"Liao!" came Tuxing's voice from the speakers on the smartphone that had been specially made for larger Animalians as Nate and Shuixing watched the Animalia Ambassadoria episode that was covering the opening to the Year of the Tiger competition in Lyre.
"There really isn't some sort of game being played here is there?" Nate asked to Shuixing as the large truck they were riding in with Ping bounced along the road and with two uniformed men riding along as chaperones from the People's Republic of China, "between Tuxing and Liao?"
"Nothing that would be truly worrying, I think," Shuixing answered while patting Nate's knee with one hand and with one eye on the Chinese policemen. It wasn't known if the two officers actually spoke any English, but a lot of it was probably possible that they did. "Tuxing was always the sort of guiding light and mother figure for us before we were rescued. It was that kind of thing that got Ping and Horizon to agree that Tuxing was the best to be a Tiger Animalian when setting up the Five Elements."
"And Tuxing has seemed to retain that role and focus since," Ping added from her seat as she looked over to the two Water Buffalo Animalians.
"Which might be what Liao is "rebelling" against," Shuixing commented, "for we're all safe." Her eyes glanced over to the two Chinese policemen and returned to Nate, "as the cult that captured us was busted. We have our home on Heiya Island, and I'd think the apartment in Lyre should there be some event that brings everyone there in the future for a time. Huoxing had met Gang and was building a fairly nice relationship, though a lot of that seemed to be more battling Gang's shyness, and Jinxing had some contacts with the Interpol agents stationed on Heiya Island as part of some of the coordination efforts between them and Animalia when it came to law enforcement issues. And then there is you and me... In this, we're all still sisters and family, but I've married you and Huoxing and Jinxing probably won't be too far behind us... the only ones of the Elements that hasn't met anyone has been Tuxing and Muxing."
"Hasn't Muxing been seeing that woman that became a Water Snake Animalian?" Nate asked.
"She's been training her in her style," Shuixing answered, "but I don't think it's romantic... we're actually not quite sure if she's gay, straight, or bi..."
"Muxing took what the cult did to the Elements the hardest," Ping said to Nate, "and in some ways she is still working through those issues."
Nate then nodded and let his wife continue as they rode along.
"But because Tuxing hasn't dated anyone," Shuixing continued, "there is some of the perception on Liao's part that Tuxing is being too mature, if that's a thing. And some of that might relate some of the tension over Liao going back to school... So... I think this was just Liao getting even and that embarrassed Tuxing a bit. Ultimately, she'll be fine... and I'd think that if Tuxing meets someone she likes and can trust, it won't matter all that much."
"Then hopefully nothing goes wrong," Nate said as the truck they were in finally came to a lurching stop.
It was enough that both Nate and Shuixing slid a little bit on the bench that was provided. It held their muscular weight as larger Animalians, but the simplicity of it meant that while sitting with their backs to the sides of the truck they weren't able to brace against anything with their hooved feet and what had been provided for "seat belts" didn't do much. It also gained a couple of chuckles from the two Human policemen that were in the back of the truck with them. What came after that was a tap on a glass window to the right. Looking there, Nate saw the Human driver, who was actually wearing what looked like an army uniform and it was really more these guys that Nate was the most concerned with and why he insisted on coming along.
"We're here," the driver called in Chinese, which Nate could make out and had learned enough to understand.
He and Shuixing undid the rather rudimentary seatbelts that had been provided for them and began to make their way out of the truck and hopping out the back. Ping had made it out first and had undone the latch that let the large heavy tailgate down, making it easier for Nate and Shuixing to get out. Once out and being able to stand up straight, Nate stretched and looked out over the truck and to the warehouse-like building beyond. It was all part of a reminder on what had brought them to China and away from being able to observe the Year of the Tiger competition in Lyre in person.
Some of the reasoning for it made sense, as toward the end of the previous calendar year, a clip ended up on YouTube with a Water Buffalo bull crashing through a restaurant door, hitting a patron or worker and then wrecking the restaurant before wandering off into the night. The bull was ultimately caught and moved here to this warehouse, but a lot of that had more to do with the damages done and what set the bull off. The man that had been hit by the bull had a few broken ribs and the restaurant had had a lot of damage done to tables, dishes, and not to mention the door and that left the local police for the city trying to figure out who was responsible. The bull's owner stated the bull's pen was secure and the security cameras only caught the bull's rampage, not what set it loose.
Thus, the only witness they had was the bull, and it took until now to contact Heiya Island and Horizon to uplift the bull, which then required Shuixing, since the bull likely wouldn't panic too much at another Water Buffalo. Shuixing had been given the drug that deactivated the Animalia Virus, and then filled a large jug with her milk. After that, the vaccine for the Animalia Virus was readministered to Shuixing and she and Nate made their way to China with Ping to uplift the bull. The jug that had the "unvaccinated" milk in it was in a bag that was presently being carried by Ping.
"This will work?" one of the policemen asked to Ping as she led the group toward the warehouse. Nate and Shuixing shared glances as that line confirmed that the policemen did understand English and thus understood them.
