As Jake drank the water, he felt a strange tingle pass over his body. Ignoring it for the time being, he walked back into the forest and went back to his house. It was Tuesday
That following Saturday, Jake was going over to his friend Tony's house to spend the night. Jake had been mildly sick with something for the past few days, but his parents hadn't thought it was anything really bad and decided to let him go anyway. As his mom dropped him off in front of Tony's house, Jake felt a strange tingle pass over his body, but he once again ignored it.
"Hey Jake!" Tony said, opening the door before Jake could knock. "Come on in!" Jake laughed a little to himself. Tony was always bouncing off the walls, even in school, but his endearing personality made his large amount of energy less annoying than it would be for anyone else. After saying hello to Tony's parents, Jake followed his friend up to his room.
Jake and Tony enjoyed a day of playing videogames, eating snacks, and bullying Tony's younger sister. At about 9:30, while they were watching a muted TV show when they were supposed to be sleeping, Jake started to feel the strange tingling again. Looking down at Tony, Jake saw that his friend was twitching in much the same way Jake probably was. "Er, Tony" Jake asked. "What were you doing Tuesday?" "Well Jake, right after school I decided to explore the woods outside your house" Tony explained. "Ah" Jake said. "And during that, did you happen to drink any water out of one of the springs?" "As a matter of fact I did" Tony said. "And now I feel strange." "Me too," Jake agreed. But suddenly the two boys were overwhelmed by a strong feverish heat, and they took their clothes off to try to cool down.
Suddenly, Jake and Tony felt an itching sensation flow over their bodies. Looking down at themselves with the help of the light from the TV, they saw brown hairs sprouting over their bodies, with an offwhite patch on their stomachs. As the hair thickens into a coat of sleek fur, both boys feel strange cracking sensations all over their bodies. Looking down, Jake and TOny watch as their bones and organs rearrange and new muscles grow. Their hands reshape into paws, and their feet follow suit. They both feel an uncomfortable tugging at their rear ends, and look back to see tails grow in. Tony and Jake look at each other's faces to see that their eyes have turned yellow and their ears have migrated to the tops of their heads. Their faces then push out into feline muzzles, they shrink down to the size of kittens, and with a snap, the changes complete. Jake and Tony then look each other over, and recognize themselves as cougars, based on pictures they've seen and stories their parents have told them about the animals.
"Well Jake, this really stinks," Tony says. "Yeah, you said it," Jake agrees. Deciding that since they can still talk, they can communicate with Tony's parents, Jake and Tony crawl under the bed and curl up next to each other to wait for morning.