Inmate 24601: McLeester, Claire

[CAMP MEDIC]

Shaw prepared to take on his next patient. These Therians were fascinating creatures. He was eager to see if their DNA was fused with the animal they shifted into, but it would take weeks for those test results to come back. For now he was satisfied to see what physical traits their human forms took from their animal forms. Did their animal forms affect their physical appearance at all? That was the question to answer. From what he had seen of them so far, they did take on some physical attributes of their shift animal. It was interesting to see all the ways an animal could manifest itself in human form. Of course, they weren’t really human. Humans didn’t shift into animals, which made these people less than human because of their bestial side. They were so primitive. He had heard of one shifter who became a wolf who actually growled at the doctors. Strange beasts…but fascinating.

Today he would be working with a lovely young lady. McLeester, Claire. Age: 25. Shift animal: Cheetah. He had looked at the chart before planning the tests of course. Shaw had to know the shift animal before he knew what to look for in Claire. Would she have enlarged organs or a higher lung capacity as cheetahs did? Would she excel at running and jumping hurdles as a cheetah would? What about her eye sight and her hormone production? There were so many tests to run and he was eager to begin. They would begin with the longest and least painful tests before more to the more physically straining ones. First, however, would be drawing blood, which the nurses would take care of. The blood would be sent to a lab, also located on site, and tested for hormone levels and other such things, while a couple phials would be submitted for genetic testing. He was most interested in those results. Naturally, the patient was given only water for the past eight hours to ensure her stomach was empty and wouldn’t mess with the blood or the X-rays and CT scans they would be doing today.

At last the young lady was brought in, looking quite uncertain in her medical gown. Dr. Shaw gave a smile that hardly reached his hard blue eyes. “Please have a seat Ms. McLeester.” His voice was pleasant, but he knew he often made people feel uncomfortable, like he had something up his sleeve. In Claire’s case, he did, but he wouldn’t let her know that just yet. “Today we’ll be running a series of tests. We’ll start with a DEXA scan to measure your bone density which is painless and lasts about five minutes, then we’ll move on to take some X-rays and do a CT scan. Due to the amount of radiation involved, I have to ask, are you pregnant?” He recorded her answer. A negative. Good! He would hate to damage an unborn baby, human or no. “And do you have any allergies or a family history of disease?” They were routine questions, but he recorded her answers as they came.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

It wasn't like Claire hated cleaning.. she just didn't like being stuck on toilet duty. She had to scrub the floors and clean out the stalls with a burly woman named Bonnie who she found out turned into a hippopotamus. She also liked to spit. A lot. And Claire found herself cleaning up after Bonnie more than she was cleaning up after all the other animals! She really didn't like that her and Cheyenne had been split up for their duties but Claire just figured if she did them as quick as possible the sooner she'd see her sister. But by the fourth stall she was called out by one of the guards and escorted to the infirmary.

Claire's stomach had been growling all day since she'd been told she couldn't eat that day and was only given water. So by the time she'd arrived to the infirmary she was a little cranky between Bonnie's spitting habit and craving Taco Bell. She was instructed to strip out of her jumper and given a gown that she quickly threw on and then lead into a room where a man who must have been a doctor was waiting. Could've been a nurse? Probably a doctor.

"Please have a seat Ms. McLeester." The man had a creep factor to him that much was for sure. No real greeting just instructions to sit down. She really did feel like nothing more than an animal in this place and listened just like the sheep she was turning out to be. She took her seat where instructed and then reached up to scratch her head, messing up her blonde hair and wrinkling her nose, watching the man suspiciously. "Today we'll be running a series of tests. We'll start with a DEXA scan to measure your bone density which is painless and lasts about five minutes, then we'll move on to take some X-rays and do a CT scan. Due to the amount of radiation involved, I have to ask, are you pregnant?" No matter how scared she was, that question never failed to make her snort. "Not unless you can get pregnant from eating too much Ben & Jerry's, which reminds me, am I going to be able to eat something after all of this? You wouldn't happen to have some crackers? A snickers bar.. maybe a pizza?" She shrugged awkwardly. It would be something if he had a pizza.

"And do you have any allergies or a family history of disease?" Was turning into a damn cheetah during the full moon considered a disease!? Being a Therian was probably as much as she knew about her family history. "As far as I know, no I don't." She shook her head. "Then again I don't know my father's medical history. That would require knowing your father. So." Again she shrugged at him and looked into his eyes this time and realized what was so creepy about him. No matter what expression he made his eyes looked dull and vacant almost. She had no idea what a DEXA scan was but she knew about CT scans. Not that she'd had either of them before. "You're not going to give me cancer, are you?" It was a perfectly good question, wasn't it!?

