Lord Dorian Chumlee's manner was rather quiet, particularly as so many other things were going on, and in Britain, the Corona Virus wasn't the only problem, though it was fast becoming the biggest, with the heir to the throne and the Prime Minister both testing positive. There was also the other legal issues that all related to Brexit, which the new government was forcing through and only the present pandemic had weakened the arguments over that. And it was that that had silenced things down. The manner was far enough away from where the main outbreak points were in Britain, but given Britain's long history of development, and the fact that the present disease was spreading far quicker than anyone was prepared for, and even cities and towns just south of Hadrian's Wall would be affected eventually, if it wasn't already there.
This had meant that many of the men who'd been working to excavate the archeological site on the northern end of the manner's property had been sent home. The groups doing the work might send someone buy to make sure that tarps that had been placed over things that were to be preserved through the winter were still there, but there couldn't be much more, if only to combat the spread of the disease. The only ones that were at the manner were Lord Dorian Chumlee, himself, and the Horizon scientists that were there to help set up Animalia's UK colony, though the growth there was fairly limited, often because of some of the eccentricities that Chumlee had. The one source of hope was when an old friend happened to call on him. Thankfully, Theodore Quill was such an old friend.
"So... still looking into the old book tour society, I see," Theodore Quill spoke as Lord Chumlee lead him into one of the manor's main living rooms, where one of the Horizon scientists that was there was seated.
"Well... to honor it," Lord Chumlee answered, "most of that society may depend on whether or not I can find someone who'd be willing to become a Dodo Animalian... or at least date one."
"All that stuff they have seems a bit odd, if you ask me," Theodore Quill responded, "too much like all the old fuss that some make about purity..."
"Animalia's edict on breeding is one that makes a fair degree of sense," the Horizon scientist looked to the man as he stood a slight distance from Lord Chumlee. Theodore Quill was clearly older, with most of his hair gone, and what was there was gray and wispy. He'd walked in slowly with a slight stagger and leaned heavily on a cane, and while he wasn't starving, he did look rather thin. "They don't block inter-species love... just breeding. And there... there would be some potential for trouble if a Dog and Horse Animalian tried to have children together. And if it weren't for the odd cases where the Animalia Virus has done things that we can't fully explain how or why... we'd think that even if that edict weren't there... we'd think that different Animalian Species COULDN'T breed because their chromosomes don't match up... among the other genetic reasons why cats and mice don't naturally breed together..."
"You made things a lot weirder than they already are," Theodore Quill said firmly with narrowed eyes.
"Sorry," the Horizon scientist said weekly. "What brings you here?"
"Catching up with an old squadron mate," Theodore Quill answered and pointed his thumb to Lord Chumlee, "I wasn't drafted... but while my family was noble and had its share in running their own hospital before the Great War... I didn't have the political connections to get an officer's commission and in the 20s, so, while I was able to volunteer with the RAF, they put me in Bomber Command and was one of the crew flying missions over Germany. I wasn't on the plain as old Dorian here, but the planes we served on were in the same squadron... and hoping to avoid the present plague..."
"And you chose the Common European Toad?" the Horizon scientist asked.
"Yeah," Theodore Quill answered, "I sort of fit in with Lord Chumlee... in that both of us got an odd attachment to classic writers. Dorian favored Lewis Carroll… I favored Kenneth Grahame."
"Gave many of the other flight crewmen fits," Lord Chumlee chuckled.
"And the pilots too if they hung out with us," Theodore Quill answered, "they were all interested in the paper, beer, and dancing with girls. Some of the latter wasn't bad... but I think they got a bit lost in worrying over the war too much... and lost some things from their childhood."
"And once we get things fixed up... and this colony is set up," Lord Chumlee commented, "I'd hoped to get things set up to put on shows and productions... Acts from Alice in Wonderland WITH Animalians. Make children smile and show that the old stories aren't too bad."
