Abby felt a bit flustered as Samson went up to get the crown for the "Junior Prom" King with Courtney. It wasn't necessarily that she had anything against Courtney. In fact Courtney had done rather well with the new aspects Animalia Ambassadoria's format and provide shots and critiques of things that went on in Animalia and showing how Lyre's Humans and Animalians could work together. It was something was quite good, and she was fairly sure that Courtney had no romantic interest in Samson, but Abby had had some idea that whoever was elected King and Queen, the two would be partners. As was often the case in many of the movies and television shows that covered prom events.
"Everything will be fine," Sophie commented to Abby when she heard the Quarter Horse Animalian give a bit of a sigh.
"I'd hoped to be the Prom Queen if Samson was King," Abby said slowly.
Abby then looked to her right and down to see Sophie gave a small smile back with the part of her mouth where there was some loose skin pulled up before progressing down to the firm beak that Sophie and Roland as Pterodactylus Dinotopians had. Sophie sat there calmly while looking calmly in her dress. It was far more different than the others in their group friends, mostly due to Sophie's wings. Sophie’s dress fit the same design that other winged Animalians had. The dress was a royal blue color with one loop that hung around the back of Sophie's neck with the front have a slight V-neck that exposed the upper most part of the growing valley between Sophie's breasts while the rear part of the dress slid under Sophie's arms and into a U-"neck" that was halfway down her back, to give her wings room for maneuver. The blue color worked quite well with Sophie's black, white, and grey coloring, and matched the blue polo shirt that Roland was wearing as well.
"I'm sure..." Sophie gave a small nod and reached over to pat Abby on the shoulder, "but the votes for King and Queen were for individuals, not couples. So it wasn't impossible that something like this could happen."
"And most of the time when couples win these sorts of votes in shows and movies," Roland commented from the other side of Sophie, "it's been more the plot of the show that has determined the vote more than anything else."
"And in the bigger picture," Malice chimed in, "you know that Samson loves you. So... Courtney gets to be the prom queen, but you get Samson."
Abby smiled at that and slowly nodded.
"In fact... a part of me thinks that Samson liked you back even before Animalia," Sarah added, "back when we'd all go riding together... he'd stay close and would be surprisingly attentive your mood."
Again, Abby nodded. That was something that showed her how far things had come. Before Animalia, Samson was a mundane Horse and had been Abby's favorite and they had been close, as horse and rider could be. After Animalia, their past became an actual romantic bond as Abby became a Horse Animalian, and while it meant that "riding" Samson had a whole new meaning, it had seemed to provide a feeling of love that Abby wouldn't give up on. And in the end, Malice and Sarah were right. That love was more important than who was Prom King and Queen. Courtney might get one dance with Samson as Prom Queen, but Abby would have him for a lifetime.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The dinner finished well and that allowed everyone to move to the Kat's Klub for the actual dance part of the prom. It took things a bit differently from the way most schools handled prom, but then, WSA wasn't "most schools." With WSA and Lyre functioning as an integrated district, there were a sizeable number of Human students that were there with the Animalian students. These differences then also manifested in how the dances went, particularly when it came to Animalians that were uplifted. Many that had been pets before being uplifted could actually dance fairly well, though they generally only matched their former owner's ability. Those that didn't see their owner's dance all that much didn't have that, and had to improvise as such.
That in turn lead to curiosity as JC and Pauline found out. They had just gotten some water to drink, largely due to the fact that with so many students packed into the club for the prom, even with the AC on, the room was fairly warm. The two Microraptors had decided to rest for a few moments and get a bottle of water. They had just sat down near the front window when a pair of male teens approached them. JC though there was a look of curiousness about them, but couldn't fully tell on what the likely reasoning for it, and with Sophie's lessons on politeness in mind let them approach.
"Can I help you?" JC asked slowly as the two approached while Pauline took a sip from her water bottle.
"Yeah... uh... with that dance you... you two were doing... um..." the first teen sort of stammered, his voice sounding rather nervous after seeing the two largely grey feathered Dinotopians with their tails being red, danced earlier to a brisk pop song that had been played on the club's speakers.
"It was weird," the second teen cut in, sounding more authoritative, "no one I've seen before dances like that."
"Probably because it was a "dance" that I observed before I was uplifted," Pauline answered, thinking back to before being bought by her previous owner. It was largely based around some of the courtship dances she's observed among other parrots at the pet store she had been in and then combined with some of the dance steps that Sophie and Roland tried to teach. They and Sophie's parents had also taught them some of the more slow dances, which would work with the present song being played, and if they weren't so well heated by the accumulated body heat they might still be dancing.
"But all Dinotopians are converted Humans," the second teen pointed out, "there are no Dinosaurs to uplift."
"There are no non-Avian Dinosaurs to uplift," JC corrected, "given that Birds evolved from Dinosaurs... one could say that Birds are Dinosaurs."
"So you became Bird Animalians and then Dinotopians?" the first teen asked, making Pauline facepalm.
"No, Pauline and I were normal African Grey Parrots," JC answered and then pointed out to the dance floor where Sophie and Roland were dancing and nuzzling their crests together, "and until Project Mesozoic's opening at the start of last summer, I was Sophie's pet." JC didn't include that he still saw Sophie as his mother. "Pauline's former owner passed away and the owner's family didn't have legal ability to care for her... I'm guessing where they lived didn't allow for pets."
