Lira and Lysa worked their way into the gymnasium, where their first competition was being held. They needed to reach the locker rooms and claim a locker before they were all gone. They had just left Martinez, Feinel, and Ivorn to find seats in the competitor teams section, with Teacher showing them the way. That area was where anyone dedicated to supporting or aiding the fighters was given seats right next to the mats so they could rotate ringside whenever their competitor was up for a match.

Teacher made a wise choice by liberally using their friends' roles within the city and the dojo to get them those seats; otherwise, they would have to be seated far away in the back rows and have a horrible view of the day's events.

The team rated specialized medical staff because Martinez and Ivorn were medical professionals, and Lysa was a classified black species. On the other hand, Feinel was classified as a secondary coach who was there to aid Teacher ring side and give advice between rounds.

Lira and Lysa appreciated the coaching, but Martinez had been training them for the last month. So they would defer to his wisdom and advice as they fought. Yet Teacher was the professional, and they were both, as she eloquently said, “green”. So, neither would argue with her wisdom to have Feinel on hand. But a part of Lira guessed this was Teacher messing with her.

Finding the correct back halls took the two of them almost twenty minutes. This was mainly because they kept being distracted by food that was on sale. Neither had eaten before because Teacher had told them not to eat breakfast and now they were hungry. But they diligently resisted the urge to nibble on something, for the most part. A few crackers might have slipped past their lips on the way to the back halls, but Teacher would never find out.

Lira looked around the crowded hallway, suppressing her unease at how the aliens parted, squeezing themselves against the walls to avoid Lysa. “You know, it’s still kind of skeevy watching them do that. It creeps me out,” Lira said, adjusting her gym bag and gesturing at the cowering aliens.

Despite her and Lysa regularly going out to do things together for several years, this still was unsettling; it is not like Lysa would attack them. The only person she had ever seen Lysa bite was Martinez, which was them being romantic because Martinez bit her back. Even if she did not fully understand why Aviex found biting intimate, she knew that’s what it was and respected her friend's odd ritual.

Lysa glanced around and shrugged. “Others cower around me so often, I do not pay it any mind anymore. If anything, when it is not occurring, I take note.”

“No doubt, still, I don’t like them treating you like this,” Lira commented, glaring at one of the aliens.

“Pay them no mind. Either they are approachable, or they are not. How they behave is of little issue to me,” Lysa replied.

Although Lysa said that, she could not deny it in the back of her mind, it did bother her slightly. But she knew any of her direct actions would not help their impression of her or the Aveix species as a whole. The others had to be alright with her; otherwise, confronting them about the topic would only cause further issues.

Each of them was surprised by the number of aliens lingering in the hallways. Based on the Teacher's description of the venue and event, they had expected a few hundred observers. Still, there were easily thousands in attendance today—a bit of an intimidating idea for a first competition.

Entering into the women's locker room, the entire place was packed to the brim with other bipedal aliens, the category of competition Lysa and Lira had been entered into. Lira nearly gagged as the hundreds of different scents slammed into her sensitive nose like a wall; thankfully, Lysa put an arm around her and kept her steady, her head going dizzy for a few moments.

“Thanks,” Lira choked.

“It is no issue,” Lysa assured her friend.

They noted how all the competitors were in various stages of undress. Fur, feathers, scales, rippling muscle, and other odd forms of skin were unabashedly displayed while changing from street clothes into shorts and t-shirts that bore the logos of whatever dojo or academy they attended for their training.

“Wow, there is a surprising amount of size difference between some of them,” Lira commented, looking at a two-and-a-half-meter-tall Varintol struggling to squeeze her plush, squashy hips into a pair of spandex shorts.

“Of course. But we still have to be separated into weight classifications. Our competitions should not be drastically lopsided,” Lysa assured, finding an open locker they could share.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I suppose,” Lira said, “I would rather not fight the big girl there.”

“Likewise. I cannot even best Ruh'ah in open competition. Someone more massive than him would be—Troubling.” Lysa quipped, opening her gym bag.

They both quickly began to change out of their street clothes and don the uniforms that Teacher had provided them. Unlike everyone else’s sports attire, their shirts were, as usual, entirely black and form-fitting. Although unlike the soft natural materials, their practice wear was made of, these ones were made out of a synthetic fiber that was shiny and slick. The material reminded Lysa somewhat of silk in how light it was, but it was more stretchy.

