Sophie hadn't quite expected the dinner invitation from Heather, but it had been a pleasant one, as Heather had clearly reformed after her infamous arrival in Lyre/Animalia the previous year. And while her attack on herself and Roland had been frightening at the time, it actually proved to further Sophie's own interest in not only converting but on what kind of Animalian to become, a Pterodactylus... or Pterodactyl for the common person. And after that, Heather did reform and helped with Project Mesozoic and in a way had even befriended Sophie as the project went along where she asked Sophie to be her Maid of Honor at her wedding to Jeremy at the start of the summer. In that, Sophie saw no reason to refuse the dinner invitation, even if it wasn't expected.
However, that wasn't the biggest thing to handle at the moment as she jogged after Jessica, who was walking ahead of her. She'd had some sense that Jessica had had questions and concerns that related to the fact that Sophie had had sex while waiting out the Storm from Nowhere, but hadn't really had a moment of privacy to voice them. As lunch was a pretty crowded time and with the others there, who were double dosed and happily mated, including JC and Pauline, there might be some degree of nervousness that Jessica could have as a single dosed Animalian as well that might only raise urgings from Malice to take the plunge, as it were. Now was probably the best time, and Sophie did her best to jog after Jessica.
"Hey, Jess! Wait up!" Sophie called after her friend.
Jessica paused for a moment to let Sophie catch up, noting Sophie panting a little as she finally caught up to her. In that she noted the differing methods of locomotion between them. While Sophie was bigger than she was before her conversion, she actually wasn't that much taller, and most of her added height was in the crest on top of her beak, which wouldn't be something that would help her walk or her stride when compared to Jessica, who'd remembered her legs getting a bit longer when her feet lengthened into the digitigrade Lapine paws she now had. That gave Jessica a longer stride when compared to Sophie's still plantigrade feet... though of course as a Pterosaur, Sophie could fly if she wanted to, Jessica could not.
"So... what did Heather want?" Jessica asked as Sophie caught up to her and they began walking toward where their homes were in Lyre.
"Mostly just a dinner invitation," Sophie answered, "and an official apology for last year..."
Jessica nodded and remembering what had happened. She then looked forward as they walked along, following some of the groups of others walking or flying back toward their homes. Some had rides from their parents and some drove themselves. Jessica very much wanted to drive herself to school, but she still only had her learner's permit and a part of her didn't want to damage her car, which left her walking. That wasn't a problem though, as it would give her time to talk with Sophie on some things.
"So... what was Courtney going on about?" Jessica asked off hand, referring to the conversation that Sophie and Roland had had with the Senior Class Human.
"Mostly grumbling about how I "betrayed everything I believe in" by becoming an Animalian," Sophie answered, "but I'm sure you heard that."
"Just about everyone did," Jessica answered, "though... if it makes any difference... Roger and I are on your side. Showing that Animalians and Humans can work together doesn't require you to remain human. And making that sort of requirement... would make it seem like Horizon and Animalia are taking away people's choices and forcing people to become Animalians. That isn't the case. Shoot... I'd think by percentages the number of people that have joined Animalia over the past couple of years is still UNDER half of Nevada's state population alone. The only reason Lyre/Animalia have such a proportionately high Animalian population is the fact that it was were there outbreak started... And making the claim would be like saying that Abby and Sarah threw away supporting equal rights for Animalians and Humans, even though their conversions were by accident."
"Yeah," Sophie nodded, "though... I wouldn't think that Courtney is against Animalia. She's actually made quite a few favorable comments on the Animalia Ambassadoria videos we've had out. I think much of it is more of an... image thing I guess. You know... how Abby was converted in the initial outbreak on the Brown family farm... Sarah was converted tripping over something during the second outbreak... and you rapidly choose to become an Animalian. So, when Animalia Ambassadoria was started, I was its only Human member... while you guys were all Animalians and had bond mates. Then after Roland joined... we become a couple, but were still the only Humans routinely on the show. I think ih8ulibs called us Animalia's "token humans" in about every other comment he made. But... now that Roland and I converted... we can't even claim to be "token humans" as we're Animalians now too."
"It'd still be something pretty shallow if you needed to remain human to show that Animalia wants to integrate itself with humanity," Jessica commented, "I mean... didn't you tell me you'd thought about converting pretty early on too?"
