I blinked awake on my nineteenth birthday. And the day before I started attending college courses at the community college. I’d taken a travel year where I didn’t actually travel, just lounged around town and my parents’ house. My younger sister, Jessica, just turned 18, and was already more ready for adulting than I was. But oh well. I had a pretty boring life, until of course, the golden light filled the room.

I blinked rapidly against the glow, and I saw a stunning figure standing in my room. She wore only a simple cotton dress and a fur coat.

“Who are you?” I asked, stunned.

“I am Fauna, goddess of animals.” the woman introduced. I blinked.

“Um, ok. Sure. Why are you here, then?” I asked disbelievingly.

“To bestow upon you a gift.” Fauna smiled.

“Why? Did I win a contest?” I asked.

“Of sorts. I put all the names of nineteen year olds across the globe into a very large hat. Yours was the one I drew at random.” Fauna explained.

“Ok... so what’s my prize?” I asked eagerly.

“The power to transform any human, yourself included, into a human-animal hybrid.” Fauna beamed.

“Hold up. You’re the fucking goddess of furries?” I said, and chuckled.

“What? What is a furry?” Fauna asked.

“Um, who knows? Anyways, how do I use this power?” I asked Fauna. She touched my shoulder, and my veins flared gold then went back to normal.

“You’ll have to choose your hybrid first.” Fauna said.

“Can I change it later?” I asked.

“No.” she shook her head. I considered some options.