You can't resist the call of the long necks. If there's *any* animal you'd want to test your potions on, it would be your favorite: the tall and majestic reticulated giraffes.
Walking down the cobblestone path, you enter the African exhibit (and a cheesy mock village) and find yourself standing on a wooden platform that overlooks the giraffes. There's three of them, a male and two females, and they notice you with disinterest, as accustomed as they are to people gawking at them.
You look at them longingly, hoping one will get close, and withdraw the box from your pack. You grab the pink potion, uncork it, and wait like some really bizarre big game hunter.
Finally, your chance comes! One of the females seems to be drawn to you, or perhaps to the smell of the potion wafting through the air, and slowly walks closer. You encourage her with enthusiastic gesturing and whistling, and for the moment that seems to hold her attention. She reaches you daintily and stretches her head up on her long neck to look at your hands.
You hold out the potion, oh so carefully, and as she draws her nose closer for a sniff, you quickly pour a little bit over her thick lips. This startles her, and the giraffe draws back, long blue tongue darting out and licking her lips.
You quickly cork the potion, hoping that's enough, and put it back in the box. Nervously, you put the box away, and wonder if anybody saw.
But it's pretty dead, a weekday, and it seems more than evident nobody saw you and your dastardly act of dosing a giraffe with a potion you found under a bridge.
You wait. And wait.
The female you gave the pink stuff too walks around for a bit, and you don't see any change in her. You're just about to give up and go home, when suddenly she outright shivers and turns her head towards you in what seems to be a startled gesture of realization.
You stare back, her eyes meet yours, and she gently walks towards you once more. Only as she walks, she does something unusual, she stares from side to side to see if anybody is looking! You do the same, and she winks at you and nods!
Elated, gasping, heart racing in your chest, the female giraffe reaches the platform, looks up at you, and does something even more amazing. She smiles!
"Y-You can understand me?" You whisper, gently, conspiratorially.
She nods quickly, and again checks to see if anybody is looking. She motions her nose towards your pack and her eyes go wide in curiosity. Her facial expressions are pretty clear.
"I found it!" You say proudly. "It's supposed to make you more human. You're already smarter. I guess if you drink more, you'll change more. Or... are you still changing?"
She looks back at herself, twisting her long neck around, and then looks back at you, shaking her head. With another grin, she motions to the pack, opens her mouth, and pretends to lap something up with her long tongue.
"Ah, geez." You say nervously. "I don't know. We could get into a lot of trouble if you start transforming out in the open like this."
She hangs her head, nods in agreement, snorts dejectedly, and taps her front hoof in thought. Suddenly she bolts up, and eagerly points her leg towards the big shed behind her enclosure. Just in time too, because somebody is coming!
Her eyes go wide, she points once more to the shed, and quickly ambles off, trying to seem like an innocent animal instead of a sentient giraffe. She looks back to see you going down the stairs, and when you reach the ground she's inside and out of view.
Carefully, nervously, you make your way around the fence and stop beside the big green shed. It's got a staff only sign on the door and no way to open it from the outside without a key, which obviously, you don't have.
You do the only thing you can think of at that moment. Feeling like an idiot, you knock on the door lightly.
Amazingly, you hear a click, and freak out when your female noses the door open by pressing the big bar on the inside with her foot. She grins maniacally and beckons you in. You comply, giggling, and find yourself inside a big dimly lit barn. Nobody can see you two in here, and you latch the door behind you.
Your giraffe friend looks at you expectedly and nuzzles your cheek with her nose. You blush deeply, surprised by the affection, and grab your pack.
She looks at you with wonder as you retrieve the box, bring out the glowing pink vial, and uncork it.
"Another drink, my tall friend?" You ask politely.
She nods enthusiastically, dips her head down, and lets her tongue out enough for you to pour some into her mouth.
"Not too much, now. I don't know how far or fast this goes." You say cautiously.
You give her about a good ounce and she swallows it quickly. You put the vial back, both of you watch it fill in disbelief, and then wait.
Your giraffe friend closes her eyes suddenly, sits herself down in front of you, and seems to tremble for a moment. When she calms, she looks almost exactly the same, but she opens her eyes to reveal deep green irises have replaced her animal eyes. She blinks, startled, and looks around in wonderment.
"I can see colors." She whispers, and then realizes rather comically that she just spoke. "Was that me?!" She whispers excitedly, in a clear female voice.
"It was!" You say quietly, but excitedly. "You can talk!"
"I can!" She blinks several times. "I can talk! This is great!"
"Do you want some more potion?" You ask, wondering what else it will do to her.
"No, no. Not yet. Like you said, we want to be careful with this. I have a plan!"