"Sounds like you have something for when all the Corona Virus stuff is cured... or a vaccine is discovered," the Horizon Scientist commented, "why don't you come with me and we'll handle the conversion. We'll figure on what to do from there."
Theodore Quill nodded and followed the Horizon scientist back to the room that had ben converted into a sort of clinic within Lord Chumlee's manor. In theory it would be there to at least provide basic care for all Animalians that would reside as part of the colony once it fully got going and give Britain's hospitals time to consult with the hospitals in the US that were already beginning to add in some veterinary course requirements to help cover Animalians as well. The room was a bit larger than some of the rooms that Horizon used in Lyre, but then an old manor was probably never intended to be used for a hospital, so Theodore Quill accepted that.
He walked over to one table that was by one of the walls and waited for the Horizon scientist to be ready for his injection. It didn't take too long for that, and he watched quietly as the Horizon scientist came in, prepped Theodore Quill's arm and then delivered the two shots. What followed, was a bit odd. Some things were to be expected from any Animalian transformation. Theodore Quill felt his skin grow tighter around his muscles, and many of them seemed to swell and pulse underneath his skin. It didn't really hurt, but it felt like years of aging seemed to just vanish as the second dose seemed to bring him back into the prime of his youth. And he could see this quite clearly as he looked down to his arm and saw both his bicep and forearm grow larger and stronger, though given the size of the Common European Toad, Theodore Quill also knew that he wouldn't have to worry too much about his clothing.
The odd thing was as more of the more toad like features began to come into place. His skin remained relatively dry and his body hair seemed to fall out as his pale skin darkened into a brownish color and almost seemed to blister as the bumpy and warty skin that most toads, including the Common European Toad, were known for began to develop. That wasn't weird. The weird thing was more on the itchiness that began to develop on his scalp. He'd lost most of his hair when he reached his 40s and 50s and had gotten used to it. Now, as he became an Amphibian Animalian, his head itched, and he brought up one hand to scratch at that point where the itch was the worst. He found that hair was actually growing on his head, he was getting his hair back...
"My... mah--ai… hu--ae--yur!" Theodore Quill managed as his face pushed forward into a short and broad triangular muzzle. His nose shrank and shriveled until it was little more than two openings at the tip of his new muzzle, though he was still more surprised at getting his Human hair back. Given that amphibians didn't have hair, he half expected to lose his hair completely, and in this he barely noticed the swelling of the venom glands behind his eyes that ran into his now returning hairline.
"We've found that only with pre-historic non-mammalian Animalians that a Human will lose all their hair," the Horizon scientist spoke, "given that the Common European Toad is a modern animal... it's still quite likely that you'd keep the hair you have... and even getting the hair you lost back, thanks to the age regression the double dosing provides for. You look like you're coming back into your twenties again..."
"I still didn't expect that..." Theodore Quill managed, finding it easier to speak now that his muzzle had grown in. And at the same time, some of the tingling that had gone through his body as muscles enlarged and as parts of his anatomy changed to fit his new Animalian form had begun to die down, "Though I think it's starting to wind down... Though I do feel good. How do I look?"
"Like a toad with hair, human eyes, and a shirt and pants that fit around his muscular frame," the Horizon scientist answered.
"Human eyes?" Theodore Quill asked.
"One of the other things that differs Animalians that were once Human from those that were uplifted," the Horizon scientist assured him, "for some reason... the shape of the pupil doesn't necessarily change and the eye color doesn't change... but from Horizon's research, there isn't any real genetic difference between an uplifted Animalian and a converted Animalian. It's just one of those things that we can't explain. But you look good... assuming you don't develop in interest in reckless driving."
"Racing does sound fun," Theodore Quill answered, "but this "Mr. Toad" could do more by presenting some entertainment that might show the problem of buying into fads... Given how quick they all go to their phones and then some other device and then whine when their battery dies. Not to mention that will all the travel restrictions going on... I wouldn't think any races would be going on... I might be better to get some masks and read to people in the hospitals... give them something that might cheer them up."