[CAMP MEDIC]

The girl was humorous, Shaw could give her that, and he found himself amused. “As far as I know, no I don’t.” Shaw recorded her answer. “Then again I don’t know my father’s medical history. That would require knowing your father. So.” The doctor was looking at her over his eyebrows, surprised by how open and, quite frankly, awkward she was being. But he nodded and made note of that as well. With a smile he looked back up at her and laid his pen down in the folder before shutting it. “You’re not going to give me cancer are you?” He let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “No, Ms. McLeester. I assure you, these tests won’t be enough to do that. A DEXA scan uses a low amount of radiation to give us an idea of your bone density. It just takes a picture of your spine and pelvis for us to study. It’s absolutely painless and takes only five minutes to complete. After that, we can move to do x-rays, but of course you’ll have a lead apron to protect you from anything harmful. Lastly is a CT scan, which is known to use a high level of radiation comparatively, but it’s only dangerous if you have multiple CT scans done, and we’ll only be performing the one. That will give us a full view of what you look like on the inside so we can see how your organs look and such. No cancer, I promise.” His voice may have been comforting, but Shaw didn’t care if he made the cheetah uncomfortable or not. If he did, it wouldn’t make a difference.

“So, with all of that said, let’s move on to the tests.” Shaw stood and led McLeester into another room where the DEXA machine was set up. It was the same size as a tanning bed and built similarly, except there was no cover on it. Instead, there was an extension lifting over the table positioned halfway down the table with a camera inside to take photographs of McLeester’s pelvis, as he explained to her. “Just lie down on the table and this will only be about five minutes.” The young lady did as she was told and Shaw instructed her so she was positioned with her hips directly beneath the extended camera. As the test was performed, Shaw made notes in the cheetah’s file, saying nothing to her. There was no point in making conversation when he would only be interacting with her today.

When the machine finished his work, he stood once more and helped McLeester off the table. “Good! Now we’ll move on to the x-rays before we do the CT scan.” They took chest x-rays and pelvic x-rays to check the size of her heart and lungs, since cheetahs were known to have enlarged versions of these organs. They were also known to have smaller collarbones, which they also x-rayed for. Finally they took a pelvic x-ray to see not only the length of her tailbone, but also how much muscle she had at the hip joint—cheetahs had more muscle at the hip joint which aided them in their ability to reach high speeds with ease. The CT scan took about forty-five minutes where she was trapped in a pretty tight space, but they played calming music for her to get her mind off the confined space. Even so, Shaw had to remind her several times to lie still for the duration of the test, otherwise it would take longer to get the images right.

Finally, he invited her to move off the tray that slid into the CT scanner and smiled his cool, thin smile for her. “So, how are you feeling so far Ms. McLeester?” He didn’t really care, but he figured if he let her vent, it would be easier to get her into the eye exam room. There was nothing painful about an eye exam and he assumed she would much more cooperative there.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire didn’t like the confined space that she was put into for the scans and although she tried her best not to move her muscles kept twitching, aching to move around. She had a hard time staying still on a good day and this was just.. well when you stuck her in a small space it just became worse. The doctor had to tell her several times to stay still and she really gave an effort to listen but boy was it hard! When the testing was finally done she stretched her arms and legs out as if she’d been cramped in there for hours on end. She wanted to go running so bad since it had been so long since she’d done so. The small window of time they were allowed to be outside she used to spend with Griffin, hovering around the fence and trying her best not to get shocked too often. She just wished they’d given them more time or a treadmill or something.

”So, how are you feeling so far Ms. McLeester?” Her stomach growled and she wrapped her hands around her midsection and squeezed as if that would make the hunger go away. “I’m good,” she nodded, staying in her seemingly good mood so far in the exams. She was awkward a lot but it didn’t mean she was scared anymore. Miserable? Yes. But she wasn’t scared of this doctor. He seemed like he wasn’t all that bad. He set off her creepdar but he didn’t hit red alert creepiness yet.

She followed him into another room and noticed the machine that they had when you went to an eye doctor. Why would he have to check her eyes? Her eyes were fine! Better than fine! They were awesome! She hated going to the eye doctor. She hated the stupid puff of air they tried to blow into her eyes and it always took her a solid twenty minutes to sit still enough for them to get it in there. She couldn’t stand watching people touch their eyes either. That freaked her out like nobody’s business! “Do we-- do we have to do this part? I mean my eyesight is fine. There’s nothing wrong with them they’re pretty normal. Normal eyes... yep. Let’s just skip this part, okay?” She asked and chuckled nervously hoping that he’d agree to skip it but she had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen and she grimaced at the sight of the machinery.

