With summer starting to end, less people were going to outdoor pools. However, Animalia has several indoor pools, particularly at Claw Colosseum. This was certainly good for the various aquatic Animalians in Lyre. Though there were a few less now that some of them have moved to colonies that gave them more opportunity for swimming, including Skull Island.
Though one person who'll be staying at the indoor pools year round was Lydia, founder and coach of the Underwater Rhythmic Performance team. The team was basically a synchronized swimming team, but they took advantage of the fact that some Animalians can hold their breath underwater longer than humans. Though there were a few other things to consider. While her swimmers could hold their breaths and swim as she told them, not all of them were the same size and that had to be accounted for. A good example was Polly, as a polar bear was larger than most other Animalians.
"Vera good, vera good," called Lydia, "Polly, mind where yer putting yer paws."
"Ok, Miss Oström," called Polly.
Lydia took a look at her walk and said, "Ok, girls, time fer a break. Fifteen minutes and then we'll yump right back in." As the swimmers climbed out of the pool, Lydia walked off for another part of the gym. All that calling out to her girls made her throat rather dry. And doing her exaggerated accent didn't help much either.
But still, she was proud of how well her swimmers were coming along. She wasn't sure when they could do any water shows. The season for them was already passing. And they still had some ways to go before they could perform. But this was the reason she came to Animalia. Sure beats retirement back in Sweden where there was nothing to do. The memory of her conversion was still fresh in her mind.
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"Thank you again for your patience, Miss Oström," said the Horizon scientist.
"Well, I'm not part of Project Phoenix and there are a lot of other people who need converting more than me," said Lydia, who was wearing her leotard-like swimsuit one last time, "I can afford to wait."
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you want to convert?" asked the scientist.
"After ten gold medals for swimming, I've reached the top," said Lydia, "And there's nowhere to go but down. Besides, Animalia has amazing swimmers and should learn how to synchronize swim. It'll be easier to teach them if I can keep up with them."
"Fair enough," said the scientist before handing her a glass of milk, "Not too many people would ask for the milk option."
"I'm Swedish, there isn't much about dairy than can disgust us," said Lydia as she took the glass.
"Well, welcome to Animalia," said the scientist before he walked out.
Lydia drank the glass. Otter milk had less flavor than she expected. But then, they weren't bred for milking. She soon felt a tingling sensation in her skin. Looking down, she saw hairs getting thicker on her arms and legs. She could see her nails getting darker and sharper as webbing started to form between the fingers.
"Huh, I expecting more than this," she said before wincing as her swimsuit got rather tight in the back. She could feel something pushing out of her lower back and her skintight suit was filling up too much. Reach back, her new claws were able to cut through her suit rather easily and let her new tail grow out. But that didn't relieve all the pressure. Looking down, she could see that her small swimmer's chest was inflating to a far larger size. Her hips were also widening to a greater degree that the standard swimmer's and her tail was now draping over a backside that was growing to match her new proportions.
Lydia's claws were able to tear open her swimsuit before it could suffocate her. It was a bit of a shame as she had fond memories of that suit. But if she really wanted to keep it, she wouldn't have been still wearing it when she drank the milk. Lydia cupped her larger breasts, which were quite sensitive under the fur. She barely felt the changes to her face and ears as they became that of an otter.
She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing a sexy otter woman looking back. She placed her hands behind her head and posed. The Animalia Virus did wonders for her body. She had felt a bit self-conscious about her thin figure, even if it made her more hydrodynamic. Now she had a figure that won't make her be mistaken for a much younger woman. She cupped her breasts one more time before saying, "I suppose I'll need to learn how to swim with these things."
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It didn't take Lydia long to get a new swimsuit for her new curvy body and she was soon swimming in the Claw Colosseum indoor pool. As she suspected, her new breasts created quite a bit of drag in the water. However, her webbed hands and feet more than made up for it. Even her tail helped propel her faster.
Underwater, she saw another Animalian swimming. One of those marine reptile Dinotopian, though Lydia wasn't sure which kind. Maybe a kind of plesiosaur, but she had a neck too short. Eventually, the two of them surfaced. "You're a pretty good swimmer," said the Dinotopian.
"I have been doing it before getting fur," said Lydia before glancing at the clock on the wall. She had been under water for at least 6 minutes and she hadn't felt a strong urge to come up for air. "I didn't know otters can hold their breath that long," said Lydia.
"If you're not a water-breather, you need to be able to hold your breath a long to survive," said the Dinotopian before holding out a hand, "I'm Molly, by the way."
"Lydia," said Lydia, shaking her hand. She could feel that Molly's hand was webbed too, "So, can all aquatic Animalians hold their breath a long time?"
"I'm not really sure," said Molly, "I mean, I can, but I don't know how long everyone else can. Maybe we should time people to see who can hold their breath underwater the longest."
"Did you swim before you were converted?" asked Lydia.
"Yeah, I was going to be in the last Olympics before a shark bit my leg off," said Molly.
"I wasn't in the Olympics, but I did win 10 gold medals for synchronized swimming," said Lydia.
"Cool," said Molly, "You think you can teach other Animalians how to do that?"
"I think so," said Lydia, "And I think I know of a way to make it even better."
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After that, Lydia started testing the limits of how long other swimmers could hold their breath. If waterproof cameras could be put underwater, then she could her swimmers do an underwater show. Her URP was taking a while to get ready, but it was showing progress. Lydia just wished that Molly stayed around longer. But now she was at Skull Island with the other marine reptile Dinotopians. Lydia hoped she could get to go there at some point.
Looking at her watch, Lydia saw that break time was almost over. "Ok, let's get back to it," she said, "It's a good thing we're not easily waterlogged."