adrianus stroked shark's hair, in a slow, monotonous motion. before he even said anything, they already felt it - he was going to hypnotize them.

"your hair is so soft," he murmured, using that drowsy, dreamy voice. "so nice to pet..."

they almost trembled. at this point, they'd been hypnotized so many times, even the slightest hint that they were going to go into trance could make them shiver in anticipation.

and it wasn't just that. they had a feeling they already knew what kinds of suggestions he was going to give them. they had a feeling they knew what he wanted from them. what he was going to do to them.

he continued petting them, leaning in a bit more, closing in on them.

they leaned away slightly, only to find him pulling them back.

"there's no need to be shy," he murmured, his fingertips gently rubbing their scalp. "what exactly are you trying to run away from?"

they could feel their own heartbeat - maybe he could feel it, too.

he hadn't even said a word about it, but they already felt like a cat with an overly affectionate owner. and if they already felt like that, then how were they going to feel when he actually said it? when he repeated it in that hypnotic tone?

"well," they said quietly, "what am i running away from? you're clearly doing something..."

they already knew, but they still asked. maybe they just didn't want to say it. maybe they felt like they weren't supposed to. they weren't sure, themself.

"i'm just petting you," he said softly. "is that so strange? you seem a bit confused..."

they really were trembling now. he was already getting into their head.

"you're definitely..." they trailed off.

"don't you understand?" he asked, his voice gentle. "this is where you should be right now... this is all perfectly natural... this is exactly how you should be treated... after all... you are my pet."

the tingling in their spine wouldn't stop.

it wasn't really just that he was calling them his pet, either. he'd talked about transformation before, about really pushing the suggestions, about testing their responses now that they'd gotten so susceptible. he wasn't just going to treat them like a pet - he wanted to really make them feel like one. he wanted to make them feel like a cat. to turn them into a cat.

"you've always been my pet," he murmured. "haven't you?"

well, it wasn't exactly inaccurate to say. he always had some level of control over them.

"haven't you?" he repeated.

"i-i have, yeah," they answered.

"that's right," he said softly, the praise melting their brain. "you forget sometimes, don't you? but maybe i can make it a little bit easier for you to fully understand..."

that framing of it was crazy. even when they knew what was coming, the way he was approaching it caught them off guard.

"maybe you think that, as a human being, you can't really be a pet... not in the same way that a little animal can be," he droned. "but you can become a little animal, too... you can be just like a cat..."

they shuddered.

it was such a bizarre feeling, hearing something like that, in that tone. it obviously wasn't true. they couldn't actually turn into a cat. they didn't even think they could really fully believe they were a cat if they were hypnotized.

but it didn't matter. when he said it like that, it took hold inside of them. it had to be true on some level. it was going to be true on some level. even if they weren't going to be just like a cat... they were. at least, they'd be so much like one, they'd feel so much like one, that it'd be close enough. and if it wasn't enough, he would just keep pushing them a little bit more, until it was.

it wasn't really even about that final result, for them. it was about that inevitable feeling of being pushed and coaxed like that, over and over, into this weird, unknown territory, into this thing they'd never experienced, that was impossible to experience.

it felt strange, and creepy, but it felt so hypnotic already.

"that's right..." he murmured, his words becoming even slower and more drawn out, his voice pulling on their mind like a magnet. "you can be my cat... you'll make such a good cat for me..."

he kept gently stroking their hair, matching the pace of his words.

"i know that you can be deeply hypnotized... i know that you can't resist it... and you know that, too, don't you?" he said in a low, slightly darker tone. "in the past, you might have felt silly about something like this. but now... you'll just give in. you're already starting to give in. aren't you? and these aren't the sorts of suggestions you can simply disobey, either. i'm not asking you to do anything. i'm only telling you what's going to happen... how you're going to feel... what you're going to experience... what you're going to become. if you can't stop yourself from listening... then there's nothing you can really do about it. you're completely helpless. aren't you?"

at some point, they stopped trembling, their body starting to let go and relax on its own. their breathing was slowing down, too. their eyes were just staring at nothing in particular.

they were aware of all of that, but their mind still felt fuzzy and weak.

"very good... just relaxing for me... just like a cat. it feels so comfortable, doesn't it? the more you feel as if you're becoming a cat... the better you feel... the more right it feels. that's what you're supposed to be, right now... just a little pet cat... a sleepy cat... can you feel it? it's already starting..."

they definitely felt the sleepiness, and some kind of vague, pet-like feeling. he'd been stroking their hair in the same monotonous motion the entire time, but it felt more tingly now. maybe like just being petted by him like that... just feeling his hand on them... was also starting to change them.

it didn't feel exactly like a physical, bodily transformation. but that didn't really feel like it mattered. their idea of themself, their image of themself, that was definitely changing, in a way they could feel. that was being projected over their reality, even if their body was still the same.

"feeling so small... so soft... so fuzzy," he murmured. "so snuggly... so sweet. such a good kitty..."

they leaned into his touches. their head was just getting fuzzier, to the point where it felt hard to even think.

there was just the smallest, tiniest bit of awareness left. it was all happening so quickly. too quickly.

"more..." they mumbled, rubbing their head against him.

"oh, don't worry, my pet," he said softly. "i'll help you keep feeling smaller and smaller... more and more like a cat... and it will only feel more real, with each word, with each stroke of my hand... you'll be completely transformed... and it will feel so nice, won't it?"

it really did sound good. they couldn't get any closer, or lean into him any more, or they would have.

"that's it... that's right... such a good boy... you're doing so well already..." he cooed. "you're such a sweet cat, aren't you? i told you that this is how you should be... you're finally starting to understand that, aren't you?"

any embarrassment was dissipating. they wanted to stay like this.

"i know it's easy for a little cat like you to get confused... to think that you want to get away... but when i pull you back... when i hold you like this... you realize how nice this is... don't you? you realize what it means to be my pet... and you become so sleepy and docile... you remember that you're just my cat... that you want to be a good kitty for me..."

it was a post-hypnotic suggestion, or a trigger, wasn't it? but they wanted it. they wanted to be pulled into this, over and over. to be human one second, and turned into a cat the next. to be interrupted. to stop being able to even think anymore.

it was comfortable. it did feel natural. it just made sense. it was almost harder to believe they ever felt any differently, or that they ever thought they felt any differently.

they rested their head in his lap, and they could feel how every time he petted them, it felt stronger. they weren't really even sure what felt stronger, what was actually happening. they just felt it. it was enough to completely overwhelm them. they weren't sure how long they were like that, lying there in complete bliss. but they didn't really need a sense of time anymore, anyway. they were just a cat. his cat. and they were exactly where they were supposed to be, doing exactly what they were supposed to do.