(Woman to Male Lion)


“Hey look, if it isn’t Michelle the scaredy cat.”  The girl in question swallowed.  Why the hell was this fraternity on her way back home from classes?  Maybe she’d have been better off taking the longer detour across campus.
“‘Ah! Someone call the police!’”
“‘Oh my God, take my purse, just don’t hurt me!’”
“‘It’s not funny, guys!’”
Michelle bit her lower lip as she did her best to ignore the frat bros, all lined up by their porch to continue the parade of jeers.  Still, her blue-gray eyes misted up with tears as they continued their relentless onslaught.  It wasn’t her fault that asshole set off a party popper when she was walking back from classes.  No, it wasn’t right to call him an asshole.  He was just one of the pledges, and probably had no idea about her fears.
They continued to mock her, and she continued to walk to her dorm.  She’d just lay low for a while; forget about them; hope they forgot about her.  She would not break down, would not let them see how well they were hurting her.
BANG!
She screamed as something went off beside her head, confetti coating the right side of her face.  The girl windmilled her arms, trying to keep her balance, but she fell hard on her rear.
“Gotcha!”  One of them, an asshole with shutter shade glasses laughed, thrusting out his chest like he’d just scored the winning pass at a game.
Her whole frame shook, shock sending her senses and emotions into overdrive.  She tried to bite harder, force her lip to stop quivering.  It didn’t work, and she let out a choking gasp, tears streaming form her face as she broke down on the sidewalk.  Why wouldn’t these guys leave her alone?
The tears brought further laughter which brought further tears, and the girl realized she had to leave unless she wanted to be trapped, crying scared for the next half hour.  She dropped her purse as she ran, somewhere, anywhere, just away from the fraternity.
The first few blocks were made without issue; then she ran into someone, almost knocking them to the ground.
“Easy there, honey!”  A raspy, warm voice flowed into her ears as she felt strong arms hold her steady.  Michelle blinked through tear-stained eyes to see a kindly old man looking down at her.  “Girl like you’s much too pretty for tears like that.”  He frowned, noticing some strands of confetti in her dirty-blonde hair.  “I’m guessing you’re related to that pop I heard a little bit ago, no?”
Michelle sniffled, nodding as she tried to pull the shredded paper from her form, without much success.
“Well, how ‘bout we get you somewhere safe and get you a smoothie.  Would that calm you down?”  The man let go of her shoulders once she composed herself a little more.
She nodded eagerly, reaching for a purse that was still a few blocks back.  She stopped the motion, looking down with surprise.  “Oh no!”  She mumbled, glancing left and right with panic.
“Something wrong?”  The man tilted his head.
“M-my purse.  I left it back there.”  She turned, raising a trembling hand where she’d come from.
“Well now, that’s a shame.”  The man scratched his hand absently.
Michelle looked the man up and down.  “Can you help me get it back?”
A frown spread across his weathered features as he shook his head.  “Sorry honey, but last time I tried to talk sense into kids like that, it turned ugly quick.  You’re on your own.”  He saw her downtrodden expression, then continued.  “But maybe I could give you one of my courage pills.”  He pulled out a small mint tin, popping a small blue pill into his mouth.
Michelle blinked in confusion.  “Sorry, I don’t do drugs.”
He laughed at that.  “Honey, these are just sugar pills my doctor gave me for blood sugar.  It’s an old trick I used to do.  Trust me, even if you know their secret, they’ll help you out plenty.”  He offered her the tin, and she cautiously took one.  He seemed well-mannered enough, and was the only person who’d been nice to her in the past day.
Michelle popped it into her mouth, chewing on it pensively.  Minty sugar filled her mouth, and she swallowed it happily.  Strangely enough, it did help, a calming tingle running through her body.  “Thanks.”  She nodded to him, and turned to confront the ‘gentlemen’ of Sigma Epsilon.  “I’ll be back soon.”  She called to the old man, waving.
“I’ve no doubt!”  Came his return.

