As the helicopter took off with Zack, Sam and the twins surveyed the area for signs of where Max might have gone. Goldie simply stood still, watching the helicopter take off, both deeply concerned about Zack's health having seen his injuries firsthand, and still dealing with feelings for Sam she'd finally run out of ways to fully deny. She was so lost in her worry she barely registered the conversation around her.
"... we'll follow these tracks, you take Goldie and head that way, and the second you see anything, call us!"
Sam took Goldie by the arm, "He'll be fine. We have the best medical benefits you can find, remember? Now come on, you're supposed to be the best tracker we have, right?"
Goldie nodded. Something about being complimented by Sam restored her confidence, and the two followed the dustslide down the north side of the hill.
++++++++++
Wally rested there, on the verge of sleep, his arms wrapped around an astoundingly blissful Terry. How had she gotten so good at this in only a week? As the arm of another female rabbit fell across his shoulder, he pondered just staying here indefinitely, with Terry, with Katerina too for that matter. After letting himself get distracted for far too long trying to rank the two against each other, he remembered he only had a one-day pass here... and the rest of the crew would definitely worry. He'd just have to make the most of what time he had left then. He attempted to rouse Terry from her sleep, kissing down the length of her ear, but she was out cold. Carefully disentangling his arms from her and rolled over to face the doe on his other side. She, it seemed, was more than willing to help him pass the time.
++++++++++
Charlotte was furious at herself for having walked into this, but knew the minotaur couldn't really be planning to keep them here forever. Abduction was a pretty serious offense, and if they were missing for any length of time, the police would check their phone records and be lead right here. The best he could be hoping for was to stall them. Probably arrange some sort of way to blackmail them and keep them quiet. After all, it wasn't like he was some sort of Bond villain, living in some sort of thematic lair full of henchmen where he'd strap them to a table with a death ray after revealing his evil plans. She glanced at the guards who'd been posted to keep them confined to the room. Well, no death ray at least. Still, there was entirely too much risk involved in trying to escape, they'd just have to ride things out for now.
++++++++++
The other new does had wandered off, three following the husky, two trying their luck with the local deer. Chad alone went with the third option. She'd head a thing or two about this crowd. Bunch of wimpy little girly men and manly girls... mostly ones that pushed the wrong button, or homos with issues. Sounded like a safe place anyway. Hadn't she met someone saying he was running it? Some doe stuck in a stag's body or something, all worried about "easing transitions" or something. She couldn't figure we he hadn't signed up. Throw a couple fights, get turned back. Chad guessed even girls knew you had to be a real proper alpha male to get anywhere in the world.
A few people were gathered around a big rock, all sharing their feelings and so on. Buncha lame queers, she thought, looking for a place to sleep. The guy in charge here came up to say hello and GOD DAMN if that wasn't the most impressive set of answers she'd ever seen! Her eyes bulged as she took in all the details, and she completely missed whatever he was saying.
"That's a perfectly natural reaction to be having," said Brian, "but my eyes are down here. I'm Brian by the way, and you?"
Did this clown think she was checking him out or something? Maybe if she was one of those little punk bitches who weren't man enough to stay in the fight she would be, but Chad was a 100% superior grade-A alpha male! She'd only 'lost' because that punk Shaun cheated with some kind of... krav maga judo flip move or some other kind of cheating B.S. and there was no way she was gonna start lusting after dudes! Any proper stag was going to check out another's horns! That's just how you knew who you could take! This guy had a real set too. He could definitely take her like this. "I'm not even here, have your little meeting and just leave me alone."
Brian smiled. "I understand how embarrassing this must be for you, but no matter what your 'brothers' there might think, there is absolutely no shame in being a woman. Hopefully this will be an eye opening experience for you if nothing else. Broaden your horizons, see we're all not so different."
Normally Chad would have told this condescending freak off for that one, but tonight she just didn't have it in her. She chalked it up to all the stress she was under, still reeling from shock or something. Still, she just kept her mouth shut and looked down at the rest of him. Didn't seem to be the sort of perfect specimen her Stags were, but he wasn't the sort of guy you just blow off. If he'd signed up for the fights he'd probably do well enough to land himself a nice piece of arm candy. Hell, he could probably land one either way. Must be gay or something.
