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A Job at the Zoo

By born2beagator

Chris was at a loss. He just graduated from college with a degree in herpetology. However, as of yet no jobs had opened to him. Sitting at home leafing through another hopeless job search, he noticed an advertisement for a new zoo "Wild At Heart Zoo is accepting applications." He read aloud. "Looking specifically for those that wish to work closely with reptiles." He read it again to be sure he wasn't seeing things. This was perfect! He immediately called the number.

"Hello, Wild at Heart Zoo, Cynthia speaking." Came the voice. "Yes, this is Chris, I'm calling in regards to the application for work at your zoo, specifically the job working with reptiles." He waited hopefully. "You are in luck Chris, I happen to be the head reptile keeper. Let me tell you a bit about the job. Specifically you'll be working with a female Varanus salvator-"Chris cut her off. "A Water Monitor? Really? That's awesome!" A light laugh came through the receiver. "As I was saying you will be working with a female water monitor, her name is Karina. She requires a lot of attention, some even hands on, and I think you'd become quite attached to her. You'll also be working in solitude, the exhibit is not quite ready for public display. So what do you think? Are you interested?" Chris nearly threw the phone across the room with excitement. "OF COURSE! WHEN DO I START!" he yelled into the receiver. "Tomorrow if you want." Came the reply. "To prepare, I'm sending you a video about water monitors. Watch it, it'll help."

Chris immediately began watching the video. It launched into a documentary. "The water monitor is one of the largest lizards on earth. The largest on record reached 10 feet, but they commonly will reach around 6 feet. As the name suggests they love wet environments and can be found living in many areas of southern Asia." Chris was riveted. What a beautiful animal. "Water monitors will defend themselves with their claws, jaws, and tail. As the name suggests, they are excellent swimmers, using the small fin that runs along their tail to move swiftly through the water." What a useful ability, Chris thought. "They have a wide range of foods, but they especially like fish, rodents, snakes, birds, and even eggs." Good to know Chris thought. He could go for some fish right now in fact....but the movie plowed on. "The lizard is very intelligent, capable of learning some rudimentary skills such as recognizing how many of something there is. It has also been seen tearing its food into smaller pieces for sequential consumption, unlike many reptiles that swallow it whole. Very few lizards have been known to seek lifelong companionship, they are very loyal creatures when well taken care of." The movie ended. "What an amazing creature." Chris thought. "I can't wait to meet Karina!" Chris fixed himself some dinner before bed. He had a ravenous desire for some raw fish, so he took out the catfish that he was going to cook, cut it up, and started eating. He'd always liked sushi, so he paid it no mind.

His dreams were filled with images of water monitors. He was obsessed with them. Their strong tails, their sharp claws, their tough scaly hide, their intelligence. Finally he

woke up early on the special day. "It's time!" He exclaimed, and drove to the new zoo. Arriving at the zoo he was hit by how big it was. It looked like a jungle! Cynthia met him at the door.

"Welcome Chris. Let's get right to it." She said as she started towards the reptile area. The first thing he noticed about the water monitor habitat was just how huge it was. There was a river running through the middle of the habitat with an actual waterfall at the end. Lush vegetation lined a lot of the river, with nice, warm sand behind it. It was a perfect habitat for a water monitor. "Ah there is Karina now!" Said Cynthia. From the brush emerged the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. 6 feet long from snout to tail tip, she was covered in jet black scales with whitish yellow circular patterns here and there. "Oh wow, she is so graceful." Chris gasped. "She really is." Said Cynthia. "For your first duty, would you like to feed her?" Chris looked at her with wide eyes. "Of course!" "Great, its catfish on the menu for today." Cynthia said. "Can I feed her by hand?" Chris asked suddenly. He wanted to get close to this magnificent creature. Cynthia looked at him with a knowing smile. "If she likes you, she'll let you. If she doesn't...well just get out of the enclosure."

Chris grabbed the pale of catfish and entered the enclosure. The first thing he noticed was how warm it was. It wasn't hot, but it was a pleasant warmth that seemed to fill his whole body. It made him want to just lie in the sand and take it in. He shook his head. He had a job to do. "Karina." He called. "Karina! I've got fish for you, time to eat!"

