Sam sat for a moment staring after where Gio had left. He had to admit the wolf was attractive, and damned skilled with that muzzle of his. Perhaps there would be more than one benefit to taking the offered job. He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the sides of his head, but was soon distracted by a rumble in his stomach. Little wonder he was hungry with what happened in the last hour.
Standing, he walked over to his fridge, opened it up and frowned at the contents. The only thing appealing in there was the beer, and that wasn't a meal. The meat and cheese he had for sandwiches just wasn't making him interested, and bread alone was not going to satisfy. Not even the Chinese leftovers from a couple days ago was appetizing. Gio was probably right about needing more veggies. "They better pay me enough to feed myself if I take this job, this body is probably going to go through food."
He sighed and closed the fridge. There was nothing for it but to go shopping, and maybe some time out would help him think. The work pants would do but he couldn't go out in just pants, so he went to his closet and began to dig around. He knew he had an oversized hoodie in there somewhere, left by one of his buffer exes. He found it folded up on an upper shelf and yanked it down, pulling it over his head. The hoodie hugged his torso, definitely a little on the tight side but at least it fit, and with his work pants made him presentable. Though he would flash his new abs should he raise his hands over his head. Grabbing his wallet and keys he left his apartment.
It was a little surreal walking through his apartment building. Hank, Gio, and Zeke weren't all of the crew of course, and he walked past a few more workers in all sorts of forms, and not just mammals. He met a crocodile's wave with a grin. He also thought he recognized one or three of his neighbors, one now a middle-aged female rabbit, her feline husband, and a teenager who took after his dad. When he stepped into the building's lobby Zeke fell in next to him, "Headed out?"
"Yeah, need food and to clear my head." Sam responded, looking over at the boar.
"Well, take care. You're a big guy you should be fine, but if you need.." Zeke didn't finish the sentence, instead holding out a business card. "Call. I'll send out some of the boys." Sam stopped in his tracks taking the card and looking at Zeke curiously. "Don't be dense, boy. Most humans are fine with us but not all." He slapped Sam on the back and turned to walk away, already shouting at one of his workers. "No! Put that one back. We've had enough equine troubles today."
Sam shook his head and shoving his hands in his pockets went out onto the street for the couple block walk to the grocery store. He kept his head down in thought as he walked along, barely noticing the few looks he got, but no one acted like he didn't belong, or went running off, screaming about a giant horse monster like he half expected. He didn't pull out of his thoughts until he was in the grocery store, pushing a small cart right into the produce section. The smells assaulted his brain, making his stomach rumble and his mouth drool. Well, at least a vegetarian diet might be better for his health. He started loading his cart with various fruits and veggies.
"Look at the horsey, mom!" Sam looked over to see a small kid pointing at him, the mothing looking suddenly ashamed and pushing the kid to move away.
"Don't point, honey. It's rude." The whisper wasn't meant for him, but his ears picked it up anyway.
Oddly, Sam felt himself grinning a little bit, and gave the kid a wink before he went back to his shopping. As he walked through the store he noticed at least two other anthros going about their business, one working. He had to wonder how long they'd been about, his brain just accepting them as normal with whatever weird tech they were using. Even knowing something was up it still felt normal to see others like him walking about. Well, he did stand out a bit more than some of the others. Of all the anthros he'd seen only Zeke and Gio came close to his size. Which got his mind back on the muscular wolf, one thing his thoughts kept returning to.
It had been a while since his last relationship and something about the lupine just got him worked up. He felt it when he walked by him into the building as a human, and he had to think that Gio specifically chose this form for him. Maybe he could corner the wolf and ask him, if he could keep his hands off of him. The thought of being near him again, that sharp, spicy smell that he now knew was Gio's. He felt his cock stiffening slightly and quickly moved his thoughts away from the wolf.
There were only a few more stops in the store, oatmeal weirdly got his mouth drooling again and he grabbed some coffee knowing he was going to need it in the coming days. It was all strangely.. normal. Despite a few wide-eyed stares from the cashier as he got a bit frustrated with the pin pad that just was not made to deal with hoof-fingers.
