It would seem like it would be a while before Shyra's former colleagues would be converted. Louise was waiting for the ribbon seals to arrive in Animalia along with the rest of the arrested drug lord's menagerie. And Fran needed to have at least two dates with the single peacock before she could fully commit to anything serious. That wasn't to say she couldn't convert now, but she preferred to wait until Louise was converted before she converted herself.
The guys were not as bound, but they were going to wait as well before converting. It wasn't just because of solidarity for Louise. Julius didn't need to wait. It wasn't as if there was a shortage of lions at the moment. But he had heard that the drug lord's menagerie included a pair of leucistic lionesses. Considering they'll both be single after they are converted, he might as well make himself available to them. It wasn't particularly surprising for his friends as Julius used to be a playboy and had a bit of an ego, such as stubbornly insisting that Julius Caesar was more associated with lions than eagles, despite evidence to the contrary. He was also considered the most likely to have "regressive hypersexuality". Timothy was simply waiting for Horizon Labs to get DNA from the reddest coloration of fire salamander. "If I'm going to choose my animal based on my last name being 'Pyre'," he said, "Then I better go all the way."
However, there was one member of their group who wasn't waiting at least a week for the menagerie to arrive. Quarry wasn't wanting to be a particularly fancy animal with a specific coloring. She knew what she wanted to be: an American badger. She had read plenty of books about badgers when she was young, namely 'The Wind in the Willows'. Quarry was well-aware that the American badger was different from the European badger in some ways, being a little smaller, more carnivorous, and having different coloration. But Quarry wasn't about to be picky about it.
Quarry wasn't particularly surprised that there were badgers who had been uplifted in the original outbreak, considering the American badger lived in many habitats in the western states. She was rather pleased that there was a single male living in the Burrows. His name was Orlando and apparently, he's done quite a lot of reading since he was uplifted. He volunteered at the local library, though he was probably going to become a full employee as soon as he was finished with his online college courses. Orlando particularly liked the Redwall series, something that Quarry can definitely agree with.
Quarry was pretty impressed with the Burrows. It was a lot like having an apartment complex underground. Quarry didn't know a lot about geology, but the way they carved the apartments out of the living rock was really impressive. Of course, they've also reinforced the caves they've made in case their digging weakens the rock too much. Such a place deserves a lot more attention and Quarry was going to do something about it as soon as she's moved down here.
When she found Orlando's apartment, she knocked on the door. Very soon after that, he answered. Quarry was impressed with what she saw. As a badger, Orlando was not towering like the polar bears she saw, but he was still taller than her. And he was also thickly-muscled and broad at the shoulders. The black and white markings on his face were not as even as a European badger but it was still unmistakable. "You must be Quarry," he said in a deep voice.
"Uh, yeah," said Quarry, a little overwhelmed.
"My name is Orlando. You may come in," he said, standing to one side. Stepping inside, Quarry could see the apartment looked very comfortable. Some of the furniture has been carved from the rock, such as the kitchen area's countertops, a table in the living room area, and several bookshelves that weren't completely full, but in the process of filling up. There were plenty of electrical lights since there were no windows, which wouldn't have looked outside anyways. "It might be a bit plain for your tastes," said Orlando, "Bachelor's den."
"Oh, I think it's nice," said Quarry, "It could use a woman's touch, but-" She stopped herself. She didn't want to be too forward. "I do like your book collection," she said.
"It's taking a while to build up," said Orlando, "But I like those books."
"Well, I can certainly recommend some books you might like," said Quarry.
"Well, thank you. Though I suppose we ought to get to the reason you're here," said Orlando.
"Right. So, how are we going to do this?" asked Quarry.
"Well, there are a number of ways," said Orlando, "I'm not female so I can't give you milk. But there are other, er, methods."
"Let's go with the one you'd enjoy the most," said Quarry.
==========
Before long, both Quarry and Orlando were in his bed. The frame was made of stone, but it was well-padded with a soft mattress. Now that he had his clothes off, Quarry could see that Orlando was more brown than black and white, but he was very much as muscular as his shape hinted at it. Now Quarry was a badger sow herself, her own fur leaning more towards silver than brown. Though the silver part was more because it was a very extensive mix of white and black hairs together. Her hair was still silver, but she heard that sometimes hair color doesn't change if it matches the animal that one becomes. But her body was very youthful now. All signs of wrinkles and sagging were gone and her body was firm and fit. More firm and fit than it was before, in fact. She had never been in this good shape and her breasts had obviously never been this big.
With another few thrusts, Orlando climaxed again. Quarry gave a low moan of happiness as he filled her up again. Finally sated for the moment, the two lay next to each other. "I suppose it might be a little early to propose marriage," said Orlando.
"There's a two-date minimum," said Quarry, "Otherwise, I'd accept on the spot."
"You should know that badgers go into season in late summer and autumn," said Orlando, "So, if you're not wanting cubs..."
"I wouldn't be against that," said Quarry, "But we'd might need a bigger place if we're going to have a family."
"But I was just getting it the way I liked it," said Orlando with a fake pout.
Quarry leaned over and kissed Orlando, "Our next den is going to be even better."