Derek cleared his throat. "Let's try a few little things first, then take them away to make sure you can go back to normal."
Sonya nodded.
"Grow fangs," Derek said bluntly.
Sonya felt a pain in her gums, as if she was a teething toddler all over again. She rubbed her tongue along one of the teeth and realized it was getting longer. She opened her mouth to show Derek. Both teens laughed in surprise.
"It worked! I can't believe it." Derek stared at Sonya's inch-long fangs. "Okay, your teeth will go back to normal." In seconds, they had done just that.
Derek thought another moment. "Do you like fur?"
Sonya blinked. "I have no idea." A smile crept up her face. "How about something with stripes?"
"Okay, grow tiger-striped fur all over your body."
Sonya gasped at the sensation of thousands upon thousands of hairs that erupted across her skin. As they watched, Sonya's body took on the appearance of a tiger. Orange fur grew everywhere except her hands, feet and chest, where white fur grew instead. Black stripes appeared on her arms, legs, back and face.
Derek was stunned. "You look absolutely gorgeous." He stepped forward to stroke the fur on Sonya's cheek. Little white patches encircled her eyes and led to her nose. "Let's make that nose a feline's nose, and get those fangs back."
As Sonya's face shifted accordingly, Derek circled her. "And how about a tail? A nice, long tiger tail."
"A tail?" Sonya giggled. "Really? I'm--" she felt it pulling from her spine already. "Oh, wow, I'm gonna have a tail!" She flexed her upper body around to look at it grow. Soon enough she had a four-foot tiger-striped tail, with a black tip. She enjoyed flexing it and stroking it, and Derek sat on her bed watching the lovely girl explore her new body.
When Sonya finally remembered he was still there, she pounced on him. "Thank you!" She began licking his face, but suddenly stopped when she realized what she was doing.
"Why'd you stop?" Derek asked jokingly. "In fact, why don't you exhibit a few more feline tendencies while you're at it?"
Sonya giggled at the suggestion, but as a wave of thoughts flooded into her mind, she realized it was more like a command. The surge of newfound animal instincts temporarily shut off her muscle control, and she flopped on the bed beside Derek to recollect her thoughts.
"And let's see some furry round tiger ears," Derek said. As the ears grew in from under her red hair, he noticed Sonya's wide, spaced-out eyes. "Sonya? Are you okay?"
Sonya blinked several times, then sat up. "Yeah, I was just trying to make sense of all the sensations you just gave me."
"The feline stuff? What's it feel like?"
"It's almost overwhelming."
"Want to dial it back a bit?"
"No, not yet...I can handle it. It's just...you know, like when you dive into a cold lake. I'll get used to it. Maybe. You have no idea...the sounds...the smells! I can smell my mother's perfume and she hasn't been here for hours!"
"Can I do just one more thing?"
"Okay, but JUST one more. For now."
"I think your eyes should look like a tiger's too, just to complete the picture."
With one blink, Sonya's pupils changed to slits and her eyes turned a golden yellow.
"Everything just got black-and-white," Sonya said.
"Oh," Derek answered. "I hadn't thought about that."
"It's fine," Sonya said, drawing her new body next to him. She leaned down to set her upper body across his lap. "I think that's enough for now, though," she said in a tired voice.
Derek smirked and decided to try petting her. Her striped back was soft and warm, much like a cat's should be. This particular cat was just a lot larger. As he continued stroking her, he could have sworn he heard her purring contentedly.