For @Khazhak. Hopefully you like it.
“Let me be the first to say. Welcome to Furarrium Farms, Mr. Uskaw”.
Ahris Uskaw looked at his greeter with an amicable smile. A slightly older, portly man in farm overalls. One look was all Ahris needed to know that this was a humble man. Mr. Quarry, owner of Furarrium Farms.
Ahris shook his hand.
“Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Quarry”.
“Please, Mr. Quarry is my father’s name, call me Balth”
Ahris Uskaw nodded.
“Well then it’s only fair that you call me Ahris”.
Balth made a hearty laugh.
“Fair is fair… Shall we start the tour, Ahris?”
“Please. Lead the way”
Balth nodded and spun around, leading Ahris into a barn.
The outside of the barn looked traditional in design. A massive red wood barn that stood both sturdy and tall, yet the inside was a lot more cozy. A large skylight allowed for the entire farm to be bathed in warm sunlight, whilst greenery allowed for a more natural decor. A large stone brick path stood at the center of the barn, with barn pens on either side.
Barn pens converted to serve as individual nursery pens. The fences were replaced with padded half walls, surrounding a raised platform covered in cushioned floors. With each pen equipped with a small TV, a litter box and numerous toys. Within each of these pens were six to eight foals. Each of these foals either having a lovely color combo, or interesting fur patterns, or both. The primary product of Furarrium Farms. However, Ahris was more interested on the Fluffy care mares, as he noticed each nursery pen holding two care mares, which deviated from standard practices.
“Two care mares per pen?” Ahris asked.
Balth chuckled “I know. It may feel a little excessive, but believe me it helps in the long run”.
“Oh? How so?”.
“Well to put it briefly, having two care mares to one nursery pen allows for each to support one another. Our care mares go through the advance nursing program and we have diligent staff on monitor duty, but mistakes still happen all the time, after all Fluffies are one of the most accident prone entities. However, we found that having two well-mannered and well-trained care mares in one space allows for the two to support each other. They can spot when the other is making a mistake and rectify immediately. Provide mental and emotional support. Notify us when the other is looking or feeling sickly. Plus we find that the foals respond better to training when there are two authority figures, alongside our Fluffy TV teaching program”.
Ahris made another nod of agreement.
“I can see the benefits” Ahris stated.
Balth grinned “Of course. Here at Furarrium farms, we pride ourselves on selling the best Fluffies available. Best colors. Best patterns. Best attitudes”.
Ahris nodded slightly.
“What about… products that don’t meet your standard?”
Balth, suddenly put on a more serious look.
“We put some through the advanced nursing program, but honestly speaking we just discard the unwanted products. No point in preservation given how high supply is”.
Ahris nodded quietly, looking at one of the barn pens. Two care mares with three colorful foals, two foals with unique fur patterns, and two more foals which possessed both good colors and interesting fur patterns.
“How much are you willing to sell the unwanted products for?”
This question seemed to take Balth by surprised, but then he suddenly grinned.
“If we’re talking batch, then I’m willing to go for two a foal”.
Ahris nodded again, but maintained his neutral expression, offering no hint as to whether the offer was enticing or not. Balth did not push on the matter, but instead continued walking on, until they reached a different part of the barn. A windowless room with two elevators. There was also a burly man sat behind the desk, but the man quickly stood up as Balth entered.
“Good day Mr. Quarry!… uh… I’ll need to check the identification of your guest”.
Balth nodded and turned to Ahris with a smile.
“I’m sorry Ahris, but we will need your ID”.
Ahris quickly handed the security guard his ID Card.
“No need to apologize. Standard security protocol. I would expect nothing less”.
The guard quickly took the ID card and began typing on his computer. Then he would grab a black plastic card and place it on the device, causing the device to make a quiet beep. The guard would put the card in a lanyard, handing it over to Ahris alongside his ID, then he would press a button, causing one of the lifts to open.
“Have a good day, sirs” the guard said politely, as the two men walked into the lift.
The descent down took no more than thirty seconds, and when the lift doors opened, Ahris would find himself in a new area far different from the barn. White plated walls, shiny metallic forms and ceiling with in-built lights. A wide clinical hallway. Two guards were stationed by a table and both would make polite nods as Ahris and Balth walked on by. At the end of this hallway were sturdy glass doors, and Balth would press his thumb against a biometric scanner embedded on one of the walls, causing the glass doors to open.
Ahris looked at him in confusion, raising his card.
“Cards are only for guests” Balth stated, pointing at another scanner “I find that biometric scanners are more secure and more convenient. No need to worry about my staff misplacing their card, especially somewhere public where it risks being taken by someone with… well… let’s just say malicious intent”.
Ahris nodded in agreement.
“I agree. Those individuals certainly had become more radical as of late, still that Fluffy Sink operations by F3 was certainly a worrying development”.
