Keep Growing - Part 2 (Patreon)

Two days later, October found himself sulking inside his office chair again. He let out a faint sigh under his breath, spending the weekend in the mountains was a much needed refreshment. If only he could spend more time in nature. 

But, “this macrodata needs some refinement!”, he thought to himself as he turned his attention back to the whining CRT Monitor displaying seemingly random numbers over even more numbers. Power through, tiger. Was this really the environment this tiger was made for? His body kept mindlessly clicking away at the screen, but he kept going back to a particular question: “If I could change anything about myself - what would it be?” Because whatever this is, is clearly not working out for October. 

Hm. Tough one. It seems like a question with endless answers, but turning them into words? Tricky.

For starters, he wouldn’t be sitting in this mind-numbing green office. Maybe up in a firewatch tower peering at the horizon for any signs of smoke, maybe he’d be a lifeguard up at the eastern coast. Or maybe something completely different, he’d be anywhere just not here.

Secondly, he’d be hitting the gym more. He’d finally see progression after all his workouts, his frame would finally show strength. How much? 

“Huh?” He exclaimed softly. The bite flared up for a second. Weird. It hadn’t been itchy since he camped by the peak. 

Anyhow, where was he… Ah. 

He could wear tank tops which would show off his well developed arms. He’d have biceps that people wanted to feel when he flexed…. 

The bite. As he kept returning to these thoughts it sent warm sensations through his spine. Weird. 

His mind drifted off. He’d be tall. Standing face to face with his cousin - goosebumps spread over his body as the weird tingling from the bite intensified. 

No, his cousin wouldn't even reach his pecs! Two slabs of jutting muscle hovering above him… 

His body began to run hot. Singular beads of sweat ran down his temple. Shit.

How was he supposed to refine the data like this? Was he poisoned? He felt like breathing became harder and harder, his chest closing in on his ribcage..

October turned around from his desk. He clearly needed medical attention, this could be a stroke, venom in his blood stream, anything! 

It was as he was getting up that he noticed the actual source of his distress. His shirt didn’t just feel uncomfortably tighter - it actually was.

He felt the white collar digging deeper into his fur. His toes bunching up in his sneakers. Orange tufts of tiger began perking up from under the shirt's hem - the same shirt that was tucked into his pants moments ago.

The sleeves didn't even reach his wrists anymore, and between his legs… there wasn't exactly anything worth noting before. But now it definitely felt different… 

Yep. “I’m having a stroke.”, he thought to himself.