A group of kids, mostly around 7 or 8 years old, saw Leon as they walked near a playground and came running over. "Leon!" The lion morph was surprised, since he did not know any of them. Alibaba chuckled, knowing that his young master had a very different past now. They all started petting Leon, who crouched down automatically to hands and knees. The children were all over him, climbing on his back, ruffling his mane, even feeling his fangs.
"Come play with us!" A red-haired boy hugged Leon's neck.
"Wish I could, but I'm a little too old for you guys." Leon was trying to make excuses, but Alibaba was quick to solve that little problem. As the kids pulled and hugged him, Leon shrank into a lion boy about 8 years old. He gasped when he realized the other kids looked the same size as he was, and twisted around to check himself. "That wasn't a real wish! Just a figure of speech!"
Alibaba chickled. "Don't worry. I didn't count it. Go play!"
Leon felt confused, and then remembered he had come here to play with his schoolmates. They were all in the same third-grad class. Alibaba moved to a bench so he could sit and watch the children and the boy-lion wrestling and chasing each other around. This could be a lot of fun. Children's imaginations made a great source of transformation.