[CAMP MEDIC]

“I’m good.” Shaw was actually glad to hear it. There wouldn’t be any complaining from his patient if she was doing well. For her, there weren’t really any cruel tests lined up. Unless she hated running, which he didn’t think was likely with her physique. “Good!” he said with a small nod. “Follow me then to our next test.” They went from the room they were in to one just down the hall where an eye exam chair was set up. McLeester came to a slow stop, hanging back from the chair. Shaw looked at her suspiciously. It was just an eye exam… “Do we—do we have to do this part? I mean my eyesight is fine. There’s nothing wrong with them they’re pretty normal. Normal eyes…yep. Let’s just skip this part, okay?” Shaw gave a smile and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Ms. McLeester, but this is a necessary test. Don’t worry, it’s just a simple eye exam. It won’t hurt or be uncomfortable in the least. Go on, have a seat. It’ll take about ten or fifteen minutes.”

When the young lady complied, he had her look at a chart on the wall. “Please cover your right eye and read all of the lines you can see.” To his surprise, she had normal vision. It wasn’t excellent, like a cheetah’s would be, but perhaps the other eye would be different. “Now the other.” No, it was the same. It was interesting and he made a note. “Good. Now come and sit before this machine. It’ll shine a slit of light into your eye so I can see into the back of them. Just try and stare straight ahead.” He dimmed the lights in the room and came back to the machine, adjusting it for her chin. “Just place your chin here.” When she did so, she seemed very nervous like she was expecting something to touch her eye. “Don’t worry, there’s no puff of air or anything. The only thing going in your eye is this light.” He adjusted the light to it was going straight through her eye. He wanted to see if her fovea centralis was slightly elongated as a cheetah’s would be, which would give her excellent peripheral vision. Her eyes were not reflective like a cat’s, but he hadn’t really expected them to be. In the end, it appeared that both of the foveae were normal. “Okay, you can sit back now.” He brightened the lights once more before coming back to his young patient.

“Okay now, I want you to stare straight ahead, but tell me when you lose sight of my finger in your peripheral vision.” He held his finger about three inches from her eyes and recorded when she lost sight of it. Then he held them back further, closer to him, and recorded her answers then. Overall, very normal vision. She wasn’t kidding when she said it. It was interesting, since he was certain that her DNA would have somehow intertwined with a cheetah’s, but perhaps he was wrong. He recorded the results and he smiled at her again. “And that concludes the eye exam. Next I’ll have you breathe into a spirometer which is over here.” He went to a counter and fetched a machine with a mouthpiece attached to a long tube with color-coded sections of green, yellow and red. “This machine measures your lung capacity. You just take a deep breath and blow as hard as you can into that mouthpiece. Whenever you’re ready.” He handed her the spirometer and waited for her to follow the instructions.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire made every single sound that wasn’t an intelligible word that there ever was in the history of ever during the eye exam. Luckily she didn’t have to worry about any puffs of air in her eyes and that made it not as bad so she didn’t flinch or try to run away like she normally did. But she still had a hard time sitting still when the light was shone in her eyes, but other than that it was a breeze. The next portion was even easier than the eye exam and there was less of a chance of Claire having a melt down over breathing into a spirometer. She’d never actually used one before and when he gave her the contraption she just looked at it like it was from Mars before she finally understood how it worked. All she had to do was breathe into the open portion. It was a piece of cake, right? She could breathe. She breathed everyday! Heck, she’d been breathing since the day she was born! She got this. Her chest raised as she sucked in a deep breath and then blew into the spirometer like a pro. Her lung capacity had always been great and she assumed that it was probably much better now since they were shifting all the time. She wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she was above average and the thought even made her smile with pride.

She wasn’t sure what she was suppose to do after she blew into the thing and just sort of kept her mouth against it and stared at him for a long moment. When she did move it away it was because she had questions. And in Claire’s case questions meant she was going to bombard him with a whole lot of talk. “Why do we need to do these tests anyway? I mean is this why we’re stuck here? Because I have to tell you I’d very much like to go home. Keeping us cooped up like this isn’t exactly a vacation, you know.” The doctor had been pretty nice so far. Maybe he’d have some answers and maybe not. But at least Claire wasn’t freaking out like she had the day they’d arrived there. “Because I gotta tell you these boots aren’t doing it for me. I need like, real shoes.” She missed her closet full of shoes. She had so many freaking shoes.. too bad her doctor wasn’t female. She could probably buy her way out in shoes if that were the case.

“You know these tests are pointless, really. I mean if you have questions you could just ask. We’re not all hostile, some of us would actually answer them. I know I would answer them if it meant I could get out of here. I’ve never hurt anyone before in my life. We’re not dangerous. Well, normally. What do you say, how about talking to whoever is in charge and putting in a good word?” It was worth a shot, right? It was a blind shot down a dark alley and she knew she wasn’t going to hit anything but it was always worth trying. “Is there any way to talk to whoever is in charge? Could we set up a meeting? Or there someone I can send a complaint to? Send a memo? Kiss-a-gram? Anything?”

