With no school for the rest of the year, Abby and her friends had a lot of time to themselves. They had quite a few things going during the Animalia Christmas Exposition.
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Like the other horse Animalians, Abby had grown a thick winter coat to help protect from the cold. It'll be a pain to comb out once spring comes, but it felt soft to her. But she wasn't as built for cold as some others. Right now, she was talking with Vixen, one of the uplifted reindeer who helping out during the ACE. The reindeer mostly worked on the farms the rest of the year, but Abby had heard they'd be interested in moving north when the members of Project Pleistocene got a more permanent dwelling.
"What's the point of antlers on female caribous?" asked Abby, looking at Vixen's antlers.
"They're a status symbol, mainly," said Vixen, "It shows we're leading the herd and our calves are the healthiest."
"Do you keep them year-round?" asked Abby, trying to remember if she's ever seen the reindeer without antlers.
"We do shed them, but they grow back pretty quickly," said Vixen, "I'll shed my horns in the spring. The guys lost their antlers a few weeks ago."
"Wait, I saw them with antlers," said Abby.
"They've been glued to headbands," said Vixen, "They wouldn't be Santa's reindeer without antlers. But they're very sensitive about it. Stags tend to be very self-conscious when they don't have antlers."
Abby nodded. It was probably a big blow to masculine pride to lose your antlers. But she wouldn't really know. The only stag she knew well enough was Walter. And Walter found it a bit of relief to not have those heavy horns knocking into everything.
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Most teens would find playing with their baby siblings rather onerous. But Sarah found Bash and Belle absolutely adorable. It helped that they resembled Husky puppies with more humanoid proportions. Unlike human babies, they were able to move quite a bit more on four legs, even if they weren't quite the same as true dogs. Keeping them entertained was easy enough as they spent a lot of time chewing with their growing teeth.
Eventually, Belle and Bash showed more interest in feeding than playing. It was they were watching Sarah constantly and pawing a bit at her chest when they were close enough. Now Sarah was perfectly capable of nursing the puppies. Her double-dosing had given her two big breasts that produced milk regularly, though they needed to be drained once a week. Travis was particularly help with that since he was double-dosed. And the vaccine in Sarah's system mean that she could feed them without making them grow up. But Julia was very firm that she would be the mom in this family, that Belle and Bash were her puppies. And Sarah had to admit to herself it would be weird to be breastfeeding her own siblings. She looked old enough to be their aunt, especially since Julia looked young enough to be her sister. And Sarah didn't want to confuse the pups any more than she had to, even if Malice offered.
So she took her baby brother and sister and went to find their mom. It didn't take too long as Sarah found Julia watching TV. "I think it's feeding time," she said, holding out the puppies.
"Ok then," said Julia, opening up her blouse, "It's a good thing I'm already sitting." By this point, Sarah was used to seeing her mother topless. Human norms about nudity were far less restricted in this house. Malice slept in the nude and spent a good amount of the morning naked before going to school. That said, Sarah didn't want to see her dad naked often.
"So, are you going to the gym soon?" asked Julia as Belle and Bash latched on, "You could wear those new clothes." Sarah and Malice received a lot of gym clothes for Christmas, mostly because they've been working so hard to get read for the Miss Zodiac competition.
"Probably will," said Sarah, "I'll need to work hard if I'm going to beat Malice."
"When is Chinese New Year anyways?" asked Julia.
"February 16, it's a Saturday so school won't be a problem," said Sarah.
"Right after Valentine's Day?" asked Julia.
"Yeah, lunar calendars are unpredictable that way. Maybe they'll be combining the Valentine's celebration and the Lunar New Year celebration," said Sarah, "Speaking of Valentine's, I'll be stopping by Travis's on the way home. The milk bags are getting too full."
"Use protection," said Julia, a lot less concerned than most parents about her teenage daughter having sex.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to have puppies yet," said Sarah.
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Christmas at Jessica's house was relatively quiet. There were times that Jessica wished she wasn't an only child. But her close friends were only children too. But on the other hand, it meant more presents for her. It would be a while until Roger was here as he was busy with his former owner's family. Sam won't be here until later either as he and Samantha were busy with their own things.
But there was one present that her parents had given her that was a bit puzzling. It was very light and slim. She shook the box a bit and asked, "What is it?"
"Open it and see," said her mother.
Jessica tore open the pair and opened the box. Rather surprisingly, she found a car catalog. "Did you get me a subscription or something?" she asked as she turned the pages.
"More like a promise," said her father.
Jessica flipped through until she stopped at a page that featured the latest model of a Volkswagen Beetle. But mostly, it was the blank check that had been stuck in like a bookmark that got her attention. "No way, no way! Guys, you mean it?" asked Jessica, excited.
"Well, you are going to be 16 soon," said her mother, "You'll be getting a driver's license eventually and I think you've done enough to earn one."
"But don't think we're going out to get it now," said her father, "That'll be for your actual birthday. Besides, we wouldn't want to get it only for you to outgrow it." It was a bit of a joke there, since Animalians based on small animals didn't get taller than humans. But there were some exceptions, like the Piper clan. And Jessica knew she was still growing so she wasn't sure how tall she'd get yet. But she should at least be small enough to drive a car.
"Thank you guys so much," said Jessica, hugging her parents, "I can't wait until we get it."
"There's no rush. Enjoy Christmas now," said her mother.
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Sophie had noticed the growing love between Heather and Jeremy, but she was still surprised when she heard about his proposal.
"That sounds great, Heather," said Sophie, talking with her on the phone. She was currently in her room, petting JC. "When is the wedding?"
"We were thinking it'd be around Dinotopia's official unveiling," said Heather, "Start of summer, I think. And I was wondering if you might consider being one of my bridesmaids."
"For real?" asked Sophie, "I haven't really known you that long."
"Well, I don't have as long a list of friends to choose from as you might think," said Heather, "I mean, some of the other dino-girls will be there, but why shouldn't I want you for my bridesmaid?"
"Hmm...perhaps because you once tried to eat me?" asked Sophie, though her tone was dry and clearly kidding enough.
"All water under the bridge," said Heather dismissively, "We've gone a long way since then."
"We certainly have," admitted Sophie, "I guess unless something comes up, I can do it."
"Good. It might be a while until you're fitted though," said Heather.
"Why's that?" asked Sophie.
"Because you're going to be a Dinotopian then and I don't think a dress you'd wear now would fit you then," said Heather.
"Good point," said Sophie.
"I need to go now. Thanks for saying yes," said Heather.
"No problem," said Sophie before hanging up. It was rather bizarre. A few months ago, Heather was a raging monster who tried to kill her. And now, she was one of her closest friends. Sophie did sometimes feel a bit uneasy around the large carnivore, but that was almost gone. "Guess I'll be going to a wedding this summer," said Sophie. JC let out a small squawk that earned him a scratch on the neck. "And maybe you'll be there too."