"...a monkey?"
I blinked, shoving my hands onto my hips.
"What? That's a lame thing to change into. Come on, Samantha, I could be something...like a lion or a bald eagle; something cool!"
She giggled, running her index finger over my shoulder as she slide behind me. Biting her lip, she giggled at my train of thought. I felt her stand on her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Nope. A monkey. Some little chimp who thinks he's clever by making up stories to bring a little spice to his relationship."
Samantha rested her head between my shoulder blades, exhaling deeply. I clutched the ring in my hand, heart racing.
"...which is working, by the way. Honestly, babe, some crackerjack box toy that can change people; you're so silly," she muttered into my shirt.
I closed my eyes, concentrating on the ring. Monkey. Monkey. Monkey. I didn't remember too much of all those zoo field trips when I was younger, but I got a clear enough image. Thigh high, even when stretched out, tails the size of their body, and hair. Hair, hair, hair.
"Oooh..." I moaned, feeling the ring emit that familiar heat.
My skin prickled with a thousand tiny needles. I felt my t-shirt and pants divert these growing fibers inward. I gulped, Samantha's caressing and my sudden coat spiking my body into a sweat.
"Baby, you need a haircut; your neck hair tickles," Samantha snorted as she continued to rub against me.
I buckled my knees, my muscles stretching and realigning themselves beneath my mysterious, changing form. Not just my muscles, but my whole being warped, a slight yank on my body inching me downward; Samantha only rested her arms even against my shoulders, resting her heels against the floor as I shrank entire inches lower than a few seconds prior. I struggled for words, my jaw locking. The muscle strains rocked everything from my swelling thighs to flattening nose.
"Don't shrink away, honey; I know I'm shorter, but- Oh my, have you been working out? Your back def has been getting those contours, and-"
Samantha's eyebrows fluttered open against the back of my scalp. She unlatched her arms from around my shoulders; I could hear her breath freeze. Even under the loosening fabric, my fuller body hair tingled with the grasp of her hand. She stifled a question under her breath; a "who" or "what" too frightened to be answered. Turning me around, I shuffled despite the dangling shoes and sliding pants, staring up to her as another contraction pulled my body in. I marveled at the growing disparity between her and myself, even though I knew the ring's power. Still, the ring didn't rob me of the joy of her quivering eyes and agape lips.
"Suh-mun-thuh," I ooked, my angled jowls laboring to form the correct word. My tongue pricked themselves on a pair of pointed canines, and I grinned the dopiest face I could.
"Ook," was all I uttered before Samantha drained of color, fumbling back into the sink counter.
The ring's heat burned hotter in my hand, like sensing the surprise I played with my girlfriend. I felt a sudden rise of vertigo, my eyes almost rearranging themselves as the counter spread and rose out of reach, my girlfriend widening to the size of a tree. I eeked as my clothing swamped around me, my slimmer but more efficient shoulders sliding straight through my neck hole. The shirt rested on my elbows, revealing a sparse layer of fur, lighter than on my arms. I wiggled my toes in the mammoth caverns of my shoes, flicking them about as I grinned at their sudden dexterity; the transformation of my toes tempted me to start grabbing at my formerly skintight socks, but I gawked at a larger change. Peeking from the folds of my shirt and discarded pants, a narrow chain of bone and muscle swayed with a mind of its own. I tugged on the shirt flooding over it, seeing this snake-like creature did indeed protrude from my spine; my own tail.
The ring sizzled, the heat fading from my body. I shrank once more, my posture hunching and my torso thinning. Dropping my hands, the shirt shrugged to just below my knees, my former clothing dwarfing my new body. I straggled my feet free from the confines of my boxers and shoes, double-taking the sight of my new hand-like feet. Craning my head to the sky, I beheld Samantha, a titan of designer jeans and t-shirts, and for the first time since the transformation began, felt very insignificant. The dread, however, lasted for a second, an urge unfamiliar welling up inside my fuzzy chest. With my new mug, I repeated the same grin, striking a pose of showmanship for the ring's trick. I toiled my fragile jaw to top off the display with a "ta-da", but only a garbled facsimile echoed outward.
Yes, I transformed into a monkey. A barely two-foot tall, tail hanging, banana eating monkey. Well, now what?