[CAMP MEDIC]

McLeester’s lung capacity, unlike her eye sight, was fantastic, like the animal she shifted into. It was well above average, but that could also be explained if she worked out regularly. That would be discussed in a moment. He made a note in her file, scribbling in silence until he realized that the girl was still holding the spirometer in her mouth. His eyes lifted to her over his brows and he forced a smile. “You can take the spirometer out now, Ms. McLeester.” Apparently, she needed these medical tests spelled out for her. It was quite likely she was just nervous, however. No sooner had she removed it from her mouth than she began to speak again. “Why do we need to do these tests anyway? I mean is this why we’re stuck here? Because I have to tell you I’d very much like to go home. Keeping us cooped up like this isn’t exactly a vacation, you know. Because I gotta tell you these boots aren’t doing it for me. I need like, real shoes.” Shaw let an actual smile pass his lips, genuinely amused by her comments. No, he wouldn’t imagine it would be a vacation, but it was her light-hearted comment about the shoes that made him smile. What an airhead she must be. With that blonde hair, she was feeding into every stereotype she could.

“You know these tests are pointless, really. I mean if you have questions you could just ask. We’re not all hostile, some of us would actually answer them. I know I would answer them if it meant I could get out of here. I’ve never hurt anyone before in my life. We’re not dangerous. Well, normally. What do you say, how about talking to whoever is in charge and putting in a good word?” He raised a brow at her. Did she honestly think he had that kind of authority? And how could she say they weren’t hostile when there had been a couple of attacks and one death in the city as a result of these Therians? It was naïve to argue such. “Is there any way to talk to whoever is in charge? Could we set up a meeting? Or is there someone I can send a complaint to? Send a memo? Kiss-a-gram? Anything?” Shaw almost laughed, shaking his head down at her file before looking back up at the young lady. “Unfortunately, I don’t think you would be able to get in touch with the man in charge, if I can’t. I take my orders from above, but I can’t really send requests back. And these tests will answer some questions that I don’t believe you would know the answer to. I try to make them as painless as possible.” He stood from his chair, pacing away from her a bit.

“As to why you’re here, I’m afraid I don’t know all the specifics of that complicated answer. Part of it is for study and another part is, quite honestly, fear. The city doesn’t understand your kind and until we do, we can’t trust that there will be no attacks, whether against humans or against Therianthropes. It’s not just for the city’s protection, but for your protection as well, Ms. McLeester.” With a sigh, he placed his hands in front of him, looking down at the young lady still sitting in her chair. “Now, would you like a chance to get some exercise?” Shaw could tell she was enthusiastic at that prospect, so he went on to explain what they would be doing. “First I will conduct a flexibility test to see how flexible your spine is. Second, we’ll be moving out into an adjoining yard to perform some track and field tests, including running and hurdles. But first, how often do you work out Ms. McLeester and what sort of exercise do you perform?”

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

At least Claire was able to get a few smiles out of the doctor. He didn't look so scary when he was smiling and it definitely helped with her nerves. "Unfortunately, I don't think you would be able to get in touch with the man in charge, if I can't. I take my orders from above, but I can't really send requests back. And these tests will answer some questions that I don't believe you would know the answer to. I try to make them as painless as possible." She snorted and shook her head, rolling her eyes at the doctor. He thought he could find out more about her than she knew about herself? Sure, maybe what her blood type was, but there were so many things that he couldn't possibly know about them. Not with his fancy medical equipment!

"As to why you're here, I'm afriad I don't know all the specifics of that complicated answer. Part of it is for study and another part is, quite honestly, fear. The city doesn't understand your kind and until we do, we can't trust that there will be no attacks, whether against humans or against Therianthropes. It's not just for the city's protection, but for your protection as well, Ms. McLeester." She'd heard of the attacks but then she thought that the news had over exaggerated it. As far as her safety... well she didn't shift outside of hers or Griffin's place. "Now, would you like a chance to get some exercise?" What kind of question was that?! Claire nearly jumped she was so excited at the thought of being able to stretch her legs and move around. She was going to run until they forced her to stop!

"First I will conduct a flexibility test to see how flexible your spine is. Second, we'll be moving out into an adjoining yard to perform some track and field tests, including running and hurdles. But first, how often do you work out Ms. McLeester and what sort of exercise do you perform?" Flexibility test? With her shifting all the time her flexibility was likely going to be awesome. If it had been a new moon then she would have been stiffer than a board.

"I'm telling you, your tests are totally inaccurate." Claire said and realized that maybe she should just keep her mouth shut. If she tried to explain the ways of the Therians and tried to tell him that with the tree in its funk, that's why they've been shifting all the time, what would stop him from telling someone else and they'd end up in there until the tree finally settled down? She wasn't going to be responsible for that sort of thing and she just shook her head.

