Technically it was still the Year of the Tiger with regard to the Chinese Calendar, but because Animalia had heavily gotten into celebrating Chinese New Year, because so many of their Zodiac signs were represented by Animalians that often meant that there was a fair amount of preparation and that often went on in preparation for the next year, which happened to be the Year of the Rabbit in 2023. This meant there were a fair number of Rabbit Animalians that had some interest in the competition and wanting to get in "shape" for it. Most were uplifted rabbits, given the pet rabbits like Roger that had been uplifted when the Animalia Virus made it into Lyre's water system. There were also a fair number of wild rabbits, like Judy, that had been uplifted after drinking from the stream that ran between Lyre and what became Animalia. And then there were the converted Rabbit Animalians, like Jessica who converted to be like their pets or because of some other reason.
"What do you think the events will be for next year?" Roger asked as he and Jessica walked through the parking lot at the Claw Coliseum, where most Animalians and Humans from Lyre went to train.
"I would imagine that they probably won't have the combat rounds that the Year of the Tiger competition had," Jessica commented, "while wild rabbits can "fight" over territory, mates, or food... pretty much like any other animal, they're not going to hold a great reputation for fighting the way that tigers do. Of course... because the competition is to be "family friendly," it's also extremely unlikely that the Year of the Rabbit competition will have events that would relate to what rabbits are known for."
"That's probably because that's private," Jessica answered with a shake of her head, "between you and me..."
"Or between Cody and Michiko," Roger added.
"So, they had their moment," Jessica smiled.
"Yes," Roger nodded, "though a bit different from us... in a way."
Jessica sort of expected that. She turned eighteen when a lot of the worst of Covid's effects were going on and that her first time with Roger as a legal adult was at home, and with her parents' home as well. But, because Jessica and Roger had dated politely and "slowly" through her high school years, her still Human parents seemed to accept her growing up a lot easier, which contrasted to the others in her group of friends. Abby had been double dosed in the initial outbreak when she became a Horse Animalian, and got all those hormones running right off the bat. Sarah was then double dosed by Malice during the second wave in Lyre, and this left them both in an almost sibling-like relationship with their respective parents when they also became Animalians. Though there were some embarrassments in that Sarah said that she had to provide much of the milk that was used for her parent's conversions. It also contrasted with Sophie and Roland, who after becoming Pterodactylus Dinotopians were sent on an assignment to Dinotopia Aquatica and covered it to only get caught in a storm which led to them losing their virginity earlier than expected. They then had to hide some things until they turned eighteen, though Sophie had also commented that they thought their parents might seriously be thinking about becoming Dinotopians just to enjoy "certain things," but they had no confirmation on that. Jessica had been the only one to really get to "grow up" on a pace that she was sure her parents preferred.
"Well, they did start dating later than we did," Jessica commented.
"True," Roger nodded, "but I think it was romantic for Cody. Michiko picked him up, and they went out to dinner... and apparently went out lover's woods after it. He came back the next morning, with Michiko on his arm, looking like the same breed of Domestic Rabbit that all the Shikamatsus became... though his markings are in different places from them. The one thing that matched was their smiles. And they would have been back sooner, but they had to go to Horizon to take the vaccine that would block the ability to transmit the Animalia Virus."
"Obviously," Jessica answered, "but I'm glad your brother is happy. As he did a lot of good before Animalia... which created a lot of what I've come to truly love about you after we met."
Jessica practically giggled with Roger's lips pulled into a rather dopy grin and nuzzled her muzzle to his as they made their way in. And they found that there were a fair number of other Rabbit Animalians that were also in and getting ready. Some of the males might lift weights, but with it being a while before the Year of the Rabbit competition would even be planned out, much of the preparation was going to be in some base exercises and the like. Roger was planning on doing some jogging to keep in shape while Jessica had an aerobics class to stay in shape and stay limber, largely as she expected the competition in the next year would likely include some measure of athleticism and moving about, but it would likely be closer to what they did for the Year of the Dog rather than the Year of the Tiger competition which they'd done earlier in the year.
Jessica then dressed herself in a pair of tight shorts that would enable her to move about well, along with a good sports bra, and having made sure she'd milked herself before coming out. She didn't want to stain her shirt. She then put a white shirt on over it and then made her way out to where her aerobics class was. After leaving the locker room, she soon coon her named called to her.
"Jessica? Jessica Mariana?" came a familiar voice from behind her, making Jessica turn to see a familiar Rabbit Animalian. The largely grey-brown furred Mountain Cottontail Rabbit that had given her the milk needed for Jessica to become the white furred Rabbit Animalian she now was.
