It didn’t take Marina long to get back to the stream. She knew the route very well, and the scents she was keyed in on made it all the easier. Perhaps it should have struck her as odd that she was suddenly so good at tracking down scents, but it didn’t. She was lucky that at this time of the day, few people were out and about. They might have gawked at the suddenly heftier, suddenly taller Marina. Might have noticed that her nose was a little bit bigger. That her ears weren’t entirely in the right position for a human head. That she wasn’t wearing shoes at all and that her feet seemed… odd.
But then again, maybe they wouldn’t. She didn’t.
When she arrived at the place she had mart Garth earlier, she scented him before she saw him. He approached a bit sheepishly from behind a tree. She may not have noticed it in herself, but she saw it in him. He was taller. He was thicker. And the only thing he was wearing was a blanket, presumably from his bed at home, wrapped around his waist.
“Heh, sorry,” he chuckled, scratching at the back of his head idly. “I wanted to look better for you, but literally nothing fits.”
“It’s okay,” Marina answered with a smile. “The paisley really goes nicely with your… uh… eyes…”
“Flatterer,” he deadpanned with a smirk. “So… this was your idea, what do you wanna do?”
Marina had to think on that. She hadn’t actually thought that far ahead. She just knew she needed to see him. Tonight. Well, and then what?
“How about we explore? I’ve never really been out in these woods before,” she smiled, stepping up to him and bumping her hip into his.
“I like the sound of that! And I get you there too. I never come out here, but I just… needed to today.”
“Right? It’s like a little voice in your head saying ‘you belong in the woods’,” Marina answered.
“Exactly!” Garth answered as the two walked along, no particular destination in mind. “Today’s been kinda weird. Ever since that box.”
“Oh my God, you got a box too? Full of stuff promising to…”
“Change my life, yeah! I’d been having some serious insomnia for weeks, so when I saw-“
“The sleep mask!” They said in unison.
“Yeah! I just… I knew that’s what I needed. And then…” Garth trailed off, looking away for a moment. “Can I be frank with you, Marina?”
“I’d rather you be Garth,” she smirked.
“Ha ha, funny,” he shook his head, but the smile on his face showed some amusement despite the bad joke.
“I think you might be the bear of my dreams,” he said. “Ever since I first put it on this morning-“
“Wait - did you just call me a bear?” Marina asked, eyes wide.
“What? No. I said you’re the bear of my dreams. Bear. Bear. W O M A N spells ‘bear’.” Garth’s eyes had gone wide too. “Why can’t I say bear agh- dammit!”
Marina frowned, and decided to test something out.
“Garth, you are an incredibly attractive bear and I think you’re holy shit I can’t say bear. Ugh. M A N bear bear bear.”
“You think I’m attractive?” Garth smirked.
“Well, duh, I mean, look at you!” Marina said. “Smell you! God you smell so good.”
“Okay, so… I’m a bear and you’re a bear and we find each other attractive,” Garth nodded his head slowly.
“No, we’re not bears! I’m a bearffffuck this is frustrating!” Marina growled.
“But what if we are bears?” Garth asked. “I mean… we clearly seem to think…”
Marina paused at that. Was she a bear? She couldn’t be, could she? But then she looked at Garth. His physique, his stature, those long fingernails…
“Oh my God. We’re turning into bears,” Marina said.
“I’d say that counts as life changed,” Garth shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know why, but… I’m cool with this.”
“I mean, I don’t- I…” Marina stammered. Then, with a single inhumanly strong tug, she ripped her shirt off. She wasn’t furry. Not yet. But she did have some body hair that she didn’t before.
“Damn,” Garth muttered, before bengung forward just enough to sniff at them with a nose that seemed a little more like a snout that it was a moment ago. Then, he gave one of her breasts a tentative lick with a very long tongue. She let loose a deep, guttural moan at the contact.
“Let’s be bears,” she said, breathily. She thought maybe she should have been concerned at how readily she was willing to throw her humanity away, but in this moment, that’s what she felt.
With a growl of excitement, Garth untucked his blanket and let it drop to the forest floor. Marina thrilled at the sight, and with hands that were rapidly becoming less and less human, she tore her sweatpants off and tossed them away.