Desert Flats, Nevada was another small town, and this one being about 20 minutes east of Lyre/Animalia. It had some of the same sorts of situations that Lyre had had over the years, but being further east from the mountains on the California side of the Nevada border, it was dryer and didn't have the sorts of options for economic development than Lyre had, even before Animalia. It had a few modest ranches, though, they were heavily reliant on importing water or using wells or small streams to keep a small population of livestock hydrated. The real livelihood that had kept the town alive into the present day had been mining, and most specifically salt. They had found a good-sized salt deposit that went into one set of hills at the SE corner of the town.
Though, between automation and the general climate, it wasn't a site that drew a lot of people. The town survived, but was still small, and in fact smaller than Lyre had been when Animalia started in 2016. The result was that around the same time, it had been the victim of various school consolidations that would see students bused to an area where the state could afford one public school for the region rather than multiple smaller schools for a comparable price. It was a fate that Lyre generally avoided thanks to the population boom that had come with the birth of Animalia and the Lyre School District becoming part of WSA and the Animalia School District. Though, it was all generally something that made things difficult for many that lived in Desert Flats as they had to adapt to these changes. And this had been the thing that contributed to some of the frustrating things for both Christina Moore and Marcella Walker.
Both of their parents worked in the mines, and they had been close going into sixth grade, and the ride on the bus from Desert Flats to the area where the consolidated school was provided some measure of fun and allowed them all to be together with some of the small number of other kids from Desert Flats. But then, things developed in high school that had drove them apart. Chrissy had filled out more than Marcella and that drew attention from some of the other "popular" kids in school and won attention from Steve Herrons. Chrissy never knew that Marcella was also interested in him, and to a certain extent never really intended for things to go sour between them. It just sort of happened, where things came to distract Chrissy, and she was able to move on in ways that Marcella really didn't. At times, this was part of what got Chrissy thinking that got Marcella into helping her mom out with some of the sorting work at the Horizon clinic that had been built in Desert Flats.
Chrissy knew about the clinic and knew that it also served as a sort of remote base in Desert Flats where those in the general area could convert and become Animalians if they wished without having to drive further to Lyre/Animalia for the same thing. That was all of what little Chrissy knew about Animalia. She didn't think, however, that Marcella would actually go so far as to use what access she had to actually steal from Horizon and use that to forcibly convert Chrissy. It was all that that triggered a lot of Chrissy's anger when she fully recognized that she was becoming an Animalian and that in turn triggered the fight with Marcella that then wrecked the "club" in Desert Flats as the two of them scuffled. She remembered anger and rage and some degree of territorial dominance that surged within her as the two of them wrestled with each other and that did all the more damage and left some clear signs of spilt milk from both of them, particularly once Marcella began transforming as well.
All of that then left her embarrassed and ashamed, particularly when the officers that served in the Desert Flats police department, all three of them, arrived and soon had backup from Animalia's Rhino Guard. Chrissy liked what she had grown into by her senior year in high school, but that didn't mean she wanted to be naked in front of all her friends or in front of these strangers. Finding the Human officers so tiny when compared to her new form was even more odd and finding that even the Rhino Guard members being smaller than her was surprising. It had really only been at that point when she realized just how big the African Elephant was in comparison to other extant animals. The only other Animalians that could now match or surpass her size were some of the cetacean based Animalians and the larger Dinotopians. None of it was what she wanted, as it also reset everything that she'd sought to create for herself while going through high school, and she still had the rest of her senior year to finish.
Now, Chrissy found herself laying in the living room of the Moore home and feeling a bit depressed... School was going to be starting up again soon for the spring semester, and at her new size, she wasn't going to fit on the bus or in her car. Most of what the school had wouldn't be able to support her weight, and to a degree, Marcella having those same issues wasn't as much of a comfort as she initially thought it would be. Partially as she hadn't heard from Steve or any of her friends and that was just depressing. Her thoughts were interrupted when there came a knock at the door. She managed to get to her feet and move to it. She had to crouch a little bit, as her parent's home didn't have as high of a ceiling as the "club" that she and Marcella had trashed in their fight. Dealing with Human scaled doorknobs was also difficult, though, thankfully, the front doors only had a latch for them. She was able to fit one finger inside the opening for the handle and then press down with her thumb, though she'd also found she had to be careful with how much pressure she applied, and the door opened, letting in a burst of cooler air from the outside.