Expecting to have to wait, he was surprised when the 6 foot lizard immediately started towards him. Karina came to a stop about two feet away from Chris and watched him expectantly. Chris got one of the catfish out and threw it to Karina, who watched it sail over her head. She cocked her head at him as if to ask "What are you doing?" Chris finally decided to take the plunge. He grabbed another fish, squatted down, and held it out to Karina. She gave a slight hiss and slowly grabbed it from his hands. She then set it down and began to tear it apart, eating it piece by piece and discarding parts she didn't seem to like. Chris was transfixed. "It's just like the video, they sometimes tear their food up and eat it." He said aloud.

Karina suddenly stopped eating and looked at Chris....just stared at him. Then she did something crazy. She nosed the uneaten portion of catfish towards Chris. "You want me to eat it?" He said incredulously. "I can't do it. It's meant for a lizard." Karina just nosed it further forward. Chris looked around dubiously. "Oh alright, I'll try it!" He picked up the fish and looked at it. "It's meant for a lizard." He repeated. As he said this, is tongue stuck out a bit. He could almost taste it. It tasted just like the fish he had last night. "You know what Karina, you finish yours and you can have another" he said, giving the meat back to the lizard. "I'm going to eat my own." He said with a smile and a lick of his lips. This seemed to satisfy Karina and she went back to her meal. Chris meanwhile took out his knife and began to cut pieces off the fish. He ate them with delight. They were delicious. Who really needs to cook things? He threw Karina another fish, and she

dug into that one as well. Before he knew it, Chris had eaten threw two catfish alongside Karina. "Thanks girl! That was delicious!" He said. Karina simply flicked her tongue at him and walked away.

Chris decided to follow her and watch what she did. Karina went to the sandy area of the enclosure and laid down. He saw her eyes getting heavy, but then she noticed him. Her eyes opened, she flicked out her tongue, and nosed a spot in the sand alongside her. "You want me to lay down with you?" The lizard just watched. Chris thought for a moment. This warmth was so nice. He remembered how it had made him feel entering the enclosure. How he had just wanted to lay down and take a nap. Now, on a full belly, that feeling was stronger than ever. Besides, how cool was this? Taking a nap with a six foot long water monitor next to you? Surely Cynthia wouldn't mind if he caught a few minutes of shuteye with his charge? Chris walked to the creature and asked "May I?" Karina just laid her head down and began to close her eyes. Chris took this as in invitation, and he lay down in the sand next to her. My goodness, he thought. This is heavenly. Slowly his eyes began to droop, he let the warmth fill every corner of his body, and he drifted off to sleep.

"Chris, shift is over!" Chris was woken by Cynthia's voice. He realized he was still lying beside the lizard in the sandy part of the enclosure. He looked at Cynthia with worry and was about to ask her something when she said "Don't worry about it Chris. It's important for our keepers to form a bond with their animals." He sighed with relief. "Do

I have to go home? Is there no where I can stay here?" He asked hopefully. He had nothing at home, here was his dream job, why not live here? "Not for the moment Chris. But you know what, since you have taken such a liking to Karina, I think we can arrange something in the future. Go home and get some rest for next week. Karina will be waiting for you."

Reluctantly, Chris headed home. Walking in the door, he plopped on the couch and thought on his day. What an amazing experience...and he was going to be doing this every day. How lucky was that? He decided he might as well re-watch the video to really know this amazing animal. As he watched, he felt a craving for a snack. Suddenly he remembered a squirrel that had been hit by a car in front of his house. He didn't have any meat in the house at the moment, so that would have to do. Chris paused the movie and headed out the door. Where was it? Chris stuck his tongue out as he had gotten in the habit of doing today with Karina, and realized again that he was receiving signals back. He walked down the road a bit, tongue constantly slipping out of his mouth, until he found the squirrel. Picking it up, he returned to his house. "Hmm....I don't want to dirty up my knives on something like this. Then again, Karina and I didn't have a problem with eating those raw fish. This is no different." He convinced himself. He sat down in front of the TV and un-paused the movie. As he watched, he began ripping the squirrel apart with his hands and eating it. He set aside the parts he didn't want. Giving a sigh of contentment, he stuck his tongue out one more time to taste the remnants of his meal.

