You gasped as slid across the cool grass on your shoulder in the back yard. Your shirt and jeans damp with the morning dew that covered the lawn. You groaned as you picked yourself up and caught your breath while Luna looked down on you expectantly.
"You can't take all day to counter attack," Luna warned as she began walking towards you at a brisk pace. You growled and ran up to her aiming your shoulder for her right knee, the objective to knock her to the ground with your body weight. Luna quickly saw through your tactic though and brought herself down to your level so her face was level with yours. You jumped to the left and rolled off to the side before quickly rising to your feet. You felt wind rush by you as Luna stood over you, already bringing an arm over to swipe at you horizontally. You turned your body to block the attack, and you were mostly successful as you brought her arm to a stop. You were jarred and rattled, but still standing.
"What are you doing?" Luna snapped, "Counterattack or get out of the way!" By the time you turned to attack she had already brought her other paw up in a vertical swing. The tip of her paw caught your chin. You were knocked backward and off your feet. You attempted to stand again but collapsed as you felt a heavy weight on your back. You tried to turn your head, but even that proved to be difficult to say the least. You could barely make out Luna kneeling over you while holding you down with a single paw. "You have to be faster than that," She chided as she removed her paw from you. "You were able to dodge a few of my attacks and even stop one. But that indecisiveness could get you killed."
"Yeah, yeah I got it," You muttered as you sat up and rubbed your arm.
Luna gave a satisfied nod, "That's enough for today. Get cleaned up and changed. Tanya will take you to your appointment."
"You're not coming?" You asked.
"No," Luna shook her head, "I have an appointment of my own with Malcolm about that foxbat. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" With that she began to walk off. You turned your head to look at the rising sun when you heard footsteps rushing towards you. You threw yourself out of the way and leapt to your feet to find Luna airborne and descending upon you. She easily pinned you under her, but immediately picked herself up and moved off of you. "And try to remember what I told you, this is a prime example. Quick on the initial, but lacking on the follow up."
You grunted back at the wolf who said nothing, but instead offered you a stern and disapproving glare before walking back into the house. As she opened the door, Tanya was on her way out to the back yard.
"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" She asked as Luna made for the stairs.
"He needs to learn to protect himself," Luna insisted, "I'm only teaching him like I would've taught one of my recruits back at the academy."
"No," Tanya replied, "You're being way harsher with him than you ever were with them."
"I just want him to have the best chance at survival, that's all," Luna snapped.
Tanya raised her hands in defense, "I have no objection to that. I'm just saying that you'ure taking this a bit further than you usually do."
"He means a lot to me, alright? If I'm tough on him it's because I worry about him." With that Luna left the room to go get ready for her meeting.
"How much?" Tanya pressed.
"A lot," Luna replied as she narrowed her eyes.
Tanya shrugged, "If you say so." She turned to look at you as you stretched your back.
"Hey Luna, what's your son's favorite food?"
Luna turned her head to answer as she left the room "Definitely pizza, but he doesn't mind home cooki-" The wolf stopped midsentence and spun around on her heel, her fur puffed out and her eyes wide.
Tanya smiled slyly at her and crossed her arms, "Quite a lot indeed, hm?" Luna looked away from the fox and crossed her arms, embarrassed and somewhat flustered. Tanya chuckled,
"Well, I've got to get your 'son' to practice." Luna nodded and quietly left the room. Tanya then walked out to the back yard where you were laying on your back and catching your breath. Her head loomed into view with the twilight sky framing her face. "You like tired there kiddo," She smirked.
"Nah," You huffed, "Just catching my breath."
"So, you're okay then?"
"Never better," You replied as you closed your eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the cool grass on your back.
"In that case, I guess you can go a couple rounds with me then," Tanya grinned.
Your eyes shot open as you bolted up into an upright sitting position, "Now hang on just a minute!"
