After some time to let hybrids get used to the game, we paused so everyone could get a drink, then started the tournament, with Dr. Lawrence marking the brackets. Countless rounds were played, with sweat pouring and evaporating and feet turning green from the grass. Neija and I moved up the line, beating whoever crossed our path. The more we played, the more I began to fall into the same pit as Lorraine. My eyes spent more time on Neija than the shuttlecock, her bronze body glistening with sweat. Goddamn, she was the epitome of sexiness in a way not even Betty could match. The only thing that drew my gaze from her body was her smile. Every time we scored, she’d grin from ear to ear, and when we won a match, she’d jump up and down and holler in joy. The thrill of winning was mixing with the endorphins of her exertion and causing her to unwind.
Finally, it was the last match, me and Neija vs Momo and Sonja, with everyone watching.
“Yeah! I finally get to play with Master! Hi, Master! This is so much fun!” Sonja was as sunny as usual, not even appearing tired after hours of playing.
Momo, on the other hand, was focused as a laser. “Momo wants that cake, Master,” she said coldly.
“Does this little cub really think she can stand up to me?” Neija asked with a sly grin.
“She has cake on her mind, don’t doubt her,” I replied.
I served, sending it over to Sonja who knocked it back with the happiest smile I had ever seen. It went over to Neija who jumped up to spike it down, but Momo had already gotten in position and was ready to intercept. Almost immediately, Sonja and I were pushed out of the game and it became a single match between Momo and Neija. They were zooming back and forth, not trusting me or Sonja to repel any lobs. The longer they played, the closer and closer they got to the net. Momo too was jumping up to spike the shuttlecock, her hair standing on end and a ferocious look on her face. Sonja simply stood in the corner, jumping up and down and cheering in endless excitement.
The decisive moment came, Momo rebounding it over to Neija, and before the shuttlecock even passed over the net, she had pounced to counter Neija’s spike. So worked up, they ended up colliding in midair with the net between them and then falling on their backs. The shuttlecock, knocked back by Neija’s racket, flew through the air, bounced off Sonja’s head, and landed at her feet.
“Master and Neija win!” Jenny cheered as she jumped up and down like Sonja had before.
The fatigue of the game had slowed down my thought processes, because one moment I was standing in the corner of the court, and the next thing I knew, Neija was hugging me tightly, our sweaty bodies pressed tightly together.
“We won! We won!”
Then as soon as she had appeared, she let me go and walked away, apparently having remembered her grudge. But everyone else was celebrating, overjoyed by the fun we’d all had. In the crowd, Lorraine came up behind me.
“Man, she’s the queen of tsunderes, isn’t she?”
“I don’t know what that means, but I can guess,” I said. “Also, can you please stop grabbing my ass?”
She instead squeezed. “Honk! Honk!”
The tournament had definitely accomplished one of my goals: everyone was tuckered out, and many had gained a nice tan. There was only enough strength to scarf down lunch, after which, it was a lazy afternoon of showering and napping. The whole mansion was silent. I found myself lying on a couch in one of the common rooms of the house, reading a book. This spot had the best light for reading. Snoozing between my legs was Shannon, a species of goat called a Nubian Ibex. Her hair was light, a mix of gray and brown, and growing from her scalp was a pair of curled horns, which I was using as a bookstand. Like Betty, she had hooves for feet.
Soon enough, the fatigue overwhelmed me as well. I closed the book and set it on the floor, but that noise was enough to wake up Shannon.
“Huh? Master?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I just need to change position.”
I pulled out the pillows from behind me and lied back. A sleepy smile on her face, Shannon crawled up closer to me and settled next to me with my arm around her and her arm across my chest.
“Today was so fun,” she murmured before closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep.
“Yeah, it really was.” Then I stroked her long ears until my own eyes closed and I drifted to sleep.
After napping and eating dinner, everyone went back to their own thing, and I went in search of Neija. I found her sitting at one of the tables on the patio, watching the sunset. There were a few hybrids playing badminton out in the field.
“Hey,” I said.
She turned to me. “What do you want?”
“Did you forget? We won the tournament.” In one hand I held a small cake, and in the other, I had two forks.
