You turn to where the the front flap of the tent once was and notice that it's gone. You're calm, casual demeanor drops for a moment as you spin around to glare at the the shop keeper. He's an older man, perhaps in his mid sixties. He wears a clean and well-ironed white dress-shirt with a red bow-tie that matches his vest and sleeve garters. The hair on the top of his head is almost entirely gone, with only a few stray hairs clinging to it, what hair remains is thin and mostly grey. A pair of small patches of black above the ears on each side. All this combined with a painter's brush mustache give him a distinct early 20th century vibe. The only thing missing is the straw hat. A quick glance behind him reveals, however, that a straw hat does indeed rest on a hat rack in the corner of the tent. You roll your eyes at the sheer cliched nature of it all.
"Okay, pal, what's the gag? Where's the door?" you say angrily.
"As I said, my friend, make a purchase and you'll be able to leave. Don't..." he says and shakes his head. Your eyes furrow even more and you take a deep breath, eyes closed in frustration. You're certain this is some sort of carny trick. He's got some clever way of hiding the exit and if you looked hard enough you're certain you'd be able to find it, but you're not sure you have the time or the patience to figure it out.
"Yeah?" you ask and dig into your right hand pocket, tossing two pennies and a cinnamon candy wrapped in a bright red wrapper "Hope that gets me somethin' 'cause that's all you're getting out of me." you say with a sneer. He strokes his chin and makes a bit of a show in analyzing the offerings. He tsks a few times before responding.
"Hmmm...this isn't much...actually a bit of an insult, really." he says skeptically, you roll your eyes that was the point you think to yourself. "I'd usually punish you terribly for this, but fortunately for you..." he says and picks up the candy "...I like cinnamon." he says and pops it into his mouth. He digs around under the counter he's standing at, giving you time to inspect where the tent-flap once was.
"Ah...here they are." he says "Oh do come here, youngster. Simply wear these and you'll be able to leave, I promise you." He holds out a pair of gloves covered with black fur. Rather than fingers, they have the thick, rounded toes resembling those of a feline. You grumble. Try as you might you can't find where he's hiding the exit. He urges you some more, making more assurances. You sigh and approach him once again, holding out your hands to take them. Instead he quickly slides the paw-gloves on your hands with a quickness you wouldn't expect from a rotund man such as him. You pull your hands back reflexively as a gasp escapes you at the sudden display of speed.
"Okay...I'm wearing fur-suit gloves, now can...you..." you say, your voice trails off as you wiggle your fingers, or rather what should be your fingers. Instead your end up wiggling the short, stubby toes of a cat. Your heart hammers in your chest as you see the gloves go from being comically large feline paws to a realistic depiction. Soon you feel a group of claws push out of your paws. You flex them in and out a couple of times to see if they're real.
"No no no, what's goin' on here?" you say to the old man. He giggles in response.
"It's fascinating how often I hear that same question. One would think it'd be perfectly obvious that you're turning into a panther. Well...obvious you're turning into a feline at the very least." he says with a smile. Your arm grows slightly warm as you see the black fur growing down your forearms and over your elbows. As the fur travels down your arms you feel the muscle and bone-structure changes from human to feline. You make a few more panicked noises as you try in vane to push the gloves off you, only to realize that the gloves are no longer there. They've been replaced by the forelegs of a panther.
"I'll buy something...anything I'll buy something else just stop this!" you shout fearfully. The old man's smile doesn't fade, even as he shakes his head.
"I'm sorry, all sales are final." he says and unwraps the candy and pops it in his mouth. "On the bright side, you could have been something much worse...a t-shirt or a left boot or some-such thing." You feel the fur reach your shoulders and begin travel down your back and torso. You feel yourself fall forward on all fours as your back reshapes to a feline's quadrupedal stance. A tail snakes it's way out of your end and your back legs tug your back legs up on the balls of your feet. By now all that's left of your human self is your face, and that's quickly changing as your neck lengthens and the fur crawls up the sides of your face and over your own hair. You give a frightened glance at the shopkeeper.
"Oh...very well. I'll change you back if you ask me nicely to." he says with a air of mock sympathy.
"Pwaa...hah..." you begin, but your teeth change as your skull reshapes itself. You can barely see black fur replacing your skin as your nose changes. Your eyes go blurry for a moment as your eyes change. The shopkeeper giggles once again.
"Oh I do love doing that. Cruel of me I suppose, but it is quite fun. Now then." he says as he steps around the counter to confront you. He strokes his chin for a moment. "You won't need these..." he says and begins dusting your clothes with his hands. Each touch turns your clothes into powder which quickly blows away. "...but you will need one of these." he says and picks up a collar which he quickly fastens around your neck. You try to speak to him, but your mouth is no longer built for human speech.
"Now...I believe I promised you that you'd be allowed to leave, and I do keep my promises." he says and walks over to a mirror and waves his hands about slightly. The mirror's silvered surface shimmers and alters to reveal an entirely different room. Within moments a woman in a black low-cut dress and purple corset steps into view. Her hair is long and straight, reaching to just past her shoulders, her skin bares the pale pigmentation of one who spends much time indoors.
"Ah...good, you're home, madam. I was afraid you'd have been away and your new pet would be kept waiting." he says.
"It's ready than? Excellent." she says and steps through the mirror as though it was a door. She walks over to you, her icy blue eyes peer deeply into yours.
"Intelligent?" she asks.
"Well...as much as can be expected. The truly intelligent people tend not to fall into my little traps, so I work with what I have available. But your pet will understand every word you say, certainly. Human instincts will fade slightly as more feline instincts come forth, but fore the most part you'll have a fine feline pet with a mostly human mind." he explains.
"You will have to do." the woman says and snaps a leash around your new collar. A shiver courses through your body briefly soon afterward. She holds the leash and turns to the shopkeeper. "Your payment." she says and produces a small leather pouch. The shopkeeper smiles and takes the bows slightly.
"Come, pet." she says to you. Though you'd truly like to disobey, you somehow feel compelled to follow her through the mirror. You gaze around briefly as your new mistress walks over to a small sofa and reclines on it. "Feel free to look around, my dear, but be warned. Even if you escape my home, you'll never escape that new body of yours. You're a beautiful panther for the rest of your days. So you may as well enjoy it."
Your heart sinks slightly as you turn your head to gaze on your new body, your new mistress and the mirror you just stepped through. You paw at it slightly, but it's only a mirror now. The portal to your old world is gone. You gaze back at your mistress who smiles back at you and shakes her head. "No going back now, my pet." she says "Come..." she says patting the sofa. With precious little to do, you obey your mistress and approach, accepting that this is your home now.