"Yeah... though more as a grow up, grow old and then get my youth back," Sophie commented with a small grin, "but... yeah."
Jessica only shrugged as they walked along, "that still shows that becoming a Pterodactyl wasn't something that was sudden and thus doesn't apply to Courtney's criticism."
"She did get me thinking on ways we could improve Animalia Ambassadoria," Sophie commented, "maybe get more human members and show how Humans and Animalians have gotten along so well in Lyre and Animalia. That sort of thing... though that might be something that'll have to be cleared with Clara and what Animalia would be willing to pay for additional "ambassadors" for the show."
Jessica nodded in agreement to that. It wouldn't be too bad of an idea and could even help with some of the scheduling issues. A lot of their summer colony tour had to be cut short because of the Mister and Miss Farmhand Competition, which was now getting close to its final competitions for the year in harvesting and so on. Abby and Samson needed to get back as judges and Sarah and Malice needed to get back as participants. Having more members might actually allow them to actually provide specific shifts and put out even more coverage and welcome additional points of view.
"Though... I don't think Courtney's comments to me is really what you want to talk about," Sophie then spoke as they finally got to the proverbial elephant in the room, which Jessica sighed to as they stopped for a moment.
And both of them knew it related to Sophie having sex during the Storm from Nowhere. On some levels it was understandable, as Jessica knew all too well on how strong those urges could be. She'd been feeling them ever since she converted and they grew stronger with every year and as she continued to physically develop. That urge became even stronger as she met and began courting Roger, and it was to a point where she loved him enough that there were plenty of times where Jessica wanted nothing more than to go somewhere private with Roger and be with the male Rabbit Animalian that she loved. But at the same time, she didn't want to rush anything, both with regard to double dosing and on other matters. And often with this, she'd figured that Sophie would be more of an inspiration to avoid those sorts of desires, but Sophie had apparently given in to them, which only made her worry as that if Sophie, who Jessica thought was stronger in that regard could give in... how much chance did she have of not giving in? And at the same time... there was also the rampant desire to be with Roger, as well. In this, Jessica found herself being pulled in two directions. One wanted to find out fully just what got Sophie to make the decision that she did and the other part wanted to know what it was like.
"You and Roland had sex," Jessica said softly as they resumed walking.
"Yes," Sophie answered, knowing full well that Jessica knew. Rabbits might not have a sense of smell as acute as a dog would, and neither would horses, but she also knew very much that Jessica, Roger, Samson, JS, and Pauline could pick up the lingering scent of sex on her when she and Roland returned to Lyre/Animalia. All of her friends had been supportive and Malice, JC, and Pauline especially so, but she could also see that there were some points where Jessica had been a bit uneasy.
"After all that I told you about your libido and sexual desires going up before your conversion during our last school year," Jessica said slowly, "You had sex."
"Yes," Sophie admitted, looking down, "Yes... I gave in to the desires I have for Roland. Desires that I could tell right away were MUCH higher after I converted."
Jessica only looked down for a moment, not sure on what to say next. She really had no qualms or disapproval of Sophie being with Roland. She remembered how bummed Sophie had been around Animalia's first Valentine's Day during their Freshman year in knowing that Abby and Samson, Simon and Malice, and Sarah and Travis would enjoy the day that would surely lead to them having sex, and knowing that Jessica had Roger as a committed boyfriend at the time, when Sophie didn't have anyone that could be on par with Jessica's relationship with Roger at that time. After the Valentine's Dance in which Sophie had met Roland and found that Roland was interested in her, Sophie had been overjoyed and very happy at that. Jessica had no problems with them being in love, and a part of her even expected them to begin having sex after their conversion at some point. She just didn't expect it to happen as fast as it did.
"And I didn't exactly go looking for it," Sophie spoke slowly, "I didn't just recognize that "hey, Roland, we're alone... let's lose our virginity together!" It didn't quite happen like that."
"So... how did it happen?" Jessica wondered.
"I was frustrated a bit by how long and how hard the storm was running," Sophie commented, "and it was still coming down. We'd been cooped up in the hotel for a couple of days waiting out the storm. We met a woman that wants to be a Dimetrodon "Dinotopian" but there really wasn't that much that we could do in the situation."
