Polt grinned eagerly as she led Caboose into the Extraspecies Sports Gym she'd worked so hard to develop here in human lands. She was super excited about it, being her first solo attempt at a money making endeavor for her people...but she was also really nervous. She knew the basics of being a personal trainer, having worked as one in previous attempts at making money with other kobolds of her tribe, but trying to apply that to its own business was something else entirely. It was a brand new endeavor, even if it was a niche in the market that desperately needed to be filled.

So far, it seemed to be working out quite well. Caboose was staring around at all the exercise equipment on the main gym floor in awe. "Do you like it, love?" she asked eagerly. "It's only the latest models available here on New Japan. Granted, there's probably more advanced models elsewhere in the galaxy, but that's not really available here…"

And there was the other side of her nervousness. She really wanted to impress Caboose, but she knew that anything she could really build here on New Japan would at best be a pale shadow of what he'd seen elsewhere in the galaxy. Still, she could only hope he wouldn't be too harsh-

"This place is amazing!" Caboose gasped excitedly. "It's so clean and shiny and new! It looks like Christmas!"

Polt blinked, unsure how to take that assessment. She decided to roll with it as best she could. "Thank you, love. Now, please, tell me anywhere you think I can improve before I open. I want everything to work great for all the Extraspecies who come here for their exercise needs."

"I shall do my best to be a five year old!" Caboose declared happily as he proceeded to wander around.

Polt blinked, unsure she knew what he meant by that. However, she quickly moved to follow him, eager for his feedback. ...she tried not to think about the fact she was constantly standing just behind him and to one side, like a dog at heel, as the bell on her collar jingled. She absolutely adored Caboose and wanted to be with him forever...but if her Parents or Grandparents saw her like this...or worse, her sister…

She distracted herself from that as Caboose paused at the treadmills. "Do you like them?" she asked eagerly. "They're the latest models, capable of shifting to different angles mid-run to imitate a wide variety of terrain and can move at anywhere from 5 to 50 miles per hour for the walk, since some Extraspecies can run much faster than humans-" She cut herself off, remembering Caboose's own exploits. "Well, most humans…"

"How would Cerea run on this?" Caboose asked curiously, glancing at it from all ends. "She's wider than the bars."

Polt's eyes widened in shock. "You're right! I forgot that standardized equipment won't work for all types of Extraspecies. Even to the standard biped model, if I had an ogre customer…" She pulled out her notebook and jotted down the problem.

"And Miia would need a really long one!" Caboose pointed out, which Polt continued to record. "But why would anyone want to run alone, anyway? Isn't it more fun to run together?"

"Well, yes," Polt agreed. "And most Extraspecies who choose running as a form of exercise are members of large social groups, but I can't build a VR suite for something like that, like that one Red Base you told me about had. The tech just doesn't exist here."

"What about those really big treadmills from factories?" Caboose suggested happily. "The ones that make it feel like the entire floor is moving?"

Polt's eyes widened. "Jury rig some industrial conveyor belts to treadmill controls for group runs?" she gasped in surprise. "That could work!" She immediately began making notes and sketches in her notebook. "Rather than full variable speed, I could have three different speeds for marathon runners, casual joggers, and sprinters. Make them stretch the entire room for longer bodies, and have the bigger runners towards the back so no one gets hurt if someone at the front trips…"

"You'd have to move most of these," Caboose observed, staring at the other equipment. "Not that you'd get much use of them. Most of these look built for human bodies, and if an Extraspecies can use human equipment, why not go to a human gym?"

Polt felt like the entire world had cracked around her. She had invested quite a bit in all that equipment...but Caboose was right. A gym specifically tailored for Extraspecies should focus on providing those services a standard human gym couldn't. She'd need to completely change the floor plan. She could shift most of the things around so they could be used, but…

Caboose picked up a weight. "Papi'd have a really hard time holding this," he observed. "She can barely hold ice cream."

