Even though Joanne had graciously and generously offered to pay for the conversions of any of her employees, surprisingly few were wanting to take her up on her offer. Not that they didn't have a problem with Animalians, otherwise they wouldn't have moved to the other side of the state to work for a fennec fox. But they felt no real desire to change their species, even with the benefits that came with it. But there were a few who were more open-minded.
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"So, Melody, how are you liking being a lizard?" asked Joanne as they sat out in the sunroom.
"In some ways, it's easier than I thought," said Melody, looking at her fingertips with their new gecko pads. "I still have yet to see if I can climb walls with these though."
"I'd recommend you not start with a high wall or that you'll have a soft landing," said Joanne.
"Honestly, it's these I'm not used to yet," said Melody, hefting up her much larger breasts. There was plenty of them to be seen in the bikini she was wearing. She still wasn't sure if she'd go for nude sunbathing, but she wasn't nude right now.
"You'll get used to them soon enough," said Joanne as she stretched. She was also wearing a bikini as she was sunning herself. It might have to do with her being a species of desert fox, but she found herself enjoying the warmth on her fur.
"Speaking of getting used to things, how's Nicole. She seems to be a little distant from you lately," said Melody.
Joanne sighed and said, "She's still shocked about that stripping contest. I think she thinks I'm going through Regressive Hypersexuality Syndrome and she's keeping her distance until I'm over it."
"So she thinks you're going through a phase?" asked Melody, noticing the irony.
"I want to be closer to her, but now she's backing away more," said Joanne.
"Well, maybe you were getting too close to comfort," said Melody, "If you wait a while, she'll come around."
"I hope so," said Joanne, "Hopefully Dr. Jones might help me bridge this new gap."
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Meanwhile, other members of the staff were getting ready for their conversions. Miles and his parents were going to convert, but they were all going in very different directions. Miles wanted to be a jackrabbit, his father, David, wanted to be a macaw, and his mother, Louise, wanted to be a dolphin. Strictly speaking, there was no law against interspecies marriage, just interspecies breeding and David and Louise made it clear they were past the point of wanting more kids. The most difficult part was finding Louise a dolphin species that would comfortable so far from the sea.
"You know, there are freshwater dolphins," said Miles as he was looking up species for his parents, "They spend all their time in rivers and they're pretty adaptable."
"But would any of them suit me?" asked Louise.
"Here's one you might like," said Miles, pulling up a picture of a dolphin with a long snout, a bump on its head, and bright pink skin.
"Is that photoshopped?" asked Louise.
"No, it's an Amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink river dolphin or the boto," said Miles, "Largest and most intelligent species of freshwater dolphin, has a special organ in its head for echolocation, and it's, er, venerated in Amazonian folklore."
"Well, it does look cute," said Louise, "Probably easier than trying to find the fossil of some prehistoric dolphin ancestor."
"And since I'm becoming a macaw, I may as well be one from the Amazon rainforest," said David.
"I don't think they have jackrabbits there, but I'm still going to be going rabbit," said Miles.
"Hare," said David.
"Yeah, right here," said Miles.
"No, the jackrabbit isn't a rabbit, it's a hare," said David.
"Same thing," said Miles.
"They're actually two distinct if closely related species," said Louise, "Nothing wrong with being a hare, but you ought to consider what comes with it."
"Oh, well, I don't think I'll change my mind," said Miles.
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Meanwhile, Reggie was taking a much more personal approach for his conversion. He had been going out with Nelly the mule for some time now. Nelly wasn't making it simple, claiming she wasn't as easy to win over as her brother was. Reggie mostly thought Nellt was trying to herself superior to Olly out of frustration of him finding a mate so quickly. And yet, Reggie thought he was making progress with her. Yes, Nelly was domineering, sardonic to the point of abrasive, and tended to work Reggie like, well, a mule, but she actually had a cuddly side when she tired herself out. Though considering how much stamina she had, it took quite a lot to tire her out.
Recently, Nelly had been more playful and coy lately. Reggie was starting to wonder if Nelly was going into heat and wanted to get pregnant before her sister-in-law. While Reggie wasn't opposed to having kids (or foals), he felt that should happen after the wedding. But he had a very strong feeling that pretty soon, Nelly would want to convert him. He just hoped he would be able to talk her into holding off on breeding before he was ready.