Venus had a pretty good time in Egypt. There was of course some of the rules that she had to abide by with, but to a certain extent that was tolerable. She was allowed to wear pants and a basic cotton tee-shirt that didn't show anything sexual, which seemed to be okay with some Egypt's laws, and she was fine with that. At the same time as a hairless breed of cat, Egypt's warmer climate was preferable to the potential cold weather in Nevada and where her former owner Timothy lived.
As such, she spent her time touring some of the sights at New Zerzura that were set up for tourists that came to see some of the Ancient Egyptian ruins that the Guards of Anubis were assigned to protect, and she'd even managed to get one bus ride up to Giza to see the pyramids and the Great Sphinx, which Venus ultimately felt didn't look exactly like her. Though that wasn't the only surprise Venus found while she was in Egypt, particularly as she met with some of the Egyptian cats that had been uplifted. Most of them were various mixed breeds that had been strays before New Zerzura was set up as a colony for Animalia and nearly all were curious and surprised at Venus's lack of fur.
The biggest surprises though was with a family that had converted from Human to Animalian. It was largely limited to a mother named Thea and her husband Hosni. They lived together in New Zerzura and worked as tour guides at the museum areas around the archeological sites for the ancient city that was dug up and a feature of archeological study. They had been friendly and Venus had actually made fairly decent friends with them. Thea had even escorted her to see the Great Sphinx and explained the monument's history to her. Venus was thankful for that.
It let her enjoy the vacation and being in a warm place for the moment. Then early on Christmas morning, while sitting in the hotel's dining area and snacking on some ham and fish that their breakfast buffet had set out on hot plates, the proverbial surprise began... She heard a few footsteps as she ate and then turned to see Thea approaching with a small smile on her face. Thea was more conservatively dressed with a long dress that looked to be a grayish white with a small gold cord around her waist as she approached. The dress covered up her largely spotted coat, but even with her dark hair, combed back to frame her face, Venus could also see the spot like stripes on Thea's head in a dark brown and bronze-brown coloring, marking Thea's breed as an Egyptian Mau. Hosni was close behind her.
"Good morning," Venus said respectfully to the two, thankful that because of their work in Egypt's own tourist industry that they had a working knowledge of English.
"Good morning, Venus, I trust you are well?" Thea asked as she came up to the small wooden table that Venus was seated at.
"Yes... things are quitter here than I remember America being this time of year... but people have been polite," Venus answered.
"I would imagine things are quieter here at Christmas time than in America," Hosni chuckled and then said, "it is why Thea and have been talking... and we thought you might wish to have Christmas with us."
"Muslims celebrate Christmas?" Venus wondered, as no guidebook had ever said that.
"No... but Coptic Christians do, even if it is different from how you understand the holiday in America," Thea said softly, "Our sect... denomination is different from the Protestants and Catholics in Europe and the Americas. Our calendar is also a bit different. Technically, Christmas falls still on December 25... but since our calendar is closer to the old Julian Calendar, the date of December 25 for us would be on January 7 in your calendar... which is based on the Gregorian alterations to the Julian Calendar. And life under Islamic rule hasn't been perfect, but we have managed to carry on."
"And we figured that since you are here without family... that... well..." Hosni said slowly, "we thought you might wish to have your Christmas with us... since the media seems to report they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Day in America."
"That's very kind of you both," Venus commented as she looked up to Thea and Hosni, heavily surprised at all of this.
"Kindness is a virtue for all," Thea smiled as Venus stood up and brushed off her pants for the moment.
The two Egyptian Mau Animalians then lead Venus out, and the sun shown brightly down on them. Venus could feel the heat from its rays, even in the present early morning. That felt fairly warm and Venus did like that, though some of that was still processing the statement that both Thea and Hosni were Christians, something she hadn't expected. There was also the fact that they had also mentioned family, which only made Venus think of Tim. She remembered the love and joy that Tim had given her from when she was given to him by his grandmother a few years ago, before his grandmother passed away. In some ways she loved Tim like he was her own child, and it broke her heart that Tim was allergic to her. As there were some stories that she remembered from her time as Tim's pet that were quite loving and touched her heart, but because of his allergies, it would appear that any and all contact between Venus and Tim would be limited.