“Exactly! Imagine all that bloodshed and destruction, over Fluffies. Absolutely insane in my opinion… Fortunately Furarrium Farms would rank quite low on their priority list. Our genetic and social programs are rather tame compared to those terrorist’s usual targets”.
Ahris once again nodded in agreement, and looked at the guest card.
“What about these guest cards?” He asked “What if someone was able to sneak out with one of these cards and pass it to said malicious party?”
“Oh! We already planned for that. The cards have to be manually activated by our security staff and they are automatically deactivated at the end of the day. So even if said malicious party were to obtain one, they would have nothing more than a plastic rectangle”.
Ahris nodded in approval.
“What about internal risks? How do you vet for those?”
Balth frowned slightly, before making a disappointed sigh.
“Unfortunately we have no methods to vet internal risks with guaranteed success. We do background checks before we hire our staff of course, and we do have surveillance cameras installed all across our laboratory. Our staff are also informed to look out for suspicious activity. However, anything more than that would create an unnecessarily tense work environment, one that I do not see as viable”.
“I understand. Regardless, I find that your current security measures are quite praise-worthy. Shall we continue the tour?”
“Of course! Please, follow me”
They would walk through the glass doors and enter a laboratory. Clinical white walls and floors. Lab equipment, computers and scientific devices were spread about in a neat fashion, operated by an assortment of individuals in lab coats.
“Welcome to the heart of Furarrium Farms. This is where the magic happens. I invested in the brightest minds and best equipment in the market and it has served me well. Thanks to my team, Furarrium Farms is able to provide top quality Fluffies with top tier colors and patterns, at a consistent rate. Thanks to a mix of artificial methods and selective breeding, I don’t need to focus on preserving certain Fluffies and instead I can focus entirely on behavioral training”.
Ahris nodded slightly, staring at the equipment. Fluffy fetuses inside glass tubes, at various stages of growth. Biomatter inside some sort of machine. Two adult Fluffies mating, within a glass enclosure, as a researcher took notes. It was indeed a respectable operation set up, but the science behind fur color and pattern manipulation was not exactly groundbreaking, and though he tried his best to hide it, his lack of interest must have been apparent, as Balth had a rather nervous look on his face, and he approached one of his staff.
“Stevie… uh… where’s Dr. Ludanious?”
“Oh?.. um… she should be in the experimentation wing, sir”
“Excellent! Ahris, please come with me. I would like you to meet one of my top researchers”.
Ahris nodded and followed Balth. They walked out of the large room and through a hallway into an equally large room with a dozen small rooms attached. However, there were considerably less people in this room.
“Ah! There she is. I remembered she was working on something interesting… Oh! Dr. Ludanious is one of my brightest geneticists, but please be aware that she’s also a little… well… um… eccentric”.
“I see no problem with that”.
Balth smiled and led Ahris to one of the rooms. Inside were two women. One brunette and one blonde. The blonde looked at them with surprise, whilst the brunette stared intently at a glass enclosure, clearly unaware of their presence.
“Ah Charlotte!” Balth exclaimed “Ahris, this is Charlotte. She’s one of the research aides, but she mainly works as Dr. Ludanious’ personal assistant”.
The blonde stepped forward and shook Ahris’ hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir” she said.
“Likewise”
Ahris then turned to the brunette, who was still staring intently in the glass enclosure. It was clear that she was still unaware of their presence and Charlotte suddenly stepped back, nudging the brunette.
“Dr. G. Mr. Quarry is here and guest”.
The brunette turned around in surprise.
“Oh… Mr. Quarry”
Balth chuckled “Ahris. This is Dr. Gremmie Ludanious. Dr. Ludanious, this is Ahris Uskaw”.
Dr. Ludanious stepped forward and shook his hand, and he took the moment to inspect her slightly. A bespectacled woman in her early twenties dressed in a rather unkempt manner, with messy hair and dark rings under her eyes, but her eyes themselves held a particular intensity. The kind that told Ahris not to underestimate her intelligence.
He turned his attention to the glass enclosure.
“What exactly are you working on?” He asked.
“Jelly-based Fluffies” Dr. Ludanious replied nonchalantly.
Ahris looked at her in confusion and walked up to the glass enclosure.
He would find himself stunned.
Inside were two Fluffy-like entities, but they were far different from normal Fluffies. Furless with semi-transparent bodies. One red and one green, yet he could somewhat see both of their skeletal structures inside their body. He stared at Dr. Ludanious in astonishment.
“H… How?!”
Dr. Ludanious stared at him in confusion, before she suddenly made a small smile.
“Oh! I used genomic recombination to incorporate Aequorea victoria DNA into the host’s genetic framework, allowing for these Fluffies to develop viscous mesenchymal bodies”.
