Rior stood by the bank of the river, mildly exasperated but amused. He knew the cheetah would not disappear quietly, but he had expected him to listen at least a little bit. But here he was, eager for another fight.

Thankfully, Rior was smarter than the cheetah.

"If we battle again, you'll die," Rior stated bluntly, and calmly. It wasn't boasting, it was a statement of fact. Rior was significantly bulkier than Yuuki, and he was trained. It was only through self discipline that he hadn't killed the runt in the last battle.

"Instead, you are going to fight a new challenger today," Rior explained and motioned for the lingering presence to step forward.

"Yuuki, Penwakani, this is Jini - he's useless at fighting too, so you have that in common."



Jini stepped forward quietly when he was called upon. He was kinda lanky still, so while he stood taller than the cheetah, he didn't have that much added bulk compared to the lithe cheetah. He glanced at Rior at his comment, and knew he should be angry at the comment.

Instead, he laughed. "That's why we're here with you, isn't it, Rior?" He asked.

It had been a whim. When he bumped into Rior, he had been instantly curious about the male's ways and sought assistance in learning to fight - to defend himself.

He was pretty pitiful at it though.



Pen was seated not far from the river bank, nestled beneath a tree hiding from the harsh sunshine. She enjoyed watching Yuuki train, but she hated watching him fight. At least he wasn't fighting Rior this time.

Last time it had almost killed him and Pen was not willing to sit through that again. Never again.

"Nice to meet you, Jini!" she called out cheerfully, flicking her tail in greeting and settling in to watch the 'show'.

She sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening above that Yuuki walk out unscathed.



Yuuki bristled visibly. "I am not useless!" He snarled angrily, though he couldn't really deny it completely, considering he was...kinda useless. He'd almost died last time he fought Rior, and it was only from the male's insistence that the fight was over that he had walked out alive.

In a real fight, he would have been well and truly dead. He hated that. He wanted to be stronger...he had to be stronger.


"Yes, you are," Rior said bluntly. "The sooner you admit it, the sooner you can improve." He tossed his mane, flicking it from his eyes and refocusing on the boys, and the small female that seemed to tag along to everything anyway.

"Now, you will not be fighting today, we are going to try something...different." He smiled. "For it, I need a volunteer..."

He looked directly at Penwakani.


Jini was pleased to hear they were doing something new. Last time he just fought, he got his butt kicked royally and he didn't really want to do that again. Not yet, at least, not until he could maybe do some butt kicking of his own.

Pen looked startled as she noticed that Rior was looking directly at her. She blinked. "Me?" She repeated, slightly concerned. She had seen Rior and Yuukis last fight, and that was not something she wanted to participate in.

Apparently, Yuuki thought the same thing. He bristled even further and planted himself firmly in front of Pen. "No. You leave her out of this, I do not want her to be in any danger and I will simply not allow it!" He snarled, glaring at Rior as if daring him to do something.

Rior laughed, loudly and long. "Fool!" He chuckled. "What makes you believe I would ever put your misses in danger? No, no, I don't want her to be in danger, fear not Pen," he said softly to Rior. "I simply wanted her to be an...assistant. Today, we're working on reflexes. She will be the goal, not the obstacle. You and Jini must run towards her, and I will try to distract you. Simple, yes, and not a single hair on her body will be harmed in the process."

Jini looked between the cheetah and the lion, baffled by the protectiveness he saw. To be fair, he had never known of hybrids. His pride did not support them, so he had never seen them before. It was only recently that he realised they actually existed. He always thought they were just some weird story that some of the pilgrims told kids to confuse them. Weird. Perhaps these two would make hybrids some day? He chuckled to himself. What a weird thought.
"Sounds like a good, safe, idea to me," Jini offered cheerfully, hoping not to transfer the ire of the cheetah onto himself.

Pen smiled at Rior, relieved to hear that it wasn't a dangerous task. She stepped forward, standing beside Yuuki instead of being protected behind him. "I'm ok with doing that," she said to Rior, leaning lightly on the smaller cheetah. Not too much of her weight though, else she'd squish him. He wasn't tiny, as she was quite small herself, but there was still the size difference, which was amusing to her. Not that size mattered!

Yuuki stared at Rior, gaze firm. "If anything happens to her..."

Rior chuckled. "Then be it on my head," he said calmly. "Now, are you finished with your dramatics, or do you wish to continue this - or can we actually begin?" He glanced first at Yuuki, then Jini, then Penwakani and waited, but none of them called up any grievances.

"Good," he said calmly. "Let us begin."

Penwakani was placed at one end of the river, while the boys were set at the other end. Rior stood part way, waiting for them. It was Yuuki's turn first, and as he ran, Rior ran next to him, trying to trip him, and swiping at him, causing Yuuki to swerve and dodge to avoid the 'attacks'. He made it to Penwakani just as Rior tapped his foot, sending him skidding to a halt directly in front of Pen, disorientated for a moment.

Penwakani giggled to herself, and leant down, pressing her nose against the males in an affectionate gesture. He flushed but offered her a gentle smile, before rising to his feet and returning to Rior to continue to train.

At Jini's turn, he made sure to dodge Rior, but also to avoid touching Penwakani as he reached her. The cheetah was small, but he had a feeling that if anything happened to the Lioness, it would be Jini who suffered the worse, not the small cheetah.

"Well done boys," Rior said cheerfully as they, panting, stood in front of him. Pen was standing off to the side, amused. They had done quite a lot of races, and occassionally Rior placed Yuuki and Jini against each other, which Pen had been extremely amused by. Yuuki had won, just barely. Jini was surprisingly fast.

"Now, if you're still eager to learn," Rior continued, "be here tomorrow. If not you're not eager to learn, don't waste my time." He went to leave, but paused as Pen called out to him.

"Do you have a den?" She asked cheerfully. "We have a larger den, if either of you need to stay." She said, including Jini in this comment, but both men swiftly declined.

"I'll be fine, I have my own," Rior said.

"Me too," Jini admitted. "But thanks."

Pen smiled at them, and let them leave, before turning back to the exhausted cheetah. "Ready to go home?" She asked, nuzzling his cheek lightly. He smiled weakly at her, and lent against her.

"Of course, let's go home."

WC: 1280