A Little Ape-ish

"Nngghh..."

Michelle couldn't help herself, losing her mind faintly -- though there was not much loss at all to be had in it, no. It was there, yes, but in a softer way, a beautiful way, a way that let her be simpler. She didn't always have to be worrying about everyone else or what was going on around her, oh no -- none of that. None of that was needed, not in the slightest, not as her arms rippled with that dark hair and her skin took on a darker shade. The mirrors reflected her and she stared at herself, blinking slowly, her eyes changing to a rich amber-brown, dark and intense.

But they were not the eyes of a human being, even if there was a hybrid mind behind them as her thighs thickened and her back hunched over, slipping right back into the more comfortable stance to stand in and move through, her shoulders rounding out more and more. They were like cannonballs -- though that was a term more often used in the gym to refer to people that were actively bulking up their shoulders, even if Michelle would have thought that their appearance would have been quite pleasing if she had had the intellect there to convey such a thought.

Yet that was not needed, not as raw energy coursed through her, her stomach grumbling. She was just so energetic and she grunted, whooping like an ape as her hair curled into that wickeder mess of dark brown-black shades, though she'd already had plenty of curls to begin with. Even with the thick hair coating her back, the muscle could be seen through it -- well, it would have if her button-up blouse was not covering most of her back at that moment. There were big, dark rips across the top and down in lines from her underarms, where even thicker, lightly musky hair sprung forth. She was not built for an environment such as the lab with a transformation and a body like that upon her and there was only so much Michelle, as an ape-hybrid, could do about something like that.

Not that it bothered her, no. With her transformation into ape-woman complete, she blinked at her reflection, itching the back of her head, her chunkier, thicker nails acting like claws, though there was still something feminine about the edge of them, as if her humanity could still be seen underneath. Her face was a little longer and flatter down the cheekbones too, but that could have partly been the thicker hair (not so thick that it overwhelmed her features) at the sides of her face affecting just how she saw it.

And she knew that the reflection was herself even as she turned from it, investigating the bathroom stalls and slamming each door open with a bang.

SLAM!

BANG!

SLAM!

"Whhhoooo-oooop!"

She leapt up onto the counter by the sinks, leaning on a tap and cracking it with her weight, her feet a little more flexible than they had been before, though, luckily, she had kicked off her flat shoes in the process of the transformation. There was, indeed, something to be said, after all, for not wearing socks, even if Michelle much preferred closed shoes that protected her feet in the lab. It all depended on what experiments she was running and, of course, there was always safety gear, when she was normal Michelle and not ape Michelle, that she could put on to cover her feet and any bare skin.

It was better for her like that, however, towering so high that she was forced to curl down again while she was up on the counter so as not to accidentally push up against the ceiling. The space was small, too small, and she ran her tongue curiously around the inside of her mouth, feeling her teeth, which had slight gaps between them, the canines a little longer than they had been. She couldn't, however, make that comparison.

And then the door opened and someone that she recognised but no longer had the mental ability to put a name to open the door. The woman with her red hair tied back in a prim bun started and shrieked, one of her hands shooting up in a flail as if she thought that she would be able to fend off the ape-hybrid.

"Agh! What the..."

Michelle bellowed and thumped her fists on her chest as the red-haired woman flattened herself to the wall, her eyes wide, heat flooding to her face as her body locked into fight or flight mode. Intruder! Were they looking for her food too? She was hungry -- and there was no food in there!

She would not have been so aggressive if she had not been trapped in a small space, not wanting someone else in there -- not in her territory! Space, she needed space, and she didn't know who the stranger was either. She was just an intruder who needed to be forced back and Michelle did just that, charging at her with the force of a single-minded beast, even if she truly meant the redhead no harm at all.

It was not much of a chase, for the moment that the red-haired woman saw Michelle coming for her she let out a scream that hurt the ape-hybrid's ears even more, piercing and shrill. Michelle grunted and faltered at the stark pain of it, which was more than enough time for the stranger to scrabble away from her, lunging for the door that swung back on her heels.

