The Science of Werewolves

'Yote was hard at work in the lab today. The local zoo had sent in DNA samples from some of the canines at the local zoo. It was the most bizarre thing. The animals were certainly suffering from some kind of disease or affliction, yet not a single one of them seemed to display any symptoms of illness. It wouldn’t have even been discovered were it not for completely unrelated blood work needed on one of the wolves. 'Yote’s lab had been tasked with trying to figure out what the disease was and if the animals were in any kind of danger. So far it seemed to be benign. While it was replicating inside the animals, from best he could tell it wasn’t actually harming them. He wasn’t even sure if it should even be classified as a disease.

“Hey! You still coming to lunch?” The door to the lab opened and a friend of 'Yote’s had entered. It was Rakan. Unlike 'Yote who had a lab coat on over his clothing, Rakan was dressed more plainly. With his plain jacket on he looked slightly out of place in the sterile lab.

“Oh!” 'Yote slowly placed down the vials of the serum he was working with as Rakan entered. He had invited his friend to see the lab today and promised to have lunch with him. He had gotten so caught up in his research though, that he had completely forgotten Rakan was somewhere in the lab. “We were going out for lunch weren’t we?” As if to emphasize his point 'Yote’s stomach began to growl.

“You’re really immersed into this work, huh?” Rakan asked. “We were supposed to head out 30 minutes ago.”

“Sorry!” 'Yote apologized. “It’s just… It really is quite fascinating. The disease I’m currently studying seems to be adapted in such a way that it can only survive inside canine life forms… It acts like some kind of virus, but most diseases have adverse effects on their host. However this one doesn’t seem to be hurting the afflicted canines at all. It’s not a symbiotic case either because as far as I can tell it doesn’t seem to give them any benefit. It just simply seems to coexist with them!” 'Yote’s eyes lit up as he discussed it. The riddle of this disease truly fascinated him and he was dying to learn more.

“Hold on!” Rakan held up a hand. “Maybe you can tell me about it over lunch. I am absolutely starved right now.”

“Right…” 'Yote looked a little sheepish. “I suppose we can get food first. Just help me get everything cleaned up and we can go.” 'Yote moved over to a bench and began to clean up his work station. “Could you please put the samples back in the cabinet?”

“Uh - those are the ones in the vials, right?” Rakan asked as he picked up one of the vials in each hand. He moved across the room to a cabinet to put them away as requested. With his hands full he couldn’t work the lever to open it though. Rakan carefully passed the vial from his left hand to his right so that he could unlock the cabinet. However it was jammed and took a bit of force to pull open. Unfortunately, as Rakan was tugging on the door, the glass vials began to slip out of his left hand.

“Oh shoot!” Rakan tried to grab at the vials with his free hand, but he wasn’t fast enough. Both glass vials fell to the floor and shattered with a loud crash.

“What was that!?” 'Yote came running over.

“Shoot, listen man: I’m sorry,” Rakan said. “It was an accident.”

“I see,” 'Yote looked down at the broken pieces of glass. He looked slightly annoyed but shrugged. “Well… The glass can be replaced and I had plenty of samples. It’s inconvenient, but it’s not as if you doomed humanity or anything. Just one last thing to clean up before we leave.” 'Yote bent down and began to pick up glass fragments.

“I made the mess - I will clean it up.” Rakan said as he bent down to work on it as well. As he did, some of the liquid that had been inside got on his fingertips. “Um - is this stuff dangerous?” He asked nervously.

“Not unless you’re a canine,” 'Yote responded. “And even then I don’t think it actually does anything.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Rakan sighed as he continued to clean up. He suddenly paused and stared at his hand. Something was off. His nails… They were longer, and sharper than they ever had been. As he was watching his hands, he could see how thick pads began to form on the palms of his hand. “Ummm - 'Yote, do you want to take a look at this?”

“Hmmm?” 'Yote looked up from the mess on the floor. “Oh… You appear to be having some kind of reaction. That’s rather fascinating and…” 'Yote looked down at his own hands, and saw that his nails too had formed into claws. He also had pads forming on his hands. “Now… That is interesting.”

“Interesting!?” Rakan shouted. White hair was rapidly growing on both of his hands now. Soon, it was as thick as an entire coat of fur. “That’s your reaction!?”

“Oh? Should I panic now?” 'Yote asked calmly. Meanwhile, his own hands had undergone a similar transformation. His hands were now covered by white fur with a brown tint over his palms. “That wouldn’t accomplish much now, would it?”

