While you still have to use this room for its intended purpose, the lion costume just looks so goofy and hilarious that you decide that your urge can wait a little bit longer while you take a look at this thing. You hold the costume up by its shoulders and watch as the head flops forward. The costume is clearly a one-piece affair, colored as if it were an actual lion, but the baggy appearance and silly grin on the lion's head gives it a decidedly cartoony appearance. One is apparently meant to step into the costume by the feet and slip one's hands through the arms. You roll your eyes slightly and wonder what sort of situation would require such a costume.
In something of a jovial mood, you decide to put the thing on. You remove your shoes and slide your feet into the costume's legs. Perhaps it's because you're still wearing your regular clothes, but the costume seems rather tight around your legs as you haul it up to your waist. You look down to see a puffy, representation of a rubbery lion from your waist down. You laugh slightly as you lift the paws one after the other.
"I should not be wearing this." you say with a smile. Even still you slide your left arm inside the suit followed by the right. You wiggle the costume's bulgy fingers and laugh again. You're not entirely sure why but this all oddly amusing to you. The suit now doesn't look baggy at all, but plump, and your arms, like your legs feel the costume tightly around them. in for a penny, in for a pound you think to yourself and grab the costume's zipper and slide it all the way up and fold over the flap meant to hide the zipper. The costume's interior is now pressing firmly against your body, only your head remains free. You'd swear you looked like a mascot of some sports team, only most of those guys are made from plush rather than rubber. You pull the costume's head over your own and look through the mouth, which hands partially open. You turn and face the mirror and once more, even harder than before.
"I'm King Reinhold the Rubbery!" you say, your voice echoing strangely in the headpiece. You open the bathroom door and strut smugly around the strange house waving and smiling at pretend subjects.
"Yes, yes, your appreciation of my effervescent frame is well received. Now," you say as you sit down on a sofa in the study you've wandered into "your king's royal feet are tired. Where is my kingly foot massager?" you say and wiggle your thick toes. You laugh once again, this time for what must be a full minute before pushing the mask off your head. As you calm down though something strikes you as odd. At first you're not sure what it is, but it's enough to snap you out of your carefree demeanor.
You look at the costume's feet and wiggle them once again. You hadn't taken off your socks before slipping off the costume. Wiggling the costume's toes shouldn't at all me possible. What's more, the costume doesn't feel quite as tight as it did. In fact as you concentrate, you can't seem to feel your body at all. Your breaths start coming in panicked pants as you try to open the flap that hid the zipper, only to find it isn't there.
"T-this...this...this is..." you stammer trying to come to grips with the situation. You can feel the costumes paws rubbing over the its chest as though both the chest and the paws were your own. You turn to look at the tail and give it a few experimental twitches. The tail...your tail moves at your command. "...no costume." you finish your stuttered sentence.
Without warning the head of the costume flaps closed. It's mouth is now shut plunging you in darkness. You struggle to push it back off but, the neck now blends seamlessly with the costume. You feel a moment of vertigo as the sides of the headpiece press around your head, cutting off all sound, smells and sights as you futilely try to free yourself from it. Your senses return abruptly and your find yourself taking in a deep breath. Your eyes are wide with fear as you place your rubbery paws against your new lion's face. You spy a mirror in the corner of the study and rush over to it.
The costume's face, once constantly smiling, now frowns slightly with the mouth slightly open. Your feline chest moves up and down as you pant before your new reflection. You run your paws through the odd hair of the lion's mane. Your mane. You experimentally close one eye and watch your reflection's eye close as well. You smile, frown and narrow your eyes.
"Hello...hello..." you say. Not only does the lion's mouth make those motions, but your voice in now deeper.
You can't deny it anymore.
"I'm a lion." you say in your new voice.
You find this fact...