The rest of the afternoon went by like a blur to Drevor as the games, lunch, and the start of evening farmhand chores were finished with experience inherited from David and the massively strong body he had. The animals were wary of the massive wolftaur at first, but settled once he carried out his tasks and left them in peace.
Holly had gone ahead to cover another double shift at the hospital, leaving the kids and dinnertime for him to manage. He had already finished cleaning up the house, leaving him time to do other things.
By the time the heat died down, Drevor let the kids outside to touch the grass. The nearby pond, the maize fields, and the wide expanse of pasture were for them to enjoy, just like the few times they've been here before. For him, however, he had gone about using the Chronivac again.
Drevor stood in front of the full-length mirror that now existed in the basement, courtesy of making a lot of changes in a small timeframe. The space that had been used as storage was remodeled into a personal home gym; the equipment, worth thousands, that he had looked up online now stood behind him as he inspected his massive, striped wolf-taur body.
He flexed, staring as the black stripes accentuated the bulging, defined muscles completely pumped from the full-body workout he just did. Another double bicep pose, and he grinned as he watched his veins pop.
"Mhm... a good addition to my chimera genes," he stated as he turned to inspect his back, the mirrored stripes looking good. "Trevor always loved those tigers, big cats they are."
Mentioning the one half of his whole brought up some memories about himself, that he now was expected to make two opposing lives work. He managed David's half even as a wolftaur, but what about Trevor's?
With a job as the lieutenant of the city's police department, Trevor was expected to return to duty as soon as possible, given how important his job rank was. He could only delay so much before he'd run out of sick days.
Not to mention the boys are probably running wilder than they normally do. On second thought, he'd need to do something about them.
Walking over to the Chronivac sitting on the metal desk nearby, he brought his profile to the forefront of the application. Wolftaur-DR.
Inwardly, he mulled over the idea, considering that in just a few days, he's expected back at the station to be on full duty. Back in uniform, as a human and not a massive direwolf-taur capable of benching 440lbs and not breaking a sweat.
He glanced over to the weight rack holding a barbell with plates, the equipment's durability making him smile. "High quality, as they claim."
The barbell was pure stainless steel, the plates coated in rubber, a feature that most of the equipment he conjured had. The elation he felt when such expensive equipment was unimaginable, giddy beyond belief. So much power in his paws...
Returning to the task at hand, he searched for the shapeshifting feature that werewolves are known for, applying one to himself. The resultant genetic diversity of his makeup increased sharply as he watched it go from a mere 1% to a whopping 20%.
Drevor tilted his head, thinking about it as he recalled the massive library of knowledge about werewolves he had. Shapeshifting was the main feature of those creatures, so it makes sense that it occupied a lot more genetic foothold.
With the changes done and the adjustments necessary completed, he nodded in approval.
Walking to the full-body mirror, he instinctively triggered the shapeshift. It was fascinating since he chose a very specific method of transformation as a black-red haze consumed his form, as his silhouette shrank, the tauric lower half deformed into his back.
The utili-kilt fell to the floor as Drevor stood naked, human in front of the mirror. At first glance to the person in the mirror immediately scowled since it was obvious and there was no mistaking it.
He looked too much like Trevor, and he couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"Did the ratio work like it's supposed to?" he murmured, tracing his thick fingers over his face that was equally familiar and yet so alien.
There were fragments of David scattered about all over him, sure. The mullet cut trailing his hair in a sick hairdo, and the wide expanse of his shoulders now peaked with trapezius that he prided himself in. But he felt off, scowling deeper.
He didn't want to look like either of them in parts; he wanted to look like himself.
With the Chronivac in hand, he went to work, reshaping the composite: a face sculpted from both but wholly unique. By the time he stood again before the mirror, he looked like the son David and Trevor never had.
His eyes were now truly emerald green, and he removed all traces of scars that Trevor held as a badge of pride and David as proof of his difficult past. His body? Still masculinely tall and built, but there was now softness over his solid stone muscles.
Drevor fondled his massive cock half-mast and approved its 8 inch configuration before reaching down to shove a few thick digits into his feminine folds. He once again nodded in approval with the depth as his fist disappeared inside, and only his wrist remained outside.
With a grunt, he withdrew his fist with an audible pop, shudders wracking his body as he recalled Holly's knot inside him. If only Holly was just as horny as he was...
The thought spiraled. For a moment, he entertained the idea of tweaking Holly’s form into something more lust-addled as a sultry, kitsune mate. His cock twitched at the thought, but he shook his head hard, snapping himself back.
"Focus," he muttered. And no, he wasn't going to change Holly without her knowledge.
He headed to the shower, grateful he didn’t have fur this time. Cold water blasted away the heat in more ways than one.
As the rut of his libido subsided with the freezing water, he recalled a certain thing about mythical creatures like Holly. She could shapeshift at will and look however she wanted. With the looming return to duty in the future, it made his next decision clearer.
Drying off his skin and inwardly thankful he didn't need to dry his fur, he tied the towel to his waist. With it as temporary clothing, Drevor returned to the Chronivac and searched for a certain trait in magical creatures.
Glamour.
Like in that series of demigods, and the monsters being able to be hidden in plain sight.
"Family, anyone that has seen my true form, yadda yadda yadda," he mumbled aloud. Drevor set up a bunch of parameters for this obfuscation effect, applying them when it was satisfactory.