“No…” Rakan admitted. By now, the fur had spread up his arms. He pulled his sleeves up to get a closer look at it, and saw that higher up on his arms the fur was brown instead of white. “But I feel a little more of a reaction than ‘Interesting’ is warranted!” As Rakan spoke, he increasingly became aware that his clothes started to feel much tighter.

“But it is interesting!” 'Yote said. “Ohhh, what I would give to see what’s going on under a microscope right now! The disease was only found in canines originally… But clearly it’s having some kind of mutation effect on humans! I really wish I could have set up a controlled environment if I knew something like this was going to happen.”

“Scientific curiosity, that’s how you’re going to respond to this?” Rakan demanded. He could feel the fur growing in beneath the rest of his clothes. It was covering his chest and stomach, his legs and head. There probably wasn’t a single square inch of his body that wasn’t covered by fur now. His clothing was getting even tighter on him as the changes continued.

“Well, I am a scientist!” 'Yote responded in a lecturing tone. “And besides if this is happening, I’d much rather learn more about it than worry about it.” Like Rakan he was completely covered in fur by now. However, while Rakan’s clothes had grown tighter on him, 'Yote’s seemed to have loosened somewhat.

“I guess?” Rakan wasn’t sure how to respond. Sometimes he really felt like his friend’s curiosity got the better of him. He would have said more, but was suddenly overcome by an intense pain from his feet as they swelled within his shoes. It only lasted a moment before he felt relief as his shoes were torn apart. Looking down, he saw that his feet were now shaped like massive wolf paws and were covered in white fur like his hands.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on that though. The sound of ripping fabric seemed to be coming from all over his body. He was getting bigger! His clothes were no longer able to contain his body, and began to rip and tear apart. As his shirt gave way, it revealed his chest was covered in fluffy white fur while the fur on his back was brown and black. His body had undergone a lot more changes than just growing fur however. He was much taller and much more muscular. He wasn’t exactly out of shape before the change, but now it was like he had the physique of an Olympian athlete! Well, an Olympian athlete were they covered in fur.

His pants were the next thing to start to give way. He grabbed at them with his claws, trying to hold them together. However as a large fluffy tail erupted from his backside the fabric finally gave way. Rakan now stood completely naked, but being covered in thick fur he was anything but exposed.

“You’re really starting to look like a wolf!” 'Yote noted. He had undergone his own transformations. However, while Rakan had swelled in size, 'Yote had become more lithe. His height only sunk slightly, but it made his clothing more baggy. A few pieces had been destroyed during the transformation. He too had lost his shoes to his feet transforming into paws… And the shift of his legs to a more digitigrade stance and the sprouting of a gray bushy tail made it impossible for him to keep his pants on. “But… I feel quite small by comparison.”

“That’s because…” Rakan started to reply and flinched as there was a sharp pain from his face. His face pushed out into a large muzzle while his ears moved up to the top of his head forming into long triangular shapes. “Oof,” Rakan shook his head. The sudden change in his facial structure and the improvements to his ears left him slightly disoriented. He then looked down at his friend. He had been slightly taller than him previously, but now he was over a foot taller! Just like him, 'Yote now had a muzzle and animalistic ears. “I think it’s because you’re a different kind of canine.” Rakan continued.

The changes seemed to have stopped. Rakan had gained over a foot in height and several pounds of muscle. He looked like a big monstrous wolf, with brown fur over most of his body, white on his chest, stomach and paws, and black over parts of his back and his upper face. 'Yote on the other hand was much shorter. His body was covered in a combination of gray and brown fur. His ears looked bigger on his head by comparison, and his shirt and lab coat still hung loosely over his shoulders. He looked more like a coyote than a wolf.

“This is… absolutely fascinating!” 'Yote said. He slowly took off his coat and shirt so that he could try to get a better look at himself. “Oh, I do wish I had a mirror in here. I’ve never heard of something like this happening in my life.”

“I’d consider it more traumatic than fascinating…” Rakan muttered. He felt gigantic in this lab now. Everything felt like it was several sizes too small for him to use.

“Oh?” 'Yote looked up at the bigger wolf. “Are you currently under duress?”

“Um…” Rakan thought about it. He probably should have been. He probably should have been freaking out a lot more… Yet, this was not entirely unpleasant. He felt strong! Like he could do anything. It was a nice feeling actually… And if he was being completely honest, from what he could see he looked pretty good as a wolf man. Of course, since he just accused 'Yote of under reacting, he couldn’t’ admit that right away. Instead he looked around for something to complain about and narrowed his eyes as he saw the ripped remains of his clothing on the floor. “Well, I kind of liked that outfit!” he said defiantly.

