Lenny sat quietly in the room that he was in. Many of the rooms that Horizon performed many of the procedures and upliftings that related to Project Phoenix carried a medical examination room type of feel to them. Things were clean and sanity, but they also smelled rather nice, which surprised Lenny in many ways. But that was a nice surprise, and so he was content to wait and see how how the scans and other tests taken to make sure that his heart was now healthy as an Animalian. Having Milly's company also felt nice in a way.
"So... what made you interesting in becoming a mouse?" Milly asked to him politely and curiously, "a lot of people who choose to join Animalia often look to larger and/or "fiercer" animals."
"Oh... well... mostly because I often felt so over-sized and out of place," Lenny said slowly, "I stood out in all the wrong ways... and many might think me something of a big lumbering... beast... but I've always had something of a fondness for the smaller things. How gentle they can be... it's seemed to have something that fit more with my soul than anything."
"That's actually rather nice," Milly commented, "I can't really say any of my family's transformation was deliberate... We had a pet mouse, and I gave him his water and panicked when he started changing... My family all tried to help him get out of his cage as he grew, but he was afraid and we were afraid... We all got a bit of a nip in the process and thus became Animalians. A family of House Mice, though specifically from those bred as pets."
Lenny nodded his head, "What happened to the pet mouse?"
"He did move out... as he was already an adult and he felt guilty about what happened," Milly answered, "but he is still close to my folks and is something of a big brother."
"Well... that's good," Lenny smiled. In a way, those sorts scenes of kindness was something that he liked and hoped for in all things. And with Milly having done so much for him and his health by being his donor, something in his heart didn't want her to have had troubles or any pain or things that hung on after becoming an Animalian. She nodded and gave a small smile and then patted his hand. That even made him smile more, as she seemed friendly and looked quite beautiful, even with her smaller size in comparison to him. Though there was also the issue that she was only three.
"And so you said you got a second dose...?" Lenny said slowly, "and are only three?"
"Yes... as I said, my family typically bought fresh milk from the Brown farm," Milly answered, "we were all already uplifted and this was just close enough to original outbreak that some things were being sorted out. And apparently the milk that we bought had come from the uplifted cattle BEFORE they found a way to remove the Animalia virus from it. And so I drank and began to change again. This time, because I was already an Animalian, I didn't change species... but my age obviously changed."
Lenny looked over to her as she looked out toward the door and gave an almost wistful sigh.
"I felt myself growing taller... bigger, and soon with the other things that were similar growing up," Milly said, "My muscles grew bigger and more developed, my hips swelled wider, and my bosom swelled to the point where I was physically the same as my mom."
"It must have puzzled you..." Lenny commented.
"Actually, no," Milly gave a weak smile and lowered her ears, "that's part of the issue where Horizon has interest on how the Animalia Virus affects the brain. Much of it is typically brought more animals who were uplifted and how well they learn human languages and concepts, which they've found varies. Though all Animalians are just as cognitively capable as humans, some seem to instinctively know more while some might be a bit more ignorant and simply need some schooling in order to function."
"So..." Lenny blinked.
"I knew exactly what was happening to me and I seemed to just recognize it as it happened," Milly spoke with her weak smile still there, "and in an odd way... I liked it. It felt... good... at least once all my clothes snapped off."
"How did it feel... learning so much just because of the virus?" Lenny wondered.
"That was odd, in a way," Milly replied, "some things just instantly appeared and felt nice... some things seemed to gradually come in and felt odd but strangely understandable. I really can't explain how it felt... I just seemed to know I had physically matured and knew things that a three year old shouldn't..."
"And how does that stand?" Lenny asked, "legally?"
"Since I was double dosed... even if by accident," Milly spoke, "by law they've agreed that I'd be counted as a physical adult and thus I can make decisions as an adult."
"What about your parents?" Lenny wondered with a small frown, fearing she'd been hurt in some way.
"I still live with them and we do get along well," Milly answered, "though as I said... it's more like being with a sister for me than with a parent thanks to the fast forward in terms of my physical age. For my parents... things seem a bit mixed. At times they see me as their daughter and others it does come as more of a sibling relationship... but things do work reasonably well. Anything that is a problem is something that would be the result of how fast I grew up and not because of anything between us in terms of our personalities."
"That sounds nice," Lenny commented.
Milly nodded and smiled to him. It was good that Lenny seemed to be a gentle soul.
"Thank you... for helping me," Lenny told her, "For being kind."
"You deserve it," Milly answered and they resumed their quiet wait to see if there was any news on Lenny's heart's heath and whether or not he'd need a second dose or not.