Dino City as a newly opened colony city had attracted a lot of attention. Some of it being the fact that dinosaurs were always something popular with most kids and even some adults. Even with the size issues that Heather had presented when she was the only Dinotopian around had brought in a fair number of requests and ideas from people who wanted to go along with the idea. This was part of what really lead Horizon into working on the project that would make it viable. But as things were reported on the size issues that some Dinotopians had, particularly Andrew and Jen or Luke and Marjorie as Sauropod Dinotopians, once Project Mesozoic opened to the public and was no longer under a "for testing purposes" restriction that limited the conversions to those that were entering through Project Phoenix or simply willing to be a test subject for Horizon, many of the conversion requests died down. Thus the Dinotopia Aquatica on Skull Island and Dino City in Texas. And now that the colony city was open, it did seem like there were more people moving in or at least giving a good look over to see those that moved in as the colony opened.
Among the groups of people that had come to look at Dino City were Sora and Yuki Yurikazi . The two Velociraptor Dinotopians were curious about the new city in a few ways. Some of it was to look at the new town as there had been a fair effort by Horizon to publicize it. Much of the rest, however, was more of a business move operation. The two sisters had long had a great interest in fashion while growing up and read what they could on fashion magazines, even at young ages while they and their mother were treated for the AIDs they'd contracted as a result of the drug lord's actions. Thus once Project Phoenix offered them a chance for a cure and the testing phase for Project Mesozoic offered discounts for those who would apply for it through those programs they'd jumped at the chance, and they never regretted it. Even their mother, who became a Red-Crowned Crane Animalian, was grateful for the conversion.
That then in turn gave them the ability to get into the fashion design business as it was not only a new lease on life, but also there was the fact that Lyre/Animalia needed those that could think on ways to design clothing that would fit Animalians, based on their greater sizes than Humans in some cases and based on some of their more unique adaptations in others. Lyre and Animalia had Miss Vivian who had done a lot of the original design work in many ways, but she also had her own shop and her own work, which had largely limited what she could do. Thus when Yuki and Sora had volunteered for the general designer role, Miss Vivian had accepted as it made some of her work easier. However, both Yuki and Sora found that in general, Animalians favored clothing that would be rather utilitarian and practical. There were of course some elements that could be considered "flashy" in playing to the higher libidos that all Animalians had, but even with that, most of the designs were often fairly simple and the biggest thing was adapting the design for the size of the Animalian or to accommodate the wings of the Animalian, if based on a bird, bat, or now pterosaur. However, Project Mesozoic had offered greater challenges as Dinotopians would display many unique adaptations that would make even practical clothing design more of a challenge, such as accommodating Racheal Stega's back plates that ran down her back from the back of her head to her tail.
Thus when most of the Dinotopians decided to move to Dino City, Sora and Yuki agreed that they might need to move their shop in designing clothes for Animalians in general and Dinotopians in particular would need to move. There were a few Dinotopians that hadn't moved to Dino City, but some of those had some unique circumstances. The male Stegosaur, Samuel Spike was employed by the State of Nevada in a sort of anti-drug/addiction program and really couldn't move, and from rumors passed around was still fairly close with a Human woman that lived elsewhere in Nevada. Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline were still going through school at WSA, and would be likely that they'd soon be in college, though Sora and Yuki privately expected Sora and Roland at least to move to Dino City after they graduated college.
"So you're really thinking on moving here?" a male voice asked toward Yuki, sounding a bit down making both Velociraptor Dinotopians look to their right to see the third member of their party, Zeke. The teen had hit it off with Zeke during one of the bachelor/bachelorette auctions that Animalia/Lyre ran to raise money for charity and he and Yuki largely did hit it off with the now College student who would be going into his sophomore year in college when fall arrived.
"That is something we've considered," Sora said slowly to him, "Most of our work focuses a lot on Dinotopians, primarily because of the specialized adaptations that may need to be made for their clothing that could go beyond just making it bigger. And while many may prefer simple and practical clothing than some of the high end trend setting things... there is a certain challenge that still must be met. And if most Dinotopians move here, we'll be closer to our primary customers."
