The ride from SMU to the Dallas Airport was reasonably calm and what Sophie expected. There was some teasing that had gone on as Heather and Jeremy traded barbs and their ride got along reasonably well with them. Which for the female Pterodactylus Dinotopian was more a testament to how far things had come since when Sophie and the first Animalia Ambassadoria crew had first met Heather. When they first met, Heather, Sophie, and Roland were all Human and JC and Pauline hadn't uplifted yet. But trying to help an older and ailing grandmother, Heather had been involved in a sort of scheme that had somehow gotten various dinosaur bones mixed into some sort of scheme that the Animalia Ambassadoria crew figured out and Heather was arrested as a result.
When they next met, Heather had escaped the Guatemalan police and become the first Dinotopian, roughed up Roland and threatened to either eat or rap him, as if to threaten Sophie. That resulted the battle between Heather and the Rhino Guard and the discovery that Heather had used inside dirt with Jeremy at Horizon to get the samples of the Animalia Virus used to become a Syntixisaurus Dinotopian. Only the fact that Heather's transformation was so unique and unexpected prevented Heather from getting worse than she did, though it also seemed that most of the responses Heather gave as a Dinotopian were more a combination of being frustrated with the earlier defeat against Animalia Ambassadoria and then being unprepared for the heavy predatory instincts that came from the fossil DNA that she used. For as Heather recovered and calmed down... she and Sophie began to bond a bit.
It had been over this time that Heather's initial actions in Guatemala hadn't been out of malice and that Jeremy's actions had been more out of desperation to help his younger sister. In this, as Heather went through her rehabilitation program that Animalia ran, she and Sophie, despite their age difference, began to grow closer and become friends, partially as she and Roland agreed to become Pterodactylus Dinotopians. It wasn't quite as close as she felt to Jessica, Sarah, and Abby, and then by extension Malice, as they had grown up together, and it certainly wasn't as close as she was to JC, given that JC saw her as his mother and at times, she seemed to find herself almost thinking of him as a son, despite her being born Human and JC hatched an African Grey Parrot, but it was a good friendship that had grown between Sophie and Heather. Which became necessary given that while she and Roland had agreed that they would move to Dino City after college, with Sophie looking to go into assisting Jeremy at Horizon and Roland looking to get into the law, they were only the Christmas break of their sophomore year, which meant they still had to go back to Lyre where their parents lived. The fact that Polly was flying into Dallas on the same day made things easier.
"So... has anything interesting been going on?" Sophie asked, "the new Animalia Ambassadoria crew has done a few interesting Zoom/Skype type interviews with things..."
"The big thing has been more with new people coming in," Jeremy answered, "most are Asian Americans who've been coming in because they get the sense that we won't be as... well... territorial as some people have been behaving over certain things..."
"That's been going on in Lyre/Animalia too," Pauline commented, and watched Jeremy nod in the front seat.
"But there have also been a few same sex couples that have come in and converted," Jeremy picked up as he nodded, "they've often picked mixed species pairings, but in a way, they've still been loving which is always good. Though... there have also been their own surprises..."
And Jeremy then began to relay how one of those conversions had gone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"So, you'd want to convert together," Jeremy spoke to the two women, a Margot Vip and Julianne Fyre, that sat in the oversized chairs of the waiting room, "even though you're becoming different Dinotopian species..."
"Yes," Margot spoke, flipping her crimson bangs back from her eyes, "Me as a Protoceratops and Julianne as an Oviraptor."
"We've seen the reports how some of the "double dosing" could be equaled by the volume of the dose, not just the number of shots given," Julianne added, "and we love each other. So, her becoming a Ceratopsian and me becoming a Theropod wouldn't be a problem."
"Particularly when Oviraptor was likely more omnivorous then initially thought and wasn't actually an egg thief," Margot spoke, "so we'd make a perfect pair... particularly with the other plans we'd want."
"Other plans?" Jeremy wondered.
Both women nodded and Jeremy watched as Julianne began to nervously twirl her brown hair for a moment with one finger as she looked back up to him. He assumed some of the nervousness was more a response to him, since while Syntixisaurus was a hybrid Theropod as a result of Heather's past actions, so much of its genome was Tyrannosaurus that it qualified as a subspecies of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. And while Jeremy still had his lips, his larger size and narrowed muzzle and the two horns above his eyes was enough to create something that people would find as threatening. And at times, regardless of the fact that once they'd adapted to the transformation and were prepared for the instincts that came with it, Dinotopians weren't really all that different from any other Animalian.
