Meanwhile, the other girls were exploring the park. It was still being remodeled, so it gave the park a creepy half-finished appearance. But the new style coming in seemed more inviting and friendlier. Though what was more interesting were the people working on the park. Every single one of them was an anthropomorphic animal. There were a wide variety of mammals, though most of them were canines or felines. There were also bird people and reptile people. They even saw a few frog men and one big shark man. Some of them were the colors you would expect from ordinary animals, but others were bright, unnatural colors.
Another thing they all had in common was that they were buck-naked. Sure, some of them were wearing hardhats, worker gloves, and tool belts, but nothing else at all. The males did have sheathes to hide their equipment and the females sometimes had fur thick enough to cover their private parts, but everything else was on display. The girls were soon blushing and trying to avoid openly looking at the animal people. It didn't help that they were all in good physical shape and had sexy bodies. Most of the girls were trying not to stare at the males' muscles. Katie was trying to avoid looking at the females' bodies, particularly the ones who didn't have fur to cover themselves up. Poor Claudia had it worse than anyone else. It was easy to forget that she and Mika were both bisexual. As much as they loved each other, they both had fun checking out hot guys. Now everywhere she looked she saw sexy animal people and her face kept getting redder and redder.
"So...any of these rides you wanna go on?" asked Mary Elise, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Are you joking?" asked Katie in a flat voice, "You do know what this park is supposed to be for, right?"
"Well, it's not like it would be permanent," said Mary, "We could probably change ourselves back or have Merlin do it."
"Circe is a goddess," said Katie, "Maybe not the most powerful one, but I'm pretty sure her spells can't be undone so easily."
"Well, actually they can, if you want them to be," said a familiar voice. The girls turned to see Franklin standing not too far away.
"Have you been following us?" asked Lisa accusingly.
"I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of the rules of this park," said Franklin, "And the rule most likely to be important to you is that you don't have to remain transformed if you don't wish it."
"Really? Just like that?" asked Karen.
"Our goddess has made this park to be a place where those who want to become their true selves make that a reality. If someone doesn't want to stay transformed, they'll change back as soon as they leave the park," said Franklin.
"And how many people have done that?" asked Kumiko.
"None that I know of," said Franklin, "I mean, you're becoming your fantasy character and no one else will notice the difference. Why would you want to change back?"
"Tempting, but some of us have other fantasies," said Katie.
Franklin shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." He then walked away.
"So, now that we know it's not permanent, you guys wanna go on the rides?" asked Mary Elise.
"Mary..." started Katie.
"Oh, it's just for fun," said Mary Elise, "Don't want to see yourself as an animal?"
"Not really," said Katie. Being a rabbit, even briefly, was enough for her.
"I'm kinda curious," said Karen.
"If we can change back, I don't see the harm," said Samantha.
"It would make some good pictures," said Kumiko.
"Guys, we're only here because Circe wants to talk with Kellie and Mika," said Katie.
"Oh, don't be a stick in the mud," said Lisa, "We've had crazier fun with just our rings."
"Yeah, but it didn't involve us changing species," said Katie. But when she saw her friends' pleading face, she threw up her hands and said, "Fine, guess I'll have to make sure you don't get over your heads."
The girls started looking at various rides to go on. "What about the merry-go-round?" asked Mary Elise.
"I wouldn't," said Karen, "I bet that when the carousel spins forward, it makes you older but when it spins backwards, it makes you younger." The others gave her an odd look. "It was in a book. Well, two books actually."
"That seems...kinda redundant," said Katie, "I mean, I already have the Ring of Age."
"Fair point," said Mary Elise, "What about the Tunnel of Love?"
"Nah, nobody has their boyfriend or girlfriend here," said Samantha, "I bet it'll make you fall in love with the person you ride with."
"Or maybe get...intimate with them..." said Claudia, still blushing red.
"Ok, maybe the roller coaster?" asked Mary Elise.
"Nope, that's not finished," said Kumiko, pointing out that there were still animal men working on it.
"Ok, so what can we go on?" asked Mary Elise with frustration.
"How about that?" asked Lisa, pointing to a building shaped like a tiger's head with its mouth being the door. The sign on it said 'Cave of Mirrors'.
"A funhouse? Seems kinda cliche," said Mary Elise, "And how do we know we'll get what we want?"
"You'll definitely get what you want in there." The group turned to see a tall red lioness. Well, she looked like a lioness though she had very long hair like a mane. She most definitely had breasts, but between her legs...
"What is that?" squeaked Claudia, looking at the sheath that was between the lioness's legs.
"Uh, what she means is that are you supposed to be a male or a female," said Katie more diplomatically.
The lioness chuckled and said, "Both, I'm a hermaphrodite."
"Wait, you can do that?" asked Samantha.
"Yes. Our goddess's magic allows us to be who we want to be, man or beast, male or female. I just decided to be both," said the lioness, "The mirrors inside will allow you to become who you'll want to be."
"Is that so?" asked Claudia, feeling less embarrassed. She could already imagine herself becoming a strong beast woman, someone that would be more confident. She was even thinking of becoming a hermaphrodite so Mika could have the best of both worlds.
"I'm sure it's not as simple as that," said Katie.
"Maybe not that simple," said the lioness, "You'd have to find the right mirror, the one that reflects your inner self or what you most want to be like. But everyone finds what they're looking for eventually." With that, shi walked off.
"Ok, we should go into the Cave of Mirrors," said Lisa.
"I saw we put it to a vote," said Katie, "All in favor-"
"AYE!" said all the other girls.
"I should have known," said Katie before they started walking in, "Franklin better have been right about it not being permanent."