Wardrobe

Villager: Podidosi

“Huh? Woah woah woah, it’s not safe for you to be in here! Let’s talk outside.”

Name: Podidosi
Nickname: Podi
Pronouns: She/her
Birthday: August 9

Likes: Alchemy, conch shells, oceans, potions, science
Dislikes: dislikes

Podidosi is an... interesting character for sure. She is quirky and energetic, and very passionate about her work. She is an amazing scientist that can probably give you more information than any book could. She has a ridiculously good memory, and is able to easily list even the most difficult list of ingredients or instructions of the top of her head with incredible accuracy. Something went wrong on a past experiment with one of her co-workers, accidently turning her into a weird horse-octopus hybrid. They had been trying to bring a long extinct species back to life, and had been pretty close to succeeding when the concoction they had been working on spilled all over Podi. Her co-worker apologized profusely, and still does to this day, but Podi insists that it’s alright. She’s actually quite fond of her new wacky colors, and the new appendages even come in handy sometimes. The other scientists are still doing tests to see just what caused such a dramatic transformation, and bubbly Podi is happy to help. She does seem to have a much stronger need for water now though, and gets bad headaches that can even lead her to faint if she stays away from it for too long.


Podidosi didn’t remember much from her childhood. She remembered that she had a mother, father, and a sister, who all died sometime in that foggy void before her 18th birthday. She was a horse back then, nothing too unusual. Her clay colored fur and coal black mane common among the residents of the floating island she called home.

Her 18th birthday, that amazing day where she could finally join the team delving into the many secrets of this island. It was an ordinary day on the island, called Aurborage by its residents and unknown to the rest of the world, as she skipped past the never melting snow.

Oh how she would research it and find out how it stayed snow when the air was so warm! Of course first she had to get the internship, then actually get hired, but she was patient. She skipped along to the single research station in Aurborage. She smiled at the sign declaring, “Aurborage Research Station,” in big bold letters. She opened the door and came into a simple room with a desk front and center and a couple of old couches pushed against the walls.

She loved it from the moment she walked in. She held her resume tightly. An old eagle glared at her over her tiny grey glasses.

“We’re very busy today, miss, so whatever thing you need to be examined will need to wait,” the eagle said coldly.

“I’m not here to drop off something to be researched. I’m here after the internship,” Podidosi said firmly, walking straight up to her.

The eagle rolled her eyes as Podidosi set her resume down on the desk. The eagle picked it up and studied it for a couple long minutes, her gaze skimming over the pages. Excitement and nervousness bubbled in Podidosi’s chest as she waited for the eagle to say something.

The eagle finally set Podidosi’s resume down and stood up, beckoning to the young horse with one of her wings, “Come along. I’ll interview you, talk about it with my boss, then let you know within a couple days,” the eagle said, although her voice said she wasn’t too happy about it.

Podidosi was disappointed that she wouldn’t know right away whether she would be accepted, but she supposed when she was doing research later on that she wouldn’t get results immediately either, so it was good practice, and besides, she was very patient. A swift interview later and Podidosi was trotting back to the foster home that she had called home for who knows how many years to wait for her response.

Two days later when she checked the mail she found a letter with the seal of the Aurborage research station stamped proudly onto the front. She tore it open and unfolded the paper inside.

Dr James Abbott
11300 Pine Ave.
Arbourage Square, 10020
May 16, 2018

Ms. Podidosi
11306 Conifer St.
Arbourage Square, 10020

Greetings Ms. Podidosi

I am pleased to hear that you are interested in the internship. I am sorry for not being available when you came after the internship, but I would like you to know that I would be pleased to have you for the internship. Please meet me at the Arbourage research station at 13:00 on May 17.

Warm regards,
Dr James Abbott

Podidosi smiled at the letter and went back into the house to prepare for the next day. When she woke up, Podidosi saw the letter and her heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the clock. It’s long black arms read that it was 10:00. 2 hours until it was time to leave. She spent the time taking a shower and ordering her thick black mane and tail to cooperate before putting on the nicest clothes she owned, a simple sky blue dress that went down to her ankles and looped over her shoulders.

She glanced at the clock again, 12:55. It was time to leave. Podidosi could barely contain her excitement as she walked past the pillar that kept all of Arbourage warm. At precisely 13:00, she walked into the plain room with the eagle glaring at her again.

“Punctual,” the eagle muttered drily, then a tall dog burst into the room, his lab coat splashed with something that smelled faintly like peaches, and grasping a clipboard in one hand. “I suppose I must send someone to clean up the mess in the lab again, aren’t I?” the eagle said coldly, looking down at the dog.

