Everyone who was involved with the 'Seven on Four' night were paying off the damage they did to that hotel room in some way. And there was no question that Scala hated her current job the most. Even Lexi who was working as a 'custodial engineer' with Scala didn't have as much of a problem as her. Then again, being a janitor was a rather demeaning job, no matter how necessary it was.
As such, when Ms. Fabina offered to introduce Scala to the rest of her 'courtesan's guild', Scala quickly jumped at the chance. After all, she didn't have to clean messes all the time. It was a short tram ride to the apartment building where Fabina and her fellow refugees were staying at. Though it was getting colder as the winter solstice approached. Scala found herself feeling more sluggish and hating the cold. Being a Gila monster had its downsides.
She gave Fabina a look of envy. Since coming here, Fabina had been reorganizing the adult entertainment industry of Animalia to be more efficient and maximize the sexiness their performers can do. Scala had been doing something similar with the former porn stars who were going through Project Phoenix, but it looked a lot that Fabina held higher dominion than her. That wasn't the only reason she felt envy. Fabina had such a big white fluffy coat of fur that was obviously keeping warm. Scala found herself wondering what kind of dog Fabina was. She was certainly a rather large dog, rather muscular but still curvy. But Scala couldn't think of a particular breed she resembled.
"If you don't mind me asking, your breed...I can't place it," said Scala.
"Ah, I suppose it's not as well known in the States," said Fabina, her voice having a musical Italian lilt, "I am a Pyrenean Mountain Dog, a Great Pyrenees as you'd call them here."
"What kind of dog is that?" asked Scala.
"Itsa big dog, a sheepdog. Actually, itsa more like a goatherd dog. See these dewclaws?" Fabina lifted one leg, showing off her foot. As with other dog Animalian, she had a dewclaw on her ankle. But Fabina actually had two dewclaws on each ankle. "When the goats wander up the rock faces, these dewclaws help the Pyrenean Dog get a grip and go after them. They are like..." Fabina paused and looked puzzled, "What's that word again? Crumbum?"
"I think you mean 'crampon' " said Scala.
"Oh no, I haven't gone into heat yet," said Fabina. Scala blinked, not sure if Fabina was joking or not.
==========
Before long, they arrived at the apartment building. "Everybody ought to be in my apartment by now," said Fabina.
"Do you have heating?" asked Scala.
"But of course," said Fabina.
"Then let's hurry up there," said Scala, "Desert lizards do not like snow."
"Doesn't it get cold the desert at night?" asked Fabina.
"Pretty sure reptiles sleep during the night," said Scala dryly.
Scala was happy to get into Fabina's warmer apartment. "Ciao a tutti!" said Fabina as she walked in, "I've brought a guest with me. This is Scala"
"Hello Scala," said a rather mixed group of Animalians.
One of them, a female cobra slithered over. "It'sss ssso niccce to sssee a fellow reptile," she hissed, "I'm Ki-ko."
"Ki-ko? Rather odd name for an Italian cobra," commented Scala.
Ki-ko gave her a slightly annoyed look and said, "I'm from Essspaņa."
"Oh, sorry. I just assumed that since you guys were running away from the Sicilian mob..." said Scala.
"Itsa fine," said Fabina, "A lot of us are Italian. Take Andrea and Alita there for instance."
Scala looked to see a pair of cow Animalians, but it was pretty clear they weren't ordinary cattle. While both of them had large breasts, they also had larger horns than most cattle and there were bulges between their legs that were clearly not udders. "Are you two herms?" asked Scala.
"Sė," said one of the cows, who had broader shoulders and was taller than hir mate, "Itsa good thing that Andrea is considered a feminine name outside of Italy."
"So you're Andrea?" asked Scala.
"No, I am," said the other cow, who was shorter and a bigger bust than hir mate, "Shi's Alita, who's still my wife."
"Oh, I see," said Scala, "I thought herms were usually of equal size."
"There's a difference if one's a milk cow and the other's a beef cow," said Alita.
"I still don't know how you talked me into being the Swiss Brown while you got the Belgian Blue," said Andrea.
"Because you like being dominated," said Alita, nuzzling hir mate with hir snout.
"Oh, you know I can't resist," cooed Andrea, nuzzling hir back.
"Are they always like this?" asked Scala.
"They're like this with other people too," said Fabina, "Itsa pretty open marriage. This here is Leon."
With a name like that, Scala expected a lion. It was surprising to see it belonged to a Wolf Animalian, one bigger and bulkier than she had met before. He was also a bit more stocky in build compared to other wolves, including the blunter and broader shape of his head and his sharper teeth. "What kind of wolf are you?" asked Scala.
Leon grinned, showing off more sharp teeth. "I'm a dire wolf," he said proudly.
"I thought dire wolves were mythical creatures," said Scala.
"No, they existed back in the last Ice Age," said Leon, "They were an apex predator in North America."
"Ah, well, considering how they appeared in tabletop games, I thought they weren't real," said Scala.
"Personally, I think he's not much different from a regular wolf," said Fabina.
Leon gave her a wolfish grin and said, "I'd be happy to show you the differences, like in stamina."
"I'm sure you would," said Fabina, winking at him.
The others were more average in appearance. There was a cat, a blue-tongued skink, a horse, and a penguin. The penguin stood out more from the others with punk rock hair that matched her feathery monobrow. She also wore a bikini that seemed inappropriate for the weather. Though considering she was a penguin, it probably suited her fine. Scala recognized her from the Animalia Ambasasadoria show. "I didn't known Brusmith was in your group," said Scala.
"She didn't come from Sicily, but we at the Meat Market together and she hangs out with us," said Fabina.
"Well, it sounds like you've got quite a circus here," said Scala. Favina gave her an offended look. "I'm not making fun. You guys really are like a circus. You've got the snake charmer, the strongmen, the lion tamer, the tightrope walker, the trapeze artist, the horseback rider and even a high-diver."
"Oh, I'm not a clown?" asked Brusmith teasingly.
"Nah, too easy," said Scala.
"She does make an interesting point," said Ria the cat, "I would have pretty good balance on a tightrope."
"And my fingers would have a pretty tight grasp on the trapeze," said Van Hazel the skink.
"Yesss, but I'm not sssure if there are sssnakesss I can charm," said Ki-ko.
"Who said you'd be charming snakes?" asked Alita teasingly, "You'd spend more time with men and women."
"Ki-ko's bi," muttered Fabina to Scala.
"So I see," muttered Scala.
"She's staked a claim on that self-loathing lesbian who'll be converting to cure her HIV," muttered Fabina.
"Hadn't heard about that yet," said Scala, "Kinda been busy with cleaning the Coliseum."
Fabina gave a sympathetic whine and said, "We need to get you out and about more."
"Thanks for the offer," said Scala, "But I don't think it'll make my service time any shorter."
"I'm sure we can do something to speed up your service time," said Fabina, "After all, every circus needs a clown."
Scala gave her an annoyed look and said, "I have a venomous bite, you know."
Fabina patted Scala's shoulder and said, "I'm just joking. You'd have an important part in our famiglia. Of course, I'd still be the ringleader."
Scala had a feeling she'd soon come to regret calling Fabina's troupe a circus, but they still seemed very close. Being part of this would still be better than a janitor. Though Scala probably wouldn't be able to fully join for quite a while yet.