"Mainly running and jogging. I'm not into the whole lifting weights thing and on a normal day I'm too clumsy to do anything that requires a lot of coordination." It sounded stupid. She sounded like such an airheaded doofus. "So what do I need to do? Stretch? Touch my toes? Am I going to get some different shoes? Can't do anything in boots.." She'd end up hurting herself if she had to do any kind of exercise in those stupid boots.

[CAMP MEDIC]

“I’m telling you, your tests are totally inaccurate.” Shaw looked up from McLeester’s file and lowered his brows slightly in confusion. What did she mean they were inaccurate? The look on her face said she wasn’t going to elaborate, but Shaw couldn’t just let a statement like that slip by. He would leave it alone for the moment. Perhaps when she had more endorphins in her system she would be more pliant with an explanation. She went on to answer his question and he noted her answers, but kept her statement in the forefront of his mind. “Mainly running and jogging. I’m not into the whole lifting weights thing and on a normal day I’m too clumsy to do anything that requires a lot of coordination.” Shaw bit back his smile. Claire McLeester seemed very much like the definition of what he would have called a spaz in his younger years. She probably wouldn’t be much for contact sports. It fit well with her animal as well, the running and the jogging.

"So what do I need to do? Stretch? Touch my toes? Am I going to get some different shoes? Can't do anything in boots…" Shaw nodded. “Yes, we have an assortment of running shoes. They aren’t the best, but they aren’t boots either. May I ask what size shoes you wear?” When she provided her shoe size, he noted it in her file so he could have a nurse fetch her a pair of the shoes while they conducted the flexibility tests. “As for the flexibility tests, they’ll be simple stretches such as touching your toes and yoga style stretches. If you’ll follow me, we’ll head to the outdoor area of our facility and start your stretches before you begin the track and field tests.” They began out the door and as they headed to the track, they encountered a nurse who he asked to fetch the shoes while they continued out to the track. She was happy to oblige and scampered away to retrieve the tennis shoes while he and the Therian continued on. Soon they were outside in the chilly air, but the doctor felt fine in his lab coat. There was a mat set up on the ground where McLeester would do her stretches.

“Okay. While we wait for those shoes to show up, I’d like you to sit on the mat and we’ll go through the series of stretches.” He waited for the young lady to have a seat on the mat and pulled a measuring tape out of his pocket. “First I’d like you to stretch your legs straight out in front of you and bend down as far as you can.” McLeester actually managed to almost get her forehead to her knees which made Shaw raise his eyebrows before he recorded the results. “Very good. Now set your legs about two feet apart and come up the middle.” Again, McLeester obliged and once again proved extreme flexibility. “Fantastic. Now I’d like you to turn onto your stomach and lay flat with your chin on the mat.” She did so and he nodded. “Good. Place your arms at your sides with the backs of your hands on the mat and then pull your torso up from the ground facing straight ahead. Keep your hips against the mat.” This was a difficult test for some people since it involved a lot of work in the core of the body, but McLeester accomplished it with little strain. He measured the distance between the mat and her chin and it measured eight inches; most people could achieve six inches, so eight was very good. “Okay relax…now, you’ll do it again, but this time put your palms into the mat and use them to help you push up.” Again, her back arched up, her hips down, and he measured the distance this time. She was able to bend almost a full foot off the mat. It appeared she was as flexible as a cheetah. “Okay, the last one you’ll need to lie on your back.” He waited for her to do so, taking notes in her file. “Bend your knees. Keep your shoulders flat on the mat as you drop your bended knees to the mat. Good; now twist them to the other side. Back the other way, more slowly. And again. Very good.” She had full and easy motion of her lower spine, no difficulties to report. It was like her spine was a well-oiled machine, which is just what he had in mind for a cheetah.

As they completed the test, he saw the nurse coming toward them with the requested shoes. He nodded towards her and looked down at McLeester. “That’s it for the flexibility tests, Ms. McLeester. You did very well. You can take your boots off and put the sneakers on to prepare for the track and field test. I will time you as you complete four laps around the track, which equates to a mile. There are a series of hurdles to complete towards the end of each lap. If you find you can’t continue, you may tell me so and we’ll take a break. Any questions?” The nurse had handed her the shoes while Shaw spoke and he waited patiently for her to continue lacing them up.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

The thought of getting a pair of running shoes to put on excited the Therian. Even if they weren't her own shoes it would just be nice to get out of those awful heavy boots and into something with a little more cushion. Sure, she wore heels at her nine to five job everyday but she was able to take them off from time to time. Not to mention she liked the way they made her feel and the way they looked. These boots just.. they had to go.

"Okay. While we wait for those shoes to show up, I'dl ike you to sit on the mat and we'll go through the series of stretches." Stretching was easy peasy lemon squeezy for Claire. The day before a full moon she sometimes would catch herself sitting in weird positions while watching television or just reaching for something in a way she wouldn't normally do it. It was a piece of cake. When she was instructed to put her legs in front of her and stretch she did so with very little effort and was able to grab the soles of her feet. Her forehead practically touched her knees before he told her to stretch her legs out to the sides and reach down the middle. Not only did she do that but she also grabbed at her feet again to show even more flexibility.

