"Thanks for coming with me," Molly said softly too me as we walked toward the courthouse, "this means a lot."
"It's possible that both of us could be called as witnesses," I told her with a sigh, "and besides, you know I'd be there for you if you needed it."
Molly wrapped her arm around my shoulders and held me to her as we went up the steps. She had been to a formal tailor since last I'd seen her and she now had a series of dresses made to fit her. When I had first met her to go to the courthouse, I had asked why she didn't have him/her make Molly some pants and shirts, and she complained about the materials being too itchy against her fur and that she overheated in them. It seemed out of character for her, but I wanted her to be happy, so I went along with it.
"I hope they give him life," Molly gave a low growl, which she then shied away from when several people then looked at her nervously. I then heard her give an extremely heavy sigh.
"It'll be okay," I told her.
"How? They all look at me like I want to eat them," Molly replied.
"Do you... feel that urge?" I asked nervously.
"NO!" Molly said firmly, "a part of my mind does want to hunt... but not people. Not my own kind..."
"Freak," a woman nearby said in an insulting voice.
I put my hand on the small of Molly's back to move her along.
"What would you say to living in a more rural area," I asked her as we reached the doors, "There are some spots in Idaho and Montana that are fairly sparsely populated. We could go and live there... and if we're lucky, we could get a home with enough land for you to have as a territory."
"I don't WANT to be a tiger, George, I want to me again," Molly answered.
"I know," I told her, "I'm just wanting to try and make things easier for you."
As we went in, she bent over and rubbed the side of her muzzle to my cheek. We were met by Leona as we entered the courthouse.
"Hello, young George, and this must be the new Molly Rhoer," Leona said politely, "I'm sorry for what Eugene and his thugs did to you dear."
"Thanks I guess," Molly said slowly, surprised at meeting someone about the same height at weight as her, though it was clear that Leona was older then Molly.
Leona had actually been tried first. She had pleaded guilty to the more minor charges of being associated with Eugene Changes' freak show, but through her plea agreement was largely let off the hook with community service and immediately beginning to work on some way to reverse what had been done in the freak show's name. Although, part of the condition was that she was to testify against her former partner.
"So how are things?" Leona asked.
"That depends on the circumstances," Molly said slowly, "George is wonderful... but... everyone else..."
"It's difficult when you don't fit into someone else's social norm," Leona sighed, "everyone that Eugene abused has been there."
Molly and I nodded. It was then that Molly noticed something.
"How did you keep your hair?" Molly then asked, "my human hair fell out."
Leona looked at the blond hair that was on her head and that her rounded ears poked out from.
"I think that when I was mutated, the DNA used for the retrovirus actually came from a male lion," Leona commented after a moment.
"Then how come you didn't become a male lion?" I wondered.
"The retrovirus I designed wouldn't do anything in regards to gender," Leona answered, "It couldn't turn me into a male lion... but I did apparently gain what would be considered traits of a male lion... keeping my "mane" was among them. The instincts that I've developed also more male in nature then those of a lioness."
"Instincts?" Molly asked nervously.
"Yes," Leona answered, "Lion society is generally divided along gendered lines. Male lions are the cornerstone to any pride. They sire the next line of cubs and they are responsible for protecting the pride's boundaries. Females generally raise the cubs and do the pride's hunting... males that hunt are usually lone males or coalitions of males that are without a supporting pride of lionesses to hunt for them... and more often then not, these males usually become scavengers more then hunters until they can take over a territory and establish a pride."
"I'm not going to do that, am I?" Molly asked nervously again.
"No," Leona answered, "Your instincts will likely be more like a tiger's rather then a lion's. Largely solitary, but still a powerful apex predator... though don't think for a moment that they will control you. They don't, and you can control them."
I saw Molly sigh, but she still did not look all that easy.
++++++++++++++
"I'm sure that made her feel better," Dave sighed.
"No it didn't," I nodded, "Knowing that her instincts wouldn't dominate her was one thing... but she already sensed that they'd get the better of her at times and hearing that they'd be there for a while didn't help her at all..."
"So how did the trial go?" Dave wondered, "were you and Molly called to the stand?"
"I wasn't, but Molly was called on the second day," I told him.
+++++++++++++
It took until the second day to get to Molly's testimony. Between the pleas, opening statements, and Leona's testimony, the first day had more then enough argumentative fireworks. I had sat with Molly quietly and gripping her paw like hand with my own as it went. As the trial went along, both of us noticed the glances that many of the people gave toward Molly and the other Freak Show victims. None of them appeared friendly.
