The woods were quiet, peaceful and relaxing as they always were. Only the rhythmic chirping of crickets in the grass and the steady rustling of leaves in the cool evening air broke through the silence. A light breeze blew through the branches, lazily sweeping them to and fro, stirring the earthy scents of an overgrown path and the faint aromas of wildflowers scattered about. A figure stood motionless in the light of the setting sun, its long shadow only one of many as it was lost in the array of others cast by countless trees. He inhaled deeply, holding his breath momentarily, simply taking in everything that was around him, before heaving a heavy sigh. Work was no different that day as it was any other. It was easy work, although, as a mechanical engineer, many would surely disagree. His superiors were never punctual, and the jobs he was assigned were boring, but it paid the bills with enough money to spare. There was little room for him to complain.

Regardless, standing alone in the woods, surrounded by nothing but nature, was cathartic to the young man. It was a place to unwind and simply admire the Earth and its once-untainted glory. From the barely distinguishable path along the edge of the forest, it was easy to forget about the monotony of everyday life and lose himself in the great outdoors. Deliberately, he took a few steps forward, the light crunch of dry brush and twigs snapping beneath his shoes, to get a closer look at the fireflies blazing to life in the dimming light. The distant pitter-patter of woodland creatures bounding between trees made itself more evident as well. Squirrels, weasels, deer, badgers – it would be so much easier to live as one of them. No work, no bills, no stress… a simple life with simple pleasures.

Nearly lost in his trance, it wasn’t until a spry fox had crept out from the nearby brush and revealed herself to him that he remembered where he was. At first glance, she appeared to be a common red fox, but it only took the man a moment to notice a pair of unusually long ears. They seemed to belong to a rabbit, but how that was possible was beyond him. She stood partially obscured behind a tree and watched him intently, almost as if studying him and his every move. Her thick fluffy tail slowly swished out the other side of the trunk, her gaze focused on the man’s own. Intrigued and just a few short feet away, he stared back at the vulpine, marveling at her grace and beauty. Her coat was thick and luxurious. The orange fur on her back was well kept and shone a bright vermillion in the dying light while her pearlescent underbelly seamlessly complemented the jet black on her legs. A twinge of jealousy stewed in the back of the man’s mind. Why couldn’t he be a fox? Just to escape reality and enter a different world, even if both were one and the same. Of course he knew why, but it didn’t stop him from pondering the question.

Despite being in the presence of a human, the fox didn’t seem the least bit threatened. She dared to venture out from the tree and circled him curiously at a distance. However, the moment the man approached and reached an arm out with the same curiosity, she reeled back and watched him warily. Although, instead of running and hiding, she continued staring, now several yards away down the overgrown path. The man waited for her to leave, but she never did. She just stood there, soft eyes waiting for him, bushy tail almost beckoning him closer. Without even a second a thought, he tried to follow again. Once more, she hopped back and waited.

The sky turned dark as the sun fell further below the horizon, the thickening trees quickly blotting out what little light remained. Soon, the chase turned into a steady walk, the man trailing behind the mysterious vulpine. It became clear to him that she was trying to lead him somewhere, and for some reason, despite the warnings tugging on his mind, he felt nothing but obliged to follow. Deeper into the woods, the air was clammy, and the wild brush grew unchecked, twigs and stray roots making the man’s trek increasingly difficult. With the last signs of light fading behind him, he had only the quiet rustling of paws on grass to follow.

Finally, the surrounding darkness overtook his senses, and the realization dawned on him. He was lost and vulnerable. His heartbeat quickened, and his mind raced. Meanwhile, the only sound he could hear was an ominous wind that breathed through the forest. He looked around and blindly grappled at the air, desperately trying to find anything he could use to orient himself, when a pair of shining green eyes burned through the dark like stars in the night sky. Panic overwhelmed him as he backed away, frantically retreating from the light. Unfortunately, he hardly made it three steps before an exposed root caught his ankle and sent him crashing to the ground. Now on his back and tangled in fallen branches, he was helpless to the approaching gaze. As it drew closer though, the air around him seemed to emanate a peculiar quality that sent a shiver down his spine. No longer did it simply smell damp and earthy. Rather, it felt more feral – almost primal, even. He hadn’t noticed it before. Perhaps, in his fear, his mind hadn’t registered it yet.

