With only nine days to go before Animalia's Birthday Celebration, Animalia and its colonies were getting ready for the Big Birthday Celebration. While the majority of the celebrations would be colony-based, there were still some constants, like Animalia's enormous birthday cake. However, there were still some surprises that could throw you for a loop if you didn't expect it.
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Lorenzo was getting his gym bag out of his locker in Claw Coliseum (he was still getting used to the idea of unisex locker rooms) when someone cleared their throat. Turning, he was very surprised to see Miss Fabina, and old (human) instincts caused him to move his hands to cover his sheathed manhood, and Miss Fabina smirked at that.
"Sorry to bother you," said Miss Fabina, still smirking, "but I've got a proposition for you."
"Okayyyy..." said Lorenzo, uncertainly and uncomfortably.
"I'm sure that you've heard of Animalia's porn videos." said Miss Fabina.
"... once or twice..." answered Lorenzo, not saying that he's got several stored on an external hard drive.
"My newest production calls for a predator/prey relationship between a leopard seal and macaroni penguin." replied Miss Fabina.
"What..." said Lorenzo, flatly, all awkwardness lost.
"Don't worry," answered Miss Fabina. "Animalia is a lot more flexible in regard to things like love and lust, so you won't lose much."
"... alright." said Lorenzo, "But I'm not using my real name."
"Don't worry about that." reassured Miss Fabina. "Almost everyone uses fake names in the videos."
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Meanwhile, Henry and Beatrice got contacted by another Horizon Agent, though why was rather confusing.
"I'm sure that you've heard that we've got another bald eagle Animalian." said the Agent.
"I keep up to date on the website." said Henry, simply.
"So, you heard that she potentially has RHS." continued the Agent.
"I... saw her at the Fourth of July party." said Henry, uncomfortable at the memory.
"I don't mind helping her." said Beatrice, much to Henry's surprise.
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Meanwhile, Dino City was having another surprise of its own. Due to the reputation of Texans being stupid, conservative, etc., a lot of homosexuals, both male and female, were flocking to Dino City as a kind of refuge, due in no small part to Annie's speech. This, in and of itself, was causing an extension of the housing issue that was already going on, but fortunately, Dino City's own Construction Company was already working on expanding the apartment buildings that were already built or being built.
Of course, Mr. M. was seeing opportunity in this, since he had become an unofficial member of Animalia's Courtesan's Guild (Dinotopian Division). Because of Pride Month last month, there had been an increase in demand for gay and lesbian Dinotopian porn videos. While the initial videos had been well-patronized, there was ultimately a demand for new blood and new material.
Of course, there were those who were, mainly on the website, making all kinds of anti-LGBT noise about the influx, but the Museum of Creationism seemed to have quieted down quite a bit, and didn't contribute.
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Probably the biggest news was from the two new colonies in France and Spain.
When Miss Juliet and her girls returned from their vacation on Irena's Estate, Miss Juliet began reviewing the new students she'd be having this school year. While she was glad that she'd only be receiving six new girls, she was a bit more conflicted that there would actually be twelve boys joining, which would require some new staff members. While she was glad that her school was expanding to meet the needs/demands of the new colony, she didn't like the idea (perpetrated by popular, furry, culture) of her students getting into... "relationships" with teachers for... various reasons.
Countess Irena, on the other hand, had uploaded a virtual tour, of sorts, of the new Spanish Colony to the website, which showed some of the new features of the colony that the Spanish Government wanted to show off, since they were keeping a relatively tight lid on it as a whole.
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What was probably the biggest surprise was from Miles' coverage of events in Vilcabamba. It was his coverage of the Mictlan Cave that held the most attention, especially of Level Nine where there was, via the pareidolia effect on the cave wall, a giant skeletal man looking upwards, which came to be accepted as the Mesoamerican God of Death, as well as a crude altar at his feet, consisting of a large, triangular stone surrounded by a ring of smaller stones.
However, as part of his stay there, he was able to meet his parents' "friends-with-benefits", a male Pink River Dolphin and a female parrot, respectively. While the Edicts of Animalia allowed for such a thing, Miles himself was a little uncomfortable about it because it was well outside of his comfort zone.