“Yes,” the dog said somewhat sheepishly.

The eagle sighed and tapped her pen twice on the desk, then left the room.

“Oh, hello ma’ am. You must be Ms. Podidosi,” the dog said, looking up at me.

“Yes, sir,” Podidosi replied, trying to still the butterflies that were fluttering around in her stomach. She immediately liked the dog, with his messy lab coat and curly black fur.

“I apologize for my appearance, but we’ve just made a major breakthrough in bringing back the octopus species. It’s been extinct for many years,” he said. Suddenly, something sparked in his eyes and he looked ashamed, “I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? I’m Dr Abbott, head researcher here,” the dog said, holding out a paw for her to shake.

Podidosi reached out her hoof and briskly shook it as Dr Abbott went on.

“I’m excited that you’re here. For now you’ll be mostly be running errands for the others here, but once we’re a little less busy we can start helping you learn to do more complicated tasks. You’ve seen our little waiting room and met Mrs. Shrill. I can’t introduce you to everyone, but I can give you a quick tour before I should be back in the lab. Mrs. Shrill will let you know when to come in, and what to wear,” Dr Abbott said briskly, walking down a well-lit corridor.

Dr Abbott gave her a quick tour, then said goodbye, ducking into another corridor and leaving Podidosi and walk back to the front room on her own. Mrs. Shrill glared at her over the top of her glasses.

“I suppose Dr Abbott failed to inform you of when you should report here for work and your uniform,” she said coldly.

“Yes,” Podidosi replied, looking over at her pointedly.

Mrs. Shrill sighed, “9:00 am tomorrow morning. There are some lab coats in the east storage closet that Dr Abbott should have shown you. Wear one of those and keep your mane tied back. Other than that it does not truly matter what you wear beneath. I will see you at 9:00 am tomorrow morning,” Mrs. Shrill said, and Podidosi walked confidently out of the research station to wait for the next day.

Early the next day she weaved her mane into two long braids and pulled on a simple pair of jeans and a plain shirt. She trotted along the the research station and easily found her way to the closet of lab coats.

“Dr Abbott and the team will be in the main lab, working with that concoction to bring back the octopi. I am sure they will need someone to get tools and such for them,” Mrs. Shrill said without looking up at Podidosi.

Podidosi nodded, even though she knew the eagle couldn’t see her, and walked along to the main lab. The day was filled with running around the lab to fetch seemingly random things for their work and cleaning up the few spills that happened.

The next two days passed similarly, but at the end of the fourth day something shocking happened. Podidosi was tidying up the lab, just as usual, her lab coat already hanging on its proper spot in the closet. A young researcher called Dr Green was in the lab with her, just finishing up with recording the results of the day’s experiments on her laptop. Podidosi was just reaching up to put away a cleaned beaker when Dr Green’s arm tapped the potion Podidosi had set down so that she could open the cabinet. It didn’t fall off, but some of the liquid went over the edge and landed on the small bit of fur that had become exposed when she reached up to put away the beaker.

She felt a warm tingling sensation, then thirst crackled through her whole body, and she felt oddly playful. She looked up at her arm, and instead of seeing chocolate brown fur, she saw bright orange and red fur. A glance at her mane and tail revealed she now had tentacles instead of hair.

“Oh my gosh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Dr Green said, the panic clear in her voice as she stood up and saw Podidosi.

Podidosi smiled, “It's alright. I like my new look. Like a sunset almost don’t you think?” Podidosi replied, smiling.

Dr Green seemed slightly surprised, then nodded. Podidosi easily put the potion into its proper spot, her new tentacles dragging along the floor, leaving a trail of blue slime. With a smile Podidosi lifted her tentacles out of the way and cleaned it up before bouncing down the hall to the water dispenser. She downed 7 cups of water before her thirst was finally satisfied, then she bounced all the way to the entrance.

“Excuse me ma’am, but what species are you and how did you get back there?” Mrs. Shrill asked when Podidosi emerged.

“Oh you already know me. I’m Podidosi,” she giggled, waving her tentacles in the air. “And I guess I’m an octo-horse,” she added with a smile.

The old eagle could only watch in shock as the newly transformed Podidosi left the research station. After an awkward dinner where she had to explain her new appearance to her foster parents she headed up to her room to get ready for the next day. When she arrived for work, there was a hub of activity, and she was the center of it. Everybody in the station wanted to know how the potion had affected her, and Podidosi went along with it, smiling the entire time. The next day went much the same way, and Podidosi was happy to settle into the routine of Podidosi the octo-horse.