Andrew Weary couldn't spend Christmas away from his younger cousin, Tommy. Not so soon after father's death. His aunt and uncle insisted he spend Christmas Eve and Day with them. He was appreciative of the gesture. It wasn't good to spend the holidays alone, not after losing a loved one. But Andrew hadn't planned on being alone for holidays, even before his family invited them over. He had become quite taken in with Sylvia Rattlerton after she helped cleared him of murder charges. It wasn't just that she was a rattlesnake Animalian with a curvaceous figure. Her strong independent streak which made her follow her own dreams instead of her parents made her more endearing to him. He had heard that she was going to Heiya Island to stay with a friend for the end of the year and he decided to go see her. As soon as he had finished with Christmas with his family.
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As soon as he got off the plane on Heiya Island, Andrew could feel the difference in temperature. He heard that this wasn't a tropical island like Mieni Atoll, but he didn't expect it to be this cold. There was actually snow on the island, he could see it from the airplane. But it wasn't less bearable than a snowy day in the States. And he already had someone waiting for him.
"Andrew, you're finally here," said Sylvia happily as she slithered over to him. She had been trying to keep her expectations in check. Even it was close to her fantasy, she knew better than to just assume that Andrew was interested in a romantic relationship. But the fact that he came all the way here did look like a positive sign. "I wasn't sure if you'd come," she said, giving Andrew a hug.
"Well, I couldn't miss out on Christmas with my family," said Andrew, trying to not think too hard about the large orbs pressing into his chest, "But I'm free to spend the rest of the year with you."
"I'm glad to hear that. And your timing couldn't be better," said Sylvia, "We're expecting some more arrivals."
"More?"
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Not too long after Andrew arrived, another plane brought some more company. Shuixing had been spending Christmas with Nate Bowman and his family in Wisconsin. But now she and Nate had returned to Heiya Island for the rest of the year. Naturally, Shuixing's sisters wanted to hear all about it.
"Well, it was certainly rowdier than last year," said Shuixing, "Especially since the cows moved back to the farm. And not to mention the mules." After Meryl's whirlwind romance, she returned to the farm with her new mate and husband, Olly. Nelly was also there, but she made it clear she was only there for Christmas. She still seemed a little bitter that her brother has gotten a mate while she was still single.
"Well, Meryl is quieter now that she can hear, right?" asked Jinxing.
"Not exactly," said Shuixing, "Let's just say that she and Olly really like to boast." The two of them weren't exactly modest about how often they've had sex. And listening to the banging and braying could keep the others up at night if the cows didn't put their collective hooves down and told them that decent people were trying to sleep.
"It sounds like Blueberry and the others have the run of the house," said Tuxing.
"Yeah. Ironically, Meryl thought she'd be the leader of them," said Nate.
"So is it true that the cows are making moooves on your dad?" asked Huoxing, who got a light smack for the bad pun.
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious at this point," said Nate, "Honestly, I'm half-expecting to come home one day and find Dad a bull and one of the cows as my new stepmom. Probably Blueberry."
"As fascinating as this is, can we go somewhere warmer?" asked Muxing, "Some of us are cold-blooded."
"I know exactly where we can go," said Sylvia.
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Temperate or not, Heiya was still a volcanic island, which meant there were hot springs. The colony had an inn built around the hot springs, quite literally. It was where Sylvia and Andrew were staying as they didn't want to impose too much on the Five Elements. While the girls headed to their changing room, Andrew and Nate went to their own. Following the universal 'guy code', Andrew and Nate didn't watch each other change. They wore swim trunks considering there would be ladies present. Andrew didn't feel threatened by Nate, considering Nate was clearly interested only in Shuixing. But Andrew couldn't help but notice Andrew was bigger and more muscular than him, obviously because of his farm life.
The two of them were soon relaxing in the hot spring. "Ooh...that's just the right temperature," said Nate.
"And it's all natural," said Andrew, "If it were any hotter, we'd boil like lobsters. Good thing the lava-"
"Don't spoil this for me," said Nate.
"Hey boys, are you hot enough?" asked a female voice.
"It's actually just hot-" stared Andrew before his eyes bulged. Sylvia and the Five Elements were heading straight towards their hot spring, wearing towels. And judging by the indentations, that was all that they were wearing. "Uh, we didn't think there would be-"
"Oh, don't be so modest," said Tuxing, "We're all adults here." But this wasn't the complete truth. They may all be physically mature, but the Five Elements were double-dosed when they converted. Tuxing was still chronologically the youngest even if she was the leader. It's why she had the single-dosed Liao stay at home. But she had no problem with letting her towel as she got in the water.
Andrew and Nate's faces got progressively redder as the girls got into the water, leaving their towels outside. The only ones to keep their towels were Shuixing and Muxing. "Shuixing, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Jinxing.
"I'm having second thoughts," said Shuixing.
"It's a bit late for that," said Huoxing, "You don't want Nate to get to see only our breasts." She bobbed up and down in the water, making small splashed with her breasts.
"Oh, alright," said Shuxing, removing her towel. She clearly had the biggest breasts of the group, which made sense considering water buffaloes were raised for the milk as well as other features. She noticed Nate's bright red face and asked, "Nate, are you alright?"
"Never...better..." said Nate, hope Shuixing wouldn't notice how hard he was now. He had never been more thankful to be wearing shorts.
"I do believe they're about to have a nosebleed," said Sylvia, "Muxing, you should finish them off."
"For one thing, you realize that doesn't actually happen in real life," said Muxing, "That's mostly an old wives' tale that's been exaggerated by animes and mangas. And for another thing, I don't have anything to prove to these particular young men."
"Is that so?" asked Jinxing before reaching over and grabbing at Muxing's towel.
"Jinxing, I swear I will bite you if you take that from me!" snapped Muxing as she pulled back.
"Hmm, I better go to my sister snake's defense," said Sylvia. She swam over to Muxing, making sure that Andrew got a good view as she passed.
Andrew and Nate watched as the girls became involved in a somewhat-playful tug-of-war. Muxing might not be as serious about her threat, but she wasn't just about to let herself be exposed. "I...I didn't know Animalians were so..." stammered Andrew.
"Immodest?" asked Nate, "Yeah, guess they get a lower standard for it. I heard they get...friskier..."
Andrew turned to Nate, the 'guy code' telling him to meet him eye-to-eye and nowhere else. "So, how soon before you and her..."
"I'm not sure. Probably sooner if she's willing to show herself like that," said Nate, "What about you and Sylvia?"
"Well, this technically only our first date," said Andrew, "I guess she's not shy about being forward."
"No, I wouldn't say she was," said Nate.