"Not up for a talk then? Well, hopefully you can at least listen. Yes, you're a doe now. That's a big change, and there's a whole new set of instincts that comes with it. You won't go into heat or anything like that, but you might still feel some strong urges around males of the same species, particularly this time of year. Those will take some getting used to, but they're manageable if you have a little restraint. If it helps, let me inform you that I absolutely would never consider taking advantage of someone in your position, but you should know you came out rather attractive. When other bucks get too close, just tell them you're new to all this and don't want to rush into anything, and they should back off about it. If you do decide to experiment along those lines though, there are berries that should prevent any unwelcome consequences if you eat a handful each day. Here, take a handful so you know what to look for."
Chad threw the berries down in disgust. How dare this guy suggest she would ever have sex with a dude! She was feeling all hot under the collar just thinking about it. Still, if she really looked hot, and she couldn't be recognized, she'd have some fun with that. Just show up to the fights tomorrow and act like some dumb little bitch doe, gettin' all horny watching everything. Then she'd just come running down and jump into the arms of Vinny to ask what the deal was, or maybe that loser Shaun... just press up against his chest and run her fingers through his hair. Tell him she was so impressed by what a big strong buck he was... Chad somehow managed to get caught up in the details of the deceptive seduction she was starting to forget just what she'd actually do after luring him into thinking she was really into him.
"OK... clearly I'm not the one to be telling you all this tonight," said Brian, seeing something in her face that told him it was time to back away. "Just try and remember those berries, and avoid any bucks until you feel like you have a good handle on the new you. If there's anything else you need to know, just ask anyone here." Brian returned to the far side of the rock, asking some raccoon girl to keep an eye on Chad for the rest of the night.
++++++++++
The twins followed Max's tracks, despite a decent effort to conceal them, eventually discovering the cave in which he'd been torturing Susan, and found her inside. "We're going to need that helicopter to swing back around as soon as possible. We found the missing bear, and she is... not a pretty sight."
++++++++++
Agent Sherman adjusted his now ill-fitting pants, pulling loose the very large tail that was being rather painfully pinched by his belt. "Unbelievable. Agent Johnson, just get yourself dressed again, and someone throw this thing into reverse for me. And you, security dog. Get us a set of those radios, we're going to need to be in contact with everyone on your staff."
Everyone seemed to be complying, and while the husky girl clearly seemed to have some strong reservations, Sherman could at least tell she understood the importance of this assignment. Not like the rest of these civilians, who all seemed to be having a laugh at his expense.
"What's the holdup on fixing me? Is there a cool down period on this thing?"
Nervously, the receptionist, still on the phone with someone on the technical staff explained, "We um... can't. Normally, the chamber scans whoever is inside to get their genetic template before any changes are made, but that much had already finished when you um..."
Agent Sherman's new tail bristled. If it wasn't one thing it was another. He reached for his badge, figuring it must have at least a few skin flakes or stray hairs, assuming they hadn't changed as well, but was met with something of a surprise. The leather of the wallet had changed to black fur, with a white stripe through the middle. Looking down to his shoes, the same seemed to hold true there... and the pants, shirt, tie. He imagined there must be a broad white stripe up the back of his jacket as well, no wonder everyone was laughing. It made sense, he supposed, but he'd hoped they'd been lying about foreign objects interfering with the machine. Opening the wallet, his ID was completely ruined, although the badge itself seemed to be intact. Maybe a bit warped around the edges. There might be some stray hairs on the headrest of the car, but it was a rental and they wouldn't necessarily be his... apparently sorting this out would have to wait. He kicked off his shoes which no longer fit nor had proper soles and asked aloud, "Can anything else go wrong today?"
++++++++++
Goldie lead on ahead of Sam. It was true that she had a certain degree of skill at tracking. In her former life, she'd familiarized herself with all these backwoods trails... she winced when she remembered why. She knew the location of every concealed hole in the ground, every stray root. She moved on pure muscle memory, fairly sure she'd picked up the mildly familiar scent of the wolverine and following the fastest path to find him. Of course, while she was surefooted enough not to need to watch for any natural hazards, by failing to watch her feet, she stumbled directly into one of Max's tripwires. As she stumbled, she heard Sam shout her name as he lunged to tackle her out of the way of the trap she'd set off-