While Sarah's parents were busy with Malice and her prospective boyfriend, Sarah was out with her own boyfriend. It was weather like this that made Sarah glad she was a husky. While Nevada was largely desert, there were some places that were temperate and allowed noticeable changes in the season. The snow falling in Lyre gave the town a pristine, postcard appearance. And, being a Husky, Sarah thrived in the snow. Travis's Dalmatian fur was considerably shorter than Sarah's so he had to bundle up a little more than her. Still, it was nice for them to stroll through the town on a winter day like this.
Sarah and Travis were planning on meeting up with Travis's parents in town later. A steakhouse might not strike many as an ideal place for having Christmas lunch, but the local steakhouse has gotten quite a lot of business with all the carnivorous Animalians and was becoming quite the prosperous place. Sarah was thankful she was included in her mate's family dinner and she had even brought presents for Dallas and Dot. The uplifted Dalmatians were simple in taste, so Sarah had gotten them gift certificates for Joseph-Beth where they could get books and enjoy the bistro there.
But Sarah and Travis weren't heading to the steakhouse right now. They had business to take care of before that. Sarah and Travis had been slowly making progress with all of Malice's potential rivals for Simon's affections. Some of them were rather easy to dissuade.
For instance, Violet had been mostly attracted to Simon because he was so big and friendly. As a Corgi, she was more petite than some of the other uplifted dogs. Travis didn't take much effort in turning Violet's attention to Duke, an uplifted Great Dane who was practically the epitome of a gentle giant. It was a little silly for some people to see Duke tower over Violet, but they seemed to match each other pretty well.
Kai was a bit of a headache. The Border Collie was a lot more intelligent than either Sarah or Travis would have expected and was basically able to run circles around them intellectually. She could do that physically to, Border Collies being pretty fast dogs. Kai seemed less inclined to listen to Sarah's persuasions. Sarah found it a little irritating that someone who's been a dog for most of her life could think she was that much smarter than someone who had been human for longer than she's been alive. Well, it was true, but Kai was rather snide about it. Thankfully, it seemed her attention in Simon was waning. His inability to keep up with her intellectually was starting to bore her. If there was a smarter guy of a compatible species, she'd probably abandon Simon altogether. While Sarah hadn't had luck finding such a match yet, she was pretty sure that one of the nerds at school wouldn't mind being Kai's boyfriend, especially if he could upgrade his rather unimpressive body to match hers.
However, there were still some contenders who'd not likely budge. Tiffany, for example, wouldn't listen to Sarah about any subject, let alone Simon. Sarah hoped that Jamie would be able to be of better help with Tiffany. Though today, Jamie was probably spending time with Riley and Trevor and hopefully Tiffany would consider Christmastime a 'ceasefire' regarding Simon.
Today, Sarah and Travis were helping out a former contender with a somewhat tricky problem. It was a bit hard to approach Beth at first, mostly because of her intimidating reputation. However, the more time Sarah spent observing Beth from a distance, the more she noticed that Beth didn't seem so sure of herself, at least when other people weren't looking. The reason for that became clear when Sarah and Travis finally approached Beth at the weight-lifting room at the gym. Their tight gym clothes certainly drew attention from others, but when speaking with Beth, Sarah and Travis both smelled that Beth's arousal increased when she was looking at Sarah.
It didn't take long for them to get Beth to admit. As everyone in school suspected, Beth actually was a lesbian. Though more specifically, she viewed herself as transgender or at least that's what she thought she was. She had spent her life trying to be the son her dad had always wanted, which was something she did pretty well. She identified with boys far better than she ever did with girls. But as she got older, she soon saw that kids could be merciless to others who were different. Being African-American was tough enough, though not as harsh in the deep south, but anyone who was suspected of being gay was also a target for ridicule. Beth hid behind her insecurities about herself with a well-maintained image of toughness. Though being a bully made her feel lonelier, she couldn't see any other way of being herself without becoming bullied herself.
The Animalia outbreak hadn't very gentle with her either. She had been walking back home, cutting across yards to cut time. However, one yard she was going through had a Doberman that didn't like unwelcome visitors and wasn't on a chain that day. Beth had to run and jump over the fence to escape the guard dog, but she still ended up being bitten on the ankle. Beth limped the rest of the way home and immediately went to the bathroom to wash her ankle. Little did she know that the Animalia virus had already gotten into her house's plumbing and there was enough Doberman saliva on her cut for the virus to bond to. The next thing she knew, her ankle was sprouting fur as her foot changed into a paw. Thankfully, her dad didn't freak out and comforted his now half-dog daughter.
