"Don't worry, Jen," Ashley said to her best friend as they made their way through the halls at WSA's high school building at the end of the day, "we'll find you someone..."
"I know... though... it's frustrating," Jennifer answered, "I mean... I LOVE the fun we've had together and that you'd share Skippy... but..."
"In time you'd want to have a family of your own," Ashley finished slowly.
"And because of Animalia's edicts, I can only breed with another Skunk Animalian," Jennifer nodded.
Finding out that they were bi in the course of their conversions was a bit of a surprise, largely because they were brought up to understand love as being one couple, and at least what they'd seen with their own respective parents one man and one woman. Yet, when they became Animalians, they found themselves in very adult bodies with very adult instincts and drives that brought them together. Some of that was because they had been such good friends even before Animalia, but they still loved it and would stay together. That Ashley would share Skippy made it even better and developed a rather open mate-ship between the three of them. Their parents weren't quite keen on it, but with double dosed Animalians recognized as legal adults, they also found that they didn't have as much pull as the might have had otherwise.
And to Jennifer, it was fun and both Ashley and Skippy were fun to be with when they got together for play dates, which were now far more adult in nature than they had been in the past, but there was some desire for more than that. After all, Jennifer had the sense that once they got through high school, Ashley and Skippy would get married and start their own family, and since Jennifer was a Striped Skunk Animalian, she wouldn't be able to have a family with Skippy and trying to would not only break Animalia's edicts but would put additional pressure on Ashley. Thus, Jennifer had begun looking around for someone that might be able to be her bond-mate. Though she ran into some hurdles in that Jennifer didn't want to lose her "girl time" with Ashley and the fact that she was a Striped Skunk Animalian.
She'd found that nearly all of the uplifted Skunks had found mates in Animalia's first year and those that didn't then found theirs soon after. She also found that they were also a bit hesitant on sharing their mates with anyone else, and while Jennifer supported the idea of an "open relationship," she wasn't going to force it on those that didn't support the idea. Jennifer also found that most of the Human boys at WSA didn't want to become Skunks. Some of them were more than happy at the idea of getting two voluptuous women with a high libido, but they didn't want to become a "stinky" skunk. That was something that depressed Jennifer, in that unless she sprayed... her scent wasn't bad, and so far, she'd never been threatened by anything and thus never felt the need to spray anything or anyone.
"I'm sure we'll find someone," Ashley encouraged and hugged Jennifer as they made their way out of WSA and prepared to head home.
Jennifer slowly nodded as they walked along, though the further they got from WSA the quieter things became. It was all something that reflected the fears and nervousness over the whole Corona Virus outbreak. WSA's elementary grades were already closed and classes transferred over to at home learning through packets that parents would have to pick up once a week, and as other things accelerated elsewhere it was becoming increasingly likely that the middle and high school grades might transfer over to at home learning as well, at least for the rest of the year. Other businesses in Lyre were also closing down quicker, largely due to the fact that Lyre still had a mostly Human population, and Jennifer and Ashley could both see that.
The walk was quiet as they made their way toward their homes on the southern side of Lyre. Normally this had included a reunion with Skippy and some afternoon fun before settling into doing their homework, though as they passed by a hotel that was there along one of the roads that ran north and south, that plan soon changed.
"Hello there!" came a voice from their left making them both turn to see a slightly older man approach them from the front of the hotel. The pair stopped, as it was someone to talk to, which helped on a day in which Lyre's streets just seemed rather quiet.
"Hello," Ashley said to the man, "Who are you?"
"Me... you can call me Cooper," the man answered as he approached the two. he shook Ashley's hand but moved around her to look to Jennifer directly. "I'd recently made it here to Lyre with part of the whole Animalia thing... seen it as an opportunity for something more..."
"More?" Jennifer wondered, though her heart fluttered a little bit at the fact that the man seemed to pay the most attention to her, rather than to Ashley.
"Well more than what I have now," Cooper answered, "I know this whole virus thing might be slowing the main theater's elsewhere... but it can't last for ever... and I thought Animalia might ultimately want something like that."
"Theater... like movies?" Ashley wondered.