"Ms. Moore?" came a firm and deep, though still feminine voice.
"Christina... or Chrissy," Chrissy answered weakly and stepped back, really feeling the harsh cold on her large ears, and she figured this other Elephant Animalian felt the same cold. She also noted one of the larger vehicles that were built for Animalians and particularly the larger Animalians. "Who are you?"
"My name is Nzinga, I was the matriarch of the African Elephants kept at the Lyre Zoo before I was uplifted," the other Elephant Animalian answered, "today, I travel and give lectures on Elephant behavior and the importance of conservation of the species with my husband, Dean. This includes some ecology studies and lectures that is actually run out of the old Lyre Zoo grounds where our work is based out of. So, imagine my surprise, when I learn that of a pair of Cow Elephant Animalians fighting in a club in a mining town and seemingly knowing very little about Animalians."
"Not a lot of people come to Desert Flats," Chrissy answered as she let Nzinga in and then pushed the door shut, "and while there might be some that have converted here... I don't think anyone has gone for "elephant." Maybe because of the cold winters or something."
"Things aren't too bad there, though I do understand your point," Nzinga answered, "we aren't Mammoths."
Chrissy didn't immediately answer but did usher Nzinga toward the center of the living room. The two of them did eventually sit down quietly on the floor. The silence didn't last long.
"I didn't ask to be an Animalian," Chrissy answered, "no offense, but I didn't want to be part animal..."
"None taken," Nzinga answered, "Neither my husband nor I asked to be Animalians either. I was a mundane zoo animal, and he was a student at the time. I was uplifted and when that happened, he was knocked into the moat in my enclosure. Remembering things I've seen done to save lives, I did the same for him... and he became a mighty bull Elephant, even though I didn't know that would happen. But we became mates and have been happy together ever since..."
"Like Steve will like me now that I'm fat," Chrissy answered with a huff.
"Do I look fat to you?" Nzinga gave a low growl that reverberated in her throat and her trunk.
That was enough to make Chrissy cower a little bit. She found that she was about the same height as Nzinga when standing but hadn't really noted too much more on how they compared. She did have the sense that Nzinga had more experience with being an Animalian, and her mention of the word "matriarch" seemed to strike something in the back of Chrissy's mind that she didn't want to challenge. She lowered her ears a bit and looked Nzinga over. She found that while the other Elephant Animalian wore a relatively poofy green sweater and a pair of jeans, Nzinga still looked very trim, and the only thing that really "bulged" in the front was where Nzinga's sweater was stretched over her bosom. To a degree, it fit with what Chrissy had seen of herself in the mirror. She wasn't fat and actually had a fairly trim stomach with abs she'd never seen even when she was Human.
"No... it's just... too much," Chrissy answered, "and a part of me doesn't understand why Marcella thought THIS was the best "revenge" for being popular."
"From what it seems, she was jealous you left her behind and didn't want to be friends... saw her as a "circus freak" for being a bit more on the pudgy side, not having perfect hair, and so on," Nzinga answered, "and then add in that you apparently won the attention of a boy she had a crush on. And in many ways, she's now dealing with many of the same problems as you... in addition to the consequences of her actions."
"I hope she gets life for ruining mine," Chrissy grumbled.
"That is unlikely... and from what I was told, she has admitted to what she's done and will plead guilty at the trial," Nzinga said slowly, "though, Animalia will see to the actual sentence, and the Rhino Guard members that were called to come in and deal with the two of you are discussing things with the local court clerks for the handling of said criminal sentence. To be short... she will have her own shot at redemption, and perhaps in future the two of you may come to some understanding again. Though, she will also have added familial consequences."
