The transformations were complete. Leona had changed gender and was now sandy blond colored male lion with a blond mane. I noticed that the mane was actually darker closer to Leon's head and got progressively lighter moving toward his shoulders and upper chest. He was about my height, but I soon noticed that Leon was no where near as muscular as I was, which surprised me. Lions and tigers were the two largest cats in the world, and while male lions rarely if ever hunted, the rigors of defending a pride's territory usually demanded that they be strong. And Leon had put on a lot of additional muscle mass during the transformation.
"Puzzled over something, George?" Leon asked after a moment.
"Just curious on some things," I commented, "You didn't put on as much bulk muscle as I did when I transformed... and from what I've learned when I was getting stuff to first help Molly, the African Lion and the Bengal Tiger are roughly the same size. It's the Siberian Tiger that has a clear size advantage over the African and Asiatic Lion."
Leon gave a slight chuckle, "I suppose that is nothing but lab work will do. Even before I became a lioness, I was never all that active physically. Not overweight, mind you, just not active in the sort of things that would keep muscles as firm and toned as they could be. Basic DNA isn't going to say one is "buff" or not... at least relative to others of the same species."
"You didn't work out?" Molly wondered, "Like use a treadmill or go jogging or something?"
"I was usually busy on other projects related to science," Leon said with a sigh, "so by comparison to George, here, who's lived a much more active life, my musculature didn't develop as much as his did."
"You still look good, anyway," Jacki said slowly from beside Leon. She sounded slightly nervous as she was adjusting to both the animal instincts assaulting her brain and the fact that she was now a "she".
Jacki had gone through and even more dramatic change. She had gone from a male human to a female lion. She stood a few inches taller then Molly, but Molly appeared to have more bulk muscle then Jacki did. Though, I also got the impression that Jacki's musculature was more "wiry" then Molly's was. Her fur was a reddish color, though still within the color range that a lion would be colored in nature. The fur on the lower part of her muzzle, her neck, breasts, belly, underside of her arms, and the inside of her legs was a paler shade of the same color. Behind her, her newly grown tail slowly swished beside her with its black tuft flipping back and forth like a brush. It moved as though she was adjusting to having a tail. And that was understandable. Molly and I had both gone through our own periods of adjustment to having a tail.
Jacki was also a bit more conscious of her present nudity then Leon apparently was. While she did stand close to him, she kept one paw-like hand where it could cover the space between her legs while using the other hand to cover her breasts. And there, Jacki was very much like Molly and the way Leon had been as Leona. Before her transformation, Molly had been a large B and borderline C cup. After her transformation into a tigress, Molly's breasts only B an no larger. Jacki appeared to be the same size.
"Do you need help getting your clothes?" Molly asked after a moment.
She then turned back to the table where Harry had taken their clothing before injecting them. The man was standing by politely and doing his best to look at the floor. Before Leon or Jacki could say anything, Molly retrieved the garments and handed me the clothing that would go to Leon. While I moved to help Leon, Molly moved to help Jacki.
"I'm sure you'll look just fine in this," Molly spoke politely.
"If you say so," Jacki replied, "You're the expert."
"Oh, believe me, I'm no fashion consultant," Molly chuckled, "I'm just trying to give you some positive encouragement."
"Oh," Jacki replied, "I guess it'll take me a little for my inner woman to really develop... or would it be lioness, given my species?"
"It'll be whatever you want it to be," Molly answered.
Leon accepted the help quietly as I handed him the shirt first.
"So... uh... in relation to the wedding, will this still be a dream come true?" I wondered, remembering the excitement that Molly and Leona had shared when the wedding was first announced to us.
"Of course," Leon answered, "Jackson was a fine man and very thoughtful... I'm sure that Jacki will be a fine lioness. I will always be glad to have had his support and now to have her support."
I slowly nodded, "Good to hear... I'd tend to think that Molly and I feel the same way about each other."
