Mary led the way. Eric walked behind her. The sidewalk was warm on their feet, so they kept to the grass. While they could walk on two feet, they both found it easier to walk on four.
Worry that someone might capture them filled Eric. He was confident Mary could protect them but he knew their small stature would limit their options for combat.
His seeing Mary as his protector confused him. In Eric's mind, *he* was the male (despite what his current form). He was supposed to be looking after Mary (not that she ever needed it), not the other way around.
Eric couldn't deny that despite still finding Mary attractive, a part of him wished Mary was male. That Eric didn't desire to be male himself frightened him.
"Mary, wait up," Eric said.
Mary slowed down and they walked side by side.
"What's wrong? Everything all right?" Mary asked.
"That's just the thing, I don't know," Eric said. "I keep having these thoughts."
"What sort of thoughts?" Mary asked.
"I um..."
"No point in hiding it now Eric," Mary said.
"Well, I'm starting to wish you'd become male."
Mary looked at Eric and nodded.
"I'm sorry Eric, this is my fault. I should have been more careful. We wouldn't be in this situation if I'd asked you before changing you."
"You just wanted me to have fun," Eric said.
"I know, I know," Mary said. "Granted, I didn't expect it to turn you into a blue furred girl. But it was fun seeing you change."
"I guess being this way doesn't feel so bad. I Just hope we can get those vials back," Eric said.
"Yeah, me too," Mary said. "So, you're all right then? I mean, other then you wanting me to be a boy?"
Eric nodded. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know why I feel that way."
"come on Eric, it's pretty obvious what's going on here."
"What?" Eric asked.
"Eric, I hate to tell you this but I think you're in heat," Mary said.
Eric stopped dead in his tracks.
"I'm w--what?"
"Your soda must have done it," Mary said. "Damn it Eric, I'm sorry."
Eric felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. Mary patted Eric on the back before she put her arm around him and pulled him in.
"This is my fault and I'm willing to take responsibility for it," Mary said. "But right now, we're going to have to buck up and deal with it. Think of it this way, it could be worse. We could have ended up as bugs or something. Think about this way, does being female feel that bad?"
Eric sighed. "To be honest, it feels comfortable in a disturbing way."
Mary held Eric tighter.
"See what I mean honey, it won't be so bad. Come on, give me a hug," Mary said.
Eric slowly put his arm around Mary before he pressed his body up against hers. She was warm and being this close to her comforted Eric. Heck, it did more then comfort Eric, it made Eric desire Mary even more. Eric may have been shy as a human but a part of him wanted to make love to Mary right there on the grass.
"I could get used to it if I have you to help me out," Eric said.
"And I'd be glad to do just that," Mary said.
Eric nodded. Maybe he could learn to live with this if they were stuck. At least he had someone he liked to help him out with it.
"Now, come on, let's get to my place," Mary said.
"Then what will we do?" Mary asked.
Mary let go of Eric and ran a finger down his belly.
"Then I'll show you that being a female can be a lot of fun."
Eric gulped and let go of Mary. Mary winked and the two resumed their journey.
They managed to walk for almost twenty minutes before they made it to a side road and went down it.
Eric felt better off of the main road. There was less traffic, less people and less chance of someone catching them. He also knew that should he and Mary need to cross the road, they'd have a better chance of survival doing so on a side street as opposed to a main road where someone would probably run them over without slowing down.
The side road led into a neighborhood. Eric and Mary had to stick to lawns and hide behind bushes when they saw people. After they walked past a half dozen houses, Eric realized that he had a problem, he was getting thirsty. He knew the safe thing would be to wait but he wasen't sure he wanted to risk it given his lack of knowledge about his new species.
He told Mary.
"Well, I doubt anyone is going to say yes to us if we walk up to their door and ask for a glass of water," Mary said.
"It might be worth a try," Eric said. "Maybe they'll know what we are and be nice to us," Eric said.
Mary stood on two legs and folded her arms. "Eric, the author might do that but I don't know about strangers."
"Don't you mean Arthur? And how come you're calling him the?" Eric asked.
