Awareness returned slowly as Derrick spent the day wandering the pasture. Other rams were mixed in the herd, far younger and more virile than he was. Not that he cared. It had been a while since he mounted a female, and he was content just to grace and sleep. Except... strange thoughts started to flicker in his head, thoughts of walking on hind hooves? No, feet. That did not make sense. As the day progressed, the old ram was confused by even more images and curious memories, until late in the day the dam finally broke and Derrick remembered.
He had been human, a young male. A boy. The sudden realization was surprising, but not at all upsetting. Being a ram had been very fulfilling. Many of the ewes and rams in the herd were his offspring. Though his muscles were a little stiff these days, and he was no longer a working male. Was he old? Time had no real meaning to a sheep, but many hot and cold seasons had passed since he joined the herd. He had been sheared for his wool, but apparently not used for meat. A good thing, he supposed, though even that was a matter of fact, not relief.
What difference did it make? OK, he had been human, a boy named Derrick. But he had lived a full life as a ram, and was approaching the end of his life. Did it matter that he had four hooves instead of two feet? Even though more of his memories surfaced as the next day passed, the former boy had no ambition to be restored. He accepted his lot in life, and that lot was almost over. So it was a surprise to see a vaguely familiar two-legged creature grinning at him from the other side of the fence.
"Hi, kid! Looks like they were right. I can detect a human aura around you again." The creature smelled like a goat, and sorta looked like one below, but appeared to be mostly human boy above the waist. The faun! Derrick bleated in surprise, but felt no animosity. While the satyr was responsible for him being a sheep, remaining a ram had been Derrick's choice. The satyr cocked his head. "You have been busy these past ten years. Lots of little Derricks and Derrickinas in this herd, plus a few others."
A decade? The former boy puzzled over that. So he was old for a sheep. And his family would have given up on finding him years ago. The satyr seemed to guess his thoughts. "If you are worried about the family, they left having been stripped of all memories. Derrick the boy never existed to anyone. But that isn't why I am here."
Mostly relieved, Derrick bleated again in puzzlement. The satyr grinned. "Most of the time a changed animal stays that way, and you should have lived a few more years and died as a content old sheep. But you have regained your human aura, which means I can give you some options. If you want, you can go back to being the ram you were and live a year or two more as a beast. I can also restore your youth and give you another decade of life as a normal animal. Or I can make you human again, and you can explore the Spa that you mostly ignored when you first got here."
"Just think what you want."