"It will work in that the bull would be able to recount what he remembers," Ping answered.
"But would he remember how he got loose?" the second policeman asked in Chinese, "or who set him loose, if someone did?"
"He should," Shuixing said as she turned over her shoulder, "many animals remember surprising amounts of things when they're uplifted. Sometimes it is things that would be expected and then other times it's things that aren't expected."
"Like what has led to Animalians falling in love with their owners?" the first policeman asked.
"Sometimes... sometimes it's also things that humans in the area know," Shuixing answered, "supposedly the rabbit that works for Horizon actually had her burrow near the Horizon grounds and thus heard the scientists there discussing projects while on their breaks. She essentially learned genetic science that way."
"So, how will you do this?" the second policeman asked as one the soldiers, who'd driven the truck head and hustled to open the door as he looked to Nate and Shuixing, "we've had him in a decent sized metal pen with some hay in there... but... shoveling out the... uh..."
"BS," Shuixing provided, to which the officer nodded.
"Has been complicated," the officer then finished, "he hasn't been truly aggressive, but he's big enough that moving him has taken a lot of men and ropes to make sure he doesn't run away..."
"If he has some movement and hasn't been aggressive," Nate spoke up, "he should be fairly docile and Shuixing won't have to wrestle with him. In this... it's possible that what got him to charge the door was that on the outside, it had a reflective surface, saw a bull that he judged to be the same size as him and then charged to assert dominance over that bull not knowing it was his own reflection. In this, we should stay back and let Shuixing approach with the jug. He might be curious on her... but as a female, she'd be less likely to attract aggressive responses than I would."
"And if he does charge?" the first officer asked, noting that Nate's Chinese wasn't bad... not great but not bad.
"Then I will counter, get the bull around his neck and get him to the ground," Nate answered, "technically not something you'd want to do with cattle as that'd risk breaking a leg, but it'd also still be better than letting the bull charge. Shuixing can then provide the milk."
"And there, the uplifting process would then heal any injury," Shuixing added.
"What about clothes for him?" the soldier asked as they entered the warehouse and Nate and Shuixing could hear the bull giving an almost questioning "moo" from not too far away.
"They are also in the bag with the milk jug," Ping spoke with some assurance as they looked to see the group.
The soldier and policemen then nodded, and they looked to the pen that had been constructed, largely metal and looked like it was made up of various chain-link fences and posts chained together. There were enough of them that the bull had some room to lay down and stand up in, but wouldn't be able to move too much in, particularly with the square bale of hay that lay in there with him. Nate also noted that that hay was also a bit spread out over the pen, indicating that while the policemen or soldiers were feeding the animal, they probably weren't too confident about getting close. The bull looked to them and gave a low snort at Nate but looked longer at Shuixing. Nate then stood by and accepted the bag while Ping opened the zipper.
"From the look of things, he seems as calm," Nate said to Shuixing as she pulled out the bottle and then pulled off the heavy cap that covered the rubber tip for the bottle, "but be careful. We don't fully know what got him all excited before and he may not like being in a state-owned warehouse."
"I'll be careful," Shuixing assured him and then nuzzled her nose to Nate's, knowing that her husband was just worried about her.
She then made her way up placed fence and held up the bottle. The bull looked to her calmly and chewed on the hay he was eating. As she approached, she noted that while they had given this bull hay, they hadn't provided water, or if they did, whatever they had the bull's water in had been removed. She wasn't fully aware on all the things that ranchers and farmers did to care for livestock, but conversations with Nate and his father, Ulysses, and with Blueberry, was more than enough to know that animals needed water.
"Hey there, you must be thirsty," Shuixing said to the bull and shook the jug, hoping that he'd understand the sound of a sloshing liquid, "I have something for you. I’m sure you’re thirsty.”
The bull ultimately did look to the jug, though Shuixing also noticed what she guessed was almost puzzlement in seeing her. It was probably because most mundane animals before they were uplifted didn't fully comprehend the forms that Animalians had that then combined Human and animal features. Some were even surprised by it after they were uplifted. Thus, the bull recognized that she smelled familiar as a Water Buffalo Animalian but was also puzzled by her standing on two legs and having features that the bull would have only seen on Humans. Eventually, the bull's curiosity was overcome by its thirst, and it lifted its head to latch onto the rubber nip of the jug that Shuixing held. From there it wasn't long before the sounds of the bull drinking were heard, and a little bit of the milk even dripped out and down the bull's lower jaw.
From there a few things followed and lowed from the standard process that uplifted animals went through. They didn't lose their fur or some of the more massive changes that converting Humans went through, which both Nate and Shuixing could remember regarding their own specific transformations. But this didn't mean that there were changes that weren't big. Cattle, like most ungulate mammals only had two toes and any sort of vestige of having more digits earlier in their evolutionary history were tiny sort of "dew claws" on the back foot, and Water Buffalo would be no different. Animalians typically had very Human-like hands which often meant that all ungulate mammals gained digits on their forelegs. The only Animalians that didn't necessarily gain fingers were the Dinotopians, though that didn't apply in this situation as there were a series of cracking sounds as new digits grow out from the bull's increasingly hand-like ended forelimbs.