Mary scratched her head. "I'm not sure. Just a slip up on both accounts I guess."
Eric chuckled.
"Anyway, we have no idea how any of these people might react to a couple of ottsels appearing at their door," Mary said.
"I guess we could drink from someone's garden hose or if they have a fish pond, drink from there," Eric said.
"Just don't get any ideas about using the fish as snacks," Mary said.
"Hey now, I may be part otter but that doesn't mean..."
Mary winked and grinned. Eric shook his but still smiled.
Together, they walked to a house that had no cars in the driveway before walking to the side of it where they found a garden hose.
"I hope this isn't stealing," Eric said.
"It's just a little bit of water, I'm sure they'll forgive us," Mary said. "Come on, stand on my shoulders so you can reach the nozzle."
Mary stood under the nozzle and Eric climbed on her shoulders. He just managed to reach the nozzle. It was tight but he was able to turn it on enough to get the water flowing to the hose. After that, it was a simple matter to drinking from the stream of water, which was cold and refreshing.
"Sorry it's not bottled water," Mary said.
"Fine with me, I prefer my water from the tap anyway," Eric said.
Eric looked at the flowing water and an idea formed in his mind.
"You know, we've both been walking for a while and we've worked up a bit of a sweat," Eric said. "We could both use a shower."
"Hey now, I don't smell that bad! Anyway, I'd rather use my own bathtub for that," Mary said.
Eric shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. Hmmm, do you think it's safe for us to use shampoo. I guess we'll have to use it all over our bodies."
"I guess we'll find out," Mary said. "Besides, I wouldn't mind using some of that herbal stuff. That's as long as you don't mind smelling like it."
Eric shrugged his shoulders. "I guess now that I'm a girl, it's okay. I'm not lying to Mary. If it wasen't for you being here for me, I'd be freaking out."
Mary patted Eric's shoulder. "Glad to be here for 'sis."
"Do you think people will take us seriously?" Eric asked. "Because we're ottsels I mean, not because we're female."
Mary looked at the ground and nodded before looking at Eric. "Eric, to be honest, the fact that we're girls might work in our favor."
Eric looked at the hose.
"Maybe we should shut this thing off before we run their water bill up too much."
Mary nodded. "Good idea."
They repeated the process from before to shut off the water. Once Eric was again beside Mary, they resumed their discussion.
"So, why would us being girls work in our favor," Eric asked.
Mary shrugged her shoulders.
"I've just noticed that some people seem to respond to female animals better. Maybe it's because they -- because we can have babies and you know how people respond to baby animals."
Eric nodded but cringed. "If I don't find a way to deal with my body seeming to want to do that..."
"Don't worry Eric, I'll make sure to find a way to shall we say release the pressure," Mary said. She then whispered into Eric's ear. "You just might end up wishing you been born a female ottsel."
When Mary stood back, Eric felt a shiver go down his spine. Satisfying that part of his male curiosity seemed fun but it seemed like he'd be betraying his manhood if he enjoyed this too much. On the other hand, if he changed back, he might regret not enjoying it. Imagining Mary being the one to pleasure him made Eric's already emerging hormones go into raging mode.
"Damn it Mary, I want to ask you to show me that right here, right now," Eric said.
"Just hang on honey, good things come to those who wait," Mary said. "Besides, the longer we stay, the more likely we are for someone to catch us," Mary said.
Eric gulped. "Good point. Sorry about that, this is kinda embarrassing."
"No need to apologize honey, it's just nature," Mary said. "Now come on, we still have a good walk ahead of us."
After walking for almost two more hours, they had to leap behind a bush to avoid a dog that a man was walking. The dog stopped at the bush and persisted in sniffing the bush to figure out just what was behind it even as the owner tried to pull it from the bush.
"This is nuts, now I know how a squirrel feels," Eric said.
"Or a cat," Mary added.
Both kept low and tried not to move too much in hopes that the dog would lose interest in them. The owner finally managed to get control of the dog before he resumed walking with it.
Mary and Eric breathed a sign of relief. Their relief however was short lived as they heard something approach them.