"But..." Zeke said slowly and looking to Yuki... "What about...?"
"We haven't finalized anything, yet," Yuki said quickly and raising her hands to wave him off, "and even if it were... it wouldn't be like a long range relationship is unworkable. Sora's boyfriend lives in Paris or New York or someplace."
"Francois is from New York," Sora answered, "and he's busy right now... You know that."
Sora wished he was there though. While much of their conversations had related to design elements and some high end ideas that he'd suggested to her and Yuki, there were also some personal connections and when he had time to visit her in Lyre/Animalia, Francois often brought a present. But between his work schedule and theirs, his visits weren't super frequent. That was actually something she was a bit jealous of Yuki on as while Zeke had been away at college, they did get some time to talk on the phone and she even indulged him with designs for that were a bit more "adult" than others.
"Anyway," Yuki said to Zeke as she reached out and gently rested her hand on his shoulders and felt her "wing" feathers brush against his back, "moving here wouldn't mean the "end" of "us." I can come visit, you could come visit... and if things get as far as marriage and conversion... then we might have different choices to make. And if need be... I might stay in Lyre until you can make that decision."
Zeke smiled at that as they walked along, though in the course of some of the excitement over the discussion, as they rounded a corner, they ran into another group. This time another group of Dinotopians. There were four of them, two male and two female. All of them had features that they shared with Sora and Yuki. With the exception of their muzzles, hands, and feet they were covered in feathers, and the feathers on their arms did grow out into looking like the fight feather's on a bird's wing, but since the Dinotopian wasn't one that actually flew, those "wings" remained on the arms rather than growing from the back, like Sora and Yuki's did. They also had the distinctive raised toe that held the large killing claw, that all Dromaeosaurs were known for.
However, there were also some key differences. Unlike Sora and Yuki who's muzzles were a grayish-black and were a bit lower than their forehead, typical for Velociraptor, these four newcomers had brownish black scales on their muzzles and the top of their muzzle seemed to be in line the top of their foreheads, more in line with some of the other Dromaeosaurs than Velociraptor. The feathers around the back of their head were a light cream/brown color, and those feathers ran down their chest and disappeared under the shirts they were wearing. But based on Sora, Yuki, and Zeke could see with the feathers on their arms, legs, and their long tails, these were a all in a series dark brown colors. The biggest difference was their size.
Sora and Yuki as Velociraptor Dinotopians didn't really get that much bigger than where they were as Humans, as Velociraptor wasn't a large Dinosaur, and would be in fact comparable to a Turkey in size. Thus while Sora and Yuki's bust and hip measurements got proportionately bigger, they largely remained about the same size as they'd always been. These four new Dromaeosaur Dinotopians, however, stood a bit taller, close to ten feet in height and while they were proportionately the same size as Sora and Yuki in other areas, because they were scaled up to a larger size than Sora and Yuki, Zeke had to shake his head to keep himself from focusing on the female's chests.
"New raptors!" the first male gave a cheer while the other three gave cheers that sounded like the cross between the cry of a hawk and a Human saying "whoop!"
"You all come to convert too?" the first female asked looking between Yuki and Sora and then to Zeke.
"My sister and I converted when Project Mesozoic was still in its testing phase," Sora answered.
"And my parents won't agree to pay for it until either A) I've graduated college or B) things between me and Yuki get to..." Zeke began though his voice fell off at the end, "we're just here to look around."
"I've been with you on parents, man," the second female commented and nuzzled at the second male, "I've been seein' Red here for years and they still gotta be protective."
Red, said the second male, nodded in agreement with the second female and then asked, "have you seen the dome yet?"
"Not yet..." Sora said slowly, "we've mostly been checking out the areas set up for businesses and so on for the work my sister and I do to make sure Dinotopians have things to wear."
"You gotta see the dome, it's huge!" the first male said with a confident grin.
"I'm sure..." Yuki answered, "Mister..."
"No mister," the first male spoke, "I'm Bob Hill." He then paused to gesture to each of the others, "These are Kelly Tim, Red Fyre, and Millie Ruckhmann.
