Chase and Mason took to Animalia with a fair degree of curiosity and understanding. As did their mates Martina and Nancy. A lot of this seemed to come from the fact that the Montana man that had been involved in the cloning and hybridization between a Marco Polo Sheep sample and a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep sample had seemed to have been interested in a lot of the work that Horizon had done, and what had led to Animalia being formed in 2016. They'd even heard that the man had used Horizon and Animalia's success as an initial part of his defense for the smuggling of parts of one animal to then use to crossbreed with another animal. Of course, much of that when they first heard about it was something that just went in one ear and out the other, as mundane hybrid sheep wouldn't have much interest in a lot of that science stuff.
However, after being uplifted they found they understood more of these concepts and the more they found the Montana man's actions weird. They also barely understood the science behind the cloning process that had created them. They also found that the size growth expectations were quite real. They met some Bighorn Sheep Animalians, that they learned were specifically Desert Bighorn that had their herd living on the slopes to the west of Animalia, and they were among the last to be officially updated as part of the outbreak that started Animalia. Chase and Mason found these Desert Bighorn Animalians to be sturdy and strong, but still slightly smaller than they were, and their Ewes were slightly smaller than Nancy and Martina.
"Man... this all strange," Chase commented to the lead ram that they were meeting at the Claw Coliseum, "I've... never thought that such a thing would create us being so much bigger..."
"There might be some kind of gene that would limit the size growth in certain species that would not be present in others," the Desert Bighorn Ram answered, "thus when the cloning procedure was done to create you four... that gene wasn't there and thus you grew a bit bigger."
"And we'll move on to the official meeting soon?" Nancy asked as she looked at both her mate and compared him to the Desert Bighorn Ram. Her last glance was at a Desert Bighorn Ewe Animalian that stood by her mate.
"We have another two that are supposed to join us," the Ewe spoke, "and from what we've gotten from Horizon... they were a bit more nervous among some things... even in relation to Animalia than you four were."
"I heard something about actual Marco Polo Sheep, not cloned hybrids like us," Martina commented, "could that be them?"
The two Desert Bighorns nodded. They continued to stand in a quiet area of the Claw Coliseum's entry area. There were some chairs and things that were set up, and it wasn't unheard of for some to be seated there while waiting for when their workout classes were to begin or when certain facilities would be available. It was something that then offered an open enough area to meet and further help the newly arrived Sheep Animalians acclimate to Animalia. They had been set up in an apartment complex that was known as "the Newbies" for those that were newly uplifted or converted and would often only be there for a short time before they either found jobs that took them out of Animalia or returned to their original homes and jobs as Animalians. For the two Marco Polo Sheep and the two pairs of Hybrid Marco Polo/Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Animalians, it was hoped that things would go on about as normal as they always did.
"They'd be the ones we're waiting for, yes," the Ewe noted.
"We haven't seen them at the apartments they gave us... in... the "newbies" they called it," Mason commented.
"Not everyone that moves out... either to a fulltime home or returns to where they lived before... live next to each other," the Desert Bighorn Ram commented, "nor do they always move out at the same time. And from what I hear, the building's super has been there since the beginning of Animalia."
"That's all interesting," said Nancy, "I hope these other two aren't intimidated by things. You've all been so nice."
It was then that the doors opened, and two Wild Sheep Animalians came in. They were a male and a female with the male having a fairly decent sized pair of curved horns. Though, to Chase, they seemed to be closer to the size of the two Desert Bighorn Animalians they were speaking with, and with their eyes moving back and forth, they might also be a bit nervous. From some of the news reports he’d seen since his uplifting, if these were the two that were the true Marco Polo Sheep, which Chase guessed by their coloration and the lack of Human hair, they were also fully wild and didn’t have the contact that he and Mason and their mates had had. Thus, living in an area where there were predator Animalians, along with other and much larger herbivore Animalians that they’d never seen before, these two new Animalians could still be nervous. They eventually noted the Desert Bighorn pair and the two pairs of Hybrid Sheep Animalians.
"You are Bart Ram and Pamela?" the first asked, though toward Mason and Nancy.
"That would be me," the Desert Bighorn Ram spoke, "one of the Horizon scientists gave me "Ram" as a last name... I think as a joke, but I suppose it fits. These are Mason and his bond mate, Nancy, and Chase and his bond mate, Martina. Like you, they're recently uplifted Marco Polo Sheep."
"We aren't that big," the male spoke as he looked at Chase and Mason, "if anything they're Macro Polo Sheep, not Marco Polo Sheep."
"That could fit, given our size," Martina chuckled, "though much of that is a result of our being born through the cloning processes that Humans have developed and crossbreeding with Rocky Mountain Bighorn."
"That was what we were wanted for... or at least for actual cross breading," the female Marco Polo Sheep Animalian commented, "we got shot with something that made us sleepy in Pakistan and woke up in a big box in a strange metal thing..."
"A plane, I believe it was called," the male added, "and there were dogs barking in little plastic boxes not too far from us. It was all disorienting... and unsettling that the guy that grabbed us wanted to literally breed us with your Bighorn Sheep. Though, it would appear that he was caught before he could capture the Bighorn Sheep for his project."
The ram then looked to Chase and Mason before he continued, "if he was involved with whoever bred you... we do not know."
"The guy that essentially created us was from Montana," Mason answered, "beyond that we don't know if he had a partner. It could be possible that the guy who smuggled you might have heard something about us and decided to try and one-up him."
"So... you're not Marco Polo Sheep?" the female asked.
"Only half," Martina answered, "the other half is Rocky Mountain Bighorn... and now we've been uplifted... just like you?"
"Was it to testify regarding the smuggling and cloning?" the female wondered, "as we were talked to by Horizon and some law enforcement guys that they want our help in identifying the plan of the guys that smuggled us and potentially some identification for who helped smuggle us out of Pakistan."
"I think the guy that was involved with our creation actually confessed to everything," Chase said slowly, "if there was anything with whatever business he contacted for the cloning process... we don't know about that. So... anything that law enforcement may want from us is something we don't know about."
"And most of all that will be worked out once you're all more adapted to Animalia," Bart Ram spoke, "I trust you two are..."
"Awadil," the male spoke, "it means justice and fairness."
"Badiha," said the female, "it means Intuition or instinct."
"And I suppose we're doing okay... given how... different, being an Animalian is," Awadil then picked up, "there are all so many different types... and predators. All living close."
"The edicts forbid predator Animalians to hunt and eat herbivorous Animalians," Pamala Ram assured them.
"There were also these big scaly things on two legs... and one had a whole bunch of spikes," Badiha commented.
"They would probably be the Dinotopians," Bart Ram answered, "They're based on animals that were around millions of years ago. And there are some Animalians based on animals that were around in the period between when the dinosaurs lived and the modern era. They're all different... but they are still all Animalians and can be quite friendly."
"And in the meantime, there is plenty to do and explore as you get used to being Animalians," Pamala Ram added, "the Claw Coliseum, here, has facilities for exercise and the main desk even has a list of the hiking trails in the area that can let you enjoy some outside exploration... and with some of them being fairly mountainous to the west. Something that wouldn't be too out of place for any of us. The herd Bart and I belong to used to roam those mountain sides before we were uplifted."
"Hiking trails?" Badiha wondered.
"Yes," Bart Ram nodded, "Humans don't have as keen a sense of smell as other animals and aren't as sure footed on narrow ledges. So, they mark out trails that would be safer for them to hike on and might even use machines to assure that the trail is made safer. And it does provide for a good outdoorsy excursion. If you're up to it and can endure the cold."
"That sounds like fun... and a way for us to all get to know each other better," Nancy responded.