Rockwall calmly entered the apartment as Bunni allowed him in and he looked around the Lyre apartment. It wasn't much, but he noted that it was in good shape, and by some of the toy cars that were on the floor in the living room that it was a reasonably "happy" place for the boy that had answered the door. In many ways, he rather liked Owen. As he'd told Bunni Clair, Owen reminded him of his own brother, which was true. It was an odd sensation in that he was attributing many of Owen's actions in protecting Bunni and wanting to make sure that Bunni was happy to a rabbit that as far Rockwall knew was still a normal Flemish Giant Rabbit, but then the uplifting process had been a semi odd sensation for him as well and many of the human-like traits were also very new to him. And at the same time, he did honestly feel that his brother was a very happy and calm rabbit, which made the comparison to Owen feel rather accurate to him.
Bunni lead Owen over to the couch, where Owen climbed up onto it and looked up to his former pet and adoptive mother.
"I'm going to return finishing dinner," Bunni said to him, "we'll talk about you playing matchmaker, later."
"I wanted you to be happy," Owen held Bunni's hand.
"I know, and I'm proud of you for that," Bunni smiled, "but... that sort of thing is a bit... forward... and something you don't NEED to do. I'll be happy so long as you are safe and happy. Okay?"
"Okay, mom," Owen said looking down for a moment.
With that, Bunni moved to head back to the kitchen, with Rockwall quietly following. He glanced to see a small frown on Owen's face, likely fearing that he'd done something wrong.
"I wouldn't go too hard on him," Rockwall commented, "I think he genuinely cares for you."
"I know he does," Bunni smiled as she moved over to resume chopping lettuce for their dinner, "I remember what he said when I was first uplifted..."
"You remember being uplifted?" Rockwall wondered.
"The process, not really," Bunni answered, "with my case of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease... I was at a point where I wasn't really aware of all that much. I hadn't died, yet, but I was pretty close. What I remember is essentially waking up as an Animalian and realizing I was different from what I remembered... and soon having Owen come up to the new me, wondering if I was alright and that he was scared that he would lose me."
"Which shows he loves you..." Rockwall commented, placing one hand on Bunni's shoulder, "that he wanted you to be happy... I'm sure it's different from what you're probably expecting as a parent... but I'm pretty sure that your son had your interests in mind."
"I know," Bunni smiled, "and I do love him for it... but I want him to remember that finding a mate... that's something that can take time, and with Owen here, it'd also mean that any mate that I take would need to understand that Owen is the most important person in the world for me. Owen needs to be kept safe and happy... to repay the kindness he's shown me over the years. To give him a happy home that he deserves."
"Sounds rather noble," Rockwall commented, "and shows that you love him too."
"As any mother should," Bunni answered.
"Well, I think you have a good son," Rockwall commented, "and he acted in a way that shows his love for you. I wouldn't go too hard on him."
Bunni looked over her shoulder to see Rockwall give a small smile with his hands behind his back. She managed a small smile back as she moved about the kitchen to continue making dinner, especially as she and Owen would have a guest for dinner. As she did so, she decided engage in some pleasant conversation with Rockwall.
"So... you asked if I could remember my uplifting..." Bunni commented, "Can you remember yours?"
"Yes," Rockwall nodded and began to explain...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Do you think this guy will allow us to figure out how and why Bunni Clair got as big as she did?" Judy asked as she carefully carried the un-uplifted Rockwall into one of the labs while looking back to Doctor Stein, "I mean... she did donate some blood that we can compare with both other rabbit Animalians and the general markers for un-uplifted rabbits."
"She did," Doctor Stein nodded, "but we must remember that rabbits in general share a great many of the same genetic markers... and especially with domestic breeds. There will be differences, but finding them could be difficult... particularly when comparing between an un-uplifted animal and an uplifted animal. This might actually give us real confirmation as to whether or not there is some Flemish Giant Rabbit in her heritage, as the breed is among the largest rabbit breads in the world... if not THE largest rabbit breed. There will be some other tests, of course, as we want to be thorough, but this will give us a good idea on what to expect."
Judy slowly nodded and set Rockwall on a large lab table. He sat there quietly as he looked up to Judy and Doctor Stein with his nose twitching and his eyes focused on the one that looked like she had many rabbit features and smelled rather like a rabbit, but yet had so many human like features as well. It was a thing that puzzled his mind at that moment. He only remembered being sold as part of some science experiment, but not much beyond that. Judy slowly approached him and softly patted his head and body, and that felt fairly nice. He let his ears go limp and let Judy manipulate them, only lifting them erect again after her paw-like hand passed onto his back. Judy continued to pet him as he sat there and looked to them, though his eyes focused more on Judy than Doctor Stein. This enabled the human doctor to make the injection.