"Hello, Judy," Jessica commented with a small smile to the Rabbit Animalian that converted her, "you're competing in the Year of the Rabbit competition next year too?"
"I'm not really sure on that... but I have a day off from work today, and I often come in for aerobics when I have days off," Judy answered.
"Ah, just staying healthy," Jessica answered, "I'm more in it for the competition next year. I don't think they'll have all the boxing or wrestling matches that they had for the Year of the Tiger, so I would imagine the competition goes quickly next year and I can take time off from college for it."
"And UNLV has had a pretty good relationship with Animalia that you could probably balance class work with the competition even if you're not there," Judy nodded, "any plans on what you want to do after college?"
"I was thinking acting," Jessica smiled as they walked along, "I couldn't do much in high school as Animalia Ambassadoria had too many cases where we'd be covering something that would prevent me from being available... but college has opened up that time and we've been in a few of the productions that UNLV has done, and they've seemed to think both of us have done well. Although, the professor says that Roger might be better suited for action movies."
Judy gave a chuckle, which Jessica took as a good sign. She didn't always get to talk with Judy all that much after her conversion, often because school had her busy and Judy's own work kept her busy. But the times when they did get to talk was always friendly and Jessica often got some hints on things Horizon was up to when it came for things like the "vaccine" against the infectiousness for the Animalia Virus and other projects. Sophie often got similar tips from Jeremy before Dino City was established. But times like this actually felt good, where work or school weren't an issue. It was also something where Jessica couldn't help but compare herself to Judy. For Judy was already an adult Animalian when Jessica met her, and Jessica had only had permission for one dose. Thus, even after Jessica became a Rabbit Animalian, Judy had stood taller and curvier. Now, after growing up and two years of college, Jessica was now the same height as Judy, their hips were about the same, and Jessica actually felt she was a bit bustier than Judy. It was a case of how things had changed over time.
"So, he'll be in the weight room, I take it?" Judy asked.
"No, he's going to be jogging," Jessica answered, "he said something about too much bulk muscle getting in the way of being fit for martial arts and that sort of thing."
"Thus, why the professors say he'll be better for action movies," Judy gave a laugh, which made Jessica laugh as well.
They then made their way into the room that was set up for their aerobics class, and one that there were a fair number of other female Rabbit Animalians that were already there. Most were uplifted Rabbit Animalians, like Judy, and Jessica recognized a few of them from various Animalia Ambassadoria meets when she was still in High School. Though there were a few converted Humans there as well, one of which was a new one that Jessica hadn't had much chance to interact with. She was a bit taller than Judy and Jessica, but most of that was in her ears. Jessica and Judy had decent sized ears that stood up on their heads, but they weren't super long. This new Rabbit Animalian had longer ears and the fur inside her ears weren't that thick, which let Jessica see the rather pink skin on the inside of the ear. Her fur was about the same brownish gray color as Judy's, but it was a much lighter shade, more light gray and tan than gray and brown. The one thing that Jessica really noticed was that this Rabbit Animalian looked more like she was trying to fight off stress or something like that.
"Hey, you okay?" Jessica asked to this other Rabbit Animalian.
"I'm about as good as I can be," the Rabbit Animalian commented with a sigh, "though... I'm looking to de-stress from things."
"De-stress?" Jessica wondered.
"Yeah," the Rabbit Animalian answered, "my present boss has me going through all sorts of things to make up for mistakes in my past... It's embarrassing and... stressful."
This alerted Jessica to something that Shyra had said doing one visit to visit her friend at the Meat Market. She thought the woman's name was Morgan and that this was mostly part of some of the punishment systems that Animalia ran, and to a degree, from what Jessica had heard, Morgan was going through a more private version of that.
"Well, many things can be stressful, particularly if one has made a mistake somewhere along the line," Jessica offered, "but we can only learn and do better... and at times, some things like these aerobics' classes will help get things ready for the Year of the Rabbit competition next year. It'll be fun."
"Only if there was nothing embarrassing in it," Morgan answered, not knowing that one of the bags at the front of the room had a cellphone on it that was aimed directly at her and Jessica. The idea was to provide for images that would then help the class members better learn and practice their techniques for aerobic exercise. Though, it turned out that Jessica was in far better shape than Morgan was, and would show that things wouldn't necessarily be easy for Morgan if she decided she wanted to be in the Year of the Rabbit competition the next year.