"So, what's the plan now?" Travis asked to Sarah after they'd talked with Jamie, "I mean... what she said she wants is the actual courting attention from either Trevor or Riley... or both..."
"But they seem more intent on trying to one up the other," Sarah answered with a sigh.
Jamie had admitted that she didn't want to see Simon get hurt, but had made it clear that the males that she liked weren't paying any attention to her in the way that she wanted. In this, Sarah realized that so long as Jamie was looking for ways to get Trevor and/or Riley to pay attention to Jamie, there might be further issues regarding Jamie and Simon. Either she'd push her jealousy plan, or Jamie would give up on Trevor and Riley and truly pursue Simon as a potential mate. It lead to the odd sensation that Sarah and Travis were playing the role of some sort of "love doctor," but in the end Sarah had to admit that that would be for the best in the long term. Trevor and Riley's rivalry, while it hadn't lead to outright fighting after both had been uplifted, it was close and something that Sarah knew that Animalia would need to avoid.
All animals were known to potentially battle over mates. That was the whole purpose of deer locking antlers, bighorn sheep butting heads, and so on. This was viewed as something natural among mundane animals, however, Animalians WEREN'T mundane animals. Humanity wouldn't tolerate that sort of action and even Animalia's own Edicts didn't tolerate that sort of thing. And as one of Animalia's ambassadors, Sarah had seen some of the comments that their webcast show presented. Most, if not all, of the negative comments and concerns seemed to relate to the more openly sexual nature many Animalians had. Some of it related to how many Animalians dressed or how forward some could be. It could be countered, of course, but that would be difficult if Trevor and Riley went to war over Jamie or to prove something else. As such, Sarah would need to get get involved as an ambassador to help Animalia try to avoid real trouble and not just as a favor to Jamie.
"And that's where we may need to try and calm them down and get them to realize that Jamie has some interest in both of them," Sarah continued, "the less they fight each other and the more they court Jamie with respect... the better things will be."
Travis nodded, "and how do we do that?"
"We'll have to talk to them... probably after school," Sarah sighed, "find out what's gotten both of them so interested in "battling" each other in the first place. Only then can we really diagnose and offer a solution to the problem."
"And this will help Malice?" Travis asked.
"It'll help Jamie, which in turn will help Malice," Sarah answered.
++++++++++++++++++++++
They ultimately found Trevor and Riley precisely where they expected to find the two uplifted canines, just outside the front doors and staring each other down. They weren't moving, they just stood and watched one another. Trevor, an impressive Gray Wolf Animalian, stood firmly with the fur on the back of his neck and shoulders raised and his chest puffed out as he glared at Riley. He wasn't bearing his teeth, but a growl in Trevor's throat made it clear that he wasn't feeling super friendly. Riley, however, wasn't one to back down. The Rottweiler Animalian's fur might not be as long as the Wolf Animalian's, but its predominantly black with tan points was enough to show that he was well muscled, if slightly smaller than Trevor. Riley's lips were kept tight along his muzzle so that he wouldn't bear his own teeth, but a low growl in his own throat also made it clear that he wasn't feeling very friendly toward Trevor. Sarah and Travis also noted that Riley had not had his tail docked, which left him with a modest tail with fur that was slightly longer than the fur on the rest of his body.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Sarah called to both as she and Travis approached, trying to play it friendly and hope that both would settle down and talk rather than keep things tense enough that they might start a fight.
"Nothing much," Riley answered without turning his head, "Just keeping an eye on this punk."
"PUNK?!" Trevor snarled back, "Punk! What have I done to deserve that? You're just a dumb mutt trying to bully others to get what you want!"
"Says the wolf that attacked Jamie!" Riley growled back, sounding rather protective.
"YOU attacked ME first!" Trevor snarled again.
Sarah and Travis watched as the other two uplifted canines went back and forth with each other. Their mission was to try and get the two to talk, and while successful, it wasn't quite the full success that was hoped for. It might be a start, but neither Trevor nor Riley looked like they would even consider backing down from each other. Though part of the exchange gave Sarah a window of opportunity to try and get at the heart of the matter. How Trevor and Riley were uplifted was generally known and how Jamie had been accidentally infected was also generally known. Both the Lyre and Animalia police had concluded that the incident was accidental, but Sarah hadn't been present to know the full details. Now, figuring that out might be the thing to get these two to back down.
"As fun as mindlessly accusing each other sounds, I'd think that BOTH of you need to calm down," Sarah told both of them as firmly as she could manage, "You two keep going at it like this, and Animalia might lose EVERYTHING. I'm sure both of you saw the election results... and that they've put our future on much less stable ground than was hope for. If you two keep going at it... critics will point to you as the precise reason why Animalians need to be kept in zoos and treated as mundane animals. That'll mean no freedom, no choices, and no Jamie."
The last got the two recognize Sarah's point and they backed down. Neither lowered their tails or ears in submission to Sarah, as while she was well built as a double dosed Animalian, she was still smaller than both of them, but the fact that they picked up on Jamie's name pointed something out to Sarah... they did notice her and likely DID have feelings for her. However, their courting strategies were just off.
