Damon was thrilled. He kept getting bigger and bigger, and he was actually going to get to stay with his uncle Jurgen instead of his horrible step-father Lamont! By the time Circe and Lamont had finished discussing his future home, Damon was much taller and bulkier than either of them, which he loved because he felt strong. His horns had grown even longer, too! They were sticking out far and wide from either side of his head. He couldn't help but touch them from time to time, because they made him feel so much like a real bull!
Damon's body froze up for a second. He twitched. He snorted through his wide nostrils. Something was happening that felt very weird to him: strange feelings were radiating all the way up his backbone from the bottom to the top. The first feeling was that something snapped down there and jerked back to point out over his bottom. The next feeling was an odd stretching, falling by the weight of something getting pulled down by gravity to hang loosely from his back. The last feeling was a slap of fur against fur as something slapped against his sides and flopped back down to knock his knees.
Damon spun his head around to look behind him and found a bull's tail hanging down between his legs. It was even longer than it felt, and he felt a tad off balance at first to have something waving like a pendulum at the end of his spine. He quickly got the hang of moving it like a bull does, though, swinging it around as he pleased. He even caught it between his meaty fingers and held it up to show Jurgen. His horns grew longer as he did so, curling forward and upward a little more as his human uncle watched.
"Your nephew is the first person I've transformed to actually look happy that he's grown a tail. He was just as excited when he started growing his horns!" said Circe. Damon mooed.
"Well, Damon always was a bit different from the rest of the family. I hate to say Lamont never learned to live with that," said Jurgen. Damon was glad that he was going to live on his uncle's farm and was never going to have to go back with Lamont.
Damon felt his back stretch long while his stomach swelled, and he started to feel off balance again. He let go of his horns and his tail put his hands in front of him. His hands were stretching, reshaping, cracking and tingling as the bones and muscles rearranged themselves. Too of his fingernails grew long and wide, thickening up until it looked like he could almost stand on them. He realized he was never going to write or type or open doors again from now on. But that was okay, because he was going to live outside, and Uncle Jurgen was going to take care of him! He couldn't help but admire the sturdy gray hooves he was growing. They made him look more like the animal of his dreams!
His feet went throw a growth spurt of their own, and that was the last straw for his balance. It hurt to stand on his ankles like he was used to, because they had become his bovine hocks. Instinctively, he raised himself up onto the knew hooves that had grown from his toenails and fell forward onto his front hooves with a force that shook the chandeliers! He shook his head and felt his face push out and felt a bit of dizziness when his eyes were splayed to the sides by his developing snout! He wobbled a bit, but steadied himself, calming down a bit as he adjusted to seeing to his left and his right at the same time. Jurgen was coming over with an outstretched hand while Circe looked on with a satisfied look on her face. Jurgen patted Damon's furry back. Damon mooed again and swished his tail. His ears flopped out from the side of his head, and he flexed them around again and started settling into his new bovine form. Jurgen looked at Circe and spoke to her in an honest voice:
"Thank you, ma'am, for giving Damon what he really wanted, even if it is a bit strange. I promise I will keep him as healthy and well-treated as a bull can be on my farm. I don't know what I'm going to tell my worried sister and her cruel husband, but I will try to make sure they understand he's alright."
"Don't worry too much about them," said Circe. "I have a feeling Damon's mom is more understanding than this step-father I keep hearing about. And as for that step-father, I have a feeling he will have to come looking for his step-son just to stay on decent terms with his wife. If he finds his way here, I can promise you he will receive a well-deserved lifestyle change of his own, in one way or another. Now go, take your happy new bull and do not return. It is rare that I allow anyone to leave with their humanity, but then again, it is rare for me to encounter a situation such as this one."
"Oh, you don't have to tell me twice," said Jurgen. "I entirely intend to keep my word, and if I do see my sister's no-good husband, you can bet that I will send him straight in your direction!" Then he led Damon out the door to his new life.