Michelle was not trapped in there, understanding how to use the door handle to get out if she wanted to. But the space! She gnashed her teeth and followed her first thought -- or notion, as it appeared in her head.

She needed space... So, she would make it for herself!

With both hands, she grabbed the top of the nearest stall, howling as she ripped it from where it was fixed down into the floor, tiles ripping up, shattering under her feet as she leapt and slammed down. There! That was better. With just one stall opened up, there was a little more room to move and she wrenched at the wall of the second, slamming away the freely swinging door with enough force that it cracked and snapped right off its hinges. The toilets were not something that she recognised and so she smashed down into them with both hands clenched into fists, cracking the porcelain and sending a spew of water spilling across the floor.

The water did not bother her so much, no, not as she worked her way through every stall, satisfied with how the space opened up around her. Sure, there was more underfoot for her to avoid, though that was not so much of a problem for Michelle when she felt that she could easily avoid them, her feet folding and moulding over the rubble and carefully avoiding any sharp edges that were left behind.

It was no worry, no, no trouble at all to her. Not as she brought down the last stall wall and used the big, flat boards that they had been to cover the floor, keeping her up and out of the water. The last toilet was ruthlessly shoved into the wall, spouting water, but Michelle ignored it when it was not something that was causing her any concern. For good measure, she tested the counter by the sinks too, leaning into it and curling her fingers around the rim of it until it cracked and crumbled under her grip.

Relishing in her strength, she whooped all over again and bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet, completely ignorant to the greater and greater volume of water spilling out across the floor. It was good to be strong, even if she was hungry too, yes, confident in her own power, her sense of self at peace. The sinks were pushed back, uncaring of the damage she left behind -- for it was not damage, in her mind, but essential remodelling. One way or the other, after all, she had to make space for herself, all in the little nook of her territory.

Michelle changed back as she left the bathroom, her form lighter and wobblier, as if she wasn't able to quite keep her balance. She hummed to herself as she blinked, not noticing at first that her shirt was ripped across the back for, thankfully, everything that needed to be covered up was covered. Her skirt did seem a bit looser but she put that down to the natural changes in her body, merely tucking the waistband over itself for a little extra tightness there, to keep it more snugly in place.

"Huh..."

She ran her fingers through her hair. Damn, she had a brush in her locker... And what had gone wrong there -- where were her shoes? She blinked, swallowing hard. Shoot, something... No, she didn't know what had happened and the stirring of unease in the pit of her belly was not something that was at all held lightly by her, not as everything threatened to twist itself up into knots of worry.

I don't even remember going to the bathroom...

Hurrying to her locker, she quickly swapped on a pair of low-heeled shoes and, on finding that she had caught her buttoned shirt on something yet again, changed that out for a spare one in her locker too. At least she'd had the foresight to put some spare clothes in there so she didn't have to run home in a hurry again!

If she'd known why she was changing, she would have been shocked. Not horrified...but certainly shocked.

She headed back to the lab after setting herself right and feeling much more herself than she had before, even striding out more confidently. She was hungry and looking forward to lunch and she had already determined, in a conversation with herself, that she was going to make sure that Charlotte did not interrupt her lunch break this time for a coffee.

Charlotte is perfectly capable of getting her own coffee -- and it's okay if I don't offer to get it for her.

Michelle paused.

Perhaps I should raise the money with her too...

That was a step for another day, however, allowing her confidence to grow, even though she did not think that she was actively doing anything to change it. If she was feeling better, however, despite the oddness with her hair and her shirt tearing, the clumsiness that she could only suppose was taking place, Michelle wasn't going to complain.

She slipped into her seat, checking on e-mails. There was some grant funding that she was hoping to get acknowledged so that she could move on to the next stage of developing the pill coating for her vitamin. But her mind was already on other projects, always looking ahead.

