Naturally, Sophie was worried sick when Roland was taken to the hospital. Was he going to die? Was he going to bleed out? Did Heather puncture something vital? Did she infect him? If he became a dinosaur, would he be just as deranged as Heather? Could he have gotten a more mundane disease from the bacteria in her mouth? Would it be serious enough to hill him? Thankfully, Sophie received a call later telling her that Roland would be fine. He would be resting for a while, but Sophie will be able to see him later.
Sophie was not alone when she went to see Roland. Abby, Sarah, Malice, and Jessica had heard what had happened. They were just as worried for Roland as she was and they were anxious to see them. They followed the doctor to Roland's room in the hospital as he explained things. "Roland was very lucky. Heather's fangs did not go as deeply as they could and she barely used any of her considerable jaw strength. His wounds were only skin-deep, but he still lost plenty of blood. But we have blood stored for cases such as these," said the doctor.
"And is he infected?" asked Sophie with worry.
"In a way, his bleeding saved him," said the doctor, "There was so much blood leaving his body, the Animalian Virus or any other bacteria in Heather's mouth couldn't get in. An antiseptic cleared him up right away."
"So he's going to be ok?" asked Abby.
"Yes, but I wouldn't expect to be up and about for a while," said the doctor, "He'll need rest to recover the blood loss and allow his skin to knit together. But you can still talk with him." At that point, they were outside Roland's room. The doctor knocked and opened the door a crack. "Roland, your friends are here to save you," said the doctor.
"Send them in," called Roland's voice. The doctor opened the door fully. Roland was reclining in bed, his chest and shoulder wrapped up in bandages. "Hey guys," he said cheerfully, "Didn't expect to meet up on our first day back at school like this."
"Roland, I was so worried," said Sophie. She would have rushed to him, but she held back, not wanting to start him bleeding again.
"I was more worried for you," said Roland, "That crazy carnivore was going to kill you."
"It's all my fault you got hurt," said Sophie, "You were only injured because she was going to protect me."
"I was in Costa Rica too, remember?" said Roland, "She was going to come after me eventually. I guess I was just a little further down the line. But I'm glad you're ok."
Sophie sighed and said, "You know what I was thinking before you stopped her from chomping me? I was thinking that the whole segregation thing seemed so pointless in comparison."
"What segregation?" asked Abby.
"Well, I was a little upset that you all got to move to WSA and I had to stay behind," said Sophie, "It felt like it was undermining all the integration work we've been doing with Animalia Ambassadoria. How could we say we're a part of the world community if we're keeping humans out?"
"Sophie, they weren't trying to keep you to shun you," said Jessica, "There's still a lot of Animalians who haven't been vaccinated yet. I know we've been able to keep it to ourselves, but there's always a risk someone could be infected by accident."
"And to be honest, humans are easier to crush than Animalians," said Abby, "In WSA, we wouldn't have to worry about walking on eggshells and having more elbow room."
"Well, maybe I was being a little oversensitive," said Sophie, "I guess I was a little upset we won't be going to school together."
"What do you mean? You'll be seeing us plenty enough during Visitation Days," said Sarah.
"Visitations Days?" asked Sophie and Roland.
"Oh, you haven't heard?" asked Sarah, "At least once a month, students at Lyre High will spend a day at WSA to see how we Animalians study. It might be more often if it works out well."
"You know, there's another way you could join WSA," said Malice, "A shame you didn't convert."
"Not from Heather," said Roland, "I didn't want to catch her craziness, no offense. But I guess I've got nothing to show except these scars."
"Hey, you got those scars defending your girlfriend from a rabid Tyrannosaurus Rex," said Malice, "That's something to boast about."
"Actually, Heather wasn't a T. Rex," said Jessica, "T. Rexes don't have spines."
"Whatever," said Malice indifferently, "Still a pretty badass thing to do."
"Well, there's been one form I've been fantasizing about for a while," admitted Sophie.
"Some type of flyer, right?" asked Roland, to which Sophie nodded.
"Obviously a parrot like J.C.," said Sarah, but Sophie shook her head.
"Another type of bird?" asked Jessica. Sophie shook her head again.
"A bat?" asked Abby, sounding perplexed.
"Actually, I've kinda been thinking of being a pterodactyl," said Sophie.
The others gave her surprised looks. "Uh, since when?" asked Malice.
"Well, since our trip to the Costa Rican museum and when we heard about Project Thylacine," said Sophie, "I didn't put much serious thought into it because I thought it wouldn't be attainable for a long time."
"Guess it could be sooner than expected," said Roland, "But a pterodactyl would be cool."
"Yeah, who wouldn't want to be a flying dinosaur?" asked Malice.
"Actually, dinosaurs and pterosaurs are separate classes of reptiles," said Jessica.
"Big deal," said Malice dismissively.
"Well, I wouldn't expect me sprouting wings too soon," said Sophie, "The Horizon scientists still need to figure out how Heather managed to pull off her conversion."
"I think it'll be worth the wait," said Roland. He might not be up to full speed for a while, but he should be able to return to school rather soon.