Lysa and Lira glanced at one another with the shirts on; both could admit the cut was complimenting the other for other reasons. For Lira, it showed off her broad shoulders and strong collarbones. Meanwhile, Lysa, the fabric, hugged her bust and kept her mound up and perky, even without a bra. Lysa wondered if she should wear something like this for casual time with Martinez; he certainly would appreciate one less bit of clothing to remove.

But those thoughts were neither here nor there. It was just a passing idea, not one Lysa lingered on. This was Lira's first time, and she had some alone time since the two Lira and Feinel went out. And Lysa was dying to know how their date went.

“How did your romantic rendezvous with Feinel fare?” Lysa asked, pushing down her panties and tossing them into the bag.

Lira groaned while she did the same, but she looked clearly away from Lysa, with her tail tucked down low and ears folded tightly against her head.

“It was horrible. How can a male be so dense?” Lira complained, slipping her shorts on and taking a moment to feed her tail through a custom-cut hole for it. “I wanted to do something romantic or go out and do something neither of us could do.”

These shorts were interesting compared to what they usually used in training. They reminded Lysa of Martinez’s Navy PT(Physical Training) shorts: Silkies. They were light and allowed both of them a solid range of motion, but they were also ungodly short, their lightweight fluttering material barely reaching a quarter of the way down their thighs. At least they have a built-in underwear set, so their genuine modesty was not a concern.

“I believe you are also quite dense; we both are aware of your attempt at querying him for a date,” Lysa chuckled while fixing the elastic band of her shorts. “You still had the opportunity to have him alone and instruct you on the usage of firearms; surely you must have had an enjoyable time?”

Lira grumbled a response so quietly that Lysa could not understand her. Lysa rolled her eyes, wondering why Lira was acting like this. It was not like they were closed off to one another about most things. By the Stars, Lira was the first to know about Lysa and Martinez; not even her mother knew they were Ruh'ah before she did.

“Would you care to repeat yourself?” Lysa questioned, poking Lira’s side, eliciting the slightest surprised jump.

“Ugh, fine. I outshot him. Afterward, he acted embarrassed the rest of the time we were at the range. He was quiet and did not even want to look at me,” Lira admitted. “I grew up on a farm, and I think he assumed I had no idea what end the bullets came out of. He did not look at me the same after I handled the weapon better than he did.”

“How is that an issue? If I recall correctly, your species generally likes their mate to be capable and handy in a fight, especially males. Don’t they swoon after women who can handle attackers?” Lysa commented, zipping her bag closed.

“They do, but I don’t want that—I want to be dainty and soft, treated like a princess. Not some muscular brick, like a certain Aviex I know,” Lira teased, slouching onto the seat. “Her and the wall of muscle she calls Ruh'ah.”

Lysa closed their locker and set a combination before plopping down beside her friend. “It's alright. I'm certain he would be more than willing to comply with your wishes, assuming there will be follow-on interactions,” Lysa assured. “Additionally, Martinez is not a wall of muscle. He is quite soft and gentle when it matters.” She finished with a hungered growl.

“It's easy enough for you to say. You both enjoy the other being a dense fighter,” Lira commented. “I only want to fight in practice and maybe here. Feinel and Martinez both actually fought for a living. It's not the same.”

Lysa shrugged but agreed. She did not deny that they both generally did enjoy that the other could fight. Not that either sought battles, they had just found them so far. Before Lysa had the opportunity to make any further suggestions to Lira on possibly making Feinel see her as more of a dainty flower and not some powerful warrior, Teacher's barking voice overpowered the idle conversations of the other students in the process of getting ready.

“Oi, you two ready to get weighed in?” Teacher said in a near commanding voice.

Half the locker room's attention was drawn to Teacher’s magnanimous presence, but once most realized they were not the subject of the buff woman's attention, they returned to their own preparations.

“I am as prepared as possible,” Lysa quickly replied.

Teacher nodded understanding before looking at Lira, her starry eyes intently gazing at the white werewolf-like woman.

“What About you lass? Why do you look so down?” Teacher pressed.

“You know why, mam,” Lira sighed, having already explained her earlier attempt at a date with Feinel.

“Right—well, we can discuss that later on, fer now, y’all can come with me,” Teacher said.

Lysa patted Lira on the back and flashed her friend a reassuring, warm smile. “Perhaps throttling someone might make you feel better?”

“Maybe for you, you combat addict,” Lira chuckled, standing and gently knuckling Lysa in the shoulder. “Hopefully we are in the same bracket.”

“That would be enjoyable,” Lysa replied, knuckling her back and moving to follow Teacher.