"Like what?!" Chrissy asked, "she turns me into an Animalian on purpose and gets turned into one by accident and gets away with it with only Animalia's punishments... that seem to just embarrass people to reform? If she were the sort that would be affected by that sort of thing, she wouldn't have done THIS to ME in the first place. She would have just accepted that we grew apart and moved on with her life. She didn't have to get attached to her mom at the Horizon Clinic here. She could have looked into getting out of Desert Flats. I know I planned to."
"I would agree that she should have done that," Nzinga said slowly and calmly, "but what is past is past. The past cannot be changed, and she will have to live with those consequences... consequences that will go beyond her. As Horizon has also terminated her mother's employment with the company for being careless with what they shipped to the clinic here from their main offices in Lyre. So, Marcella will have many hurdles to overcome of her own in the future. None of which will help YOU move forward."
"And what about me?" Chrissy answered, "even if I'm not fat... I'm still big and heavy. My bed won't hold me. Chairs won't hold me. I have to take carful aim to make sure I don't make a mess in the bathroom... I can't write or type on anything built for Humans and it'll take time to get things I can use. I'm too big for my car. I'm too big for the bus to the school I go to... not to mention their furniture. As Animalia's generally been so condensed around its colony cities that many places haven't done much of anything to adapt to it. And given that I'm a senior this year... unless decide to make a living in the mines and stay in Desert Flats, much of the local area won't have reason to upgrade things for me."
"That is rough... I'll admit," Nzinga admitted, "especially when a lot of the special orders that were made when Animalia got started aren't there as much now... but there will be ways to work around this and to help allow you to pay for the damages you caused when you provoked the fight with Marcella."
Chrissy only looked down again and didn't really respond as she felt her trunk curl on the carpet beneath her. The club that she and Marcella had trashed wasn't much and had really only started as something of a bar for the miners to go to after their shifts. It really only grew more "sophisticated" as stops by people driving to Lyre/Animalia picked up and brought in some added business. That was now ruined when she lost her temper at Marcella.
"Rocky wants financial compensation, I bet," Chrissy said slowly.
"Yes," Nzinga nodded, "and that you do not return to his establishment, either."
Chrissy didn't say anything.
"To fit in with some of the "embarrassment" theme to Animalia's punishments, you can hold a part time job at the Meat Market in Lyre," Nzinga continued, "you won't have to strip or anything... but you will be tasked to serve drinks and food and potentially handle some of the cleaning work. Any and all wages will then go to Rocky until he can afford to replace what you and Marcella destroyed."
Chrissy said nothing. She gave a low grunt that showed her irritation at having to work at Animalia's preeminent strip club. Granted they wouldn't be making her strip, but that didn't mean that there wouldn't be some measure of embarrassment being there. But she also couldn't avoid many of those things.
"I would also hope to talk with your parents on all potential travel arrangements and school arrangements," Nzinga spoke, "for, it is true that most things you had for a Human would not work for you now as an Elephant Animalian. And some would require some measure of adjustment to work with. Much of which will not be easy and for schools that aren't dealing with these sorts of things... it is unlikely that they will revamp all their equipment to suit one Animalian of your size. WSA and Lyre might be able to loan some things to finish out the year, but that would be about it... and that would be assuming that you'd finish with the school you're in now. And my husband and I would be able to drive you to where you need to go, if that is the option you so take. Or, you could transfer to WSA to finish out the year... where they would be more capable of handling a larger Animalian. But I would need to speak with your parents as they would need to be involved to."
"But what about Steve?" Chrissy asked.
"Boyfriends would not be involved in this decision," Nzinga answered, "that will be up for you and your parents to decide. If this boyfriend is someone you'd love and want to marry... that will have its own complications for you as an Animalian. For unless he also becomes an Elephant Animalian, you two would not be able to have children of your own... And if he cannot accept you for who you are, he may not be exactly the perfect bond-mate material."
Chrissy only sighed.