Derrick pulled out a pair of statues one of a nude male satyr mid frolic and the other of a female wood nymph in a demure pose coyly glancing forward. In his other hand a dusty tome.
After a moment of examining the statues, Derrick passed them to Julie who eventually set them down. Derrick had opened the book and was deciphering the heavily scripted text but was finding it taxing. "It looks like an old book on mythological creatures of ancient Grecian times."
Derrick felt a wave of heat wash over him and Julie felt a wave of cold as the cursed statues began their work. Julie had made her way over to the discarded plank of wood and inexplicably wanted to cry as she caressed it and delicately felt where the metal nails pierced the plank as a final indignity. She replaced it in the floor knowing she couldn't do it any good now and not wanting another tree injured to replace a missing plank.
Derrick and Julie both began feeling claustrophobic in the unnatural space the building created. "Hey Julie, wanna get out of here? Go explore?" Derrick said beginning to feel anxious and trapped.
"Desperately." Julie replied shivering as her warm blooded body became slightly more plantlike and slightly less able to create its own heat.
"Me too, let's find mom and dad." Derrick said nearly bolting to the door. Julie was right behind. As the door swung shut behind them the statues and book teleported back to their hiding space and the children forgot they had found the items. Going back through the corridor the kids went to the coffee shop they had passed on the way to the room. "Hey Mom and Dad, Julie and I want to explore for the rest of the day, is that okay?"
On sight, the curse upon the children began doing its work on the parents. Any sense of responsibility, nay, any emotional ties began deteriorating. "Oh we were considering taking the historical tour as a family..." John began but mid sentence realized he didn't want the kids there, they'd probably be bored anyway and ruin the experience by nagging.
Sharon was struck with a similar sensation as she began talking, "Yeah, we thought it would be fun... but probably boring for you, why don't you guys figure out your own activities for the rest of vacation."
"Yeah, you guys are practically adults. Just don't come in if the do not disturb sign is on the door." John added, suddenly thinking of them as unfortunate roommates rather than his own children.
"Okay, thanks. Have fun." Derrick said, unable to focus on how weird his parents were acting because he was feeling increasingly claustrophobic inside the building, it had been better than the bedroom but that was quickly becoming no longer the case. Derrick turned, walking off as fast as he could and Julie was right along side him, the pair took the first exit they could find which happened to lead to a beautifully landscaped courtyard/promenade thing that gave both an immense sense of relief but they could both feel it wasn't enough.
Derrick was the first to break composure, with a burst of speed he ran and leapt over a boxwood wall landing on the lush grass on the other side. Julie was sprinting around to the other side but as soon as she reached the grass she collapsed on it rolling around and basking in the sun. Finally she felt warm.
Derrick too was rolling in the grass feeling a sense of fulfillment he had not known before but it would be short lived. Derrick and Julie had forgotten to put their shoes on after taking them off in the room, now, as if on cue, they both ripped their socks off furiously letting the blades of grass tickle and massage their feet. The siblings looked at one another and laughed realizing they were being silly and maybe even strange, but somehow understanding they each felt the same thing, or close enough.
Derrick saw Julia 10 yards away and flopped on the ground and began rolling toward her, indulging in the playful experience and relishing his interaction with nature. Julia did the same and they softly collided and began laughing hysterically. After several moments of this they calmed down and Julia sat up looking at her brother, "I want a forest to hide in."
"Well then I want you to have a forest to hide in." Derrick giggled sitting up and looking around. "Look" Derrick pointed gleefully, in the distance was a hill and past it you could barely see a few treetops, it could be a forest. "We could check it out."
Julia beamed with glee, "That would be wonderful, let's go now." They set off down the hill the resort sat atop, hoping the next hill would confirm a lush forest awaited them.
Derrick was filled with joy and mirth and began bounding down the hill in giant leaps. Getting to the bottom and looking back Julia was only half way down but half spinning, half dancing as she came, she was beautiful and mesmerizing.
"I never fully appreciated you until right now." Derrick said seriously in a deep voice as she drew near.
"Thank you brother, you mean more to me than words can express." She replied. After pausing for a moment, "Um... Derrick, when did you get so tall?" She was looking at his shirt which was now exposing several inches of his stomach, showing a sparse treasure trail and the beginnings of abs which she was sure weren't there before. Then she looked down and noticed another couple inches of ankle were exposed leaving her to point and giggle.
Derrick looked down, then back at Julia and laughed, he wasn't sure when that happened. "Probably around the same time you started turning green." he said with a smile.
Julia looked down at herself and back to her brother, "Huh, your probably right." a light chuckle escaped. "I think something really weird is happening to us."
"I think you're right, but I'm having more fun with you than I've had in years and can't bear the thought of returning to that building, so I don't really mind it." Derrick said easily dismissing any concerns.
Julia looked back at the building, "Me either, so I guess you're right." Julia giggled at how she used to passionately refuse to admit Derrick being right, ever. "The only path is forward."
Derrick took a few steps forward and lost balance as the hill steepened, catching himself before he fell completely. "Ugh, so binding!" Derrick began pulling his clothes off which had seemed to shrink even more over the last few minutes. the much too small shirt became stuck on his head and now muscular arms. Despite his frustration he began laughing while asking for help getting the shirt off. He collapsed to a sitting position on the hill angling the shirt at his sister and gave a sad puppy look causing them both to burst out laughing.
Julia of course came over and helped yank the shirt off realizing that her own shirt was tight and her proportions must have changed too. Julia began taking her top off as Derrick removed his pants with much effort. "Derrick!" Julia exclaimed in surprise.
"What?" Derrick said freezing in place, giving his full attention to his sister, offering a huge, genuine smile full of perfect straight white teeth.
"You're ready to shave." A wave of alarm washed over Julia as she realized her 15 year old brother looked like a college senior of 22, but the panic was quickly replaced with giggles.
Derrick excitedly grabbed his face feeling a dense short beard, just enough past stubble to feel soft. Nothing grew on his neck giving the appearance that he had just shaved and trimmed his facial hair. "I've been waiting for this!"
"Julia" Derrick whispered with awe and wonder as he whipped backwards and sprung to his feet in an acrobatic move Julia had never seen him perform, "You're ready to sprout."
Though she didn't immediately know what that meant, she instinctively felt joy and pride at the declaration, it was a right of passage after all. Derrick came to her shoulder and tenderly breathed on the leaf slowly unfurling, the effect was sensual and relaxing like a mini massage.
The pair continued up the hill, Derrick held Julia's hand and outright pulled her up at times, Eventually Julia took her pants off too feeling suffocated.
More leaves sprouted on Julia as her complexion continued to green, her form continued to shift leaving her face more youthful but leaving her body womanly and curvaceous. Her bra eventually needed to come off as did her underwear, but by this time the concept of clothing seemed foreign to the pair.
Derrick's remaining changes were much more drastic, his leg hair began changing texture and becoming thicker, nubs appeared on his forehead and eventually broke the skin. and his feet and legs becoming hooves and his legs changed bend direction and grew fur. His genitals enlarged and a tail appeared to be found as his underwear was discarded but the most drastic change was that he shrunk from his adult human height of 6'3 to 4'7 without losing any weight. this made him very muscular, and compact.
They reached the trees fully transformed in both body and mind, and for the first time noticed they were following a slightly worn path, faint sounds of music drifted through the trees. The siblings looked to one another and shared a grin before following the sound into the thicket.