As the IAC got started, many things obviously changed. Part of it was a larger influx of tourists come to see the sporting events, including some of the "special" events that effectively demonstrated why the IAC events in its first year had been for Animalians only. Some of it was also limited to some of the standard increase in visitors to Lyre/Animalia that came with the summer months. It meant that traffic in Lyre and Animalia might be a bit hectic at times, but it did generally work out well enough. There was one new visitor, though, that wasn't there for the IAC or simple tourism. That visitor was a peacock that had apparently vandalized a parked car elsewhere in Nevada.
Before Animalia, these odd incidents would lead to the animal being placed in a shelter while law enforcement went over trying to figure out where the animal came from and thus who was responsible. This could often take awhile, particularly if the animal was caught alone and on public land with now chip or tag that would indicate that someone owned it. It didn't always mean that there wasn't an owner, but it could well mean that the owner had broken the law in some way, shape, or form. And before Animalia, that often took time. However, Animalia had provided means for finding out more than there was before. Animalians often did remember a great deal about their lives before being uplifted and after being uplifted they could share those thoughts, memories, and feelings to the best degree possible. That had already been proved with Kara when she relayed that she'd been a wild Peafowl in India and had gotten onto a ship that sailed to the US and was somehow missed by the crew during the voyage and even after the ship's arrival in San Francisco. That had then provided law enforcement agencies to better deal with some of these situations, which in turn meant bringing the peacock to Horizon for uplifting.
"Man there are a lot of people here," one Animal Control officer grumbled as they backed their van up to one of the lab doors at Horizon.
"They just started their big Olympic tournaments this summer," the other answered, "lots a people came last time, so it'd stand to reason that many more would come this time."
"Probably in the hope that something bounces out of a sports bra," the first commented.
"Perhaps... though they'd probably be disappointed," the second reminded the first as he put their van in park, "supposedly they do a lot to make sure that the material used doesn't break or rip or is too small."
The two got out to find Judy and a female Peafowl Animalian with the Rabbit Animalian. They figured the pair worked with Horizon and went about their own work opening the back doors to reveal the large wire cage that held the peacock they'd been transporting. It seemed to notice the female Peafowl Animalian and actually began making some elaborate calls from inside the cage as the two animal control officers opened the doors and then put on gloves to lift up the cage. They soon heard a rolling noise and looked back over their shoulders to see the Rabbit Animalian rolling out a loading trolley toward them.
"Here, this will help move the animal into the lab easier," Judy offered, "you won't have to carry him all the way."
"Thank you," the first animal control officer answered and the two set the cage down on the trolley.
Judy then turned and slowly began to pull the trolley toward the door while the animal control offers followed. The peacock continued to call to Kara, who for the moment remained quiet. Uplifting this male might give her a shot at a mate, as she knew that Fran and Raj were happily mated together, but she also recognized that there were some elements of dating that would have take place first, not to mention that this male might well have some "financial" obligations as well. She'd had to work off the damages she'd done to a liquor store, and was making good progress at that, but according to the story she'd been told, this male had seen his reflection in the bright paintwork of a parked car and attacked what he thought was another peacock. If he remembered having an owner, that owner might be held financially responsible, but if not, he'd likely have to arrange some way to work and pay off the bill for the repairs to the car that had been wrecked. That would take time and Kara knew that. Her volunteering to help with this male was that she had some experience and knowledge with some of the processes that would relate to it if no other owner could be found.
"He seems mighty interested in you," the second Animal control officer answered, noting the peacocks repeated calls to Kara.
"It is probably because I am a female of his species," Kara answered, "Even though I am an Animalian and for the moment he is a mundane Peacock, we are the same species. So, he sees me as interesting."
"So, what do you do with Horizon?" the first animal control officer asked.
"I don't actually work with Horizon," Kara answered, "my "assignment" with this male will be to essentially help him with his acclimation to Animalia and help set up the means for which he could pay back the damages he did to the car... in wherever it was you caught him, should there be no owner."
