Venus chuckled a little bit at the Animalia Ambassadoria episode. May was clearly approaching and that would mark the end of the school year, but most schools that long summer breaks and graduated the seniors in early May and the undergraduates by mid-May also had few and shorter in year breaks. The students doing the Animalia Ambassadoria work all went to WSA, which had multiple in school year breaks and some of them tended to be on the LONGER side. This actually pushed graduating seniors back to MID-May and the undergraduates to toward the end of May and Memorial Day. But she also supposed that the crew were trying to set things up so as not to antagonize those that had shorter school years. As once May arrived, finals and other related things wouldn't be that far behind.
Venus generally didn't have to worry about that. As a Sphynx, and the fact that Tim's family had lived in a fairly northern city, that had made winters potentially tough, and that had kept Venus as an indoor cat. Winters would be too cold for her, and without fur, she didn't have the natural UV protection that furred breeds of cat had. This in turn meant that Venus picked up on things from more than just Tim, but from his entire family, and that had had been good enough for her to pick up enough that she was able to test out of school with regard to things like math and science. She had to read a bit to catch up on the various social sciences, but at times during the winter, that made for fairly calm nights for reading.
She'd also done fairly well, as a fair number of pharmaceutical related companies liked using her as a model for skin care products, as since her breed didn't naturally have fur, sunburns and other related skin related conditions were concerns. It made for decent money, and it also added for other calls for modelling for swimsuits and other related items. She'd worked alongside Human models for these things and in some ways that kept her a bit busier than other Animalian models. All of that was something that Venus could take some pride in. It did lead to some sense of pride that also drew Venus back to Tim and his family. For she wanted to share stories of her successes with them and them with her. It also made for things that fit in with other things that related to school, and things that Venus missed out on by not having to attend school. And as she thought on that... she couldn't help but smile.
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"I can't believe your date's a model!" said one of Tim's friends as the group gathered by a table that had a blue tablecloth with gold stripes on it laid out over it.
The pair had enjoyed fine dance, and one that drew attention from plenty of others present at the dance. Tim wanted to enjoy the dance and move on, though, with Venus filling out the blue dress very well, she drew a lot of attention. Several of Tim's friends, and even a few others were drawn to both as they came in. It rapidly became something that became almost uneasy for Tim as things moved on. Much of it because of how people rapidly recognized Venus. Tim had done fairly well in school, but because this wasn't Lyre or Animalia, his family had only gotten a few short minutes of fame that surrounded the finding of the glob of ambergris and not much more beyond that. And arriving with Venus wasn't something that was going to draw too much attention for too long.
It wasn't Lyre/Animalia, which meant that people weren't going to see it as something super normal. But because people were fairly used to the existence of Animalia and Animalians, it wasn't going to be too surprising. Finding out that Venus was Tim's date was just going to be the short surprise that came more with the occasional run-in with Tim and that was something that happened among those that knew Tim or had that run in with the pair and were already friends with Tim.
"And an Animalian as well," Tim answered, "This is Venus."
"I'm Tom, Tim's best friend," the other male teen answered and offered his hand to Venus, "He's T and I'm T-squared."
Venus looked over to Tim, who shrugged and blew his nose. Venus knew that Tim had taken up some medicine for his allergies in the days leading up to the prom, mostly because of the knowledge of the fact that he'd had an allergy to cats and that that had lead to Venus' uplifting. She'd also made extra sure to bathe before coming and that she'd been making extra sure that she also used the most appropriate creams and ointments that would make sure she wasn't producing too much in the way of dander. That was something she remembered from her own uplifting. She remembered an elderly woman giving her to Tim with the promise that her status as a hairless breed of cat would make things easier for Tim, after a day when he'd visited that elderly woman, and the woman's long haired breed of dog had made him sneeze to a point where Tim could barely breathe.
"It's okay, Venus," Tim said to her when he noticed her worried look to him.
"I'm hurting you," Venus said weakly. She liked her job as a model, and in part she liked the independence that had come with being an Animalian, but there was a core part of her that loved Tim dearly.
Tim blinked and shook his head, leaving Tom looking surprised.
"No, you're not," Tim insisted, "you didn't get to see what a prom is like when you were uplifted... and..."
Venus could only blink as Tim looked to her as he then said softly, "I love you."
She could barely hear it as he said it. She didn't think Tom and a couple of his other friends fully heard it either. But it was fairly clear, and Venus could hear it. And on certain levels, she could also feel it. Tim had been kind and gentle when she was a mundane cat and that was all things that she liked. Back then, she couldn't understand his allergies and thinking back on it now, she didn't think he recognized that he was allergic to her. After becoming an Animalian, however, she began to gain the knowledge of those allergies and that seemed to strike a pain in her heart. For she liked Tim for his kindness and all that, and the emotional bond was there, but there was also the sense of guilt that she was the one making him sneeze and hurting his ability to breathe because of his allergies. And the emotional bond that she had with Tim was enough that she didn't want to put him in that situation. That was the biggest reason why she moved to Animalia after being uplifted, so that she wouldn't hurt Tim.