Ahris stared at her blankly and Charlotte suddenly stepped forward.
“Dr. Ludanious integrated jellyfish DNA into the base Fluffy DNA, leading to these Fluffies developing jelly-like bodies” Charlotte explained.
“Oh I see”
Charlotte turned to look at Dr. Ludanious, and Dr. Ludanious looked momentarily surprised.
“Oh… right… um… sorry. Bad habit” Dr. Ludanious replied with a sheepish look.
Ahris looked at the two women with intrigue, then turned his attention back to the glass enclosure. The two Jelly Fluffies were now playing with a ball.
“We… well… I named the red one, Apple, and the green one, Pear” Charlotte explained.
Ahris nodded slightly as he continued to observe Apple and Pear. The two were chasing after a ball and he found it interesting how they would jiggle and wobble with every step. Giggling in the same high pitched tone of ordinary Fluffies.
“Hehehe Appwe hab bawwie. Sissie nu can catchie”
“Peaw catchie! Peaw catchie!”
Even their vocabulary was similar to that of an ordinary Fluffy. It was bizarre, and Ahris began to observe the other objects in the enclosure. Aside from the ball, there were also three blocks and a teddy bear. The standard toys for any Fluffy safe space. However, there was only a feeding bowl filled with a liquid solution and there was also no litter box.
“Where do these Fluffies go to… relieve themselves”.
“Oh! They don’t” Charlotte explained “They simply just absorb everything they consume into their bodies”.
“Like slime monsters!” Dr. Ludanious added passionately.
Charlotte turned to Dr. Ludanious again, and Dr. Ludanious looked surprised.
“Oh… sorry. We believe it to be a side effect of integrating jellyfish DNA into their base code. Extremely effective digestion system which produces no waste product… though it probably helps that we don’t feed them solids”.
“Ah yes I noticed that. What exactly is the liquid?”
“Blended up gelatin with milk” Charlotte replied “We found that it’s the only thing they eat”.
Just as she had said, one of the two Jelly Fluffies had let out a startled squeak. Ahris turned back his attention and noticed that Apple had fallen down, next to a knocked over feeding bowl. The contents of said feeding bowl had spilled all over the floor, as well as on Apple. He also noticed that one Apple’s legs had torn slightly, but strangely Apple did not scream, it just looked surprised.
“Siwwy Bwuddah” Pear stated with a giggle “Nu wook wen wun”
Apple giggled back in response, and Ahris felt confused. Why wasn’t it showing no reaction to its torn leg.
“Oh they don’t feel pain. I think no nerve endings and the tear isn’t a big deal, they patch up really quickly. Side effect of the jellyfish DNA again, right Dr. G?”
Dr. Ludanious nodded silently, staring intently into the glass enclosure. She was observing the two jelly Fluffies watching as Pear began licking Apple.
“Tank yu fo wickie cweans sissie” Apple stated.
“Am otay” Pear replied.
Ahris noticed the tongue. Jelly like, similar to the rest of the body. It really was so bizarre. Just watching these two jelly-like creatures. Fluffies were already strange in themselves, but this was a completely new kind of strange. Yet it was interesting at the very least, and it seemed that things were going to get a little more interesting. Pear had managed to lick clean Apple, but for some reason the green Jelly Fluffy was still licking the red one.
“Sissie?” Apple asked in confusion.
Pear continued licking.
“Bwuddah suuu yummie!” Pear suddenly exclaimed.
Before anyone could react, Pear had suddenly bit into Apple’s side, and somehow managed to tear a small chunk of jelly off Apple’s body, devouring greedily.
Ahris looked at the other three in confusion. Balth and Charlotte looked shocked, but Dr. Ludanious remained unphased, and in fact she seemed intrigued.
“Uh… should we intervene Dr. G?!” Charlotte asked.
Dr. Ludanious shook her head “No. Continue observing”.
Suddenly Apple had taken a bite out of Pear.
“Sissie am yummie tuu!” Apple exclaimed with glee.
Ahris would find himself witnessing something utterly bizarre. The two jelly Fluffies devouring each other ravenously without much thought. Consuming each other piece by piece with no thoughts of self preservation, and the more they consumed the smaller each became, yet neither seemed to understand the consequences of their actions, as there was no pain urging them to stop and remind each other of their mortality.
It became more bizarre when they bit holes in their bodies and the consume jelly flesh would leak out of these wounds. Neither seeming to realize this, as all they seemed to think about was sating their desire for this gelatinous flesh, especially Pear, who had began consuming far faster than her sibling.
Eventually, Apple became nothing more than a red jelly head attached to a skeleton. It was opening it’s mouth, but was unable to speak.
“Stiww hungwy” Pear stated.
With that, Pear would silence her sibling forever, consuming the last remnants of red gelatinous flesh. All that remained was the skeletal structure and lumps of consumed red and green jelly.