He was still struggling with his thoughts as he neared the apartment. On one hand, he could understand a group wanting to survive, but changing people against their wills just seemed to not want to sit right with him. Oddly though, he was enjoying his new body, and found he wasn't all that upset about the change.
"Aww.. look at the little kitty. All alone." The voice was taunting and Sam stopped in his tracks in front of an alley next to his building. Two young men, probably eighteen or nineteen had someone cornered, he recognized the feline teenager from down the hall trying to back himself into a wall away from the two humans, his fur puffed and a small hiss escaping his mouth.
"What you doing here kitty? Looking for some mice to eat?" The other said, giving him a little shove.
"Tell me, you shit in a box like a normal cat?" The first said, getting a snickering laugh from the second. The cats eyes darted to Sam, pleading.
His hooves moved on their own, a few clomping strides into the alley and the first one was turning to him, at first sneering then his eyes going wide as he caught sight of the size of the equine bearing down on him. Sam grabbed him by the front of his shirt, arm barely straining as he lifted the punk into the air and snorted right into his face. "How about I break you so you can spend a few weeks shitting in a bedpan?" Sam growled into the human's face which had gone several shades paler.
The acrid smell of urine reached his nostrils and he looked down to see the would be bully's jeans sporting a growing patch of dampness, the only sounds escaping him being a whimpering babble. His companion though had found a pipe and seemed to be working up the courage to attack Sam. Finally he charged, screaming, only to be caught up and disarmed by a pair of grey-furred arms. Sam was only a little shocked to see Gio putting the other bully in a headlock. "Hey, Sam." He said almost too calmly. "Getting in trouble already?" His hand dipped into a pocket on his high vis vest, the other arm easily keeping the scrawny punk in the headlock. He pulled out a small cylinder about an inch in length, seemingly made of clear plastic, moved it under the punks nose and snapped it open.
Gio tossed the punk to the ground, kicking the pipe away. "I'd run before my friend here gets really mad." The punk shuddered, his hair already turning a shade of grey, and a hairless tail already starting to snake it's way out over the waistband of his pants. But Gio's words just made him nod and run. Sam looked at the still gibbering bully in his hands, whose eyes were darting wildly between his feeling friend, Sam, and Gio. With an annoyed grunt, Sam just dropped him, ignoring him as he scrambled off after his friend. Sam hadn't even had to put down the groceries he carried in the other hand.
"You alright?" Sam asked, ignoring Gio for the moment for the feline victim of the two bullies.
"Yeah, just some asshats from my school that should have graduated a couple years ago." The teen was trying to put on his brave face, slicking down his still floofed fur with a paw. "Thanks." He added sheepishly. "I should probably get back home." Sam just nodded stepping aside so the teen could make his way out of the alley and back to the building.
"That's why we need more of us." Gio said once the kid was out of ear shot. "Not everyone is friendly."
"What did you do?" Sam asked, looking back in the direction the two fled.
"Rat capsule. Only one I had on hand, but fitting." Gio grinned wide, looking proud of himself. "Got the one, don't know if the other was close enough to get a whiff." He shrugged as if it didn't matter either way.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks for helping."
Gio shrugged. "Luck. I was looking for you, caught your scent." He tapped the end of his muzzle. "We're packing up for the day, and Zeke wanted me to check with you before we left."
"I haven't.." Sam started, then looked at the way the two bullies fled, and he felt anger rising in him again. "Fine, I'm in."
Gio practically beamed. "Good! I'll let Zeke know! I'll see you tomorrow then!" The wolf was practically bouncing on his paws as he turned to rush off.
"Wait.." Sam took a step after Gio, the wolf turning to look at him curiously. Thought of cornering the wolf for answers spurred him on at first, but so did an eagerness for the wolf's company, and that spicy scent that was filling his nose again. "You, uh, wanna stay for a bit? Have a beer, maybe dinner?"