He felt like he could taste everything all over again just through the scent! Chris stuck his tongue out again, and this time, it was long, muscular, thin, and forked. He paid it no mind. A forked tongue was a small price to pay for the meal he'd just had. Not to mention when his tongue receded into his mouth, it was no longer in his way. As the movie finished, Chris looked around his house, tasting the air. He remembered how beautiful Karina's habitat was. But here? The hard walls, the bare floors, the ugly carpet. This simply would not do. He resolved to fix this problem this weekend. As he went to bed, he turned the heat in the house up to 85. He'd have to do something about the lack of light at night tomorrow as well.

Saturday morning he woke with a purpose. He was going to make this house livable. "What do I need?" He thought. "I know, making my house as similar to Karina's habitat as possible will help me to know how water monitors live. Let's see....I'm going to put an indoor stream through the middle of my living room, some plants would look nice in the corner. Hmmm, yes I'm going to bring in a load of sand. The bed can go. It will get me used to the naps with Karina, which I'm sure she will want again." He flicked his tongue out, continuing his thoughts. "Finally, I need to do something about this temperature in here. I'm going to find the biggest light I can and have that installed." Writing all this down, he set about his work. By the time he was done, the house felt much more like home. There was a stream running through the middle of the room, and into the pool, he had the wood floor and foundation torn up along parts of the stream.

Here he had lush vegetation planted. In his bedroom, he had his bed moved to the guest room, leaving a big open space, which he filled with soft sand. Finally he found a huge light to install in the living room, and a smaller, dimmer, red light to put over his bed of sand. "Perfect." He said aloud. If he couldn't be with Karina, at least he could live in a place just like she did. He sat down on the couch and flicked on the TV. Flipping through sports, news, things that made no nevermind to him, he finally found what he was looking for. As luck would have it, there was a documentary on water monitors on Animal Planet. Chris sunk into his couch, flicked out his tongue, and enjoyed the show and his enormous light. Finally it was time for bed. Chris turned off his heat lamp in the living room, and made his way to his bedroom. Here he turned his red light on, laid back on his sand bed, and went to sleep.

Sunday morning came around and Chris woke with another thought. He wanted the TV to watch shows about his favorite animal. But all this other stuff? He could do without it. His work was still not done. He wanted this place to be perfect if by some crazy chance he was ever able to bring Karina home. He certainly wasn't going to be keeping her in a cage. There was only one thing to do: everything but the TV and his few pairs of clothes would have to go. Chris gathered all his furniture and took it into his backyard. There he chopped it into tiny pieces and collected them. He needed a spot to relax during the day. These wood chips would do. He brought them back into the house and poured them in a pile where his couch had been. This would be a perfect spot to

enjoy both his huge lamp and his TV. He looked around his house and gave a slight hiss. This was perfect. It looked just like Karina's home. He suddenly felt very tired, he didn't bother going to his sand bed, he just laid down in the grass and slept through the night.

When Monday morning came he leapt out of the plants he'd been sleeping in. Today he'd get to see Karina again! He rushed off to the zoo. Meeting Cynthia at the gate, he smiled at her. "First one here today I see. You must really like this job." Cynthia said. Chris simply nodded as she escorted him to Karina's enclosure. "There she is." Cynthia said point to the massive lizard laying in the sand. Cynthia watched as Chris stared at Karina, his forked tongue flicking out of his mouth. "Ha, I see you really like this job. Well get to it. Today you are going to just be keeping an eye on her." Chris smiled and headed back to the entrance.

Now Chis' mimic of Karina's home was good, but the moment he entered this habitat, he felt like it was a shabby reproduction. This place was amazing. Karina was still sleeping, he didn't want to wake her. So he spent an hour just wandering around the enclosure enjoying the warmth. He even took off his clothes and took a dip in Karina's river. Finally lunch rolled around. Chris flicked his tongue out in excitement and called to Karina "Lunch time!"

