Sarah and Malice were panting pretty hard after their latest training session. They were becoming accustomed to pulling their sleds, but it was still exhausting to do it so many times. When Sarah had first converted, it was rather unusual for her to pant like this instead of sweating. But now she barely even noticed it unless she needed to talk.
"I think that's enough sled-pulling for one day," said Sarah.
"Yeah, there's other things we need to getting ready for," said Malice, "Like that pole-weaving thing." That particular part wasn't that much different from a normal dog show and it was really very simple to understand for the dogs since they had human minds. But considering that the average female Animalian were very well-endowed, getting through the poles was not quite as simple itself.
There were plenty of other dogs who training for the competition as well. So it wasn't much of a surprise to see Tiffany and Princess also heading towards the obstacle course. "Let me guess, the pole-weaving part?" asked Tiffany.
"Yep," said Sarah.
"I'm pretty sure everyone will wanting to see someone hip-check some of the poles," said Princess.
"I'm pretty sure they'd rather see us bump the poles with something else," said Malice, hefting up her rack a bit.
"So, how are you two doing with that duck retrieval thing?" asked Sarah.
"Better than you would think," said Princess.
"I thought poodles were more for showing off," said Malice.
"That's what people think nowadays. But we were originally bred to retrieve ducks from ponds," said Princess, holding up her hand to demonstrate. There was a little bit of webbing between the fingers, though not nearly as obvious as those on an otter or other such Animalians. "People mostly use Labradors these days for duck-hunting, but that doesn't mean poodles still can't do it. Plus, we're the smartest breed of dog after border collies," said Princess boastfully.
"Sure, you can swim, but if you want something with muscle and speed, you get a husky," boasted Malice as she flexed, "You see these washboard abs? That's a real working dog breed for you. You won't find a finer breed up north."
"What about malamutes?" asked Tiffany.
"Malamutes are the carthorses of the north, huskies are the chariot horses," said Sarah, "But still, I don't think anyone's likely to beat me and Malice in Best of Breed."
"Perhaps, but I think you girls don't have as much of a chance at Miss Zodiac as you think," said Tiffany.
"What makes you say that?" asked Sarah.
"Because winning the pageant would require beauty, grace, and style. Something that me and Princess have in abundance and you two don't," said Tiffany, fluffing her hair.
"Is that so?" asked Malice with a friendly growl. Ever since their trip to Mieni Atoll, the huskies and poodles have been on friendlier terms, but that didn't stop them from being competitive with each other.
"Yep, and I know my boyfriend is definitely going to beat yours in the Mr. Zodiac competition too," said Tiffany.
"Well, that's kind of a given since our boyfriends aren't competing," said Sarah.
"They aren't?" asked Princess with surprise.
"Simon's too busy with the police academy to practice," said Malice.
"And Travis isn't really interested in the competition," said Sarah, "But their dads are competing."
"Huh," said Princess, "Well, their loss."
"But at least we can have the rest of the week to have fun with them," said Malice.
"Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year in the same week," said Tiffany, "I bet they're having a hard time managing it."
"Well, next year those three will be far away from each other," said Sarah with relief.
"And next year's gonna be Year of the Pig, so it won't be nearly as crazy as this year," said Tiffany.
"But the year of that is the Year of the Rat," said Sarah, "I wouldn't have expected much competition asides from that one winner of the Light Bodybuilder competition..."
"But the Piper clan will be adding more competitors," said Malice.
"Well, that's gonna be two years from now. Who knows how much will change by then?" said Princess.
"Well, right now, let's hit the obstacle course," said Sarah. The two pairs of dog sisters headed towards where the obstacle course was. Whatever the outcome for this year's pageant, they were going to give each other a lot of competition.