Henry was well-known for his strong sense of patriotism, so it wasn't much of a surprise that he became a bald eagle when he converted. What was more worrying was his fervent loyalty to the government and his belief that Animalians were shirking their duty by not enlisting in the various military branches. He had intended himself to be the first Animalian in the Air Force, but he had failed to considering one thing: his new avian form would not fit well in the cockpit of a fighter jet. Not to mention a flight suit would have to be specifically designed for him. The modifications for a cockpit to accommodate him alone would have cost the Air Force more money than it was willing to spend. So it seemed his intention to add Animalians to the military were stillborn.
Extended time with the Animalians also did a lot to temper Henry's patriotic zeal. Animalians are not strictly pacifistic, but they didn't want to fight just because someone told them to. Seeing things from their point of view made it easier for Henry to understand why Animalians had resented the previous president. He had to admit that his belief in the government wavered during the election. The then-president acted so unprofessionally, trying increasingly blatant attempts to shut down the votes for his opponent. And after the election was called, he just acted like a sore loser, complaining loudly that there had to have been electoral fraud. Even Henry had to admit it was hard to support a man like that. His loyalty was to the government and the government was thankfully not just one man.
Henry will admit that one big factor that made him more levelheaded was his growing relationship with Beatrice. Henry had been uncertain about being paired with this uplifted eagle, but she had grown on him. A lot of that may have been due to his new mating instincts at first, but she was a pleasure to be around. It was pretty easy to persuade him to go with her for a vacation to Mieni Atoll. Of course, Henry hadn't anticipated just how long that vacation would be. He hadn't expected to be wintering at Mieni Atoll for a few months. Though it was certainly not a bad place to be, less crowded since less people were traveling. The only big groups to arrive there were the hippies that wanted to become part of Animalia. And they made quite a fuss while they were there.
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One thing hippies apparently couldn't keep their facts straight about was where marijuana was legalized. A lot of them made the wrong assumption that Mieni Atoll was a place where weed could be smoked legally. However, despite it being an Animalian colony, it was subjected to laws of the Marshall Island and it was definitely not legal here. As such, a lot of marijuana was confiscated and destroyed. Of course, the authorities couldn't actually burn the stuff, that would created quite a lot of chaos. Instead, the weed was all dumped into big barrels of lye to be dissolved. Apparently the stench was horrific.
For the first time, Henry was glad his sense of smell had been deadened by his conversion. "I can't believe all those potheads thought they could just bring their drugs here," he said to Beatrice as they walked along the beach.
"What's bad about smoking marijuana?" asked Beatrice, "It doesn't give you cancer like tobacco does, right?"
"No, in fact, it does help treat cancer," admitted Henry, "But it's supposed to be used sparingly like all forms of medication. They're killing off their brain cells and impairing their ability to think clearly. This might be an island paradise, but that doesn't make it a stoner's paradise for all these deadbeats."
"Hey! We're not all like that!" Henry and Beatrice looked around for the source of the voice before they saw what looked like a particularly large seagull Animalian walking towards them. "Just because one guy brought pot doesn't mean everyone's a stoner," snapped the seagull, "You can't just people before you know them."
"It seems like more than one person decided to smuggle pot," said Beatrice, "There wouldn't be that much of a stink if it was only one person."
"Unless that particular person brought a lot of weed," said Henry.
"That still doesn't mean you can call us deadbeats, army man," said the seagull accusingly, "How would you like people to blame you for what happened in Nam?"
"First of all, I was in the Air Force, not the actual army," said Henry, "And secondly, Vietnam was way before my time and I'm guessing it's before yours as well."
"Well, yeah, you could have been a Nam vet. It's so hard to tell after double-dosing," said the seagull.
"I'm sorry, I'm having a little trouble taking this seriously from a guy who chose to become a seagull," said Henry.
"I'm not a seagull. I'm an albatross," said the Animalian before spreading his wings. He certainly had a very impressive wingspan, wider than either Henry or Beatrice's. "The name's Gabriel, by the way," added the albatross.
"Well, I'm Beatrice and this is my boyfriend, Henry," said Beatrice.
"I heard about him. The right-wing die-hard who wanted to militarize Animalians," said Gabriel, giving Henry a leery look.
Henry cleared his throat and said, "I might have been a little overzealous when I first joined. Anyways, my loyalty's to the government in total, not just the president."
"Not much better though," said Gabriel, "A lot of government officials are pretty corrupt."
"Well, that's politics for you," said Henry, "There's always some dirt in the system."
Beatrice decided to change the subject, "So, you're an albatross. Why that? Something to do with... what's that poem?"
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?" asked Gabriel, "Honestly, didn't really had much in mind when I got here at first. I wanted to be something related to the sea. I thought about a clownfish, but I wasn't really set. I got talked into becoming an albatross by some people who needed one for that 'Around the World in 80 Days' thing."
"And you don't think you were forced into it?" asked Henry.
"The idea just grew on me," said Gabriel, "And after I changed, it just felt right. It's hard getting used to such big wings on your back though."
"Tell me about it," said Henry dryly.
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Gabriel turned out to be a pleasant chap when his feathers aren't ruffled. Henry was a bit intrigued about this flight around the world event. There were other birds who had been talking about joining up, though Henry was a bit doubtful that these birds could manage to fly that far. He didn't even want to think about much his back would ache flying across the Atlantic ocean, let alone the Pacific.
The vacation at Mieni was very pleasant, if a little dragged-out. Henry was starting to feel a bit stir crazy during the last few weeks. He was glad to be back home now. Being with Beatrice was pleasant, but it got a bit stifling after so long. He hoped Beatrice wouldn't want to mate when breeding season came around. He was not ready for that sort of commitment yet.