Her colleague, Charlotte, made a soft noise at her workstation, though Michelle ignored it. At least, she did until Charlotte spoke up.

"Someone says that the bathroom on this floor, the one down the hall," Charlotte said with a frown. "It's... Out of order? Huh. Something about a flood?"

Curiously, Michelle glanced back at her, even if she was more focused on her own project than what Charlotte was going into. Her work was more interesting.

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, Susie sent me an e-mail, said she tried to go to the bathroom and it's, like, flooded all across the hall, water everywhere... Wow, something went wrong in there."

Michelle shrugged.

"Well, it was fine when I was there. I'm sure they'll get everything sorted soon, maintenance is so good here."

But the fact of the matter was that Michelle didn't remember coming out of the bathroom at all. She chose to ignore the fact that the bottom hem of her skirt had been damp, brushing up uncomfortably against her bare ankles throughout the day.

Bananas sounded good to Dr Sanderson, so she made sure to stock up on a big basket of them, along with other fruits and veggies, some of which she had not tried before, when she headed to the supermarket. Meat seemed a little less appealing than usual so she went with the flow of what her body was telling her that it needed.

I'm still taking the vitamin, she thought as she checked out, ignoring the look from the cashier as to the amount of fresh produce she was buying, and not much else. Maybe this is a side effect? My body is adjusting to it...so now I am craving other things to fill in any gaps in nutrition?

Or perhaps the pill covered the vitamin needs from meat, which was why it seemed less appealing to her. Either way, it was an exciting new development and she headed straight home to write up her theory, even though it was a weekend day and, of course, she really shouldn't have been doing any work at all. It was hard, however, to completely detach herself from something that gave her so much life and simply made her days feel whole, just the way they were.

She groaned, setting the bags down in her house. Wow, she was hungry! She couldn't wait to make a lunch for herself and dug into the bag of bananas, all of her produce set out on the counters for her to put away, though Michelle did chuckle a little at herself for not even getting that far.

"Ah, what am I like?"

She shook her head but allowed her body to give in to the urges nonetheless, for it was not as if she had to fight back against the urge to eat and make sure her belly was comfortably full. First, one banana disappeared into her mouth, chewing quickly and eating for sustenance rather than pleasure, even though the smooth texture of the food sliding over her throat, sparking off her tastebuds, was inherently pleasurable in itself. There was just something about eating that tapped into something basic and primal in the mind of any animal, even human beings, a knowledge that they were taking care of their needs.

For the weekend, she had worn a loose, baggy T-shirt, choosing something less restrictive so that she could go without a bra too, for her bras seemed to be getting stretched out, the elastic going at the back and the underwire even popping free on one. That had been on the day of the bathroom incident but there was no way for Michelle to understand just what had caused that, not when she had no memory at all of it.

Her body grew, filling out the T-shirt but, that time, not ripping it. On her bottom half, however, her shorts had been a little tight on her thighs and stretched to fill out the new muscle, the hair more obvious now that she was not wearing something that covered up her legs. The ape-woman grunted deeply, rolling her shoulders back and diving into the food as her entire ape-form settled over her like a second skin, yet one that sank even more deeply into her than merely being a woman.

Her fingers grabbed. Food! Yes, food, that was what she'd needed, what she had not realised that she so very desperately needed to fill her stomach with. She didn't know what the names of the foods she saw before her, in the strange, bright room, were, but she didn't need to if she wanted to fill her stomach with them, no. She peeled the bananas expertly, turning them "upside down" to squeeze and pop them out easily, moving onto oranges, though she ate some of that peel too in her haste to fill her belly.

But it was so good to eat, even though the postman passing the house to drop in the letters through the letterbox did pause and rub his eyes, sure that he was seeing things. He went off, however, glancing back just once to look through her kitchen window, which faced the front of her house, a small garden separating her from the street beyond. No one stopped the ape-woman as she feasted, demolishing everything that she had bought until her stomach was ever so lightly distended and so very comfortably full.