"No, plays and opera," Cooper answered, "I've seen some of the productions that Animalia has posted on its website... and while the acting isn't bad and their reworking of the scripts hasn't been bad... they've been stuck with having to adapt other buildings... which isn't great. The sound doesn't easily carry and those working the lighting must work harder. A real theater... could allow your actors to not only put on a good show but improve the enjoyment of the audience. And since, outside of this disease, a fair number of people seem to enjoy visiting Animalia at various times, you'd have the chance to make a lot of money and show that Animalia is just as cultured as any other place in the world."
"It's looking likely that that will have wait until this whole pandemic passes over," Jennifer said slowly.
"True... but at present, I can afford to be patient," Cooper gave a sly smile and took Jennifer's hand, "I'd just need a sponsor... for my conversion, anyway."
The fluttering in Jennifer's heart increased as she almost whispered the obvious question, "You'd wish to be a Skunk Animalian?"
"Call it enjoying the humor in "Loony Toons" and the cuteness of Flower in the "Bambi" movie," Cooper answered, "It's odd... but then... many people have called the theater odd. So, in that, I don't mind."
"Well... I might be happy to help, though you may have to clear some things with my parents first," Jennifer said slowly while looking to Ashley.
"Parents?" Cooper asked.
"Because while I'm double dosed... and physically an adult," Jennifer answered, "I was much younger when that happened..."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Despite the surprise at learning that Jennifer was younger than him, and well younger than him, Cooper did get over it. Particularly with the fact that the law had recognized a double dosed Animalian as a legal adult, regardless of their physical age when they transformed. From what he'd found online on his smartphone, a lot of this had to do with the fact that in the process of being double dosed, all Animalians gained the urges and drives of an adult in the prime of their life. Those who were younger got older and those who were older got younger. It lead to issues that would be difficult to keep track of, and when Animalia first appeared, it was easier to mark any double dosed Animalian as an adult.
And in the course of some meetings with Jennifer and once with her parents, he'd found that Jennifer was actively looking for a bond mate. She wouldn't have permission to marry until after she finished college, but they had accepted what Jennifer's double dosing had done and thus that Jennifer wasn't a "little girl" anymore. That got Cooper a bit more interested, largely because he'd been left alone for much of his life. He'd had some girlfriends here and there, but more often than not either something with the theaters he'd managed got in the way or the women seemed to get the sense that he was gay and was projecting. In that sense, Cooper did have his own hopes for a more permanent companionship, and with Jennifer seemingly willing to sponsor his conversion... he was more than willing to put his best foot forward with her.
Though even with all that, there were still surprises... such as one of the visits that Jennifer paid to his hotel room, with the Cat Animalian, he though her breed was an Abyssinian, but he couldn't be sure, named Ashley.
"So... let me get this straight... you're both bi?" Cooper asked slowly.
Jennifer and Ashley nodded as they sat together on the bed opposite the one that Cooper was sitting on.
"And you're bonded to your pet..." Cooper said slowly looking to Ashley.
"Former pet," Ashley answered, "Skippy was already an adult when he was uplifted... and that's kinda why and how Jennifer and I were double dosed... through him. Thus once the three of us became Animalians, it made little sense to keep him as a pet. My dad was able to get him a part time job sorting mail at the place where he works, and he's done well with it. In this... Skippy isn't a pet anymore. He's my bond-mate and just as much of a person as you and me."
"But you share him with Jennifer... and the two of you..." Cooper continued.
"Again... being bi, we like girls just as much as we like boys," Jennifer answered, "my best guess is that had we not been double dosed, we would have found that development on our own eventually. But since we were double dosed... that was accelerated."
"And we were always close friends," Ashley added, "practically sisters... thus as we grew... friendship grew and turned into something more. And in a sense, sharing is caring."
"And your bond mate didn't mind?" Cooper focused on Ashley.
"Skippy liked both of us even before he was uplifted," Jennifer answered with Ashley nodded.
"And as he understood us being bi... he's respected that there will be some moments were we need some "girl time" together, and since he's the only male between the three of us it's made sense to share," Ashley added.
"And now you want to include me in all that?" Cooper asked a bit suspiciously.
