Abby and her friends had never been more nervous in their lives. They had just been summoned to the Animalia city council chamber. They knew they weren't in trouble, but other than that, they didn't know what was going on.
When they got there, they were surprised to only find Nightwing, Scarlet, and Mrs. Brown there.
"Well, what is it?" Asked Abby, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
"You probably know that, while Animalia has legal protection, genuine acceptance is what we need most." Began Nightwing.
"So...?" Asked Malice.
"So the council has decided to offer you the choice of being our ambassadors." Answered Scarlet.
"You want us to travel the country, sharing the benefits of Animalia with others?" Said Jessica, surprised.
"That won't happen until you get out of high school, if you accept." Said Nightwing, reassuringly.
"So what will we do until then?" Asked Sarah.
"You will be doing a biweekly webcam/broadcast system, where you will answer people's questions about Animalia. The only questions you won't answer are questions that could risk invasions of privacy, or overly sexual questions, or could reveal classified details about the virus. You can also do interviews with Animalians that began as feral animals, as well as dispel any stereotypes that might have arisen." Said Mrs. Brown.
"What makes us qualified for this position?" Asked Sophie, somewhat disbelievingly.
"We were looking for people who have experience with both Animalia and the human world." Said Scarlet, "We're willing to have you do a trial run if you need to adapt to it."
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The show, officially called "Animalia Ambassadoria", was them sitting on a couch large enough to support all of them, with a laptop on the coffee table in front of them with the questions people were asking the most. It was a slightly awkward start, but they soon warmed up to it. This was one some of the questions that were asked, then answered:
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"Okay then, Beauty_Queen428 asks: "I was just turned down for admittance into Project Phoenix. They said that if I wanted to be the vixen of my dreams, I can do that on my own once I fill out the required paperwork. I heard that Project Phoenix volunteers don't have to. Why is that?" Read Sophie.
"Well, Beauty_Queen, Project Phoenix is primarily to see what medical conditions can be cured by the Animalia Virus. Also, because the project got so many volunteers from around the country, we had to impose restrictions on who get into the project. For example, you have to have a verifiable medical case of obesity to get into the obesity trials. You can't be a teenage girl going through a temporary "chubby" period to get in." Answered Abby.
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"Masterbuilder226 asks if there are any major projects going on in Animalia." Read Malice a few minutes later.
"Because IAC preorder packages, in all three ranks, have been selling in the tens of millions, Animalia has been purchasing land, not only for the visitors for the IAC, but for Project Phoenix Volunteers coming to Animalia to reinvent themselves. For example, a little ways to the north of the Lovers' Woods campground, we found a moderately sized, somewhat mountainous area made almost entirely of tufa rock. Due to tufa being soft and easy to carve, it was the ideal place to build an underground apartment complex, soon to be called 'The Burrows', that will make it more comfortable for burrowing mammal Animalians, as well as others who spend at least some of their lives underground. We also recently purchased a summer camp that went under during the financial crisis of the late 2000s, early 2010s. We plan to use it as a place where young children can interact with juvenile Animalians and help deal with prejudice and discrimination.
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"For our 'Mythbusting Interview', we are speaking with Janice Cumbertin, who grew up in Paris; immigrated to Animalia and became a double-dosed Skunk Animalian to be with her new mate, Walter." Said Sarah, "So Janice, what inspired you to make these decisions?"
"I was getting sick and tired of the stereotyping that followed me just because my mother and all her mothers before her were maids." Said Janice, subtitles helping because English wasn't her first language and her thick accent made her somewhat hard to understand.
"Ah, the 'sexy French maid' stereotype." Said Abby, understanding, "So what did you do before you came to America?"
"When I wasn't doing college work, I was exploring the vast, abandoned quarries beneath Paris." Said Janice. "The great Victor Hugo once said, 'The Paris underground is an abyss.' Everywhere you look, sewers, mines, catacombs, twisting and turning. A maze stretching into the very bowels of the earth, all right here under our feet."
"Wow." Said Malice, not knowing such a thing existed, "So what do you do now that you're part of Animalia?"
"My mate and I are modeling the silken clothes most often worn by Animalians, although I refuse to model sexy costumes, especially French maid uniforms." Said Janice, "My mate will be competing in the IAC Middleweight Bodybuilding competition, while I will be doing work selling cosmetics for all Animalians, whether they have fur, scales, or feathers."
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"The final question for today comes from WaterWarrior: What are the prizes offered to the winners of the Animalian Games during the IAC?" Read Jessica.
"Many of the games are based off of the Greek-style track and field events, so the prizes will be similar to both the ancient and modern prizes. The top three winners will have a gold, silver, and bronze medal engraved with the symbol of Animalia: a hybrid of human hand and wolf paw surrounded by an olive branch ring, and also a free meal that they can eat. This is because the original prize in the Olympic Games during the classical period was an olive branch and a free meal of meat.
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"...and that's all the time we have for today, but login to the Animalia website to see the plans for both the IAC Arena and the Worldmeet Glade hotel, casino, and convention center. Farewell, until next we meet in the wilds of Animalia." Said Abby, waving goodbye with everyone else in the room.
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The very next day, Abby and her friends were called to the principal's office, where Clara was waiting for them.
"The show you all put together was a greater success than we had anticipated." She said, her eyes twinkling with delight.
"Really?" Asked Sarah, surprised.
"The National Geographic Channel wants to be the official host of the show, while Mutual of Omaha wants to be the official sponsor." Said Clara, "We had to do some stiff negotiations, but the whole thing is a go. Oh, and before I forget, here are your payments." She said, pulling a pocketbook out of her cleavage (she had learned that trick recently), and handed checks to Abby and each of her friends. The only thing that could be said about the payments was said by Jessica:
"This is more than I get for three years of monthly allowances!"