Michelle had not felt that full since before her first transformation. And it was a good feeling, a soft, heavy feeling that made her want to sit down and rest.

But her ape-self liked order too and had enough intelligence, even there, to put away the produce. Her shorts tugged tightly around her thighs and she took a big, wrenching step to break free of them, even though that meant that they both split right up the inner thighs and exposed parts of her that really shouldn't have been. Her mangled underwear was subject to the same treatment under them, of course, though that was beside the point.

She was happier to move freely, letting out a soft rumble as her lips twitched and she looked through the food left. That should be stored, yes, stored. Then she would have more food again whenever she was hungry next. That was a good plan, a fool proof plan, one that she liked very much. Storing food for later was just as important as keeping it for the moment of hunger, after all, even though she would have liked to have kept eating and eating, simply because the act of doing so felt so good to her.

Still, she had to concern herself with other things, like putting things away in the cupboards, yes. There was a big, cold cupboard that she crammed some things into, haphazardly placing them on the shelves. They would be safe there! And there were some shiny, hard cupboards too, places to store it, though Michelle did not remember what they were called, beyond that in her ape form.

The cupboards took whatever she shoved into them and she grabbed a bunch of grapes that dropped out, shoving them back in a little too roughly and crushing some. It was okay though because the food would still taste good when she ate it and she knew to eat food before it went bad, yes, that was something.

Settling down afterwards on the sofa for a well-deserved nap and to let all of the food that she had eaten digest more comfortably, Michelle sighed, her eyelids drooping more and more heavily with sleep. She was too big to settle into her sofa as she was, leaving one leg hanging off and her arm flung up behind her head, snoring faintly as she slumbered.

In her sleep, she transformed back to her usual form and body, though the hair left behind from the ape side of her would prove to be harder for Michelle to ignore that time. It was everywhere, layered around the sofa and sticking into the carpet, dark and thick and unlike anything that had ever come from any pet animal that she had ever known.

Her body slowly shrank, as if it was lulled by sleep, losing the hair first and then the muscle, no stretch marks at all remaining on her skin to show what had passed. Even the thicker hair clumped away from her armpits, leaving only a natural prickle of hair behind Michelle preferred to keep herself shaved under her arms. It didn't disintegrate, though it seemed like less when it was on the sofa and the carpet, even though it was quite a large amount.

"Hm?"

Michelle blinked slowly, coming back to herself. She felt...odd. In a good way, a satisfying way, the kind of way that, honestly, she wouldn't have minded waking up like that every morning for the rest of her life. Yet it seemed to be early afternoon and she was so comfortable already as she wriggled more into the centre of the sofa. Her hand rested lightly on a full, satisfied stomach, though she swiftly felt brighter and more alert, more present in herself, even though Michelle, quite honestly, did not have any will to move.

Just where was there for her to move to, after all? Where was there for her to go? She didn't have anything to do and she just felt...whole. She felt as if she had finally gotten what she needed, a good night of sleep or the right nutrients and vitamins as a whole.

She smiled faintly, not expending any more energy than, in that moment, was absolutely necessary. She didn't want to be wasteful and it was so peaceful there, birdsong filtering in through the open living room window, the faint sound of traffic moving by on the road beyond, though it was not a busy street, not in particular, that she lived on.

It was good to rest there, settling and enjoying, being comfortable and present, at long last, in her own body.

She only wished that she'd known just how she'd gotten there... She would have liked to document it!

Things continued in the same vein, though Michelle began noting down when she had her "blackouts." It would have been difficult for her not to notice that she was losing chunks of time when the weather changed outside or Charlotte got nosy and asked her where she'd been. Even Oliver looked concerned and, well, it was his worry about her that prompted her to look at things a little more closely. She'd been finding a lot of hair around too and the cleaning staff, who came by at the end of the day, had started complaining that someone was bringing a pet into the lab.