Moments later, Michelle was standing outside of the house, but her purse was nowhere in sight.
“Hey, scaredy-cat.  Lose something?”  One of the bros jeered.  She turned to glare at him.
“Where.  Is.  My.  Purse.”  She growled menacingly.
He blinked in surprise, then beat a hasty retreat in to the house.  “Guys?”  He called nervously.
She followed him easily, the dumbass forgetting to lock the door behind him.  Once past the threshold, she made out a commotion in the kitchen.  She walked to the doorway, scratching her neck absently.
The kid who’d first scared her was arguing with Shutter Shades, her purse on the table between them.  “I’m telling you, we need to give this to campus security.  It’s not right what you guys are doing to her, and you should stop.”
Shutter Shades grinned, running a hand through spiked blonde hair.  “I’m sorry, Josh.  Did I hurt the little newbie’s feelings?  That bitch is gone, and she ain’t coming back.”
Michelle cleared her throat, and the two boys snapped their heads to look at her.
“Well, I stand corrected.  If it ain’t the bearded bitch herself.”  The bro laughed as the pledge turned to glare at him.
Bearded bitch?  What was he talking about?  It didn’t matter.  “I’ll be taking my purse now.”  She said, walking up to the table.  Before she could grab it, Shutter Shades had it in his clutches.
“Gonna need to do better than that.”  He laughed, tossing it from hand to hand.
Something within her snapped.  He dared to mock her?  In a flash, one of her hands was around his throat, the other driving into his gut repeatedly.  She shook her head as a strange warmth met her neck, as though she was wearing a scarf.
She paused, glancing down to find a set of long hairs growing form her neck, a thick-hand-length coat.  It almost looked like a lion’s mane.  That realization loosened her grip, and Shutter Shades tried to use the opportunity to escape.
Instinct drove the girl’s attention back on him, her eyes widening at his temerity.  Her prey was trying to flee?  That was cute.  She grabbed him with both hands and threw him effortlessly across the room.  He crashed through a cabinet, his head cracking painfully against the countertop.
She shook her head, running a hand through her mane as she approached him.  She’d deal with that later, right now, she had to deal with something else entirely.  Her hips sashayed with each footfall, a tail extending from her spine, golden fur covering it with a brown tassel at the end that matched her mane.
Michelle paused as an afterthought.  She pointed a clawed finger at the pledge, Josh.  “You.”  As she said the first word, her canines lengthened into fangs.  The changing girl worked them experimentally, then shook her head again, relishing how her mane fluffed out.  Still, she had to talk business first.  “You should go.”  She ended the statement with a low rumbling in her throat, and her claws overtook more of her fingers as her hands reshaped themselves into paws.
Josh nodded dumbly, running from the house as fast as his legs could take him.  With that done, Michelle turned her attention back to the frat bro who’d started this.  She slammed her paws on the counter, one on either side of his head.  Her arms snapped as muscle toned them, fur overtaking her new forelimbs.
Shutter Shades cowered, holding her purse out before him.  “T-take it!”
The girl’s jaw worked soundlessly for a moment as her oval face cracked out into a predator’s muzzle.  Her nose flattened out, whiskers spread from her cheeks, and her jaw locked open as her fangs found the room to grow to their full length.  “It’s a lrrittle late forrrr that.”  She rumbled.
He quaked with fear, hugging his legs tightly to his chest.  She laughed, a deep, rumbling vibration that sent quakes through her body.  Her legs snapped behind her as they reformed, shortening to bring her closer to his face.  She could almost make out tears beneath his glasses, and she roared loudly, flecks of spittle spattering the boy’s cheeks.
Her new sense of scent picked up that he was dripping with fear... and urine.  She rumbled again.  “Who’s afrrraid nowrrrrroagh!”  Her throat clenched as she lost the ability to speak, but she conveyed her point well enough.  As Michelle drew a deep breath in for air, her ribcage cracked, and she had to shut her eyes in pain as her frame expanded, tearing through her clothes as the changes swept across her a final time.
She opened them to find Shutter Shades was making a break for the door, and she pounced on him, four hundred pounds of rage slamming him into the ground.  He cried out as her claws dug deep into his back, and she roared her triumph for the campus, her new kingdom, to hear.

Outside, the old man smiled, clicking a timer on his stopwatch.  A sugar pill for him, and one of their new batch for her...  “Nine minutes, not bad.”  A smile broke across the wrinkles on his face as he announced his findings.
“Actually...”  His assistant spoke up, and the man looked down at the boy curiously.  “Four minutes.  Maybe five if you count the first bit of mane.”  Josh smirked at his mentor.  “You forgot the travel time.”
The man laughed, mussing up his protégé’s hair.  “Trust me, I didn’t.  But I’ll cut you a break and call it seven and... thirty-eight.  Either way, it suits our business just fine.”
Josh nodded, grinning as he cupped his hands behind his head.  “Wonder when she’ll remember that the only lions with manes are dudes?”
“With any luck, well after we’ve made our exit.”  The old man returned his grin, spinning on his heel.
The two turned to walk away as screams of pain and fear brought the campus to life.