Our protagonist Max follow his friend Claire enter the building with a sigh, Claire was pretty smitten with him and he didn’t know how to turn her down. She was beautiful, but the girl wasn’t simply his type.
The beer was good thought, so he started to sip slowly while checking the various girls passing on the road until he noticed a busty woman staring right at him with an inviting smile on her face, sitting alone at a table.
You make a beeline for her as she follow your every move with a sharp gaze, a hint of something unidentifiable flash across her face for a second but the next moment the expression return to a more benevolent disposition, the suddenness of the change so abrupt that you convince yourself that you have imagined it.
“Hello young visitor, how may I be of service?” The girl asked suddenly “I am outside my shift but I can still help a cute boy like you”
“Well, I mean… I wanted to ask if…” You flush with embarrassment when she stops you “You want to join me at the table? Sure, I don’t mind. So who are you, cute boy?”
“I’m Max, me and a group of friend reached the island less than an hour ago. We decided to explore this place separately in the first day” Your ears itch and become pointed as you introduce yourself to the beautiful girl.
“Mmmh, is that so… I’m Beth by the way, your average employee on this park, I serve drinks for the visitors most of the time. That reminds me, won’t you finish that beer? I could give you a taste of my better drinks after that if you want” The woman leans on the table and examines you with a critical gaze, lingering on the ears for longer “Why don’t we make this an opportunity to learn about each other? A good drinking contest only between the two of us, I prepare the cocktails and if you manage to keep up with me there could be a prize at the end for you” Her wink prompt you to guzzle down the rest of the beer with a smile while she prepare a cocktail.
“Challenge accepted. So Beth, how did you find work here?” A pair of fully formed donkey ears perk up as the girl answer “My mother wanted me to have experience before she allowed me to explore the world alone. Sometimes that woman can be suffocating but I can’t say her methods didn’t work, between the instructors and the visitors that sample my concoctions on the island I am turning into an expert. What about you? Here for work or for pleasure?”
“Here only as a guest with a group of friend, but I would not mind a part time or a permanent job here”
“Really?” Beth presents you the finished drink and hides a smile behind her hand as your new tail swing back and forth “I could really use a bit of help here, maybe after the vacation I could convince the manager to offer a job to you” You regard her strangely as she start to giggle when you finish the drink.
“Something funny?” Your shoes slide down your smooth hooves and clatter uselessly on the ground while your backside inflates and fills the chair in seconds.
“No, no, merely an inside joke between us employees” She pass the second finished cocktail to you “You should speed up through, I already drank one more glass than you, do you want to lose our bet?”
“No, of course not. By the way, do you know why there are so many donkey themed attractions here? Our group was stumped earlier” Your body tingle all over and absentmindedly you scratch your arms when uneven patches of sandy colored fur spread on the skin.
“Ah, that. Many visitors inquired about our manager’s obsession, the boss loves animals, especially donkeys. Did you know that this island was managed by our boss’s family for generation with this business? He even said in passing that one of his ancestors is the witch Circe” She winks at you as you stare at her with a raised eyebrow, obvious of the changes that still continue under her eyes.
“The mythical witch Circe? Of the Odyssey? Tell me another one, everyone knows that witches aren’t real”
Beth giggles again with mirth “You would be surprised” After a few moments she regain her poise and sighs wearily “I enjoyed our conversation but now it’s time to bring this to a closure”
“What are you talk-HAW!” Your face transform finally into an animal muzzle and you lose your ability to talk in the same moment that the weight and depth of the changes affect you.
You started to hyperventilate when the eyes landed on your changing hands, that now are full hooves, and are interrupted when Beth calls you “Look at me Max. Come here” You turn with a snarl in her direction but all your aggression disappear when the girl bring out two lumps of sugar, that she offers you with a kind smile “Don’t you want a prize?” Yes, yes I do.
You fall on all four with ease, the last remain of your former status a torn shirt around your neck, and approach the kind girl with slow clops as her smile becomes wider and wider. The only hitch is when the girl turn around to pick up an halter for you and stop your advance “I know that this is what you want. Come to me, silly jackass” Your desire for the lumps wins as you reach Beth, the girl harness you and pet your mane as you eat the sugar. The moment you are harnessed you regain the mind and memories of your previous self with a frightened bray “And here we are at last. The thing we discussed early was not a falsehood, we will find an apt work for you on the island, aren’t you thrilled?”
In response you kick and bray for freedom “STAY STILL!” You freeze in terror as an ugly sneer appear on her face “Want to know a secret? I am a witch, and I can make your stay here very uncomfortable for you Max. The last jock that rebelled and made noise is now in the stable awaiting HER next lover, begging to be mounted like a common beast. Do you want to join her as a horny jenny?” Wide eyed you shake your head “That’s what I thought. Behave, donkey, and if you really try to escape wait until I deliver you to the corral when you will not be my responsibility, as unlikely as it is your breakout. You have only one hour to escape the park after the transformation before it's irreversible after all”
“Come, we lost too much time already” She lead your dejected self to a new home whistling a merry tune, obvious to your inner panic and turmoil.