms - and hang it in front of you, tying the sleeves around your torso to make a sort of hanging cover for your chest, a tricky business with the much larger arms.
After a mind-numbingly boring morning studying primate anatomy, Lawson finally allows you a break for lunch, then calls you out into the yard to instruct you on magical energy usage.
"You will never get the hang of it if you don't do it yourself, so let's begin with something basic," Lawson instructs. "First, try to change..."