As much Heather wanted his support with her getting into shape, Jeremy had to admit that he was in more need of the exercise than she was. Yes, his conversion into a Syntixisaurus rex did make him a lot more muscular than he was before, but he was not an athletic person when he was human. He didn't have the experience to be using his body for more active purposes. So while he looked to be in good shape, he tired out a lot faster than one would expect. But that made him and Heather such good partners in exercising as well as other things.
But exercising wasn't limited to lifting weights, jogging, yoga, or dancing. The Huffy Beastmaster was able to be ridden by the smaller Dinotopians, but larger models would be required for the bigger Dinotopians, if they wanted to ride a bicycle at all. Besides, the weather was getting too cold for bicycling anyways. Anyways, there was another method of exercise that actually worked all of the muscles in the body.
Swimming wasn't someone one would normally picture in association with dinosaurs, at least not accurately. For instance, sauropods could not be fully submerged in water up to their necks as the pressure would make it impossible for them to breath. In fact, they'd more likely float instead of walk along the bottom because of the air-filled chambers in their bones to lessen their weight. Also, theropods like Tyrannosaurus were not as helpless in the water as their relatively-short arms suggest. Their strong hind legs allowed to swim for periods of time. They were obviously more built for land than water, but that didn't mean they'd immediately be in danger of drowning in deep enough water. The spinosaur family of theropods were in fact now thought to be more adapted to swimming than walking on land, though there weren't any spinosaur Dinotopians just yet.
But anyways, the humanoid builds of the Dinotopians made them a lot more adaptable than the ancient reptiles they were spliced with. While some were better at swimming than others, there was no reason that they couldn't use the indoor pool at Claw Coliseum. Jeremy was glad that the swim trunks made for alligators were able to accommodate his tail, though he obviously had to get a larger size. He headed over to the pool, being careful not to slip on the slick tiles.
When he got there, he could see someone was already in it, though they were darting around so fast underwater, Jeremy couldn't make who or what they were. Of course, considering how fast they were, Jeremy assumed they were an otter or something. But then they surfaced, revealing a porpoise-like head, though with a much longer tooth-lined beak. She climbed up out of the water, Jeremy could easily tell she was a woman by her halter top swimsuit that hugged her sizeable breasts tightly. She wasn't a porpoise though not bigger than a human, her tail being far too stumpy and lacking flukes. She also had a longer neck than a porpoise and lacked the characteristic blowhole of cetaceans. Add the flipper-like feet and the webbed hands and she was obviously some sort of marine reptile, though Jeremy couldn't place what kind she was. She had markings much like an orca, though the black of her skin was a lot closer to navy blue.
The swimmer looked at Jeremy and asked, "Are you that new hybrid dino that I heard about?"
"Er, yes. I'm Jeremy and I'm a Syntixisaurus rex. I'm not really sure what you are though," said Jeremy.
"My name's Molly and I'm a Dolichorhynchops. It's a type of plesiosaur," she said.
Jeremy blinked and said, "That's quite a mouthful."
"Yeah, it means 'long-nosed face' in Greek," said Molly, "But even for a dinosaur, it's a tongue twister of a name."
"Plesiosaurs weren't dinosaurs," said Jeremy in mild irritation, "They're a completely different set of reptiles. Pterosaurs are more closely related to dinosaurs than plesiosaurs."
Molly gave Jeremy a toothy grin and said, "Just wanted to see if you knew that or not."
"I'm working on Project Mesozoic. I should know what's true and what's false," said Jeremy.
"Oh, wow, big career," said Molly, "Makes you more important than an athlete like me."
"Er, if you don't mind me asking, Molly, why did you volunteer to become something so small and obscure like a Dolichorhynchops instead of a larger, more recognizable plesiosaur?" asked Jeremy.
"Dolis aren't that obscure," said Molly defensively. But she calmed down and said, "I suppose you haven't seen the documentary 'Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure'."
"Can't say that I have," said Jeremy.
"Well, the main focus of that movie was a Doli, and I felt a bit of kinship with her," said Molly. Jeremy raised an eye ridge at that. "I would have been in the Rio games, but then a shark chomped most of my left calf muscle."
Jeremy looked at Molly's leg and saw their was noticeable scar tissue there. "Shouldn't the treatment have fully healed it?" asked Jeremy.
"Maybe, I only got a single dose," said Molly, "But it healed me more than enough. But in that movie, the Doli also got her left rear flipper bitten by a prehistoric shark. I might even have a tooth still embedded in there like she does. It doesn't really hurt. Flexing's a bit painful, but it doesn't slow me down."
Jeremy nodded. The fact that Molly was a type of plesiosaur was quickly losing its surprise. There was an extension of Project Dinotopia called Project Dinotopia Aquatica which, as the name implied, was focused more on creating Animalians based on ancient marine reptiles. But Jeremy wasn't as deeply involved with it at the moment, namely because he was still relearning how to use his four-fingered hands. "How many other marine reptiles are there now?" he asked.
