"Dear, what is your name?"
"Tina", lied Lia.
It was the name of Dr. Moore's pet orca, the one he had written about in his auto-biography. Moore seemed quite astonished at first. But he then gave a silent laugh, followed by a stern look.
"I see. You are quite intelligent, Tina ... not to mention beautiful, " he complimented, holding a smoking pipe next to his lips as he gently smiled.
Lia felt offended at the remark on her intelligence. She was, or at least had been, human. As far as she could tell, intelligence-wise she had not suffered in any way as a result of her transformation. Though his compliment on her looks made her blush for some reason. Normally she would never blush for an old fart. But this person was one of the most respected scientists in the animal world.
Lia grunted a bit.
"Could you let me out?" she asked. "I feel cramped in here."
"Of course, dear. I'll have you moved to my facility in short order. I'd like to study you more; you truly are a wonder of nature," Dr. Moore ascertained, smiling again as he turned around to discuss some monetary honoraries to the three men.
Lia felt relieved for a small moment, breathing calmly as she knew she would be released soon. She even had been called a 'Wonder of Nature'. It made her giggle a little when Moore called her that. But it was all erased from her mind as she played back to the part when he mentioned studying her.
The word creeped her out.
"Study? What do you mean by that?" Lia asked.
Apparently her sweet tone didn't make it to the four greedy adults in front of her. Stress began accumulating in Lia as her mind raced to whatever Dr. Moore had meant with studying her. Pointy and sharp objects started appearing in her mind. She had just acquired this wonderful body! Science Authority or not, she didn't want to be a guinea pig!