"It's quite interesting that you're so eager to join our little community here," Lord Dorian Chumlee commented to the spectacled man that walked alongside him through the halls of his manor, "I'd hoped for new members... but really expected most to be actors looking for a chance to perform or wanting a second shot at performing."
"Well... finding Roman ruins on your property wasn't unexpected and that's what's had me interested," the man that Lord Chumlee was walking with, a man by the name of Adam Archibald, "though all the paperwork that Parliament's put through to make sure I'm vaccinated and so on... in addition to checking my credentials in archeology was a bit taxing..."
"Pun intended?" Chumlee commented with a smirk on his beak.
"Pretty much," Adam replied, "And with all the time that took... I wasn't able to come up sooner."
"Well... I must admit that I have all the staff that I need at the moment," Chumlee said slowly, "at least those running the excavation and cataloging items as it were... and all were recommended as top experts on Roman architecture. I'm sure they'd welcome the help, but I'm afraid I can't pay you at the moment."
"I see..." Adam said slowly and looked down.
"Don't get me wrong... I'm happy to have someone come that would want to convert and help out," Chumlee replied, "but I must let you know the financial issues you'd be getting into."
"Well... I've already filled out the paperwork and paid for the conversion," Adam replied, "Might as well go through with that part. As for the rest... I could probably return to the university. All the delays meant that I wasn't able to file any resignation to switch positions... So, handle what I have paid for and go from there... though I am surprised about a thing or two..."
"Oh?" Chumlee looked over to Adam, "and what would that be?"
"Well... Horizon and Animalia have advertised your manor and the land around it as a future/current colony site for Animalia," Adam commented, "with all the stuff that has gone on with the other colonies... its seemed like Animalia has gotten these areas pretty cheaply, if you know what I mean, and then seen them blossomed into pivotal parts of the local economies... So, would you be like... a "Lord Mayor" for the colony here and all that? And wouldn't you have more than just yourself?"
"Well, technically there is more than me... but right now there haven't been that many in the local area that have even thought about it, so most of those that are in residence are either the Horizon staff handling conversions in a section set up to be more of a medical lab and area and some of the archeological staff that are running all the digging," Chumlee answered, "the only other Animalian presently registered is an uplifted Wels Catfish... though he's presently at school in Animalia."
"The schools here wouldn't take him?" Adam wondered as Chumlee opened the door to the old mansion.
"More a case of unique circumstances that lead to his uplifting," Chumlee gave a weak and nervous chuckle, "he kinda took a "bite" out of one of Animalia Ambassadoria's Human members during the summer and he wanted to apologize. So things are set, and I'll likely have to cover his travel expenses between here and Animalia, but things should be fine... But until more people both decide to convert and become Animalians and join me here specifically... I pretty much remain a private citizen of the UK and subject of the Queen."
Adam slowly nodded, "Seems like a lot of things aren't as good as they advertise..."
"It's not bad," Chumlee answered, "though... it should be noted that while Animalia has presented a lot of good... and I'm sure sociologists will be forever perplexed as to why Lyre and Animalia have had near non-existent Animalian committed crimes, particularly when most are actually converted Humans now."
"Must be something in the Animalia Virus," Adam commented.
"Possibly... but I'm not good enough with the science to know the how or why and Horizon's scientists haven't figured it out either," Chumlee replied, "they have some guesses, but nothing that's answered every question."
The two then chuckled as they walked along. Adam marveled at some of the décor of the rooms and halls that he went through, though he also found that some of the furniture that was there looked a bit newer when compared to other elements of the home, though he guessed that was Chumlee's doing so that when he did have Animalian residents, they wouldn't have to worry about things breaking under their weight. They eventually came to a room that had had many of the rugs removed and was set up more like a lab than anything else. Adam also noted a door that looked like it lead to bathroom in its back corner. He squeezed the papers that he had with him for the moment as a couple of men in lab coats came forward.
"This is the one that volunteered?" one man spoke as he came forward.
"Yes... Adam Archibald," Adam spoke as he introduced himself and extended the required paperwork that the UK required for Animalian Conversions on its soil, "And to be a Shire Horse Animalian."
"A large but rare breed," the man commented, "but we did get some samples from a farm that has some on their property..."
"The success of the tractor, I suppose," Adam chuckled, "rendering all old things obsolete."
The scientists nodded and motioned for Adam to walk over to a large examination table that was near the far wall. Adam slowly walked forward and looked over to Chumlee. He raised one hand with one dull talon tipped finger pointing up before he moved back to the door.
