Becoming an Animalian often brought a great many changes into people's lives. Not all of them were limited to the physical form, there were also instinctual and hormonal changes, and this often related to things like the rise in libido that all Animalians had. For many, this wasn't too much of a problem as they were often quite willing to indulge in those sorts of things, often because becoming an Animalian came from A) falling in love with one or one who wanted to be one or B) wanting a second start at life. Thomas and Julia Wesley and Browns fit these two categories. However, for Sister Mary Lazarus and her sisters, such actions were forbidden.
The collection of six Cat Animalians had converted to heal injuries caused by the collapse of their convent in Louisiana after a hurricane had hit hard. Now, healing injuries was another reason people became Animalians, but even those that converted for that reason often accepted the rather sexual lives that many Animalians lived. Sister Mary Lazarus and her "sisters," however didn't fall into that category as the six of them were all nuns for the Catholic Church, and while the Catholic Church had been surprisingly tolerant of Animalians as a race, that tolerance didn't change the vows that they had taken. They had long vowed that their only "love" was their service to God and Christ, which then included vows of chastity and that couldn't be changed. That then presented a challenge for them as they ran into some of the Animalian instincts that related to sex, and particularly heat.
Among mundane animals, there were various factors that drove when they had their breeding seasons and how many they had in a year. Some animals, like rats and mice could breed multiple times a year because the young would reach maturity quickly. Others, like whales and elephants, could be pregnant for more than a year before giving birth and would then have their calf with them for a lengthy period of time, slowing down how many times in the animal's life that it would become pregnant and then raise offspring. That then in turn effected when in the year certain animals would breed, as it would then time the mating season to where the animal would be when it gave birth. Some predators often bred in the winter months because hunting was good and by the time their young were born, there would be a large number of prey items to eat. Some animals like cattle, deer, horses, and others bred in the fall so that when they gave birth their offspring would have food available for them. Many egg laying animals bred in the spring in order to assure that the eggs wouldn't freeze. There were some that could breed at any time of the year, even with a longer gestation period or longer period to raise young, but they more often than not lived in areas that had a good amount of food all year long and fairly consistent temperatures all year long.
House Cats fell into that last category, though more as a result of the fact that cats living with people often were well fed and could stay warmer than wild animals. This then raised issues for Sister Mary Lazarus and the others. For their visit with Beauregard and Jill Shucks had managed to see to some agreements that would get their convent rebuilt on or near the old site. The two American Alligator Animalians were polite and friendly, but they didn't have the space to house six new House Cat Animalians while they waited for their convent to be rebuilt. This in turn lead to them being moved west to Lyre/Animalia while they waited. There was more room, and it was helpful, but it also brought in its own challenges as the sisters found that sights and smells ended up presenting far more temptations than they expected, and then lead to some interesting confessionals.
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned," Sister Mary Lazarus said as she sat in the confessional booth in the Lyre Catholic Church. It wasn't big as Sister Mary Lazarus had seen in Louisiana, but then Nevada didn't have as many Catholics as Louisiana.
"What is this sin, my child?" the priest asked back from his side of the divider in the chamber that was set up for confessions.
"I had impure thoughts about a man," Sister Mary Lazarus said weakly, "My sisters and I were getting some food and other things at the supermarket here and Lyre. And there was this male that was there... and... I felt weak, and a part of me wanted him."
"I see," the priest replied slowly, and mentally noted that Sister Mary Lazarus's sisters had all come in for confession together and so far, he'd gotten five versions of the same confession. To a great degree, he understood as he'd been assigned to Lyre when the first Animalia Outbreak happened, and while he had no pets and managed to avoid exposure to the Animalia Virus, he had to come to grips with the new neighbors and many of their base behaviors and drives. Some of his private joys had been in conducting two weddings for sets of Striped Skunk Animalians and then baptizing their children, but it also let him know about how many Animalians often had to deal higher libidos resulting from being Animalians. "Did you act on these thoughts my child?"
"No," Sister Mary Lazarus answered, "I've kept my focus and will, but the thought was there and it struck me by surprise. And to a degree there was something that would feel like a physical need. It was almost as if I needed him..."
The priest for the moment said nothing for a moment, as that seemed to be in line with what the others had said to him, though he couldn't say that to Sister Mary Lazarus, as that would violate the privacy of the confessions made by the others. But it did reflect the likelihood that they had come into heat and were a bit overwhelmed by it. The fact that they resisted and didn't actually try to seduce the likely male Cat Animalian showed that they had good self-discipline and awareness, and in a way one that easily surpassed some of the Human members of the Catholic Clergy that had taken vows of chastity and then broken them outright by being involved in the rape of those they were supposed to care for. These Human members did these things with an average libido that was easily lower than most Animalians. Sister Mary Lazarus and her sisters had become Animalians, gained a higher libido and came into heat for probably the first time recently and thus were tempted far more, and still resisted. That was very impressive.
"Impure thoughts may arise, my child, and they are not necessarily of our control," the priest said after a moment, "I may assign some minor penance for the distraction these thoughts may have caused, but the most critical thing is that you did not act on them. You resisted and rejected them."
"It was harder than I expected," Sister Mary Lazarus spoke, "it came harder than I expected..."
"I can imagine," the priest answered, "though, my child, I would not be too hard on yourself, as you did resist these thoughts, which, as I said is the bigger issue. Though, from what you describe to me... I would think what you are experiencing is something that every Animalian feels at certain times of the year and some, multiple times of the year depending on what animal the Animalian was uplifted from or provided the basis for the conversion. I believe that you have come into heat..."
"Heat..." Sister Mary Lazarus spoke with shock in her voice, "like the cats my sisters and I have rescued?"
"In a sense, yes," the priest replied, "for as an Animalian you've gained many of those instincts and hormonal patterns that all Animalians have, and that will include their desire to have children, and because you were double dosed, you're also back in your prime, making those drives harder than they would have been for you before your conversion. And Horizon has found ways to help Animalians with all this, if I may offer their scientific solution."
"They have a cure for heat?" Sister Mary Lazarus asked with some surprise in her voice.
"Not a cure," the priest answered, "from what they tell me... it's more of a hormone suppressant. The effects of heat won't last as long and won't be as strong. At least that is what the people at Horizon tell me."
"They tell you this?" Sister Mary Lazarus asked. "You ask for this information?"
"It's more something that I cannot reveal because of the confessional," the priest spoke.
Mary Lazarus looked down and noted her attire. It was in the same sort of traditional clothing that she had always warn, but it had been amended to take account of her tail and that her ears were now triangular and on the top of her head. A simple crucifix hung from her neck and lay over her cloth covered chest. Yet even in the limited light of the confession booth, she could make that crucifix out as clear as day. The answer the priest had given her that Lyre and Animalia must have had others that had come to the priest asking similar questions or making similar confessions before she and the sisters from her convent arrived while waiting for it to be rebuilt in Louisiana. Though, the guess also gave her some confidence in being able to handle the present problems. It presented a sort of remainder on the powers of hope and love that the crucifix she wore represented.
"And these suppressants would work?" Sister Mary Lazarus asked.
"Horizon is confident in them," the priest answered.
"Very well," Sister Mary Lazarus replied, "I will take my penance now."