"Relax!" Tanya laughed, "I was only kidding." She took a seat next to you and nudged you with her elbow. "We haven't really talked since that night on the roof," She said as she rested an arm on your shoulder, "You been okay since then?" You started to reply when Tanya gave you a stern glare, "Remember, if you lie to me, I'll know it," She then softened her gaze and smiled a bit, "So just be honest, okay?"
You nodded before giving your reply, "I'm okay, I guess. Lately I've been thinking about Russel and Mako though."
"You're worried about them," Tanya observed.
"Yeah, I feel bad for leaving them there," You added.
"I can understand how you feel, especially since Mako saved your life on the first night you were there. But you have to be realistic too. If you would've been caught, everything they'd done for you would have been for nothing. Remember that. As for how they are now, we don't know. So there's no reason for you to assume the worst. It's more likely that Silvia has no idea that they were actually involved."
You sighed, "I guess you're right."
"I usually am," Tanya replied with a confident nod and warm smile. "Now go upstairs and get cleaned up and changed. I have to get you to the arena downtown."
"For what?" You asked.
"The sooner you change the sooner you find out," Tanya stated as she got up and ruffled your hair as she left.
It wasn't long before you found yourself at a stadium. You sat shotgun in Tanya's car staring at the massive building through the windshield.
"So... why are we here?" You asked.
Tanya said nothing, but instead smiled at you and got out of the car before walking towards the building. You groaned as you unbuckled yourself and followed her in. It looked like your typical sports stadium. You followed Tanya through the corridors to one of the lower sections. She sat down in one of the seats closer to the aisle and you took a seat next to her. Once you were seated, you realized that you were in a mostly empty basketball stadium.
"I'll ask again," You said as you looked up at her, "Why are we here?"
"Shhh... I'm trying to watch the game," Tanya replied.
You looked down to the court to find Hunter and Annika playing against a tiger, a jaguar and lynx. The two foxes were fast, and they played well. But they were outnumbered and inexperienced. That wasn't the only thing you noticed. Both sides were using very basic strategies and plays. There were no trick plays, no screens or picks. It was all just open play.
After the game was over Tanya looked down to you, "What'd you think?"
You thought for a moment before giving your answer, "Both sides played well, but Hunter and Annika were outnumbered. It was hardly a fair game."
"And that's all you noticed?" Tanya pressed as she eyed you.
"Well... No," You replied. Tanya continued to eye you expectantly, "It's just..."
"Go on..." Tanya urged as you looked down at the court.
"The strategies were very basic," You explained, "I was able to follow and predict everything that both sides did."
"Really? Well I guess this might turn out better than we thought," Tanya mused.
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Okay," Tanya said as she stood up, "Let's go." She then moved past you and started making her way down to the court.
"Wait!" You called as you awkwardly stumbled out of your seat and hastily followed her down the steps, "Now where are you going!?"
As she stepped down onto the court, she began looking around. After a moment, she began walking toward the far corner of the court near the sidelines, seeming to have found what she was looking for. You rolled your eyes as you jogged after her and matched her pace. She came to a stop in front of Annika and Hunter who were toweling themselves off.
Hunter was the first to notice her presence, "Aunt Tanya! We didn't know you would be here."
"This was a last-minute thing," Tanya explained.
"You didn't happen to catch our game, did you?" Annika asked.
"I managed to catch the ending of it," Tanya said with a nod.
"Did our best, but we still lost," Hunter sighed.
Tanya reached out and turned his head so that his eyes met hers, "You played a good game," She said as she turned to Annika, "Both of you."
"Maybe," Annika said, "But that doesn't change the fact that we were outplayed and outnumbered. We're not experienced enough in the sport for this division. And unless we find a third teammate happens to be a genius strategist, we're going to totally wash out of the tournament."
Tanya crossed her arms and smirked, "Well lucky for you I found your third teammate!"
"Really!" Hunter exclaimed excitedly.
"Who is it?" Annika asked.
"Kiba!" Tanya exclaimed as she grabbed you by the arm and dragged you in front of her.
"Wait, what!?" You exclaimed as you stared up at her. She grinned back at you as she held you in place.