"Well, I told you I had a way to fix things. We can trade back. But I'm not running a charity. What can you offer me in return for your height?" You've barely spoken this when Eric starts to scream. "Seriously bro? Fuck. Off. You're a lunatic, I'm calling the cops, and they're gonna send your crazy. Fucking. Ass. To. PRISON!" Eric goes to leave but you quickly stand in front of the door, blocking his path. You pull the ring from your pocket, sliding it onto your finger. You hold your arms up high. The former goliath realizes the importance of the trinket and reaches up to stop you. But he can't quite reach. You chuckle a little and decide on a quick course of action. Eric is absolutely pissed. "Give me that fucking ring!"
You decide you need to deal with the shrunken hunk quickly, and scan potential options in your mind. You find yourself running through a list of other gym patrons. Of course! Suddenly you remember someone you've seen at the gym quite a bit. Terrence.
Terrence is a little person. He comes to the gym to have a little more control over his appearance; due to his achondroplasial dwarfism, he struggles with weight gain and putting on muscle mass. But he's a diligent patron of the gym, and you can't think of a time you've gone when Terrence hasn't been there. He's a permanent fixture, like Eric was up until yesterday. Friendly, too -- the first time you two talked, he struck up a conversation while waiting for you to finish with a machine. You felt embarrassed that first time you chatted, sure you were going to make yourself look stupid or ignorant to this stranger, but Terrence was too personable to notice. Honestly, he might be TOO charismatic. He's a bit of a motormouth, so you try not to talk to him on days when you're on a tight schedule.
You feel like Terrence might deserve the chance to have a new perspective on things. Although he is now very lean and has a small amount of muscle tone, you know he has had his struggles with being only 4'1". For his job, Terrence needs to wear suits, and has complained to you more than once that it's very expensive to get them custom made. He works in a bank, and as a result his teeth are shiny and his skin usually has a healthy tan. Terrence's dark brown hair is usually neatly combed and parted, too, completing the put-together appearance. You're sure the man has long come to terms with being different, but maybe he would enjoy the chance to experience things another way. You can always switch the two men back tomorrow.
You kiss the ring, focusing on Terrence and Eric and their respective builds. Eric suddenly falls to the floor, losing his balance from the sudden shift in his body. It doesn't take him long to look down at himself. "What the fuck did you do? [Name], you FUCKING prick!" Eric has shrunken over a foot and a half. You quickly notice that his hair is a deep mahogany. It makes the hair on his arms much more prominent; at least from the few inches of forearm you can see poking out of the too-large t-shirt. His previously light blond hair made the strands of hair on his extremities nearly invisible, but his new, darker color made them quite prominent. The man's shorts are halfway off. His smaller waist and shorter leg length leave him with only a pair of ill-fitting boxers to wear, which still droop nearly to his ankles. One of Eric's shoes is off from his tumble; it looks like Eric lost a couple shoe sizes from the exchange too. Suddenly, he slaps his hands to his chest, both still quite muscular, and finally realizes what has happened. "I'm a god damn midget!" His silhouette must be almost a square; when he rights himself and stands, his massive bulk looks wildly disproportionate to his body. Eric cranes his neck to meet your gaze, and begins to shout. "TURN ME BACK! NOW!"
It doesn't take you long to decide what to do. The small-statured hulk doesn't know the ring has any limitations -- so you decide to lie. "I don't think so. I think you should stay like this for a bit." Eric is gnashing his teeth with fury. "Maybe you'll realize that height isn't everything with some time to stew. And maybe you'll learn to be a little nicer to the guy with the magic." You pause before adding an afterthought. "I can make things much worse, so don't try anything crazy." Eric tries to force himself to calm down, but his hands are in tight fists, his knuckles bright white. His mouth is a tight line on his face, the closest expression to a smile he can muster. "If you can play nice for a day, I'll turn you back. For now, someone else is going to enjoy the height you took for granted." The small man practically spits his response: "Fine."