"Yes," Julianne answered, "we've loved each other dearly and really aren't interested in male attention, regardless of bisexual instincts rising as a result of the conversion. But we've also wanted children of our own. Obviously, we couldn't do that on our own, and where we'd ultimately asked for favors from our respective brothers. We have sperm samples from them in the cooler..."
Julianne then pointed to the blue igloo that was between Margot's feet, which Jeremy lowered his muzzle to note while Julianne continued.
"Our plan was to be artificially inseminated with the brother of our partner," Julianne answered, "me from Margot's brother's sample and Margot from my brother's sample. It'd be about the best we can manage. Though, for the moment, we'd have to wait and see when our new breeding seasons come in."
"We've found that Dinotopians go into season at around the same time that most birds in North America do... in the spring, though it can vary with the specific Dinotopian," Jeremy answered.
"Thank you," Julianne answered, "and from there, that then set about our choices. Since Oviraptor was once thought to steal the eggs of Protoceratops, we figured what a perfect way to show all the old theories wrong would be to be those two Dinotopians and we'd brood our eggs together."
A lot of that surprised Jeremy, as it wasn't what he expected, though it seemed all right in a way. Sometimes different worked, and he eventually nodded in acceptance of that.
"We may need to get new samples from your respective brothers by that time, but if that's what you want, I'm sure we can arrange something," Jeremy spoke. "Also, it'd be easier to use an incubator than each other."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"So... they were not only converting but had a plan for kids that wouldn't require having sex with a male?" Roland wondered.
"Yes, they'd had everything planned out," Jeremy answered, "and it was pretty clear they loved each other. They were holding hands when I first came into the waiting room. In this, I think all their planning related to how much they loved each other."
"That sounds lovely," Sophie smiled.
"And in a way it was," Jeremy answered and then continued with the story...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jeremy stood quietly outside the door while waiting for a tap on the door or for some call that would be made close to it. All the doors for conversion rooms were designed to lock from Jeremy's side of the door. This was something that also applied for any Animalian conversion in order to make sure that if someone was overwhelmed by that animal's natural instincts at first, there were things that Horizon could do to make sure that the new Animalian could be contained until they got control of themselves. It was imperative for Dinotopians because of what had happened with Heather years ago, but there was some sense that Margot and Julianne wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Though, the present case was like many other conversions often went in Lyre/Animalia. One partner was an Animalian and was converting the other partner, as Heather had converted him, or the two were becoming Animalians together and thus it could be expected that the two would have sex as they changed. The only thing that would make things different for Margot Vip and Julianne Fyre was that they were becoming different species, which worked given that it was a same sex relationship and the two couldn't breed. Jeremy provided the shots for them and left. With Margot's hair starting to fall out and the crest above the nose starting to form above Julianne's nose, Jeremy wished them welcome to Dinotopia and then went out into the hall, where he was presently waiting.
"I have the clothes you were requesting, Doctor Green," came a voice to his left making Jeremy turned.
He turned to see one the staff, a Human woman, approaching with two sets of clothes. One was slightly larger than the other, but that was to be expected to a degree. Protoceratops might be large enough that the resulting Dinotopian would be bigger than a Human, but it wouldn't be by much. The actual animal wasn't large by most dinosaur standards, with it only being about waist high in height to a Human, but it was a quadruped and while likely far more athletic than the Mesozoic approximations of rhinos that Ceratopsians were, it was likely that Protoceratops carried a fair amount of weight. Oviraptor was about as tall but wasn't as long and as a Theropod would likely have a lighter build. Thus, Margot would grow slightly in size while Julianne wouldn't change all that much. But because Dinotopians generally had relatively thick tails when compared to many modern mammal based Animalians, both would need new sets of pants to fit their new forms.
"Very good," Jeremy nodded, "now... all we can do is wait and..."
