Solar eclipses are rare enough that some people never see one in their lives, at least in their country. Some people have to travel quite far in order to watch an eclipse. The United States was fortunate enough to witness three eclipses of various degrees within a decade. As such, people have flocked to areas that were within the line of the moon's shadow as it sweeps across the country. Five months ago, Animalia was fortunate to have both it and Dinosaur City to be able to watch the eclipse from their backyards. This year, they had to a little bit of travelling in order to watch.
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Dinotopians were closer to the eclipse line, but it wasn't going to fall directly on Dinosaur City. As such, there was a lot of driving to get a good look. And that was not easy considering the typical traffic down in Texas, which is even worse considering the big event going on. More prudent people try to get there days in advance. And considering the car models for Dinotopians are much larger than typical vehicles, they took the time to camp out early. Quite literally, actually.
Harper had plenty of experience of setting up tents as a ranger and shi was able to help several Dinotopians set up their tents, though obviously some were quite larger than normal and needed the bigger Dinotopians to help out. Dakota looked up at the dwindling sun with hir special glasses and asked, "So, is there going to be any lasting effects?"
"The last one didn't have any effects," said Harper, "Some animals may think it's nighttime, some flowers might close, and the temperature will drop a bit, but nothing too much."
"It does feel a bit cooler," said Dakota, rubbing hir arms, "I feel a bit of wind picking up."
"Yeah, we might have some storms later," said Harper, "But it's definitely worth it. We just need to do our best to make it memorable."
"I know one way to make it memorable," said Dakota before going over to hir mate and whispering, "You know we're in season."
Harper paused. Shi had time to get used to being a herm. Shi and Dakota have had a lot of practice using their dual sexes. But they had used birth control when they entered breeding season. Harper was unsure if they were financially secure enough to start a family, but Dinotopia has prospered enough to have three colonies, with a fourth being planned. Harper and Dakota made regular money as feral pig hunters. Maybe Harper was weirded about the possibility of hirself laying an egg. But the idea didn't seem so bad now.
"You're not suggesting we miss the whole eclipse just to mate, are you?" asked Harper.
"Oh, we'll watch it when it becomes total, but we can spend time leading up to and afterwards making some eggs," said Dakota.
Harper looked around said, "I suppose one of these tents won't be used during the eclipse."
"And we can tell our children how-" started Dakota.
"Dakota, no one wants to hear about how they were conceived," said Harper, "Would you want to know?"
"Well, my parents were ordinary ospreys," pointed out Dakota.
"Maybe, but I'm sure even those born as Animalians don't want to know the details," said Harper.
Dakota shrugged, "Very well. It's not even guaranteed we'll succeed today." She pulled off hir shirt and asked, "Shall we make an attempt?"
Harper felt hirself getting both hard and moist. "Just make sure to stop when it's time," shi said.
"I don't know. I don't want to waste the seed," said Dakota playfully.
Harper chuckled with amusement at hir mate before shi followed hir into an empty tent.
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Other Animalians didn't have the means or opportunity to drive to Texas, but there were a few who could afford to fly. Joanne was easily able to get a private plane to fly herself, her family, and some others to Indianapolis and situate them at an ideal place to watch the eclipse. In particular, it was the penthouse of a fancy hotel. In quite a few way, it was like the eclipse-viewing party that Joanne threw five months ago. The bigger differences was that a few of her invited peers had gone conversion into Animalians by then. Also, Joanne had a special surprise for this party.
"I'm sorry if these parties are uncomfortable for you," said Joanne, "I know my parties are more formal than what Animalians usually do, but these people do expect a certain degree of class."
"Well, I knew this was one of the things that would come with marrying you," said Philip, tugging at his stiff collar.
Joanne grinned. There was an opportune moment if she ever heard one. "And that's not all comes with marrying me," said Joanne. She took Philip's hand and pressed it to her stomach. Philip looked confused for a few seconds before realization struck him. "I'm pregnant," whispered Joanne, "You're going to be a father."
"I...we...wow, Joanne," said Philip, feeling nearly faint with joyful shock.
"Shall we tell the others?" asked Joanne.
"Of course we do," said Philip.
Joanne picked up a glass and a fork. She tapped the glass until she had everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming. I know you're all here to experience of a lifetime," she said, "And to make sure you don't forget this any time soon, I have another thing to share with you." She took Philip's hand and said, "Philip and I are going to be starting a family. His kits will be coming in a few months."
There was a moment of paused shocked before everyone applauded. Those who knew Joanne personally were especially pleased. They knew that she had a difficult relationship with her daughter, one that nearly ended with her daughter leaving and Joanne almost committing suicide. But there were glad that Joanne was given a change to raise her children right this time, especially as she'll still have her husband.
Joanne's daughter was particularly thrilled by the news. "Wow, I can't believe I'm going to be a big sister," she said.
"And I'm going to be a grandfather," said Lars. Nicole blushed at that. She had originally hoped that convincing Lars to convert would allow her mother to hook up with someone closer to her actual age. But Nicole couldn't complain of how things turned out.
"They really deserve it," said Nicole, "And we'll be there to help them raise the kits."
"But what about our kits?" asked Lars.
Nicole shook her head and said, "No, I'm not pregnant. I'm not ready yet."
"But will we have kits someday?" asked Lars.
Nicole thought it over. She enjoyed performing at the Meat Market, but she knew it wouldn't last forever, especially after she married. Her husband didn't have a problem. He even offered to perform with her, though that might be a bit much for the insurance company he worked for. Still, Nicole knew Lars would make a great father. He did a good job with Philip.
Nicole looked over at her mother and stepfather and said, "I think it could happen someday, but let them have the spotlight first. Maybe after I see our...uh...new members of the family be born, I'll be ready."
Lars nodded before asking, "Shall we go congratulate them?"
"Well, of course," said Nicole before they started making their way through the crowd.
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Some Animalians didn't have the means or time to travel, but they still make use of the eclipse. Frankie had used the previous eclipse to introduce hir ex-wife to hir new bondmate. Shi was planning on sending her an invitation to the wedding, but Frankie and Reese ended up knocking each other up earlier than planned. So they sped up their wedding plans so they would be able to fit into their wedding clothes before their bellies got too big.
While they couldn't travel to a part of the United States where they'd be able to see the eclipse, they were able to bring the eclipse to them. During the wedding ceremony, a big screen showed the progress of the moon covering the sun. It was a small wedding, mostly close friends and family. Nobody made any comments about the bulge in the front of Frankie's dress or Reese's tux. Frankie's ex, Lori, wasn't able to attend herself. She sent an excuse of having already made plans and unable to leave on a Monday to go to a wedding. Frankie wasn't surprised and shi didn't particular care a lot. Lori had her chance and threw it away because of her preconceptions. Reese wasn't afraid to bear Frankie's children, or having Frankie bear hir children. Someday, they'll tell their calves of how their parents married on the day of an eclipse. But they'll probably leave out that they might have been conceived on the day of an eclipse as well.