Mai had been happy to stay in Lyre while Mai went through her acclimation process to being an Animalian. Neither of them had planned to move there full time, and that once Lin's acclimation was over, they would return to their homes in Oregon. Mai had work, but she had taken time off to drive Lin down for her conversion. And through the time that they'd been in Lyre/Animalia, Mai had taken a great deal of pride in seeing Lin recover. She no longer complained of pain or felt the need to get into the issues that led to her morphine addiction and that made Mai feel better as Lin had always been her friend. Though there were some things that sat in the back of Mai's mind that were growing since Lin's conversion.
It wasn't something that Lin had ever really shared, partially because she'd always known Mai to be straight. Lin had had boyfriends from time to time, though that had been something that her past addiction had cost her. Mai had stuck with Lin because they'd been just good friends, and she knew that Lin liked that. But there was something that Mai had never told Lin, and that had been that she was bisexual. It wasn't that she didn't trust Lin to be supportive or anything else, partially as she did find some boys attractive growing up, but in the part of Oregon they grew up in, things were a bit more closed off when compared to other parts of the state. That meant that Lin didn't know about her leanings and that had kept them as "just friends." However, things then began to change after Lin became an Animalian.
She wasn't necessarily interested in Pandas, generally because of some bad memories about bears in general, but she did know about the general proportions Animalians had. Males tended to be at least athletically muscular and reportedly well-endowed while females were well muscled, but not so much that it took anything away from their femineity and were generally quite voluptuous as well. And in this, seeing Lin as a Panda Animalian brought about feelings that Mai didn't think she would have. Often as Lin went about her workouts and acclimation classes, Mai had gotten some sights of Lin in some states of undress that she couldn't help but be attracted to, in a way, and seeing Lin heal from her addiction fed other issues and things that Mai had long buried.
It left her worried Lin might lose interest in her, as she was still the same old Mai. Occasionally, Lin worked out with the Polar Bear Animalian they'd run into after Lin's conversion, and Mai had tagged along. While there she was able to hear more about Molly's marriage to Shelly and how forward Animalia was with those that were homosexual or transgender and had options that weren't invasive or anything like that. It fed some parts of Mai's mind that had her thinking of converting. After all, it might mean she could feel accepted, and raised the possibility of moving to Lyre/Animalia for her and a part of her mind even thought that maybe once she had an Animalian's curves as well, maybe Lin might actually be interested... though the rational part of her mind knew that wouldn't work, as she'd known that Lin was straight.
Though one of the other things that she heard about as they moved into early May was some commentary on Animalia’s upcoming IAC. This attracted some curiosity on Lin’s part, particularly when Molly described a special UFC-A fight that was to be part of the tournament’s kickoff. From what Mai overheard, it seemed like Lin was interested in at least seeing the bout, though a lot of that wasn’t likely to happen until the first of June, which gave them about a month, but also indicated that Lin was actually seriously considering moving to Lyre/Animalia anyway. And that fueled another part of Mai’s mind that might see conversion as something to get. She specifically selected the Red Fox, as it was common around the world and something that Mai felt might earn some attention, and with Lin busy with her own acclimation and interest in the IAC events coming, Mai was then free to go through with her own conversion without drawing too much attention from Lin.
Mai was fairly pleased with her new form, with lithe feet with short stubby claws, black fur on her hands, forearms, and feet, white fur on the lower part of her muzzle, going down her belly, and the tip of her brush-like tail, with red orange fur everywhere else. Her wider hips with tight bottom and now larger bosom would be sure to attract attention, and the part of Mai that had at times seen Lin as more than just a friend hoped that maybe she was mistaken on Lin's sexuality, but she was pretty sure that Lin was straight. Making friends with Molly and Shelly was more a chance occurrence and not much more than that, but Mai did feel a bit more confident as a Fox Animalian and figured she could at least explain her position to Lin. She took a deep breath and hoped that Lin was in and then opened the door. It clicked open and Lin's voice coming from the hotel room's bathroom soon reached Mai's now triangular ears.
"Mai, is that you?" Lin asked, "I came back from my workout and found you weren't here... I was thinking we ought to get something to eat."
"It's me... and I have a bit of a surprise," Mai answered.
