Following their camping trip at the Montana Glacier National Park, and another day with Joseph, they had returned to Florida and its Summer heat and humidity. Now back at their own apartment, they were greeted to their own living room, just the way they’d left it.
“Ahh, ssso niccce to be back home.” Clemens sighed as he dropped their luggage by the sofa.
“Yeah.” Jenny agreed. “And still another full day tomorrow before work again.” She added with a playful smirk as she wiped her forehead.
Their not being in their apartment had resulted in the temperature staying quite high, and even though it was something they were used to, they still needed to adjust to it again.
“Sssay, should one of usss go get the mail now?” Clemens asked. “And then make a ssstart on getting thisss ssstuff packed away?”
“Well, I was hoping for a cold drink first.” Jenny replied. “But you get that ready, I’ll be back in a few.” She then agreed as she left to pick it up from the reception area.
Clemens made his way to the small kitchen, getting out two of the large glasses that had the ice put into them first before filling one with water for himself, and the other filled with a citrus fruit mix, Jenny’s favourite. Though for him the heat was getting to him.
True, as a snake he would be used to higher temperatures like Florida’s Summers, but the time in the cooler Columbia Falls still meant that time would be needed for him to reacclimatise to this. Taking a long sip of the water as he decided, in his own apartment with just Jenny, his free hand opened the rear button that held his pants up as he allowed them to drop down to his ankles. Working them past the shoes wasn’t difficult and he soon made for their bedroom where he folded and set them by the bed, the jumper following it as the shoes and socks remained next to it.
More comfortable with nothing to trap his body heat in he could now focus on starting to unpack the cases, picking out those clothes that needed a wash now, putting the still-clean ones to the side to be put away later. He’d just finished putting on the first of the two loads that resulted when Jenny returned with a small collection of letters.
“Heh, I see you’re already back in the swing of things.” She slyly teased him.
“Well thisss isss our home, isssn‘t it.” Clemens countered with as best a matching grin as he could. “Nothing wrong with it here.” He added as he handed her drink to her.
“I suppose so.” Jenny said as she locked the door. “But if I’m sharing the risk here, I’m going to share in the fun.” She closed the gap as her blouse opened up.
“Very Hi-Def.” Clemens remarked.
“Oh you!” Jenny giggled as she went into their bedroom. “No peeking.” She tagged on teasingly as the door closed for a minute, emerging from it with only her heels still on.
“Very, very, Hi-Def.” Clemens repeated himself as he took in her form. Not much fat on her, with breasts that were between C and D Cup, and a notable lack of body hair.
“Oh, you little tease.” She mock-scolded him as her arms wrapped themselves around his body.
[+]
Some hours later as night descended, they were seated in the living room as the night news was rolling, the temperature remained high, but they’d kept dressing gowns nearby in case someone were to knock on the door. Now the news switched to a segment they’d been keeping an eye on since it had been announced in the headline briefing.
“It has now been over two years since the Animatrix Serum first entered the public knowledge, and over a year since it became legal for public usage. And in the more recent months, a new development had arisen concerning, that of children borne of them. During this week, we’ll be looking at such families and seeing how such families deal with the differing nature of their instincts and what issues they may face.”
“If nothing elssse, thisss should provide more information to help make a decccision for later.” Clemens stated while holding Jenny.
“That it will.” Jenny began before the news moved on to someone else.
“Thank you, I’m here with Mr Peter and Mrs Janet Miller, both having taken the serum and now are Red Foxes, as well as parents.” The image of them in their home with their kids was shown as he spoke. “First, thank you for agreeing to let us film this, now, can you tell us about how they’re faring?” He asked, meaning the kids.
“You’re welcome.” Janet replied. “And they’re growing up very well.” She smiled as she looked down at her child that she held in her arms, Peter holding the other one, their cries for attention being heard.
“So, could you explain a few things about them? And yourselves?”
“Certainly.” Peter started speaking now. “About two months before he was caught, Janet was kidnapped by Eugene Changes and forced into her new body against her will.” He paused for a moment before they continued to let the information sink in.
“After I was freed, I made my way back to Peter, and he took me back in. We’d been married for only three months at the time of my kidnapping. It was hard, having a new set of instinct to deal with, but I managed to keep them under control.”
“So in your case, it wasn’t choice.” The reporter confirmed. “What about you then?” He directed the question at Peter.
“For me, it wasn’t last year, but the end of the year before that. About a day or two before it became known that the Virus itself was easy to transmit by sex or transfusion, we ‘got together’, and, this happened.” Peter referred to his own transformation.
“It was a few months after that, mid-March that I became pregnant. A 198-day pregnancy.” Janet moved on to the main point.
“That’s, pretty short.”
“Well, usually species such as foxes, other canine and feline species naturally give birth prematurely, though they do remain healthy. A method of making sure that they can provide for their own young in the wild, and a trait that carries over. It meant that their eyes didn’t open until the end of November.” Janet explained. “And over the months since, they have grown, the black eye streak they have now showing up earlier in the year.”
“So they’re a lot like the mundane foxes then?”
“Physically, yes, but mentally they’re still quite human.” Peter clarified. “So Matthew and Rowanne do still need their parents to look after them.”
“Interesssting.” Clemens commented as he and Jenny continued to watch the report.
The remainder of it spoke of how they raised them, and what unique issues they faced with the foxes instincts mixed in with their human ones, and seeing one of them take his first steps.
“Well, that was interesting to see.” Jenny began once the report had ended. “So I wonder what that would mean for us.”
“Hard to sssay.” Clemens spoke after a moment of thought. “They only covered a mammalian ssspecciesss here, ssso it may not be the sssame with othersss. The next few reportsss should shed sssome light on that.”
“Perhaps.” Jenny acknowledged. “But still plenty of time to think about it.”
“That’sss right.” Clemens agreed.
“And something I’ve been meaning to ask. Right after you took the Serum, you said you needed to have a whole pig to sate the hunger that came with it.” Jenny moved the topic slightly.
“Yesss, but not all at onccce. Having a gut that would ssstretch out to here,” He used his hands to show a point just before his knees. “Wouldn’t be the bessst idea.”
“You’re saying you could swallow it whole?”
“Perhapsss, but that’sss sssomething I haven’t really tried. Ssseemsss rather sssilly to immobilissse yourssself.” Clemens chuckled slightly at the thought of it.
“And I wouldn’t be able to do this.” Jenny held him in a tight hug that was returned.
“Ssso, I wonder if Joessseph, George and Molly managed to sssee it?” Clemens wondered as they began to get ready for some well-earned sleep.