Following their discussion with Calamity and Delilah, Abby and Samson continued to make their way about the Great Hall in search of Durga and her mate. Samson was still a bit nervous about the situation, as while Animalians might not be lost to their baser instincts, that didn't mean an uplifted tigress wasn't dangerous or might do something to undermine Abby for the Animalian Games. After all, Calamity and Delilah had outright admitted that their jealousy had them at a point where they would have tried to outright humiliate Abby before they met and began to bond with other stallions, and they were fellow horses. Some old instincts were hard to die, Samson supposed, but he wanted to make absolutely sure his mate was in no danger whatsoever.
They made their way around through one of the main areas in the Great Hall's central space. Normally it was fairly open and gave a lot of room for anyone who came to visit, but with much of Animalia and Lyre in attendance and from what Abby could see even some media types and people from outside the area to see what the excitement that Animalia was about, it was fairly crowded. At times they had to stop and shuffle to avoid walking into someone or over some other obstacle. Most of the people had cups that had various beverages that were all safe in that they didn't contain the Animalia Virus or plates filled with finger foods on them to snack on while they socialized with other guests. It was one of the conference rooms that had been set aside for the dining area of the party, and as they found no sign of Durga out in the main hall, Samson and Abby soon made their way toward that conference room.
They eventually made their way into the conference room. Running down the side wall were several folding tables that were set up with the various serving dishes that many guests or the staff from Animalia had provided. Abby noticed several small cards on platforms that identified the owner of the dish and what was in it, though in some cases Abby could easily tell what was in it. She could see a few platters that weren't much more than servings of fresh fruit. There was also a long tray with various rolls, muffins, and types of bread on them. Not to mention the various servings of vegetables and other foods. At the far end there were trays under covers for meat and what even looked like a few small heaters that kept the meat warm. Through the center of the room there were various folding tables that were large enough to even let some of the mega-fauna from the Lyre Zoo eat at with benches that were sturdy enough to hold their weight.
There were also a large number of Animalians and humans eating and talking. Abby noticed a small group of uplifted poison dart frogs snacking on their food. They were approached by a young male that Abby had recognized as one of the more perverted boys from high school. She'd heard rumors that he'd voiced fantasies of all kinds involving various Animalians, which made her shudder. She was glad Samson was here, as that boy surely wouldn't be dumb enough to hit on her with Samson by her. However, the perverted teenager and his antics wasn't Abby's present concern. She was still looking for Durga to introduce her to Samson and likely meet Durga's mate as well. And finally she found the tigress as she was loading what looked like barbecued ribs onto a plate. A male tiger stood protectively by her and was also placing ribs on his plate.
"They're getting their dinner," Abby stated, "Let's get something to eat and join them."
"Okay," Samson nodded.
The two of them collected plates and gathered what would be their dinner with apple slices, a few slices of twelve grain bread, some tomato slices, as well as some lettuce slices. They also picked out a few servings of baby carrots as well. After collecting a glass of water, Abby then lead Samson to where Durga had taken her mate to sit. The tigress turned to face her as she approached, likely having heard hers and Samson's rubber shoes impacting the floor.
"Well... hello, Abby," Durga commented.
"Hello, Durga, would you and your mate mind some company?" Abby asked with a small smile.
"I do not mind," Durga answered, "Just so long as you don't steal my dinner."
Durga's eyes glanced down toward her plate, and Abby managed a slight chuckle.
"Don't worry, Samson and I won't," Abby chuckled as she sat down across from Durga and Samson sat down to Abby's left. As Samson sat down, she gestured to him, "this is my mate, Samson."
Durga nodded and gestured to the male tiger with her with one paw, "this is my mate Shiva."
"Shiva?" Samson asked, unfamiliar with the names that the two tigers had.
"According to our keepers when were were still mundane tigers, we were named for Hindu gods," Shiva answered, "or rather a god and goddess. I was named for the god of destruction..."
"Sounds bad," commented Samson, not knowing about the Hindu religions's theology in that the top three deities served in the preservation of a sense of balance between birth and new life being formed, the preservation of that life, and the end and death of that life so that it may repeat the process.
"I didn't invent the religion," Shiva shrugged.
"I was named for a goddess that rode a tiger to fight demons," Durga explained.
"Interesting," Samson replied.
"And as I said, Durga's been helping me with my training for the games," Abby said to Samson, "and has been quite helpful."
"Are you in the games?" Shiva asked to Samson.
"I've actually looked in toward the body building competition that they're doing," Samson spoke, "as between all the lessons to test into the high school and work to help Abby's parents keep the farm productive and running... I don't really have the time anything more."
Shiva shrugged and then commented, "Well... certainly look strong enough to win. I'm hoping to come out on top in the wrestling matches."
"Wrestling?" Samson asked.
"Yeah... one on one with the goal being to pin your opponent's back to the mat," Shiva answered, "in a way, it's a sport that's like being a cub again with one's brothers and sisters again..."
"And your mate has helped me as well," Durga added, "I've been helping her improve her swim time and she's been helping me with improving my endurance. It's been fun, and I'd say we're both making excellent progress."
From there, they continued some small talk. Shiva explained about wrestling as a sport and assured Samson that doing physical harm was not a goal of the sport. Some of Samson's confusion and suspicion on the sport probably came from Calamity and Delilah's report that the new uplifted stallions they'd been bonding with were rescued from a horse fighting ring, which Abby understood. She wasn't necessarily a wrestling fan either, though she knew that the Animalian Games would be using the old Grecco-Roman style of wrestling and Shiva had no intention or desire to do any opponent any harm. Abby was ultimately pleased that with neither Shiva or Durga showing any signs of aggression as the four of them talked and ate from the food they had on their plates that Samson seemed more at ease with the two uplifted tigers.