Jessica watched as Sophie did a set of air quotes with her hands when she said Dinotopian in connection with the word Dimetrodon. She guessed that that meant that Dimetrodon wasn't a dinosaur, but that wasn't the point of the conversation.
"And some of it might have been the same sorts of desires that you'd said you'd been having with regard to Roger," Sophie continued, "as... I could see how wonderfully handsome Roland's become and how firm and strong his muscles look... even as a single doser."
"And that was what triggered it? That you were trapped in the storm and couldn't go anywhere so you just gave in?" Jessica asked.
"Not quite," Sophie answered, "but it did put some stress on me as I tried to control myself... and combined with the frustration that the storm had meant that Roland and I missed the first day of school... it'd made me feel rather tense. We REALLY wanted to be back in time for the first day."
Jessica nodded.
"And well... Roland volunteered to rub my upper back and neck, and he noted how tense I was," Sophie continued, "and it felt good and relaxing... and I loved it..."
"But back rubs aren't sex," Jessica pointed out, "I've given Roger a couple of back rubs after his karate lessons and he's given me some back rubs as well... And while... a part of me really wants him... that didn't lead to us having sex."
Sophie nodded in response, "True... but then, neither you nor Roger have wings." She paused to flex her wings behind her, seeing that the sidewalk was fairly open at the moment. Jessica watched and slowly nodded as Sophie then continued after folding her wings against her back again. "And well... at one point, Roland's hand slipped a little and went down directly between my wings... His touch was soft and gentle... and... well, apparently there is something of an erogenous zone near where my wings meet my back. A bundle of nerves that where a soft touch could feel VERY good."
Jessica walked a long quietly, though her twitching nose picked up a slight scent of arousal from Sophie as she recounted what lead to her first truly sexual experience with Roland.
"It got me going, which in turn got Roland going... and with all the building desires that had gone on through the summer after we converted, I couldn't resist anymore," Sophie admitted, "It felt wonderful... and it's at that point that I couldn't resist anymore."
"And how did it feel after that?" Jessica asked feeling her own arousal growing as thoughts of being with Roger fluttered in the back of her mind, thankfully he had karate lessons after school today and thus wasn't there to smell her arousal.
"Honestly... neither Roland nor I were probably as good as Malice, Sarah, or Abby have often talked about in reference to their sexual experiences," Sophie said slowly, "and in a bit of a rush... Roland wasn't positioned quite right and tried to correct it, but fearing he was going to back out... I thrust hard and well... that ended up in a brief moment of pain as my virginity ended..."
"But..." Jessica surmised.
"But, being with him, Jessica... it was heaven, and I don't regret it happening," Sophie answered with some confidence, "I love Roland. Just as you love Roger, Sarah loves Travis, Malice loves Simon, Abby loves Samson, and even JC loves Pauline. I'm not going to say that an act of love is a bad thing."
Jessica nodded as they walked along, though by now they were crossing the border between Lyre and Animalia and their homes wouldn't be too far away.
"Though I will say... that that doesn't mean I'm going to start looking for any opportunity to have sex that I can," Sophie finished, "Roland and I didn't have sex in the showers today, and we spent our free period in the library with Malice, mostly catching up on some of our homework on the things that we missed because of the storm. I don't regret what happened, but that doesn't mean I'm going to use it as an excuse to rush for more."
Jessica nodded again.
"And by the same token... don't let it think that you can't resist it if you don't want it," Sophie encouraged her friend, "I know you've been wrestling with your own growing desires. You've been going through that longer than Roland and I have. And that you've managed to avoid "rushing" anything says a lot about how strong YOU are. And your first time with Roger... it should be a romantic moment of your choosing... or at the very least romantic in the sense that you can feel Roger's emotional love to a point where you make the choice to accept your desire. Don't feel that you have to have sex with Roger because I ultimately gave in to my desires for Roland. If Roger loves you, he'll understand and will accept that..."
"That's pretty much what Roger said," Jessica spoke with her ears perked.
"See... that shows he's a smart guy and the perfect bond-mate for you," Sophie hugged her friend, "he won't force you into anything you won't want, and if you wish to wait... that's entirely you choice and he'll accept that. And you know that you'll have everyone else's support to. No matter how much Malice may be excited that Roland I... well... you know."
Jessica only chuckled and hugged her friend back.