Karina flicked her tongue out in confusion. There was something different about Chris today. Something familiar mingled in with his human scent. Karina watched him with caution for a minute or two, then saw his tongue flick out again. It was strikingly

similar to her own. She liked this human. She got up from her bed and wandered over to Chris. "Squirrel today Karina!" Chris said with excitement. "I had some of this over the weekend and it was amazing!" Karina wondered why Chris was eating her kind of food. Chris threw three squirrels to Karina and kept two for himself. As she ate, she noticed that Chris was sitting down with her eating his squirrels. What is more, he was eating it just like her. Tearing pieces off and eating them sequentially, setting aside the parts he didn't like.

As Chris started his second squirrel he found that his fingernails seemed to be much sharper. He flicked his tongue out in confusion, but it quickly passed. This would help him to eat his meals easier. He tore into his second squirrel and as he did, his nails continued to sharpen. Finally done, he looked at his somewhat thinner fingers and saw some meat underneath his sharp, black nails. He used his tongue to lick it off. How people made it with such stubby tongues he had no idea. As she did last time, Karina went over to her sand bed to take a nap. This time she actually prepared a spot for him, sweeping her tail over a spot next to her to smooth it out. "Thanks girl" Chris said. He didn't need any coaxing this time. He gave a mighty yawn, walked over and laid down by Karina's side soon he was fast asleep.

Karina woke early. She wanted to find out more about this strange human that had taken such a liking to her. Being careful not to wake him, she slowly got up and began to move around the human, taking in his scent with her tongue. Under the sour human

stench there was a hint of something familiar. She remembered watching his tongue flick out of his mouth earlier. It looked just like hers. Next she examined his hands. His blunt human fingernails had been replace by curved scythes, almost exactly like hers. In addition, his chubby fingers had thinned a bit, and the skin of the rest of his hand had a blackish tint to it. His tongue flipped out in his sleep. She noticed it was now blue. Yes, she thought. She liked this human very much.

All too soon Chris was woken by the sound of Cynthia telling him shift was over. "I'm sorry girl, I have to leave now. I'll be back tomorrow. Count on it." Sadly, Chris left. Taking note of his clawed hands, Cynthia said, "I see you two are really bonding. Karina certainly seems happy." Chris flicked his tongue out towards Karina one last time, and Cynthia took note of the blue color. "Her happiness is all that concerns me." Chris said. Finally after a longing look at Karina, he headed home.

Back in her office, Cynthia watched the cams of Chris' interactions with Karina. She began to take notes. "Chris' tongue appears to have completely adapted to his new habitat. It is almost a perfect match to Karina's in length and color. Chris' diet seems to have radically changed. He is not eating our cafeteria food. Instead he has been observed eating with Karina. Eating her food. Notably, she seems to enjoy sharing with him. During his last meal, Chris' hands were observed adapting to his new diet. His fingers are considerably thinner and his nails have been replaced with claws. The subject is nearly inseparable from Karina. Karina has even been observed not only inviting him to

nap with her, but clearing a spot for him with her own tail. I nearly have to physically remove him from the enclosure when the day is over. While still almost completely human in appearance, Chris' mind seems to be radically changing. I will put a cam in his house to observe him out of work."

Notes finished, Cynthia rushed to Chris' house in hopes of finding him out of the house. As luck would have it, he wasn't home. Cynthia slowly opened the door and gasped. Chris' reptilian mind must be a larger part of him than she thought. The man had changed his home into an almost exact replica of Karina's habitat. He'd removed all his appliances except for his TV. As for his TV, there were rows upon rows of DVD's about reptiles. More than half of them were about water monitors. In the corner, in what looked like a place of honor, was a picture of Karina. Looking for the rest of the furniture, Cynthia found that it had been smashed to tiny bits of wood chips and scattered across his floor. Cynthia went to his closet. There was only a few outfits in there, his zoo uniform, and a casual outfit of jeans and a t shirt. His bed was nowhere to be found, instead she found a large pile of sand that had clearly been slept on. In the absence of a tail, it seems Chris had used a rake to smooth it out. She stood in wonder at the power this zoo was exerting, she thought it would be limited to within the zoo. But clearly, this was not the case. She quickly installed a hidden camera, and left.

