Jeremy was waiting a bit impatiently for the other Project Thylacine volunteer to arrive. He actually had plans this Christmas. He was going to spend a large amount of time with Polly and the White family and then he was going to a party with the other Dinotopians. Heather would be waiting for him.
Just then, the doors opened and a voice called, "Sorry I'm late. Had the most horrible flight." In walked what could called the epitome of an old English gentleman. He was dressed up in a fine suit, he walked with a stylish cane, his hair was a fine white under his top hat, and he wore a monocle. However, he was also one of the ugliest men that Jeremy had seen. His eyes were so far apart and bulbous that it put to mind of fishes. He had a rather long nose and a weak, tiny chin. He was very paunchy with an oversized gut. And the cane was definitely not just an accessory as the man walked with a bow-legged stance and one of his feet was twisting in a different way from the other. But he seemed to have a jolly mood around him. "Lord Dorian Cholmondeley, at your service," said the Englishman.
"Er, Jeremy Green at yours," said Jeremy.
"Oh, no need to stand on ceremony. Just call me Chumly. Spell it that way too. Everyone seems to get their tongues tangled around their teeth trying to pronounce it as it's spelled," said the English lord. Speaking of teeth, Jeremy was able to see Chumly's teeth as he spoke, which were so snaggled and disorderly that it would have sent a dentist screaming and running for the hills.
"Well, you're here for the dodo serum, right?" asked Jeremy.
"Yes, and just in time for Christmas too," said Chumly, "Lovely holiday, really brings your mood up. I do hope that some of the old traditions have survived in the Americas. I'm so fond of fig pudding, you know."
"Er, I'm not sure I've ever had fig pudding. Or anyone else I know," said Jeremy.
"Well, I'll be needing to teach you all how to have a jolly English Christmas, won't I?" asked Chumly, "But first thing's first. I'm in need of a dodo suit."
"Right," said Jeremy as he got to work carefully getting the syringes ready. "If I may ask, why the dodo?"
"Nobody else was going to volunteer for that, poor bird," said Chumly.
"There has to be more than that," said Jeremy.
"Well, it's no secret that I'm rather a big fan of Lewis Carroll," said Chumly, smiling fondly, "I've made out part of my estate into a Wonderland. The children love it. Warms my old heart to see them play there. And I'll admit that I'm anxious to see if I could hire some Animalians to perform some of the roles there. I myself shall be a part of our troupe."
"Hmm, I don't recall the Dodo being a very big character in the book," said Jeremy.
Chumly shrugged and said, "Not everything will have to be exact. Besides, the Dodo was supposed to represent Lewis Carroll himself. I considered the Gryphon, but the virus can't make mythical creatures, can it?"
"Not hybrids as radical as those," said Jeremy, "So no Mock Turtles either."
"Very well," said Chumly before sitting down in a chair, "I suppose I should take my shoes off. Will I need to remove my shirt to allow the wings to grow?"
"Actually, flightless birds don't grow wings," said Jeremy, "You might have longer feathers on your arms, but they won't help you fly."
"Right then," said Chumly before he started removing his shoes. As the socks came off, Jeremy could see why Chumly's foot was twisting. His left leg had a prodigious clubfoot. Chumly could see Jeremy recoil a bit at the sight of it. "Not pretty, is it?" he asked, "Don't need to pretend otherwise. I'm not the handsomest chap. This foot kept me from enlisting in the army in WWII. Had to join the RAF instead."
"You were a pilot?" asked Jeremy.
"Actually, I was a gunner," said Chumly, "Someone had to man the guns while the other chap's busy flying the plane."
"So that doesn't make you want to be a flying bird?" asked Jeremy.
"Good heavens, no! That's how I got my fear of heights in the first place. I can only stand being in an airplane if I'm as far away from the windows as possible," said Chumly.
"Well, I hope you'll enjoy this more," said Jeremy. He had to be very careful because of his large claws. But he was able to inject Chumly with the dodo serum.
The changes made themselves known starting with the hands. The skin became harder as the fingernails became claws. But there were not nearly as sharp at those of hawks. His feet were getting a similar treatment. His clubfoot untwisted as toes came together, one moving backwards to face the back. His other foot made the transition a little more smoothly so that both feet were now perfectly formed bird's feet. Feathers started pricking their way out of the Englishman's skin. They were mostly grey in color, though they darkened and lightened in different places. There were longer feathers on Chumly's arm, but not much longer than a wide sleeve. The only development on the back were the tail feathers that were building up beneath his suit, but not enough to burst out. "This feels rather peculiar," said Chumly. It came out a little distorted as he was talking while his face was changing. His long nose was stretching out further, his nostrils moving upwards as his nose lost the distinction between his upper lip. His lower lip was pushing down as his lower teeth were melting together and pushing out as well. His upper teeth were fusing with his protruding nose, which was hardening and taking the distinctive shape of a dodo's beak. His eyes no longer looked as walleyed as before as they became more preferable for a bird's head.
When the transformation stopped, Lord Dorian looked a lot better as an anthro dodo than one would have expected. True, he didn't really have that many looks to lose before that. But he didn't look as ridiculous as expected, asides from the clothes that hanged off a no-longer chubby body. The only indication of his true age was that the hair he retained was still white. "Well, I feel better than I've felt in ages," said Chumly, looking at his new hands, "Not so sore and achy now."
"You're as healthy as a dodo can be," said Jeremy.
"Yes, quite," said Chumly, "But it looks like I'll be in need of a tailor."
"There's quite a few places where you can get a new suit," said Jeremy.
"Well, I better be hurrying to one," said Chumly, heading for the door. He no longer leaned on his cane as he used to, his legs and feet being quite fine. Though it's unlikely he'll get rid of it. A gentleman needs to be distinguished after all.