"Yes," Jennifer answered, "for per Animalia's edicts... Skippy and Ashley can have kittens as they're both Cat Animalians. However, while I can have sex with Skippy, as a Skunk Animalian... I cannot have children of my own with him. And our parents would still prefer a one man one woman marriage... even if our bedroom activities are a bit more... "open" then theirs. Thus we're offering something of a packaged deal."
"You and Jen could date and become bond-mates," Ashley spoke rolling one paw over before her, "marriage would have to wait until we at least complete our high school education at WSA, but you'd still be bond mates... but you would also get some time with me from time to time..."
"And Skippy?" Cooper asked.
"You'd have to accept that I'd be with him from time to time too," Jennifer answered, "any children would be from just you and me... but you would need to accept that the relationship is rather open..."
"Just as he would have to accept my being with you from time to time as well," Ashley added.
"Because sharing is caring," the two said together with a teasing smile.
That left Cooper with a lot to think about.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It took some visits, but eventually Cooper agreed with the terms. Largely as it would make his conversion easier, and the fact that Jennifer was rather easy on the eyes. That anyone would be looking for a mate and a mate that would be expecting to "swing" was surprising, but Jennifer was quite pleased when he did say "yes." It overjoyed her to have a bond-mate/boyfriend and wouldn't lose her best friend/girlfriend in Ashley, either. Thus the two of them were able to meet with Cooper on the Saturday before Saint Patrick's Day for his conversion day. It turned a few heads, but Jennifer and Ashley didn't mind.
"This will be fun," Jennifer said to Ashley while Doctor Stein administered the shot that countered the vaccine in her system. The pair both traded glances to Cooper who stood by quietly for a moment.
"Yes," Ashley agreed as Doctor Stein finished the shot and then opened the door to one of the conversion rooms, "and will set up a pair of trios... you, me, and Cooper... and me, you, and Skippy. Fun and fluff everywhere..."
Jennifer giggled a bit as they entered the conversion room with Cooper following after them. As he entered the door was shut behind him, he paused to look back when he heard it click. When he looked back, he found Jennifer and Ashley undressing themselves and with Jennifer lifting her tail to give Cooper a better look at her butt, which he found round and supple and with her legs slightly spread he was also able to get a good look at Jennifer's well toned muscular legs, in which the muscle tone could be made out, even through the longer black fur. Ashley had gotten her shirt off, revealing a bra that looked like it was straining heavily to lift her generous bosom.
"So... how will this work?" Cooper asked as Jennifer turned to face Cooper while lifting up her own shirt.
"Well... the vaccine in my system was undone," Jennifer said with a smile and glancing over to Ashley, "which means the Animalia Virus in my system is again infectious..." Jennifer then paused to unhook her bra and then let it fall to the floor and letting her black furred breasts bounce freely. Cooper could even see her nipples poking through her fur. "You will get to suckle from me... and that will start your conversion. As you change... you'll become a Skunk Animalian like me, and we will move to the bed. As we reach the bed, we will get started. We will have sex, and that will give you your second dose..."
"And in the spirit of sharing," Ashley picked up, "I'll kiss Jennifer and massage her breasts as she does the same with me and you can then sample my juices."
"But wouldn't that create a hybrid?" Cooper wondered.
"The vaccine for the Animalia Virus is still active in my system," Ashley answered, "so I wouldn't affect you... and technically I won't get started until after you've gotten your second dose. Thus once you're double dosed... it won't matter for you either."
"So come, have a drink," Jennifer offered. and opened her arms to allow Cooper access to her chest while Ashley began pulling down her panties.
Cooper didn't need much encouragement as he looked at two naked Animalian women and he could feel is own penis growing erect in his pants. He approached Jennifer carefully and making sure to use his lips to apply pressure, he gently began to suckle on her erect nipple. Her fur tickled his nose a little, but he was soon rewarded being tasting a steady stream of milk come from Jennifer's breast. It didn't quite taste like any milk he'd had before, but then, most milk that Humans drank was from cattle or goats, not Skunk Animalians.
Jennifer found herself giving a bit of a moan as she felt her milk flowing and saw Ashley going about unbuttoning Cooper's jacket and pants, getting him ready for part two, which would then lead to hopefully a lifetime of fun that would essentially be a pair of swingers when it came to the married scene. She grew even happier as Cooper began to grow a Striped Skunk's distinctive black and white fur.