When Abby and Co. were summoned to Clara's office shortly after school got out for summer, they were most surprised by Clara's current state of motherhood. Her quad-laden belly took up most of the space between her now volleyball-sized breasts and her hips, was protruding more than a foot from the rest of her, and was distending her abs to the point that they were the size of large steaks.
"Girls," said Clara, between grunts of impact because of how her quads were moving inside of her, "I've got a, *oof*, proposition to make."
"Really?" Asked Malice, a little distracted by Clara's belly, and how the quads were moving under her fur.
"We would, *erf* like you to do a bit of traveling *unf* for Animalia Ambassadoria." Said Clara, slightly pained, as Rick walked into her office pushing a new kind of wheelchair, specially made for pregnant Animalians, and helping her into it.
"Where would we be going?" Asked Jessica.
"You would be going to Manaus, Brazil, to pick up some new 'recruits' for Animalia Aquatica," said Clara, breathing a sigh of relief as she got into the wheelchair, "but you will be making a stop in San José, Costa Rica."
"What, why?" Asked Sophie.
"Officially, it's because Carlos' cousin is assistant curator at the San José Museum, and they've just opened their new Palentology Exhibit, and the invitation was for him. Unfortunately Carlos can't make it due to helping out with Project Phoenix's Acclimation Classes, and he'd thought you'd enjoy it. Unofficially, it's another 'recruitment mission'." Said Clara, settling comfortably in her new wheelchair, and buckling the seatbelt underneath her gravid belly.
"I always wanted to know what a dinosaur bone tasted like." Said Malice, absent-mindedly wondering the same question.
"Nice try," said Rick, standing behind Clara and smiling slightly, "you'd break a tooth before you broke into the bone."
"Oop!" Said Malice, not realizing she was speaking out loud, and quickly changing the subject, "So what will we be picking up?"
"We've already decided that, for Animalia Aquatica, you would be picking up a Goliath Catfish, a red-bellied piranha, an electric eel, as well as a pirarucu, and a peacock bass." Said Clara, "You will also be picking up an anaconda, and a red-eyed tree frog."
"Why a piranha?" Asked Sarah, trying not to imagine her sister taking a bite out of a dinosaur bone and having to go to the dentist.
"Because," began Clara, "it's to see what else the piscine variant of our Animalia virus is capable of, and to help debunk the unfair reputation piranhas have via media, because they're actually scavengers, not predators. Also, if a so-called vicious predator can become a functional member of Animalia, it would benefit both them and Animalia."
"Do we have to pack soon?" Asked Malice, voicing something that was on her mind, "Mom's going to give birth any day now."
"You'll only be taking your pictures for your passports first, don't worry." Said Clara, her eyes twinkling, "You won't be leaving until your siblings are stable, Malice."
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The new Animalia Ambassadoria passports were actually quite spiffy. The outside front cover had the official symbol of Animalia Ambassadoria: an Animalia hand/paw hybrid superimposed on a globe and surrounded by olive branches, with two A's on the left and right side. Imbedded in the cover was one of the new identification chips that were developed recently, as well as a photo ID printed on the inside cover. Right now, everyone was glad that they weren't going anywhere for a while.