“Oh - yes that…” 'Yote looked down. “I suppose the loss of clothes might be a problem if we’re going to go out for lunch. Hmmm, maybe it’s not a social faux pass since we’re covered in fur?”

“Wait! You still want to go out right now?” Rakan asked incredulously.

“Why not?” 'Yote demanded. “I mean, I do want to study this more, and figure out what happened… But we are already quite late. I can try to figure out what happened after we return from lunch.”

“You really are unbelievable…” Rakan said. “But how do you think people are going to react when, ...” Rakan was interrupted at this point as his own stomach began to rumble. With his now much larger size, his stomach itself sounded like a savage beast. “Okay, I’m starving! I’m willing to risk it to ease my hunger.”

“Excellent!” 'Yote said. “I don’t think you’re going to fit into a car right now though, so we’ll probably have to walk to the restaurant.”

“I see nothing that can go wrong with that plan,” Rakan rolled his eyes as the two headed for the door. He had to gently open it out of fear of ripping it off its hinges. This new level of strength was going to take some time to get used to.

“Do you think your coworkers are going to freak out when they see us like this?” Rakan asked.

“Rakan, this is a facility of science,” 'Yote chided his wolf friend. “We don’t freak out - we inquire. Besides, you don’t pursue a career in the field of science unless you secretly hope something unexpected like this is going to happen. I worry less about them freaking out, and more about them trying to steal my research notes.”

“Your colleagues are weird,” Rakan teased.

“Of course!” 'Yote responded happily. “Why do you think you fit in so well?”

A few minutes later in the fast food restaurant closeby, Rakan with 'Yote at his side, loomed over the counter and the cashier as he tried to order his food.

“Um yeah, I think…” Rakan mused. “I think, I want the Full Pound Burger,” Rakan’s stomach rumbled as he remembered how much bigger he was now. “Actually, better make that five.”

“Uhhhh,” The cashier stared at Rakan dumbfoundedly, unable to figure out how to respond.

“Come now!” 'Yote spoke up cheerfully. “There’s no reason to be scared! If we were savage beasts, we’d hardly be ordering hamburgers. Just take our order like any other customer.”

“Uhhhh,” The cashier looked like she was just seconds away from screaming and running out of the room.

“Look, its fine,” 'Yote said. “I’m a scientist. This is all… Very scientific, and controlled. So there’s no reason for you to worry about it… Just take the order.”

“Uhhhhhh,” the cashier finally managed to punch some buttons on her register and then replied. “That will be $35.28.”

“For fast food?” Rakan shook his head. “So much for a cheap month.” He reached back with his clawed hand to pat the backside of his leg only to remember that he currently wasn’t wearing pants and thus had no pockets. “Uhhhh, 'Yote, I don’t have any money on me. Did you remember to grab your wallet before heading out?”

“Oh dear…” 'Yote muttered. “I completely forgot. It’s always in my pocket so I didn’t really think about it.”

“Shoot, so we can’t pay for our food? We need to eat something, I’m starving.” As Rakan spoke his stomach released another savage growl.

“Um, I forgot to tell you...,” The cashier started to freak out. “Congratulations! You’re… our first werewolf customers!”

“Technically, I’m an anthropomorphic coyote,” 'Yote interjected.

“Oh well! That’s even more special! It means your meal today is free!” The cashier said in a hurry.

“Oh? Really?” Rakan asked. “That’s… actually really nice. Thank you.”

“Yup, all the burgers you want free of charge, so no need to eat anything or anyone else here!” The cashier responded with a nervous laugh.

“Okay…” Rakan looked down at her. “That’s kind of a weird thing to tell your customers, but I’ll take the free burgers.”

With a bag of burgers in hand the two proceeded to one of the tables. 'Yote happily hopped up into a chair while Rakan just crouched down on his knees next to the table.

“She seemed nice,” 'Yote said. “But we probably better make sure we don’t forget our wallets in the future. We might want to carry around some kind of bag.”

“She was frightened out of her mind,” Rakan replied.

“I imagine it will take some time for people to get used to how we look like now,” 'Yote declared. “In the meantime: Hey - free burgers!”

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Rakan responded as he pulled a burger from the bag and threw the entire thing into his open maw.

“Oh, as if you aren’t secretly excited about it,” 'Yote teased.

“Can’t prove anything,” Rakan huffed.

