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Description
Maxence remembers when he was little and his old aunt used to tell him old stories. She'd come from far away and always had different tales to those you read in books. She'd tell of heroes who saved a village from giant vultures, and of wandering magicians who talked to woodland spirits. But Maxence's favorite story was about their family. She had told him that their ancestors had had a strange relationship with the horse gods. She told how, with the help of the stallions' strength, they came to the aid of oppressed peoples, and how they hunted in the woods. And then one day she died. She left him a medallion, an amulet of the ancestors that was supposed to protect him and give him strength. He'd believed these stories throughout his childhood, but by adolescence he'd dismissed them as invented tales.

His parents had never suggested horse-riding to him. So when Mathilde, his beloved, suggested it, he thought "why not? They made an appointment at a club on a Tuesday, Mathilde assuring him that there was hardly anyone there that day, and that they'd be in the clear. When he got there, he couldn't find her. She had sent him a message explaining that her car had run out of petrol, was on its way and that he could start preparing a horse without waiting for her. As he approached the horses, he silently exclaimed: "How beautiful these animals are! I understand why the horse gods were worshipped!" and, instinctively, he touched his medallion.

He felt more powerful. Stronger. Faster. Then his shoes seemed too small. So he took them off. Then his underwear and pants became tight. He couldn't think straight. He told himself he couldn't undress in a place where he could be seen. He headed for the woods with a saddle and a saddle pad. They could lie on the ground and cover his lower body with the saddle and pad. He found a far corner and, the pain getting really bad, took off his clothes. He lay down and did as he'd planned. Pain, then relief, prevented him from seeing that his legs were changing shape, that his hair was becoming bushier and that two legs were sprouting from his lower abdomen. After a while, it was obvious that changes were taking place. As his human body was pushed forward, he looked back. In place of his legs was the body of a horse. Not quite horse-like, but swollen, and the places where beige skin was visible were quickly covered by black hair.

He stood up, realizing that he had grown too tall for the saddle to fall off and that it was too far away for him to remove it. He heard a noise ahead. He knew it was Mathilde.

Description
Maxence remembers when he was little and his old aunt used to tell him old stories. She'd come from far away and always had different tales to those you read in books. She'd tell of heroes who saved a village from giant vultures, and of wandering magicians who talked to woodland spirits. But Maxence's favorite story was about their family. She had told him that their ancestors had had a strange relationship with the horse gods. She told how, with the help of the stallions' strength, they came to the aid of oppressed peoples, and how they hunted in the woods. And then one day she died. She left him a medallion, an amulet of the ancestors that was supposed to protect him and give him strength. He'd believed these stories throughout his childhood, but by adolescence he'd dismissed them as invented tales.

His parents had never suggested horse-riding to him. So when Mathilde, his beloved, suggested it, he thought "why not? They made an appointment at a club on a Tuesday, Mathilde assuring him that there was hardly anyone there that day, and that they'd be in the clear. When he got there, he couldn't find her. She had sent him a message explaining that her car had run out of petrol, was on its way and that he could start preparing a horse without waiting for her. As he approached the horses, he silently exclaimed: "How beautiful these animals are! I understand why the horse gods were worshipped!" and, instinctively, he touched his medallion.

He felt more powerful. Stronger. Faster. Then his shoes seemed too small. So he took them off. Then his underwear and pants became tight. He couldn't think straight. He told himself he couldn't undress in a place where he could be seen. He headed for the woods with a saddle and a saddle pad. They could lie on the ground and cover his lower body with the saddle and pad. He found a far corner and, the pain getting really bad, took off his clothes. He lay down and did as he'd planned. Pain, then relief, prevented him from seeing that his legs were changing shape, that his hair was becoming bushier and that two legs were sprouting from his lower abdomen. After a while, it was obvious that changes were taking place. As his human body was pushed forward, he looked back. In place of his legs was the body of a horse. Not quite horse-like, but swollen, and the places where beige skin was visible were quickly covered by black hair.

He stood up, realizing that he had grown too tall for the saddle to fall off and that it was too far away for him to remove it. He heard a noise ahead. He knew it was Mathilde.