Even walking is distracting in your new body. Your breasts jiggle gently as you walk, and your hips sway slightly no matter how hard you try to keep them from doing so. Your hair brushes gently at the base of your neck, making you wish you had a pair of scissors, and even your tail gets in on the act, swishing softly through the air behind you and occasionally brushing against the inside of your legs, sending a tingle up your spine that would be thrilling if it weren't exactly the sort of thing you're trying to avoid. Gritting your teeth, you manage to focus on not noticing as you walk on.
You spot a bonfire ahead and make your way towards it. You walk into a clearing around a large, relatively flat-topped rock formation, on top of which is the bonfire. Squaring your shoulders and setting your jaw as best as you can, you climb up on top of the rocks - you find the climb much easier than you would have as a human, springing from rock to rock as if you'd been doing it all your life. When you get to the top, nearly forty feet off the ground, you see a ring of animal-people like yourself, sitting around the fire. Sitting by the fir, near the center of the circle, is Hannah. "Good," she says, "you came." You nod sheepishly, realizing suddenly that you're naked in front of a good twenty people, but noticing that none of them seem to care. "Next time," Hannah continues, "feel free to take the easy way, silly kitty." She gestures towards the other side of the rock, where you can see a much shallower slope than the side you just ascended.
"Everyone," Hannah says, "this is Jackie. She's new here. Say hello, Jackie." You're about to protest the feminine renaming, but across the circle you spot another panther - a male. All your fears from earlier come rushing back, and without your even willing it, your mind goes into a full analysis. He's built lightly, or at least looks it - he's not visibly muscled, but neither are you, and you were just jumping five or six feet at one bound, so he's probably pretty strong. His body is straight and sleek, his shoulders square and broader than yours, his frame sturdy but not bulky. His face is like the rest of him, sturdy and clean-cut, and you just manage to stop yourself from sneaking a peek downwards, but try as you might you can't keep yourself from concluding - he's hot.
Yes, he's hot. The question is answered - you are unaffected by the various unclothed women around you, but you're turned on by the guy across the circle. You're heterosexual, as you were in your normal life, but you're a heterosexual woman - you're attracted to men. You're attracted to men! That's what you were fearing all along. You want to turn away, to run off to where the guy isn't, but you can't tear your gaze away from him. Another faction has arisen in your mind, one that wants to keep your eyes fixed on this guy, one that is willing you to go sit down next to him and introduce yourself. The two desires are waging a bitter war in your head, and all you can do is stand there and sputter.
"Jackie?" Hannah's voice rings through the confusion. "Is something wrong?" Prompted for a response, your mouth opens and the conflict in your head pours out into words. "YES!" you screech. "I'm-I'm attracted to that guy! Something's VERY wrong!"
Hannah stares at you for a moment as you return to sputtering, then begins to laugh. "Oh, girl," she laughs, "there's nothing wrong with that!"
You stare at her in amazement. "Listen," she continues. "That's just what happens when you switch sides here. Orientation stays the same relative to your new gender, that's just how the system works. It throws all of us for a loop the first time we catch on, but there's nothing wrong about the things you're feeling!"
All eyes are on you now. "But..." you say, "but I don't...I don't want to lose...me. I can't lose myself! What would I do when I got home? When I was a human man again?"
Hannah looks at you compassionately. "I think," she says, "that you need to ask yourself what constitutes your self. Is it really going to make you a completely different person if you're suddenly attracted to guys? Just because you've become a straight woman doesn't mean you're going to turn into a complete girly-girl. There's lots of room in the world of womanhood for what makes you you." She puts a hand on your shoulder. "Trust me," she continues. "I know. Besides, even if you do become more feminine, is that so terrible? Everybody changes - that's just part of life. But changing what you are doesn't mean you lose what you were, and it doesn't mean you can't change back."
In spite of yourself, you manage a smile. "Atta girl," Hannah says. "We'll help you through this, if you want us to. That's what we're here for, after all." She smiles and helps you seat yourself by the fire, showing you how to sit without kinking your tail under you, then walks over to talk with someone else. As you sit by the roaring fire, the panther-guy you just blurted out your attraction to comes over. "I-I'm sorry about that," he says.
"No," you say. "Don't be, it wasn't your fault. I...I was preoccupied with my fears, and I just...I lost it at the first sign of my suspicions being right. I'm sorry I lost it at you."
He smiles. "It's alright," he says. "I understand completely - I'm still getting used to it myself. Am..am I really that attractive?"
You can feel yourself blushing madly underneath your fur. You hesitate, then answer, "Yeah."
You sit in awkward silence for a bit. "I didn't introduce myself," he says, suddenly. "I'm Keith. Or at least that's the name Hannah gave me. I used to be Cathy." He gets up to leave.
You smile, weakly. "It was nice to meet you, Keith," you say. "I'll...I'll see you again...sometime?"
Keith smiles back. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I'll see you around. Tomorrow, maybe." Then he bounds off into the night.
You stare after him. Then, returning your attention to yourself, you realize that you're feeling warm and tingly inside, in a way you've never felt before. You're still not sure what to make of this, but...if there really is no way to avoid becoming a girl inside as well as outside...well, he's not only attractive, but nice as well...
You shake such thoughts out of you head and get up to meet some of the other attendees.