When Lena Lizzare went in to be converted, it was mainly to deal with her high cholesterol levels. She certainly didn't expect to become a giantess among lions. She wasn't quite sure why she didn't end up becoming so tall, muscular, and curvy. There were certainly no people like that in her family. Her biggest theory was that previous weight provided so much raw material that the Animalian virus made her bigger so it could all be used up. That didn't seem to match up with other people who went to Animalia for major weight loss, but that was her best guess.
Lena, or 'Lizzie' as she also liked to be called, certainly wasn't complaining about the results. She wasn't quite sure about her new nickname, the 'Guennol Lioness of Animalia'. She had seen pictures of that ancient statue and plenty of 'fanart' regarding it, but she wasn't sure if it matched her. In any case, she most definitely had a body to be envied. But it was also made clear that it wouldn't stay that way if she didn't take care of it. Even with her pro-carnivore diet, she needed to watch how much she ate and she needed to work out regularly. The latter part was no real concern. She was curious about the upper limits of her new musculature and she now had plenty of workout buddies to help her.
Lions are a very social species and it's no surprised that Animalia's lions are a very tight-knit community. Fortunately, they aren't nearly as aggressive as their wild counterparts. They accepted this new lioness with open arms and were happy to show her how to maintain her new form.
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It was during one such workout event that Blanca and Candida joined the lionesses at Claw Colosseum's gym. The two of them weren't going to be doing any intense exercises today for obvious reasons. Both their bellies were quite swollen with cubs. The other lionesses crowded around the pair, cooing with excitement about the impending motherhood.
"You're going to be such fine mothers," said Lucy, approvingly.
"I can't wait until I can have my own cubs," said Kinjara.
"Uh, don't you think that might weird out Jeff a bit?" asked Zoe.
"Oh, plenty of families have half-siblings around here," said Kinjara, "And I'm sure you'll be bearing Jeff fine cubs in time."
"Ok, that's a little too forward," said Zoe.
"She's young enough to not have to worry right now," said Blanca.
"And I hope Julius is looking forward to having his own cubs," said Candida, rubbing her belly.
"Uh, ho-how does that happen?" asked Lizzie. The other lionesses turned to give Lizzie confused looks. "I mean, ho-how can Julius have cu-cubs with both of them?" she asked.
"Really? Don't tell me your parents never told you about the birds and the bees," said Zoe.
"Of co-co-co-course they d-d-d-di-did!" snapped Lizzie, her flustering making her stammering worse. She paused and took in a deep breath to calm herself. "What I mean is how can Julius be mates with both of them?" asked Lizzie.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Kinjara.
"Not for converted humans," said Zoe, "We're usually monogamous."
"Ah, I guess we should have informed her," said Lucy. She turned to Lizzie and said, "Well, Lizzie, as you know, not all animals only have one mate. Some species have the fathers only stay around long enough to raise the young before they leave. Many have them leaving the female after getting her pregnant."
"Not unlike humans sometimes," said Kinjara dryly.
Lucy ignored that and continued, "But then you have social animals like lions and wolves. Wolves probably don't have the same kind of organization that lions do. But with lions, prides usually consist of one male and multiple females. There can be more than one male in a pride, though often they have to be brothers. The male breeds with the lionesses so they all bear his cubs. Male lions who don't have their own prides will either be loners or form coalitions with other male lions."
"Ok, but what does that have to do with Animalians?" asked Lena, "We're more complex than that."
"I'm getting to that," said Lucy, "As you know, Animalians still have instincts from our feral counterparts, though not as dominant. For lion Animalians, that includes the desire to form prides. Not to say that they are incapable of being happy with only one mate, but every male, at some level, will feel the urge to collect more lionesses. Fortunately, polygamy is legal in Nevada."
"Why is that, anyways?" asked Lena.
"Probably because Nevada was originally settled by Mormons," said Zoe.
"So, will every male lion build a pride?" asked Lizzie.
"Not necessarily," said Candida, "We lionesses aren't just bound by our mating instincts. We only join up with one guy if we're interested and don't mind sharing."
"Take us, for example," said Blanca, "Julius first thought he would have to choose between the two of us when he converted. But he just couldn't make up his mind about which one he wanted."
"So he ended up with both of us," said Candida, "Mayor Clara has the authority to perform different kinds of marriages. Which, considering the crazy kinds of pairings Animalians can end up with, would have to cover a lot."
"So, wo-would I end up with a gu-guy with mo-more than one ma-ma-mate?" asked Lizzie, her nervous being obvious through her stammering.
"It's all about your choices," said Lucy, comfortingly, "I know that human women can be very jealous and fiercely opposed to having their boyfriends or husbands show any attention to any other females. And in some cases, becoming an Animalian intensifies that. But some Animalians, like us lions, are more open to sharing. No one's forcing you to rush into a relationship or have to include more than one person in it. What's important is what your heart wants."
"And I'm sure you'll make some lucky lion very happy one day," said Kinjara.
"But if that guy already has another lioness, you should make sure you can get along with her first," said Zoe, "Things can get kinda ugly when Animalians start competing with each other over mates."
Lena nodded. Since her conversion, she had been feeling the higher libido that all Animalians had. But she didn't let that control her. And she was quite aware that many guys would be lusting after her. She wasn't about to rush into a relationship based only on physical attraction. She'll have to see if any of these guys would be worth her time first.