".... gryphons."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
Kate flushed bright red with embarrassment.
"I said the spell is supposed to change you both into gryphons," repeated Kate, loudly and more clearly this time.
Tom's heart began to slow as he started to relax. It was impossible. Gryphons were not real. Magic was not real. What was he so worried about? Tom glanced over his shoulder and saw Matt loosening up as well.
"Gryphons? Really?" asked Tom, arching an eyebrow. "You can't be serious. That doesn't seem like much of a punishment. In fact, it seems a little dangerous."
"Well, I was going to make them my pets. I mean, what other choice would they have after they became gryphons? It's not like they could go to the police or anything. They would get locked up or sent to a zoo or something if they complained to anyone," said Kate anxiously.
Tom could see that she was uncomfortable. It didn't seem like she had really thought this plan through very well and was now feeling a bit silly. Tom didn't know Kate very well. She was not his type of girl - too much of a tomboy and a little too fond of the 'goth' style for his taste - but she seemed alright. He felt a little bad for her. But he just had to ask, even if it made her feel worse.
"Okay, I'll bite. Why gryphons? If you wanted a pet, why not make them dogs or cats or something?" said Tom, now completely relaxed.
Matt was standing behind him, looking over his shoulder at the short girl standing in their doorway. He was smirking, trying to hold back his laughter. Neither of them were very concerned anymore. It was just some poor girl's delusion or a bad practical joke.
"Are you kidding? Gryphons are awesome. They have the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. You know, eagles are the kings of birds and lions are the kings of the beasts so gryphons are like - double kings or something. All majestic and powerful and shit, like the king of all creatures! They have the strength of a lion and the agility of an eagle. And they can fly! I mean, what could be a better pet than that? " said Kate rapidly.
She was so excited she barely paused to breath, instead just rattling on about the greatness of Gryphons. Her eyes were practically glowing with excitement ... at least that was what Tom thought at first. Then he looked closer at her eyes.
At first Tom thought the whites of her eyes were changing colors, shifting to a pale yellow. Then he realized it was just her yellow iris, slowly expanding and covering the surface of her eye. Soon her black pupil sat in a pool of clear, smooth amber - just like an eagle's eye!
Tom looked back at Matt. He too must have noticed the change. His face was a pale, ghostly white.
Kate noticed them staring at her.
"Hey, why are you guys looking at me like that? And why haven't you guys changed into gryphons yet?" asked Kate. "I know I got the spell right. I practiced it all morning."
"Just a second ..." said Matt, disappearing behind Tom.
Tom looked back at his friend, wondering what he was doing. He didn't want to be left alone with Kate. He had no idea what to tell her. Matt had disappeared into his room. When Tom turned back around to look at Kate, the changes were worse. Her normally short dark black hair was lighter, a grey color that was quickly approaching white. It didn't really even look like hair - it was too fluffy. And in between the strands of her hair he could see short, small white feathers poking out. Worse, the feathers seemed to be spreading, beginning to sprout on the back of her neck and forehead.
Kate seemed anxious, bouncing from foot to foot. Tom was afraid to even think about what might be happening inside her thick black boots.
"What's the big deal?" said Kate.
"See for yourself," said Matt with a smile, as he passed a hand mirror over Tom's shoulder to Kate.
Kate grabbed the mirror and looked at her reflection in horror. Her hair was now completely white and the feathers had spread to her cheeks. Kate's eyes wandered down to the hand holding the mirror. Her nails were thick, black, and very sharp. They seemed to curl as they continued to grow. The skin around her hands was tough and mottled, with a yellow cobblestone pattern.
"No, no, no," moaned Kate softly as she brushed past Matt and Tom, out of the hallway and into their apartment. She made a beeline for their bathroom, not stopping until she was in front of the mirror.
Matt laughed loudly, almost manically. Tom elbowed him hard in the gut.
"What?" asked Matt.
"Dude, that was not cool, " said Tom.
"Well, she asked," said Matt.
"And you could have told her in a nicer way, instead of freaking her out like that, " said Tom.
"Oh, screw her. She was trying to do that to us! I say she deserves a little taste of her own medicine," said Matt.
"Whatever, " said Tom angrily.
Kate didn't know what she was doing. She wasn't trying to hurt them. And he had no idea what her boyfriend had done to her. Tom headed to the bathroom to see if he could help Kate.
"Oh God, " said Kate as she apprehensively lifted up her shirt. Light brown peach fuzz was covering her abdomen, racing up underneath the top of her shirt to meet the feathers on her neck. The short thin hairs were rapidly getting longer and thicker. Tom had no doubt it would soon become the tawny fur of a lion. "I don't understand. I did everything it said, just like it said. I didn't mess anything up, I swear! Why is this happening to me?!"
"Hey, it's no big deal, " said Tom reassuringly, gently patting her shoulder. "I am sure you can just use another spell to fix this."
"No ... you don't .... understand ... " grunted Kate. She roughly shrugged his hand off her back, rolling her shoulders. "There is no going back! The spell .... is irreversible.... Fuck!"
Kate screamed and ran into the living room. She pulled her shirt over head and tossed it to the floor. Even though she was still wearing a bra, Tom tried to be a gentleman and look away. But he couldn't help but stare at the fur covering her back. And the two small bumps pulsing and throbbing underneath the skin on her back. Kate continued to groan and moan. She tried to fruitlessly to reach behind her back with her talon-like hands. Tom had no idea what she was trying to do - scratch them, massage them? He was about to gently rub them himself when Kate screamed and dropped to the floor.
Kate assumed a quadruped stance on the floor, grimacing as she continued to roll her shoulders. Her hands and claws dug deep divots in the floor. They could hardly be called hands anymore. Her thumb had shifted backwards into some kind of dew claw and her remaining fingers had merged into three thick digits that ended in curved black claws. Tom had no idea what was happening in her boots but he assumed it wasn't good. He could hear the fabric straining to control her enlarging digits and claws. Kate's pants had already torn under the pressure of her growing thigh muscles in a few places, revealing more tawny fur. A short but rapidly lengthening brown tail poked out of the back of her pants, waving angrily back and forth.
Kate's chest expanded, her ribs cracking as her chest assumed a barrel shape. Her bra clung uselessly around her chest, covering nonexistent breasts that had sunk into her smooth chest. Her waist arched upwards, flattening and assuming the concave shape of a feline predator.
The masses on her back writhed under her skin like worms until finally breaking free. Thin bony appendages stretched out of the holes. The short feathers lining the bones grew longer and more numerous as the developing wings flapped behind her back.
Kate screamed as her wings burst free. It was an awful sound, an inhuman sound. Tom prayed it wound end after her wings emerged but Kate continued to yell. Her screams became screeches as a yellow beak pushed out from underneath her lips.
Finally, it was over. The changes seemed to have stopped. Kate sat crouched on the ground, panting rapidly.
Well, at least the two roommates thought it was Kate. The creature before them looked like some kind of mythical monster. It was the size of a large lioness with a head that looked like it belonged on some kind of prehistoric bird. Its sharp talons looked like they could rend flesh as easily as a knife cutting through butter.
Tom realized that this animal could easily kill him and his roommate if it chose to do so. But what could he do? Run? That was laughable! The thing could effortlessly chase him down. But it was preferable to just standing still and letting it eat him. Of course, running might just entice the creature to chase him, so maybe it was better to just stay still. And there was always the possibility that Kate was still in there, just as scared and confused as he was.
Tom looked at the Gryphon for a moment, then decided to ...