"Again, thank you," Venus said as Thea and Hosni began to lead her through New Zerzura's streets and carefully dodging some of the people as they went about their work.
Her hosts nodded and lead Venus along until they came to a rather modest home that was near the local museum/archeological sites. It shared a lot of the design aesthetics that had gone into the construction of New Zerzura to match the ancient city, even with paint colors and base design of the building, but was small and modest and Venus thought that it would fit two quite comfortably. Hosni approached the door first and held it open, his silver-gray tail with black spots slightly swayed behind him as he held it open for Thea and Venus. As she entered, she found some simple décor as well for the interior. There was a small niche where there were some small religious statues that she thought looked like Jesus, but wasn't sure.
"So... how many..." Venus began, curious at her friend saying she was Christian in a Muslim country.
"Coptic Christians," Thea spoke with a polite nod, "and in Egypt... I do not know. Religious questions are not asked. Some online sources would say there could be as many as 18 million in Egypt, but I cannot say for certain how true that would be."
"I've never heard of it... though... until recently, I was just a mundane cat," Venus said slowly and looked down as Hosni shut the door and came inside, "owned and loved by someone who is allergic to me..."
"So... that is why you came alone," Thea commented, "though neither thing is a problem. We don't expect every tourist to know about our faith or our calendar. And your owner's allergies aren't your fault."
"But he loved me... and... in a way he is family," Venus said with a frown as Thea lead her to a small dining area in the back, "a reminder to him of someone he loved, and I think he loved me... and... I know I'd been "fixed" before I was bought and given to my former owner, but after being uplifted... looking at him... it makes me feel like I carried him and loved him like any mother could... and now... he's allergic to ME. And I can't be around him without aggravating those allergies."
She sat down in a chair near a table while Hosni walked over to a counter that was opposite them and began to pull out a can of coffee from one of the drawers.
"You've done nothing wrong," Hosni said as he proceeded working on brewing a fresh pot of coffee, one of the special blends that some of the scientists working with Horizon had found that could work for Animalians that didn't have the sort of dietary flexibility that Humans did. "Allergies are a perplexing thing and while he may be allergic to you, that wasn't something you can control."
"And I'm sure that if you've given him kind words and can be there from time to time for your former owner... assuming his family approves, I'm sure you'll be able to see him from time to time," Thea assured Venus, having noted some of this conflict being there, as while Venus was happy with the work that Gold Bond had offered, whenever things like "family" came up, she'd noticed the Sphynx Animalian often got uneasy and almost guilty, which seemed out of character. As Venus had generally been pretty open and curious about things in New Zerzura. It was that sort of thing that had actually got her to invite Venus over to their home, as it would let Venus voice what she'd worried on and grow more comfortable.
"And in theory... if he converts, his allergies should be cured," Hosni added, "before our conversion... I was allergic to poultry of any kind. Now... that's cured."
"I'm not sure they'll let him convert while he's as young as he is," Venus commented with a sigh, "I just wish... that I could be there more for him."
"Still... if the family allows it, you can still see him from time to time, I'm sure," Thea reminded her, "and you'll still be family."
"You're sure his mother wouldn't see me as a rival for seeing HER son as though he were MY son?" Venus wondered.
"I wouldn't think so," Thea answered, "Love is love."
Venus felt good about that. Particularly as it offered her some degree of confidence that things with Tim would be fine, which was ultimately something she had worried about. It might not have been the most inspirational pep-talk, but it did work. She ultimately accepted the cup of coffee that Hosni had brewed and the specific blend that had been found to be safe for cats will discussing on things with Hosni and Thea's life and how they found each other wed. She also asked a few questions on what Coptic Christianity was and why its calendar was apparently different from the calendar in the US and how they would handle dealing with anyone that had a different calendar from them. In a way, the conversation was the best present Venus could get and to a certain extent it felt like family. It would make for a good story to tell Tim about when she got her next chance to see him and his parents.