The injecting had a sort of pinching sensation that Rockwall was alerted to and as the needle was pulled out of him, he hopped forward in a bit of a panic. It took him straight into Judy's arms and he seemed to cling to her in fear.
"There, there," Judy said to him, "the shots won't hurt you... and when it's done, you might very well like it."
Rockwall didn't quite understand that, though for the moment, he really wasn't sure on what more to do. He felt rather odd. His heart beat was slowing, but was gaining power as it slowed. His legs seemed to be stretching and as he looked down to his forepaws, he thought he saw one digit moving to a side of his paw and gaining length. It puzzled him for a moment as his forepaws became paw-like hands. He also felt Judy starting to struggle with his weight, which was a surprise, as from Rockwall's point of view, he thought the Mountain Cottontail Animalian looked rather strong... at least to an un-uplifted rabbit. But now he felt her arms quiver as it felt like his belly was sliding along her clothes.
And Judy was struggling. Rockwall was rapidly growing larger and gaining muscle mass, and doing so quickly. She carefully moved him over to the table and was able to set him down on the edge and he sat there with a puzzled look. Doctor Stein and Judy both noted that Rockwall sat there like a human did with his legs dangling over the edge and with his arms and hands resting in his lap. And yet, Rockwall continued to grow larger and larger. More human-like muscle groupings began to develop with his shoulders widening out. Rockwall soon reached Judy's height and then kept on growing. He was rapidly catching up with Bunni Clair in size, and his growth really didn't slow down until he had surpassed her. It wasn't by too terribly much, but both Horizon scientists could tell that Rockwall was bigger than Bunni, with muscles that were clearly visible through his fur, which got Judy interested, but she remained professional.
"That... was... weird," Rockwall said slowly as he looked down to his hands and then up Doctor Stein and Judy. Though the weirdest thing that he noticed was in how much he understood. He understood what the concept of what a pet was to humans and that the family that raised him and his brother specifically bred the Flemish Giant Rabbit so that families could have a gentle giant that would tolerate being petted and loved by people. Rockwall didn't understand how he knew this. He remembered hearing his former owners talk about such things, but he still didn't quite understand how he knew that now.
"It's just part of the uplifting process," Judy began to explain...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"...and from there they explained the concept of Animalia and how I was uplifted to give them some clue as to how you got as big as you are," Rockwall finished his explanation, "which got me curious and was why I came here."
"I see," Bunni said slowly.
She really didn't know for sure on her own ancestry. From what Owen had told her after she'd been uplifted was that the people his foster family had bought her from had said that she was part Blanc de Termonde and Argente Clair, but she knew that neither breed was big enough to explain why she was as big as she was when compared to other Rabbit Animalians. In fact, she looked down on Judy when they stood together for the first time. However, standing there with Rockwall gave her the possibility that there was some Flemish Giant Rabbit in her family tree. It was possible, as if the breeders were simply looking at more domestic rabbits to sell as pets, there wouldn't be too picky as to what breeds were used.
Judy had even told her there was nothing wrong with that. She had said that the wider gene pool could actually ensure better odds of being healthier in the long run, and that Bunni wasn't the only Rabbit Animalian that had had that sort of surprise. That then came with Judy telling her about her first meeting with Jessica from Animalia Ambassadoria and how the girl had become an all white Rabbit Animalian as opposed to the Grayish-brown that the Mountain Cottontail was naturally. Judy's best explanation was that there was probably an all white domestic rabbit in her family tree that had escaped and bred with one of her ancestors, though Judy also said she couldn't prove that because wild animals didn't keep the sort of meticulous records of who mated with who that human breeders did.
"Well... I'd think with you here... that there probably is some Flemish Giant Rabbit somewhere in my family tree," Bunni answered, "as it'd make it pretty clear where I've gotten my height from..."
"That really doesn't matter," Rockwell shrugged, "call me odd... but what I think makes you great... is all that you've committed yourself to for a boy who showed you kindness. That sort of love is more important than how "big" someone is. And as I said before... Owen reminds me of my brother... kind and caring... happy and protective."
Bunni smiled at that.
"Makes a part of me wish I could be his friend too," Rockwall commented.
That made Bunni's smile bigger.