"Lions, I guess." John thought about it. "Yes, definitely."
The receptionist nodded and smiled. "I can see you as a lion. A very good choice. Come with me." She led him into a long hallway decorated with amazing tapestries of different animals. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, with only the elaborate wall hangings on either side. She stopped before one that showed a pride of lions resting on rocks in an African savannah. Despite being woven fabric, the scene was amazingly detailed and realistic.
John grinned at the majestic male sunning himself. The animal's golden yellow eyes seemed to be regarding him directly, radiating a sense of power and authority.
"Touch him." The receptionist gestured at the tapestry.
Puzzled, he did as instructed, and was surprised by the texture of the tapestry - it felt like he was actually brushing a thick, wild mane. Then he was bombarded by sudden sensations of heat, strong musky smells, and bright light as he found himself inches away from a very real male lion, his fingers tangled in the animal's golden-brown mass of hair. It had a strong, almost acrid odor and strong breath that hit John as hot gusts. Stunned, he stood motionless, staring back into those gold eyes. His mind raced, trying to make sense of what was going on. This couldn't be real.
A hard nudge against his leg made him look down and he saw one of the females push the robe away to lick his leg with a coarse, huge tongue. He felt it - the warm rough tongue and a slick saliva that coated his skin. Then another lioness grabbed the back of his robe in her jaws and yanked, nearly pulling him over. The seams of the silk garment split instead, falling away to leave him totally naked.
This was real. John had no doubt at all that he had somehow been transported to some African plain, and also pretty sure he was about to become lunch for a pride of lions. Running was pointless - he was surrounded. Bu he did not want to just stand here and be mauled to death. The lion was still staring at him, and John had the strangest feeling he was being judged. "P-please. I d-d-on't want to d-die." He stuttered, shaking in terror, realizing it was silly to be talking to these beasts. Then the huge male roared so powerfully that strings of spittle hit John and it felt like his very bones were vibrating.
The lionesses appeared to take that as a cue, and two of them sprang and knocked him heavily to the ground. He screamed and curled into a ball as the entire pride of females and cubs pounced on him, slobbering, licking, lipping, pawing. Convulsions racked his body and he cried out as muscles were ripped and flesh was torn... except that was not what was happening. He felt pain, but it was internal, not caused by wounds. Saliva coated his entire body, tongues dragging oddly over his skin, the mass of animals looming over him, getting larger, heavier. Their odors filled his nostrils, warm and maternal.
Confusion began to replace John's terror as he realized that the beasts were not actually harming him, and even stranger, he was starting to enjoy what had become an impromptu tongue bath. He looked around and recoiled from the sight of huge muzzles and massive fangs. Even the cubs had grown to the size of a grown man, some larger than he was. He was still trying to process this when one of the monster females lifted him up by gently gathering loose skin on the back of his neck between her teeth and carrying him over to the now draft-horse-sized male.
As those same calm golden eyes regarded him, John became aware of many things at once. First of all, humans did not have loose skin on the back of their necks. Second, the arms that flailed helplessly in front of him were covered in golden-tan fur and ended in small paws. The lions leaned his huge muzzle forward and sniffed at John, then licked him once. The huge tongue initially felt like those of the lionesses, but it seemed to catch on something deep inside. John shuddered as part of his self, his identity, was ripped out of his mind.
The newborne cub blinked in confusion at the male, disoriented by strange images and curious ideas that did not make sense to it. Then it was lowered back to the ground and nudged close to its brother. The two found teats and began nursing as their mother licked them lovingly. The new female cub dismissed the odd thoughts as she suckled, accepting the far simpler identity that would be hers from now on.