"And now we're getting into the last half of the Zodiac competition," said Polly, "To start off, me and Lexia are covering the Mr. Zodiac pageant."
"These snakes have proven they're fit enough to get this far. They had to prove they were knowledgeable enough about snakes to not be eliminated at this point," said Lexia, "But now they have to prove they have the style and grace to proceed to the final round and the race up Zodiac Mountain."
"For the men's competition, the pageant is simple," said Polly, "First, we'll see them in their evening wear. Then we'll see them in their swimwear."
Then there was a montage of the various male serpents dressed their best. It did make it interesting to see how well fashion worked for snake Animalians. Obviously the suits had to be adjusted for those with four arms. And the swimsuits were often wraps or tubes around their pelvises. Though the various cuts and designs of their clothes can make things more interesting.
"Of course, with the Animalian virus remaking people into the ideal physical shape, it's somewhat pointless to judge on appearance alone," said Lexia, "That's why the talent exhibitions are the real point winners here."
The talents displayed tended to vary a lot. A few sang, some displayed their strength in more applied ways. Those who had four arms tried to find some way of showing them off, such as Zak juggling bowling pins.
Probably the most impressive was Li-Wei. The two-headed snake had found they had a surprising gift for marksmanship. Of course, they could have demonstrated their skill with water guns or foam darts, but they decided to go with something more spectacular. An archery target was set up on the other side of the stage. Li and Wei both had separate bows, but they didn't use them at the same time. The main difference between the bows were a slight design difference so they can be better wielded by a left-handed or right-handed archer. The brothers took their turns between holding and firing arrows. Having two arms on each side allowed them to fire more rapidly. Not all of the shots were dead center, but they were at least within the outer edges of the bullseye. In any case, it was still an impressive feat.
"Well, I think we'll soon be seeing how many of these guys will be slithering up Zodiac Mountain," said Polly, "Though the winner of the race won't necessarily be the one who's crowned."
"But we have two more pageants before that," said Lexia, "Teddy and Al will be covering Ms. Zodiac pageant and Polly and Teddy will cover the Shi/Hir pageant."