“Your tail is wagging,” 'Yote stuck his tongue out slightly.

“Okay, so maybe I kind of like it!” Rakan admitted. “It’s freaky but… It’s kind of thrilling. But… I’m still not sure that just not worrying about it and walking around in public is the best idea.”

“Maybe, but people will get used to it a lot faster if you’re in public than if you’re hidden,” 'Yote said. “Now eat your burgers and I’ll look more into this when we get back at the lab.”

After lunch the two returned to the lab. With full stomachs both of them were in higher spirits, especially now that they were starting to adapt to their bodies.

“Okay, spit in this please,” 'Yote said while passing a test tube to Rakan.

“Why?” Rakan demanded.

“You want me to figure out what happened, right?” 'Yote asked. “Well… I need DNA samples. So… You can either spit in this test tube, or I can get a syringe and draw some blood.”

“Spitting is fine,” Rakan growled and did as he was asked. 'Yote then took the test tube and produced a microscope and a number of other tools and chemicals from his cabinet. He took a drop of the spit and put it onto a slide to examine it with the microscope.

“Hmmmm,” 'Yote would mutter to himself every now and then as he was studying it.

“Well?” Rakan inquired.

“I have no idea,” 'Yote responded.

“But you’ve been looking at it forever!” Rakan shouted.

“Hey! This is a process!” 'Yote objected. “It’s not like I just sit here, look at something under a microscope for five minutes and then shout ‘Eureka! I’ve cured an illness!’ It takes a lot of time and study!”

“So how much time do you need?” Rakan demanded.

“Give me five more minutes,” 'Yote said as he spun around in his chair and returned to his work.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not,” Rakan replied.

Much more than five minutes later, 'Yote’s ears stood straight up as he seemed to come to some form of realization.

“Oh that is interesting!” he blurted out.

“What is it!?” Rakan asked.

“Well!” 'Yote said. “I’ve studied some of my own DNA as well… And it looks like we both have contracted the same disease that I was studying earlier! But… the disease was highly adapted for canine bodies. It shouldn’t have been able to survive in a human body… So somehow I think… Rather than trying to adapt itself to survive in a human body, the disease adapts the host body to suit it!”

“So… It basically turns people into werewolves,” Rakan said.

“Or coyotes!” 'Yote added. “Or really, I suppose any form of canine is possible. I would have to do more research. You know… There’s probably a market for this.”

“There’s a market for something that mutates people into werecreatures?” Rakan asked in disbelief.

“Well how much do you want to change back?” 'Yote asked.

“Point taken,” Rakan admitted.

“The interesting thing though...” 'Yote seemed unsure. “Well there’s a lot of bewildering things going on that are unlike anything that I’ve seen before… I took a skin sample from myself and… The basic cellular structure, well it seems to be continually changing between human and coyote. On top of that, the change seem to be affected by certain neurotransmitters.”

“What does that mean?” Rakan asked.

“It’s still too early to say for sure…” 'Yote said. “But… It might mean with a little research and a lot of time… It might be possible for someone to change back and forth at will.”

“Wait! Such a thing is possible!?” Rakan asked incredulously.

“Well, if you asked me earlier today, I would have said no.” 'Yote admitted. “But that would have been before we mutated in the first place. I think it might be possible, it’s just going to take a lot of time to figure out. But if we can, well, it would certainly make it easier to market if we could advertise that you could change back and forth at will.”

“That’s what you want to focus on?” Rakan demanded.

“Hey - it’s not greed!” 'Yote exclaimed in a wounded tone. “But running a lab like this is expensive. We’ve got bills to pay! A little more cash flow would really let us take our research to new levels! Plus, I imagine if it really works, we’ll need some money to construct an annex building with some kind of changing room. I imagine if you lose an outfit every time you wolf out, you’ll put yourself in debt just from refilling your closet.”

“I uhm... guess that make sense,” Rakan agreed.

“But there will be a lot of tests before we can figure out how to change back and forth; or even if it’s possible,” 'Yote continued. “Luckily, I think I have a pretty good test subject available. So, what do you say? Do you want to be my guinea pig and help me unlock the secrets to the science of werewolves?”

“Fine…” Rakan affirmed. “But if I’m going to be your guinea pig for this research, you can at least treat me to lunch each day.”

“Oh my, I saw how you eat now,” 'Yote teased. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll ruin myself paying for your lunch.”

“Hey science is all about taking risks, right?” Rakan asked.

“Absolutely not,” 'Yote responded. “But I see no reason to let that stop me. Now, let’s get to work.”