It was late Friday night as he came home tired after another long day at work, which had quickly become the status quo for him.
The single man was holding down two jobs. The first a standard 9-5 within the field he had gone to college for, despite the fact the best job he could find right now was an entry level position inputting utility bills instead of something more prestigious in the computer field.
The other job was working odd hours to trying to pay off the student loans acquired trying to earn the college degree to work in the computer field. He sat all day for the first, and was on his feet practically every moment of the second. Both were getting tedious, and if he had to say "Do you want fries with that?" one more time...
He sat at what passed for a table in his crummy 'efficiency' apartment, going over his budget while eating another dry (no condiments) baloney sandwich and drinking a glass of tap water. Even with two paychecks (such as they were), he barely managed to make ends meet again. They couldn't go out and have a good time, but at least they met.
With nothing else to do, he retired to his bedroom, thankful that for once he didn't have to go to either job tomorrow.
An old metal table with no drawers rescued from a trash dumpster passed for his computer desk, while he sat on the edge of the bed to use his terminal. After about an hour of surfing the Internet, he was about to call it a night when he spotted something on CYOC.net.
It was an Animal TF Questionnaire.
Curious, he clicked the link, and the CYOC.net screen disappeared, to be replaced by multiple passages of text.
Whether he was still somewhere on his favorite web site or transported to somewhere else on the Internet, he didn't know, but as a lark, he began answering the questions.
SECTION 1: BACKGROUND (Multiple choice)
1) If you could transform into an animal, would you?
As a science fiction/fantasy fan, considering some of his dreams and desires of alternate universes and realities, he quickly typed in YES!
2) What animal would you transform into?
That one he had to really stop and think about, for there were a lot of possibilities. Finally, he typed in TIGER.
3) What method would you prefer to transform under?
A.) Scientific means B.) Magic C.) By another animal D.) Other (Please specify)
He wrote in the empty space afterward C., but added Through sex with my mate, because love is the only magic I still believe in and science is nowhere near this advanced a state of genetic engineering. surprised that the form would allow him to type all that out.
Hey, he thought to himself, if I'm gonna have a fantasy, I might as well try reaching for the stars. If you're gonna dream, dream big. That way you're not as disappointed when they don't come true.
4) Reason why you were transformed?
A.) Revenge B.) Accident C.) Volunteer D.) Other (Please specify)
In a strong case of wish fulfillment, he picked D., then typed in To be with her/for a better life.
5) Where would you prefer to transform?
A.) Home B.) School C.) Farm D.) Other (Please specify)
Based upon the limited choices, he finally picked D., then typed in Someplace romantic.
If you're gonna dream, you also might as well enjoy it.
6) How long do you prefer a transformation to be?
A.) 5 minutes B.) 1 Day C.) 1 Month D.) Other (Please specify)
Do they mean how long the process lasts or how long the change lasts, he wondered. Then, believing it to be the latter, once more he picked D., and typed in Forever, with the ability to change back and forth at will. He had always been torn between anthropomorphic beings and weres, so why not be both? This was just a quiz to pass the time, right?
SECTION 2: DURING THE TRANSFORMATION... (Out of 5)
1) Tail growth
He typed 5/5, after all, tigers had tails.
2) Feet and Hands
He typed 2/5, because he still wanted to be able to do things and walk upright.
3) Head and Ears
He typed in 3/5, hoping that would achieve the desired anthropomorphic/ humanoid look he wanted.
4) Coat (Fur, feathers etc.)
He typed 5/5. He didn't have any kind of fur fetish, but why skimp out?
5) Bondage
He typed 0/5, because that wasn't his thing.
6) Clothing restraint
He couldn't picture that, so typed 0/5. Worse case scenario, he just wouldn't wear any.
7) Transgender
He quickly typed in 0/5. He didn't have any prejudice against others. They could do whatever they wanted. He was happy as a man, straight, and loved women. But trying to find a woman who loved him was another matter. His last girlfriend left him in college for a jock with a Ferrari.
8) Speech change
He typed 1/5, thinking a little growl once in a while would be neat.
SECTION 3: AFTERMATH (Yes or No)
1) Mind loss
That received a quick NO!
2) Animalistic instincts (If above was No)
He entered Some, thankful the form accepted the answer.
3) Irreversible
He typed in Yes, but repeated the stipulation about wanting to be able to change back and forth at will, just in case.
