Rock was glad that he'd managed to get rid of the Leukemia that he'd had, and tests showed that it was no longer present in his body. Of course, he hadn't quite expected that he'd end up "bald" as a result of it. Partially as according to reports, others had become Animalians to cure themselves of other cancers and hadn't had similar problems in the past, which made the fact that he didn't grow the coat of short coarse fur that most cattle had puzzling for Horizon as well. They took some blood samples and found that there were still some signs of the chemo-treatments that Rock had been on. This in turn lead to their best guess being that the chemo-therapy he'd been on was strong enough to interact with the Animalia virus in a way that altered his transformation in a way that was un-expected. That had to mean that either those previous Project Phoenix conversions that had cancer had either A) gotten different cancer treatments before converting or B) had gotten a different chemical formula that didn't affect the Animalia virus, and at present Horizon couldn't be one hundred percent sure on which it was.
Though he was glad to be cured of cancer, and while his lack of fur as a Bull Animalian did turn some heads in surprise, it was better than being dependent on periodic chemo treatments to fight off cancer. That was about the only thing he could hold as a "victory" given that at times many often came up to him with questions as to why he often wore more than many of the other Animalians did and why he didn't have the fur that other Cattle Animalians did. He'd met one female in one of his acclimation classes that seemed curious on it but didn't quite get the full connections between the treatments he'd gotten previously and the present state he was in and it lead into a series of "whys" being asked that Rock didn't have the answers to. About all he ended up getting was a "I hope you feel better" from her before she left with a few other Animalians, being led by a female Silver Fox Animalian, who looked after the others like a protective, disciplined, but still loving mother.
The one good thing was that temperatures were starting to come up a bit and he wasn't having to bundle up as much, and with the case numbers from Covid going down in the area around Animalia, the gym at the Claw Coliseum was open and Rock was able to get some workout sessions in. He still had to fit around a set schedule and he had to clean any equipment he used, but it was a way to stay in shape, though that then soon lead to an odd positive from what had happened with his conversion. He was working on some squats with a barbell going across his shoulders and the heavy weights on the ends when he heard a bit of a giggle come from behind him. He turned his head to see a female Black Angus Cow Animalian in a pair of gym shorts and a tank top that covered her own well muscled body but couldn't quite hid her curves. She looked to him with amusement while absentmindedly rubbing a red rubber bracelet around her left forearm.
"Can I help you with something... Miss..." Rock began.
"You can call me Mable," she answered, "and for the moment... I'm just enjoying the view."
"Gawking at the fact that I barely have any fur," Rock grumbled again and went back to doing his next set of reps.
Mable actually giggled again, and Rock heard her hoof-steps coming closer to him.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Mable answered.
"Cattle aren't bald," Rock answered, "If I wanted to show this much skin... I would have become a Rhinoceros Animalian."
"Well true... I've never heard of cattle not having fur," Mable answered, "but then... some times that fur hides all that wonderful muscle."
That got Rock to pause and then set the barbell down before looking back to her. Mable only smiled and continued to approach while crossing her arms before her.
"But all Animalians are well muscled... even that Water Buffalo Bull that won the Year of the Ox contest," Rock answered.
"Yeah... but sometimes the fur can also hide the definition of that muscle," Mable answered as she looked Rock down from his well sculpted shoulders, biceps, and the parts of his pectoral muscles that she could see through the tank top that Rock was wearing, "and you are better built than that Water Buffalo Bull... He's strong, no doubt, but I think you're stronger."
Rock blinked Mable smiled to him.
"You actually like how I look?" Rock asked, "I mean... most are a bit puzzled by my lack of fur. A couple of Dog Animalians have asked if I had mange or was part reptile or amphibian."
"It's not bad, and you're the new bull, right? The one who had leukemia?" Mable asked.
"Yes," Rock nodded, "Horizon thinks one of the drugs I was taking as part of my chemo treatments is why I didn't grow a full coat of fur. But that's at best a guess."
"Which means the fur may well grow back when all the chemo wears out," Mable answered, "and until then... you display a very well developed physique. Quite fetching..."
"A lot of it is just regaining what I'd lost," Rock answered, "I'd been in the army... served in the Persian Gulf War and retired shortly after and began battling leukemia for much of my more recent life... Army life kept me in shape and it's good to get that in shape."
"And uplifting managed to get me into good shape too," Mable answered.
"You had cancer?" Rock asked curiously.
"No," Mable gave a laugh and lifted up her left arm and drawing Rock's attention to the red band on the forearm. "I was once a mundane Black Angus cow on a ranch in Montana. Though... I was also apparently the first calf born on the ranch and my owner was sentimental about that. So, while various others were eventually shipped off for slaughter, including my own calves, I remained... and often treated like a family pet."
"He must have loved you..." Rock commented.
"And his wife too," Mable nodded with a smile, "but various wildlife poachers had occasionally set up shop on the fringes of the ranch, often because they wanted to bag wolves or mountain lions that might be in the area. Or they were legal trappers who didn't know where they could set their traps, I've never been sure... anyway, one day I was going about my business. Walking, eating, swatting flies... as a cow does, when I'd moved into an area where the grass was tall but disturbed and I put my left foreleg into a powerful trap. It snapped shut and cut deep into me... broke bones, cut skin and fur, and wounded me deeply, and it was deeply anchored. I could barely make it budge and it hurt too much to try it for long."
Rock could only cringe, remembering the few cries of wounded men from his own military service. Granted the Persian Gulf War didn't have the issues for American servicemen that the more recent Iraq War did, but that didn't mean Rock wasn't familiar with what things like war could do to people. And many snap traps did those sorts of things, and if one could incapacitate a Blank Angus cow, it had to be painful.
"I ended up laying down and calling for help... of course any Human ears would only hear "moo" and might not come," Mable continued, "and for a day, that seemed to be the case... but then my owner did come. I watched his eyes widen when he saw me. He called my name and rushed over. He couldn't get the trap off by himself and ended up calling for help before sitting there with my head in his lap while he assured me I'd be fine. The trap was removed, but it'd done enough damage that I'd likely never walk again... at least not well. My owner knew that was a possible death sentence. So with the help of a wagon, his tractor, and all the hands he could muster, he moved me to the main barn where I was kept comfortable and where I could wait for someone from Horizon to come uplift me, which healed the wound and gave me the ability to see on how much my owner had cared for me as an individual cow... more than the others he's raised and sold. It made me feel special, and I wear this red band as a reminder of his kindness and love."
"It sounds like you've had a good ending," Rock commented.
"My story isn't over yet," Mable answered, "It's going on now, meeting a strong bull who's on his own journey of recovery."
That actually made Rock smile.