Trevor pursed his lips for a second, unsure if they still allowed the bird he wanted to become. It wasn’t a raptor, but it sometimes got grouped with them all the same.
The person in line behind him let out an exasperated sigh loud enough to let everyone around him know he was getting impatient. Finally, Trevor looked back at the reception clerk and asked, “Ravens are still permitted in there, right?”
He felt an odd sense of relief wash over him as soon as the clerk nodded his head. “Of course. Just give me a second and I’ll get your formula.” Immediately the clerk started typing up the species choice on Trevor’s reservation.
“Ravens and crows are actually one of the more popular choices here,” the clerk added. “I’m sure you’ll be glad to know you don’t have to eat rotting corpses during your stay here, though.”
“That’s always a plus,” Trevor smirked. He watched as the clerk turned around and opened one of the large refrigerators behind the front desk after typing in a security code. There was a whirring sound as the motorized cylinder containing a myriad of small vials of different colors rotated around. After a few seconds, it stopped and the clerk pulled a vial with a pale blue liquid out.
“Here you are, sir,” the clerk said as he handed the vial over to Trevor. He also handed him a slip of paper that was warm off the printer. It had his reservation information on it. “Be sure and leave the print out in the plastic bin in the transformation room.”
“This is it?” he asked, inspecting the vial. For a second, he thought he might have been given the wrong one, but soon noticed the label, CORVUS CORAX: COMMON RAVEN, painted onto the side of the glass.
“Mm-hmm. To save space in our storage units, The Flight Dome uses a much more concentrated form of the transformation serum. Don’t worry. It’s still painless. Just don’t drop it between here and the transformation room.”
The man behind Trevor let out another exasperated sigh. Trevor ignored him, though. Grinning, he shook his head and started to back away from the desk. He’d already seen the signs pointing to the transformation rooms when he got up to the reception desk and knew where to go. “And here I figured the serum would be black,” he smirked.
“Yeah, well they didn’t ask me what color we should make the stupid formulas. Is there anything else for you, sir?”
Trevor shook his head and pursed his lips, backing away from the desk. The man behind him was already shuffling in to the empty space. “No. I think I got it. Thanks, though.”
“Enjoy your stay,” he heard the clerk say behind him. Trevor didn’t reply back, though, and was already stepping down the blue-tiled hallway to the transformation rooms. He rolled his eyes when he found another long line waiting for him. It was probably a good twenty feet long – and that was just to get into the foyer leading to the transformation room.
They sure as hell better have enough room, Trevor thought with a scowl contorting his lips. At this rate, he wondered if he would have been better off choosing a hummingbird. Admittedly, it had crossed his mind more than once, but something in his gut told him he wanted his first avian experience to be as a raven.
With a heavy sigh, Trevor did his best to remain patient as he stood in line.