The emerald eyes stopped just an arm’s reach in front of him. Although eerie and mysterious, they weren’t menacing. In fact, the longer he stared into their hollow watch, the more they calmed his frenzied nerves. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his raspy breath slowing to a steady pulse. In his mind, it became increasingly difficult to stay awake. A bewildering sensation overtook him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. At first, it was only a dull, warm tickling that radiated throughout his body. A slight grin stretched across his lips as he suppressed a quiet giggle. Meanwhile, completely oblivious to him, soft hairs rapidly started sprouting under his clothes.

At the same time, he felt an odd crawling deep beneath the surface of his skin. It caused him no pain, but it took its toll on his body in a different way. His entire skeletal structure shifted and contorted, some bones taking on new shapes completely alien to the human body with others disappearing altogether. Gradually, his skull went stout and misshapen. His mouth and nose stretched out from his face to form a thin pointed muzzle, the incisors in his maw growing into sharp canines. Climbing up the sides of his head, the cartilage in the folds and ridges of his ears flattened and elongated into tall rounded projections atop his forehead. In his torso, his ribs compressed, and his spine became more limber while his entire upper body appeared to sink into his waist. The bottom few vertebrae even began protruding over his backside from under his now-thickly furred skin, sluggishly snaking out from under him until drawn out and tapered into a long bushy tail. Compensating for his frame’s new disproportions, his hips and shoulders went slim and narrow as his limbs shrunk and withdrew into his body, bending backwards from their originally plantigrade state into one of a more digitigrade nature. Finally, his hands and feet lost their definition, fingers and toes becoming stubby digits while smooth claws jutted out the ends and rough pads grew on their undersides.

Now only a fraction of his old size, he found himself buried and raveled up in his clothes which were now hopelessly useless to him. Getting a feel for his new form, he wriggled his tail and hind legs free of his pants and crawled out of his shirt. At this point, the physical changes to his body had come to an end, but there was still a strange tingling inside his muzzle. One by one, a flurry of foreign scents bombarded his snout, scents he had never known existed. He sniffed the air all about him, curious yet eager to take it all in. Although he couldn’t even begin to describe them, he could still differentiate each and every one of them as various plants and animals both far and near, the most prominent being the creature directly in front of him. But suddenly, his ears twitch over his head. It was awkward at first, but it felt more instinctive than anything else. He swiveled them forward to pinpoint a soft rustling of grass nearby.

He tried to look around despite knowing he wouldn’t see a thing. However, through the pitch black, faint clouds of light swirled in his vision like smoke. The green eyes were still there, unwavering and patient, although his imagination could’ve sworn he also saw shapes around them. A vague and blotchy image of overhanging branches and shrubbery surrounded him while his eyes darted back and forth. He blinked several times to shake the scene from his mind but only succeeded in making it clearer. Unknown to him, his eyes began to glow the same deep emerald that stared back at him. And as the light in his eyes shone brighter, the figure became more distinct until it was unmistakably that of a fox – the very fox that lead him so deeply into the forest.

The image soon settled and came into focus. The fox sat before him and smiled softly, her tail swishing idly against the ground, her eyes still shining in the dark. He stared back at her, utterly bewildered, and then down at himself. He was no longer human, and nothing about his new vulpine form suggested he ever was. The two of them were of the same kind. Their thick crimson fur, their creamy underbelly, and even their curiously rabbit-like ears were all the same, save for a rusty “V” that crossed the male’s chest. He couldn’t believe his eyes, and yet all of it felt so real.

He crawled to his feet, all four of them, to take a few experimental steps forward before stopping face to face with the vixen. He smiled back as he studied the other fox. She touched her snout to his, warming the tip of his muzzle with an affectionate lick before nuzzling against his side. The vixen’s tail wrapped around his own. He turned to face her again as she pulled him out of his trance. The expression stirred a bubbling warmth inside of him before he curled up beside her and tenderly returned the gesture. Not only did it put butterflies in his stomach, but the thought of who or what he now was also sent his thoughts into a skittish buzz. There was nothing to tell him what he should be or how he should act, because he was a fox now – an animal – and he was finally free of the worries and expectations of humanity.