"I'll go get you some clothing that will fit the new you when you're done changing," Chumlee spoke, "I'll be right back."
He turned back to the scientists as they were now moving about the room. One was approaching a large refrigerator and opened it to reveal several loaded syringes with their orange safety caps over the needle and another long plastic cap over the other end. He watched the scientist as he sat down on the medical table. The second scientist put one hand on his shoulder to get Adam's attention.
"You'll want to undress," the scientist spoke, "Horse Animalians are among the larger Animalians when compared to the average human, and the Shire Horse, as a Draft Horse is among the larger breeds that exist. You wouldn't want to wreck the clothing you're wearing now. Lord Chumlee will help with acquiring additional clothing... but that can't be handled until after you've transformed."
Adam slowly nodded and set about undressing. He was a bit nervous, as while he wasn't overweight by any means, neither was what one would picture as "athletic." He had a PhD in Archeology, and that did take him on some digs when the discovered site matched his interest, which the Roman site on Lord Chumlee's estate did match, but he found most of his work being at the college level where he would lecture and demonstrate how archelogy as a subject had several subjects within it, as history, art, architecture, religion, culture, government, and even economics could be combined into one. It all depended on what was found. And in some cases it required good scientific knowledge to understand the age of the find, which would be part of responsibilities to make sure that no one dug up a fake coin and claimed it was Roman or even pre-Roman in origin. As such Adam was built fairly lightly and as he got older, that grew ever more apparent.
"We'll also head out once we've given you the injections to give you your privacy," the first scientist spoke, "and welcome to Animalia."
Adam felt a slight pinching sensation as the needles went in and he could feel the liquid carrying DNA taken from a Shire Horse combined with the Animalia Virus entering his system. For the moment he sat quietly with his hands covering his equipment and waited for the two scientists to then turn and head out the door. Things were calm, though he also felt rather warm. When he heard the door shut, he looked down and was able to see why he felt "warmer" despite not wearing any clothes at present. He could see black hairs growing out on his bicep and rapidly thickening into fur. Going further down his arm, the growing fur changed to white at his elbow and the further down it went, Adam watched as that fur grew longer and longer. It looked like it was actually feathered out by the time it got to his wrists.
Similar changes seemed to envelope his legs with black fur growing down to his ankles. At his ankles, the fur changed to a white color and began to feather outward just above his toes. As he lifted one foot see, he watched as the bones in his feet began to merge and lengthen. There was some crackling that went along with this and it was rather odd to see, but his toes seemed to merge together, leaving only one toe. As they merged to one, his nails merged and grew thicker forming into a sturdy hoof that the feathered fur at the end of his feet half covered.
"Interesting," Adam said slowly as he looked to his feet, not noticing the age lines and wrinkles vanishing as the skin on his face tightened into more youthful tension and as his gray-silver hairs regained their original brown color.
He hopped onto his feet and stumbled a bit. It left him stumbling forward as he tried to balance on his now digitigrade feet and it left his hooves giving a clattering noise as he stepped across the tile that had been laid in the room. Once he had his balance he was able to look around the room a bit better and at himself. The room still felt rather warm, and he found that with his now longer feet and a bit of a stretching sensation in his neck he could feel that he was taller. That was even further confirmed as he felt his ears slide up to the top of his head and grew longer and pointed, almost football shaped when viewed from the front. As they completed their change he could feel his ears brushing against the ceiling.
At the same time, the heat in his body seemed to pulse through his muscles. It didn't really hurt but came off as more of a soft throbbing sensation as his muscles began to grow larger and larger. With each breath his chest pushed out further and his shoulders widened, supporting larger muscle mass that Adam knew he'd never really exercised before. In some cases, muscles he didn't even know he had seemed to be getting bigger. All the while, the transformation continued to advance as he felt a slight popping sensation at the end of his spine as his tail grew out behind him, with the tail hairs being the same brown color as the hair on his head and stood in slight contrast to his largely black fur. He didn't get much chance to look as his face began to push forward, with the bones in his face cracking a little as it did so. It settled into an equine muzzle, and as Adam looked down it, he noticed that the fur just above his nose and running up toward his hair was white while the fur on the sides of his muzzle was black.
"Interesting," Adam said slowly as he flexed his thicker hands and then looked down to notice that while much of his equipment was now hidden by a protective sheath, it was proportionately much larger than he expected and that his balls were also much larger than expected. "Different... but in a good way..."