“This is just a minor setback...” Anthony told himself- well- ‘herself’, still looking at her arms.. legs… general body… weak… weak body.
Fur…
A lot of fur… and a tail. A big ‘fluffy’ tail.
A freak…
The once-former male wasn’t too sure how to… process this. She had great pride in the strength of humans… which meant of course that now there was no denying she was… less then human, less a man- well- not even a man… she had become… less.
What else could she conclude? It wasn’t as if she was crippled (Though such a thing tend to be much more rare with a lot of people opting for the mutagenic treatment) but what could she do any more with this body if she was stuck with it forever?
Anthony certainly didn’t cry… she was mostly just angry. She was lying in bed over the covers. She was now a female squirrel that was so close to ‘animal’ it would be hard to tell the difference, except for the quick clothing from the donation box currently worn.
“…great.” She muttered folding her arms against her torso. She idly browsed the pamphlets given to her and they were as useless as expected. “Living in the big world… three simple rules. Make some noise, wearing a bell sometimes helps- Like hell!” She clenched her teeth. Though she did recall that Starsparkle had some tiny bell around her neck. She thought it was for decoration. “Rule two, hold hands with someone bigger than you in a crowd... rule three, look for elevated positions to sit on… even a person.” She shook her head. Nothing there was remotely useful for making her look like her former self.
Next pamphlet. “Gender changes… Step one, how to put on a bra- urgh!” She groaned. This book was both useless and offensive. She glanced down at herself in annoyance. Of all the ‘things’ to be… of all the myriad of transformations that were possible she was ‘this’?!
The idea of being female was still… foreign to her mind. It didn’t really… register fully… and made her feel a bit numb. She was no stranger to sex and rather ‘enjoyed’ looking at women… heck if she had her own pair of breasts she might actually play with them… she anxiously cupped her chest and felt a weird… surge of sensation… nipples? They felt kind of big but hard to see under her fur. “… I need an aspirin.”
Anthony was not ‘sick’ so wasn’t really allowed to stay in the hospital for very long. They did a few simple tests… mostly checking ‘her’ body for any oddities besides the fact that she was a short three-foot-tall squirrel girl that could easily pass as a child. She had been given some basic clothing to work with… but it was all stuff that had been donated- and it was all for children. Children sized clothing were the only things that fit her and hardly the nicest ones.
Anthony was dressed in somewhat ‘large’ clothing that only served to make her look all the smaller. Large loose sports shorts and a rather long T-shirt that had some baseball club written on it. The shirt neckline was actually very low but given Anthony had little to no actual breasts it made her look more like a tomboy… her fuzzy chest not giving much hint of her curves, though there was a certain ‘femininity’ to her face that people could perceive if they looked for it. She was also barefoot, given nobody had shoes that would fit a near full animal paw… and of course her tail- large and bouncy presented itself behind her, making those shorts hang precariously low.. complete with its ‘heart shape’ at the end.
The squirrel girl was reaching for a fountain to get some water when her ears twitched, and she heard someone approaching.
Alex had knocked on the door when he looked down at the sight. “Oh dear…”
“…Anthony?” Alex ventured a guess. The man had his briefcase on the side and tilted his head in a rather awkward manner.
“Yeah… it’s me.” The squirrel-girl sighed. She looked up at him… reaching only towards his thigh. “So… it seems we have a problem.”
“…indeed. Ahem…” The man looked at his clipboard once more to make some notes. “This is perhaps not the best place to discuss intricate details. I have been able to access your Corvette. Shall we vacate the hospital, if your business is done here?” The man spoke rather quickly and… uncomfortably.
Anthony gave a brief nod. “Yes. Well… let’s try and be discreet…” She looked sheepishly. “I rather people didn’t know what happened to me until we work out our next plan.”
“Ah- yes of course. Come by the carpark and I’ll… pick you up.”
Anthony was relieved to have someone for a little assistance.
Anthony tapped her foot waiting by the carpark. She was already drawing stares… and not the kind she liked. People asked her if she was a lost kid and were taken aback when she was actually a grownup. Finally, she saw her corvette being driven by Alex and quickly climbed up the large seat at the front. It was spacious… she attempted to put the seatbelt on but it didn’t seem possible as she just slipped out of it. “Urgh screw this.” She muttered.
“So back to your home?” Alex asked.
“Yes...” The squirrel-girl said as they drove. She quietly looked down at her feet… now paws… her love of driving was now taken away from her. She wasn’t even tall enough to look over the dashboard. She felt her tail get a bit crushed by the chair and her body. The day had started to turn to night.
“I’m afraid the situation will… alter certain calculations,” Alex explained as he drove. “Your new status is… not likely to draw confidence in our investors. I do not think you can get that loan…”
“Well, I figure I could do some remote meetings.” Anthony explained. “Can you organise that?”
Alex continued to look uncomfortable. “…yes. I suppose.”
The squirrel girl glanced at Alex in the uncomfortable silence. She was being driven in her own car by an employee. She felt awkward and isolated. Alex didn’t like this situation any more than he did. “…what are my prospects of suing them…” She eventually asked. “Starsparkles lot… that barrel-”
“…very unlikely. The material was classified as belonging to us at the time… and was being handled by those on our employment… you would be literally suing yourself.”
“Well why the heck ware the safety checks not done! How the hell did they bring that canister without a lid?”
“…unknown.” Alex responded. “The crane operator was new… after we had to get rid of… what was his name… John? John Aubrey.”
…The Harpy. So… she fired him… then… they got someone new… who didn’t know how to do everything right and- “Oh God…” She whispered to herself. “It’s… my fault.”
“Ahem. We are at your house now. I’ll park the car and arrange that appointment…”
Home… Anthony took some comfort being inside. She quietly shut the door behind her- only for it to catch on her tail. “EEEEK!” she squeaked. “Damn it all GOD!” She had never felt anything like that before. She closed the door being more careful and pulled her sore tail towards her torso. “Stupid- stupid-“ The throbbing pain continued as she lightly let it go and limped slowly towards her bed.
She crashed into her mattress and closed her eyes.
Tomorrow would be another day.
Alex slowly got to work with various phone calls. “Yes… I am afraid that Anthony has had an accident. I do not believe him capable of leading the company any more… thus activating the clause.”
There were more words from the other side.
“A vote can be cast tomorrow. Yes, I have been named as successor in such circumstances. I will be happy to accept the position- indeed though I think he will demand a face-to-face meeting afterwards… we might require some security- just one person I believe will be enough.”