She followed every instruction that she received without asking any questions. If it had been a new moon she wouldn't be able to do half of this stuff. She'd just roll around on the mat like a turtle on its back. That was why she believed their testing was inaccurate. “That’s it for the flexibility tests, Ms. McLeester. You did very well. You can take your boots off and put the sneakers on to prepare for the track and field test. I will time you as you complete four laps around the track, which equates to a mile. There are a series of hurdles to complete towards the end of each lap. If you find you can’t continue, you may tell me so and we’ll take a break. Any questions?”

Yes! Sneakers! Claire shook her head furiously when he asked if she had any questions. Well, she sort of wished she didn't have to run in that stupid jumpsuit but she'd make it work. Knocking off the boots one by one she scooted them to the side with her foot so she could put on the sneakers, lacing them up and making sure they were double knotted so they didn't come undone while she was running. Once they were on and tied to her satisfaction she hopped up and started to bounce around in place testing just how absorbant the soles of the sneakers were. She didn't want to hurt herself but she could run barefooted and she'd be absolutely fine.

She practically skipped her way to the starting line and once there she turned her head to look back at the doctor, waiting for him to signal it was time for her to go. Crouching down with one leg behind her, she kicked off and started to sprint. It felt just as natural as breathing for Claire. She was graceful just like the animal she shifted into. The first lap was a piece of cake for the girl and she didn't even break a sweat. Of course she wasn't as fast as she would have been if she were to shift into the spotted feline, but she was pretty darn fast! Faster than most humans that was for sure. When she reached the hurdles she lunged over them one leg after the other and then proceeded on to the next lap and the next. It felt amazing and she wanted to just run around doing laps until she passed out!

[CAMP MEDIC]

Shaw nodded when McLeester shook her head, indicating she didn’t have any questions. It was obvious she wanted to get this test started. “Alright, go ahead and take your mark.” She was bouncing and practically skipping as she made her way to the starting line, which made Shaw suppress a smile. This was by the far the most enthusiastic of his patients yet. The girl looked back at him and then crouched down as he pulled out his stopwatch. “Get set. Go!” The girl took off sprinting and Shaw had to wonder how long she would be able to maintain that pace. Surprisingly, it hardly seemed to affect her as she took off around the track, and he hadn’t seen anyone finish one lap so quickly. Apparently her speed translated into her human form. She was graceful and Shaw found himself silently admiring her form as she completed her first round, leaping over the hurdles with ease. From the way she talked, it sounded like she was a clumsy young woman, but she wasn’t proving to be so out here. Really, the girl should try out for the Olympics at this pace.

Even after the second lap, she hardly slowed her pace. She was beginning to sweat, but she wasn’t losing her energy. Maybe it would be a false reading because she’d been cooped up for days without being able to do this and she probably was running on pent up energy right now, but even Shaw knew there was only so much energy that could build up in ones system. The days she had gone without regular exercise would normally slow her down and negatively affect her, but McLeester wasn’t showing that at all. It was a very interesting result. After the third lap she had yet to stumble on the hurdles or even look like she was struggling. Shaw looked to the stopwatch and saw that she was at six minutes. Only six minutes! It was very impressive and he raised his eyebrows at the results. She still had one more lap to do, but he predicted she would come in at just over eight minutes. He could remember back to high school when that was an impressive finish even for the track stars. His eyes followed her patiently as she completed her lap, a determination and even satisfaction in her eyes. She was clearly enjoying this opportunity. Once more she flew over the hurdles with a little bit more struggle showing on her face, but not in her form. When she came over the finish line, he clicked the stopwatch and yelled, “Time!” Eight minutes and eight seconds; he smiled and shook his head.

“Very impressive, Ms. McLeester. You came in at eight minutes and eight seconds. For a comparison, I would like you to do the same test but in your animal form. I’m sure you won’t attack me, but I’m required to say that if you do, there are guards in the towers around here who will not hesitate to shoot you.” His blue eyes shifted to the guard towers before he smiled at Claire. “Would you like a break before we move on and you run the track again?” He didn’t want to wear her down and it would be no skin off his back if she needed some time.

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

The first two laps around the track were a breeze. It reminded her of when she used to be on the track team back in high school, running around the long oval track constantly and competing with the other girls on the track team and then other girls from different high schools. She kept picturing Taylor Compton, the conceited little jerk who always thought she was the best runner on the track team running against her. She used to smoke the girl constantly, but it didn't stop her from telling everyone that she was the best.