While Animalians were quickly accepted into Lyre society, Beth still didn't feel at ease. While no one was likely to make fun of her for being a Doberman, it seemed like it would be a matter of time before someone found out about her homosexuality. And since none of the uplifted animals were homosexual, it made Beth feel more isolated than ever. Getting Simon as a boyfriend seemed like the best way to make other people think she wasn't lesbian. All of this tumbled out of her almost as soon as Sarah and Travis smelled her attraction towards Sarah. While Beth may appear tough on the outside, she was still a scared girl riddled with insecurities on the inside. It took quite a bit of reassuring from both Sarah and Travis that they wouldn't tell everyone about her secret.
Even though she wasn't a very serious rival for Simon's affections, Sarah felt like she could just leave Beth to stew in misery. Beth might not have been the nicest person at school, but she shouldn't have to deal with this kind of loneliness. Of course, finding a girl for Beth was easier said than done. While Animalia was more open about sex, finding someone who'd admit to being lesbian was no small task. And finding someone who was still human and willing to convert just for Beth didn't sound feasible. Fortunately, Sarah's mom knew a lot of people in town and eventually, Sarah found someone who might be a match for Beth.
Travis and Sarah met Beth outside of a cafe. While Animalian taste buds and digestive systems differed in quite a few ways from humans', coffee was one drink they could all enjoy. Beth was shivering a little bit from the cold. Dobermans had a rather thin coat which didn't insulate the cold very much. "I was starting to think you weren't going to come," said Beth as she rubbed her hands together for more warmth.
"Now what kind of Christmas would that be?" asked Sarah, "Everyone should be happy this time of year."
"Christmas spirit is all about giving and we want to give you a little bit of happiness too," said Travis.
"Are you sure I'll like her?" asked Beth anxiously.
"I think you'll get along very well," said Sarah before she led the way inside. Inside was considerably warmer, particularly because of the cozy fireplace. Other people were also there to enjoy some coffee and holiday cheer. Sarah looked around and quickly spotted where to go. She led the others to a table that set in a corner. Already sitting there was a grey cat woman who was keeping her paws around a steaming cup of tea. Her grey hair tied up in a bun showed that not only was this cat originally human, but she was also on the elderly side, which also indicated she was only a single-doser. While the Animalia virus did improve the health of those exposed to it, the elderly still had several geriatric traits unless they had a second dose to restore their youth. "Beth Jonson, I want you to meet Eliza Marigold," said Sarah.
Beth extended a hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Marigold."
Eliza shook it and said, "It's Miss Marigold. I never married. And you can call me Lizzie."
"Uh, sure," said Beth before looking around, "So, are we here to meet your niece or someone?"
"We're here to meet her," whispered Sarah, pointing at Eliza.
"Wait, her?" asked Beth.
"There's a reason I ended up a lonely old spinster," said Eliza a little sadly.
"I see, but, er... You sure this isn't a joke?" asked Beth.
"She's the best match for you we could find," said Travis.
"But she's so...so..." started Beth.
"Old?" asked Eliza, "I know, I've been old for quite a while. I've only had my cat to keep me company at home until the outbreak changed us. Sadly, Misty doesn't have the same interest in me, but she found a nice tomcat. I'm happy for her, but it gets lonesome these days without her around."
Sarah put a hand on Beth's shoulder and said softly, "She's just as lonely as you are. I think if you gave her a chance, you'll really like her."
"But aren't I a little too young for her?" asked Beth.
"Sarah and I aren't older than you," said Travis, "That's the thing about the virus: age becomes irrelevant after a second dose. You'd both be in your primes."
"But she's a cat, I'm a dog," said Beth, "The Edict of Animalia forbids cross-species romance."
"It forbids cross-species BREEDING," said Sarah pointedly, "Anything else is still acceptable. And I don't think either of you are likely to knock up the other."
Eliza gave Beth a gentle smile said, "You don't have to decide right now. Youngsters these days might go for 'love at first sight', but I'd rather get to know someone first. At least keep a crazy old cat lady some company on Christmas."
Beth looked a bit hesitant at first before sitting across from Eliza. "I'm not sure about this, Ms. Marigold, but I'd like to try," said Beth.
"That's all I ask. And please, call me Lizzie," said Eliza.
"We'll be going now," said Sarah, "We need to meet up with Travis's folks."
"Take care now," said Eliza, "Merry Christmas."
"Yeah, Merry Christmas. And thanks," said Beth, her muzzle wearing a warmer smile than any Sarah had seen her wear before.
As she and Travis walked out into the snow, Travis asked, "You really think those two would work? They seem so different."
"Opposites attract," said Sarah, "Look at Malice, she's mischievous, a bit flagrant with the rules, and has little modesty, but she's very interested in policemen and Simon in particular. Sometimes two very different things can come together to make a better thing. Yin and yang, black and white."
"And we're both black and white," said Travis as he hugged Sarah. Sarah's tail wagged happily from her mate's embrace. And just as sure she felt love for Travis, she had a gut feeling things would work out for Beth and Eliza.