Charlie stumbled on his altered feet, his neck and lungs still burning. He could force himself to continue on land, but the effort was harder with each step. He finally gave up and submerged himself in the river for a minute, and immediately felt better. The rush of salmon in the run called to him, but he resisted. Paul sat on the bank, watching helplessly as his friend struggled. None of this made sense. How could a boy start turning into a fish? If his friend had to change, why couldn't he have become something land-based, like a bear?
The Fae hovered over the two boys, unnoticed. Una grinned and looked at Puck. "The one on shore is thinking of bears. And my fish-boy is getting hungry again. I think all the other salmon will be hungry as well, don't you think? And well-fed salmon make for a well-fed bear." Puck's eyes widened and he grinned. "Not all of him, OK? We don't want him to die all the way." Una nodded and flew off while Puck settled on the head of the still-human boy on shore.
Charlie collapsed back into the water and felt the cool wetness flow over him. It was so much better here. The burning faded and he finally felt comfortable again. Though now he felt a curious sensation in his feet and legs. There was a vague awareness of wetness all around, drifting with the current, as well as an even odder sense of being in the air. Some of the salmon came closer, and he heard them leaping from the water as they snagged insects. As they did, the odd sensation changed a bit, lessened. Maybe he needed to get out of the water. He pushed up, but his legs did not respond. Confused, he rolled over in the water and looked down - then screamed. His feet were gone, with a swarm of insects hovering over the long lumps that had been his legs. Fish leaped up to catch insects, yet the swarm never lessened. And other fish were snagging some of the aquatic worms and drifting plant life that filled the water around him. It only took a moment for Charlie to realize he was becoming the bugs and other foods that the salmon were eating.
Paul had been worried about his friend, but now something was wrong with his clothing. The fabric was disintegrating, falling apart as he rapidly became naked. He stood and backed away from the water a few steps, afraid there was something acidic in the river. He was unaware of his skull starting to flatten as Puck transformed his head. Hair turned to fur and the boy's ears shifted position and rounded. The change continued down, Paul's brow getting more pronounced as his face pushed out. Charlie's scream drew his attention away from his own odd sensations and he hurried back to see what was wrong. Puck stayed on the soon-to-be-bear's head, grinning, and made a mental call. This human would make an excellent mate for a real bear.
Charlie struggled to escape the water, but only succeeded in rolling deeper in. His hands and arms were already breaking apart, the odd sensations of water and air and a growing confusion of mind explained as he saw his body continue to dissolve into insects and water life. He was becoming what he had eaten, what the many salmon were eating. Some of the worms, the bugs, the drifting plants survived, and he still felt them. But it was awareness only, no thought. He was going to be an unthinking part of nature. It already seemed too late, his arms and legs mostly gone already. And then he saw Paul approaching - at least, he thought it was his friend. The naked teenager now had patches of brown fur on his skin, and the head on his shoulders belonged to a bear. What was the odd purple light on Paul's head?
Paul was bewildered when he saw Charlie, his mind already getting simplified. Then he saw the flashing bodies of salmon around his friend and instinctively swatted one of the fish from the water. It was in his mouth and being crunched before he realized what he was doing. He stared down at dark-furred paws and saw his nails elongating. Then he looked past into the water and saw his reflection. He was becoming a bear!