"Where the Utahraptor Pack!" Kelly smiled.
"I am Yurikazi, Sora and this is my sister Yuki," Sora spoke as she and her sister bowed, "and our friend here is Yuki's boyfriend Zeke."
"Wouldn't Sora sound more like a first name?" Millie asked tilting her head sideways.
"Sora is her first name," Zeke explained.
"In formal introductions it is customary to give the family name first in Japan," Sora nodded, "Our family originally joined Animalia because of the actions of criminals that put us in need of Project Phoenix."
"You like it here?" Red wondered.
"The colony city is interesting," Yuki nodded with a smile, "Different from how things are in Lyre... but that gives it its own quality that's rather nice."
"You guys move here?" Zeke wondered, "or..."
"Nah, we actually live in Glen Rose," Bob answered, "Graduated from high school last spring and will be going to TCU next fall. We kinda agreed that Animalia was pretty cool... but if we were going to be an Animalian... it had to be cool and it had to be big."
"But raptors aren't particularly large Theropods," Sora commented.
"Compared to Tyrannosaurus or Carcharodontosaurus, maybe," Kelly answered, "but compared to other raptors, Utahraptor is the biggest."
"And all raptors are cooler than Sauropods or Acrocanthosaurus," Millie answered, "their only answer to anything was to be bigger."
They then chuckled with a repeat assertation that raptors were cooler. Neither Sora, Yuki, nor Zeke had any real complaint to that, though eventually, Zeke did have a question.
"So what brought you four into being the Utahraptor pack?" Zeke wondered.
"That is a bit of a story..." Bob began the tale on their conversion some time before...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I still don't know you want to do this," Mr. Hill grumbled as he drove the family truck up to the new Horizon building, "All Animalia has introduced is a new generation of hippies who HATE America."
"And where has anyone from Animalia said that?" Bob answered from the backseat, "and besides... you've all seen the Jurassic World movies and know how much income the park here makes for Glen Rose. The Dinotopians will bring more tourists in and thus more money to the state and the area, because the overflow can't all go into Dino City. You know that, right?"
His father and mother were silent in the front seat as they drove along, crossing the line that marked the border between Glen Rose and Dino City. Bob eventually then continued.
"And even if they are all "hippies," why not offer a way that would introduce them to REAL Conservative thought that would be fiscally responsible and compassionate in a REAL way and not just lying to get votes... rather than just blustering about things they do. Ya won't change their mind that way."
His parents didn't answer, but at least accepted that much. To some extent it was a lost battle as Bob and his friends had all had interest in Project Mesozoic ever since it went legal and had not been above working together to try and persuade them and their parents as well. Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Hill gave Bob a bargain that if he got straight As in his Senior Year, they'd accept his request to go through with the project, largely with the assumption that while Bob wasn't stupid, his highest grades were usually in the Bs and thus no As were expected. Little did they know that Bob and his friends ended up working far harder at their school work than the Hills ever expected and their son got straight As for his Senior year in high school and thus they had to live up tot he bargain.
They pulled up to the new Horizon facility and saw that the parents of Kelly Tim, Red Fyre, and Millie Ruckhmann also there with their kids. They knew that the Tims seemed to be fine with the conversion and the Fyres and Ruckhmannns at least accepted it, but there had also been some apparent drama over Red and Millie dating, but the Hills didn't want to get into things that weren't their business. Bob, Kelly, Red, and Millie were all quick to share fist-bumps and cheer "raptor pack forever!" The parents approach was a bit more subdued as they approached.
"I'm sure things will be fine," Mrs. Tim said to Mrs. Hill as they came together.
Mrs. Hill gave a loose shrug of acceptance, more from the fact that she'd given her word and had to keep it. She hoped that things would turn well and that some of the reports she'd seen about Animalia's culture weren't real or were exaggerated in some way, but that didn't remove her private reservations as they made their way in. What followed was fairly standard as they walked in and filled out the final paperwork, as Bob and his friends had already handled the initial paperwork and assorted testing on the likely instincts that would come with a predatory animal like Utahraptor. From there they were then lead to the transformation room where the next great confrontation began, where Red and Millie's dating came into view.
