After the meeting, Circe went over to Eric.
"I want you to show me where your friend lives, the one who got away," said Circe.
Eric nodded and the two exited the house and walked down the street. Soon enough, they were at Ryan and Johnny's house. From the yard outside, Circe could see Johnny pacing inside in the living room, clearly distessed about the events of the previous night, where his friends were all turned into donkeys. Circe walked up to the front door, turned the knob and threw the door open. In all of Johnny's panicking, he forgot to lock the door.
Circe and Eric walked into the house. Johnny stood in the living room, his young, thirteen year old body trembling, frozen with fear. The two entered the room and looked at Johnny.
"My dear, dear boy, did you honestly think I wouldn't find you?" asked Circe.
"I...I...don't know. What did you do to Eric?" he replied.
"Why, this is Eric right here," replied Circe, gesturing to the muscular, anthromorphic lion standing in his living room.
"Oh god..." whispered Johnny
"Goddess," corrected Circe.
"What are you going to do to me?" said Johnny, his voice shaking with fear.
"You have a choice, my dear boy. If you give yourself over to it willingly, I'll let you choose. If you resist, I'll just turn you into another donkey. A mindless farm animal," said Circe.
Thoughts raced in Johnny's head. Clearly making a clean break was not an option. Spending the rest of his days as a donkey did not appeal at all to him.
Circe gave a wave of her hand, giving Eric the ability of speech. "Let him know what it's like Eric."
"It's not that bad. Really. It's even kinda cool. I feel so strong and powerful now. And having fur is kinda cool too," said Eric.
"Okay, I'll do it. I just have to figure out what I want to become," he replied.
"There are tons of options, we already have a couple of wolves, a couple of dogs, pather boys, a couple of werewolves, a minotaur..." said Eric.
Johnny tried to think of what he wanted to turn into. His mind reeled with the possibilities. In the end, he kept coming back to the lion, just like Eric.
"I want to be like Eric," said Johnny. "A big strong lion."
"An excellent choice, if I do say so myself," she said. With a flick of the wrist, the spell was cast.
Johnny could feel the changes start almost immediately. Soft golden fur sprouted all over as his nails grew out into claws. His short, brown hair grew out and wound his face, creating a long, silky mane. His body grew tense as it bulked up, as his muscles swelled. He felt his teeth grow out into large, sharp fangs as his faced pushed out into a lion snout. His legs stretched out and reformed, becoming digigrade, his feet resembling paws. A thin tail with a brown hair tuft on the end grew out.
Johnny let out a loud roar as the final changes finished. Circe looked over her latest creation and then over to Eric.
"You two make the perfect pair," she said. Already a plan was turning in her head. She was going to change the whole town. It would be perfect.