It's no secret that a major reason that people convert into Animalians is for the health benefits. It might be a bit much to say that Animalian virus is a cure-all. It may be able to repair brain damage, maybe even correct some brain chemistry, but that doesn't automatically repair the mind and psyche. Though in terms of physical bodies, it can certain treat an extremely wide variety, from curing otherwise incurable diseases or regrowing missing limbs. And it was a hefty bonus that people automatically gain fit and attractive bodies from it as well.
Recently, there has been an influx of people who were wanting to convert for health reasons. It wasn't because they had the coronavirus. Most often, it was because they had a considerable weight problem. It may seem drastic to change one's species just because of some extra weight, but for some people, diet and exercise just don't work and they couldn't afford liposuction. This was a last resort for them.
As to what kind of Animalians these newcomers became, that really depended on the individual. But considering the Lunar New Year, tigers were rather popular, though it was too late for them to sign up for the competition. Some people decided to get ready for next year's competition by becoming rabbits. But those who were moving to Mieni Atoll were taking a different inspiration. While they couldn't sign up to become tigers, there was nothing preventing them from becoming tiger sharks. Of course, some of them hadn't really done any in-depth research about tiger sharks and were rather surprised after their transformations.
==========
"Where are me stripes?" asked Finola, looking at her back in the mirror. When she moved here from Ireland, she had been planning to convert not only to lose her stubborn weight, but so she'd be able to stay on the beach without being burnt. She had originally considered a salmon (salmon do spend most of their years between being hatching and spawning in the ocean). Though when she heard about the excitement over tiger sharks, she thought that would be better and went with that.
“They are there,” said Kirana, “You can see them.” She traced her fingers across Finola’s back. There were stripes present, but they were more faded than she expected.
“I thought tiger sharks were named after their stripes,” said Finola in disappointment.
“Well, the stripes are far more vibrant when they’re young,” said Kirana, “Once they’ve matured, they fade. It’s common in a lot of animals, like how fawns have spots or wild piglets have stripes. At least tiger sharks keep their stripes into adulthood, even if they’re less prominent.”
“Oh, I was expecting something bolder,” said Finola. Still, she couldn’t totally complain. In terms of volume, tiger sharks were the second biggest extant species of predatory shark, after the great white. Which means Finola had gotten pretty big and muscular. Her former fat had been converted into attractive curves and her flabby breasts were rounder and perkier than before.
“Well, if you really feel you need more emphasis, you could always go to a tattoo parlor to make your stripes bolder,” said Kirana, “In fact, I hear that one of the new sharks is a tattoo artist. I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”
That did catch Finola’s interest. She was a bit of a goth, though never to the extend of dying her strawberry-blonde hair or dressing all in black. But she did like applying dark makeup, painting her nails black, and she had some tattoos which were erased during the conversion. She was going to have to restart her tattoo collection and she may as well start with her stripe. “Where can I find him?” she asked.
==========
Finola found Haku at the hotel's lobby, watching the start of the Cat Fights for the Year of the Tiger competition. As a tiger shark, he had gotten pretty big and muscular, which made Finola's heart flutter a bit. Two distinguishing traits about Haku was that he had long black hair draping down his shoulders and that he was wearing a shark's tooth necklace. She wondered if that necklace was a bit redundant now, but she wasn't going to question his choices.
Finola approached him and asked, "Pardon me, but yer Haku, right?"
Haku turned to her and asked, "Yes, why do you ask?" His voice deep and melodious, with an accent that Finola couldn't place.
"I hear yer a tattoo artist. I need to have some new tattoos, starting with me stripes," said Finola.
"Oh, I can do that, easily," said Haku, "I didn't think my skills would be wanted so soon."
"Pardon me, but I hafta ask, where are you from?" asked Finola.
Haku gave her a friendly smile. Well, it was supposed to be friendly, but the sight of his shark's teeth made it unnerving. Especially since tiger shark teeth have sideways-pointing tips that made their mouths look like can openers. "I'm from Hawaii," said Haku, "I've got a long history of Hawaiian ancestors. Unfortunately, obesity problems are part of that family history. And you?"
"I'm from Ireland," said Finola.
"Not the usual swimming grounds for tiger sharks," said Haku.
"Well, I thought about a salmon, but this tiger craze got to me. Not complainin', except for the dull stripes," said Finola, "Tiger sharks are found more around Hawaii, aren't they?"
Haku nodded and said, "Sharks are considered sacred for some of us. Some families have 'aumakua, family gods who were originally deified ancestors. They manifest as different animals, or maybe as plants or rocks. You can guess what my family's 'aumakua is."
"Will that make you the next 'aumakua?" asked Finola.
"Probably not," said Haku, "But I think some of my ancestors will be impressed."
Finola was already finding Haku to be an impressive and interesting man. She could definitely see herself spending a lot of time with him, even when he's not helping her rebuild her tattoo collection.