"And how will this work again?" Mr. Ruckhmann asked, "we have four here and you have two rooms..."
"We actually have more than two transformation rooms," the Horizon scientist spoke, "Just two in this section of the building... and right now we only have a limited staff. Doctor Ramos may come by to help with some things and catalogue new Dinotopian species that may be converted, largely for scientific reasons that we can present on the likely body builds of the actual animal in the fossil record, but other than that our full staff isn't here yet... some because we'd hope to attract people to come work for his from the area... and some because the head scientist for our offices here isn't here yet..."
"So..." Mrs. Ruckhmann raised an eyebrow.
"We have more rooms," the second scientist finished, sensing that the first was running into some trouble, "but at present we do not have the staff to do four transformations independently from one group."
"Well can't we double dose the other way?" Millie asked.
"Absolutely not," Mr. Ruckhmann roared with narrowed eyes at Red, "I may let you go out on dates with him... but there will be NO sex until after you've graduated college and legally married."
The two Horizon scientists raised eyebrows as given how close Millie and Red stood together and how Millie had eagerly brought the "other way" up, it was likely they'd already had sex together, but they couldn't interfere in a family matter.
"The only other way would be to take turns," the first Horizon Scientist sighed, "We have a local waiting room for families of those converting or those simply waiting for their turn. You can wait there and we can simply do this in two separate efforts."
"That'll do," Mrs. Ruckhmann said with a tone of finality in her voice that even Millie didn't argue with.
And that was how the rotation worked. The group was moved from the hallway to a modest, by Dinotopian standards, waiting room with large leather couches in the center of the room. Large tablets on chargers were placed in racks along the wall. There were also shelves for magazines and there was a television on that presently was tuned in to ESPN. The group moved in and waited for their respective turns. Kelly and Millie went first while Bob and Red waited patiently with their parents in the waiting room. Getting onto the couches was not super easy, but it was manageable. After about ten minutes, Kelly and Millie returned, fully transformed and dressed in clothing that was made to provide for basic modesty and hid everything that was supposed to be hidden in public.
"All done and vaccinated," Kelly declared as she came in, occasionally tapping her largest claw on the floor.
"You're bigger..." Red said as he stood up and looked to Millie.
"And buff too!" Millie smiled lifting her lips enough to show sharp teeth and then flexing her arms, showing an impressive set of biceps, shoulder, and forearm muscles under then layer of down feathers with the longer "wing feathers" on the outside edge.
From there, Bob and Red took their turns while Kelly and Millie took their seats on the couch. The Hills noted how their feathered tails hung over the couch and even over the other side. There was a sort of awkward silence that followed, and Mr. Hill actually felt a bit intimidated as that the two eighteen year old female Dinotopians were taller and more muscular than he was. There were a few questions that came on if it hurt or how Millie and Kelly felt. The answer came back that they were fine and that it probably looked weirder than it felt. And things stayed along that way until Bob and Red returned, with Millie and Kelly giving a sort of chirping squawk that sounded very "bird-like" as they got up and fist bumped and gave the same cheer that they'd given ever since they'd seen the first Jurassic World movie. Millie was also privately very impressed with the fact that Red's "wing" feathers had a sort of reddish-brown tint to them.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
"So... your parents weren't keen on the transformation?" Zeke asked.
"Mine weren't... they only accepted it because I got good grades," Bob answered.
"Mine were more into the whole, "my baby girl is a princess and shouldn't be even looked at by you" sort of thing," Millie Ruckhmann answered, "other than Red... they were fine with the transformation."
"Have they gone to the dome?" Yuki asked.
"We've managed to talk them into going to some of the sporting events that they've arranged for the IAC to be here," Red answered, "but... for workouts... running... and some racquetball matches... no. We were able to go alone..."
"Which was fun," Millie smiled and nuzzled her head against Red's while Bob and Kelly smiled to each other as well.
"I'm sure," Sora said slowly.
"But we won't tell," Yuki promised.
"Still... it'll be good to go see the dome," Kelly insisted.