Many people have different reasons for becoming Animalians. The most common reason is for renewed health and youth. Some people want to start over with a new identity. Plenty of others want to become sexy animal people and hook up with other sexy animal people. Few people do it for the sake of scientific inquiry. Most often, it would be Horizon's scientific inquiry being addressed. It's far rarer for the person doing the converting who was doing it for science.
Perri Grey is the CTO of a company that designs wingsuits. Wingsuits couldn't provide full flight, but with proper usage of air currents, they can glide for a long time. Of course, gliding is a very dangerous sport, no matter what the method. One wrong move and the unfortunate glider would drop like a stone to the very unforgiving ground or slam at high speed into an unyielding surface. As such, it is very important to work on any flaws in the design and test the wingsuits to their fullest extent.
While Perri had designed several wingsuits, each more effective than the last. And yet, she knew there was always room for improvement. Her colleagues joked that she wouldn't settle for anything less than true flight. Of course, Perri knew that wouldn't be possible unless some sort of lightweight propulsion system was invented and may still be years ahead. She also knew there was no such thing as a foolproof wingsuit as there were plenty of fools who would put one on (often after drinking a few beers) and do reckless stunts that could likely get them killed. But she knew there were better ways to improve the suit's design. And watching some Animalian videos inspired Perri to become one, particular the kind of animal that inspired wingsuits in the first place.
==========
"Yes, we have flying squirrel DNA, though they live further north of here," said Dr. Stein, "Though most people would choose an Animalian capable of true flight."
“That may be, but there are many people who either become a flightless Animalian or not convert at all,” said Perri, “And for them, the closest they can get to unaided flight is gliding. And I think studying how well a flying squirrel Animalian functions in the air could help a lot with designing a more efficient wingsuit.”
“You could simply hire some flying squirrel Animalians,” said Dr. Stein.
“True, but it would be taking up a lot of their time and might be too invasive of their privacy,” said Perri, “And I can just study my own form as much as I need to.”
“As long as you’re certain that’s what you want,” said Dr. Stein.
==========
Considering how the flying squirrel's patagium (the loose membrane of skin) connects the wrists and ankles on either side, it made more sense to convert naked. Perri was rather glad there was no else watching. She had to admit there wasn't a lot going for her in terms of curves. She was rather flat-chested and it was pretty much a straight vertical drop down the rest of her body. Perri joked that it made her more aerodynamic, but she had to admit that the physical boost of becoming an Animalian appealed to her. She just hoped her new curves wouldn't get in the way. So without further ado, she placed the patch on the upper side of her arm, where her new patagium wouldn't be growing.
A tingling quickly spread over Perri's skin before grey fur started sprouting. The palms of her hands became a little rougher and rounder as they grew paw pads that will act as shock absorbers for when she landed. Her feet grew larger and developed similar pads while her toes grew longer and her toenails became claws for gripping trees along with her fingernails. Before long, a bony growth started growing from the base of her spine, fur growing over it as it became a squirrel's signature busy tail. Her face was also pushing out into a short muzzle.
Then the skin on the underside of her arms, the sides of her torso, and the outside of her legs grew saggier. They kept growing more baggy until they met each other, after which they fused together to become a united whole. The development of this was so fascinating to Perri that it took her by surprise when her breasts started growing. Soon her flat little chest became much more defined as her breasts swelled out, getting rounder and rounder. Her hips grew rather wide as well as her ass filled out.
When the process ended, Perri was quite a curvy squirrel girl. If it weren't for her black bob-cut hair, she wouldn't recognize herself. She hefted her new breasts and said, "I hope these don't throw off my aerodynamics." Then she looked at her gliding membrane and said, "Then again, it'll probably create little drag compared to much lift I'll get with these things. Of course, I'll need to test the full capabilities of this new body." She looked at her no-longer-fitting clothing and added, "But first, I need to find out how I can get dressed with these things. I'll probably need a belt to keep this in check. I wonder if my membrane can be compact enough to put on clothes." In hindsight, she probably should have looked up Animalian fashion for her new species before she converted, but science is all about learning from mistakes.