There were plenty of Animalians preparing for the bodybuilding competition. Not surprisingly, plenty of them were megafauna like lions, tigers, bears, elephants, rhinos, and plenty other more. Though there were some that were animals not known for their large size that were also working on bulking up. Among them was a certain Anton Williams who used to be a five-time heavyweight bodybuilding champion when he was human. But now that he was a Green Iguana, with restored youth and a reptilian body bigger than he had before. In his condition, he barely needed to do anything to keep himself in prime condition. So he was spending a good amount of time helping Animalians not used to the strenuous exercises bodybuilding involved.
"That's it, three more, two more, last one, take a rest," said Anton, helping lift up the barbell and put it on the rack, "Not bad, you might live up to your name, Samson."
"What does that mean?" asked Samson as he sat up. He had been lifting weights for a good while and was starting to get a little sore.
"Well, in the Bible, Samson was the strongest man in the world. His muscles were literally as strong as his faith," said Anton, "But the real source of his power was his hair that he never cut."
"So what happened to him?" asked Samson.
"His lover, Delilah, betrayed him and cut his hair, letting him be captured by his enemies," said Anton, "But he found enough strength inside to push down his enemies' temple and crush them all underneath its roof."
Samson snorted and said, "That doesn't sound pleasant. I guess it's a good thing I chose Abby over Delilah then."
"You do truly love Abby, don't you?" asked Anton with concern.
"Well, it is true love when you pick one mare over all the others and have no interest in them, right?" asked Samson.
"Good, I just wanted to make sure you would be treating that girl right," said Anton, "A young girl shouldn't have her heart be broken."
"Wasn't it the same with you and Marlysa?" asked Samson.
Anton sighed before sitting besides Samson. "It's, well, a very complicated thing. Abby was just a young girl before this. I was an old man. Well, maybe not that old yet, but I knew I was getting old. I was definitely feeling old after Joyce passed away," said Anton.
"Who's Joyce?" asked Samson.
"My first wife," said Anton, "She was a good woman. She was very supportive in my bodybuilding career, but I think she was very happy when I decided to retire and teach."
"What happened to her?" asked Samson.
"A hornet stung her and she had a bad reaction," said Anton, "She died before she could get medication. I still miss her. Almost makes me wish I was one of those insect-eating lizards." Anton chuckled and said, "I wonder what she'd say if she could see me now."
"You think she'd be ok with you and Marlysa?" asked Samson.
"I'm not sure, but I'd like to think so," said Anton, "She might have expected me to remarry, but I doubt she'd have expect it to be a former pet. It's strange, I've been raised to think bestiality was a sin, but when I first saw Marlysa standing on two legs and confessing her love to me, I didn't see a large lizard, I saw a woman. I suppose I should be grateful that the virus spread to me so that our love wouldn't be against the laws of nature. But I am going to make sure we're properly married. Heh, if Joyce were at our wedding, she'd take one look at Marlysa coming down the aisle in her wedding dress and die laughing."
"I think Joyce would have liked Marlysa," said Samson.
"I think so too," said Anton before turning to Samson and saying, "You are planning on marrying Abigail, right?"
"Yeah, as soon as she finishes with school," said Samson.
"Good man, er, horse," said Anton, clapping Samson on the back, "Ok, enough rest, back to work."
Samson nodded before getting up and walking with Anton to another area of the workout room. Samson was already well-built, but Anton practically overshadowed him. Samson's pride smarted a little that a lizard could have bigger muscles than a horse, but he intended to keep building up. Hopefully Abby would like his bigger muscles.