"Right!" Polt agreed, continuing her notes. "I need something different for winged Extraspecies, since their hands don't grip as well-"

"Would weight lifting strengthen wing muscles the right way?" Caboose asked in surprise. "I mean, they go like this!" He fanned his arms up and down like wings. "Not this." He curled his arms in the traditional weight lifting motion.

"Well it's not like I can make a wind inside for them to fly against-" Polt cut herself off as she heard what she was saying. "A wind tunnel! With speed controls to simulate many different flying conditions, but at lower speeds for organic fliers as opposed to planes! And bungee cord safety harnesses so they can just drop safely out of the wind when they want to end the exercise!"

"Yay!" Caboose cheered. "I'm helping!"

"You certainly are, love," Polt purred happily. "I don't suppose you have any other ideas?"

Caboose lifted his head in thought. "Hmm...Miia's always talking about how good a climber she is…"

Polt sighed. "I considered a climbing wall once, but very few Extraspecies are as natural at brachiating as the more humanoid ones, and they could get that exercise from the equipment. But if I can't use as much equipment...still, a naga couldn't climb a wall…"

"Maybe you could build real life Snake Pass?" Caboose asked curiously.

"Snake...Pass?" Polt asked in confusion.

"It's this game Papi really likes!" Caboose explained. "You play a snake crawling around a course of rock and jungle gyms! Papi likes to pretend she's playing as Miia!"

"Hmm…" Polt thoughtfully walked over to a nearby console, tapping in a search key until she got some footage of the game in question. "Oh! Yes, something like that could work! And a course like that would be a good challenge climb for any Extraspecies that climbs or flies! I just need to be certain it can handle a lot of weight, so I'll need really strong materials...better make that the lowest floor in the redesign…" As she finished the notes, she snapped the book shut. "Next up is the pool floor!"

"Yay!" Caboose cheered. "I love swimming!"

Chuckling, Polt led Caboose up to the pool floor. "As you can see, in addition to the Olympic sized swimming pool, we have eye-wash fountains for all known optical arrangements, shallow pools safe for children, and a sunroom!"

"Wow!" Caboose gasped in amazement. "I didn't know all demi-humans liked the sun as much as I do! With the full moon thing, I thought some might be more night life!"

Polt's eyes popped open in realization. "You're right! There are nocturnal Extraspecies who don't like getting too much sun! I'll just have to keep the gym open at all hours so they can come in at night. Of course, that means hiring someone to run the night shift…"

"Hope Scary Smith Lady puts those night demi-humans with night people," Caboose observed idly. "I mean, they can only come here with their homestay families, right?"

"Hmm...special filters to turn sunlight into moonlight for a second sunroom?" Polt murmured to herself thoughtfully as she took notes. "And sun lamps for the sunroom during the night?" She was about to write more, but noticed Caboose scooping water from the pool towards his mouth. "Caboose! You don't drink pool water! There are chemicals in it to keep it clean!"

"Oh!" Caboose allowed, dropping the water back into the pool. "I did not know that. I hope it won't hurt Mero. She's a fish lady, after all."

"Gills!" Polt gasped in shock. "I forgot that merfolk and other Extraspecies have gills! I need to use non-chemical methods of keeping the pool clean!"

"Like fishtanks?" Caboose asked curiously.

"Yes, like in fishtanks," Polt confirmed, jotting that down.

"Maybe you could make the water a little hotter?" Caboose asked hopefully. "I wouldn't want Miia getting sluggish and sinking...but would too hot be bad for others?"

"Hmm...if I changed it to two pools, one kept extra warm for exothermic Extraspecies, one at a more comfortably cool temperature for endothermic ones…" Polt murmured as she continued her notes. "The only thing we haven't looked at is exercise routines, like yoga and stretches…"

"That must be fine!" Caboose declared happily. "So many of those poses are named after animals, so they must work great for demi-humans who are part animal, right?"

Polt stared at him for a time, then turned back to her notebook. "Investigate stretching types for different body types and number of limbs…"