It nearly broke Molly and made me fairly angry. Molly was a victim of a guy's plot to make money, and she was being treated as something unworthy of life beyond a zoo. I did, however, manage to restrain myself, and I stayed by Molly's side.
It was also at this time that I noticed the first showings of Molly's growing instincts to be a solitary cat... she commonly looked around the room, and despite the fact that she out weighed many of the men in the room by one hundred pounds of muscle, she didn't look very at ease. It was like she feared being attacked by the whole group... or like she was cramped in the courtroom. More and more, I continued to become convinced that moving to a more rural area was a good idea, since it wasn't likely that the people here would give her twenty square kilometers to reside in... not without an awful lot of money.
"The prosecution calls Molly Rhoer to the stand," the prosecuting attorney spoke.
Molly slowly stood up, "Me?"
The judge and the prosecutor nodded, and Molly slowly made her way out, apologizing to people when her tail ended up rubbing a couple people's noses as she passed. She then made her way to the witness chair and was sworn in.
"Now, Ms. Rhoer, could you tell the court what you've been turned into?" the prosecutor asked.
"A tiger," Molly answered, looking puzzled by the question.
"And where was this done?"
"At the Animatrix Fun House," Molly answered, "a freak show attached to the Carnival... though, that was where I was injected with the serum that transformed me... I didn't actually change until my boyfriend got me home... well, his home, but..."
"I see," the prosecutor cut her off, "and did you see who injected you with the serum?"
"Yes." Molly nodded.
"And who was this person?" the lawyer asked, "can you identify him?"
"Yes, and it was the defendant," Molly answered.
"Did he ever ask you if you wanted to volunteer for his "show"?" the prosecutor asked.
"No, he did not," Molly answered.
"I have no further questions," the prosecutor spoke.
"The defense may cross examine," the judge spoke to the defending attorney.
"You say that Eugene Changes was the one who injected you with the serum," the defending attorney spoke, "how are you certain of this? I've seen the tent that the Animatrix Fun House used. It has rather low light levels, and the more "permanent" structure it was attached to had lights that were so bright that you couldn't see anything clearly over the glare, so how could you recognize the defendant?"
"I could still move my head when they had me there," Molly answered, "I wasn't restrained into looking straight up into the lights."
"So you could still struggle?"
"Well... yes, not that I could do much then though," Molly answered him, "before my... mutation I was not very muscular. His associates held me down."
"Your honer, the defendant is at best only negligent and irresponsible with a complicated scientific serum that has already been admitted to being designed for medical testing and wasn't ready for human test subjects," the defending lawyer spoke, "distracted by a struggle, blinded by hight lights of the "lab" or unable to see in the low light of the tent, the defendant can not truly confirm that Eugene Changes was responsible."
"That's merely speculation, trying to find excuses for Eugene Changes to get out of what he did!" the prosecuting attorney argued.
"We could run a test to prove it," the defending attorney countered, "but then, her eyesight has to have improved since becoming a tigress... an animal known for hunting at night, or at least at dusk and dawn."
"This court is interested in facts, not speculations," the judge said firmly, "the jury will take into consideration the capabilities of a human struggling in either low light or extremely bright light conditions, but can not dismiss the witness statements entirely."
"I only ask that all the facts be considered, your honor," the defendant spoke, "no further questions."
"You may step down," the judge spoke.
Molly then returned to her seat beside me. She looked nervously at the glares from people, likely thinking she was going to terrorize them at night... even though Molly had done no such thing so far.
++++++++++
"Did she ever?" Dave asked, sounding disbelieving that someone could think Molly would become some sort of monster, "from the way you've talked about her, that doesn't sound likely."
"She never did and hasn't done anything like that here," I told him, "that was all part of the mistreatment that people were giving her."
"So how did the trial end?" Dave asked curiously.
"Eugene Changes was found guilty... though he only received a twenty year sentence in prison," I told him, "and he would have to meet with a parole officer for an additional ten years when he's released... which really irked Molly and Leona. I think both of them wanted him put away for life."
++++++++++++
"He should have gotten life," Molly grumbled as she loaded a suitcase with her new clothing sets in the bed of a Ford Ranger that I "owned".
It belonged to my family and my dad used it to pull a very small camper on small camping trips in the past. When Molly and I went to college, I had gotten the vehicle to journey between college and home. It had enough room to fit both my stuff and Molly's.
"Yeah I know," I nodded, "but he's still going to prison for awhile."
"Yeah," Molly nodded, "and now we go back to finish the last couple months of college."
I nodded.