There was of course the option that Tim could become an Animalian, and that would cure him of his allergies. From what Tim's parents had mentioned, Tim had even had that idea. But they wanted Tim to wait until he was a legal adult before making such a decision, and Venus could understand that. She also knew she might have to accept that. As she had heard that Tim had some friends that happened to be girls and there had been some male Cat Animalians that had at least been curious about her. None of these relationships had ever been serious, so far as Venus knew, but she also knew it was best to let them run their course. For the moment, though, Venus was unsure as how to answer.
"And I took the anti-allergy medicine for the dance," Tim finally spoke when Venus didn't answer, "everything will be fine."
"So long as you're sure," Venus said to him.
Tim nodded, "I am... Come on, let's get some punch."
"I'd prefer water, but, a drink would be fine," Venus nodded.
She then made her way beside Tim, and occasionally glancing to him, particularly when she felt he wasn't looking, to make sure he wasn't sniffling too much. And thankfully, he wasn't. There some signs of it at times, but nothing that looked to be impeding him. It then allowed her to take some relief and then look more to the other events of the dance. This included some discussion with Tom and his date as they walked along with them. They moved toward a long table that had a long blue cloth with gold stripes on it that fit the colors that were set up for the prom. On top of the colored cloth were various pitchers that were full of liquid and ice. There were also notecards literally taped to each pitcher. One with a reddish colored liquid was labeled "fruit punch," one with a brown liquid, with bubbles, was labeled "Coca-Cola," another with the same color was labeled, "Diet Coke," and the last had a clear liquid in it that was labeled "water." Venus went for the last and picked up a a plastic glass for it.
"So... did you shave for all of this to help with Tim's allergies?" Tom's date asked to Venus.
"No... my breed is a Sphynx," Venus answered, "thanks to a mutation in a specific gene... a gene that in various domestic cats has had varying mutations, with different results... but for my breed, that's actually produced hairlessness. I remember some things that Tim's grandmother had a dog or cat that had a lot of hair, and that while Tim had fun with the pet, he was in a bad way. She thought Tim might be allergic to the fur, but noted the fun he had. And so, she figured I, as a members of a hairless breed, would get around that allergy issue."
"Not knowing its the dander and dead skin cells that people are actually allergic to," Tom's date nodded.
"Yes... and the baths Tim's parents gave me generally didn't help as much as they would have hoped... and as a mundane cat, I fear I probably wasn't too keen on getting wet," Venus admitted, "as an Animalian, I understand better... and it helps with dealing with some skin creams that I sponsor. And they range from sunblock to other related products."
"And you're still here for the prom!" Tom cheered.
"Well, I do still like Tim," Venus answered, "it's where I wish he weren't allergic and where I worry I might be doing him harm. Particularly when his parents don't want him to convert before his eighteenth birthday to cure his allergy... if it cures the allergy. I really don't know if Horizon has done that sort of testing... But, the friendship that formed when we were owner and pet hasn't diminished. It's changed, but it is still there."
"And you want him to be happy," Tom's date smiled, "that's sweet, Ms. Venus."
"I suppose it is," Venus smiled back, "and in some ways, some of this is fairly fun. A bit noisier than I was expecting... but interesting. And everyone's been friendly."
"It's hard not to be friendly to a super model," Tom commented, "particularly when I'm sure you could also rough up any bully that tried to be mean to you."
"I'm here to dance and have a good time," Venus answered, "not pick a fight. And as an Animalian, I'd also urge you and Tim not to pick fights either."
"We won't," Tim promised, "we won't..."
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And neither did. It made for a fun experience. Some of the choices in music had been odd, as they changed styles and themes, but Tim explained that a lot of that probably came from the student council, which planned the prom, and their decisions. She and Tim didn't win any prizes, but then, his allergies didn't interrupt things too much and she got a new experience. That experience was pleasant and she hoped that Tim had a good time as well. That was the biggest thing for Venus.
While a part of her was well aware on the differences between them, she also couldn't truly deny that she truly cared for Tim as well. For the bond that had been there as owner and pet was still there. It was different now that she was an Animalian, and she did deeply care for Tim, and that marked that the bond was still there. She never got the chance to comment on Tim's "I love you" comment, but a part of her was glad that there were pleasant feelings there. The real question was more on how it would be defined to her, generally because she wanted to comply with his parent's wishes and didn't want to tax his allergies.
However, she also knew that he'd turn eighteen some time during his senior year, and if his feelings were still romantic then, he would be free to convert on his own. And if not, Venus would also be sure that things would remain friendly and allowing her to stay on good terms with the boy who had been kind to her and the family she, in her own way, saw as her own.