Terry sat on a secluded log for some time after confronting the wolf girl, huddled over and waiting for her heart rate to calm down, and
pondering why she was so upset. It wasn't what Charlotte had said. While the thought of "going native" was unsettling for her to contemplate,
she was, in a certain sense, hoping it would happen. After all, that was the whole premise of her project. She wasn't some sort of deviant here,
living out a secret wish. She was perfectly happy with her human life. She had a healthy self-image, a career that was starting to take off where
she was her own boss, and plenty of friends. If there was anything to complain about, it was how her girlfriend Wendy had been pushing her to
eat healthier lately. Such a health nut that one. Of course, that was another reason she'd gone with her current form. Terry the human had been
a real burgers and fries sort of guy, never much for salads. Granted, that particular switch getting flipped wouldn't bother her in the long run,
but she absolutely could not see herself developing an interest in men, and she just plain couldn't picture herself as anything other than calm,
collected, and if she was honest, rather smug and mouthy... "Oh."
Taking a deep breath, she sat up and stared at a nearby tree. "Day 2! First symptoms of mental tampering observed!" She still needed to find a
proper way to keep a record of her findings, but narrating to an imaginary camera had a certain familiarity to it that helped settle her nerves.
"Well, the first big one anyway." She had of course already had to adjust her diet. She had also noticed she felt no sexual stimulation despite all
the naked women running around, but between her unfamiliar body, the nudist colony context, and the fact they were all half-animal, that
didn't seem like it was worth mentioning. "Having been turned into a rabbit, I found myself panicking, just because some big wolf woman
raised her voice a bit." She shuddered a little as she pictured it again. "This was definitely not a side effect I was given any formal warning
about, and it's definitely a form of tampering with obvious underhanded uses-"
"Who are you talking to?"
Terry almost jumped out of her skin at the sudden question. She turned around to see a raccoon man. "N-nobody. Just collecting my thoughts
a bit." Did she really just stammer? How embarrassing.
The raccoon chuckled a little. "Didn't mean to scare you. Didn't mean to eavesdrop either, but here we are. Nervous about new instincts are
you?"
Terry took another deep breath to calm down, wondering how ears this big managed not to hear someone. Did they need to be angled right?
"No... I mean, well, yes but... it's a research thing. I'm trying to work out just what sort of mental effects transformees are getting shackled
with."
"Yeah... everyone does seem to play to type around here. I don't know how much of it is being forced on people though and how much is just
letting it all hang out. I mean, the bucks throw their weight around and butt heads, but I think they're mostly frat boys to begin with, right?
Pretty sure all the huskies are military types... although the twins are a weird case."
"Twins?"
"Yeah. All the huskies have sort of this pack mentality thing going on, never questioning orders, all that. These two though... it's like they're the
same damn person sometimes. Same opinions on everything, answering questions in unison, you never see one without the other. Hell, I heard
a rumor they even share the same love life, just passing this one guy back between them like a joint... which sounds a lot dirtier than I meant
for it, sorry."
"I've heard worse. So... where would I find them anyway?"
"You really are new here aren't you. When everyone's just living out in the wilderness like this, you can't always count on anyone sitting put.
Going to have to learn to follow your nose when you're looking for someone more often than not. I think their usual patrol route cuts through a
clearing north of here though if you're really curious."
"Thanks," said Terry, rushing off without a second thought. It struck her just too late that she'd been too nervous to even ask the raccoon's
name. She didn't need to embarrass herself any further by doubling back though. Instead she just rushed off, trying to find the clearing he'd
mentioned, and wait to see if the twins showed up. Hopefully her minor panic attack was a one time thing. Not much difference between a wolf
and a husky, and there were two of them after all.