A year ago, Countess Irena de Vasconcellos would have welcomed her 90th birthday grimly, only seeing at a reminder of how close to the end of her life she was. But this year was completely different. Now Irena had a new lease on life and many years to look forward to. Yes, she was an anthro Pyrenean Ibex now, but that mattered little to her. She was born under the sign of Capricorn after all. This year, she actually felt like celebrating her birthday.
But that didn't mean she wanted a huge party. In Spain, birthdays are not as heavily elaborated as they are in America. The one exception was the Quinceañera, when a girl has turned 15 and was treated as much of a big deal as 'sweet 16s' in America. And while the Animalia virus did make Irena a lot younger, it didn't make her THAT younger. Irena's party was relatively small, mostly consisting of the friends she's made in Animalia. There were a few traditions that were included, such as that Irena had the first bite of the cake without using any utensils. There were no piñatas there as that was a Mexican tradition, not a Spanish one. And Irena didn't insist on gifts, birthdays in Spain being more about celebrating the person themselves than spending money for the birthday. But she still got some gifts anyways, like a set of different teas from Lord Chumly.
Irena was mainly glad to see people come to her party. Such as Heather and her family. Irena had gotten rather fond of the young Syntixisaurus rex as they worked on the posters for the Spanish Animalian colony together. In a way, Heather reminded Irena of her cousins from when she was young. And she was particularly delighted when Jeremy proposed to Heather, even if it would be a while before they actually married.
Irena was looking Jeremy up and down. "You're a good match for Heather, physically at least," she said, "And you balance out her nature as I hear."
"She balances me out too," said Jeremy.
"Good, marriages should have good balances," said Irena, "Perhaps it is too early for such things and I'm the one who should be receiving gifts, but I would like to offer you two a chance to visit Spain for your honeymoon."
"You mean it?" asked Heather.
"I don't see why not," said Irena, "You are...larger than my usual guests, but I think I can make room for you."
Heather frowned and said, "I don't think I can. I'm still on probation."
"You seem reformed enough to me," said Irena.
"Well, that's more up to my parole officer than anything," said Heather.
"I think your parole officer can be reasoned with. And I wouldn't be surprised if your probation was over by the time of your wedding," said Irena.
"I hope so," said Heather, "I would like to go, I just hope I can."
"We'll see," said Irena, giving Heather a friendly pat on the hand.
Some time later, Irena was able to have a private word with Tyra. "Heather's told me a lot of things about you," said Tyra conversationally.
"She's also told me about you," said Irena, surveying Tyra. It wasn't a very formal occasion, so Tyra was a little dressed up. Though her dress was mostly a plaited skirt that was a little too short and a vest that seemed to be purposely too small as it revealed a lot of cleavage.
"Good things I hope," said Tyra in a joking tone.
"Well, she has complained about your behavior," said Irena.
"My behavior?" asked Tyra.
"Yes, she's talked about how you don't act so grandmotherly around her anymore," said Irena.
"I still care for Heather. I wouldn't have come here and be turned into a dinosaur if I didn't," said Tyra, sounding insulted.
"Yes, but Heather's been telling me that you've acted nothing like you used to before, how you're always partying and being wild," said Irena.
"I'm just enjoying my restored youth," said Tyra, "It's not like you're acting conservatively either." She pointed an accusing claw at Irena's dress, which was a bright red dress that lacked sleeves and had a lower neckline than Irena has worn in decades. Her hair was also also loose instead of being tied up.
"I won't deny that I've been enjoying myself. But Heather doesn't realize how gratifying it is to be young again after being old for so very long. She's known you as her grandmother figure all her life and I think she's having trouble seeing your new self as the one she knows," said Irena.
Tyra crossed her arms and said, "So what do you expect me to do? Act like an old lady for her again?"
"No, but I think you should try toning down your...exuberance a bit. Perhaps you should spend time with her doing what young women do these days. You help her to accept you as something other than her grandmother," said Irena.
Tyra thought it over. She had been spending a bit more time gallivanting off than with Heather lately. And her renewed sex life was probably making Heather more uncomfortable. "I suppose we could use some more bonding time," said Tyra, "But I'm not giving up my job at the Meat Market."
"You actually work there?" asked Irena, "I thought she was just exaggerating."
"Well, I've got a smoking body. Might as well use it," said Tyra, hefting up her breasts for a second, "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"I...I don't want to force my opinions on others. I've seen too much of that in my time. Though I think I wouldn't flaunt it around Heather so much until she's more comfortable with your new self," said Irena.
"I don't want to lose my connection with Heather," said Tyra sincerely, "She's made a lot of mistakes, but she's still my granddaughter. But I guess I need to start treating her like someone closer to my new age."
"I think it would be for the best," said Irena.
It was a nice little party and it was certainly a good way of sending the Countess off. She will be returning to Spain soon and hopefully she'll be able to start working on an Animalian colony on her family's land.