One of the downsides of being unique is sometimes there's nobody like you. And that certainly matched the description of Iphis and Ianthe, a two-headed anaconda that was even more amazonian in stature than most Animalians other than megafauna. The fact that they were a functional hermaphrodite isolated them even more. And although the conjoined sisters had comfort in each other, they did feel a little lonely in the world.
But taking the suggestion of some of their friends, they decided that finding a mate (or mates in their case) among humans might prove more successful than trying to court another serpent. And seeking someone who would meet their rather selective requirements has become a lot easier thanks to the Animalia Dating Service. On the Animalia website was a forum where Animalians who haven't found mates in Lyre could enter their profiles and potentially have people respond in the interest of meeting them. Like most dating sites, caution needed to be taken since a lot of people online aren't really who they say they are.
But as they were so recently uplifted, Iphis and Ianthe hadn't gotten the hang of using computers yet. Thankfully, there was someone they knew who could help them. In talking with Robbie, they soon became familiar with his mate, Martha. And while Martha was busy with getting things ready for the IAC fashion show, she was able to spare the time to help the herm twins set up a profile.
"There's really very little too it," Martha said as she typed in the anaconda's information, "The only real issue is that we only have 'male' and 'female' options for gender. I hope you don't mind if I put in 'female' for you."
"We were born female," said Ianthe, "It's only recently we became more than that."
"At least we can set your preferences to 'bisexual'," said Martha, "Now then, what exactly do you want in a mate."
"Someone who's bisexual for starters," said Iphis.
"Someone who doesn't mind being in a relationship with more than one person," added Ianthe.
"Even if it's with each other plus us," added Iphis.
Martha raised an eyebrow but didn't comment on it. The needs of conjoined twins were probably different from most people's. The hermaphrodite angle just increased the strangeness. "Is there anything else you'd like to specify?" asked Martha.
"Er, we're not sure what," said Ianthe.
"We just have so many different preferences it's hard to pick what to say," said Iphis.
"Well, I guess we can leave that open for now," said Martha, "You can narrow it down more once you've made up your minds." With that, she submitted the profile and the twins now had their own page on the dating forum.
"So, how long before we have any matches?" asked Iphis.
"It could take quite a while," said Martha, "Maybe a few days."
"A few days? I thought the internet was instant," said Ianthe.
"It practically is. But your profile just went up and it will take time for people to notice it," said Martha, "And even then, not everyone will be automatically interested, particularly someone like you're specifically looking for. It might be even be weeks before-" Just then, the computer pinged several times. Martha looked at the profile page with raised eyebrows. "You have 8 matches already," she said, sounding surprise.
"Wow, that was fast," said Ianthe.
"I didn't think we'd be that popular," said Iphis.
"Well, people who don't live in Animalia can put their own profiles in so they can be alerted if a new Animalian appears that matches their interest," said Martha, "Still, who would have been looking for someone like you?" She quickly checked the various matches to see the profiles connected to them. Quite soon, a pattern became noticeable. "Oh, they're all from Los Angeles," said Martha calmly like that explained everything.
"You mean Hollywood?" asked Ianthe.
"No, most of them are in the Venice area," said Martha, "Makes sense, really."
"Why is that?" asked Iphis.
"Los Angeles is...a really eccentric town," said Martha, "Even outside of Hollywood, the people there can seem pretty weird. Particularly in the Venice Beach area. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised if there were people there who were interested in dating a snake with bisexual preferences." She didn't even bring up the two heads or poly-amorous angles.
"Is Los Angeles not far from here?" asked Ianthe.
"It's only one state over, right?" asked Iphis.
"Yes, but it's still a long drive," said Martha, "I wouldn't go rushing over there to meet someone before really getting to know them. I'd livechat with them first and get to know them a little bit before you physically go to them or vice versa." After showing them how to use the webcam and livechat features, Martha got ready to leave.
"Thanks so much for helping us," said Ianthe.
"You're welcome. Just remember to be careful. Not everyone is as sincere as they appear to be. Make sure they're interested in you for WHO you are more than WHAT you are," said Martha.
"We have two brains between us," said Iphis, "We're not that stupid."
Martha nodded before leaving. The twins might not be stupid, but they were still a little naive to how the world worked, as were most uplifted Animalians at first. She made a mental note to check in on them to make sure that whoever they may be interested in wasn't going to use them or something else less honest.