"Which we won't learn until after he's been uplifted," Judy answered as they moved along the tiled hallway and eventually came to one of the main lab rooms. In pure theory the peacock wasn't as dangerous as other animals, but given the nature of the incident it was decided to use some of the main laboratory rooms for his uplifting, with water laced with the Animalia Virus waiting. That way if he was too "active" before he was uplifted, the potential damage would be minimal. She opened the door and rolled the trolley in and set it to rest so that the water bowl would be directly in front of the door to the cage. With Kara no longer in sight, the peacock had quieted down and eyed the Rabbit Animalian with some degree of suspicion.
Judy opened the cage door and then quietly walked back out into the hallway and shut the door behind her. Kara and both animal control officers were waiting quietly while looking toward the door as Judy came out and shut the door.
"So how long will it take for him to... uplift?" the first officer asked curiously.
"The transformation should be rather quick," Judy answered, "the real question will be if he drinks the water immediately."
"We had some water in the cage with him... but it was pretty warm," the second officer commented as he looked to the first.
The first only shrugged and they waited quietly, though Judy kept her ears alert. The walls to these lab rooms were not soundproofed the way rooms for Human to Animalian conversions were, but the construction was such that the Human and Peafowl Animalian ear might not pick up some of the minute sounds that could be indicative of the peacock transforming. Her longer ears as a Mountain Cottontail Rabbit Animalian, however, might be just good enough. And Judy did hear a few things faintly. It sounded like a few soft steps and the clicks of something hitting the floor, which she figured was the peacocks toe claws/talons. They might not be as big as a bird of prey's, but even small claws could click against a hard surface. Judy knew that from her own experience. If she let hers grow long, they would click on the tiled floor as well, even though her claws weren't very long and before her uplifting were used more for digging.
After a few moments, the clicking sounds grew a bit firmer and Judy thought she could hear a bit more from the inside. It sounded a bit deeper, which she guessed meant that the bird had drunk some of the infected water and was transforming. She would however wait a few moments until she could be certain the transformation was completed. That actually didn't take too long as a short few moments after that, all of them in the hallway heard a soft knocking at the door that lead into the lab room. A male voice soon called through it.
"Hello? Someone went out this door... is anyone there?" came the voice. It didn't sound panicked, but it did sound puzzled.
With that Judy opened the door to reveal a male Peacock Animalian standing there in the door way. When he saw Kara coming forward, he gave a happy smile and lifted and spread out his tail feathers for all to see. Thankfully, for the moment, he wasn't incredibly aroused at the moment, as he wasn't wearing any clothing. Though, since all his reproductive equipment was safely contained underneath his feathers, he had no problem displaying his tail to Kara.
"Your tail is very nice," Kara told him, "and I'm glad to see that your uplifting straightened your feathers out..."
"Uplifting?" the male asked, lowering his tail and tilting his head sideways.
"Going from a mundane animal to an Animalian," Judy explained, "an anthropomorphic animal community... with rules and norms not to different from Humans and comparable intelligence to Humans."
"Like these agents?" the male looked to the two Animal Control Officers.
"Yes, they are Humans," Judy commented, "if you will come with me, sir, I'll see about finding you some clothes that may fit you. From there, the two Animal Control Officers here... from..."
"Venice Beach, it's a sort of suburb/borough of Los Angles in California," the first officer answered.
"I remember something of that place... I think," the male answered.
"After you're dressed," Judy told him.
And that did happen. The peacock took the name Steele and then tried to describe what he could remember. From the way it sounded, he'd lived in an apartment in Los Angeles for much of his life, and he really couldn't remember how long. The owner, who Steele only knew as "Frank" fed him and did just enough to keep him modestly healthy, but not much more than that. There was also some implication that "Frank" also seemed periodically nervous about law enforcement finding Steele and thus kept him in a back room much of the time. That raised some questions as to whether or not Frank had a permit for the ownership of a peafowl and where he'd gotten Steele if he didn't have a permit. It confirmed some of the questions the two Animal Control officers had with regard to ownership, though because of a lack of knowledge on Frank's full name or his address there would still be some work to do. Steele could remember Frank's face and it would then take a visit to the Lyre Police Department to see if they could get a sketch artist to perform a composite sketch.