Benny and Mariana looked over island of Mieni as they arrived. They could feel the warmth of the of the sun on them, and it felt especially warm, given that Orcas were covered in mostly black skin. The parts of their skin that were white were on their ventral side. However, the warmth was not a bad thing.
"It is warm here," Mariana commented.
"Yes," Benny agreed, "Could be just the place for some fun... though we need to meet with Ran first."
And Mariana nodded at that. They had met the uplifted Great White Shark shortly after he had been uplifted as part of the classes that both ran for Horizon to help new Animalians based off of sea creatures adapt to having legs. Ran had initially been nervous in the meeting, but both Benny and Mariana did prove that as Animalians they wouldn't pose a threat to other Animalians. As such, when Mieni was chosen as an option for an Animalian colony for sea based Animalians, Ran actually kept in some contact with Benny and Mariana. Through him, they'd learned that Ran's mate, Gaz, had the same nervousness about Orcas and that even Tzan had some of that nervousness too. So, their first thing was to meet with with Ran and be introduced to the uplifted fish on Mieni.
Following Ran's instructions they walked toward the building that was being used as the Horizon offices on Mieni, which had once been the command and control center for the former air force base while the former barracks had been converted into the hotel and resort space for the tourism part of Mieni's local economy. As they entered the building they found Ran waiting for them.
"Hello, Benny, Mariana," Ran spoke, "Welcome to Mieni."
"Thanks," Mariana answered, "We're here as instructed."
Ran nodded, "Come with me and I'll introduce you to the others."
They nodded and followed Ran along. He lead them to a modest break room where they could see various uplifted fish sitting in chairs, couches, and snacking on some things from a small mini fridge. On the left most edge of the room there was a female Great White Animalian, who was bigger and more muscular than Ran, which was typical with many if not all shark species where the female was bigger than the male. Next to her were a pair of uplifted pilot fish and behind them were a pair of uplifted remoras. To their right as a pair of uplifted Black Marlin and on the far right was a lone female uplifted Scalloped Hammerhead Shark.
"Everyone," Ran spoke, "These are Benny and Mariana. They helped me adjust to having legs when I was first uplifted."
"Hello," Benny spoke with a small wave. Mariana waved beside him and nodded her head as well.
Ran then continued with the introductions, and he started with Gaz, "This is my mate, Gaz. The two uplifted Pilot Fish are Joe and Jane. The two uplifted Remoras are Ralph and Rita. The two uplifted Marlins are Rapier and Gladys. The uplifted Hammerhead is Tzan."
"You're big," Rita stated as Ran finished, which was strikingly obvious.
"Well... Orca ARE the largest member of the dolphin family," Mariana answered.
"Not whales?" Gladys asked, seeing a couple of things on one of the computers that also called them "Killer Whales."
"Orca are related to whales as well," Mariana answered, "Whales and dolphins are BOTH Cetaceans. The third Cetacean group includes Porpoises, but there are distinctions that differ all three from each other within the group."
"And Orca are most closely related to dolphins," Benny answered.
Tzan watched quietly and remained quiet. She really didn't believe that answer. After all, if they were related to dolphins they'd be more like Susan. And while Susan was reasonably well muscled for an uplifted Bottlenose Dolphin, she was about the same size as Tzan if not slightly smaller. These two uplifted Orca were bigger and more muscular than Ran, Gaz, Rapier, and Gladys, and unlike Susan who had a higher pitched voice that could easily be annoying, Benny and Mariana's voices were deeper and only added to the potential threat that her own instincts told her.
"But many of the exact differences can be tricky," Mariana added, "as ALL Cetaceans enjoy play to some level. Leaping from the water... tight and friendly social interaction, though this is often within specific species... As Orca have been known to prey on larger baleen whales and even smaller dolphin species in addition to seals, sea lions, fish, octopus, and squid... but still, play is there and a part of all Cetacean life and training."
Benny glanced and saw some of the nervous glances from the larger uplifted fish present, which made sense. Orca might also survive on smaller fish, but Pilot Fish and Remoras generally managed to stay off the typical menu.
"But that's also something that is often controlled or altered by humans," Benny added, "un-uplifted Cetaceans are thought to be highly intelligent... on par with humans and primates, and in many cases that has lead to them taking particularly dolphins, including Orca, into captivity to train them for shows to demonstrate either ticks or their intelligence... others may simply be in aquariums to educate people on oceanic life..."
"And that's where I was when I was uplifted," Mariana added, holding Benny's hand and ultimately leaning on him with a soft smile, "there were other fish and dolphins in tanks nearby and I could hear the dolphins... but the aquarium keepers feed me well with the small fish they had... I think it was Mackerel... or maybe Salmon. It was good, and with that, I really didn't have any interest in going after the dolphins in the other tanks. And after my uplifting... well, I still enjoy many of the fish they fed me at the aquarium... I also like many of the fish they serve in restaurants... tuna, salmon, catfish, and so on."
"And with Animalia's Edicts, there is no intent of hunting other Animalians," Benny added, "and in that, we can ALL be friends. We'll answer questions and see what you guys do for fun."
Ran watched and noted a few small nods from Gaz, Rapier, and Gladys. That was likely because he'd had the most contact with them in terms of a lot of the heavy lifting work for either the resort or for Horizon and that he'd already told them that he trusted Benny and Mariana. Perhaps they trusted his word and that Benny and Mariana's answers reinforced that. Tzan was a bit more distant, though Ran hoped that she'd at least be accepting.
To Tzan, the last line that Benny said did strike her as "dolphin like." It wasn't quite the same bubbly pursuit of fun that Susan had, but the idea of seeing what they did for fun struck Tzan as similar. Though, so far, Benny and Mariana had been quite calm and respectful, which gave some evidence that the Edicts that Ran had presented to them that all Animalians were to follow were being followed by Animalians that in nature could be potential enemies.