By the third lap she was starting to grow tired, sweat dropping down her brow and getting into her eyes but she just shook her head to get it to fling off of her and kept on going. She almost didn't make it over the last hurdle, the tip of her sneaker brushing against it and making her stagger to stop from falling over. "Very impressive, Ms. McLeester. You came in at eight minutes and eight seconds. For a comparison, I would like you to do the same test but in your animal form. I'm sure you won't attack me, but I'm required to say that if you do, there are guards in the towers around here who will not hesitate to shoot you." She stared at him and her mouth went slack when he spoke about the guards. People with guns made her very nervous. Then again who didn't get nervous around guns?

"Would you like a break before we move on and you run the track again?" A break wasn't something she needed but maybe a changing room. She didn't want to strip out of her jumpsuit right there and if she shifted in it she'd get tangled and probably end up tearing it to pieces trying to get out of it. It didn't help that she turned into the one freaking cat that couldn't retract her claws. She'd tear that jumper to shreds alright. "Can I shift somewhere less.. public? I don't want to just.. in public.." She became awkward and nervous, squirming a bit standing there in her skin. She didn't like public nakedness. Hell, she could barely be naked in front of her boyfriend!

[CAMP MEDIC]

“Can I shift somewhere less…public? I don’t want to just…in public…” Shaw could see her squirming and his smile was kind, but not warm. He never smiled warmly. “Of course. Follow me please and please bring your boots with you. I’m sure we can find an empty room to store your things in for the duration of this test.” While Claire gathered her things, he waved the two guards standing near the entrance to the building over. When they were close enough, Shaw gestured to the hurdles. “Would you please remove every other hurdle from the track? I must escorted Ms. McLeester back into the building for a moment. And also, could you lower the hurdles as much as possible? I appreciate your assistance.” The guards looked reluctantly between one another but when they saw the cold look in Shaw’s eyes, they nodded and went to do as he requested. The doctor wasn’t one to be denied. He looked to the young cat woman once again and gave a kind smile before he led the way back into the building. It was a short corridor, but there were doors to two storage cabinets and two rooms before it intersected the main corridor. Shaw walked to the first and opened the door for him and McLeester.

“Please take your time. Unfortunately, I must be in the room with you, but I’ll have my back turned.” As promised, Shaw took up a place in front of a counter and waited patiently for the young lady to prepare herself. He could hear the rustling of clothes and the soft tap of the shoes as they came off, but he didn’t turn around to look. He figured he would know when she had shifted. Would there be a noise indicating that she was no longer human? It was a curious thought. He been standing for a full three minutes with his back to her when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. There in the room was a beautiful, sleek wildcat: a cheetah in possibly the strangest place he could imagine one. The smile that broke out on his face was possibly the most genuine one he’d given all day, awestruck, amazed and delighted. How extraordinary! “Fantastic!” he exclaimed and stepped toward her. He wasn’t afraid she would attack. As if to make sure she was real, he reached down and ran his hand along her head, the fur coarse but strangely soft as well, and he shook his head slightly. “Incredible…” He had not encountered a Therianthrope who could shift into a wildcat before.

Shaw opened the door once more, letting the cat out first and then following behind her. He escorted her back outside, holding doors for her and listening the clicking of her un-retractable claws on the linoleum floor of the medical wing. Walking back outside, the guards looked over from the track and appeared somewhat nervous. It wasn’t every day that one saw a cheetah and a doctor strolling onto a track field. The guards had removed the hurdles necessary and were almost done lowering the ones left up. Shaw watched patiently as they finished and once they were done, they hurried off the track to find their way back to their post. Silly men; they had guns and they were afraid of a big cat? Shaw turned back to Ms. McLeester and smiled once more. “Okay, Ms. McLeester. You may take your mark. When I say go, I’ll begin timing you.” The cat seemed to understand and she took up residence in one of the track lanes, her golden eyes faced forward. Shaw prepared his stopwatch once more. “Get set.” He reset his watch and prepared to begin timing. “Go!”

[CLAIRE MCLEESTER]

Claire was relieved when the doctor told her that she could change in one of the rooms inside, commanding her to bring the boots along with her and it was a simple enough request. She scooped up the boots and hugged them against her chest, following the doctor back into the building after he instructed the guards to take care of the hurdles on the track. The guards made Claire nervous. They had guns and it didn’t matter what form Claire was in she knew she couldn’t outrun a speeding bullet. She wasn’t frickin’ Superman! And that kept her on edge. Whenever the guards tried to talk to her she ended up getting nervous and flustered, and the ones who were in the barracks with them knew that if they wanted answers then it was best not to ask her because it would take a day and a half for them to get an actual response from her.

