The Meat Market never really lacked in employees. As a matter of fact, there were times where there was a surplus. Animalians have bodies that many would consider the sexual ideal and they knew it. They were also less modest than humans so they weren't afraid to show off their bodies. As such, there are plenty of people willing to perform, too much to fit in one day. Therefore, the management had to do rotating shifts about who'd be working when. Though some employees were not as long-term as others. Some moved up to higher careers, some wanted to start families, and then there were those who were only interested in a temporary job.
Camille knew she'd be asked to help with Gloria. She remembered how disorienting it was for her when she first converted. A chameleon's eyes tended to wander a lot and they have a greater range of motion than a human's. As such, Camille wanted to help Gloria make the adjustment easier. It certainly helped that Gloria had someone who was able to look her in the eye from any angle. Her new hands, feet, and tail also took some getting used to.
What Camille didn't expect was for Gloria to want to perform in the Meat Market as well. Camille knew Gloria was a big theatre star before she had her nervous breakdown. And Gloria had stated her intentions to return to the stage again. But this didn't seem like the stage she was speaking of.
"My goodness, I didn't think my new feet had such a grip," said Gloria as she grasped the pole.
"Chameleons are adapted to spend their lives in trees," said Camille pointedly.
"Oh, of course," said Gloria, "I am quite tightly anchored now, aren't I?"
"Well, you don't want it be too tight. You want to be able to swing around the pole when you..." Camille hesitated a bit.
Gloria's eyes turned to her, "Is something bothering you?"
"Well, I'm just wondering why you would want to perform here. I love working here, but isn't this a step down from the stages you usually perform on?" asked Camille.
"There are no small roles, only small actors," said Gloria.
"That's not a real answer," said Camille.
"Well, I've just felt this...energy in me that wasn't being expended. And the theatre isn't opening anyways until the pandemic is lifted. So I may as well spend my time here," said Gloria. That was an honest enough answer. Gloria had been feeling restless since getting her youth back. Maybe this was a bit eccentric, but she had been an eccentric lady before. Well, she was wealthy enough to be called 'eccentric' instead of 'crazy'. At least the conversion process had cured her of the worst of her madness.
==========
Sometimes, the worst things about mental illness is that a person doesn't realize that they're ill. Gloria had become a little detached from reality following her mother's suicide. She had some awareness of the world, but sometimes she didn't realize she was acting more extremely on her moods than she ought to. But at least she was lucid enough to realize she was in no fit state to continue performing.
Her retirement had been comfortable enough, thanks to the fortune she had amassed. Thankfully, she had plenty of fans who still cared for her and people who were willing to take care of her in her addled state. Gloria wasn't really sure what made her decide to go through Animalian conversion. On a similar thread, she wasn't sure why she didn't convert earlier. Sometimes her own reasoning was hard to understand even in retrospect. But she had some mood-elevating medication to make sure she was lucid enough to consciously and willingly engage in the process.
"Are you sure you want to become a chameleon?" asked Judy kindly.
"They're such...colorful creatures," said Gloria, "Almost as beautiful as butterflies. Are you sure you don't have butterflies?"
"I've told, the Animalain virus doesn't work on invertebrates. That includes insects," said Judy.
"Then I suppose it must be the chameleon," said Gloria, "I won't lose my beauty, will I?" She had been a figure of classic beauty in her youth, she wouldn't have been such a big star otherwise.
"Not at all," said Judy reassuringly., "It may be seen through a different face, but you'll still have your beauty."
"Then let us begin," said Gloria.
Judy nodded before administering the two shots. "Welcome to Animalia," she said before leaving Gloria alone.
Gloria soon started feeling funny. She started combing through her hair, something she tended to do when she was nervous. She soon felt something going down the middle of her scalp. As she poked at it, it grew larger and larger. In the mirror, she could see something rising out of her hair. She could also see her face becoming scaly, her eyes squinting and bulging at the same time as her mouth began to stretch.
"I'm hideous!" screamed Gloria before she raised a hand to smash the mirror. But something stopped her. Was this overreacting? She was in a state of transition, so her features weren't set. She pawed at her face as she felt in change. Her nose seemed to melt under her fingers as her face started pushing out. Her ears seemed to disappear, but her hearing remained intact. The most concerting thing was her eyes. She could feel them growing bigger and yet her eyes opened no wider. That wasn't to say her field of vision was narrowing. On the contrary, she suddenly found she could see around herself more than usual. It was when her eyes started looking in different directions that she got dizzy.
As she tried to focus her vision, she could almost feel her mind regaining some focus as well. Her discordant thoughts and emotions were coming together in a more coherent pattern. She became aware of other changes in her body. For instance, her feet felt very different from before. It took her some effort to take a good look at them. It wasn't just because of her dizzying new eyes. Her breasts had expanded considerably, which obstructed her view downwards. When she saw her feet, she saw they had become essentially clamps, though she could move her altered toes easily enough to walk on her soles. Her new tail was quite interesting too. It felt so strong and she could wrap it around her arm or leg so easily.
When Gloria looked in the mirror again, she was glad she hadn't smashed it. She had changed a lot, no question. But she was not the hideous monster she feared she would be. It was a little hard to identify this new reptilian face with her old one, but it had its own beauty, in a more exotic way. She could also see the way her gown was stretched across her larger breasts. She had more modest-sized before. She had felt that a woman's breasts could take too much attention away from her face and an actress's face was more important than her bosom. But there was no hiding her breasts now and she had to admit they didn't look bad on her. She also felt full of youthful energy.
"This could be the start of a brilliant new act in my life," said Gloria happily before she went wall-eyed, "Once I can master these eyes, that is."