"A surprise?" Lin wondered and came out from the bathroom, and revealing to Mai that Lin had only just gotten out of the shower as Lin stood there naked with her hair wrapped up in a towel. Lin looked to Mai and after a few moments of wide-eyed staring, Lin found her voice again, "you became a fox!"
"Yes... yes, I did," Mai answered, "you seemed to be having fun, so I figured why not."
"You look good," Lin replied, "I'm sure there's all sorts of Foxy boys that will like you."
"Well... I'm sure there could be... and there could be some males that may hold my interest," Mai answered, "but... a part of this was actually more to impress a girl."
"A girl?!" Lin gasped, "you're gay?!"
"Bi," Mai corrected.
Lin came forward, and patted the bed with one black furred hand, "why didn't you tell me?"
"About my sexuality?" Mai answered, "you know my folks and the area around where we live in Oregon. While the state as a whole is pretty liberal... the part we've been in is very conservative and don't like the fact that the Pacific coast of the state dominates statewide elections. I was afraid that some idiot would go after me... and then when I noticed you falling into addiction, I had other concerns on my mind. Who I was interested in sexually didn't matter."
"I'm sorry," Lin said with a frowned as Mai sat down beside her, "but I'm better now... and Animalia is fairly accepting of those who are bi and gay and transgendered and all that..."
"They are," Mai nodded, "and since I'm already bi... some of the issues that those who are gay have experienced after becoming Animalians won't be an issue. I'm already quite comfortable with either gender..." she then paused as her voice grew a bit weaker. She raised her had to her muzzle and forced a grunting cough before going further. "But there is someone that I've always been close to and have liked... and after she got better from some issues in her life... I began seeing her as more than just a friend. Though, I'm pretty sure she's already straight."
Mai watched as Lin's eyes widened again, but then they settled down a bit. Her heart was practically in her throat when she felt Lin take her hand.
"That's why you stayed with me... provided so much help," Lin spoke, "helped me get over my addiction. You were interested in me."
"In a way," Mai spoke, "though, I'll admit it was more your curves as an Animalian that made things more open... though until now, I really haven't had the personal courage to admit it to you... as... well... even if you are a lesbian or at least bi, I wouldn't want to lose you as a friend in case you aren't interested in me."
"Well... I AM straight," Lin said softly, "as I said after my conversion that I figured some boys might want to become a Panda when they see the new me." Mai was about to give a defeated look at that, until she felt Lin's finder under her muzzle and then lifting it up until she was looking into Lin's eyes. "But that doesn't mean we aren't friends and won't be friends. You've done more than most everyone else I knew. I mean... I developed a lot of bad habits after the accident that lead to my morphine addiction. I'm pretty sure most all of my other friends "abandoned" me for that. You didn't. So, I'll always value your friendship and that you saved me."
"Thanks," Mai managed.
"So, regardless of who you're into, we'll still be friends and the best of friends," Lin answered, "and that won't be a problem. I mean we've seen each other naked before and had no problems. And maybe we could set up things to move here. There might be a girl fox here who IS interested in other Vixen Animalians, along with single boys that may want to go Panda. Or... if you're already bi... there could be a boy fox you may like..."
"A male fox would be a dog-fox," Mai corrected.
"The point is that everything is open for you," Lin answered, "and we'll always be best of friends. Now, we'd best get ready for dinner."
With that, Lin got up from the bed and moved over to a metal stand where their luggage was. Lin had already exchanged her old Human clothing that would be of sufficient size to fit her body, at least with regard to the clothing she'd worn on the trip down. She now was keeping the clothing they'd bought that would fit her new Panda Animalian body. Mai knew that most of her clothes still fit well enough. Things like jeans and bras might need to be exchanged because of her new measurements. Her underwear would need either be altered to fit her tail or she'd need to buy the clothes that would fit her tail.
But so far things had turned out fairly well. Sure, Lin had confirmed that she was straight, but it didn't affect their friendship and Lin seemed perfectly comfortable with being naked in front of her at the moment. And it seemed like Lin had also been thinking about moving to Animalia full time. That might take some time and logistics, but Mai felt that both of them were approaching the same general idea. In a way, that made everything feel fairly well...