Keralyn stood frozen in front of the bathroom mirror, her mind racing. Her hands trembled as she touched her newly stretched donkey-like jaw. The unfamiliar weight of her larger teeth felt awkward as they rested against her lips, and her tongue—too big for her mouth—flopped out limply. She tried pulling it back in, but it barely fit, sticking out between her new donkey-like front teeth.
“Wh-what’s… HEHEHAW HAW!… happening to me?” she tried to say, but the brays kept coming, louder and more uncontrollable.
She wanted to scream for help, but each attempt was a clumsy mess of slurred syllables and brays that echoed in the small bathroom. Her thoughts became frantic. **Ediara. Elanie.** What if they were affected by whatever was happening to her? What if they had eaten something, been exposed to something? She needed to warn them, to check on them.
Forcing herself to calm down, she gripped the sides of the sink, her knuckles white. Her legs wobbled under the weight of panic and the bizarre sensation of her growing jaw. Keralyn’s reflection stared back at her, the human side of her face clashing with the animalistic features that now dominated her lower half. Her nose twitched involuntarily, widening and flattening, as if preparing for more changes.
“Ed-Ed-HEEEHAW! E-ED… HAW HAW!” she tried again, the braying interrupting her every time. Her tongue was too large, too clumsy, making it almost impossible to form the words she needed.
Her heart raced as she pushed herself away from the sink and stumbled toward the door. She had to find them. She had to warn them before they became like her—before they lost the ability to even call for help.
But as she reached the doorframe, a sharp pain shot up through her legs. She stumbled, grabbing onto the door to steady herself. Her legs buckled beneath her, the muscles spasming and twitching uncontrollably. She gasped, the pain sharp and immediate.
Keralyn collapsed onto the bathroom floor, her body shaking as the sensations spread downward, focusing on her feet. She lifted her head, desperate to get up, but her feet—her toes—had started to tingle, the familiar pins-and-needles sensation rapidly intensifying.
She looked down and watched in horror as her feet started to reshape themselves. Her toes, once delicate and human, began to thicken and merge together. Her toenails hardened and darkened, turning from soft pink to a rough, hoof-like black.
“Oh god… oh no…” she thought. But when she tried to speak, the only sound that escaped her lips was another uncontrollable “HEE-HAW!”
Her toes lost their definition entirely, fusing together to form a solid mass. Her once-pedicured nails were now cloven hooves, blunt and heavy, pressing against the floor as they continued to grow thicker and harder. Her ankles felt stiff and unnatural, bending at awkward angles that made her feel unsteady, animalistic.
“HEEEEHAW HAW!” The braying grew more intense as her body began to adapt to the changes, her human posture faltering. She tried to crawl, to drag herself out of the bathroom, but her hooves scraped uselessly against the tiled floor, unable to find purchase.
She could feel her muscles shifting in her calves, elongating in ways that made standing upright almost impossible. Her legs bent backward, the bones creaking and reshaping themselves as they became more suited to a quadrupedal stance.
“No… please, no…” she thought, but again, the only sound that came out was a desperate, guttural bray. Her eyes watered with fear and frustration. **Ediara. Elanie.** What if they were already like this? What if they were already dumb animals, incapable of speaking, of warning anyone?
She clawed at the floor, her hands still human, though shaking with the fear that they might be the next to change. Keralyn grunted and groaned as the changes worked their way through her lower legs. Her calves and thighs became thicker, more muscular, her bones rearranging themselves into the powerful, stocky legs of a donkey.
The room swayed around her as she forced herself into a crawling position, her legs still adapting to the changes. Her new hooves clacked against the cold tile, making it nearly impossible to move with the same grace she once had.
“ED-EEEEEHAW! HAW!” she tried calling out again, hoping, praying, that her daughters hadn’t fallen victim to whatever cruel transformation had taken hold of her.
As she struggled to move, her hooves thudded against the floor with a weight she wasn’t used to. The once simple act of walking became awkward, her legs refusing to bend properly. They weren’t meant for walking upright anymore.
Her panic grew as she imagined the worst. **Ediara and Elanie, stuck like her, braying, helpless.**
With great effort, Keralyn tried to stand, pushing herself up with her arms, but her hooves weren’t built for balance. She wobbled and fell back to the floor, her braying growing more frantic. She couldn’t walk like a human anymore—her legs, her hooves—they were too foreign, too animalistic. She couldn’t even manage a simple cry for help without it turning into another desperate “HEEEEHAW!”
Tears filled her eyes as the transformation continued to spread, her calves bulging with newfound strength and fur sprouting along her legs. She was losing herself to this—this animal. She could feel it. The human part of her was slipping away with each bray, each moment her body became more like that of a donkey.
She had to find her daughters before it was too late—before she couldn’t even think like a human anymore.
But as she struggled to move, her hooves clacking helplessly against the floor, she couldn’t help but feel the weight of the transformation dragging her deeper into the mind of a dumb beast.