This forced the bull to come closer to the gate and fencing to get at the jug, but as it lifted one leg, he actually brought it down and gripped one of the horizontal bars with hoof tipped fingers that mirrored Nate's hands in form and function. This also came as the bull's hips began to rearrange in order to allow for both quadrupedal and bipedal stances and actually preferring the bipedal stance. Eventually the bull reared up completely onto his legs, which now fully matched the digitigrade legs that Nate and Shuixing had and taking the jug from Shuixing in the process. The bull staggered a little bit as he balanced himself and lifted the jug up higher while trying to get milk from it. That let Shuixing step back a bit and happily accepted Nate's arm rapping around her. Eventually the bull finished drinking and the jug was simply dropped to the floor, and it landed with a good-sized clunk.
"That was... good," the bull said in perfect Chinese, surprising the present policemen and soldier as the bull's dialect actually matched the local region, "though... whoa..." The bull looked around again. "This is new."
"You've been uplifted into an Animalian," Ping spoke calmly as she came around Nate and Shuixing, "as it would appear that you are at the center of some trouble."
"Animalian..." the bull said slowly.
"A society of humanoid animals, some are like my husband and I, converted Humans," Shuixing offered, "most are actually like you. They were mundane animals before being uplifted by the Animalia Virus."
"Virus?!" the bull said in a shocked voice and staggered back and ultimately hit the fence, which clanged a bit and moved a little. Thankfully the bull managed to grip the top bar before falling over.
"That's what it's been called," Ping said slowly, "though in many ways... it's seemed to have provided more benefits than costs. So, I'm not sure why Horizon hasn't renamed it. But then... it can be infectious, and I will need to administer a shot to you to make sure that the virus is not active in your system for the rest of the year."
"A shot?" the bull wondered nervously as he tried to steady himself against the fence.
"Yes, like what Humans would get to go to the doctor for their vaccinations from their doctor," Ping explained.
"I'd never left my pen unless to go to the fields where I and the others pull the plows and other materials to help them grow food, some of which I might get as a treat if it's been a good year," the bull answered, "I don't know what happens to the man that has cared for me when he goes to the doctor."
Ping noticed this and was careful as she produced the case that held the vaccine for the Animalia Virus, "You might feel a bit of a pinch... but it's not bad and will be good for everyone."
"Okay," the bull said slowly, and it was by this time that the two police officers came forward.
"You say you've never left your pen, unless it was to deliberately go to work," the first officer said slowly, "but surely you must know why you are HERE and not in your pen, right?"
"The restaurant..." the bull looked down, "I must assure you that I didn't mean to... I'm... I'm not even sure how I got out."
"Perhaps you start at the beginning, did your owner leave the pen unlocked or unlatched?" the second officer asked.
"No, he latched it as he always did and he went to bed," the bull answered, "I was tired from the day, so I was resting near the hay and food that was there for me. I'd actually begun to drift off when there was this sort of running crash and that got me curious. There were also male voices. They sounded panicked and were moving away. At the time I thought they might just be calling me to work so I wandered out. The gate seemed knocked in and I could see two men rolling something along the ground, so I followed them. It was dark so I couldn't tell if my owner was there... but I don't think so. So, I followed..."
"Go on," the first officer gave a wave of his hand. It sounded like what had gotten the bull loose had likely been a couple joyriding late at night on a moped or something of that nature, and it wouldn't surprise him if excessive alcohol wasn't involved. He'd need to ask the local patrol officers why they had not been vigilant to deal with those that were out drinking and causing trouble, but that would be separate from the present case with the bull.
"But they didn't go to the fields and eventually the area they did get to was loud and noisy and that I didn't like," the bull answered, "but by that time, I didn't know where I was and was a bit irritated at being lost. Then I looked to my right and there was this other bull who looked at me. He was about the same size as me, and lost and irritated and trying to find my way back to my pen, I snorted my challenge at the bull... but he snorted back. So, I charged... only to find myself in the..."
"Restaurant?" Nate offered, "you got faked out by your reflection and charged into a restaurant."
"That's what the place was," the bull said slowly, "I never meant to get into a place like that and didn't even know people were inside. And then trying to get was frustrating and... I suppose I let my temper run away with me at that time over a... reflection."
"You put a man in the hospital and were fortunate not to have killed him," the second policeman said sternly, and with some frustration that it was probable that the bull wasn't going to be able to provide detail on who the drunken fools that let him loose in the first place. It would then mean that only his owner and now the bull as an Animalian would be responsible for the man's medical bills and the restaurant's repairs."
"I would gladly work to pay for those damages," the bull answered, "I never intended for those damages. I would need a place to stay, but I would work to pay for the man's medical bills."
"And that will be expected," the first policeman said in a low voice, "but first... you'll be given clothes before we discuss and set up your living arrangements."