“Please take your time. Unfortunately, I must be in the room with you, but I’ll have my back turned.” He could have a paper bag over his head, it didn’t change the fact that he’d still be in the room with her and that made her shift uncomfortably again. But the doctor did just what he said he would do and turned his back to her. She knew she could safely undress without him watching, but she still did it as quick as she could. The sneakers dropped to the floor one by one and then came the jumpsuit. She hated the underwear that they’d been given. She couldn’t complain about the sports bra because she was small chested anyway and sports bras were always comfortable. But something had to be done about the granny panties. Couldn’t they have gotten boxers or spandex shorts or something instead? The panties seemed to be too big and they just felt weird. She was kind of glad to strip out of those and the bra, bunching them up and tucking them into the jumper. She hunched over and covered her chest with her arms and crossed one leg over the other and nervously looked at the back of the doctor’s head. He still wasn’t watching. Wasting no time she hunched forward and willed her body to change, going through the shift that mutated her bones and joints.

When the shift was over, a slender cheetah stood in the room on all fours. That’s when she realized she didn’t know how to let him know that she was done. She could nudge him with the top of her head but it might startle him. Against she could make a noice but that could startle him as well. She decided to just move around a bit, pacing and waiting for him to catch sight of her which he did almost instantly. ”Fantastic!” The doctor came closer and reached his hand out to touch the top of her head and the cheetah retracted a bit, its fur standing on end. Claire had only let one person actually touch her when she’d shifted. It was strange when it wasn’t Griffin petting her. When the door was opened the cat headed out the door, her claws clacking loudly against the linoleum floor and even against the pavement when they made it outside.

It was kind of nice to see the guards grow uneasy when Claire came out in her cat form. Her feline senses could pick up the fear that they felt and it gave her some satisfaction, easing a bit of the fear that the guards usually put into her. The doctor explained that he’d let her know when it was time to go and to get ready. She was going to get to run around the track again, just like she had in her human form but she had to admit it was going to be nice to do it as a feline. Claire didn’t get out much when she shifted since she’d always had a crippling fear of animal control being called on her. She didn’t have the guts her sister did. She moved onto the track and her front paws spread apart while her weight shifted to her hind legs, lowering her chest down to the ground and stretching as she waited for the signal. ”Go!” Cheetahs were known to get up to speeds of 70-75 miles per hour and even up to 63 mph within the first three seconds. Claire was no exception to that rule and when she took off down the track she was halfway around it in no time at all. The hurdles were nothing for her in this form either. She’d nearly finished two laps in less time than it took Claire to do one in human form.

[CAMP MEDIC]

Watching the Discovery Channel and seeing a cheetah tear through a savannah after a gazelle was one thing, but actually seeing it in front of you, live…that was quite another. It was, in one word, amazing. Shaw just watched in awe as McLeester finished just under two laps around the track in about as much as it took her to complete one in her human form. Apparently, four legs were better than two. Even the hurdles didn’t slow her down as she flew over them with ease. Perhaps he should have set up more…Even so, the point was to see her ability to handle obstacles in this form and the flexibility of her spine. The woman was no different than an actual cheetah in this form, and that was precisely what his tests were meant to answer. In just over half the time it took for her to complete a mile in human form, she had completed her fourth lap and Shaw yelled, “Time!” It was four minutes and eleven seconds. He shook his head with a smile at the stopwatch he held in his hand. “Four minutes, eleven seconds. Very impressive, Ms. McLeester. Very well done. Go ahead and take a break.” She had certainly earned it.

Shaw made notes in her file as she rested, stretched, whatever she needed to do after such a hard workout. So far, she was in line with the other Therianthrope patients he had studied; there was no difference between the animal they shifted into and their natural counterparts. In human form they also seemed to show similar traits to their animal form, but McLeester had referenced that those tests were inaccurate. What had she meant by that? It was assumed the shifters were like this all the time, so how could their tests be inaccurate? McLeester would definitely be in high spirits now that her legs were stretched and she’d had some good exercise. Perhaps she would be more willing to answer his questions about that now…

He smiled over at McLeester and waved his hand. “Come with me, Ms. McLeester. We’ll get you back in your clothes.” When he was sure McLeester was slinking behind him, he headed back into the building, nodding to the guards as they passed. They were still nervous of the cheetah, probably wondering why he would turn his back on her, but Shaw wasn’t afraid of the wildcat. She was mostly human and would have better sense than to attack him, especially since he had just let her run around and stretch her legs for about twenty-five minutes. No, he was confident she wouldn’t do anything to harm him. Once inside, her claws still clicking loudly on the floor, he led her back into the room her things were in and turned his back once more. “Go ahead and change. Again, I’ll keep my back turned.” He flipped through her chart absentmindedly as she shifted and put her clothes back on. As soon as he heard the rustling of clothes, he knew she was human again, and he continued to flip through her file. “Earlier you said our tests were inaccurate. Just out of curiosity, what did you mean?” he inquired offhandedly. He wanted to ease her into the answer and threatening her certainly wasn’t going to get him anything. With a patient smile, he waited for her answer, still politely not looking at her.