Flora's eyes brightened up. "Sure, that sounds love--" she abruptly cut off when the receptionist burst back out of the door.
"Miss Flora, you've been fast-tracked to the front of the line! If you come with me please." Without another word, the woman grabbed Flora and led her into the inner recesses of Sartonic Labs.
The receptionist led Flora down a pristine white hallway filled with tinted windows. She finally opened one of the labs, where a tall raccoon in a business suit motioned to a seat in front of the center table. "Hello, I'm Dr. Van Der Merwe. Please, sit down," he ordered congenially.
Flora acquiesced, staring around the room in awe. The walls were dotted with storage lockers, gestation chambers, and various gleaming chrome machines.
Van Der Merwe tried to refocus her attention on him. "Are you comfortable? Could we get you anything to drink?"
Flora nodded eagerly. "Ooh yes, please! Do you have juice? I'm parched from all the walking!"
The receptionist nodded and left the room, and Van Der Merwe discussed the task at hand. "Miss Flora, you did an admirable job filling out our questionnaire, but you must understand we still have some questions about your unusual appearance. The scanners reported no indication of gene therapy or augmentations in your body."
"You scanned me?" gasped Flora. "Where? When?"
"As soon as you walked through our door." Behind Van Der Merwe the receptionist briefly returned, handing Flora a chilled can of cranberry juice.
So Flora told the doctor everything he wanted to know. Starting with her early life as a male gray wolf, to the time in boarding school that she started developing the mental ability to alter her appearance, to redesigning herself as a pink-furred female and fleeing her old life out of fear of prejudice.
"Very fascinating..." breathed Van Der Merwe, jotting notes down on his clipboard the whole time she spoke. "Untrained psionic manifestation...that's a rare occurrence, especially for a non-gecko."
Flora gave an awkward smile. "So...do I qualify to donate sperm?"
"Even better." Van Der Merwe handed her a map of the facility. "We'd love the chance to be able to analyze you on a more permanent basis. We have private apartments in our staff quarters and we're prepared to offer you a rent-free room. Food, utilities, and various recreations are included." For the last one, he pointed out a gym, pool, and indoor garden on the map. "In return, you'll agree to a series of tests we'd schedule at regular intervals, focusing on various aspects of your mental, physical, and genetic state."
Flora looked over the paper, mouth hanging open and thoughts swirling through her head.
"I understand if you need some time to think about it--" Van Der Merwe started, but Flora immediately interrupted him with "Where do I sign???"
* * *
"Hey girls!" Flora exclaimed excitedly, bursting into the waiting room. "Guess where we're sleeping tonight?" She excitedly showed them the map of the facility. "Sartonic says we can live with them while running a bunch of tests on me!"