Shortly after Cynthia left, Chris returned. He came from the bait shop where he had bought three buckets of live fish. Sighing in contentment as he walked into the heat

of what he now considered his territory, and dumped the fish into the stream. Watching with pleasure, he noted where they all went. Most went to the pool at the end. Speaking of the pool, Chris had had all chlorine remove. The first time his tongue picked up that scent it revolted him. The pool was now full of fresh water and was a nice greenish color. More importantly, it was now filled with fish. He was done eating that nasty processed food. He wanted his food natural, and what better way than to have live food in your own home? It was time to hunt!

Going to the steam, he sat down patiently at the edge of the water, flicking his tongue out waiting for a fish to come too close. There it was! With quick reflexes he snapped a hand out and grabbed one of the fish. Returning to the piles of wood chips that was his furniture he sat down to enjoy his catch. Flipping on the TV, he watched yet another movie. This time it was about a future in which reptiles had taken over the world. Only a few humans remained and by the end of the movie, they had joined the reptilian world. He enjoyed this movie very much. It was a perfect world. No humans, reptiles forever triumphant. As he relaxed he scratched his arm lightly, feeling more resistance than usual. Looking down he noticed that his skin on his arm was a blackish tint, and a lot harder to the touch. This pleased him very much. Speaking of touch, he notice his fingers were almost skeletal in appearance. In fact they looked very familiar....just like Karina's! He knew Karina would like the new addition as well, and that

thought was enough to push any worry out of his mind. Finishing his fish he fell asleep right there. Dreaming of a world ruled by reptiles. "Maybe one day...." He thought hazily.

Tuesday arrived. Once again he was out the door before sunup. He needed to be with Karina. He was enamored with that lizard and life seemed dull without her near him. As he arrived at the zoo, he noticed that his vision was fading. The colors seemed to be draining out. It didn't matter to him. That's what his tongue was for.

Cynthia gasped as she saw Chris approaching the zoo. His eyes....they weren't human. They were a bright amber with a perfectly circular pupil. In addition his arms looks like someone had rubbed coal all over them...coal with yellow circular patterns. He reached Cynthia. Flicking his long blue tongue out slowly he said shortly. "Take me to Karina." "O-okay. This way." Cynthia was a little startled by how quickly this was progressing. Chris didn't wait for her to say another word. The moment he got to Karina's enclosure, he went in. Seeing her asleep and not wanting to wake her, he crept to her side and laid down, falling asleep himself.

Karina woke with a start, feeling a presence next to her. Chris had apparently come early today, and he was asleep next to her...asleep on his belly with his arms and legs splayed out. Karina flicked her tongue out, and was startled by what she tasted. Chris tasted of human, but a large part of that taste was covered over by a familiar scent. The scent of her kind. Was this human really than enamored with her? She'd soon find out, she thought as she fell back asleep.

Chris awoke around lunch time. "Karina girl! Food" He said. Karina opened her eyes and for a moment thought she was looking into the glass of her enclosure. But she soon realized she was looking into Chris' eyes. She watched him curiously as he pushed himself off his belly with his hands and knees. For a few seconds he crawled on all fours with his legs splayed out, before climbing to two feet. It was then that she noticed his arms and legs. Still that soft human skin, but underneath she could clearly see jet black coloring with yellow circular patterns. She thought of herself. When she shed, her skin turned pale and she could see her new scales underneath....did Chris need to....? No...it couldn't be. He was a human.

That notion was challenged once again when he returned, not with dead fish or squirrels, but with live animals for them to hunt. They spent the afternoon hunting together. Chris looked funny hunting on his two legs, but he managed. As they sat down with their kills Karina noticed that Chris had abandoned all semblance of human eating habits. He was ripping into the flesh of their rabbits with his sharp nails and guzzling it down....like her. She decided to test something. If he was truly serious about his attempts to mimic her, he'd return the gesture. This was a gesture only her kind would understand. She slowly got to her feet and made a deep hissing noise, swaying side to side. Chris looked up and said "I like you too." Karina was shocked. This human was really getting into this act. How far was this going to go?