“Wan mowe” Pear replied.
Ahris could only watch in morbid fascination as Pear began to consume the torn lumps of jelly. Some red. Some green. The flesh of both it’s sibling and itself. What made it utterly bizarre was that the back half of Pear had also been consumed, so all jelly it would devour would just fall out of its body, leaving Pear in this seemingly perpetual state of hunger.
“Hmmm… interesting” Dr. Ludanious commented nonchalantly “Even with half it’s body destroyed, Pear is still able to function and this hunger seems to override survival instincts. Oh Charlotte look! The organs are indeed gelatinous, just like we theorized”.
Charlotte had a somewhat horrified expression, only able to nod slightly, and Balth also looked a little perturbed. Ahris himself remained unphased, and watched as Dr. Ludanious opened the glass enclosure and picked up Pear, surprising the green Jelly Fluffy.
“Am hungwy” Pear stated, seemingly unaware that it’s lower half was gone and its jelly-like internals were now dangling out.
“How are you still able to function?” Dr. Ludanious asked aloud.
Pear looked at her in confusion “Peaw… Peaw nu undewstan”.
Dr. Ludanious did not reply. Instead she had a curious look.
“Hmmm… I wonder”.
Suddenly Dr. Ludanious dug her fingers into Pear. The green jelly Fluffy made a startled squeak but nothing more. It just looked confused. This really was so bizarre.
Dr. Ludanious would pull out some sort of organ. Somewhat see through like the rest of the body, and without warning she would lick it.
“Ugh… gross. It tastes like playdough.
Ahris stared at Dr. Ludanious wide eyed, and noticed Balth just as shocked, and much to his amusement he would watch Charlotte’s horrified expression turn to iritation.
“OH MY GOD DR. G!!! YOU DON’T JUST LICK THINGS LIKE THAT RANDOMLY!!!”
Dr. Ludanious looked at her with surprise, as Charlotte grabbed her wrist.
“UGHHH!! C’mon we going to medical to make sure you’re okay. Sorry Mr. Quarry, but we need to go”.
“Ye… yes. Of course! Of course!”
Charlotte would drag a very confused Dr. Ludanious out of the testing room, muttering something about how Dr. Ludanious was acting strange today, and Ahris just watched, as Balth approached with an apologetic smile.
“Uh… yeah… I know I told you, she’s was a bit eccentric, but it seems to be that she’s a little… uh… more today”.
Ahris nodded slightly, then turned back to the pile of jelly.
“Do you know why she did this?” He asked.
“What do you mean?” Balth replied.
“Well… did you ask her to do this?”
“Oh! No no. Not at all… I mean what would I need with… um… those things”.
“I see? Then why?”
“Oh right… well sheer curiosity honestly. I mean this isn’t her first experiment. There was one about testing whether a non-SBS foal could care for an SBS foal… or something like that, and then after that she tried to make a cat variant. Oh and it’s not just her. A lot of my researchers have their own variant projects. Dr. Stein is currently working on a cow variant and Dr. Lindsay created this… well… let’s just say chimeric creature… Honestly a couple of my staff are a bit eccentric thinking about it, BUT they’re reliable. All of them”.
Ahris nodded in agreement and smiled.
“They’re exactly what I’ve been looking for”.
“Oh?”
“Mr. Quarry… Balth. I suppose you’ve been wondering why I wanted to tour your facility”.
“Well yes that thought has crossed my mind”.
“Well… to put it simply, my… client wants to create a new kind of Fluffy. A Fluffy 2.0 if you will”.
“I see? But how exactly can I help, I just sell unique furs”
“Well you have a respectably secure facility with high end genetic manipulation equipment and highly competent researchers”.
“If I remember rightly, you have those as well.”
“Yes we do, but the project is a lot bigger than expected, and rather than hire new staff who are unfamiliar with genetic manipulation, especially on Fluffies, why not just buy high end Fluffy farms and their already competent staff?”
Balth looked surprised by this, before giving Ahris a wary look.
“How much are we talking?”
“For now… five million a year”.
Balth’s eyes practically bulged from their sockets and he couldn’t help but smile.
“That’s a lot of money”
“Well you know who my clients are. You know they’re good for it”.
“I do”.
“And if things go well. We expect demand for the originals to plummet. That might include your current product, so wouldn’t you want to invest in the new trend?”
Balth nodded.
“I… um…”
Balth cleared his throat with a cough and then grinned.
“I don’t see why not. This endeavor seems to be very much worth it”.
The two men shook hands and Ahris smiled.
“I’ll have my people provide you with the contract later, but let me be the first to say, welcome. You and Furarrium Farms are now part of the Entepott Fluffy Studio umbrella and now part of Project Ellaheimer”.
“Sounds exciting”
I’m excited too ~ MEY