Leon nodded.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Both Leon and Jacki had a few days off and were taking the time to take care of some other matters before the wedding tomorrow. Some of it, I guessed was to get enough clothing that would fit Leon, and possibly some for Jacki as well. Though, Jacki could probably do with wearing the clothing Leon had for when he was Leona. Once they were dressed, Jacki and Leon went on their way and Molly and I prepared to head back to my parents' home. Leon reminded Molly of when the "groom's maids" were to arrive at the Methodist church where the wedding would take place. We assured him that Molly would be there and that I and my parents would attend the ceremony. Leon and Jacki nodded in response.
Our walk home was quiet and peaceful. Traffic was busy and the dogs barking was an annoyance, but we managed. We returned to the home to the smell of cooked meat.
"Something smells good," I commented as Molly and I came through the door.
"That would be the meat for you and Molly to take back to Columbia Falls," Polly Wayne spoke from the oven with Frank Rhoer standing dutifully nearby as a sort of helper, "we've spent the day cooking."
"In great heat," Frank Rhoer quipped.
Molly and I shrugged, though we did notice that the kitchen did feel warmer then when we had left for the wedding rehearsal. Our igloo was on a counter and I could smell the scent of cooked meat rising from it. Molly and slowly approached and glanced inside the container. I could quickly see that the meat was not cooked rare, but medium.
"You'll have to forgive me," Polly Wayne spoke, "but I have no idea how to avoid having something being too rare, so I cooked it the way your father and I have always cooked steaks."
"I..."
"And don't mention that you can digest raw meat," Polly Wayne cut me off, "you'll be going through public areas. A lot of people will not understand and will complain about you doing so."
"I was going to say that I couldn't complain," I finished.
"And we do understand the whole being in public thing, Mom," Molly added, "it's why we cooked the meat to bring here in the first place."
Polly Wayne nodded and returned to her oven and began to pull out the next set of cooked steaks. The scent was practically making my mouth water.
"How did the rehearsal go?" Frank Rhoer asked, "any hiccups?"
"No, no hiccups," Molly answered, "other then a few grown women deciding my tail was an interesting toy fan or bola."
"They have cards that say: "Growing up is inevitable. Maturing is optional", Molly," Polly Wayne chuckled, "there are always cases of there being big kids out there... remember your Uncle Lewis, George?"
I nodded and then chuckled at the memory. Uncle Lewis had been my Mother's oldest brother and had always enjoyed a good practical joke from time to time, which seemed to drive my mother crazy when he visited when I was a little kid. He had been a wonderful Uncle though, who's time was cut short. He had been working on a dairy farm near Springfield when a thunderstorm came up rapidly out of nowhere. He had been sent out to get the cattle into barn that would keep them safe, but never returned and only a handful of cattle wandered in as the storm grew worse. Eventually the farm's owner had gone out to find out what happened, and found my Uncle Lewis dead from a lightning strike. My mother and I soon agreed that heaven would be a funnier place with Uncle Lewis there to provide the angels with comedy shows.
"And as you've told me, Molly," I gave a soft snicker, "think of it as training for when we have our cubs. They're favorite toys will likely be our tails."
"It's different when a youngster does it though," Molly gave a sigh, "Oh well. That was the only "hiccup" at the rehearsal, and one could even say that it wasn't much of a hiccup."
My mother and Frank Rhoer nodded.
"So are Jackson and Leona excited about the wedding tomorrow?" Polly Wayne then asked.
"Jacki and Leon, now," I spoke, "they decided to take their dose of serum... Leon's second dose... after the rehearsal. Probably to save on the bureaucratic paperwork related to the marriage licenses and so forth."
"So they went through with it?" Frank Rhoer asked.
"Yes," Molly nodded beside me, "and Jacki makes for a fairly pretty lioness... from an animal-person's perspective, even though she's older then George and I."
"You're prettier," I told her.
"I suppose that would be the stripes," Molly shrugged with a smirk, "they frame everything on me so well..."
"And your "V for Victory" markings above your eyes," I nuzzled Molly's head.
Molly glanced up, as if to look at the two stripes above each eye that were angled together so that they looked like the letter "v".
"Well... I suppose they are rather cute," Molly replied and we both had a fairly light chuckle, "Leon and Jacki are excited though. George and I are both happy for them."
"So are Jacob and I," Polly Wayne nodded.
And with our updates given, I turned to a different subject.
"I don't suppose we could have a snack?" I asked, "all the meat you've cooked smells good."