Deciding the tin with the werewolf on the label suited Nate the best, given his long standing love for anything lycanthropic. She took the tin to the counter, where the old man rang it up for her.
"It's a gift, for a very good friend of mine. He loves werewolves," she said.
"I'm sure they will love it. It's guaranteed to bring out the beast," said the old man.
"Sure it is..." said Jessica with a chuckle as the shopkeeper packed the tin into a small box and then into a small paper shopping bag. She then took the bag and left the store. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" replied the Shopkeeper.
A few days later, Jessica went over to Nate's apartment to deliver his birthday present, having missed the party the night before because she had to work. Nate answered the door, wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts. She handed over the bag as she walked in.
"Ah hah, and what do we have here?" he said as he looked inside the bag. He pulled out the small box and tossed the bag on the chair by the door. He opened the box and pulled out the tin. Pictured was a large, hairy werewolf howling at the moon.
"Guaranteed to bring out the beast. Formulated from an ancient Chinese recipe, this ointment will bring out your inner beast and have you howling in no time," said Nate, reading the label. He turned his attention back to Jessica. "This is really cool, thank you."
"Well, I figured since you love werewolves and all," she said.
Nate opened the tin to find it filled with a pungent, purple tinted cream. Nate grabbed a dollop, rubbing it up and down both his arms and over his hands. He felt a tingling sensation radiate through his body as the cream soaked in. Nate shook off the feeling as he placed the top back on the tin.
Nate and Jessica retired to the living room to watch movies and hang out. After an hour or so though, Nate started to feel itchy all over. He was also starting to feel a weird tugging sensation with his ears. He finally got up and walked to the bathroom.
"Hey, you okay?" asked Jessica after him.
"Yeah, I'm just feeling kind of itchy. I hope I'm not having a reaction to that lotion," replied Nate as he searched for the light switch in the darkened bathroom. When he flipped the switch, he was shocked at the image that looked back at him in the mirror. "Oh my god."
Nate saw himself, except he had thin growths of light brown fur growing around his face and down his neck, disappearing under his shirt. His eyes had changed from their usual blue to a deep amber yellow color. He canines were starting to grow out into fangs as well. He turned his head to the side and watched in awe as his ears grew out into rounded points. He felt an itching sensation on his arms and looked down to see the same light brown fur growing on his arms and his nails growing out into claws.
"Uh...hey Jess, can you come here for a moment?" asked Nate, still unsure of if he should be panicked or ecstatic.
"Yeah, what's up?" she asked as she walked towards the bathroom. When she caught sight of him, all she could mutter was a simple, "Oh my god."
"I know right?" replied Nate, his voice sounding a couple octaves lower. He turned back to the mirror, baring his growing fangs. "I don't know whether to panic or celebrate."
Jessica watched in stunned silence as his fur grew thicker by the minute and his claws grew out. Nate cried out and gripped the sink as his feet reformed into digigrade paws. She couldn't believe this was actually happening. She ran back into the living room and grabbed the tin off the coffee table. She scanned the label, looking for anything that might indicate her friend would eventually turn back. Finally, she found it, in small print stating the transformations wear off after roughly twelve hours. She heard Nate cry out in pain and the sounds of tearing fabric.
She went back to the bathroom to give the good news, but was unprepared for the sight she was going to see. Nate was hunched over the sink, tears rolling down his face from the pain of the transformation. Large, sharp fangs jutted from his open mouth. His shirt had torn apart from the growing muscles and barreling out of his chest and upper back. Both were covered with dense brown fur. He was now more monster than the friend she had known most her life. After it sank in, she relayed the news she found on the label.
"Thank you," he tried to reply in a guttural voice. "Believe it or not, I'm actually enjoying this."
Nate turned to her and smiled, revealing a mouth full of fangs. If anyone would enjoy turning into a werewolf, pain and all, it would be him. She smiled back, relieved.
He cried out one last time as his face slowly pushed out into a lupine snout. As the transformations subsided, he turned to her as a werewolf. Jessica slowly approached him, arm outreached. She ran her fingers through his fur. Nate let out a friendly growl, showing he liked it. She moved along his arms down to his hands and fingers. His palms were rough, like paw pads and each finger was tipped with a long, sharp claw.
"This is so cool!" she exclaimed.
After the sun set, she followed Nate as he ran into the dense woods behind his apartment building, watching as he chased after wild animals and jumped over fallen trees like they were nothing, taking full advantage of his new werewolf self.
Once he tired of that, the two snuggled up against one another on the floor of his apartment and drifted off to sleep. When they awoke the following morning, he had returned to normal. Nate slowly looked over himself, covered in dirt and mud, wearing nothing but the tattered remains of his shirt and shorts. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed he was no longer the werewolf. He hugged Jessica goodbye and took another look at the canister of werewolf creme. He wondered if he dare use it again.
And part of him wondered what other lotions they had at that store.