Drevor took up David's t-shirt and shorts, gunning straight for the kitchen to prepare dinner with the clothes tight on his human form.
--
Tom and Alice came back to the smell of good food, pizza, and a man in the kitchen they'd never seen before. Both of them paused in the hallway as the man in the kitchen whistled a recognizable tune they'd known for so long whenever their dad, Trevor, cooked in the kitchen.
Usually, it was some protein-rich, bland meal of broccoli, braised chicken, and potatoes.
"Daddy?" Alice asked first through her stupor, knowing, despite her age, that anything was possible now with the Chronivac 4.23. Said man in the kitchen glanced over, showing a face neither of them could place as either David or Trevor.
"Yeah, kiddo?" Drevor answered with a familiar voice they could recognize, nonchalant as he flipped over a large slab of steak in the cast iron pan. "Dinner's ready in 30, go get showered, yeah?"
Both of the kids glanced at each other, then looked back at the large man busy flipping the meat in the pan.
"You're human," Tom stated audibly to Drevor as he walked into the kitchen and noticed the veritable selection of food he knew David usually made. He looked back at the tight fit the absolute unit of a man wore. "And oversized, too."
The man paused as if mulling over the statements in his head. "Oh, right. You can see that?" Drevor asked, pausing with the steak cooking as he turned to look at both kids now in the kitchen space. He grinned, showing off perfect shinies, and leaned by the stove. "I gave myself a whole new look so that I'm distinctively more me... how do I look?"
Both kids scrutinized him intensely, and the man in front of them could see the stark difference from before. Physically, he's still imposing as the fact that his face was still equally level with the shelves that required a chair to get to. The tightness of his clothes accentuated all the curves and striations that Trevor prided himself on. But upon closer inspection, they did notice some changes.
"You don't have your scars anymore." Alice pointed out as she searched for the cut over his eyebrow, among many others. "And your eyes are fully emerald green."
Drevor nodded, turned around to flip the steak in one skillful toss, and returned to let them inspect him. "Looks good, right? The better to see you all with, my dear."
Alice tilted her head, a probable leftover from when she was a wolf. "Green eyes see better?"
This time, it was Drevor who tilted his head. "No? Usually, irises work for reflecting light and-"
Alice cut him off, waving her hands as Drevor paused. "I-I was joking, Daddy."
With a harrumph, Drevor turned around to set the steak onto a plate nearby and continued with a big smile on his human face. "Sure, hahah! Anything else you notice about your father?"
This time, it was Tom who pointed out the difference. "You look softer. When you were that big dire wolf, your body looked like there was just muscle on them."
Drevor nodded, happy that the little edits were noticeable. "Good eye, Tom. Say, it'll be both of you's first times, so gunna hug dad?"
Both of them looked at each other, unsure about hugging a man that, to them, was unfamiliar enough but yet was still their dad. Drevor crouched, spreading his arms to let them feel welcomed to try. With the invitation, perhaps because Trevor never really offered that to them, Drevor recalled briefly, they both walked into his arms and gave him one, which he returned with a reassuring squeeze. He sniffed.
"You both stink, I'm going to get the food finished, so wash up, yeah?" Drevor said as he let them go, standing back up to cross his arms, though playfully relaxed. "After dinner, we can play games."
Alice nodded. "Oka,y" she said as she started bolting full sprint towards the upstairs. "The last one to the bathroom is stinky!"
Tom roared as he skidded on the carpet for his sprint. "CHEATER!"
Drevor sighed with a smile.
--
The strict and tense atmosphere that was forced by Trevor every dinnertime barely happened as he used David's experience with loosening the atmosphere. It didn't take long for them to finish dinner and start gaming in the basement again.
In a brief discussion while they were gaming, the topic of his name popped up. Drevor was surprised that he could still play video games as well, despite his preferences shifting thanks to the merge. Perhaps, time with the kids in any activity was more preferable than just being alone.
The name that they all agreed fit him better than Drevor ever did. As he sat outside on the porch overlooking the now darkened expanse, smoke from a cigarette puffed out as he rolled the name in his mouth.
It was inspired by the movies David watched, shared with the kids when they came by.
Full name Balthazar Nicolaus Scott, with both Christian Phillips wisely left out of the picture. Inspired by the movie with a great wolfdog that all three of them fondly remembered. The newly christened Balto chuckled as he pondered it. Fitting, by all accounts.
If David were a wolf, living away from the city, and Trevor was a dog of the state as a police officer, then it would fit. The merge that happened to him was still clear in his mind, but the sensations and emotions attached to it were far away now, muted, barely relatable anymore thanks to Holly's kitsune powers.
He was thankful for her and everything she had done for him. She called earlier, saying she'd be late tonight. It was why he was outside on the porch waiting for her to come back. Even with her kitsune powers allowing her swift travel, it would still take time.
The crunch of rubber on gravel caught his attention, not because he was excited to see her again. No, because she's not usually back until late midnight. The sound being made was a constant grind befitting a wheel rapidly approaching his gates.
Two wheels, no engines, physical exertion.
"Who the hell would be coming at night like this?" Balto growled low as he combed through people in his mind that he knew from both sides would come here for him. David, or Trevor, maybe.
He stood up, focusing on the sound that his enhanced senses caught. It was a... bicycle?