Chris surprised her again. "I'll be back Karina. I need to shed the dead skin on my arms." Karina watched in amazement as the human went to the rocks of the wall of the enclosure and began to rub his arms against them. Slowly, flakes of white stuff seemed to fall from his arm. When he returned he said "Much better." Karina looked at his arms and flicked her tongue out. The smell of her kind was stronger...and no wonder. Where Chris had "shed" on his arms, there was a shiny black and yellow hide of scales. Scales just like hers. His hands had also lost all human features and were true claws. This human wasn't acting. He was truly joining her! Suddenly she was broken from her thoughts when she heard two light plops. Chris' ears had fallen off! In their place were two holes with a thin membrane inside them.

Chris once again heard Cynthia's annoying voice. "Chris, shift is over, it's time to leave." As he came out Cynthia's eyes widened. Chris had the arms of a water monitor! Now this zoo was starting to scare her. What had she started? Chris pointed a claw at her, "Ssssssstop making me leave Karina." Chris said, drawing out a dangerous hiss.

Cynthia shakily wrote her notes. "Chris seems to be mostly reptilian in his mind. Not to mention he has the arms and eyes of a water monitor. He threatened me today, told me to stop making him leave Karina. The power of this zoo is unbelievable. However, it appears the magic focuses only on reptiles. Curious. None of the other animals seem to be effected. Karina has also gained in intelligence. Not human-doing-math intelligence, but higher than simple animal thought. I have noticed her actively

examining Chris' changes. She even attempted a mating dance after a particularly long examination, as if to test a theory, to which Chris responded favorably. I started this job with the intent to see our zoo be the best...but something is else is happening here. happening here."

As Chris returned home, he was ravenous. But he didn't want fish from his pool. He had a swamp in his back yard. He wanted to hunt! Stripping off the disgusting cloth that covered him and putting it away for tomorrow, he gave a loud hiss of confidence and stalked off into the swamp. Much to his pleasure, he was able to track and kill a large raccoon. He'd eat well indeed tonight. Returning to his lair, for that's what he thought of it as now, he sat down to eat his catch. He was pleased with how well his claws rended the flesh of his kill. He ate nosily, not caring about the mess he was making. As he ate, he felt his feet digging into the wood chips of his basking spot. He looked down and noticed his feet now matched his hands. It was time to shed again. He rolled his legs around in the chips until the ugly white covering flaked off, revealing rough, shiny scales. Chris hissed with delight.

Feeling tired, he got ready to go to his bed. As he began to rise, he stopped. Why walk on two legs when no one was around to see him? Huffing with delight, Chris sunk back to all fours and crawled to his sand bed. As he fell asleep he thought, "Tonight is the last night that me and Karina will be separated, if that woman tries to make me leave tomorrow, she will regret it. Nothing will keep me away from my mate." Not thinking his

referring to Karina as "mate" was strange, Chris drifted off to sleep. He felt so confident, maybe that movie about reptilian domination wasn't so farfetched after all...

Chris woke on Wednesday with resolve in his mind. Today he'd leave his lair, and he would not return until Karina was with him. Of course it was up to her, if she wanted to stay in her home, he'd stay with her. They'd just have two territories. It was always good to have a backup plan. Rising to his feet, Chris realized just how much he hated this charade of walking on two legs and wearing clothes. But he'd put up with it for one more day. One. That's it. As he slid his uniform on, and began walking to his car, he felt a pressure against the back of his pants. Sitting down in the driver's seat Chris hissed in pain. But he was on a mission. He needed to be with his Karina. Ignoring the large lump he was sitting on that was raising him about an inch higher than normal, Chris silently drove to the zoo.