"So we were uplifted from Grey Parrots to Microraptor Dinotopians," Pauline answered.
"So... you were both converted and uplifted," the second surmised.
"If that's how you want to view it... then yes," JC nodded.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Roger was greatly pleased when the music switched to a slower and more romantic sounding piece. He'd had happy memories of his time as a pet and that grew into more happy memories as his former owner's brother, even if Cody remained human. However, he had no real memories that taught him many dance moves. He remembered watching a lot of Power Rangers episodes with Cody, and while he learned a little about martial arts, good versus evil, and giant robots from them, dancing wasn't one of them. Jessica and her parents taught him some of the slower dances, but they'd never gotten too far beyond that.
As such, he and Jessica tended to stand aside while some of the faster songs played. But they were happy to dance to the slower ones, ones that Roger found that Jessica was also better at. Jessica filled out her dress very nicely, and a real part of Roger wanted to take her home and show her how much he truly loved her, but Roger knew how Jessica felt. He had the sense that a part of her wanted it to, but also wanted to let be a romantic moment that Jessica's parents would approve of, or at least tolerate. Roger wouldn't push her on that, because he'd come to love her dearly.
He was happy just to be close to her with on dance floor with one hand holding hers with the other on her hip. They moved together slowly on the dance floor with some degree of grace and with both smiling happily together. Abby's jealousy at Courtney being Prom Queen was forgotten as the two Rabbit Animalians danced together, and out of the corner of his eye, Roger could see Abby happily dancing with Samson.
"You're looking wonderful tonight," Roger said to her with a small smile.
"My dress isn't too flashy?" Jessica asked back referring to the light pink dress she wore with a small flower pin on the shoulder, which was exposed as she had her hair tied back in a ponytail.
"It's perfect on you," Roger told her.
"Flatterer," Jessica laughed and nuzzled her muzzle to Roger's.
"I'm serious," Roger answered and nuzzled her back catching a small scent of arousal coming from her, "You are perfect... and I am happy to be your bond-mate."
"Even though we haven't actually mated," Jessica answered.
"That will come when you're ready," Roger answered, "I won't force you."
Jessica smiled back and nodded. Though, knowing that Roger wouldn't force himself on her wasn't exactly the same as simply responding to arousal. She had been feeling her libido grow ever since she first converted, and now as she was over seventeen and with about the same general build as Judy, the Rabbit Animalian who had provided her with her lone dose of the Animalia Virus. Even if Jessica didn't grow any curvier than she was now, that wouldn't change the fact that that sex drive was there. She was well aware that it was there, and that was something she had to keep her focus on, as her first time was to be special and romantic, not just because the urge was there.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"You're getting better," Sarah said to Travis on a different part of the dance floor as they moved along.
"I try," Travis managed a weak smile.
The Dalmatian Animalian had grown up in the Lyre Fire Station before the second outbreak in Lyre. In this, unlike Malice who'd seen Sarah dance plenty of times, Travis's experience was with grown up firemen who were often working to maintain their equipment and keep themselves trained for the case of a fire or being deployed if there was any wildfire. This meant that once he was uplifted, Travis wasn't as skilled at dancing as Sarah, Malice, or Simon. Malice had learned from Sarah, and Simon was a converted Human, like Sarah. He'd learned a few things from Sarah over time, be it with the Valentines Dances, be it at Lyre or WSA, but Travis still had the sense that he lagged behind his mate when it came to dancing.
"And succeeding," Sarah smiled and licked Travis's cheek, "even if you don't think so."
"Thanks," Travis manages and licked Sarah's cheek in return with a small smile. Though he also found her fur feeling rather warm. "You're not too hot, are you?"
As a Dalmatian, Travis's fur was shorter and while it could do reasonably well in winter, it wasn't perfect for winter weather. Sarah and Malice, however, as Siberian Huskies, a breed intended to live and survive in very cold conditions, could hold onto their own body heat easily. And with so many in the club at the moment, a lot of that extra body heat built up in the room, even with the AC on.
"I'm doing okay," Sarah said slowly, "but... I could rest for a bit."
This got them to pause for a moment and make their way off the dance floor. As they reached the south edge of the dance floor and stepped onto one of the carpeted levels on that edge, they found Simon and Malice also coming off the dance floor, and likely for the same reason. Both looked happy, especially Malice, as she got to have Simon as her "plus one" for the dance, even if he wasn't a student at WSA. Though that of course had been more the result in the difference in age between Simon and Sarah, and technically Malice. All of them were double dosers and were thus physically the same age, but that didn't change the difference between when Sarah and Simon were born. Simon had been a Senior when Animalia started and graduated before WSA opened, and Malice had missed him while he'd been at the Police Academy. However, now that he had graduated from there and was in more of a specialized training program for Lyre and Animalia until he could get his badge, he was close enough to be there for more time to meet with Malice. Though both of them also looked to be panting a bit.
"It's like an oven in here," Malice panted.
"It's not that hot..." Sarah shook her head, "but it is warm."
"Though with all the people here," Simon commented, "it's understandable. And with Humans and Animalians having fun... it could well be a major success."
There were some nods to that. The night had gone well.