In their bedroom on the day before they departed for their second honeymoon, Thomas and Julia Wesley were quietly preparing and packing things to get ready for their trip. There were various articles of clothing that were being packed for things like hiking and so on, though given the time of year, some thing might have seemed a bit odd to those not familiar with Animalians and specific animal breeds. Both Julia and Thomas were packing shorts for their hiking rather than jeans. Now, fall in Alaska wasn't necessarily freezing, but it was definitely cooler and Winter in Alaska came sooner than it did in other places, but in a way, Thomas and Julia were naturally ready for that.
Being Siberian Huskies, thanks to Sarah and Malice, their fur was warm and was already growing in thicker for their winter coat. While both had to be fully dressed for their respective jobs, both of them had taken to wearing more comfortable clothing when they weren't working as they didn't need clothing to keep them warm as much as they did before. And, like Abby and Malice, both of the had taken to sleeping in the nude, especially since the both of them were often enjoying each other's company in every way at night, even if it meant that Sarah and Malice overheard them.
"Do you think we'll need bug repellent?" Thomas asked thoughtfully.
"Guh," Julia cringed, "that stuff stinks..."
"Yeah, but it's better than heart-worm," Thomas answered, "or any other parasite carried by mosquitoes and flies, which might be there."
Julia eventually nodded. Diseases and parasites that were dangerous to specific species was something all Animalians had to be wary off. The Animalia Virus had the potential to heal diseases and issues in animals that were already there but there was still the fear that Animalians were still vulnerable to the parasites and diseases that their un-uplifted kind were vulnerable to. For dogs, that meant to be wary of Rabies, Distemper, Parvo, and Heart-worms. For Animalians that had been domestic pets or livestock, medical treatment was okay as various vets were willing to do what they could to help, which was beneficial to the Wesley family, but that didn't mean that means to avoid infection couldn't and shouldn't be used.
"And we did buy some of the repellents that don't irritate fur all that much or could be taken as a pill," Thomas reminded her, "the rest would be put on clothing..."
"Yeah..." Julia nodded, "though it looks like my bag is full... All my shorts, jeans, shirts, underwear, bras, naughty lingerie..."
Thomas gave a happy bark at that, but Julia waved a finger as though to say you'll have to wait.
"Well, there is some room in my bag," Thomas stated, "I can put all our meds and stuff in there. The only thing left is to deal with things for this pot luck party that Sarah and Abby are having."
"Well the one Animalia WANTS them to have," Julia commented.
The two of them had been okay with the idea of Sarah and Malice having some fun while they were gone, and were sure that they wouldn't do anything so wild that they'd burn the house down by accident, as the fact that they were double dosed did mean that a fair number of more "adult" mentalities did creep into how their daughters thought and acted. To Thomas and Julia, that was good, but at the same time they also knew that that meant that Sarah and Malice would also be driven by instinct to look for mates and increase the Animalian population naturally.
Sarah hadn't been actively looking, but over the past couple of weeks, they had noticed that a few of the boys from the high school had shown interest in her and a young uplifted Dalmatian who was only a single dosed dog and the son of the Fire Department's mascot, who was also uplifted, had also shown some interest in Sarah and neither Thomas nor Julia wanted Sarah to make them grandparents before she was out of high school at least, if not through college. Their biggest concern in that area was Malice, as Malice had been fairly forward about wanting to find a mate and even visiting the Lyre and Animalia Police Stations for that purpose to see into either the uplifted wolves in Animalia or the uplifted German Shepards and Belgian Malinois dogs with the Lyre Police Department.
That created greater worries for Thomas and Julia that they would come home to find one of their daughters pregnant, and thus their own phone call to Clara with the suggestion that the party be something to help Animalia as a whole. Sarah and Malice had grumbled a little, but seemed to be willing to go along with it, and Julia had offered to provide them with an entree that they could take to the potluck and serve as good hosts. That was now the subject that they were moving onto.
"Well, Clara told us on the phone that they have cooks to provide for meals best suited for the individual Animalians and even for humans," Julia said slowly, "I don't think we'll need to add too much. Most of what she said that the would need to be brought would would be things that go along with the main dishes and so on."
"Makes sense," Thomas nodded, "so what were you thinking?"
"Well... we have some old noodles and things," Julia commented, "I was thinking of a Alfredo recipe... it'd go with just about anything that will be provided. And if some of our neighbors go, it'd be something they've had before when they've come over for dinner or we've gone over to their place for dinner and so on."
"That Tortellini recipe?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah," Julia answered, "I got it started when you came back here to start packing and it should be ready before we have to worry about dinner. That'll be good for all the omnivores and even the carnivores that have some tolerance for plant matter..."
"Well, that's good," Thomas smiled, "You remain the clever woman I married... God job."
Julia wagged her tail at the compliment.