Cynthia was worried. What would Chris look like today? And what of his threat? She gave a start as a loud hiss disrupted her thoughts. Looking up, there was Chris. His legs now matched his arms. "Karina." He said simply. Cynthia nodded slowly and followed him. He was walking slightly bowlegged, and there was a large tent in the back of his pants. As Cynthia passed the anaconda exhibit, she stopped. Hercules, their anaconda, was staring at her. Transfixed, she walked to the glass and pressed her face against it, looking deep into his eyes. He really was a beautiful animal. "Hiiiissssssssssssssssss!!!!" Snapped out of her revere, she turned to see Chris glowering

at her. "Door to territory is locked. Why?" "I'm....s-sorry." Cynthia stammered. I forgot to leave it unlocked. "Unlock. Now." Chris said dangerously. Cynthia quickly unlocked the door and headed back to her office, shaken...but not before stopping once again at Hercules' cage and staring into his eyes one more time. Hercules held her gaze for a long time. His gaze seemed to be sending her one message. "Return." Cynthia ran back to her office. She had had enough. This was scaring her to death.

Karina was awoken by a shutting door. Eyes slowly opening, she saw Chris enter her habitat. She slipped her tongue out and was returned with the scent of a reptile...with only a hint of human. She watched as he approached her, a huge bucket of food in his hands. "Feast together" he said, throwing some body movements in. Karina perked up. Now that she had understood, Chris wanted to share the meal together. Karina watched cautiously as Chris dropped to all fours and plowed into the food. Well if this human was really intent on joining her, she wouldn't object. She decided to accept Chris once and for all, and dug in alongside him.

Cynthia watched the grisly feast from her office. Chris was on all fours, tearing into the meat with his human mouth. His entire body had a blackish tint to it, and the lump in his pants was a good foot long, and rounded at the tip. As if something was bent against the fabric of his pants. Cynthia couldn't help but admire him a bit. He was so strong....wha? Where did those thoughts come from? Cynthia shook her head, she'd risk it. Chris had to go.

Chris could feel an almighty pressure in his pants, he stopped and hissed in pain. Karina looked up at him, flicking her tongue out in concern. With a loud *RIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP* Chris' pants finally gave way as a long, black, scaly tail with a fin shot out from behind him. As if sensing his tail, his hindquarters adjusted themselves leaving his tail as a true extension of his spine, and not just an addition. Chris hissed with pleasure at the release of his tail and dug back into his food. Karina simply watched him as his body elongated and his arms and legs adjusted for true quadrupedal motion. When he looked up, Karina saw that his face had pushed out. Chris didn't even try to talk. He looked at his mate and gave a motion against his skin with his front fore claw. Karina understood. Chris was ready to shed. Karina went all around him, gently raking her claws against Chris' side. Finally, all his old skin fell off. Karina returned to the front of Chris and gave a loud hiss. As she was helping to reveal Chris' scales, his face had finished. Karina was now looking at a male, ten foot version of herself. "More humans should be like this one." She thought, and both of them ripped into the remainder of their meal.

Cynthia walked towards Karina's habitat. It was time to get Chris out of here before...When she reached it she froze. There were two water monitors in the enclosure, and one of them was ten feet long! "Chris?" She called. The larger lizard looked up at her with murder in her eyes, a look that says "Try it." Then Chris flicked out his tongue in confusion and stared at her. Slowly he motioned his head towards Hercules' cage.

Cynthia ran. But she couldn't help stealing a glance at the beautiful snake. She was afraid of Chris...but maybe she could come see Hercules again.

Chris looked at Karina with a motion that said: "Was something strange about that human? I swear that her scent was mixed with a slight snakish quality." Karina gave him a content hiss that said "I believe she did have the smell of Hercules about her. My mate, I think this zoo is going to do wonderful things for the world....we must attract more to the reptile house here." Chris gave a rumble of content. He could finally communicate clearly with his beloved Karina. "My mate, I think you may be more correct than you know. While I was away from you, I watched some movies. Movies are these moving pictures that the humans watched. One of them was about a world ruled by reptiles. It started very much like the events here today. One person became enamored with a reptile, joined it, then it snowballed. The movie ended as the last human survivors shed their weak skin for wonderful scales." Both Karina and Chris thrummed with delight. They hoped it was true. It would be a perfect world indeed.

To be continued....