“Just leave me half, I’ll eat it later.”
“Ok, but I guess you won’t mind if I eat my half out here.”
She rolled her eyes and I sat at the table with her, removing the plastic top covering the chocolate confection. It was small enough to be eaten in one sitting, though any of the doctors would disagree. I took the first bite and let out a loud hum of bliss, but Neija refused to acknowledge me and continued watching the sunset.
“Goddamn, that is delicious. I meant to get you all cake back when you were in the hospital, but they considered it too unhealthy. It’s become a tradition in this family to celebrate with cake when a new hybrid joins us.”
“I haven’t joined you.”
“But I still want to celebrate you being here. I like having you around. I loved seeing you smile today.” She ignored me, so I took another bite of cake and let out another loud groan of happiness. “Neija, seriously, you really need to eat this. It is so good, you won’t believe it.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Just a taste and I’ll shut up.”
She groaned, grabbed the other fork, and took a bite. That was all it took. Her eyes became wide, her tail stood erect, and her ears perked up. She became frantic, digging in like there was a prize at the bottom.
“Whoa, slow down a bit, you’re getting way too worked up.” I grabbed her wrist to stop her, and quick as a flash, she sank her teeth into my arm. I tensed up, using all of my willpower to keep from shouting in pain. She didn’t let go and neither did I. “Shhh, just take a deep breath. If you eat so fast, you’ll make yourself sick.”
She finally let go, revealing the deep teeth marks in my skin. Neija sat there, unsure of what to do, her lips colored black and red with chocolate and blood. What was going to happen now? How was she going to be punished? Blood was trickling from the wound, but I ignored it and simply took another bite of cake. “I can’t blame you, it really is that good.” She still didn’t move, just stared at me. “Go on, you don’t have to stop. I just didn’t want you to get a stomach ache.”
She slowly resumed eating, the tension fading with each bite. Soon enough, the desert was gone, and the sun had finished setting. I stood up, taking with me the plastic cake container and the two forks. I did so with my good hand, since using my other would make my wound hurt. The bleeding had just about stopped, leaving my arm and hand encrusted with blood. It was itchy as hell and I desperately wanted to scratch it off, but I also didn’t want to acknowledge it, not with Neija’s eyes on me.
“All right, the mosquitoes are going nuts, so I’m going to head inside. Are you coming?”
She perked up. “Huh? Uh, no. I’m going to stay outside a little longer.”
“Ok, goodnight.”
She didn’t say anything, so I turned around and walked back to the door. But the moment I touched the knob, I heard her. “Wait, M— uh…” I looked back at her. “It was fun playing badminton,” she said while looking away.
I smiled. “Yeah, it was. Let’s pair up again next time.” Then I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
“Jesus, Neija did this to you?” Dr. Lawrence asked as he examined my arm.
“Yeah, but it was my fault for grabbing her wrist.”
“She used to attack the doctors back at the hospital, but I thought that had stopped. We need to make sure this behavior comes to an end before she hurts someone else.”
“No, she won’t do it again.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“She was sorry. She didn’t say it, but she was sorry. In this case, I think it would help our relationship more if I forgave her rather than punished her.”
Dr. Lawrence began scrubbing the blood off my arm with a towel soaked in rubbing alcohol, leaving me on the verge of screaming.
“I’m not so sure about that. If you give her special treatment, it may make her feel alienated or she’ll see it as just a desperate attempt to make her like you.”
“I’m not going to punish her for acting on instinct. She’s a lioness, and if I can’t accept her for that, then I’m not fit to be her Master. I can still show her how to act like a person without trying to quash her animal side. I’m not giving her special treatment to win her favor, I’m simply trusting her to understand that what she did was wrong and to learn from that mistake without me having to rub her nose in it.”
“Well I don’t think you’ll need any stitches. Come back here in the morning and I’ll take another look.” Dr. Lawrence laid some gauze on my arm and then wrapped it in bandages.
“Thanks.”
“What are you going to tell the girls when they ask?”
“I’ll just say I got a rash from playing outside. I think we’re still in browntail moth season.”
“All right then, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Doc.”
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