Leo didn't know wether to be ecstatic, or worried. On one hand, he was becoming his favorite animal. On the other, he didn't know if he would ever change back. He stared at himself in the mirror for a few seconds. Nothing else was really happening. Was this something he could stop? Was he really going to be stuck in this lion phase forever? "Leo, Remain calm." Leo overhead a voice come from the hallway. He quickly turned to the door with a serious expression. "What? Whose there? I'm warning you! I'm a dangerous creature!" Leo was baring his fangs, ready for a fight.
The door was slightly creaking open as Leo was ready to pounce whoever was invading his home. Lion or not, he wasn't gonna let the intruder get away. "GET OUT NOW!" Leo jumped toward the door as it opened, only to see Rex. Leo had already been in the air before he realized who was coming and went flying out the hallway. "Woah!!!" Leo bashed his chin off the stair well and started to tumble down. He finally stumbled to the bottom running his hairy head in pain. "Ow, ow, ow..." Leo hung on to his head to soothe the pain.
He quickly came to his senses to look for the intruder. "Look... You don't want to mess with me okay... You better leave before I hurt you..." Leo said nervously. He didn't really know what he was doing, but he figured he'd try to scare him off. "You wouldn't want to hurt me Leo." The voice came from upstairs and was more distinctive. Leo heard an Australian accent. Who was talking to him. "Leo, enough of this, mate. Look over here." Leo looked up to the left of the stair case where the voice directed from. But all he saw was Rex. Who could be talking to him... Unless...
"X marks the spot boyo." Came out of Rex's mouth as if he talked like a human. Leo could only stare wide eyed at his pet when those words came out of his mouth. "Rex?" Leo asked, almost ready to accept this as another dream. But he couldn't. The pain from his trip downstairs felt too real. "Leo, please calm down. I know this is a lot to digest. I want to help you." Leo's heart was racing. His whole life had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes of him waking up. He was hesitant, but Leo was ready to hear what Rex needed to say.
"Okay... Rex... I'm... I'm listening. How... How are you talking right now?" Leo asked slightly calmer. "Leo, it wasn't a coincidence I was adopted by you. You chose me for a reason even though you don't know it. I'm your mentor. You have a power Leo. A power that people want to abuse. And I want to teach you to handle it responsibly." Leo was at a load at what Rex was saying. "What power? Talking to animals?" Leo asked scratching his name. "...wait a minute..." Leo realized what his power was. His mane, his teeth, his nose... "This is it? I can just turn into a lion any time?" Leo asked. Rex started laughing. "Oh, not just a lion, mate. Any animal you want. You, Leo, are what's known as..." Rex paused coming to Jake's lap. "A shifter..."