"Where is Jamie?" Riley asked to Sarah.
"She and my sister left through one of the other exits so that my mate and I could talk to you without there being any trouble," Sarah spoke, "so to put this rivalry between the two of you to bed."
They were both silent for a moment.
"How do you both feel about Sarah?" Travis asked.
"She was always beautiful, kind, and caring," Riley spoke, "I remember being a puppy in her home... she fed me... played for me... cared for me... done what any good person would do. I could see the goodness in her and I loved that. I wanted to keep her safe. Be her protector. Make sure no harm came to her, and so I always stayed close to her. And that hasn't gone away... as I grew up and after becoming an Animalian. I love her and want to keep her safe from all who would threaten her."
Sarah and Travis watched as Riley looked back to Trevor as he finished, with the obvious indicator that Riley saw Trevor as a threat. It'd sorta fit with the story on how Riley was uplifted in that they came across Trevor shortly after he was uplifted and Riley attacked on sight leading to both Jamie and Riley being infected. With that, Sarah then turned to Trevor, hoping that Riley would let him speak.
"She is beautiful... and I never meant to infect her," Trevor answered, "and she did show me some kindness in helping me adapt to being an Animalian. She did a lot for me in that, and in talking with her... I learned a lot and found a lot to love... if someone didn't keep interrupting..."
This time Trevor glared to Riley.
"So you both love her..." Sarah spoke, "I take it THIS is why the two of you have been at it so much?"
"I have to keep her safe," Riley answered, "Safe from punks that would hurt her!"
"I'd never harm her on purpose!" Trevor growled, "and I never meant to bite her in the first place. You attacked me and I had to defend myself."
"You would have attacked her! Wolves are all alike," Riley answered.
"What makes you say that?" Sarah asked, "Why do you think that Wolf Animalians are so much of a problem?"
Wolves and Dogs didn't naturally get along well. Wolf packs more often not killed stray dogs that wandered into their territories. The two animals could interbreed, which demonstrated the dog's evolutionary connection with wolves and helped further the theory that the Domestic Dog was actually a subspecies of the Gray Wolf rather than a separate species according to some scientists, but that didn't mean that wolves would be friendly with dogs. Wolves of one pack could be aggressive toward other wolves if they came from a rival pack, which left much of their interaction with dogs being one of taking care of competition. And that could in turn lead to equal aggression from dogs in return, particularly any breed that was bred to hunt wolves or heard livestock that might be threatened by wolves. While those instincts weren't as controlling among Animalians, they were still there.
"It was a few years ago, near Halloween, I think," Riley answered, "I was still a young puppy and Jamie and I were watching television. We eventually came onto some horror movie about this woman being tormented by werewolves in some sort of strange town... "the Colony" I think it was called..."
"The Howling," Sarah commented.
Riley shrugged and then continued, "it was scary and Jamie screamed when the one wolf attacked her in that lab room. Her scream scared me... and I never wanted her to be scared again. So, when I saw a naked bipedal wolf... I attacked to defend Jamie from those that would surely hurt her."
"Well... that sounds rather noble," Sarah commented, "but you were watching an old horror movie from the seventies... or at least I think it was the seventies. And the "monsters" in that movie weren't Wolf Animalians. They were werewolves. Totally different."
"And I was still trying to get used to being on two legs," Trevor answered, "I wasn't about to be a threat to anyone. But I've had to deal with this mutt interrupting and posturing. If he had been in the local pack and done this, he would have been put in his place a long time ago!"
"But your pack has been uplifted, you're Animalians now, not mundane wolves," Sarah spoke, "You can't treat Riley as though he was a mundane wolf. Human society doesn't work that way... ANIMALIAN society doesn't work that way. And while, neither of you may have meant to hurt Jamie, the fact remains that both of you bit her, resulting in her becoming a Wolf Animalian herself."
"I was trying to protect her!" Riley argued.
"He attacked me!" Trevor argued.
"But there was no threat," Sarah pointed out to Riley, "you may have felt there was, but that doesn't mean the threat actually existed." She then turned to Trevor and continued, "and while you had every right to defend yourself, you still needed to keep control over your situation and pay attention to what you were doing..." Sarah then looked to both of them, "and that goes for BOTH of you. Jamie likes and has some interest in courting BOTH of you before making her choice on a mate. But despite both loving her, neither of you has bothered to say that to her. You're more interested in trying to out macho each other over your uplifting and whatever. I've talked with Jamie and SHE is tired of it. You two want her as your mate, stop this rivalry and get along. Talk to her and actually try to woo her... and above all ACCEPT whatever decision she makes... or else she may move on and find someone who WILL pay attention TO her."
This finally got a look of submission from both the uplifted Wolf and uplifted Rottweiler. It wasn't that they felt truly threatened by Sarah and her Dalmatian mate, but they didn't want to lose Jamie.