4) Used by Transformer
His answer was an adamant NO! I'm nobody's slave!
SECTION 4: OTHER THINGS
1) Anthro or Full?
That was easy. Anthro, with the best of both tiger and human, but the worst of neither.
2) Would you leave your family to become an animal?
Yes, for love, to be with my mate.
3) Would you fight the change or accept it?
Accept, especially if it was painless.
4) Would you enjoy the change?
Yes, especially if it was during sex with a gorgeous tigress who loved me as much as I love her. he typed with a smile, thinking he would have to take care of a "personal" matter soon.
5) Would you act like your animal even if you kept your human mind?
That one he had to stop and think about. Finally, he typed, Only if absolutely necessary, especially to defend my mate and our family.
6) Would you live in the wild or become a pet?
That didn't require much thought. In the wild, if that's what she wanted, but would prefer to be living amongst other anthros. NEVER as someone's pet or lab specimen!
Then came the moment of truth. The only button left was an icon that said ENTER.
He pushed the button, and waited.
All the text disappeared, to be replaced by a white screen with a series of green dots scrolling across the center from left to right.
Then, in the middle of their third pass across the screen, the green dots disappeared and were replaced by a picture of an anthro-tiger holding a beautiful anthro-tigress in a loving embrace, while the happy couple were smiling at each other. Neither had on a stitch of clothing, which didn't matter to furry creatures, although was there a hint of a wedding ring on the lady's hand? He was too tired to tell for sure.
The anthro-male, for there was no hiding the rather large object between his legs, was slightly taller than the well endowed female, who had a bountiful bosom with hard nipples and no signs of sagging, along with some very sexy curves.
The anthro couple were both well toned muscle wise, and had the classic orange fur with black and white stripes and markings common to most tigers.
Yet despite their feline features, there was also something humanoid about the figures as well.
Both had four fingers and a thumb on their visible hands (paws?). Their feet looked more like an even mix between tiger and human, although the toes were clearly claws, while the fingernails were just noticeably sharp.
Their tails emerged from somewhere slightly above their respective rumps, and looked like they could reach to below their knees easily.
They were standing upright, although there was nothing visible amongst the foliage of wherever they were to give them any true scale height wise. There was a slight hint of some kind of civilization in the background, but it was too far away to say exactly of what nature. It could have been anything from a simple village to a small town, or somewhere along the line of a modern city to an even more futuristic setting.
But their faces!
Male and female were clearly a mix of both tiger and human, with the pointed ears near the top of their furry heads and not in a regular human position. They both also had bright green feline eyes, short muzzles and whiskers near their cat-ish noses.
Yet it was their smiles. Those and that part of their faces were completely human, despite a visible hint of sharp tiger teeth.
The tired man could not suppress a yawn as he stared at the picture some more.
The quality was superb, yet he couldn't quite identify the format. Despite being so rich in detail and color, it wasn't a drawing, but the image was FAR better than any instance of CGI he had ever seen too.
At least I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight, was his pleasant thought, as he clicked and saved the image before turning off the computer monitor.
Fatigue was beginning to set in, so it was all he could do to get up, brush and floss his teeth, and crawl into the bed with its lumpy twin sized mattress. Even if he could afford a bigger bed, the apartment's lone bedroom wasn't big enough to hold it.
With it being a warm summer night and him unable to afford to run the air conditioner, he slept in the nude on top of the covers with the window open, dreaming of a better life with and without fur, but with that special someone by his side in both versions.
But what the tired man didn't know, since he rarely bothered to actually turn off the computer itself, was that after he shut down the monitor for the night, the program on whatever web site he was on was still running.
After displaying the picture of the happy anthro-couple for a few more minutes, it shrank and moved the picture up and to the left somewhat as new text appeared on the screen.
PROCESSING REQUEST, it read, before the series of green dots returned to travel across the screen a couple of lines below the message.
The man had long been asleep when the green dots and the old message finally disappeared.
Then a new message appeared in their place below the picture.
ANTHRO/WERE REQUEST TO BE GRANTED.
ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE.
Then the entire display disappeared as the computer defaulted back to his home screen, which the man would see the next time he turned his monitor on.
{{For those curious, the questionnaire answers are a true reflection of my own TF desires. No wonder I'm such a Moon Lake fan. ;-)
The background story? Pure fiction.—tmw.}}