Because Anastasia was considered one of the newest members of Animalia, she was obliged to take the orientation tour of Animalia. Not that she minded, she was (elegantly) eager to learn more about the new society that she was now part of. What she payed most attention to was Animalia School of Modeling and Claw Coliseum.
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ASM was a little surprising, especially when the concept of such a school had never occurred to anyone. Originally it was just Maggie coaching a few students, but the concept basically just got bigger and bigger, and soon it was similar to a full on school. When Anastasia and her group visited the school, a man was lecturing a class on something that nobody ever really considered when the became famous.
"... so one of the things to keep in mind is that popular fame brings with it a lot of temptations; and when you start to give into those temptations bad things will start to happen to you."
"Really?", asked Aurora, who was not only famous for her meat market performances, but also for her role in the "positive body image" movement, "What kind of bad things would happen?"
"Usually this is the part where there would be a long philosophical lecture about the consequences of your actions," said the speaker, "But I managed to narrow and refine them into three easy-to-recognize steps or 'signs'. First you start to change; next you'll lose what you love the most; and finally you won't even recognize yourself."
But Maggie was the one most surprised about Anastasia, mainly because of her bloodline claim to the hounds of the royal family of Imperial Russia and the fact that Dmitri had the paperwork to back up that claim. Maggie was partly glad that Ellie knew that Anastasia would eventually become one of those prima types, and that she had a special class for those kinds of people/Animalians.
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The other interesting thing was Claw Coliseum, where she would be doing most of her physical training. Anastasia was certainly eager to register for the track and field team because she was not just a show dog. While she wasn't expecting to take part in the throwing events, the rest of those events she was eager to take part in.
A surprising thing was seeing a large number of women in the Pregnant Exercise classes, and the fact that both Janice and Anne Cumbertin as well as Millie and her mother there as well.
While most of the women were of various sizes and 'progressions' what was probably the 'biggest' was a picture/poster of Iphis, Ianthe, Ty, and Lily when they were at full term. While it was a little surprising when it was announced, the rest of the class were glad that Anne and Oscar were officially married. When Anastasia asked about Janice's old father, Anne responded with a mute, "I'd rather not talk about it."
"You don't need to." said Milly, "From what I've heard, I shouldn't be surprised."
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It was a little surprising to learn about the post-birth weight loss classes, but it did a good job of disproving the "myth" that women would be too busy taking care of their new children to lose said weight. Probably what was the most surprising was the fact that some of the horses who were taking part in the classes were herms, which was very surprising to both Anastasia and Ellie.
While it was a little confusing about what awards he had won, Leslie had confirmed that he had won the "Animalia Bodybuilding Circuit Rookie of the Year Award", and second place
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When the last weekend before October came, Elly decided to take Anastasia to the newest business that started up in Animalia. It was a thrift store that specialized in goods for both people and Animalians. Anastasia spotted a pink, teardrop-shaped necklace surrounded by clear gems in one of the bargain bins that didn't sparkle as much as real gems should have. Because of that fact, the necklace was determined to be nothing more than a piece of cheap stage jewelry, so Anastasia bought it for $25.
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Since the next week would be the start of October, Animalia would be getting ready for Spookyville. Because of that Elly and Anastasia were reading up on it in the Guide to Animalia