It was at that point where Jeremy's musing was cut off by a series of knocks on the door that he was standing near. Horizon had long made sure that the conversion rooms were sound proofed to those out in the hallway, to make sure that if those in the room decided that sex would be part of their conversion, they weren't broadcasting it to anyone in the hallway. The facilities at Dino City were no different, with only the door being a point where sounds from the room could be heard. Jeremy moved over and then undid the bolt and lock to open the door to allow his Human helper to provide the clothing for Margot and Julianne. He'd stay close enough that if there was a charge he could intervene, but given time and practice, he found that unlikely. And in fact, the conversation went very easy.
"Okay, these would go for Margot," said the aide, "and these would be for Julianne."
A pair of "thank yous" then followed. That allowed Jeremy to then shut the door to let the two dress themselves. Though, this time, the door was not locked and both Margot and Julianne could dress themselves. It wasn't long before the two came out. Margot led the way with the robust beak and with no real horn on the top of it, showing that she'd specifically become a Protoceratops Andrewsi, but the big thing was in her coloration. Most of her scales were a brownish shade, but the simple frill behind her eyes actually had two sets of rings. The outer most ring was a very dark brown, with a yellow brown ring inside it and then with a dark brown dot in the center. It almost was like looking into sets of eyes. Jeremy also noted a series of thin feathers on the dorsal side of Margot's tail, though that was very thin, and it appeared to be the only spot where there were feathers of any kind.
Julianne came out afterward, and she was a bit smaller than Margot. Both were about the same height, though because both stood on digitigrade legs, Margot's frill might give her an inch or two over her partner, though Julianne's longer neck might even things out. Their shorter height in relation to Jeremy made him the last to be the best judge of those dimensions. He could easily tell that Julianne had more in the way of feathers, and that like all of the more feathered Dinotopians and Bird Animalians, they bunched or "poofed" a little where they met the clothing that Julianne was given. The only spots where Jeremy could see that Julianne didn't have feathers were on her hands and feet, though her hands were shielded by the "wing-feathers" from her wrists, and with the crest and beak. The beak encompassed the tip of her lower jaw and the nearly all of her upper lip while then moving up to the top of her head. The crest then narrowed between Julianne's eyes and the nasal openings were just above the pointed part of her beak and a part that was more "fleshy." Though, both carried the scent of sex to Jeremy.
"Thank you, again," Margot said to Jeremy.
"Thank you, so much," added Julianne.
"It's no problem," Jeremy answered.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"And from there... they seemed to have gotten along fine," Jeremy answered, "Margot is actually opened up yoga classes for Dinotopians and has apparently gotten a few classes lined up. Julianne's gotten work as a cook with the main club that Tyra works at as a hostess. And while Julianne has to deal with Margot being a bit bigger than her, and it's pretty much all muscle and bone mass, they've had no trouble."
"I take it though that they also had their visit with Rex regarding Dinotopian anatomy?" JC wondered.
"More Margot than Julianne," Jeremy nodded, "given that pretty much all of the feathered Dinotopians have been Theropods and specifically from the Coelurosaur branch of the Theropod grouping of Dinosaurs. Margot is thus the first non-Theropod Dinotopian to have some feathers, though they're all thin and sparse, and solely on the top side of her tail."
"Interesting," Sophie commented, "though... from what I've read before Dino City was built... a lot of this confirmed theories that Rex seemed to agree with already, if not advocated on his own."
"Yes," Heather nodded, "in a way... we're all confirming or forcing refinements to how scientists have felt Dinosaurs look like in life."
"And Rex actually thinks that a male Oviraptor Dinotopian might be more colorful than Julianne is," Jeremy agreed, "sort of like how Roland is a bit brighter with his blue shades in points to Sophie's more drab white, black and gray shades."
"Which is similar to how a lot of birds today are colored," Sophie agreed.
Jeremy nodded as he pulled into the parking lot at the Dallas airport. From there, the group began to unpack many of the things that Sophie, Roland, JC, and Pauline would take back on their flight to Lyre, which would be on the same plane that Polly would be flying in on. Thus, for the moment, they'd have some time to kill in the waiting area before Polly's flight came in.
"And your hatchlings are good with Tyra and Rex?" Sophie wondered.
"Pretty much," Heather answered, "though we both also end up with trading babysitting duties when things like this come up. And each set of hatchlings get along with each other very well too. Rex and Jeremy agree that they'll move a bit like ground dwelling birds do today. Pretty mobile despite only hatching relatively recently."