Theaters aren't built with wide-open spaces just to seat many people and to have a large stage. They're also designed to allow sound to carry all across the room as much as possible. Even with microphones and speakers, acoustics is a fundamental part of designing a theater. As such, Animalia's Community Theater didn't require a lot of alteration for opera. Mainly a little renovation in the corners to make sure sound bounced clearly. The biggest changes were an improvement of the stage's scene-changing mechanisms. Operas often require a quick change of scenery between acts and songs.
"I wonder which opera Flora will want to perform first," said Gloria as she observed the renovations.
"That's easy," said Sofia, "She'll want to be The Magic Flute's Queen of the Night."
"Jumping straight to the most challenging arias," said Gloria, "Yes, that would be exactly like her. I do hope being a nightingale allows her to sing at that pitch."
"I'm more curious about what Allegra will do," said Sofia, "She still doesn't seem sure if she wanted to be an owl or a giraffe. It can be so difficult only choosing one."
"Not everyone has the option of choosing both sides," said Gloria, giving Sofia a meaningful look.
"I have no regrets of becoming mates with Ghost," said Sofia, "Shi actually has a very deep soul, no pun intended. And you knew I was gender-fluid before I met hir."
"I didn't know the exact term, but I knew you had a...different inner self than most people," said Gloria.
"Yes, I know it's not easy to express," said Sofia, "I don't think the proper words have been invented yet. Ghost had trouble expressing hirself as well. Shi was still trying to find terms when I first met hir."
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Ghost had a bit of trouble acclimating to land-dweller society. Mostly because being a deep sea lizardfish meant shi had always been a hermaphrodite. And gender roles were an unknown concept to hir. Other herm Animalians had a better grasp of what that meant, though that be because most of them had been mono-gendered animals or humans before. Ghost wasn't really sure where shi belonged in this binary system.
Ghost had heard that ancient Greek philosophers made arguments about the natures of men that were still relevant today. Shi wondered if their arguments could apply to hirself. Shi spent some time in the public library pouring over the wisdom of the ancients to find a better understanding of hir dual-sexed nature. All shi achieved was making hir brain sore and hir eyelids heavy. It was during one of these reading sessions that a stately-looking woman with black hair approached her. "What are you reading about?" she asked.
"I'm trying to see if any Greek philosophers had any answers about what it means to be a hermaphrodite," said Ghost.
"I think you're looking in the wrong era," said the woman, "Ancient Greece was very phallocentric. Women weren't held in high regard except for the purpose of producing children."
Ghost sighed before closing the book shi was reading and pushing it away. "So where am I supposed to look for answers?" shi asked.
"You might have to go with more recent philosophy," said the woman, "I can't say for certain, but I believe the concepts of non-binary gender has only been proper definition in the last few decades. Or at least as much definition as can be made of it."
Ghost rubbed hir forehead and asked, "Is it always this complicated for land-dwellers?"
"Not always," said the woman, "You just exist outside of the usual place of the sexual dichotomy. If you like, I can help you find a place for yourself."
"I would appreciate that," said Ghost, "My name is Ghost."
"Mine's Sofia," said the woman.
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Sofia paused in hir story and said, "Gloria, I can't help but feel I'm losing your interest."
"What makes you say that?" asked Gloria, whose eyes were at different parts of the theater.
"For a species that's supposed to blend in with its surroundings, you really wear your emotions on your sleeve," said Sofia.
Gloria refocused her eyes on Sofia and said, "Hey, that's a myth. A chameleon's color-changing is more about its temperature and moods than camouflage."
"And your current mood is boredom?" asked Sofia dryly.
"Well, philosophy, even gender philosophy, isn't really the most exciting subject," said Gloria, "Maybe we can move the discussion to something else."
"I suppose you'll want to hear about how Ghost converted me," said Sofia.
"I bet having sex with a cold fish felt pretty clammy the first time," said Gloria.
"Ghost isn't a cold fish," snapped Sofia. She paused before she said, "Ok, shi's a bit cool to the touch, but shi isn't that cold."
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Eventually, Ghost and Sofia grew close enough to the point that she was ready to convert. And she wanted to do it in an intimate way. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just kiss or drink my milk?” asked Ghost after shi had been devaccinated and they were in one of Horizon’s changing rooms.
"I'm not a virgin and you're not supposed to be too big, are you?" asked Sofia.
"From what I've been told, no," said Ghost, "I just hope I don't make things too uncomfortable for you."
"As long as you're not too unattracted to me," said Sofia as she removed her dressing robe. She was showing some signs of aging; sagging breasts, varicose veins, a flabby stomach. Her hair was also starting to show a bit of grey.
"Oh, that means nothing to me," said Ghost, "For one thing, it's going to be remolded. And I fell in love with your philosophical mind long before now."
"Then I want you go give my body the same love," said Sofia as she got on the bed. Ghost stroked hir crotch until hir penis emerged from its slit. It wasn't as big as other Animalians and it didn't come in a pair like the sharks' claspers, but it was still a very good size for a human. Ghost carefully angled hirself over Sofia before slipping into her vagina.
Sofia moaned as she felt Ghost fill her up. It was a bit cold, but not too much. Changes started going over Sofia's body. Her skin became paler as body hair fell away. She clenched her fingers and toes as webbing started growing between them. Her toes started stretching out along with her feet, giving her the flipper-like feet so common with fish Animalians. She turned slightly to one side to allow her dorsal fin and tail room to grow.
Sofia's body began to mirror Ghost's more closely as she became younger and more piscine. Her scaly belly became firm again as her breasts regain their perkiness before growing bigger. Sofia's face pushed out into a sharp snout like a barracuda's, her teeth becoming sharper. Soon, the only discernible differences between her and Ghost was Sofia had her hair, which had regained its youthful dark luster. Just then, their pleasure hit a sudden crescendo and Ghost emptied hirself into Sofia.
Sofia looked up and said with a richer, younger voice, “That was rather quick.”
“Sorry about that,” said Ghost, pulling out, “It was my very first time.”
“That’s ok,” said Sofia as she rubbed at the spot just above her vagina, feeling new forming within her. Quite soon, a new slit appeared and hir new penis rose out between hir fingers. “Because now it’s my turn,” said Sofia, licking hir lips.
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"Is that enough sordid, exciting detail for you?" asked Sofia.
"Plenty," said Gloria, "I suppose Ghost is endorsing your renewed acting career."
"Why shouldn't shi? I can't wait to do all my old roles again," said Sofia.
"You might have a little trouble doing your male roles with a body like that," said Gloria pointedly.
Sofia looked down at hirself. While shi did have broader shoulders and more defined muscles than the average woman, there was simply no hiding the large breasts and wide hips shi gained through conversion. "I suppose binding my breasts down won't work," shi said.
Gloria hefted her own sizeable breasts and said, "I doubt there is any post-pubescent Animalian girl who can really hide her chest. In fact, a pubescent Animalian girl can only hide her chest if it's only just started developing."
"It's both a blessing and a curse," said Sofia, "Perhaps we could ask the Modeling Academy whether they can design to compress breasts down to a more androgynous size."
"I wouldn't hold my breath," said Gloria, "Above or below water."