"...and that is why you must stay away from the springs, young man!"
"Right, yeah,whatever. Curse. Gotcha."
Mike continued fiddling with his phone as he walked past the rambling soothsayer. He was probably just trying to sell him something. The old man waved his stick in a vaguely threatening motion, but realising he was being ignored, he eventually gave up.
Mike had been hiking through these forests for days now, and was really starting to get tired of this 'nature' and 'untamed beauty' business. Maybe that gap year was a bad idea.
After hiking miles out of the way to avoid the cursed cemetary, cursed forest of the dead, cursed mountain of woe, and cursed funny-looking tree, he was really getting sick of soothsayers.
They all looked the same, too. Maybe there was a uniform code.
At any rate, he was hot, tired, and sticky with sweat, so the idea of a cursed hot spring was starting to sound quite appealing.
Ruffling his blonde hair in frustration as he lost at Peggle AGAIN (the damn phone was cheating somehow, he was sure), he finally looked up at where he had stumbled upon.
A small clearing amongst the gnarled trees revealed a number of clear, still pools. The air was filled with a warm and welcoming steam, and the idea of a hot bath was just too appealing to pass up.
Ignoring the signs, all painted in apparent great haste and desperation, Mike pulled off his heavy boots and damp socks, letting his feet get some air for the first time in far too long. Sinking them gently into the warm water, he let out a sigh of relief.
He wasted no time in stripping off his shirt and shorts, and sliding his whole body naked into the steaming water. It just seemed to melt all his troubles away.
After a short while, he felt he really should be getting on with his trip. Begrudgingly, he pulled himself free from the water and shook the droplets from his glistening skin, before roughy towelling off with the cloths in his backpack.
He stopped only to refill his bottle from the water before moving on. But he hadn't gone far when he began to feel odd.
His face felt strange. Itchy. He rubbed his nose, which felt runny, like he had a cold. Indeed, it did feel cold. And wet. Strangely so. He winced as his ears began to ache. Had some water gotten in them or something? It felt almost like they were moving up. Soon the ache was at the top of his head. And there was something in his line of vision; long thin black lines.
Gingerly, he touched them, and felt a weird sensation run through his cheeks. He pulled them, stroked and tugged them, but they absolutely refused to budge. He had...whiskers?
Slowly, he reached up and felt the top of his head. Soft, furry, pointy...animal ears.
Yelping with shock, he began feeling the rest of his body. Was he hairier? His skin felt weird and tingly. He pulled up his shirt, which seemed so baggy all of a sudden. And the trees; were they getting bigger?
No, he was shrinking! He pulled open his shirt, not caring as a few of the buttons popped off, and whined with fear to see pale beige fur growing in a soft tuft over his chest. Stepping backwards, he tripped over his huge boots, landing painfully on something warm and soft.
Reaching around, he gulped as he felt a thick, furry lump swiftly growing behind hom. Growing out of his ass! He had a tail!
He stroked it softly, feeling its hardness and warmth, and tried to pull up his shorts, which hung loosely around his knees. Looking down to his feet, his now-massive socks were falling off to reveal furry, clawed paws. He touched and pulled on them, feeling his new feet, and saw the thick black webs between his thicker toes.
"I'm becoming...an otter?"
He stared at his hand as the fur grew, a soft and short black fuzz that rapidly covered his skin, as the webbed flesh pulled his fingers together, and small black claws pushed from the tips.
Soon his shrinking body had pulled out completely from his shorts, but he felt no need to hide them. His fear slowly dissipating, he rolled around onto his soft pudgy belly, shaking as the fur covered him completely. As his face pushed out, forming a muzzle full of small, sharp teeth, his shirt landed gently on top of his small body, and he pulled it off to look at himself.
He was a long, furry river otter. Curiously, he twisted his tail around to touch the fur. It was...so cool! He was adorable! He rolled around on the grass chittering with mirth. He felt so happy, and carefree. It was bizzare, he'd never felt this free from responsibility. The idea of going back to university seemed so much effort when he could just be an animal forever.
Testing his new four feet, he walked slowly back to the hot springs. The idea of water was inviting, and he jumped in without hesitation, testing his new agility as he splashed and rushed through the spring.
Giggling to himself, he jumped out, slick and wet, next to the sign, and looked up to read it.
"Spring of Drowned Otter. Warning; beware the otter's curse! If you touch the water, don't fret - you'll turn back on the next moonrise, unless you drink it. So don't drink it!"
Mike bit his lower lip anxiously. So he could turn back. That was good, it was really a dumb idea to want to be an animal. Slowly, he walked back to the pile of clothing he had left in the mud, and poked at it gently, his mind racing.
With great care, he pulled up the plastic bottle of cursed water. Probably best to pour this out...
He unscrewed the top, the water sloshing gently inside. Hesitating, quivering with uncertainty, he lowered it until the water just reached the tip, about to pour away...
Then he closed his eyes with a grimace and pulled it towards him, letting the warm liquid splash into his open mouth.
Quickly, he dropped the bottle, and stood uncertainly on his paws, his tail lashing from side to side. Had he just made a terrible mistake?
He stared at the writing on the label, and blinked as it became harder and harder to read. Soon, the words seemed to have become just meaningless scribbles. A little after, he could hardly remember what this thing in front of him was at all. Or this pile of soft, colourful...stuff? He poked at it curiously. It smelled of humans...but he was human, right?
He blinked a few times, then smiled.
No, he was an otter. And if he remembered correctly, there was a river nearby, with lots of very cute other otters to play with.
Cheerfully, he bounded off, leaving his clothes and his old life in a forgotten pile in the dirt.