"Not a lot," said Molly, "Just me and Nessa right now."
"Who's Nessa?" asked Jeremy.
"That'd be me, laddie," said a female voice with a thick Scottish brogue. Jeremy turned to come face-to-neck with someone. Jeremy had to back up and look up and down at what had to be the strangest combination of stocky and tall that he had ever seen. She was very obviously a plesiosaur, one of the long-necked variety. Her main body came up to about 6 foot 6 at the shoulder, but then the neck stretching up past 4 feet. Like Molly, she had webbed hands and flipper feet, but her arms were a lot bulkier than Molly's. Her tail was also longer, ending with a diamond-shaped fluke. Despite the height at the shoulder, her body was built more like that of a shorter woman, though one that was clearly a bodybuilder. She did little to hide her body in the bikini she was wearing, which also showed off her taut ass and huge breasts. Her skin was a mixture of green and black on the back, though it paled to lime green on the front. Nessa grinned at Jeremy, showing her sharp fish-catching teeth. "Ah know. Ah'm a big girl, aren't I?" she said.
"You certainly are," said Jeremy, "Elasmosaurus?"
"Right on the first one," said Nessa as she craned her neck to look Jeremy up and down, "Smart one, ye are. And pretty good-lookin' ta boot."
Jeremy gave her Nessa a suspicious look and said, "I'm pretty sure that pleisiosaur necks aren't that flexible, particularly Elasmosaurus."
"Smart as paint, ye are," said Nessa, straightening up her neck, "Ah did cheat a wee bit. Had them put a bit o' snake DNA so I'd be able ta move me neck more. Stiff necks are fine if ye spend all yer time in the sea, but I'm walkin' on land more than that and it'd be damn hard to walk about with a flagpole fer a neck. Much better ta have one that can bend." She demonstrated by bending her neck backwards and down until she was resting her head between her own breasts. Jeremy had to admit the feat was very interesting.
Just then, he heard someone clearing her throat. Jeremy turned to see Heather there, also wearing a bikini. Jeremy had seen her naked so he wasn't really surprised by what the swimsuit was pulling off. But it certainly did emphasize her curves in a very desirable way. Though the effect was a bit marred by the annoyed look on her face. "Testing to see how deep the waters are, Jeremy?" she asked sardonically.
"Er, I, uh," said Jeremy, his genius IQ briefly leaving him as he tried to think up an explanation.
"Don't ye worry, lassie," said Nessa, bringing her head up, "I'm not gonna steal yer bondmate away. But ye better keep a better grip on him than ye did with that Tom fella."
Heather's eyes widened in surprise and recognition. "Muriel?" she asked in disbelief, "Muriel Lochhead?"
"Aye, though I prefer ta be called Nessa now," said Nessa.
Heather blinked in surprise. This was something she'd never expect from the old farmer's widow that she knew. "I didn't know Effie invited you too," said Heather. Muriel hadn't lived on Effie's complex, still having her old farm.
"Aye, thankfully we're good enough neighbors fer her ta invite me here," said Nessa.
"So what about your farm?" asked Heather.
"Let someone else have it," said Nessa, "Ta be honest, I neva did care much for growin' fruits. But Alabama ain't proper country fer raisin' sheep. At first, I wanted ta become a sheepdog so I can go back ta shepherdin' like in the old country."
"So why choose Elasmosaurus?" asked Jeremy.
Nessa laughed and said, "What do ya think, lad? Why'd ye think I changed me name? I wanted ta be like the Loch Ness Monster. Maybe I can go find that beastie like this."
"There is no scientific proof that the Loch Ness Monster exists," said Jeremy flatly.
"Well, I can certainly br the Loch Ness Monster if there is no other," said Nessa, "Certainly would make shepherdin' seem like small potatoes. But right now, I'm just happen ta be young and fit again."
"Well, good for you," said Heather, "Jeremy, we need to hit the water."
"Oh, right," said Jeremy, nearly forgetting about that.
==========
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Heather. Jeremy blinked, bringing himself back to the present, which was him and Heather in the co-ed sauna.
"I was thinking over the possibility of converting Sophie's parrot into a Dinotopian," said Jeremy, "There could be a possibility since birds did evolve from a certain branch of dinosaurs. Of course, we would need to see if it could work for other birds before using it on JC."
"Try again," said Heather flatly, pointing at the obvious tenting of Jeremy's towel.
Jeremy sighed and said, "I was thinking about when we first met Molly and Nessa."
"And what were you thinking of in particular?" asked Heather in a warning tone.
"How good you look in a bikini," said Jeremy.
Heather kissed him and said, "Right answer."