Remembering what Officer Dale said, James decided to go to the little shop and see if there was anything this shopkeeper could do to help.
He entered the shop and looked around. It looked as though it sold a bit of everything, food, clothes, books and films. "Can I help you?" Asked a voice and he turned around, leaning on the counter was a cheetah woman. James began to feel his heart race inside his chest, he, an overweight kid had just walked straight into building a lone with a carnivore - though she was quite attractive for a carnivore.
James had never really considered himself a furry before but looking at the cheetah behind the counter, he had to admit she was rather pretty. She was tall, six foot four to be precise and had an athletic body and deep blue eyes. "Can I help you?" She repeated.
"S....sorry." James stammered nervously, the cheetah raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you're new here?" She said, he nodded and quickly told her how he had gotten here.
"..... And then Officer Dale suggested I come here." He told her, finishing his story and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know where else to go, Officer Dale said that you might be able to help me." He confessed to her and the cheetah straightened herself up, she felt sorry for him and her face showed it.
"Sorry to hear that, if it makes you feel any better, you aren't the first person to get transported here." She told him. "I'm Zuri by the way." "James." He replied and looked around.
"What kind of shop is this anyway?" He asked her, spotting a book entitled: a beginners guide to speaking elk. "It's a place to help newcomers like you fit in." She told him and James spotted a pair of jeans hung up on a rack, they looked as tough they had a hole in the back for a tail. "Are these clothes for animals?" He asked, confused. "Yes," Zuri replied. "But I thought you said this shop was catered to humans?" Said James, even more confused. "It is, we help humans fit in by turning them into animals." She explained.
"What!" Replied a startled James, "you actually transform human being into...." "Animals, yes." Said Zuri casually. "But you said you help humans fit in," said James, a mixture of confusion and fear in his voice, this was beginning to feel like some weird horror story.
"Believe it or not, that's the best way for humans to integrate into society." Zuri told him. "Humans aren't exactly well respected around here, I'm sorry to say this but they're kinda like second class citizens. If you chose to remain human then it's not going to be easy for you, but if you become an animal then you'll be able to achieve whatever you set your mind to."
James thought about this for a minute, the sad truth was that there was no guarantee he would ever be able to get back home, he was stuck here and if he was stuck here then he might as well do his best to fit in.
"How do you change me?" He asked and Zuri smiled. "Come with me and we'll get all the details sorted out." And she led him behind the counter and into the back room, it looked exactly like the magic shop.
"My parents were the last people to own the shop where that door came from," she told him as she sat James down. "it never used to open but then, forty years ago it did and they went to explore...." "And got trapped here." Finished James.
"Right, so they decided to use their magic to change into animals and open this store to help anyone else who came here." She told him and opened a safe, out from which emitted a purple glow, inside was a shelf of bottles containing a purple liquid. Zuri got one out and handed it to James.
"Take this," she told him, "and you'll turn into the ideal version of yourself." James could feel his heart racing again and slowly brought the bottle to him lips. "Not here!" Warned Zuri and pointed to a changing room, behind there, and it's advised to take your clothes off before you take the potion, otherwise they'll rip and make a mess as you change."
James made his way inside the changing room and got undressed, he belly flopping out as he took off his shirt. Eventually he was standing in front of the changing room mirror, staring back at his naked self, and with a deep breath, took the potion.