Thomas shifted in his sleeping bag and opened his eyes blearily. It was still dark out, probably the middle of the night. Nick was snoring, but that wasn't what had woken the 14 year-old Boy Scout. Pressure in his gut announced the fact that he might have eaten a few too many S'mores and hot dogs, and at least some of them wanted out. Grumbling a little, Thomas scooted out of the sleeping bag and fumbled for the roll of toilet paper he had brought along for just this sort of thing. When his fingers didn't find it, he opened the backpack and peered inside. Dammit! One of the other guys must have 'borrowed' his TP.
He was pretty sure who had it - Danny Henson had asked for some earlier. Bu which tent was his? A renewed pressure caused Thomas to clench his cheeks tight and he pushed through the tent flap and made his way towards the trees in his skivvies. There was no time to even slip on shoes, but the ground had a soft cover of pine needles, and there was just enough light to avoid pine cones and twigs. He was near the trees before he realized the light was moving with him! Looking up, he saw a huge firefly glowing with a bright blue light. That was weird - he had never heard of fireflies with colors or anything that big. Maybe a clump of fireflies?
He grunted in discomfort as his gut gave another push. Where was that damned latrine? He should have gone when it was light out. More of the odd groups of fireflies began to show up ahead of him, and he instinctively veered towards the illuminated path. No, this was wrong. He looked around in confusion - which way was the camp? Some Scout - he was lost a hundred feet from his tent? No, he could figure it out, he was just distracted by the need to take a massive crap.
Some of the other kids would be scared to be in the woods alone at night, but Thomas wasn't at all scared. He liked camping and being outdoors. Sure, computers and smart phones and Netflix were all great. Given a choice, though, Thomas would spend all his time in the wilderness.
He blinked as the glow around him seemed to suddenly flare, then fade back to the odd blueish light. Then he heard a high, musical voice say "You wish to spend all of your time in the wilderness?"
Spinning, Thomas looked for the source of the words - one of the other Scouts must have followed him. But he hadn't spoken his thought aloud, had he? He couldn't see anyone, though the thick forest would offer many great hiding places. "Who's there?" Some of the more couch-bound guys liked to give him grief over his preference for the outdoors. "Andy? Scott?"
"You wish to spend all of your time in the wilderness?" He whirled around as the question was repeated, very close. Whoever it was did a good job disguising their voice - it sounded high and soft and small, yet next to his ear.
Annoyed, Thomas said "Yeah, what of it? I like the woods! You guys can...." But his suggestion was cut off as the momentarily forgotten reason he was out here made itself known in a sudden and messy release. "Oh, crap!" He yanked his skivvies down, too late, and kicked them aside as he squatted where he was and let his body finish the dump. Damn! he was going to have to sneak back naked. He blinked in annoyance - the light seemed brighter again. The fireflies were all around him now. That was weird. They did not buzz - the noise they made sounded like... laughter?
"You will stay in the woods now The woods will be your new home." Bewildered, Thomas looked around again, but now he was not so sure he was hearing with his ears. Somehow, the voice seemed to be inside his head. More laughter. "We will provide you with a new form to allow your new life." He felt something brush the back of his head, and both felt and saw some of the firefly clumps land on his arms. His mouth fell open - up close it was easy to see that these were not clumps of fireflies, but tiny humans with wings! Was this some kind of strange dream? Thomas stared at the little person on his left arm. It looked somehow male, like an older teen with purple hair and wings, but only a few inches tall. Still doubting his own eyes, Thomas raised his arm and peered at the odd figure. It performed some sort of odd dance, and then suddenly darted forward and struck Thomas on the nose!
"Hey!" The blow was not really hard, but it startled the boy enough to make his stumble back and grab at his face. What the fuck? He blinked and felt his nose, which was pushed out a lot further than it should be. His whole face was throbbing, swelling. Light glinted off a smooth surface, and he saw one of the glowing people - fairies? - hovering over a still pond. Thomas stumbled over to it and looked at his reflection.
The fae gathered around him as he stared - his lower face was forming into a recognizable muzzle or snout, and he also saw that thick hair or fur was beginning to appear on his previously smooth chest. The little purple youth landed on top of his head and leaned over his forehead as if peering over a cliff. As Thomas watched, that cliff began to drop and change shape, his skull flattening. The fairies were brushing all around him now, each touch sending strange sensations from his body. Yet he could not tear his eyes away from the changing image in the pond's surface. No longer recognizable as ever being human, the beast almost looked like some shaggy dog, but as the purple fae continued to dance and bend to ruffle what had turned into coarse dark fur, Thomas found he was looking at a bear, a bear with Thomas's wide, bewildered and fascinated blue eyes. He managed to look down and saw that rest of his body was altering to match, mostly covered with the same dense dark fur, becoming thick and rounded. His hands were paws, as were his feet.
He knew he should be terrified, that he should run screaming away. But something was also changing in his head. He recognized the bear, and the sensations of his altered form were not new to him. He 'remembered' being an animal, memories growing stronger and more complete as the fae finished his transformation.
Thomas dropped to all fours and grunted, watching the last traces of his human body vanish. The fae swarmed and danced around him, and he saw his eyes darken, change into the deep brown orbs of a bear. He was no longer human, yet all he felt was curiosity about what kind of bear he was. Twisting around, he compared his size and shape to vague memories, and finally realized he had been turned into a: